Breaking the silence between us, and coming back to my senses I can hear Ulain still droning on, he literally can't shut the fuck up if he tried. One of his 'best' features if he had anything else noteworthy about him. I extend my hand towards her, still in its red-felt glove, offering her the reprieve she clearly wants. She plays along and seems puzzled then hesitant at first – she is still hanging on another client's arm. “Care to join me Y'lesta? I was just about to head up to the Airstrip.†I keep my eye contact maintained with her, not wanting to break it mostly because I am hoping Ulain gets the point, though I have my doubts he gets anything.
Immediately Ulain blurts out “Do what? Hey now you wait just a minute, I found her fair in the Quicksand and you can't just go around asking another man's girl to come with you - especially in front of them.†He reaches out his free hand and almost touches me, wanting to push my own away – fortunately for him he thinks better of it at the last moment. I'm not sure why he made a point to really enunciate that word either, raising his voice as he said it. Outwardly my smile only widens and my eyes show warmth and tenderness. Inwardly however, I'm frowning. Disgust would be on my face if I could allow it. If Ridley we're here she would be threatening him with something along the lines of 'Care to find out how much pain a man can endure and live to tell about?'.
Y'stela looks at me with apprehension. She puts on a false air of unsureness, looking up to Ulaine with an almost terrified expression as she lays her ears flat against her head. She is so good at acting right now I can't actually tell if she is legitimately scared of Ulaine. For a moment all of us are at a standstill, myself standing there with my hand outstretched, her still hooked to his offered arm, and Ulain just standing there obviously grinding his teeth as he looks at me with nothing to say for his frustration. I have a hunch this woman is business before pleasure – from what little I remember of her so I finally break the silence.
“So how much is he paying you exactly?†Instantly he breaks their arms being linked together, and starts to stammer out a protestation while I continue to smile as I keep her gaze when she looks up to me, humor in her eyes while her face shows embarrassment and confusion for his sake. Before he can formulate his response I let false anger cloud my face as I make a show of snapping the fingers of my outstretched hand towards him while I refuse to look at him. Amazingly he finally quiets, assuming I'm ready to kill him, or have him killed. Sometimes Syndicate affiliation has its advantages. Too bad he couldn't just leave me alone, but this will get him to keep his distance for some time.
With the new found patience instilled into Ulain, I continue speaking to Y'stela “I'll triple whatever he paid – come with me little one.†As I let my words hang in the air I beckon her to me. She takes a step forward, looking back to him with regret on her face to say 'I have to go', then steps forward to me, easily and instantly wrapping her arm around mine. Content with my new found partner, I take a turn for the Quicksand and bring her along with me as we climb those stairs. Truly I wasn't interested in a lay right now, especially considering the dinner I was planning to make out of Lucy, but sometimes you just need to go with the flow. Besides I am doing this woman a great service, rescuing her from that fat slob of an idiot Ulain.
As we round the top of the stairs I stop and look down to her as she stands at my sides. She keeps her gaze locked forward, that humor twinkle still in those large eyes though her face doesn't show it. After a moments time she says “Thank you Sir Vann.†Finally she betrays some outward emotion as she shifts her weight on her legs heels “Did you really mean triple? He took out a loan to afford me for the last two days...†she trails her words off with obvious pity for him. “You would have to pay me at least two hundred thousand gil, Sir Vann.†She definitely is business first then pleasure – something I can appreciate.
An impressed look comes across on my face while I inwardly laugh at the plight of a man who takes out loans to afford whores. “Two hundred thousand?" I nod to her in a sort of agreement. "I can double that for your trouble. Shall we go to a room I keep here at the QuickSand then?â€
Expectantly this shatters her composure as she looks up to gape at me. Most likely she is running in her head what she can do with so much money. I doubt she has ever seen that much at once, probably more than what she earns in weeks worth of work. I give her enough time to collect herself before jerking my head to the Quicksand “Shall we go then Y'stela?â€
“Yes, Sir Vann.†Curt and to the point. As we enter the Quicksand I notice my earlier problem was removed, but also notice a few sets of eyes following me. I avoid making large scenes, but I also know how word travels in here. As we come to the bar, an assistant notices my approach with someone hanging on my arm and gets all the instruction they need as they turn around to a rack with keys hanging on it. I made them attach a small pink feather to a chain that hangs on a ring to the key for my room, and as he slides it over I pick it up with a small grin and bow of the head.
The winding hallways of the QuickSand with numbered doors is quite unimpressive. You hear the tell-tale knocking from some rooms as you pass by. Many courtesans basically live in the QuickSand outright to get easy access to their work. As we finally head down a few more hallways we come to my room that I have outright bought leased indefinitely. Room 77. Its actually not the seventy-seventh room here but I find the number seven to be a number of completeness so I had my peculiar scheming tacked onto my door and they obliged since I put so much coin their way.
As I jiggle the key to my room to unlock it, the dusty air kicks up and swirls slightly as I push the door open. It's been a few days since someone came into here to maintain it – with a fine layer of dust starting to form on top of the furniture in here. Still, everything is neat and set precisely the way I insist of it. I free my arm of Y'stela's linking as I head over to a nightstand beside the bed and sort through the mail that has been left on it addressed to me. Y'stela follows me in and sits right in the doorway, making sweeping looks of the room and watches me as I sit on the side of my bed sorting my mail. I look up to her with my head tilted to look over to tops of my glasses just long enough to send her the message – and true to her professional nature she gets it and backs herself up, pushing the door closed as she backs into it. Once the door is closed she reaches up from behind her and latches it locked and walks over to stand in front of me and removes the glasses from my face.
“For four-hundred thousand gil I am yours, in all things. I belong to you fully for as long as you want, you can do whatever you want with me in any way. I am well trained as I am sure you remember from when you hired me a couple of months ago – and I have so many more tricks I can show you now if you'd prefer.†She doesn't wait for a response out of me or my answer, she reaches to the sash holding her skirt up and pulls at it once with purpose, letting it glide off of her frame and crumple on the floor at her feet.
The routine is as natural as breathing to me as I hook a finger to my bow-tie to pull it loose as I turn my neck to the sides to loosen up my collar after unbuttoning it. She crooks a finger under my chin and pulls my face up to look at hers “Just one thing Master Vann. My name isn't Y'stela.â€
I'd shrug if I cared.
[To be continued...]
Immediately Ulain blurts out “Do what? Hey now you wait just a minute, I found her fair in the Quicksand and you can't just go around asking another man's girl to come with you - especially in front of them.†He reaches out his free hand and almost touches me, wanting to push my own away – fortunately for him he thinks better of it at the last moment. I'm not sure why he made a point to really enunciate that word either, raising his voice as he said it. Outwardly my smile only widens and my eyes show warmth and tenderness. Inwardly however, I'm frowning. Disgust would be on my face if I could allow it. If Ridley we're here she would be threatening him with something along the lines of 'Care to find out how much pain a man can endure and live to tell about?'.
Y'stela looks at me with apprehension. She puts on a false air of unsureness, looking up to Ulaine with an almost terrified expression as she lays her ears flat against her head. She is so good at acting right now I can't actually tell if she is legitimately scared of Ulaine. For a moment all of us are at a standstill, myself standing there with my hand outstretched, her still hooked to his offered arm, and Ulain just standing there obviously grinding his teeth as he looks at me with nothing to say for his frustration. I have a hunch this woman is business before pleasure – from what little I remember of her so I finally break the silence.
“So how much is he paying you exactly?†Instantly he breaks their arms being linked together, and starts to stammer out a protestation while I continue to smile as I keep her gaze when she looks up to me, humor in her eyes while her face shows embarrassment and confusion for his sake. Before he can formulate his response I let false anger cloud my face as I make a show of snapping the fingers of my outstretched hand towards him while I refuse to look at him. Amazingly he finally quiets, assuming I'm ready to kill him, or have him killed. Sometimes Syndicate affiliation has its advantages. Too bad he couldn't just leave me alone, but this will get him to keep his distance for some time.
With the new found patience instilled into Ulain, I continue speaking to Y'stela “I'll triple whatever he paid – come with me little one.†As I let my words hang in the air I beckon her to me. She takes a step forward, looking back to him with regret on her face to say 'I have to go', then steps forward to me, easily and instantly wrapping her arm around mine. Content with my new found partner, I take a turn for the Quicksand and bring her along with me as we climb those stairs. Truly I wasn't interested in a lay right now, especially considering the dinner I was planning to make out of Lucy, but sometimes you just need to go with the flow. Besides I am doing this woman a great service, rescuing her from that fat slob of an idiot Ulain.
As we round the top of the stairs I stop and look down to her as she stands at my sides. She keeps her gaze locked forward, that humor twinkle still in those large eyes though her face doesn't show it. After a moments time she says “Thank you Sir Vann.†Finally she betrays some outward emotion as she shifts her weight on her legs heels “Did you really mean triple? He took out a loan to afford me for the last two days...†she trails her words off with obvious pity for him. “You would have to pay me at least two hundred thousand gil, Sir Vann.†She definitely is business first then pleasure – something I can appreciate.
An impressed look comes across on my face while I inwardly laugh at the plight of a man who takes out loans to afford whores. “Two hundred thousand?" I nod to her in a sort of agreement. "I can double that for your trouble. Shall we go to a room I keep here at the QuickSand then?â€
Expectantly this shatters her composure as she looks up to gape at me. Most likely she is running in her head what she can do with so much money. I doubt she has ever seen that much at once, probably more than what she earns in weeks worth of work. I give her enough time to collect herself before jerking my head to the Quicksand “Shall we go then Y'stela?â€
“Yes, Sir Vann.†Curt and to the point. As we enter the Quicksand I notice my earlier problem was removed, but also notice a few sets of eyes following me. I avoid making large scenes, but I also know how word travels in here. As we come to the bar, an assistant notices my approach with someone hanging on my arm and gets all the instruction they need as they turn around to a rack with keys hanging on it. I made them attach a small pink feather to a chain that hangs on a ring to the key for my room, and as he slides it over I pick it up with a small grin and bow of the head.
The winding hallways of the QuickSand with numbered doors is quite unimpressive. You hear the tell-tale knocking from some rooms as you pass by. Many courtesans basically live in the QuickSand outright to get easy access to their work. As we finally head down a few more hallways we come to my room that I have outright bought leased indefinitely. Room 77. Its actually not the seventy-seventh room here but I find the number seven to be a number of completeness so I had my peculiar scheming tacked onto my door and they obliged since I put so much coin their way.
As I jiggle the key to my room to unlock it, the dusty air kicks up and swirls slightly as I push the door open. It's been a few days since someone came into here to maintain it – with a fine layer of dust starting to form on top of the furniture in here. Still, everything is neat and set precisely the way I insist of it. I free my arm of Y'stela's linking as I head over to a nightstand beside the bed and sort through the mail that has been left on it addressed to me. Y'stela follows me in and sits right in the doorway, making sweeping looks of the room and watches me as I sit on the side of my bed sorting my mail. I look up to her with my head tilted to look over to tops of my glasses just long enough to send her the message – and true to her professional nature she gets it and backs herself up, pushing the door closed as she backs into it. Once the door is closed she reaches up from behind her and latches it locked and walks over to stand in front of me and removes the glasses from my face.
“For four-hundred thousand gil I am yours, in all things. I belong to you fully for as long as you want, you can do whatever you want with me in any way. I am well trained as I am sure you remember from when you hired me a couple of months ago – and I have so many more tricks I can show you now if you'd prefer.†She doesn't wait for a response out of me or my answer, she reaches to the sash holding her skirt up and pulls at it once with purpose, letting it glide off of her frame and crumple on the floor at her feet.
The routine is as natural as breathing to me as I hook a finger to my bow-tie to pull it loose as I turn my neck to the sides to loosen up my collar after unbuttoning it. She crooks a finger under my chin and pulls my face up to look at hers “Just one thing Master Vann. My name isn't Y'stela.â€
I'd shrug if I cared.
[To be continued...]
