Winlay falls asleep

There was really nothing to do but sit on the surprisingly comfortable bed. With no windows to look out and barely enough room to take three paces in any direction Winlay couldn't have done anything else even if she had wanted to. Once perched comfortably against the headboard she leafed through the four books that sat on the shelf. One worn leather-bound journal detailed the travels of a gentleman voyager from the last century, a larger volume was a collection of essays on the deteriorating state of education in Pandora, the thinnest volume - no thicker than her finger - was a collection of explicit poetry and the last was a children's edition of the teachings of Xelta Crews.

Each of the books gave the impression that it had been passed from one reader to the next in an Odyssey that might have made a more interesting story than the ones the volumes contained. Under different circumstances she might have been happy to read any of the odd collection, but Winlay found she had neither the energy nor inclination for reading.

Had it really been fewer than twenty hours ago that she had been waiting to meet with the High Priest? A nervous initiate eager to learn if Beldan would approve Sister Margaret's request for her to work in the Convent gardens, and determined to serve her fellow beings to the best of her ability. That idealistic young initiate was excited to share her conviction and joy in the teachings of the church. The woman sitting in this tiny room lit only by the flickering of a thick candle didn't know what she believed, not any more.

Winlay pulled the elegant robe tightly around her body marveling at how good the beautiful garment felt. The luxurious silk with its intricate embroidery was about as far from the rough grey wool initiate's garb as she was from that naïve girl who had waited for her audience with such high hopes. Instead of sharing her room with Mika, chatting well into the night in the safety of the convent, she was cold and alone locked in a tiny room of a brothel.

The frayed quilt helped a little, she pulled it around her tightly and pressed her face into the soft piecework comforter. But the coldness she was feeling had less to do with the temperature of the room than the bitter emptiness that twisted like a knot in her belly. How appropriate to find herself in a whore-house after yesterday's events. The memory of her begging and squirming like a bitch in heat against the High Priest's leg made her want to vomit, but her bowels were as empty as her soul. Vaguely she remembered Brother Louis' explanation about the golden hairnet; the mesh net was still in her hair, but she didn't have the energy to take it out now. It didn't matter anyway. Winlay knew that if she had truly been the woman of valor that she had always prided herself on she would have been able to resist the urges that had overtaken her.

Tears ran freely now, dripping from her cheeks onto the absorbent padding of the worn quilt. Where was that arrogant pride now? She was a whore, wearing a whore's clothing, in a whore-house waiting for someone to open the tiny door and join her in this secret chamber. Brother Louis had told her she was being rescued, spirited away from Beldan's clutches before she was totally destroyed, but perhaps this was how the High Priest disposed of his conquests once he had had his way with them. What better way to avoid any retribution than to sell their now opened bodies to a brothel to be trained and abused until they vanished into the sewers of the city?

The more Winlay thought about it the more she realized that must have been what happened. Beldan was far too careful to let her escape so easily, in her sleep confused naivety she had believed Brother Louis when he led her away, but now that she had time to think his words sounded less and less plausible. Madam Wanda too, had been ever so polite when she had spoken with her, but now that she was locked away no doubt she'd be put to work. Sometime, maybe not tonight but soon, a man would be slipping through that door and she'd be expected to please him with her body.

Would it be a handsome young sailor who unlocked her chamber, like the nervous young man that she had seen earlier? Or perhaps one of the elegantly dressed men who had been scattered around the gaming tables was even now negotiating for the use of her body. Which would be better, Winlay wondered as she pulled the silk gown even tighter around her torso; her sensitive nipples tightened against the stiff embroidery brushing against the bare skin of her breasts. Would she prefer an inexperienced but eager youth, strong and virile who would take her again an again, or an sophisticated older lover who'd know just how to ignite the passion within her loins but who would surely expect her to please him in all sorts of exotic ways.

Winlay had always listened wide-eyed to the village grandmothers who warned all the girls of the grim fate that befell young women who fled the honest life of the village for the glamour of the city. She had thought that by joining the Church that she'd avoided that shame, but it seemed Xelta had plans of his own for her. Was she being punished for her uninhibited sexual exploration with Mika? Had that lustful awakening weakened her resolve and left her **** to the feelings that had overwhelmed her in the High Priest's private chambers?

Deep inside, Winlay knew that couldn't be right. She snuggled deeper into the covers as she remembered how caring and gentle Mika had been. Beldan had taken her like an object, a toy owned by a spoiled child to be discarded once it was broken and used. How could she even compare the two?

One final thought brought a smile to her face. Whoever it was who climbed through the tiny door of her secret room, whether someone to help her complete the escape from High Priest Beldan or a client who had paid for the use of her body, it could not be Beldan. His huge body would never fit through that narrow door. An image of the High Priest's obese body wedged tightly in the small portal made her giggle for the first time since she left Mika, and finally her body slipped again into much needed sleep.