I was flooded with generosity and copious amounts of beer and meat while I sat with pleasant company. I quickly found myself becoming intoxicated, which was a pleasant feeling. It made the meat richer, the woman more attractive, and I felt like I was lighter. More women joined me at the table, three in all. The brothel itself was quiet with basically no patrons, and when I asked why, I was told it's just that day of the week. I suppose these girls have nothing better to do.
After a while, Nigel returned with the red-haired girl from one of the rooms on the lower floor. It was surprising that I didn't hear a thing, but from the redness of his face and the glistening sweat, something definitely occurred. He walked up to the table I was seated at and grabbed a drink, downing it like a man starved of thirst.
"This place is awesome." He said between heavy breaths as the redhead clung to his arm, pressing against him as he drank more. I noticed her lean up and whisper something into his ear, perhaps an idea or suggestion, as shortly after, he went back into a room with the red-haired girl and another that he took from my table.
Aisha, the girl who was keeping me company, originally watched the three walk into a room and close the door. She pouted as she watched, glancing at the other girl sitting beside her. "Why does Karla get to have all the fun, and they took Freya as well?" She glanced over at me with an all too choreographed and practised gaze, one that was designed to seduce men.
"Uh, uh. Na, na, na, na, nah. No, none o that. Imma be a… husband soon. Duel to the death n' all."
"But you aren't wed yet. Where is your lovely warrior princess anyway?"
"She's talking with her mum bout me, gonna go meet her ya know. Big, big step for… relation.
"Then why not go home and enjoy her company tonight?"
"Can't."
"Why?"
"Can't do ee."
The girls looked at each other and then back at me; their faces looked concerned. Did I have too much to drink, maybe? Aisha stood up and walked around the table to sit next to me. I felt her hand press against my back as she leaned softly against my arm.
"Do you want to sleep with her but can't bring yourself to do it?"
I furrowed my brow and felt my head somewhere between twitching and shaking from side to side as I tried to think through why I was asked such a strange question.
"What?" I turned my head towards Aisha. She had her head leaning forward as she looked up at me. Only then did I notice I couldn't see her clearly; my vision was blurry. I reached up and rubbed my eyes, feeling water on my face. Did I spill my drink? "What the fuck?" I lifted both hands and started to wipe the liquid from my eyes, but more came.
She reached out and wrapped her arms around my head, pulling me into her shoulder. I felt her hand brushing through my hair, and it brought me a sense of calm.
"You must have been through something awful, and I'm so sorry. But you're allowed to share this burden; it's not something you need shoulder alone." I felt her warm breath against my ear as she whispered.
I felt a well of things surge into my throat, as if it suddenly became engorged, causing pain. It was as if something I had been keeping buried deep down within my stomach was finally about to come out. It was not bile nor beer, but a ghost.
It felt like an eternity had passed with my eyes shut, my head held to her shoulder as I said everything that came to mind. The cave, the bodies, the fear that stepped from an idea, what if she hadn't left when she did, what if she was also in that cave, what would have been done to her? Those thoughts ran through my head when I saw her naked form, when I saw her leg get severed from her body. Every time I was brought back to the cave, to that horror I saw between the cracks in the door I dared not open, the stench of it flooded my nose even now, half the world away. But even still, after it was all said and done, after my tears ran dry. I felt better.
Finally, I pulled my head back from the girl's shoulder and used the back of my hand to wipe my face. As I did, I caught a glimpse from the corner of my eye. Kona was standing just a bit away, listening to everything. She stood frozen like a statue. I know not how long she had been there, or how much she had heard, but from the look on her face, she heard enough.
She approached, and Aisha stood up and moved away as Kona sat in her place. She reached over and took my tankard, gulping it down as I watched. She placed it down and let out a sigh before turning her head to look down at me. Her eyes were glistening with water, welling up slowly as she tried to hold it in. She leaned forward, and her forehead pressed against mine, the tips of our noses touched, and I looked into her big eyes.
"I'm sorry." She whispered. "I'm here for you, I love you, and I'm not going anywhere."
I felt it coming on again, the tears. Rather than submit to it, I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tight. I leaned against her as I was filled with a profound warmth, and I thought it was only when I shifted my head that I realised that, without thinking, I had shoved my face between her breasts. I pulled away instantly with embarrassment and turned back to the table as both of our faces flushed red.
A drink was placed in front of both of us by Aisha. We both grabbed our drinks at the same time and chugged them down in one long go. I noticed Kona changed how she sat; her legs were tighter together, her elbows were tucked closer to her sides, and her head was slightly lower. As I looked away again, across the table was Aisha and the other girl I never asked the name of, both were looking at me with a smirk, and both tilted their head towards the row of doors across the room. Their reaction confirmed it for me. I accidentally turned Kona on. We haven't been intimate together for a long time now, so it made sense. I tried at Balim but was stopped by a ghost. Maybe she regrets not asking me about it then, maybe she wanted me to talk about it. Oh, well. That was then, this is now.
I stood up and instantly felt like my head was far too light. I lost balance and stumbled, leaning against Kona's back. It was firm, strong and secure. I stayed leaning against it for a moment, wrapping my arms over her shoulders as my head rested against the back of hers. I noticed the smell of her hair, her skin. Before I opened my eyes again, I was already kissing the back of her neck.
She groaned out in frustration as she stood up, reaching back as she hooked my legs under her arms as I clung to her back. I could feel the heat of her body increase and radiate outwards; it was a pleasant warmth I wanted more of. I held onto her as she walked me towards the row of doors, opening one and stepping inside.
The room's smell was even stronger and more pleasant than that of outside, and incense smoke lingered gently in the air. The room was well decorated as soft light bounced around, revealing only the best of the beauty within. Kona turned and crouched down, releasing me onto the bed. As I lay there, looking down towards her as she stood and turned, I noticed something else: there was a bulge in my pants. I was actually aroused, something that hadn't happened in months. I wasn't the only one who took notice, of course, and Kona began to help me undress.
I was thankful that the rooms were soundproofed that night, and by morning, I emerged from the room feeling lighter than I had before. Nigel was sitting at a table, eating with the two girls from the night before, flanking him on either side. Once spotting me, he leaned forward and waved, giving me a large, grinning smile that quickly vanished as I felt Kona walking up behind me.
Her hands clasped my shoulders as she leaned down and kissed me on the cheek. She closed the door behind her and walked over to the table with Nigel, waving to some other girls in the kitchen to come over to take her order.
I stood there for a moment as the madam walked down the stairs next to me from the second floor. Approaching me with a genuinely kind smile.
"I do hope you found our establishment to your liking."
I reached down and grabbed my coin purse from my belt, removing a handful of 100-crown coins and handing them to her. "It was. Very much so."
After paying the madam, I joined Nigel and Kona at the table as meat and eggs were brought out on wooden plates. The food was exceptional considering the cheap price. After a meal, we left the establishment and headed into the town. Leaving my ghost behind.