Long brown hair hid most of her small frame. But it didn't hide the frail shaking shoulders. It didn't hide the bruises that marred the pale skin of her wrists and forearms. It didn't hide the fact that she was curled into a ball so small it seemed as if she was trying to make herself disappear. The only thing the hair really hid was her face and the tears that were falling down it.

The girl looked only about ten or eleven. Honestly, he wasn't that good with ages.

All he knew was that the moment he looked at her, his heart went out to the poor shell of a human being. He wanted to go over to her and hug her. But the one glimpse he had caught of her eyes had told him that that would be a bad idea. There was a wild look there in her bright eyes. It was a look that marked a frightened and betrayed animal. Though, animals tended to be treated a little better than girls were.

He bit his lip and took a tentative step forward. He wanted to call out to her, but he was honestly too afraid that she would run away. She had that look about her. She seemed as if she might scramble at any sign of danger.

And he was a male. He was probably the biggest danger she would ever face in her shattered world.

In the end, he took another step. He couldn't just leave her there. She looked so sad and lost. He hated seeing it. He knew that it was wrong and it would only get her in more trouble if anyone ever found out, but he found that he couldn't stop himself. Instead of trying to touch her or call out to her, he sat beside her.

He knew the moment she detected him. Her thin frame grew stiff, the shuddering shoulders ceasing their movement and a small hiccup trying to force out the remaining sobs in her body. He wasn't sure how long they sat there. He was certain she was just waiting for him to hit her at some point. Even when she finally allowed herself to try to trust him. Even when she gently rested her body against his and laid her head on his shoulder, he knew she was still waiting for the strike.

A strike that would never come.

The Naming Ceremony was one of the biggest annual events in Din Eidyn. It was also one of the most dreaded days amongst every girl at the age of thirteen and eighteen. Well, most of the girls.

Lorna wasn't so much dreading the day as she was wishing she could simply skip it. She knew what was going to happen and she didn't want to be there when they struck down any chance at a future she might have. She should have known that it would happen but a part of her had hoped that maybe she would be lucky enough that they would overlook her. Maybe they wouldn't see what was right in front of them and they would give her something she might pretend that she actually enjoyed.

Teaching snot-nosed little boys whose father's spoiled them rotten was not her idea of a wonderful or fulfilling life. Though technically she wasn't even supposed to know what she was doing, they had recognized very early on that Lorna was intelligent. Too bad for them they hadn't been able to stamp it out.

A wry smirk touched the corner of the girl's mouth for a moment as she stared out the window and into the garden that marked the communal area where she lived now. It had been almost five years since she had made the miserable lodging her “home”, but she honestly wouldn't miss it. There was nothing to miss. To miss something, you had to have an attachment to it. The only things that Lorna had ever gained an attachment to was her two sisters.

It had been almost five years since she had seen them.

Her eyes grew dark and haunted as she thought about what must have happened to them. They had been idiots. They all had. No girl at the age of thirteen knew what it meant to be a courtesan or a crafter or even a companion. Not really. That knowledge came later, the day after the Naming Ceremony when it was too late to take back your choice. Too late to make things right. She could only imagine the hell that Della and Harriet had been going through. It was probably worse than hers. They knew that they had no hope. Their worlds had simply gotten worse and worse. Then again, maybe that made their worlds better.

Their hopes had long before been crushed. They had been given time to accept it as a fact of their lives. Lorna couldn't say she had been granted that same courtesy. Instead, her hopes had been built up little by little with each day and week and year that had passed until it had all fallen to ruin around her. That had been the worst part of all. She could still remember the moment that it had all fallen apart. The moment she had seen the documents she wasn't supposed to. A part of her was still seething silently. A part of her still vowed her hatred towards all of the men who had deemed they could control and manipulate her life from birth.

A part of her simply didn't have the strength to care. Caring gave them control over her and that was the last thing that she wanted to concede. They already owned enough of her. She wanted to retain this last little part. She wanted to keep it for herself deep inside of her, in a place where they would never notice. Besides, who knew, maybe she would enjoy the children and their arrogant ways.

She knew she wouldn't, but lying to herself about this one thing she could never control was easier than admitting the truth.

Lorna pushed herself up from her perch at the window and braided her blonde hair as she moved out of her room and down the stairs. The house was quiet at this time of day. Most of the girls were studying at the last minute, hoping that they might have some way to influence what they would do with their lives. She didn't even want to bother deluding herself anymore. Not when she knew the truth. What was the point? Lying wouldn't make anything better. It wouldn't change the situation that she was in.

The only thing lying could possibly do for her was dull the point for a moment or two.

She would much rather take this particular pain and deal with it.

The seventeen year old girl strode boldly out into the garden frowning around her at all of the half-dead plants. She had a feeling that they had been put there by someone to cheer up the place in the beginning. Whoever it had been was either long gone or had since given up the hope that the plants would have the desired effect. Now they simply served as a bitter reminder of the condition in which they lived.

Pretty on the outside and forever neglected and dying on the inside.

“Lorna!”

The voice was so quiet, she wasn't even sure she had heard it at first.

She pivoted on her heel slowly, her blue eyes sharp with awareness. She expected one of the other girls in her age group, nervous or demanding what she was doing (which was nothing). Instead she saw a mirror. Or a mirror image would have been a more accurate description.

Her heart skipped a beat and for the first time since before she could remember, Lorna actually felt a softer, maybe even sadder emotion stirring in her. She moved forward slowly until she was standing in front of her sister and pulled the other girl into a tight hug. “Della,” she breathed as the other girl hugged her back. “You're so small. Haven't they been feeding you?” she demanded holding her sister back at arm's length.

The petite blonde turned a pale shade of pink as she looked away. “Most days,” the girl granted with a shrug. “I couldn't believe it was you. I-I sometimes dream about seeing you or Harriet, but to actually see you standing here...”

“How did you even find me?” Lorna asked as she pulled her sister off into one of the private alcoves that was supposed to be used for studying. Lorna knew for a fact it was used for things that would get the girls involved punished in the worst possible ways. “I thought they made sure to separate the groups in every way.”

Della worked a her lower lip as she looked down.

Lorna sighed knowing her sister was going to cry. Della had always been the delicate one of the group. She should never have been chosen for a courtesan. It was amazing to Lorna that her sister was even still alive. “Now stop that,” Lorna admonished her sister gently pulling the other girl back into a hug and stroking her hair. “There's no need for any of that Della. I'm just asking. I'm not trying to accuse you. I swear.”

“I know,” Della whispered. “You never would. But they do. They always do. They even like it when I cry, I think,” she whispered.

Lorna felt her stomach roll with disgust. How any person could take pleasure from the pain of another was beyond her. And that the victim was her own sister made it that much worse. She gritted her teeth and forced the feeling away. “How did you find me Della?” Lorna asked again, forcing her sister to focus.

“They had to move a few of us,” Della admitted. “I think it has to the do with the upcoming ceremony. All of us in the same age group were moved here last night and told to stay in our rooms.”

Lorna couldn't help herself. Soft laughter bubbled from her lips. “And you never did know how to listen to what you were told,” she agreed shaking her head. “I think this time is one of the few I'm actually glad to hear that. I've missed you.”

Her sister managed a smile this time as she hugged her back. “I've missed you too,” Della admitted. “Do you think that they brought Harriet and the other Companions here too?” she asked anxiously.

Lorna snorted. “Probably.”

The two sisters grew silent as they thought of the third member of their family. The last time that the three girls had seen each other, they had been thirteen. They had just chosen their names and Lorna had been trying to comfort Harriet and Della even as the three of them had been sorted and pushed apart.

“You want me to try and find her, don't you?” Lorna made it a question, but she already knew the answer. Neither she nor Della would be happy until they knew the truth. Though, on occasion, Della got lucky when it came to sneaking around, it had always been Lorna who had possessed the skill. Besides, this was her building. She knew it.

“Alright,” Lorna conceded hoping that she wouldn't disappoint the hope lighting in her sister's eyes. “I'll do what I can. But you have to stay out of sight. The last thing we need is for someone to mistake you for me or for you to get in trouble because you decided to slip out.”

Della nodded eagerly. “I can hide in the garden,” Della agreed quickly. “You may be the one who can sneak, but I always won at hiding,” her sister announced proudly.

Lorna smiled and nodded as she stood up and ruffled her sister's hair. “Alright, wait until I'm gone and then find a place to hide. Don't come out until you see only me here alone or with Harriet.” Even as Lorna slipped out of the small alcove, she couldn't help but wonder if she was going to regret this particular excursion.

For as long as she had lived in the lodging, there had been two forbidden wings. Not that that had stopped Lorna from exploring them the moment she had had the chance to be alone. She hadn't understood why they were forbidden though. Both wings had been dull and lifeless without a soul or even a scrap of evidence in sight.

Now, she supposed, she understood why the caution had been used.

Because Della had come the west wing's direction, Lorna steered North and up into the attic-like top floor where she had found a way to sneak into the wing before. Her feet connected to the floor with a soft thud. On the floors below her, she could hear the occasional raised voices signifying life in the once empty and dead halls. Lorna felt her heart leap up into her throat. Though she had said that Harriet was probably there, Lorna hadn't really believed it. She had said it only to make her sister feel better. She doubted anyone else had been that considerate in the past five years.

Lorna moved carefully down onto one of the lower floors of the wing, her eyes flitting around for any signs of movement. The last thing she needed to do was to be caught by one of the women supervising the companions and mistaken for Harriet. Though she knew it would get her to the room she needed, she also had a feeling it would get her in more trouble than she cared to dwell on.

Footsteps pounded up one of the staircases near her and the girl pressed herself into one of the alcoves that quietly slid shut behind her, obscuring her view with a soft white gauze like material that looked like wall paneling from the other side.

“I heard one of the girls is giving trouble,” a female voice questioned.

“Harriet heard that her Patron-to-be is dead. She's creating a fuss especially since we moved her back to the open pool. We isolated her, but you know how the girl can be,” another woman said with a sigh.

“They should make an example out of her,” the first woman snapped.

The second woman snorted. “They won't and well you know it.”

The first woman sighed. “I know,” she agreed. “But one can hope!”

Lorna held her breath, hoping that they might give her the location of her sister, but the two women drifted away down the hall leaving the girl disappointed. The only information she had gained was a truth she had been afraid to believe. Her sister was in this wing. She bit her lip hard to keep in the soft groan that accompanied the ache in her heart. Harriet was so close and she had no idea how she was going to actually find her.

For a moment, she considered just stepping out and letting them lead her to her sister. It would be so much easier that way. She was torn as she allowed her head to fall back on the wall behind her. She almost called to Widald for power, but then thought better of it. None of the gods would listen to her. She was female, an unclean female at that. If she was going to do this, she had to do it on her own.

She slipped out of the small alcove and began to follow after the women as they moved down the hall, her heart beating in the region of her throat. If either of them turned around, she would have no place to hide and running would only reflect on Harriet. After all, how could they possibly know that the two girls Harriet had been raised with looked exactly like her.

“Harriet!”

The voice came from behind her.

A hand grabbed her arm in a stern grip, squeezing as tight as it dared. Lorna's eyes flicked back to see a woman no taller than she was with severe features that seemed to mock her. “If the ceremony wasn't tomorrow,” the woman trailed off and shook her head. She dragged Lorna along, the girl quiet both from fear and excitement. They moved down a flight of stairs and into a wing of the lodging that Lorna knew very well. A smirk touched the her lips for a moment before fleeting away and she tried to put a properly contrite look on her face.

She doubted the woman would believe the look, but it was certainly worth a try.

Lorna was thrown into one of the many rooms that lined the right side of the hallway. She heard the door lock behind her and sighed with relief as she turned to find Harriet staring at her wide-eyed.

“Hey, sis.”

Harriet's eyes went cold in a moment. She grabbed her sister's arm and yanked her into the only hidden corner of the room, making sure that her back was to the door. "What the hell are you thinking?" she snapped, shaking Lorna. A part of her was more than glad to see her sister. A part of her was so thrilled she couldn't even put it into words. But her sister was an idiot for being there. It could get them both killed. Harriet knew that much. She had learned it during her time as a companion in training. She had hoped that with her Patron-to-be gone she might have escaped the fate she knew was coming to all the other girls.

If only she could be so lucky. Harriet took a deep breath trying to calm herself. "I'm sorry Lorna," she breathed moving away and towards the window. "I shouldn't have been so hard. I'm glad your here. But... really? What are you thinking? How did you even get here?"

Lorna snorted and crossed her arms over her chest. "Honestly Harriet, you really need to give me more credit," she admonished her sister lightly. "Where do you think that they brought you? This is my lodging. I know these halls better than almost anyone. Even the forbidden wings. Which you're in the North one of those. Well, that and I might have found our Della wandering around the garden."

"Oh God," Harriet chocked, her eyes going wide. "Is she alright? Did anyone catch her?"

"Just me," Lorna promised glancing towards the window. "Look, she wants to see you. And honestly, I'd like for us to all be together one last time. I know that we're lucky to even see each other now, but it's all we've got. I can't go the rest of my life knowing that I could have brought us together if only for a moment and I didn't."

Harriet sighed and sat down on her bed. "I suppose," she granted. "I mean, I've missed you both too. I would be lying if I said I hadn't."

Lorna grinned from ear to ear as she bounded forward onto her sister's bed and wrapped her arms around the other girl. "Well than, I think it's about time I showed you some of the tricks that I've learned while you two have been off pretending that you were good girls."

Harriet snorted derisively as she hugged her sister back before standing up and looking around the room. "I'm assuming one of those little tricks is a way out?" she asked arching an eyebrow.

The smile on Lorna's face turned mischievous as she moved towards the shallow closet and began to press a pattern along the back wall. "Just watch," she murmured a little absently.

The wall shifted as Lorna stepped back revealing a narrow passage.

"How did you find that?" Harriet breathed, half in awe of her sister. Then again, Lorna had always been that one. She had always been sneaking around. She had always been eager to find and get into places that she wasn't supposed to. Harriet had tried to reprimand her for it sometimes but she had honestly never had the heart for it. In all honesty, she actually admired her sister for that particular trait.

Lorna shrugged as she moved into the passage and waited for her sister to join her. "I know me," she said closing the passage behind Harriet. "I've always had too much free time on my hands."

That was a nice way of putting it. Harriet shook her head and sighed. She would never understand her sister sometimes. She looked ahead of her, light shining in little slats across the passage and lighting the way. She hardly dared to breathe let alone ask her sister the questions that were buzzing in her head. She wanted to know so much about the area, but she knew she couldn't say a word. After all, voices didn't come from the wall and people were bound to notice if either sister said a word.

Instead, Harriet followed Lorna, her heart beating a million miles a minute as anticipation began to set in. "You know, we could all leave," Lorna whispered as she came to a ladder and began to climb up.

Harriet rolled her eyes. "Of course because they would never notice that three girls just vanished the day before the Naming Ceremony. We'd never get away with it Lorna and you know it."

Lorna sighed. "I know, but I had to suggest it." Harriet almost argued and then realized her sister was right. It had to be suggested. It had been essential to hear out loud even if neither of them would ever actually try it.

"It would be nice, though, wouldn't it?" Harriet admitted. "To be free, to have control if only for a few seconds."

She could almost hear the ghost of a wistful smile in her sister's voice when Lorna replied. "It would be nice," she agreed. "It'd probably start a revolution. That would be fun to see."

It took everything that Lorna had not to laugh at that thought. No one would start a revolution because three girls ran away. Girls were property, nothing more. If they ran away, people would notice only because of the defiance, nothing more. "You always have had the most ridiculous ideas, Lorna," she admonished her sister as they came out into a small, enclosed alcove. "So you have these here too?" she asked arching an eyebrow. "I really do hate these little places."

Lorna rolled her eyes. "They have their advantages," she pointed out. "After all, how do you think I even managed to talk to Della without anyone noticing?" she asked arching an eyebrow. Harriet considered arguing for a moment and then shook her head. Her sister was right of course. People would notice if there were two of Lorna. Most people likely would have been frightened by the prospect, though not as horrified as they would have been if they realized just what kind of person that Lorna actually was.

Oblivious people.

Lorna pressed her face to the cover of the alcove and looked around anxiously. "Alright, we may have to make a run for it," she whispered. "I'm not sure if any of your babysitters are on guard up here or not," she explained shaking her head. "I'll go first and you have to follow me. Just do what I do."

Harriet bit her lip to silence a groan as her sister slipped out of the alcove and flitted to another one several feet away. Harriet looked around anxiously and closed the alcove's cover behind her as she almost ran down the hall to join her sister in the next alcove. "Alright, here's the tricky part," Lorna whispered. "We have to get up those stairs and through that door without anyone noticing us."

Harriet looked at her sister mortified. "How are we supposed to do that?" she demanded in a hiss. "That door is locked."

"Maybe for you," Lorna snorted. "But I happen to have the key," she said proudly producing a thin skeleton key from around her neck. "Don't ask me how I managed to get it or to keep it. I really would rather not recount that particular experience," she grumbled shaking her head. Harriet decided that it was probably be better if she never asked that question and if her sister never gave her the answer.

Lorna gave no warning before she sprinted across the hall and up the set of stairs. Harriet forgot to breathe for a moment as she watched her sister, stunned. She shook herself in an attempt to recover before she sprinted after the girl, a soft groan touching her lips as she flitted across the open space desperately hoping that no one would see her. She was almost certain that her heart had taken permanent residence somewhere in her throat by the time she made it up the stairs and her sister locked the door behind her. “Really?” she tried to sound furious but she was breathing too hard for her voice to actually manage the proper tone.

Her sister grinned at her unapologetically. “Of course. Got to keep you on your toes, don't I Harriet? No one else does.”

A frown touched his lips.

This wasn't what he had been looking for at all. On principle, he only came to the whore houses when it was important, but he never indulged. As far as anyone who looked was concerned, he was just another hypocrite who was coming to see his favorite. If they knew the truth, he wasn't sure what they would do. They had never actually encountered anyone like him before. At least not that they knew of or not that they would admit to. And it had to stay that way.

He rubbed his temples as he looked back towards the door and then thought better of it. No, that wouldn't do at all. As tempting as the thought was. "So they're just sending in substitutes now?" he asked tilting his head to the side. The girl shrugged easily, a languid smile on her lips.

"Afraid I won't be as good," she asked rubbing against him. "Why don't you try me out. I'll do anything for you. You could even do anything to me. That's what I'm here for."

This was one of those who enjoyed their work too much. He would have shuddered with revulsion if he hadn't grown up seeing that kind of thing. Instead, it just made him sad. He wished that he could do something for her, but he knew that women like this were lost. Lost was the best thing they could be. They had long since been shattered and broken by men who should have been their fathers and friends. Instead they had done things that made him sick to his stomach to even think about.

"I'd rather see her," he insisted.

The girl's smile dropped and intelligence flared in her bright eyes as she leaned back against the wall, crossing her arms. "Look, she's not here, but she asked me to cover for her. Why don't you just leave a message or take up my offer. That's the best option for both of us because if you don't someone's going to figure out that something isn't quite right here."

He knew she was right and he swore under his breath because of it. "Fine," he snapped looking away. He knew that she was smiling, smirking really. He didn't want to see it. That kind of gloating, that kind of victory, was never something he liked when it was turned on him. He had already screwed his life up enough. Looks like that simply reminded him of his failure.

"Just tell her Imeda came by," he ordered as he turned to the door.

"You realize you shouldn't leave just yet," she pointed out. "If you leave this soon, they'll start questioning me and I bet you can imagine how that will end." This time he couldn't stop himself from flinching. He was almost certain he knew how it would end and though he didn't like the girl behind him, he knew that he didn't want that for her.

"Alright," he said with a sigh before he actually took a good look around the room. "Dear Gods," he breathed. "Do you actually use all of this?"

The girl shrugged. "Of course. Everyone has different tastes. This is just one of the many places they built to accommodate that. Besides, it's not always so bad. Sometimes they're gentle. Or sometimes I get to be in control."

"And when it's not those things."

The girl actually looked away from him this time. It was all the answer he needed as he caught sight of a thick, dark bruise on her neck. "I'm sorry," he murmured looking away and feeling a little ashamed. "I shouldn't have asked."

The room went silent for a moment. "Thank you," she whispered into the darkness.

He didn't reply. She hadn't really expected him to. Instead, they both sat in the darkness of the room, waiting for his time with her to be up. There were knowing looks thrown at him as he left the room. The women stared at him longingly. The silence telling them that he had been gentle.

If only they knew.