Trails of Intertwined Stars: Chapter 74 {Part 1}

~Chapter 104: The Pub~

The snow had started to fall in London, blanketing the dirty streets in a white that seemed to hide the repulsive truth. Leora adjusted the hat she'd purchased at the train station shop, to keep out the cold, and glanced around the streets; gripping her coat tighter to keep herself warm. It was not a beautiful, royal place. That was a sham and a lie. The streets were loud, and littered in horrible things, and it stunk, and hurt, and all of the above. Leora chose to ignore it and kept walking; avoiding the faces of the people who curiously called out to the woman, who looked rather timid and well off. They wanted money. Leora had managed to push past many of them, holding her breath and ignoring their cat calling and rude comments; she'd been doing well to, until she was suddenly stopped by a rather burly man. Her face fell at the height and mere size of him, as he stared down at her with a grin.
"'Ello love," He muttered," What's a pretty face like yours, doin' in a place like this...all alone?"
Leora tried to push past," Sorry I have to-"
The man didn't budge, he swiftly stood in front of her path, smirking. Leora felt tears prick up in her eyes and a humiliated flush rise to her cheeks.
"What do you want?" She frowned," Money? Is that it? I'll give you money, just leave me alone, please."

The man swiftly grabbed her wrist as she tried to find her pockets," Don't want money, love. What I want, is for you to buy me a nice pint. Got it?"
Leora trembled at his tight grip," Alright...a pint...I...I can get you that..."
He gripped her tighter, taking her to a pub at the end of the street. Leora stumbled along, her eyes wide with fear as she realised she was stuck with the strange man, with many like him jeering at her, and reaching out to touch her like some sort of pet. The pub was somehow even more scary to the girl. It was dimly lit and reeked of alcohol; filled with obnoxious laughter, and swearing, some people even went so far as to fight. The man roughly shoved her down onto a stool; sitting beside her.
"You can buy the whole house a beer, love!" The man laughed, causing the other clients, even the ones fighting, to cheer.
Leora frowned," B-but...you see, I really have to save some of my money to get a train back hom-"
The man slammed his hand down, making Leora cry and throw all of her money on the table. The bartender swiftly gathered it all up, without waiting for Leora to count it, and started obnoxiously chanting along with the patrons. Leora shrunk in her seat, wanting to curl up and become small enough so nobody could see her. She stared at the floor, trying not to cry. Now she understood why Jiu felt the need to always protect her; she truly couldn't go anywhere without something dangerous happening.

And, in some horrible way, she now understood why Henry kept her locked away at home. Maybe, after all this time, he was truly right. Leora glanced away, sniffing, trying to hurriedly wipe her tears away. The man, who was practically holding her hostage, shoved a pint suddenly into her hands.
"Drink up, love!" He laughed.
The others around them also seemed to laugh when they saw Leora on the verge of tears once more.
"Leave the poor girl alone, will ya', Mick!?" A voice called out.
They all turned to see one of the barmaids strut over; scowling. She was dressed, as what Leora's family would deem, 'repulsively'. Showing off her body parts, to the point the patrons would oggle at her mindlessly drunk. Her hair was black and curled, into an afro; a hairstyle Leora had never seen before, and admittedly found it rather beautiful.
"Shelley," The bartender huffed, jabbing a finger at the woman," We're just havin' a little fun..."
"You're tormenting the poor girl, she's tremblin' like a leaf," Shelley frowned, setting her hands on her hips; before glancing down at Leora, sympathetically," You alright, girl?"
Leora nodded, wiping her tears away," Thank you..."
"Any time," Shelley nodded, leaning against the bar.

Another barmaid came over, with blonde hair; tilting her head," Hey, ain't I seen your face before, girlie?"
Leora frowned," No...you haven't..."
"Have so!" The barmaid insisted," Same face, different body, it was..."
"This is my first time here," Leora insisted.
Shelley nudged the over barmaid," She said it was her first time, so it is her first time. You're bein' stupid now."
The other barmaid puffed her cheeks, and turned away. Shelley looked back at Leora, tilting her head, curiously.
"Anyway, whassa girl like you doin' around here?"
Leora glanced at her lap, nervously, before glancing at the man who'd forced her in. Shelley seemed to understand, grabbed her tray for the drinks, and slammed it straight into the man's face so he fell face first onto the counter. The other patrons burst out laughing.
"He's knock out drunk!"
"Yooo! Mickey, wake up!"
"Shelley just served ya' her classic punch!"
Shelley sighed, gesturing for Leora to get up," Follow me girl, I'll help ya out."
Leora hurriedly stood up and followed the barmaid out of the rowdy pub, back onto the snowy streets of London.
"I'm assumin' you were headed somewhere?" Shelley tilted her head.
"Ah, yes!" Leora nodded," I was going to see Lord Bramston, as in-"
"Lord Bramston the banker. Yeah, I know him, he's the reason I live in the pub now... Real prick. Oops, unless, you're friends with him?"

Leora blinked in shock, before giggling and shaking her head," No, I hate him. I'm supposed to marry him, but...but I despise him. I love someone else. I've stayed with Lord Bramston for long enough; I need to set things right."
Shelley blinked slowly, before laughing.
"Damn, girl!" Shelley grinned," Good for you! Put that man in his place! And just a minute ago, you were in there tremblin' like an abandoned puppy."
Leora rubbed the back of her neck, giggling weakly. Shelley called over a cab, handing them money.
"Here, I know those idiots thieved from ya," Shelley muttered," So I told him to take ya to Bramston's Counting House. You don't need to worry about payin'."
Leora blinked in shock. She felt so wrong taking money from Shelley after seeing what area she worked in. The girl thumbled around in her hair, before pulling out a golden hairpin and setting it in Shelley's hands, before giving them a squeeze.
"I can't take money from you like that," Leora muttered," This...it doesn't look like much, but it'll sell for a lot. Thank you...thank you so much, for everything!"
Shelley beamed," My pleasure, miss."
Leora hugged Shelley suddenly, causing the barmaid to laugh and hug her back. Leora gave her one last smile of gratitude, before getting into the cab. Shelley watched the cab go off into the street, squeezing the hairpin in her hand with a smile.
"Kirsty's right...her face does seem familiar to me too..."