The Wandering Whore: Book 1 - The Lazuli Lounge

The Concubine

Xiao gives me a knowing wink and suddenly my mind doesn't feel so slow - clouded with lust and desire anymore. The sudden clarity allows me to make a realization:

Xiao used an Ability on me!

Unsure whether to be offended by this or not, I dismount the still-panting Lord Harris and off the bed. I quickly fix my hair before realizing that [Elegant Appearance] probably took care of that and hand Xiao's dress to her. Which she uses to unceremoniously wipe the lord's cum from her face before tossing it aside and standing next to me.

We both watch as Harris sits up and pulls his pants back on, buttoning a series of buttons on the front since this world seemingly hasn't invented zippers. He looks at us with a slightly awkward smile, fitting when matched with his now tousled hair, before clearing his throat and addressing as...well as a lord would:

"That was...enlightening, ladies. Xiao and Sarah, this is for you." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a yellow - no - a gold coin before Xiao puts up her hands.

"Oh, no my lord, payment is given at the front desk." The Zanxish woman says hurriedly.

"I know that, this is a tip - I believe this is customary?" Replies the lord, slightly confused.

"That's a tip?" I blurt out, having some inkling as to the worth of a coin made out of solid gold.

"Is...is this not sufficient? I can-" He begins.

Xiao politely interrupts him, "What she means, my lord, is that you are very generous - and that we are very thankful. Isn't that right, Sarah?"

She doesn't physically elbow me, but the intent is in her words.

"Yes, I was just surprised...my lord. Very thankful." I reply quickly, trying - and failing - to not make it blatantly obvious that lords don't exist in my world. Well, unless you count the U.K. anyway.

"We'll show you to the front desk, Lord Harris. If you'd please follow me?" She moves to the door and waits a moment for the lord to adjust his disheveled appearance before stepping out, Harris and I following behind her on our way to the foyer.

She's so...formal. Elegant. I think, feeling like a country bumpkin compared to Xiao's refined mannerisms.

There's an unfamiliar, young-looking woman standing at the front desk as we arrive, obviously a Dryad. Her features, while angular, are decidedly feminine - with short hair and a slender, graceful physique. She gestures for the lord to meet her at the desk.

"I hope you found your stay here to be pleasant, Lord Harris." The Dryad greets him in the gentle, sing-song tone I've come to expect for their race. Unexpectedly, however, is that the voice is most definitely male despite their appearance.

"I...did. Thank you." Says Harris, pulling two more gold coins out of his pocket and placing them on the polished wooden surface. He regards Xiao and me with a nod before turning and exiting through the front door - leaving just the three of us in the lobby. There's the distinct clinking of dishes coming down the hall that leads further into the building.

The young...man turns to me. I'm finding that another feature of Dryads is their intense amount of eye contact.

"This must be the new girl, I assume? They call me Gallae." He greets me warmly.

"Sarah." I reply in kind, "It's nice to meet you."

Our attention is directed to a man entering from outside, another "client" I guess.

"We will speak more at dinner. It was nice to meet you, Sarah." Gallae whispers to me quickly before greeting the man.

Xiao, seemingly uncomfortable with being only in her lingerie still, gently pulls on my arm and leads me down the hall before taking us into a room that looks to be a large restroom of sorts. Copper bathtubs sit in a row upon an intricate mosaic tiling, creating the sense of luxury that the rest of the Lazuli Lounge emanates.

And the color scheme. I think to myself, eyeing the varying shades of blue that compose the walls and floor.

"We can bathe here before dinner," Xiao says as she turns on the faucets of two adjacent tubs before stripping bare.

I follow suit, stepping into the bathwater and sinking down until it covers my collarbone. The Zanxish woman sits in the tub next to me and we soak in awkward silence for a moment. Fitting, considering how we didn't know each other until swapping a prominent man's cock between us for money.

I'm the first to break the silence.

"Back there...in your room. You used an Ability, didn't you?"

She looks offended by the question for a moment, but her features soften as she realizes the time for coyness has long passed.

"I did. [Aura of the Nymph]. It...well, you know what it does now." Xiao sighs, disgust lacing her words.

"It clouded my mind in a way I've never experienced. It changed you, Xiao." I say, recalling the timid woman that first met me in the hall. She's the one that sits next to me now - not the one that mischievously licked Lord Harris' cum off her finger.

"That's the point, Sarah. That's not me. Rather, it is, but...it's difficult to describe. It helps me do what I have to do."

Xiao seems to be talking to herself just as much as she is to me. Me being me, I can't help but pry further:

"But you don't have to do this, right? You mentioned you were new, I can tell you're not like the others here - you're...fancy." I cringe. That's not the word I wanted to use, but it fits, I suppose. That dress. Those tapestries on the wall. They looked expensive.

She takes a breath. I can see the deliberation on her face before she comes to a decision, "This is my punishment. I have to do this because I was sent here." She says before pausing, her voice cracking slightly.

I wait a moment for Xiao to compose herself before she continues:

"You're right, I'm from a wealthy family. Nobility, technically - My father is Tusi, a lord, of one of the provinces in Zanxi. I dishonored him by..." She pauses again for a moment before continuing.

"...a stable boy on my eighteenth birthday. I was meant to be wedded soon but I loved him instead. Jin - the stable boy - that is. My father was furious."

"He was so furious that he made you become a prostitute?" I say, appalled.

"No, not a [Prostitute]. I'm meant to become a [Concubine] so that he can present me as a gift to the Hegemon, the emperor of Zanxi. Only then will I regain my honor." she says, sounding a little insulted.

"What's the difference, exactly? I really don't know - I don't mean to sound insensitive." I ask.

"A [Concubine] would stay in the Hegemon's palace. I would be one of many - an unofficial wife if you will. I know it may sound strange to you, but it's a title of great significance - it would bring my family much favor in the Hegemon's eyes. So I was sent here, to level up and gain abilities that would befit a [Concubine] to make sure I don't fail my family twice." explains Xiao.

"I see. So how long do you have to...be here before you become a [Concubine]?"

"I won't become a [Concubine] until I enter the Hegemon's service. However, I need to be at least level twenty before I can gain that class."

Level twenty?! I'm only level six!

"And what level are you now? Are you close?" I ask innocently.

Xiao's face sours. "I don't want to talk about this anymore, okay, Sarah?"

I don't respond, unsure of what to say.

We continue to bathe in silence.