Two Tudor Thieves

Kathrine Howard

Kitty slowly made her way downstairs, she sighed at the sight of the pub. A few drunk men sat slumpped in their chairs, out cold, tankards of meed forgotten. Kitty walked over to the bar and began to clean the counter, wiping away the spilled alcohol and putting glasses in their respective spots.

"Hey!" She turned to see the red-headed man from the night before.

"Hi..." Kitty's voice was quiet and she continued to clean, "Have you come to pay? Or do you want another drink first?"

The man grunted and tossed a silver coin onto the counter, "There you go."

"That's not enough." Kitty stared at the coin, did he really think that she would accept so little?

"Well, I hardly think that last night warned more than that, lass." He spoke down to her like she was a naive child.

Kitty crossed her arms and walked out from behind the bar, "I expect more payment than a mere silver piece."

The man stepped closer, pushing Kitty back against a wall, "If you want more, your gonna have to earn it."

Kitty tried to duck away but he put a hand on her shoulder, "Get off me!" Kitty's voice was harsh and she pushed him into a table.

He grunted and pushed himself up, advancing. Kitty tensed up, and then he slapped her. Her head jerked back, and the taste of copper filled her mouth.

"Don't give me that shit." The man held her arm, "You don't have a choice in the matter, or do you not want any payment?" Kitty glared and tried to kick him but he backhanded her again, "You know, I liked you so much better before you got all bitchy."

The man hit Kitty on the arm and then pushed her to the ground, she hit the side of the bar before falling. And she chose not to say anything else as the man grunted and left.

Kitty sat there for a minute before pushing herself up, she felt a few tears run down her face, and that's when she lost it.

All the horrid memories from the night before, and all the times she had kept her mouth shut and just let them use her, finally got to her. She was used to nights like the last, it was all a normal thing for her, if anyone could call that normal. Kitty had learned how to endure it, she just let herself float away, until it all felt like a distant thing, even though it wasn't. She blocked the memories, she blocked all the feelings that came with them. The shame, mainly.

But she did what needed to be done, she was the one who kept food on the table. Kitty lived with her cousin, Anne, Kitty was the one with an income, she was the one with a job, Anne just thought she worked at a pub, and she didnt question Kitty. But Kitty knew that Anne wouldn't be okay with what she did, not at all.

Kitty put her head in her hands, leaning on the counter, she just didnt know how she could keep doing this. Lying to Anne, hiding the bruises she reserved from men she didnt please, and on occasion, her boss. The last time she had tried to tell him she wasn't going to be offering her services anymore hadn't gone over well.

Kitty knew that all those men wanted to do was touch her, love her, they just can't get enough see, all they wanna do, all they wanna do, baby, is squeeze her, birds and the bees her. They don't care if they don't please her. You can bite her lip and pull her hair as you tell her she's the fairest of the fair.

Playtime's over, playtime will always be over.

The only thing you wanna do is–

Kitty's thoughts were cut off by the door to the pub opening, "Hello?" A voice laced with a heavy german accent called out, "Is someone here?"

"Yes!" Kitty hurriedly wiped away her tears, "I'll be right with you!" She quickly ran her fingers through her hair, trying to make it look a little nicer, before walking over to where two women stood waiting by the door. "Just you two?"

"Yep!" The woman with the accent said, her hair was a dark brown and styled into some sort of fancy bun, the woman she was with had a gold cross hung around her neck along with matching gold eyeshadow, it was subtle but pretty.

"Feel free to take a seat anywhere," Kitty addressed them formally, trying to hide the fact that she had just had a nervous breakdown, and the fact that her arm was really starting to hurt where the man had hit her, "Just give me a few minutes, and then I'll take your order."