Anelle woke to an unfamiliar ceiling.
The scent of perfume and incense wafted throughout the room, canalily mixed with citrus fruits with a lingering aftertaste of smoke. She took a deep breath, letting the flavourful concoction wash over her.
Anelle blinks up at the ceiling. Her vision moved in and out of focus. She closed her right eye and focused on the wooden beam above her. The grain of the wood was clear as it swirled across the beam's surface. Anelle opened her right eye and the grain devolved into a fuzzy mess.
The light sound of humming drifts across the room. Memories of her mother sprung to mind. She closed her eyes and shook her head. Her thoughts turned to Emera moving around the kitchen singing lines of songs before humming the tune. Tears pricked at the edge of her eyes.
What had her life come to? How much further could she fall?
Anelle tried to sit up. Her vision filled with black spots. Blood rushed to her face and she felt the world turning on its axis, spinning too fast. She laid back down on her side.
Hurried footsteps moved towards her. A tall shadow blocked the light and pressed a cold object to her lips, as another hand held her head up. The object tilted forward and a red liquid tricked into her parted lips. Anelle drank slowly. The liquid tasted sharp with a tangy aftertaste. She drank, allowing her saviour to feed her anything she wished.
"That's it, love." Her saviour's voice was calm and warming in her ears, a soft wisp that could blow away at any moment.
The woman supported Anelle's head, rubbing soothing circles over her back. Her breathing became even and her head began to clear.
"Up you come now, poppet."
Anelle's head spun for a moment before clearing. The bed she sat on was high; Anelle's legs dangled over the edge swinging in the air. She sat back resting against the cold stone wall.
The woman smiled down at her. A warm caring smile. She had brown chestnut eyes with a thin line of kohl along the edges. A straight nose and plump lips painted autumn brown. Curls of bright red hair piled at the top of her head with two ringlets escaping on either side of her face. She wore a green dress in a satin that had seen better days; sections of green had been yellowed by the sun and haphazardly covered with leaf motifs. Similar leaf shapes adorned her arms in a lace pattern, exposing her pale skin. Brown ribbons accentuated the boning on her corset cover, drawing attention to her thin waist and broad chest. The skirt was cinched on either hip, flowing naturally down to an uneven hem. The fabric overlapped at the front, covering a slit that flashed her thighs as she walked.
The woman walked over to a stone bench along the left wall and stirred a pot over the embers of a small brazier. She picked up a wooden bowl from the water basin next to it and shook it twice.
"What's your name, love?" She asked as she spooned porridge into the bowl.
"Anelle."
"An-elle. Interesting. Dame Luel said you were a foreigner. But we won't hold that against you. I'm Moreal. If you ever need anything, come find me."
Moreal flashed another warming smile as she handed Anelle the bowl. Anelle smelt the salty porridge and her stomach groaned in protest. Her hunger gave birth to a parasitic monster that would do anything for a bit of food. She scooped a spoonful and placed it in her mouth.
"It's hot…" Moreal warned.
Pain exploded in her mouth as the porridge burned her flesh. She choked and coughed from the pain. But it tasted like heaven. The stewed oats and salt tasted like the fruit of the heavens. Anelle ignored the pain and kept shovelling it into her mouth. The bowl was empty in a few seconds and she looked to Moreal hoping for more.
Moreal took the bowl with a chuckle and went to get a second helping.
Anelle cleared her throat, swallowing the last mouthful. "Where am I?"
"These are the Wyrish chambers of Comadean house, one of the top pleasure houses in Athon."
Moreal handed her a full bowl. Anelle ate slower this time, savouring each bite as she looked around.
Pleasure house. The words echoed through her head. She had fallen to the bottom of society. What would her family think of her?
Anelle looked around the long rectangular room. She sat on one of two beds at the end of the room. Upside down flowers and herbs hung from the wooden beams above creating a canopy of dried nature. The scents of the flowers in varying states of drying filled the air. In the middle of the room was a long table with glass flasks, distilling bottles and a mix of powders and substances in round jars of varying sizes. More jars were packed into shelves on either side of the room. Anelle squinted her eyes trying to read the hastily scribbled labels. The end of the room was a lounging area with pillows over the floor. A large sliding door covered most of the furthest wall.
Shouts sounded from outside. The door slid open, hitting the wall and bouncing back.
"Wyrish! WYRISH!" A girl shouted.
A tempest of dark blue fabric burst into the room. The girl was shaking with streams of tears flowing down her face, kohl was smeared across her cheeks. She flung herself into Moreal's arms.
"Help, P-please please I-I." She cried.
Anelle dropped her spoon, her mouth agape as she looked at the girl's eyes. One was a perfect almond shaped, the other had sagged as if the skin was trying to fall off her face.
"It's ok love, I'll fix it." Moreal soothed. "Did I not tell you this could happen?"
Moreal guided the girl to the sitting area. A white stone dangled over the centre of the rug, Moreal touched her fingers to it and it burst to life, giving off a white glow.
Moreal brushed her thumb under the drooping eye and slowly it began to lift. She continued to soothe the skin back into place, slightly humming as she did.
"There, two beautiful eyes to match the rest of you." Moreal pampered and flashed a sweet smile. Her lips grew together as she took in the girl's face. "However, you look like a brute took his fists to your face." She shook her head in disapproval. "Remember for next time, you can't cry after you have applied paint to your face. Water won't wash this off." She scolded. Her eyes shooting a warning to the girl.
Moreal walked over to the shelf and began rifling through jars, the glass chimed as they knocked together. She pulled out a round jar. Moreal crouched down, lifted the girl's head and vigorously wiped the kohl from her cheeks. The girl flinched at the pressure but stayed still. Moreal smeared a pale cream over the black stains, smoothing it out over the girl's face and down her neck.
"That will cover the stains. Now go reapply the kohl to your eyes, quickly." Moreal looked over to the window. "We open soon, go!"
"Thank you, thank you!" The blue tempest left as fast as she came leaving the door wide open. Anelle caught glimpses of movement in different coloured swatches down the corridor before the door closed.
Anelle sat there, her mouth open, her bowl forgotten in her lap, from what she had just witnessed. What did she just see? A girl's face had been falling off and this woman had fixed it back into place. She also acted like it was a normal everyday occurrence.
Moreal placed the jar back on the shelf and turned to Anelle. A wicked smile began to crease her face as she took in Anelle's shocked expression. A spark ignited in the woman's eyes.
"Oh, don't worry, love, I'll get to you one day."