Loera was a piece of coal amidst diamonds. In Oden City, capital of Oden and under the rule of King Maddock, there were many exquisite things and Loera was not one. From the glorious stone castle in the middle of the city, seen from every corner and every alley of the city, to the ritzy alcoves of the Market, Loera didn't even live near the wealth and the beauty that bustled around. Instead, she hailed from the shadows of Seventh Avenue, aptly nicknamed Seventh's Slums. But luckily for Loera, she did not live near the pig sties and the filth of the Slums. Instead, she slept in a cupboard in the kitchen of the Dragonskeep Brothel, one of the few shining buildings in the area.
The brothel itself was actually beautiful. It was built at the end of the Slums, like a treasure hidden among filth. In the front was a court yard, usually alive with dancers and painted escorts. In the center of the court yard was a stone fountain with a marble statue of a beautiful dancer reaching towards the stars, water falling from her palms. There were two more stone platforms a few feet away on either side of the fountain, both with slender and twisting trees that produced the most beautiful purple and white passion fruit blossoms in the spring. The cobblestone was worn smooth between the two paths that led to the many slender arches, where a multitude of customers and guests found themselves wandering. Above each arch was a window on the second floor, rooms that held secrets of affairs and adulterers and forbidden lovers. Underneath were the beautiful barrel vaults, each arch intersecting with the next and undulating with curves. The ceilings were painted with twisting, naked bodies of passion, hinting at what lie inside, but overall a spectacle by itself.
Loera often loved walking under the beautiful paintings and weaving around the court yard when she had free time. Although, that time was hardly often at all. Loera was often busy in the mornings stripping dirty bedding and replacing it with clean linens for the next night of use. After this duty was done, she was to wash the dirty linens and to hang them to dry on the roof. When this task was done, Loera reported to the kitchen and would help prepare meals and bring up the beverages from the basement. The head chef would always sneak Loera and the other works bread and cheese for lunch, pretending to scold them if any of the Mistresses brought a watchful eye to sweep for any ill doings.
The Mistresses all reported to Madam Luestro, the owner of the brothel and keeper of all of debts. While some people--like the head chef--worked for Madam Luestro, the majority were indentured servants trying to pay off their sentence and debts. Workers like Loera, plain mortals with sentences longer than their life, became masters of the shadow work to be done at the Dragonskeep Brothel. The main attraction came from the diversity of demi-fae who were bought to work for a minimum of fifty years. Fifty years, which seemed like a long time to Loera, was simply a decent fraction for the majority of the demi-fae. Although not immortal like the Fae, the demi-fae still had long lifespans. Fifty years to them was similar to ten years for Loera.
But time was time, and debts had to be paid.
Of course, there weren't a lot of mortals that worked for Madam Luestro. Loera found herself in the minority within the brothel's walls, and was constantly reminded of her plainness. She did not have the beautiful, slender body that most demi-fae females were gifted, nor did she have the sharp features that both male and female often wore proudly. Rather, Loera's face was simple. A simple nose, thankfully straight and small. She had blue eyes and dull blonde hair and could've been considered fair had her skin not been roughened by hard work and many hours under the sun on the roof.
But luckily for Loera, she had a dancer's body. Not the delicate kind that men feasted after on the stages within the brothel, but rather, the athletic kind. Madam Luestro, having maybe been feeling generous when Loera was ten, had her trained in a new type of dance in hopes to see if it would become something later taught to the more beautiful dancers of the brothel. The style of dancing was introduced to Loera as ring-dancing, and required a large, sturdy ring that was roughly three inches taller than her. Due to the investment, Madam Luestro took the liberty of adding the cost of a custom ring to the debt that Loera was to pay. Although Loera's debt was in terms of years, Madam Luestro also took the liberty of calculating how much a year was worth for a servant such as Loera. Madam Luestro also added the cost of lessons from a foreign instructor to Loera's contract, quickly racking up years.
Loera knew that she would never see a home outside of the brothel. To her, this was her home, and the other servants and workers were as close to family as she could hope to get.
Ring-dancing, as hard as it was for ten year old Loera, was second nature to her now a decade later. Although Loera was never requested for a private show, her ring-dancing was often showcased during parades or afternoon shows in the courtyard. Madam Luestro never showed a motive to have Loera train anyone else, but Loera chalked it up to the difficulty of always having to invest in custom rings. Ring-dancing, as beautiful as it may be, was far too exotic to have many blacksmiths knowledgeable in the way to craft a durable ring. Loera's rings were crafted by a Fae blacksmith over the Continental Bridge, and Madam Luestro was sure to let her know just how much the shipping cost added to the original price. At this point, Loera tried not to think about her life sentence.
Instead, Loera looked forward to what little joy she was able to muster up in a life like her own. She took pride in her ability to ring-dance, and she absolutely loved the beauty that the brothel had to offer, both in architecture, fashion and demi-fae.
Loera's best friends were all demi-fae, since the other mortals tended to come and go quite frequently and none were around her age. At least with the demi-fae, Loera was able to age into them, and at twenty, she felt as though they were at a similar part in their lives--although Loera knew she was young compared to them.
Her closest friend was Hallo, a demi-fae with beautiful fawn legs. They were slender and exotic, often fetching a high price for wealthy lords who liked to indulge in the unknown. Hallo was often dressed in a very short, almost transparent dress, and paraded around delivering trays of drinks and foods until a price was called for her and she had to retreat to a private room. Although Hallo was well experienced in the ways of mortal men, she always confided to Loera that she couldn't wait to lay with one of her own and of her own free will. Hallo refused to mingle with the other escorts and dancers, wanting to save her first time with a demi-fae for when she was free of the brothel and could travel across the Continental Bridge to the Fae Lands, where mortals were few and far between.
"I cannot express how delirious I will be," Hallo would always spitefully say on the topic, "When I no longer have to look at a mortal man, let alone sleep with one. They make for untasteful lovers, and even worse company."
Loera, who had never been with any man, would always back up her friend when they spoke of men in disgust. To Loera, mortal men were vessels of lust and lies, as she had never seen a man outside of the brothel. She knew no better, and expected even less.
Hallo was not her only close friend, even though their bond was the strongest. Loera often spent time with Wisp, a blue-skinned girl who was petite and no taller than four and a half feet. Her delicateness often was her downfall, as it attracted strong and angry men. Wisp's blue skin did not hid bruises completely, but well enough that future customers did not feel guilty paying for her. Loera though, noticed every single new mark and filled with such sadness at the emptiness that often pooled in her friend's eyes when no one was addressing her. Sometimes, Wisp had to join Loera in laundry duty when she was too battered to be on the floor for grabs.
Jena was a demi-fae who only had inherited the unearthly beauty of Fae females. She had no deer legs or blue skin, just jetting black hair and perfect, pale skin, with silvery eyes. Loera always thought of her as a strong woman who faced the night with no fear, but Loera also knew better. She had seen the small tension that formed in the demi-fae's body whenever a Mistress came to gather her for a room. Though Jena was strong willed and never let anyone see her cry, Loera had seen tears form once before after Jena was assigned a thousand more coppers for harming a customer.
Loera never asked what exactly happened behind those closed doors that caused Jena to snap in the way she did, but she never treated Jena any differently afterwards. Jena had been assigned to floor scrubbing for a few weeks to punish her and prevent her from gathering any wages to pay off her debt, and talked to Loera about a day when she would own her own house and have her own servants scrubbing her floors. Although Loera never said anything, she thought about whether Jena would force mortal men to do the work in order to spite those who used her.
Of course, not all customers were mortal men. There were women as well. But Loera had seen both men and women pay for a night with her other two friends, Bruno and Delon. Bruno, who had a tail like that of a lion and brown hair that resembled a lion's mane, was not as ferocious as he looked. Silent, brooding, and strong, Bruno often had mortal women gawking at the sheer height and size of him. He typically got into bidding wars, with women sulking around after they lost but always returning the next night for a chance.
Delon, on the otherhand, was slender and cunning. With white hair that was cropped and icy blue eyes, Delon tended to sweet talk his way into rooms all night. Not for a second, though, did Loera think he actually enjoyed tending to his nightly lovers. No, Loera saw the hatred and rage behind his eyes whenever he walked behind a lover that led him away to a secluded room. But Loera had to give it to him, he was paying off his debt rather efficiently. Loera wasn't sure how long or how much any of her friends owed to Madam Luestro, and she wasn't going to ask.
It felt like a scar each of them had to wear in silence. Never up for show-and-tell.
Tonight, Loera was on court yard duty. It had been a week since the last time a Mistress informed Loera was to dance, and she had only danced during the day. Tonight, she was going to have a large space sectioned off for her and only her. Tonight, Loera would have a chance to fly before an actual audience.
One of the Mistresses had another servant fetch her costume and ring, while Loera readied herself in an unused room before the bustle of the night began. Loera slipped into the golden costume, and began rapidly braiding her hair around a gold ribbon down her back in front of the mirror in the bathing room. While she readied herself, applying the gold dust to her eyelids and cheekbones and painting her lips a sultry red, Loera couldn't help but survey herself.
She was no Fae or demi-fae, but she liked to think that maybe she was pretty by mortal standards. Yes her nose was not as sharp as her friends, but it was small and rounded, giving her an air of softness. Her lips were still full, something in contrast to the angular face of her companions. She had round eyes, not slanted, but creased in the lids. Sometimes, Loera desired the smooth complexion in which Hallo had. Other times, Loera found herself rather happy to have a softness to her. It was easy to hide behind, easy to convince that she wasn't brooding with malice and anger underneath her tanned skin.
When Loera finished lining her eyes in black, she stood and assessed herself. Her golden costume clung to her breasts and torso, cutting at the hips and meeting between her legs. The skirts were in ribbons, transparent with glitter and gleam. Although her thighs and lower were exposed, Loera had the sense to wear skin colored tights just in case of any outfit malfunctions.
Plus, she thought to herself, it did make her legs look smoother.
Around her wrists and ankles were ribbons, meant to flow during her dance. Her feet were bare, as were her hands. She needed them for the grip on her ring, to ensure that she wouldn't slip. Slippers would hinder her ability to move quickly and daringly, holding her back. Dismissing her appearance, she padded for the door.
Her gold ring laid by the exit, and she lifted it from the wall in quiet admiration. Smooth, durable, her only sense of freedom. Tonight, she would show the world that she too could be beautiful, if only for one night. She wanted to feel like she belonged among the diamonds, even if she were only to be a speck of gold dust that would soon be forgotten.