The next morning, Lynda barged into the room ringing a bell.
"Wake up ladies, It's training time."
They all stood up quickly and Lynda took notice of Esley and Maeve. "I can't believe this... Elvina your eyes are puffy from crying all night and Maeve I'm pretty sure those dark circles are due to lack of sleep. You two need to be disciplined."
"I'm sorry." They both said in unison.
"It's alright, no crying over spilled milk. There's nothing a little makeup won't fix...let's go ladies."
They all walked out of the room in a line, right behind Lynda.
Since it was the morning and brighter, Maeve could see the hall better. There were several paintings of beautiful ladies and stools holding flower vases on each side of the wall. The hall was painted white, it was simple yet extravagant at the same time.
"Now, each of you will get into one of these rooms for your bath and styling so move on."
They each entered a room without wasting time, afraid Lynda would flare up at them.
The room Maeve entered was large with three women waiting inside. There was a large bath by the corner, dresses, and shoes hung on a rack, and a table with all sorts of styling equipment.
"Welcome. Please, take off your clothes and get into the bath." One of the ladies said.
Maeve had no problem getting undressed in front of them after all she was used to the princess lifestyle where maids bathed and dressed her.
The water was warm and relaxing, and rose petals were floating on it. From the scent, she guessed the ladies had kept scented oils in the water, it smelt amazing.
They scrubbed her back gently and massaged it with more oils and her scalp and hair were washed with a great amount of care that not even the palace maids could do.
The way they pampered her and massaged her body made Maeve relax back and close her eyes, after the stress-filled night, that bath was all she needed. It even made her forget she was the lamb being prepared to be slaughtered.
Once her bath was done, she was wrapped in a robe and taken to the dresser. One of the ladies began rubbing ointments to her leg, another was drying her hair, and the other went to drag the cloth rack to her.
"Which one of these dresses would you like to wear?"
Maeve stared at the rack, none of the items there could be classified as dresses. They looked like napkins tied together to make a sorry excuse for a dress. They were beautiful, yes, but that didn't make up for the fact that to Maeve, they were all too revealing, even her undergarments covered more skin than them.
She had read books about the kingdoms and while she was in the kingdom of Azar, she found out the women dressed provocatively, and being there now, seeing those dresses, made Maeve believe her book all the more.
She swallowed nothing but air and picked up the light blue dress. It was the least revealing and the least bright color among the other dresses. Sadly for her, there weren't any black dresses.
It would be the first time in nine years that Maeve would wear anything that wasn't black and part of her felt guilty, as if she were betraying her dead mother by dressing colorfully.
Her long red hair was let down and styled into curls, her lips and cheeks were tainted with red paint, face was patted with a powder, to give it more color and life.
She put on the dress which only covered her chest and back area while her stomach, legs, and arms were exposed. The dress was styled most provocatively, it was a change from the usual long and fully covered dresses she wore.
"We're done."
Maeve stared at her reflection in the mirror, she looked nothing like the lifeless girl she was back at Meltem, the artificial color on her face and the styling of her hair made her look more beautiful and approachable. She was unrecognizable, even to herself.
"Do you like the finished look?" One of the ladies asked.
"Uh, Yes it's quite lovely."
Maeve couldn't bring herself to say thank you, despite loving the look, the situation made her think differently.
If she were to speak her mind, she would say, 'Thank you for making me look more like a prostitute, I'm sure the men would appreciate it.' but she refrained from doing so.
"Alright, you may leave now."
Maeve stepped out of the room and found the rest stepping out too, they were all dressed in the same revealing clothes as she.
"You look lovely," Elvina whispered to her.
"Thank you, so do you-"
"Ladies," Lynda interrupted, "You're all looking more like mistresses now-"
"You mean prostitutes," Maeve murmured under her breath, making Esley chuckle in turn, the first time she laughed since getting there.
"The next thing we'll be doing is head to the main hall where the other groups are. Together, you will all be taught the right ways to please the Lords...with your bodies."
'With your bodies.' Each time anyone said those words, Maeve felt sick. Not once in her life did she think her body would be treated as a public property to serve men.
Elvina also didn't appreciate the term as her smile faded into a frown the moment she heard it, once again, the fear they all forgot crept its way into their hearts.
They walked with shaky feet to the main hall where the other women were. The mysterious lady from the night before was also there, standing in their midst once more.
They took their seats at the back and waited for the lesson to start.
The only lessons Maeve had ever taken were lessons on horse riding, etiquette training, dining manners, and other princess essentials. She never thought a day would come when she would be in a class being taught how to please a man.
"This is absurd," Elvina whispered.
Maeve agreed with her, what they were being taught were simply things that should be considered illegal to do.
"You're right."
"I never knew this was how they do...it." The innocent Elvina said making Maeve chuckle.
"Me neither...it feels so criminal."
The lesson consisted of various moves, tricks, and styles the ladies were taught to use whenever a Lord asked for their services.
"So ladies, I hope you've understood everything." The woman from the previous night said, "Most of you won't receive guests until later but some of you might receive them soon...very soon."
Maeve felt the woman stare at her as she said those words and that made her feel worried and unsettled.
"You can go to your rooms and wait for further instructions."
They all left the hall and went to their respective rooms after that still not yet recovered from the foreign topic they had just learned.
Luckily for Maeve, there were books in the drawer next to her bed so she decided to use that and busy herself in the meantime. Elvina also did the same as Maeve while Reina and Cleo on the other hand were chatting away.
The two were distant from Elvina and Maeve, they seemed to have something against them even though none of them had seen each other until a few hours ago.
Contrary to the rest who were scared of becoming mistresses, Reina and Cleo were happy about the fact. They chatted on and on about how they would get pampered if they pleased the Lord's well.
Their words and behavior made Maeve feel sick.
'How could they be excited to sell their body in such a situation?' She wondered.
They remained in their rooms and only left for their meals till night time and Maeve and Elvina were happy to have survived a day without being summoned by any of the Lords...or so they thought.