March 23rd 2273Today, I woke up.It felt like barely a moment had gone by since I was frozen, but apparently it was over two-hundred and fifty years. Two-hundred and fifty years since I'd said goodbye to my husband and son.Now I was sat in a small room, dressed in a skin-tight leotard that somehow kept me warm despite being thin as paper. Now I had to try and adapt.I woke up only half an hour ago. Apparently I’d been in surgery for several days, but I’d been woken slowly, my body now perfectly healed.They’d tried to prepare me for this. For waking up and everything feeling surreal. It hadn’t worked, not one bit. But the nurse had been nice, offered me a drink, some clothes, and waited nearby while I got dressed, answering my questions.I’d gone to sleep one day, unable to move my entire body. Within fifteen minutes of waking, I’d dressed myself. It felt like a miracle, but my emotions hadn’t caught up. Instead, I sat in a chair, waiting.In a small bag at my feet I already had a bu
I tried not to shiver as I was led inside the ornate, almost Chinese-style house nestled among identical buildings.As we’d travelled the last few hundred metres, I’d noticed even more of the seductively dressed women, several of which lingered in the foyer of Daniel’s home.There were also more bodyguards on the door, one opening it for us as we approached.Feeling all their eyes on me, I followed Daniel through the entrance way. Jake and Edward came inside with us.I wondered if I could run. If there might be somewhere else I could go. But where? And what about the document I’d just signed? It had referred to Daniel as the person responsible for me until my debt was paid. If I did try and run, would I just be brought back here?So many questions.“Daniel, Yaru is here,” a woman said as she approached. “He’s in the smaller sitting room.”I caught a glimpse of the room she’d just left as she paused to look me over. The floor was covered in cushions and soft rugs. Here and there a low t
The calm Yaru expressed had finally begun to settle on me as well. I sat in front of him, sipping tea and wondering when my first lesson would begin. And what it might entail.Yaru had been almost silent since I’d confirmed I would become a courtesan to pay back my debt. Several times he’d glanced at me, but for the most part he stared into the nothingness of air, his face thoughtful.With nothing else to do, I found my mind wandering, starting to think about when I might have to begin. Would it be that night?My stomach churned and I shuddered. This drew Yaru’s attention, but he merely raised his eyebrows and waited for me to speak.“How big is my debt?” I asked, not ready to talk about the finer points.Yaru pulled a thin, transparent rectangle from inside his robe. As his fingers swiped the surface, a liquid inside coloured and formed a detailed screen like those of the tablets that had existed when I’d been frozen.After a little tapping and swiping, he brought up a view that inclu
Yaru still sat on the same pile of cushions. Our tea was gone, long ago drunk, neither Jake nor Edward willing to do anything about getting us any more.“So, that brings us back to your skill,” Yaru said, finishing off an explanation of what the next few weeks would hold for me.I sighed. Talking at length about my future, how I would live each day, and the sorts of things Yaru would teach me had gone a long way to calming me. Some of it even sounded pleasant.“You have a think for a moment, my dear,” Yaru said, pushing his bulk up onto his own feet with a small grunt. “That tea all needs to go somewhere.”Before I could object at being left alone, he headed towards the door, a slight waddle to his gait. Edward and Jake parted for him, both their expressions blank as they stared ahead until he was out of sight. Immediately Jake screwed his nose up, evidently disgusted. Edward shook his head, and shuddered.Their attention then turned to me, both of them grinning as they glanced at each
“Which way will Daniel be?” I asked when Edward and Jake both looked to me. There was no way I was going to stick around and let them ogle me or make any more moves. “I’ll show you,” Jake said, motioning for me to follow him. I tried not to show my relief as I let him lead me down several corridors, deeper into the building. He remained silent, letting me look around. Not a single soul lingered anywhere I could see, all the other women gone from the room they’d lounged in before. Near the back and up a small flight of stairs was a large room. One end was decked out like an office, a desk with several chairs at it. Bookshelves lined the wall behind the desk, and a large screen showing stats and schedules was fixed to the desk’s left. The other end of the room featured several low sofas and a cushioned mattress. It was the epitome of comfort. Daniel sat at the desk, another crystal device in his hands. The second he saw me, he looked up and grinned. “Thank you, Jake. You can go bac
Opening my bleary eyes, I noticed Daniel and I were no longer alone in his office. He stood near his desk, looking towards the screen with his arms folded. Beside him was another courtesan, looking significantly more dishevelled than the last time I’d seen her. Earlier she’d informed Daniel of Yaru’s presence before hurrying away. “He’s just lowering your average,” Daniel said, evidently talking to her. He reached out towards the screen, swiping the images, moving through what looked like a calendar, each day broken down by the hour. “Drop him.” “He’s one of my best clients. He—” “Don’t. I have warned you and everyone else. You cannot become emotionally attached to any client. You can’t afford to love or let your heart be softened. If they don’t pay well enough, you let them go.” “But—” “Not another word. Drop him or I’ll block his access and do it for you.” The courtesan let out an angry sigh and stormed from the room. Daniel shook his head and dismissed the calendar with a flic
A knocking sound dragged me from my dreamless sleep. I blinked, confused by the orange canopy above me for a few seconds.When my memories came flooding back to me I groaned.“Auralia, you alright?” a female voice called from the other side of my bedroom door.“Yes. Coming,” I replied, hoping I was loud enough to be heard. Even if I wasn’t, my visitor couldn’t get in. After crying for almost an hour the night before, I’d decided to wedge a chair under the door handle and prevent any late-night intruders. There was no knowing what sort of ideas the other courtesans, or worse, the bodyguards, might have.When I reached the door, I noticed the chair wasn’t perfectly where I’d left it. It had slipped, no longer preventing the handle from turning, but still preventing the door from opening.I took a deep breath, as much to calm myself at the confirmation someone had tried to enter my room as to prepare myself for the day and whatever it brought with it.My guide from the night before stood
The paint dried quickly, not smudging or distorting if Mhairi accidentally caught a patch she didn’t mean to. Several times I ran my finger over it, expecting it to feel strange, but it was only slightly rougher than my normal skin. Whoever had designed this paint had done a good job.It was only as Mhairi knelt to continue the design downwards from my stomach that either of us hesitated. Her cheeks flushed briefly as she brought the paintbrush down, creating a branch that travelled down my sex.Looking away, I hoped I wasn’t doing the same, but it was a vain hope. My face grew hotter as she continued to paint.She was just reaching my thighs as my bedroom door flew open again and Yaru strode in, moving his bulk at an impressive speed. Struggling to keep up was a mouse-like man, a pencil goatee barely covering what would have been a weak chin.Yaru’s eyes went straight to Mhairi. Immediately, he frowned.“I had hoped you’d be further along than this by now,” he said, coming right up. “
Walking along in the garden almost at the top of Tomichii and Kioshi’s building, I sighed. I was done with my regular appointments for the day, and Edward had indulged me in a moment to walk among the plants and stars. I tried to calm myself. It had been a full-on day, and I’d just said goodbye to a man called Ferg, a businessman who was a good friend of Tomichii’s and now one of my regulars.Deciding to accept his request had been a hard thing to do. I didn’t doubt that Tomichii would realize I was sleeping with them both. And I knew it would hurt him a little, something I didn’t want to cause at all. Of all my companions, he was one of my favorites. But I’d not been able to afford to say no.I had several regular companions now. My schedule was almost full each day, especially on Thursdays and Fridays. The most frustrating thing, however, was how little financial progress I was making. Despite Daniel’s attempt to introduce me to wealthier men, and Mhairi’s help at her club, I had nee
The waiter pointed out the guests we wanted on one side of the room, standing in a circle by what looked like a fireplace except for the lack of heat one so large would create. Keaton then led me up to them.Heads turned as I noticed an interesting mix of people. Some of the women in the room were dressed more normally, almost conservatively, including two we were heading towards. But just over half of the women were clearly courtesans, although again, they were wearing more clothing and were more restrained. No one was having sex out in the open, or being anywhere near as lewd.I, on the other hand, was wearing nothing but paint. For a moment I wanted to run from the room and cover myself up, but then I reminded myself that Keaton had chosen me for this task. He wasn’t a fool. If I should have been dressed differently he’d have had me put something else on while in the car on the way here instead of screwing me as swiftly as possible.As we reached the circle of people, it opened natu
The following day seemed to arrive quickly, even Daniel wishing me luck as I headed to the club to join Keaton. Mhairi had helped me put on the design he’d requested, touching it up where it had stretched, chipped, or faded a bit, and then I’d grabbed breakfast on the way, too late to eat it before I left the court.I felt a little nervous as I went into the club and hurried across the dance floor. Giving out invitations seemed to be an important task and I wanted to get it right.“Don’t fret,” Edward said as he pulled the door to the stairs open for me. “He’ll make it clear how formal he wants you to be. And everyone loves you.”I sighed and tried to smile, but I don’t think I was very convincing, as Edward opened the final door for me too.“You’ll be perfect,” he whispered.“There you are,” Keaton said a fraction of a second later, drawing everyone’s attention to me.“Sorry I kept you waiting,” I replied, although I knew I wasn’t late. I thought I saw Erin smirk, however, as I came c
“Finally, the leash,” Dante said, pulling it out of his pocket and handing it to Keaton. As Keaton looked up, Dante stopped staring at me.I exhaled, trying not to show my instant fear at the idea of being on a leash of some kind. Was I truly going to be subjected to that? It was clear the answer was yes, as Keaton didn’t even hesitate to clip it to the ring on the back of my neck. He gave it a little tug, the movement tugging on my throat. I swallowed, feeling the tightness on my neck as I did.“There,” he said, stepping back but holding the loop on the other end of the leash in his hand. “Perfect.”Trying not to let any other emotion show, I smiled and waited for everyone to finish admiring me. While Eric and Trey wandered over to also get a closer look, all four men now ogling, I tried to remind myself that I was naked all the time. That these men had seen and touched it all before. Still, I felt self-conscious.“What do you think?” I asked as I slowly turned on the spot, genuinely
As I hurried out to my car, still munching on a piece of toast, Edward appeared.“Another day on the job, princess,” he replied, taking a bite out of the toast I still held. I frowned at him, trying to look annoyed, but I knew Edward would never let me go really hungry and would willingly return the favor later if he had something I was hungry for.“Yup, another day, another four hours with Keaton,” I replied. I tried to stifle a yawn. Two weeks had passed since I’d had an introduction meeting with many men at a racetrack and Mhairi had made me realize I wasn’t seeing all my messages. Now I spent a good chunk of my journey times, and a little more time in the evenings and on my day off, replying to messages.Lord Logan had finally sent me a message. He’d given me a set of shares in some kind of horse racing company. There had been some kind of dig at how I’d lost money to almost every horse, but Daniel had seemed pleased with it. I’d thanked the wealthy aristocrat but had no other mess
By the time I was let up off the floor and sofas, several hours had passed, some of the men had even left, and there was a large pile of credit tokens in my purse. I was a little sore, but I’d had a few orgasms of my own to take the edge off, some of the men genuinely enjoying giving me a little pleasure too. As I got up I noticed Lord Logan still staring, and I suspected he had been sitting alone at the bar by himself the whole time.Hoping I was doing the right thing, I walked slowly up to him, our gazes locked.“You’ve been very quiet and distant. Do you not want to come join in?” I asked.“I’m not particularly interested in exhibiting myself to a room full of men I only half like,” he replied, his accent Eastern European. I tried not to show my surprise, but came a little closer, to see if his body language would change.“Would you like to find somewhere quieter?”He chuckled. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Have one of the richest men in the city become a regular schmuck, paying t
“I hope we haven’t kept you gentlemen waiting long,” I said when it was clear no one else was going to say anything and Daniel was already looking to me.“Only long enough for Quentin here to bore us with his opinions on the next thoroughbred I should buy,” the duke replied.“I’m afraid I know very little about horses,” I said. “Do you own many?”Lord Logan laughed but didn’t give me an answer.“He owns about twenty horses,” Sir McKythe said, his Scottish accent only faint; clearly not a place he spent much time. “And three racetracks. He also employs numerous jockeys.”“And I own three, and they do very badly, but I adore them and shan’t be buying any more,” the duke declared, lifting his glass.“To sentimental purchasing,” Sir McKythe declared, also lifting his drink. I raised mine as well, more than happy to bring sentimentality into it. It might just find me a regular.It was already clear Lord Logan wasn’t very impressed. As the duke congratulated me on my recent record-breaking u
I tried to take several deep breaths to keep calm as Daniel looked me over. On his instruction I was wearing my most elegant painted outfit, complete with an accessory he’d loaned me, a gorgeous necklace, anklet and bracelet set with gemstones that matched the color of the design so perfectly I was almost ready to ask if they’d been made for me.“There,” he said. “You look almost perfect. Now, come,” he said, taking my arm and placing it through his before he rested my lower arm on top and clasped my hand gently.It was purely for aesthetics, but he also seemed delighted to have me on his arm. Daniel himself was looking smarter than I’d ever seen him in a suit, the cut tailored to his body with perfection. My jaw had dropped when I’d seen him, but he’d ignored my reaction.“Where are we going?” I asked as he led me through the court’s corridors and down the front stairs. He grinned, but didn’t answer.We’d only reached the bottom when I saw a couple of other courtesans waiting there, a
Everything I tried showed this area of the city marked as separate for some reason or denied me the names and addresses of people nearby so I couldn’t even trick it into taking me somewhere only a few meters away.As the bubble car floated into an area that wasn’t separated out and was only a few blocks from Tomichii and Kioshi’s office, the options all appeared again. My fingers hovered over the stop button, but as I looked over the map to see if I could work out where to go back to help, I realized I’d been so focused on how I could stop the car to help that I’d neglected to pay attention to anything else.Feeling like I’d somehow entirely failed at a test in life to see what kind of person I was, but aware I had no idea what else I could have done, I sat where I was and let the car take me the rest of my journey. The last thing I’d seen filled my head, a frightened young woman accosted by two men.It only took a few more minutes and then I was standing in the elevator of Tomichii an