The Fine Line Between Truth and Fiction

History Lesson

"Okay, how about we start by introducing ourselves?" the geisha suggested.

"Alright, well, I'm Royce Chastain, owner of this here brothel. The world famous, Bordello. We have hundreds of beautiful women, and five ugly ones!" Mr. Chastain said with as much excitement as a car salesman.

"Shut up, asshole! We're the only thing keeping your business afloat!" snapped the nurse.

"You better watch your mouth, girl," Mr. Chastain, or Royce warned.

"Okay, well, anyway, I'm Elanor Blum," said the cowgirl.

"Dahlia Amello," said the cancan dancer.

"My name is Leilani Morales," said the geisha.

"I'm Rayen Hollins," said the maid.

"Sharon Fiore," the nurse said.

"Now who is this Miceala chick?" Reilly asked.

"Wow, she gets right the point. I like that," Royce comment with a perverted grin. Reilly wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Miceala Lithgow is one of the most influential revolutionaries of our time," said Rayen.

"She has graciously taken it upon herself to standup against the megalomaniac, also known as Eurwen," Dahlia said.

"And it's about time," Royce muttered, "I'm sick and tired of that woman sending her fucking inspectors down here and finding things that go against her stupid 'health standards' and making me waste my money on things like 'sanitary working spaces' or 'eco-friendly appliances'."

"Are you serious right now? Royce, they found black mold all over the ceiling," Leilani said.

"She...she made this big of an impact...just by writing letters?" Reilly asked, ignoring the little disputes.

"She didn't write just any old letters," Elanor corrected.

"Those letters were threats. Legitimate threats. Threats that could ruin Eurwen and bring down the entire party," Dahlia said.

"Er, party? Which one? The republican or the democratic?" Reilly asked, trying to wrap her head around at least one familiar thing in the whole conversation.

There was a pregnant pause before everyone, save for Reilly, broke out in laughter. Reilly just lowered her flustered face and waited for them to stop.

"Oh, ho, ho, ho! Girl, you are a crack up!" hollered Elanor.

"Aw, now I feel bad. How could we expect her to know about the parties? She doesn't even know about the underneath," said Leilani.

"Oh, we better start by explaining the underneath. That's kind of the whole premise of what we're trying to get at," suggested Rayen.

"Wow. Impressive observation, Rayen. Did you figure that out all on your own?" It was hard not to notice the sarcasm in Sharon's voice.

"Since you're so quick to put your two cents in, why don't you be so kind and explain to our guest what the underneath is?" Leilani suggested, but it sounded more like a command. Sharon let out a sigh and crossed her arms.

"Fine. I guess you need someone with half a brain to do it," Sharon muttered, "Okay, so, the underneath is kind of like a world within a world. A hidden community full of....well, the dregs of society."

Reilly thought over what Sharon had just said. Her expression transitioned from confusion to worry.

"So...I'm now involved in like the mafia and the black market. That's just...just super," Reilly said as she crouched down on the floor. She covered her face with her hands and shook her head.