Bound by Glass

36| No Pain, No Gain

There were more people than I had expected, men and women hanging by the bar or talking with a hushed voice at their tables. Their timidity never seemed to vanish completely, not even under the influence of spirit. Some women were dancing in the middle of the room, that seemed to function as a dance floor. They moved slowly, the long ripped pieces of fabric hanging from their hips swaying by their movements. More people turned their heads as one of them started to sing, a wordless melody filled with hope, joy and sadness.

I tensed up and whipped my head to the side as a hand grabbed by forearm. There was a regg woman, dressed in greenish robes. Her confidence made up for the fact that she was fairly short, like all the regg. She pushed her long dark brown hair back as she looked up to me, pressing herself closer to me. "Hello beautiful," she drawled, "I—"

"Joli, don't even try," Haco suddenly said, hooking his arm in mine and pulling me away from her. "She doesn't have any credits to pay you."

Joli's expression changed completely, from a dreamy smile to a hard look. She let me go. "A woman can try. Business has been slow lately," she said. "What brings you back here, Halfblood?"

"You know I don't like that nickname," Haco said, giving a small wink. "I'm here to see your boss."

"Always on duty," Joli said, sighing deeply, "He's upstairs. You know where."

Haco dipped his chin, "Thank you, m'Lady," he said with a thick upper accent.

"Ass-kisser," she said, rolling her eyes at him. She turned back to me, giving me a wink instead. "You can always come by my unit if you want. R-14."

I felt my cheeks heat up. "Uh—" I said, taken by surprise, "Thanks—"

Haco tugged me away. "Always nice to see you, Joliette."

"Stop blocking me from getting nice clients for a change, boy," Joli said, a laugh resonating in her voice, "Get out." She made a vague gesture with her hand to the staircase in the corner of the room. She walked away, her hand resting on her hip as she swayed to her next potential client.

"Come on," Haco said, looking at Joli who was now sitting on someone's lap, "Before we get harassed even more."

I huffed, "You're just jealous." I gave him a cocky look before I walked over to the staircase, leaving a flabbergasted Haco behind. I shrugged, "What? A compliment is a compliment."

With a snigger he followed me, mumbling something I couldn't understand while he was shaking his head.

We walked up the stairs, leaving the mutter and music behind us. At the top of the stairs I waited for a moment, leaning against the bannister and looking over the room. Unconsciously, I found myself analysing the means of escape—if that need be necessary. The smoke seemed to linger between the bar and the tables, small laughs rising up from the regg sitting between them. I turned back around, seeing Haco had already stopped at a particular door, marked with a purple flower. He raised an eyebrow in question, and I nodded. 'Play along,' he mouthed, before turning back to the door.

He scraped his throat, harshly knocking on the door. "Balder, open the door. It's me."

After a few moments I heard some shuffling behind the door, like some furniture being moved. Some rattling came from the door, like a lock being opened, before actually opening a little bit. A woman with black hair and red clothes stood in the doorway. She wore heavy cosmetics, her dark eyes lined with a thick layer of kohl. She gave us a once-over. "Haco," she said, her voice raspier than I had expected it to be.

"Trish," Haco greeted, a slight smirk appearing on his lips.

"Who is that girl?" she asked, nodding her head in my direction.