The courtesan common room was empty, all the bedroom doors off it wide open. Only Mhairi and I were anywhere to be seen. As I passed her room I could see her hurriedly fixing her make-up and pulling on clothing.
Catching a glimpse of several scars down one side of her torso, I gasped. Thankfully, she didn’t hear me or notice my observation.
Yaru, however, did. His eyes met mine, but he put his finger to his lips.
I followed him out of the building and into a large bubble vehicle, the glass on this one tinted from the outside to obscure the view. Unlike the bubble I’d travelled in the previous day, this one had an array of cushions and soft areas to sink into, with a small table in the middle. I also noticed it travelled slower and more gently, the start almost imperceptible.
As I was debating whether to ask about Mhairi, Yaru started talking.
“You survived your first night?” he asked.
“Sort of,” I replied. “Daniel was… demanding.”
Yaru chuckled. “That’s one word for his habits. What of the other courtesans?”
“I think I navigated the introductions as well as could be expected. Bernice is—”
“Don’t stoop to her level. She’ll come undone soon enough if she carries on being petty and jealous.”
I nodded, grateful I didn’t have to explain her actions. It sounded like her treatment of me was nothing new or unexpected.
“At least Mhairi was kind,” I added, more to make conversation, but what I’d seen also came to mind.
“Don’t mistake her willingness for anything more than it is. She knows helping you wins her favour. Both with Daniel and with me.”
“With you?”
“Yes. Once upon a time, I was also her mentor.”
“You were? What happened?”
Yaru sighed and I expected him to refuse to speak, but he looked outside at the passing city.
“Well, we have a while until we reach the first of our little meetings. You might as well hear it from me. She had a bad sponsor.”
“But isn’t Daniel her sponsor?
“Her debt wasn’t always under Daniel’s care. He bought it out. A favour to an old friend, let's say.”
“Did the sponsor work her too hard?”
“Not exactly. From what I understand, he abused her himself, making Daniel’s attentions to you last night seem like taking a gentle stroll down a sunlit garden.”
I nodded, my mind serving up far more images than I really wanted to imagine. I’d thought Daniel’s desires full-on at the time. It was starting to sound like I might have been far luckier than I’d realised.
“Of course, living with a man who does some of the things he used to during the day and having to try and perform as a courtesan at night took its toll.”
“She couldn’t earn enough.”
“Not even close,” Yaru said, the sadness and pity making him sigh. “One day he lost his temper. I believe he beat her, after doing God knows what else. He finished his assault on her with acid. Gave her those scars you witnessed her covering up today. And sometimes her limp is more obvious as well.”
“But surely she can be healed of all of that if they can fix something like my MND?”
“And who would pay for it? She already had more debt than most courtesans. She was fortunate enough that Daniel was willing to buy her.”
“She doesn’t earn back the interest, does she?”
Yaru shook his head.
“Is that why she is willing to paint me instead of working?”
“Yes. She may be maimed, but her mind still works. If you’re as successful as we all hope, she’ll raise her own fortunes once again. Not enough to see her healed, but perhaps enough to give her some dignity of a sort. After all, there will be many men willing to pay to spend time with someone who will be in your presence so much when they can’t afford time with you.”
I raised my eyebrows, not sure I could imagine such a strange desire, but there was a lot about this future that was unexpected.
“Perhaps I could—”
“What? Help her?” Yaru interrupted, his voice both harsh and shocked at the same time. “Give her some of the credits you’re going to be working every moment to earn yourself?”
I shrugged, surprised at the vehemence of his reaction.
“Put the thought straight out of your mind. That’s exactly the sort of sentimentality you won’t be able to entertain. Not anymore. You must keep a firm hold on your emotions and your sensibilities. Love, affection, and even friendship will derail you and prevent you from earning your freedom.”
I nodded, understanding why he would say these things, but I must not have been convincing.
“I mean it, Auralia. You cannot let yourself love. Or feel anything for others. Not even for those who appear to be helping you. At best it will only lead to pain for you, and at worst…” Yaru shuddered. “You cannot imagine it.”
“I understand,” I replied, doing my best to sound sincere. This time it appeared to satisfy him. He gave me a nod before pulling his crystal pad out of its usual pocket again.
Inside, I made myself a promise. I’d find some way of helping Mhairi. And I wouldn’t lose my humanity. No matter what I had to do, I wanted to still be me at the end of it all.
Yaru’s bubble car came to a slow stop outside a large sky-scraper, every surface glinting in the sunlight. He got out, holding a hand out to me to help me down onto the pavement. I hesitated, suddenly far more aware of my semi-nakedness than I had been before.
“Come on, my dear. We don’t want to keep them waiting,” Yaru said, his words calm, as if he hadn’t noticed my reluctance, but his eyes said otherwise. At least he was an understanding mentor, even if he was likely to put himself first.
After taking a deep breath, I gave him my hand and stepped out of the car. A red carpet stretched out before us, sheltered by the building’s awning until it led inside the doors. Men in uniforms stood either side of the door, glasses over their eyes hiding what they were looking at.
I tried not to show my nerves as I walked beside Yaru, matching his slow pace. At first I wasn’t sure I managed it, but I caught sight of my reflection in the highly polished glass. My jaw dropped. I was a walking work of art, every curve and feature gracefully accentuated by Mhairi’s painting. Not even my face had been forgotten, the paint blending into the make-up I wore and a tight bun, reminiscent of a geisha hairstyle, finishing it off.
As we moved closer, both men reached inwards, grabbing handles and pulling the doors open for me. It was only as warm air rushed out, hitting my face, that I realised I didn’t feel cold. Was that also a feature of the paint I wore? Could it be keeping me warm? I didn’t get to think of it any longer. It was time to be presented in public.
My heart pounded at the thought. And another twenty followed it. Would I stand out? What would society be like this far into the future? Would people treat me with respect?
I let Yaru take the lead as we went inside, hoping any attention would be drawn to him and not myself at first. My hope was short lived.
Almost immediately heads turned, pockets of men in suits noticing me, their conversations interrupted mid-sentence. I felt like a deer in headlights, rooted to the spot while everyone else starred.
“Ah, Tomichii, and Kioshi, I hope we don’t interrupt your talks of business this morning,” Yaru said, walking over to the only group of two men. Not wanting to be left standing alone by the door, I did my best to follow.
With all eyes on me, I felt like any moment I might stumble or do something equally as undignified, but to my relief, my limbs continued to function and bear me across the smooth marble floor.
As we reached the two men, they turned towards us and bowed.
Without thinking, I copied the movement, noting that the two men couldn’t be more opposing in their mannerisms and countenance if they wanted to be. While one smiled, seemingly pleased to see me, his eyes lighting up as I tried to be respectful, the other kept his face almost sullen, with no hint of happiness or pleasure in meeting me, although his eyes flicked across the artwork I inhabited. I tried to smile back, finding it easier to do so when I looked at the thinner, more jovial man.
“This is Auralia,” Yaru said, sparing me the task of having to find my voice when I still felt so vulnerable. My pulse raced, making it hard for me to concentrate, but I somehow managed to relax my face and body, halting off to one side of Yaru, the three men now shielding me from at least some of the prying eyes.
They both bowed again. I went to repeat the action, but this earned me a laugh from the more jovial fellow. Mr Grumpy merely rolled his eyes.
I froze, looking between Yaru and the more amused of the party, hoping one of them might explain what I’d done to cause the mirth.
“In our culture, to bow is to offer respect or honour for something. We bow to greet, but also when we are given someone’s name.”
“Oh,” I said, feeling my cheeks flush with heat. Instantly I wondered if it could be seen through the paint.
“I am Tomichii,” he said before pausing, his eyes twinkling, the corner turned up along with his mouth. It took me a fraction of a second to realise I was being given the opportunity to bow. I repeated my earlier motion, this time to a grunt of satisfaction from Mr Grumpy and a nod from Tomichii.
Not sure if etiquette now dictated that the less pleasant of the two should introduce himself as Kioshi or not, I looked his way while waiting for a moment.
Not looking at me, he merely bowed towards the centre of our little group and wandered off. I raised my eyebrows, blinking in my surprise. I was pretty sure that was considered rude in any culture.
“Please forgive Kioshi. He does not approve of our world’s reliance on courtesans, nor of the environment around them.”
“A baffling viewpoint when so many lovely women make an artform of the lifestyle,” Yaru said, his voice taking on an extra smooth tone.
“Yes. I can see Auralia here has a flair for the artistic. You remind me of the kimonos the women in my culture used to wear, yet you would not look out of place in any court today.”
I lowered my eyes and gave a slight nod, hoping to look pleased with the compliment. In truth I didn’t have a clue what I was doing, but when I looked back at Tomichii, his smile was still fixed to his face and his eyes hadn’t left mine.
“Thank you,” I said, still desperately trying to think of something more engaging to say. “I can understand your friend’s reaction.”
Yaru, very subtly, raised the end of an eyebrow and tightened the line of his mouth. I wondered if this was his way of trying to steer me in another direction. Tomichii’s smile hadn’t vanished. However, he glanced away from me for a moment. I was losing his attention.
“You do not strike me as so disapproving of being seen with a courtesan,” I said, letting words tumble out. “I hope my talking to you won’t cause your friendship any harm.”
Tomichii chuckled and shook his head, his eyes lighting up once more. I felt myself relax a little more.
Not a total train wreck so far. But Yaru hadn’t given me much instruction on how to handle meeting new people or what the goal of the day was.
“Kioshi and I have been business partners for almost an entire century. I promise you a little disagreement on the company I keep will do us no harm.”
I smiled and lowered my eyes again, playing the situation as coyly as I could. “I’m glad to hear it. I’d hate to start my first day as a courtesan so badly.”
“Your first day! Yaru, you should have said such a beauty has never been out in public before.”
Yaru gave an almost apologetic shrug but didn’t reply.
“Yaru seems to like to say very little. Perhaps you would be so kind as to fill in some gaps. Please, tell me what sort of business you run. And do the people here, in this culture, still drink tea?”
This earned me yet another pleased chuckle before he held out an arm to me. I tucked mine into his, aware it brought my very exposed body closer to him.
“I have several different sectors in this building. Let me go one better than telling you. Let me show you.”
I didn’t hide my grin, only the small amount of smugness I felt. I had a feeling, as Yaru slipped silently into formation, walking just behind us both, that I’d managed exactly what I ought to have done.
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