The place smelled a little.

It wasn't really a smell of old sex or other nasty stuff, but instead incense. All over the walls, and on half the tables, were little candles and sticks. All lit and burning. They all had their own unique smell, and they were all mixing into a rather uncomfortable conglomeration of stink that just didn't sit well with me.

But I ignored it as I glanced around, a little excitedly.

I was sitting alone on a larger couch, near the window. I was alone here in my corner, but nearby there were small conversations. Some of the tables and chairs nearby had pairs, who were all whispering and talking quietly amongst themselves. It seemed there weren't just female prostitutes here, but male ones too. One of them was nearby, whispering into an older woman's ear. She had a flushed face and was giggling happily at the little jokes he was telling her.

It was interesting how they did it. When I had walked in I had been looked at funny, but not treated unfairly or strangely. I had been asked who, or what, I was looking for. Then once I told them I wanted to talk to a woman, they had me sit over here. It seemed here the workers could pick and choose their clients. I hadn't paid yet, I was supposed to pay the person who would come over and sit with me. There was a balcony above me, where women and men were walking around and staring down from. I felt a little silly being looked at by the half dozen or so up there, but knew not to take offense.

They were judging if I was a good customer or not, it seemed. If I was worth spending time with, and if I'd pay well or not.

A very interesting system. It made me wonder who came up with the idea of prostitution. And who then came up with the idea to handle it like this.

Some movement drew my attention, and I watched as a pretty woman in a red dress walked up the nearby stairs with a man in tow. He looked far too well dressed, and normal, to me. As if he didn't belong in here, buying the services they offered here.

Usually when I thought of men who used places like this… I thought of those I'd not find myself comfortable with. Yet everywhere I looked, the men at least, all seemed rather well off. Well dressed. Gentle smiles. Most looked more wealthy than most of the men who were walking around in town, at least. In fact several of them were wearing the same style of clothes that the nobles did.

This was why I was so interested. It felt like I was seeing a part of the world I'd never known before.

Not that I really knew prostitutes or anything. In all my life I've only ever met a couple, and only distantly. But that was why I was fascinated. Those women had been… sad. They had looked weak. Sickly. Tired. Depressed.

These women looked everything but. They were wearing wonderful clothes, all dressed up and prim and proper, and were laughing and smiling without a worry.

Vim had to be correct. I couldn't imagine the people here as slaves or under duress. If they were, then their slavery was not the kind I knew at all.

"Are you the weird woman who wants to buy a conversation?"

I perked up and stood, smiling happily at the woman who had just walked up. "I am!" I said.

The woman was taller than me. She wore a blue dress, one that glistened a little as if sparkly, and her hair was done in these fancy curls. She was honestly very attractive, though she looked a little bit older than some of the other women here.

"I see. You must be some kind'a noble or something. Hm…" the woman studied me as she put her hand on the back of a chair's headrest.

Staying still, I happily waited for her to ask a question, or say something. Or was I supposed to? Was I supposed to make an offer of payment now? How much did I give?

Before I could decide what to say first, the woman then extended her hand out over the chair to me. "Five silvers for an hour," she stated.

"Sure!" I happily reached out and took her hand, shaking it in agreement.

How neat! What should I ask first? Should we share names, or was that considered weird? Did we talk here, or go up to one of those rooms on the other floor?

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The woman though groaned as her hand went limp. "Huh…?" I worriedly panicked. Wait… "Is five not enough?" I asked, deciding that to be the most likely reason for her sudden annoyed expression.

"What…? Not enough…?" She then sighed as she pulled her hand from my own. "You're definitely some weird noble. Do you not know how much one normally charges for such service?" she asked as she rounded the chair and sat in it.

Taking her sitting down as proof she was willing to indulge me, I too sat back down on the couch. There was a very small table between us, but it was so low to the ground it was almost comical. It'd have been a footrest had it not been made of glass.

"I don't know, no," I told her.

"It's a dozen bronzes for our pricier options," she stated.

Hm… it took twenty bronze coins to make a silver, if I remembered correctly. "I see…?" I nodded gently, not sure what she was trying to say.

"So now I feel like I'll just get in trouble if I actually charge you five silvers. Just give me one, and we'll call it even," she said as she glanced around over her shoulder, as if worried someone else was nearby and had listened into our conversation.

Trouble, huh? I wonder why she thought so. I dug out some of the coins Vim had given me, and made sure to count out five silver ones. I placed them on the table in front of me and nodded. "An hour, please," I said.

The woman stared at the coins with a slight look of worry, and then she sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. I heard her longer nails as she scratched. "Great… this is what I get for being the nice one," she mumbled as she leaned forward and took the coins.

"Everything will be fine. I really do just want to talk," I said gently as she studied the coins in her hand for a moment and then put them away into the slip of her breast.

Smiling at the sight, I noted the outline of the coins under her dress near her breast. "That's what they always say, then the next thing you know you're wrapped up in someone else's marriage and entire families start to fight and split up, and then you have to move towns and end up eating rats just so you don't starve. So forgive me if I don't believe you," the woman said.

A little shocked, I found myself studying her in a new light. That had not just been some random thought or theory, but something she spoke of sincerely.

She had lived it before.

"My name is Renn, am I allowed to know yours?" I asked, greeting the interesting woman.

"Hm…? Why couldn't you? My name is Promilla," Promilla said.

"Most of the others haven't said any names in their conversations, as if avoiding directly addressing the other. So I just figured," I said as I glanced at the people around us. There was a new pair nearby, two women, though they might just be friends or co-workers.

"Ah… but if we kept our names secret how could we get repeat customers? No, most customers just don't like using names. They're here not for us but for some other desire, so we know not to make it too personal. Unless the person wants that, I guess," Promilla said as she crossed her arms.

I noticed the way she crossed her arms, and noted the way she was basically hugging herself. Was she doing that on purpose? It was… slightly obvious what she was doing, what with the way she was forcing her breasts upward.

Promilla then sighed a little as she leaned back, relaxing a bit. "Okay then, Renn. You don't seem to want to flirt or anything, so what is it you're looking for?" Promilla asked.

"Hm? Just to talk. I mean it," I said.

"You… just gave me five silver coins just to have a normal conversation…?" she asked, obviously not believing me.

Frowning a little I nodded. "Yeah…? Or well, maybe not. Actually I really am just interested. In you, this place, this lifestyle. My goal here was to learn about you, to understand you, I guess," I said, blushing a little as I spoke. For some reason I felt like I had just said something very intimate. As if we were suddenly flirting.

Promilla only stared at me for a moment, and then she reached up to cup her mouth. I noticed a slight smile that she tried to hide, as she narrowed her eyes at me. "You must be some sheltered noble indeed. Where are you from?" she asked, speaking between her fingers.

"Far north. Where I'm from the act of prostitution is either outright illegal or so looked down upon it may as well be," I said.

"Ah. That explains it then. You're one of those Blind people. Still… whoever dressed you knows what they're doing. A lot of the others hesitated to choose you because they thought you were a mercenary," Promilla said.

"Hm. My husband's idea," I said.

"You're married?" Promilla perked up at that.

I nodded. "Yeah?"

"Does… he know you're here?" she asked as she glanced to the window. Even if she knew what Vim looked like it wouldn't matter. He was sitting with Sivra far away, even I could barely see him.

"He does. He's the one who gave me the coins I just gave you," I said with a smile, even though it was likely that a few had been coins I already had.

She sighed. "I'll never understand nobles…" she mumbled as she stopped looking out the window.

Finding that funny, I decided to start making use of my time. "Can I ask a few questions Promilla?" I asked.

"Sure, dear. Ask away," Promilla said with a small smile. She looked like she was suddenly relaxed; maybe she had simply given up trying to understand me. Or maybe she just firmly believed I was an eccentric noble from afar.

Excited, I leaned forward and spent not one hour talking to Promilla, but nearly three.

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