Maeve woke up hours later only to find herself tied up in a small room with the other women.
There were two types of ladies in that room, the ones who were excited to be there probably because they had a hard life before, and the ones who were wailing, begging to be released to return to their families.
Maeve analyzed the room setting, there were no windows and only one door in the room, and including her, there were sixteen ladies tied up and only their legs were free.
Just then, the wooden door was flung open and a woman walked in. She wore the most revealing dress and swayed her hips confidently as she went to the center of the room.
"Silence!" She commanded.
At her words, the wailing stopped and the crying muffled their tears, some even looked at her with the hope of being released but Maeve knew otherwise.
"Now now ladies, there's no need to cry." She smiled at them, but the look in her eyes was anything but kind, if anything she stared at them like animals about to get slaughtered.
"You should all be honored to be here. There's nothing better than being able to serve the king and lords of Azar...with your body. It's a position that many would kill to have."
The room was dead silent, none of them knew what to say in reply to being told they would become prostitutes.
As if reading their mind, the lady spoke up again. "This does not mean you're a prostitute. Simply put, you'll become the mistress of the lords that come here and if you're lucky, some might even decide to buy you permanently and there's no telling how far they'll go to spoil you, provided you please them well."
'Buy them.' That was the word that lingered most in Maeve's mind. She couldn't believe they were being treated as objects to be sold and bought for the sole purpose of pleasing the men. It disgusted her.
"Now, shall we begin?" The woman asked, knowing she wouldn't get an answer anyway, "The ladies from the kingdom of Zunair, stand by the door. The ones from Naida, go to the left. The ones from Dhara, go to the right. And finally, the ones from Meltem, remain here, in the middle."
Despite their hands being tied, all the ladies scrambled to where their respective kingdoms were to stand, including Maeve.
Being from the kingdom of Meltem, Maeve remained in the middle, uncomfortably close to where the woman was. Her worst thoughts came true when Maeve found the woman staring at her with squinted eyes, it wasn't hard to guess it was because of her appearance.
"You there." The woman pointed at her, walking slowly toward her. "Your hair and eyes, I've never seen them anywhere before, how rare. You're from Meltem, right?"
"Yes, I am." Maeve avoided making direct eye contact.
"Good, good. With a face like yours, you're going to be a real money maker here."
Her gaze went lower when she noticed Maeve's odd outfit. "How old are you?"
"Nineteen."
"Young and beautiful... Were you previously married? A widow perhaps?"
"Not at all."
"So you're pure..." The woman mumbled, "Then why are you dressed in a black mourning dress."
The question kept increasing, making Maeve more uncomfortable.
"It's my personal dress choice."
"Interesting...Well, you won't have much of a choice with what you wear from now on." The woman said before returning to her post.
Once she was gone from her sight, Maeve heaved a sigh of relief, she felt so intimidated by the woman's presence that her knees were weakening by the second.
"Let's begin with the grouping. We'll have four groups, each containing one lady from each kingdom and the grouping will be based on how pleasant you look and what type of lords you'll serve."
The women were grouped and Maeve's group was the first one, the group that would serve the higher lords, even the king because of how beautiful the four looked.
Despite the dangerous situation she was in, there was a part of Maeve that felt happy inside just by being called beautiful. It was the first time in her life someone aside from her mother thought she was a beauty since most people would just call her a freak. It made her happy.
Just then, the door was opened once more and four other ladies walked in, each more beautiful than the last.
"These are your group, mistresses, they'll take you to your rooms and get you ready for the lords with a new makeover and with training...you'll be trained on the right ways to please the lords."
The four ladies went to each group and led them out of the room once the woman was done talking.
The whole way to their designated room, everyone was silent. The hall was dark with only a single candle lighting the way.
"Get in." Their group mistress said, pointing to the opened wooden door.
The room was well-furnished and bright. There were four beds, each at the corners with tables and small wardrobes by the side. Everything was so beautifully designed that for a split second, they all forgot about their predicament.
"Ehem...My name is Lynda, your group mistress so please introduce yourselves."
"I'm Reina."
"Cleo."
"I'm Maeve."
"Elvina..." The last girl's voice came out as a whisper.
Maeve turned to look at her and found Elvina on the verge of tears, she couldn't blame her because if not for her icy heart, she too would have cried at that moment.
"Okay then, since it's already late, each of you should pick a bed and go to rest, I'll be back in the morning to begin your preparations."
Not waiting for a reply, the woman walked out of the room, sure that the four ladies would obey her orders, which they did.
They each picked their beds and Maeve ended up being on the one next to Elvina's bed.
After a few minutes of tossing and turning, Maeve could hear light snores coming from the other end of the room, she wondered how Reina and Cleo could sleep in such a situation but then again, they might have been exhausted.
On the other hand, she could hear sniffles coming from Elvina's bed, she guessed the girl was still crying and it bothered her.
"Are you alright?" Maeve whispered.
Elvina turned around and Maeve was met with her swollen and red eyes.
"I'm...not..." She chocked.
Maeve stood up from her bed and walked over to Elvina's to lay there. She covered herself with the blanket and turned toward the confused-looking Elvina.
"It's okay to be scared, I am too, but don't let that get you down. Have hope that we can still get a way out of here." Maeve comforted her.
"How are you so sure, what if we never leave here? What if we forever remain prostitutes?"
"I don't know what the future holds but I know we shouldn't give up now, not after everything. Besides, we have each other after all."
"Thank you, Maeve."
Maeve smiled at Elvina and pulled her into a hug. She saw part of her old self in Elvina and she didn't want to see another girl lose her way like she did.
The two stayed in each other's embrace until Elvina calmed down and fell asleep with Maeve stroking her back gently.
"Poor girl..."
Once she was sure Elvina was comfortable, Maeve returned to her bed. Despite telling Elvina not to be scared, Maeve is deeply worried and feels fear flow through her being at the thought of being prostitutes, or 'mistresses' as they say.
She escaped one fire only to jump into an inferno.
"From one hell to another, my life is nothing but a mistake from the gods." She mumbled to herself.
Despite all that had transpired, there was one thing Maeve didn't regret, she didn't regret leaving that cursed place she grew up in, leaving her so-called family, and escaping a marriage to Lord Damien.
"I don't care if I have to become a pleasure toy for all the Lords in Azar as long as I'm away from those people."