After a day of not having guests, Maeve and Elvina were about to change to their nightwear when Lynda barged into the room.
"I have good news!" Lynda squealed excitedly, "Two important guests just arrived and they asked for our best mistresses so Elvina, Maeve, get ready quickly, you'll be serving the lords tonight."
All the color drained from their faces as they listened to Lynda. A second ago they were happy about not receiving any guests but it seemed like destiny didn't want them to be happy.
"But- but why didn't you choose someone else? Why us?" A panicking Maeve asked.
"Didn't you hear me say they asked for our best mstresses? You're all here for a reason so do your job well with no complaints, or else..." Lynda threatened.
Elvina was already on the verge of tears, in a matter of minutes she would be losing the only thing she had left; her dignity as a woman.
"Now, let's go."
With no other option, Maeve and Elvina followed Lynda silently with their heads hanging low. Each step they took felt like they were being propelled closer to their death.
The walk was silent, the three were engrossed in their thoughts as they moved. Lynda was happy about the money they would earn, Elvina was panicking about what would happen to her, and Maeve was thinking of an escape plan although it was obvious her head would roll off if she dared escape.
There was no hope for them.
"Get in there. You both have thirty minutes to get ready before the lords arrive." Lynda pointed to the doors they got dressed in earlier.
The bath they enjoyed, the ointments rubbed on their body, and the massage they experienced a few hours earlier was now suffocating for them. It felt like their last meal before being lined up on death's row.
The end of their lives.
"Which of these dresses would you like?"
Maeve stared at the rack, the dresses were all the same; barely covering any skin and meant to entice the men, whichever one she picked would make no difference.
It would be removed from her body anyway as if she were a wrapped-up present.
"Pick anyone you like for me." She replied dully, the will in her to live at that moment was nowhere to be found.
She felt like a puppet.
A tool.
Nothing in her life was going right and just when she thought she had escaped the prison she lived in before, she fell into a lion's pit.
How pathetic and miserable.
"Then this red one will be best for the night... men are attracted to the color red." The woman said.
It wasn't surprising that they chose something to attract the lord best, she was just their doll after all. A doll with a pretty head and attractive body.
It was all about pleasing them best; How she smelled, her hairstyle, the clothes she would wear, and the makeup on her face were all a means to make the lords more satisfied with the gift being wrapped to them.
A human pleasure toy.
"We're done."
Maeve stared at her reflection. She hated herself, her looks, and her body. Those things wouldn't even be considered hers anymore the moment she stepped into the room with the lord waiting for her.
She would be reduced to nothing less than a toy.
Without saying a word, she stood up and left the room. Elvina was already outside, fighting the urge to cry.
"No matter what happens tonight, I want you to know I won't view you any differently. We will always have each other after this so don't worry, okay?" Maeve pulled Elvina into a long hug and they comforted each other. "This incident won't bring us down, we'll still emerge strong after this."
"Thank you Maeve, your words are making me feel less guilty." Elvina croaked. "This feels like a betrayal to myself, my body, and my family. I don't know how to consider myself a woman after this... No man would want to marry a damaged good."
Maeve knew Elvina was right, even if they managed to somehow get away from the brothel, their lives would be forever ruined. They would be marked as prostitutes no matter where they go.
Damaged goods.
Broken packages.
"Even if the world judges us for this incident, we can't judge ourselves for it too. It's not our fault and even if we become damaged goods, it won't make us less of the women we are now... We'll just have some battle scars, scars to prove we went through it and survived."
Maeve tried not to shed any tears as she spoke. She was comforting Elvina and acting strong but underneath her brave font, the child in her was scared of what was to come.
"Ladies, It's time."
They squeezed each other's hands as a form of encouragement while willingly following Lynda to the graves dug out for them.
"Elvina, you'll be in this room. Maeve you'll be in the one down the hall... The lords will be with you shortly... Remember the lessons we taught you this morning, put them to good use, and make us proud."
'Make us proud.' Maeve wanted to gag hearing those words. No one in their right mind would be proud to lose their dignity and get marked as a prostitute, a pleasure toy that any lord can use and dump whenever they want.
It was humiliating.
Ignoring Lynda, Maeve and Elvina gave each other one last hug before turning their backs. They both walked slowly to the rooms designated for them, rooms that were just three meters apart.
"Here goes nothing."
They took deep breaths before steeling themselves and stepping through the door, a door that would mark and scar them forever.