Spotlights flicked on and I could hear the roar from the men as other girls were pulled up to the stage as well. I squinted with the sudden bright light, my ears ringing as the music fell silent. The girl who had grabbed me seized my hand and dragged me in front of the other girls, calling out to the crowd.
“Pirates! The nameless one has been named! We celebrate!”
A wave of yells greeted her announcement, through the glare of the lights I could see hundreds of glasses raised in the air. From among the men I could see the familiar form of my handler shoving his way through to the front stage. I knew I was in trouble the moment I saw the smirk on his face and his hand upon his band. He jumped up beside me and turned to face the men beside me.
“Who owns the nameless?” he cried.
“Captain Mají-jalio!” the crowd yelled back
He turned to me, taking one of my hands and twirling me around a few moments before I became limp and fell into his arms. He dipped me down and brought his face close to mine, winking at me before pulling me to my feet once more.
“This is Saldré. She dances without reserve. I may own her body, but it is the music that owns her soul.”
I smiled at Mají-jalio when he turned from the crowd to face me. The music started up softly and he took my hand, bringing up to his lips.
“May I have this dance Saldré?” he asked.
I nodded and smiled at my handler, twirling close against him as the music picked up to a faster club beat. The spotlights went out and the strobe lights began to flash. The girls on the stage all dashed off to a handler or ran to one another, rushing to find a partner. I moved to the music with Mají, letting the music take me away with him. He could dance surprising well; reminding me a bit of the last man I had danced with at home.
He was charming, he smiled as we danced, and didn’t press me once the dance was through. Instead he led me to the side of the stage near the door I had entered the conclave from.
“You can go through there and take a break if you want, you looked pretty tired earlier.” He said, releasing his hold on my hand.
I stared at him, waiting for the catch to come. This was not the same handler that had pressed me to dance more was it? He almost seemed to care. When he said nothing more I turned and made it as far as the doorway before he called me back.
“Saldré, you forgot to say goodbye.”
I glowered at him, then reached up and kissed his cheek lightly before dashing through the doorway to the lounge. I didn’t give him the chance to correct my action, throwing myself down on a random couch. The peace was overwhelming for a moment, my ears will still ringing, my heart pounding from the tumult of the next room.
It only lasted a moment or two, and within a minute I was dozing lightly as I tried to catch up to all that had happened since dawn. I was interrupted with a light tap to my knee. I opened my eyes and glared at the short, pale man before me.
“What do you want Vidan?” I asked, rolling my eyes up to the ceiling so I wouldn’t have to look at him.
“I want to know what the Captain Mají-jalio finally decided to call you.” He stated, knocking my feet off the couch so he could take a seat beside me. “I hear you have been quite the success.”
“They call me Saldré.” I said grudgingly.
“And you could not resist that could you?” he said, smirking as I glared at him.
“The magic is strong.” I admitted, running my hand along the cuffs that proved who owned me.
He laughed, heaving himself to his feet and seizing a bell from a side table. He rang it once and resettled himself into a violently orange armchair.
“You didn’t want to believe me. The conclave’s magic is that of the Griffon himself. Nothing can overcome that; it would be like trying to break the walls between the worlds. But oh no, you thought you were better than that. Every so often I get one that does. So tell me, are you satisfied with your apparel?”
“I did expect to look like a hooker.” I admitted.
He rolled his eyes and rang the bell a second time. A younger girl ran into the room, balancing a tray in her hands as she walked in heels. She offered a glass from the tray to Vidan, who took it and drained it before setting it back on the tray. The rest of the food the girl offered to me, a variety of sweets and delicacies straight from a child’s most daring dreams. Their smells overwhelmed me, and I stared in awe at the tray before me. The girl, sensing that I did not know what to try, set the tray on the end table near the couch.
There were small bowls of all kinds of molten chocolate. I could see liquefied caramel and some kind of sauce that reminded me of butterscotch. There were empty cups near the side of the tray, waiting to be filled with my drink of choice. I hesitated, realizing how much sugar was before me.
“Is there anything else?” I asked.
“You are Saldré?” the girl asked, sitting beside me on the couch.
I nodded to her, watching Vidan laugh silently from his chair.
“You may have what you have been paid in. The men pay in raw sweet materials, we turn it into different things in the back rooms and it becomes available to you. I am only bringing you what is yours.”
“Isn’t it a bit much though?” I asked. “It seems like sugar overkill.”
“Saldré the food here is fine, but if you think about it, it is all very plain. There are no foods like what we are used to at home, nothing high in fats or sugars. You will never go hungry, but the conclave is your only time to let back and indulge a little bit. Make yourself a drink, whatever you wish. Enjoy yourself before you return to the worries that greet you outside the compound.” She said.
I turned to the tray, and poured a bit of everything into one of the chalices. It was careful and measured, equal amounts of milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and caramel. I added a smaller amount of the white chocolate, with a dash of butterscotch. I tasted the mixture carefully. It was fantastic, an instant pick-me-up that warmed my inside and gave me energy. I felt as if the world was before me, waiting to be conquered. I could do anything; be anything. Everything seemed brighter, more friendly and at ease. I was now eager to return to the conclave, to dance with the nice men who liked me.
I smiled at Vidan and walked through the little door to the main room. The music was upbeat, the people were happy. I saw my handler and smiled at him too. He stared at me as if I had sprouted a pineapple from my ear. I wove through the crowd and returned to the cage I had danced in earlier. Climbing inside, a line formed within a minute. I paid close attention to what they paid me with, giving a better dance to those who paid with something I favored, or more of something. The first to guys were amiable, slightly surprised at my new attitude, but they rolled with it.
The third guy that climbed through my cage almost froze my heart. The fluttery happiness I had felt since my drink dissipated instantly. His blue bandana was drenched in sweat, his breath stank of alcohol, and his form towered over me. I stepped away from him, backing myself against the bars of my cage in an attempt to get away from the older, dirtier version of my flesh and blood. Red leered at me, carefully advancing as his paid song started. I wanted to stop him, to cry out and tell him to find his comforts elsewhere, but I could not.
I opened my mouth to say his name, to tell Red who I was to him and that he needed to find a different girl. No sound left my mouth. I tried again with the same results. I could not reveal myself. I grabbed his hands in desperation, twirling with him and mocking him as I had at home. He complained a bit, his words slurring as he peered at me in the dim light. I knew he would not recognize me, the magic prevented it.
In a flash of inspiration I stepped in a crazy pattern he had taught me when I was thirteen. It was a ridiculous pattern, a cross between some throwback jazz moves and tap dance steps. No one else would ever recognize it, they would assume I had a lapse in style, or had had too much to drink. Red froze in his movements, staring at my feet. Even through the alcohol he knew what I had done. He remembered the steps he had once told me were a popular dance craze. His eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed in concentration. Recognition dawned on his face. He leapt from my cage before I could say a word, dashing through the crowd in flight.
The men surrounding me stared in confusion. I smiled at them, regaining control of the bizarre situation.
“If you want to stagger around drunk and incoherent, do so elsewhere. I have better things to do.” I said, turning my attention to a member of Vinyé’s crew who looked as if he was either going to pass out or throw up.
The men followed my lead and laughed loudly, shoving the man I’d singled out until he was beyond my vision.
“Who’s next?” I called out.
Obsidarian stepped forward and winked at me. “I’ve got a special treat for you Saldré; do you eat chocolate covered cherries?”
“Only for the cream inside.” I laughed. “I don’t like the cherries themselves.”
Obsidarian held up a bottle of pale pink liquid, the deliciousness derived from the cherries. “Is this enough for a dance?” he asked.
I smiled at my mentor, taking his hand and pulling him up with me. The cage rocked for a minute as he shifted his weight toward the center.
“I do not think so Obsidarian!” Jumé-falio yelled, shoving his way through the others. “You stole that from me! It was to be my gift to Saldré.”
“And? I’m a pirate, what did you expect?”
“Your immediate forfeit of the dance before Captain Mají-jalio hears of your intentions with his girl.” Jumé-falio said, smirking as he watched Obsidarian’s bewildered expression.
“I have no intentions with her!” Obsidarian protested. “You’re lying!”
“I am a pirate.” Jumé-falio said, his voice dropping dangerously. “What did you expect?”
Obsidarian stepped out of the cage and nodded to Jumé-falio, who held his head imperiously, basking in his superior position. Obsidarian stood at the edge of the crowd, watching as Jumé bowed to me and climbed up beside me as the next song started. He took my hand lightly in his own, pulling me closer to him with his other hand. My hand went to his shoulder as he possessed my waist, leading me around the cage as if it were the floor of a regal ballroom. His smile was soft, his steps sure, he never looked away from my eyes, capturing my attention and holding it away from the crowd. I was sure they would laugh at the odd style of dance, but I could hear no sound.
He did not talk to me, peering into my eyes as if he was trying to see what was behind my mask. At the end of the dance he bowed to me once more, opened the door, and showed himself out.
My spirit left with him. I no longer wanted to dance with the others. After Jumé I felt…vulgar, as if I would disgrace him in some way with my actions. I climbed out of the cage and wandered over to the bar, almost relieved when I began to feel the pull of magic from Mají-jalio. He was sitting back in the corner where Vinyé had been with Bliss earlier. I sat down beside him on the couch, careful not to interrupt his conversation with the rest of the crew.
“It’s a simple matter.” Obsidarian said. “It has been done now, there is nothing we can do but go with it.”
“It should have never been done in the first place,” Jumé-falio hissed. “The captain should have consulted others before he made the decision. It affects all of us. We will be the ones forced to endure the outcome of this. It is inevitable Mají-jalio. It has already begun has it not?”
Mají scowled at Jumé. “It has not happened, and it will not happen. That’s what this one is for.”
Mají looped his arms around my waist and pulled me onto his lap, moving me around until he was comfortable and I was pressed close to him. Jumé shook his head, rolling his eyes.
“It would have been better had you chosen a different girl. This one is all wrong, it will not work. They are too similar.” Jumé said.
“It has to work,” Mají-jalio snarled. “I chose the best. I have a nameless one.”
“My name is Saldré now, sir,” I corrected softly. Both men stared at me, Mají in irritation and Jumé in amusement.
“May the Griffon watch over you, Captain Mají-jalio.” Jumé said. He turned and left the area, leaving Mají and I alone.
“Why did you have to say something?” he hissed, shoving me off his lap roughly.
“I am a person, not an object to be right or wrong.” I said, dusting myself off as I stood from the floor.
“He is right, you are wrong…” Mají whispered, seeming to forget me as he spoke to himself. He seized my wrist and his golden band. “From now on,” he said. “You will not speak to me unless I speak first to you. You will be civil and pleasant company to me, and will smile instead of scowling all the damn time.”
I opened my mouth to refuse his order, but no sound came out. I smiled at him like an airhead instead, clambering back into his lap and draping my arm across his shoulders.
“Much better,” he purred, running his hands across my lower back. “I like you better this way.”
I smiled at him and screamed curses from inside my head. It was like a flashover, only worse, this time I could not wake up, this was binding magic in reality.
“You should kiss me and tell me how amazing I am.” He said, smirking at me as I froze for a moment, fighting against the magic.
“I’m the luckiest girl in the room to have been chosen by you.” I whispered, hating every word that came out of my mouth. “You’re better than the rest of them, bold, confidant, brilliant; you have the body a god would envy. Your eyes can hold any girl captive; you’re strong, with an air of dignity unrivalled by the others. You are perfect, amazing…”
Mají-jalio kissed me, cutting off my sappy rant. “That’s enough for now, maybe more another time. You enjoy being honest about what you think of me don’t you Saldré?”
“I would love to be honest sir,” I said. “I’d love to tell you EXACTLY what I think of you.”
He laughed, “I don’t think that will be happening any time soon.”
I reached out and traced my hand across his jaw, working up the side of his face until I reached his hair. It slipped between my fingers and I curled it lightly, watching as it unraveled before I curled it again.
“Captain Mají-jalio….what are you afraid of?” I purred.
“Nothing; there is nothing in this life I fear,” he responded quickly.
“Then why not let me speak?” I asked. “What could someone as expendable as me ever do to someone as invincible as you? You have nothing to fear.”
“I fear nothing,” he hissed. “I like to watch your pathetic attempts to fight me, as if you could actually convince me of anything. Nice try, but nothing will come of it.”
He smirked suddenly, wrapping his arms around me and touching his band behind my back. I kissed him again, unable to pull away for a few horrible seconds.
“Remember,” he said. “Pleasant company, no scowling or swearing. I’m done for now, be on your way.”
I started back across the room, but before I could make it halfway the music abruptly stopped and Vidan’s voice rang from amidst the groans of complaint from the pirates.
“It’s dawn; the conclave is now over. May the Griffon watch over you all in the days until we meet once more.”
Bliss found me in the crowd, reaching across a few men to snatch my hand and pull me to the side. The men were making their way to the main doors, which were now opening to expose the first sight of the sunrise. We were headed in the opposite direction, up to the stage to slip into the lounge. Fighting the wave of the crowd seemed impossible, it was all I could do to keep my hand firmly locked with Bliss. We edged along the wall, skirting a staggering section of the mob that looked as if they wanted a souvenir from the night.
When at last we made it to the stage we dashed across and darted through the little door, slamming it behind us and collapsing in a fit of giggles.
“That was some night,” I said, watching the other girls who were now sitting on the mismatched furniture. “Who knew that pirates would provide such entertainment?”
“The drama?” she asked. “It’s always like that, though I did see a few of your customers brawling over a piece of chocolate. You made quite the hit.”
The door pounded behind us and I pulled myself to my feet, opening the door to admit a rush of girls who had temporarily been swept away in the throng.
“Made it all the way to the door,” one panted, looking around the room wildly. “The only reason we are here is the magic, we couldn’t pass through the front entrance.”
“You make that sound like a good thing,” retorted another girl, nursing her left shoulder. “It was like being slammed up against a wall. It’s effective, but hurts like hell.”
I pulled Bliss up to her feet, leading her over to loveseat that hadn’t been taken over by dancers yet. The two others would have to fend for themselves; the room seemed full already, with gaudy women perched everywhere. They reminded me of an odd flock of exotic birds; all tittering excitedly about the night’s events.
Vidan entered the room last, his face red and slick with sweat. He tried to mop up with his sleeve, but the effort was unrewarded. He watched the flock for a moment, smiling to himself before clapping twice. A new wave of girls flooded the room, each bearing a tray. They wound their way among those of us already draped across the room. I found the girl who had served me earlier, motioning her over to me. A smaller girl followed her, carrying a small bottle in hand.
“Hello!” my server said brightly, offering me the tray she had shown me earlier. “I’ve brought you some more of your earnings, though most are back in the kitchens. You also have a new cup; it’s that pink liquid the man Jumé-falio paid you. You made a killing with your dances.”
The smaller girl placed the bottle in Bliss’ lap. “Captain Vinyé sends his regards and thanks you for a wonderful night,” she said, barely audible in the room of tittering women. Bliss thanked her, and the girl scurried away.
“I’m sorry for that Bliss,” said the girl at my feet. “She is new. She has very little idea how to best cater to your needs. I will try to help whenever I can, though my primary charge is Saldré.”
“I’m your what?” I asked, not caring that I may have interrupted.
“You’re my charge. I’m Flor by the way, your server and manager. I handle complaints, compliments, and payment; pretty much anything related to you. It’s my job to learn your habits and preferences, and to filter the men before they enter your cage.”
“All of that for me?” I asked. “How do you do all of that? Are you supposed to stalk me? Or are there hidden cameras?”
“I pay attention. I blend in with the crowd and listen to the conversations at the bar. I flit in and out of the conclave as needed, learning, watching. I started filtering out the drunken men once you made the announcement. Do you have a problem with the first mate on Captain Storm’s crew?”
“I….” I started, but Flor cut me off and continued to rattle off different points, as if she were completing a mental checklist.
“Tithe is no longer allowed near you, handler’s orders. You will drink caramel but also take your payment in liquid form. Everything near you must be non-alcoholic. All payment is sugar rarities and of course the amount must be substantial, new concepts are to be cleared by you. You mix your payments when you drink them. Would you like me to prepare your drink as mixed next time you take a break? Or would you rather create the concoction yourself each time? Am I forgetting anything?”
“I despise oranges with a fiery purple passion,” I added, watching her face as I mixed up a new drink for myself.
“Then I’ll tell them to keep anything tropical off of your list, no orange crèmes or candies for you. Does this extend into pineapples, mangos, or papaya? Or is it only oranges?” She rattled off.
“For Griffon’s sake Flor, let Saldré relax. You can interrogate her later,” Bliss said.
Flor stopped her barrage, smiling at me slightly before climbing to her feet. “My apologies.” She said. She wove her way from the room and disappeared from sight.
“Thanks,” I whispered. “She wouldn’t stop.”
“Or let you breathe,” she added, raising her glass to me. “Though she was right, I’ll bet that what you have on that tray is only a fraction of what you brought in. Every man in the building wanted a dance with you. I would know, my handler was considering buying one for himself. You have real talent Saldré.”
“Didn’t Captain Vinyé pay you?” I asked.
She laughed and shook her head. “A handler will never pay for his time with someone he has already paid for. My handler sent this bottle as a compliment. He adores me, but I spent no time in the cages. I didn’t bring anything in on my own, nor will I. Captain Vinyé prefers to see me on his lap instead of dancing with other men. He has been trying to get me for ages, but I have always belonged to another. He will not relinquish me any time soon. Now you on the other hand, everyone wants you. The only person that doesn’t seem to want to be near you every second is your handler.”
“If that means I get chocolate then I don’t care whether or not my handler wants me. He can sulk in a corner and I can dance to my heart’s content. He isn’t much fun anyway,” I said. “When do we get out of here?”
“Now, if that’s what you wish to do. Vidan will let you sleep the day away if you wish. That’s what most of the men will be doing in their bunks anyway.”
“No thanks,” I said. “I need to get home. My captain will miss me.”
I untied the mask and handed it to Vidan, nodding to Bliss on the way back. “See you on the ship,” I said.
“Gittoran, Gittoran Flame, wait!”
I paused, my hand resting on the knob of the door to the outside world.
“You cannot leave without the escort. You will be mobbed by the men, the curious ones who look for who we are in reality.”
“I cannot leave without what?” I asked.
“The escort,” Bliss said. “A group of four others will leave with you so the men do not have time to compare any of you to the image that they hold within their minds of how Saldré should look. It’s our best deterrent against probing how you spent your Conclave.”
“Does everyone have to do this?” I asked.
“We all leave in groups, but all of the blondes are now seen as potentially being Saldré, it’s more dangerous for you and the others than it is for us.”
I wanted to argue, to do everything on my own, but I was given no time. Four other blondes had already stood and removed their own masks. They grouped tight around me, and the front two pressed open the door to outside the compound.
The world erupted into cheers around us.