“Ralst?”

I was snapped out of my thoughts.

I turned to face Mr. Nekoda, Lanai’s father.

“Yes, sir?”

“Are you alright to help out with this?” he asked, clearly concerned, “I mean, you’ve just woken up today.”

“It’s alright, Master. I’m alright,” I said with a slight bow, “Thank you for worrying about my welfare.”

 “I really do hate it when you refer to me like that.”

“But you are my Master.”

“Don’t think of me that way,” he said, “I’m your friend. Let’s just leave it at that, alright?”

I nodded, “Your kindness is undeserved.”

“Don’t speak such nonsense. You’re a good man, and I know your hardships.” He said, “If it were up to me, you would work here as a keeper instead of a whore, but once you’ve been branded, there’s no way to be unbranded.”

“Even after I die, I will live with the things I’ve done,” I stated, “Brand or no brand, I’m being punished.”

He shook his head, “You’re not giving yourself enough credit. It’s not your fault you were forced to a life of slavery.”

“I know, but it still makes no difference, I am a whore, and that is what I always will be.” I stated, “Years and years from now, my soul will be stained with my sins.”

“Don’t put yourself down,” he frowned, “How about you work the counter with Lanai for the next week. How does that sound?”

“I prefer not to diminish this establishment’s face,” I said before bowing again slightly, “Master.”

“Ralst…” he began, but I interrupted him.

“If I may, Master, I need to dress,” I said, “If you’ll excuse me.”

He knows me too well for my own liking, but he does.

“If that is what you wish, I will see you during lunch. Good luck, Ralst.”

I nodded and undressed myself to put the newer garment on. My legs still remained marked and bruised from the crazy man’s twisted fantasy. I am irritated from not having the strength to protect myself. What if I had died… I wouldn’t be able to see them again, and then what would become of me? I already know a Demon has no business dreaming about a happy future… but it can’t be helped. I just long to be loved, nothing more, nothing less.

The uniform consisted of dress pants and a button-down shirt with a tie.

I walked out, and Joni was directing people in the kitchen.

“Ralst, over here,” he waved me over.

I made my way beside him to find out what he wanted.

“See,” he pointed to the tables, “Lanai is seating them. I want you to go over and ask them what they want.”

I nodded. That sounded easy enough.

“What would you ask when you go up to a customer?”

“What would you like to eat?”

“Eh, not bad, but I would prefer if you would ask, ‘What can I get you this evening?’”

I nodded again, “Alright, is that all I say?”

“First, you ask them about drinks,” he said, “And you would ask what?”

“What can I get you to drink this evening?”

“Perfect, now I’m gonna give you a little notebook that you can write on to remember the orders,” he said, “Don’t forget to mark the tables too so that you don’t forget.”

I nodded, and he handed me the bound paper and a black ink pen.

“Now go on and make me proud.”

I nodded and walked out.

“Ralst.”

I turned to see Lanai.

“Yes?”

“You doing the orders and drinks?”

I nodded.

“Is that what Joni said to do?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, don’t,” she said, “I want you to ask them about what kind of entertainment they prefer, and if they want it, before, during, or after their meal, or however, alright?”

I nodded, “What do I say?”

“Just ask them, and for our entertainment, this evening, do you have any preference as to the, I don’t know, just ask them what they want to see.”

“Alright.”

This already felt awkward.

“Keep this up, and you won’t need to sleep around anymore.”

I frowned because I knew that wasn’t true.

“Just let me know, and I’ll get right to it,” she smiled and walked back to the kitchen.

I felt somewhat strange standing near the door, just watching the tables.

I couldn’t see any remotely attractive men in the bunch, but it wasn’t like I would entertain any of them.

I walked to table one and greeted them with a smile, “Good evening, my mane is Ralst, and I will be your server.”

They smiled, and some even nudged each other.

“I’m here to find out about the entertainment,” I said, “What would you guys like to see, and do you want it with, before or after your meals?”

They were talking amongst themselves.

“What kind of entertainment do we get to choose from?” the one with the beard asked.

“Anything that you can think of, we’ll just have to let them know beforehand, that’s all.”

“I want a stripper,” one of the men said.

“Do they do lap dances?” another asked.

“They will if that’s what you prefer, sir.”

“Then yeah, I want a lap dance,” he said gruffly, “But I want me a heavy girl, my dick responds to some girth.”

He high-fived his buddy.

“Eh, I just want a girl to dance around and take off her clothes.”

“Yeah,” they all agreed.

“Will that be all?” I asked.

They nodded.

“And when would you like me to bring the girls out?”

They looked back and forth between each other.

“Can we get a guy?” the one with the crooked tie asked.

“Alright, how many boys? And how many girls?”

“4 girls and 2 boys,” the one with the beard stated.

“And do we want all of them giving lap dances?” I asked.

They nodded.

“Alright, and would you like them before, during, or after your meal?”

“After.”

I nodded and walked back to the kitchen.

I don’t know why I had to ask so many fucking times when they wanted the entertainment out. That was annoying.

“Why’d you let her change your job?” Joni asked.

“I don’t know,” I mumbled in response, “Why does it matter anyway?”

“I just didn’t want you to see how some of these people order their entertainment,” he sighed, “You might get upset.”

“I’m alright, Joni,” I said, “Here’s the order for table 2.”

He took it and examined it, “Alright, I’ll tell Lanai when she comes back.”

I nodded and walked back out to take the following table's order, but I saw a girl in skimpy clothing harassing the men at the table. I wasn’t sure if I should interrupt or just go to the other table.

Fuck it, I just went anyway.

I smiled at her, but she frowned and kept badgering the oldest-looking man.

“Good evening, gentlemen,” I said, “I will be your server this evening.”

She just smiled evilly at me.

“What type of entertainment would you like?”

The men talked amongst themselves to ask what they all wanted.

One of them caught my attention.

Holy hell, he was gorgeous.

He looked like he was in his mid to late twenties. His skin looked soft to the touch, maybe a little hard in some places. His dark brown hair looked silky.

I wanted to run my fingers through it.

My body was growing hotter just looking at him.

It made me wonder what the rest of him looked like.

How much hair does he have? How big is he?

God, I wanted to feel how powerful he was.

I had to snap myself out of it.

“How about you?” the girl asked. Marnie, I think.

They all stared at me.

“Sorry, I’m the server for today,” I just smiled.

“That’s too bad,” Marnie said, “Because from what I hear, you give the best blow jobs. I think these guys would agree. Hell, if I were you, I’d be under the table right now.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

The guys looked drawn in, all but him. He seemed distracted, kind of like he didn’t want to be here. His dark brown hair and light green eyes were teasing. I couldn’t describe why, and those glasses made it seem like he was only wearing them to escape.

“You know Ralst,” she growled, “When I’m trying to argue with you, you’re supposed to fight back.”

“I have some self-restraint,” I stated, “I won’t argue with you.”

“Then if I provoke you enough, will you hit me?” she was walking around me, close enough not to touch me.

“I refuse to hit a woman, no matter how irritating she might be.”

“You of all people should have no morals. You’re a fucking whore. We all know it,” she hissed, “Now they know it. In fact, you're pretty popular amongst the men and the women. Mainly the men.”

Why did I come to this table? I turned the page in the notebook and walked to the next table.

“Don’t walk away from me, you whore!” she roared.

“Good evening gentlemen, what kind of entertainment can I get for you today?”

They looked at each other.

“You know which table this is, right?” The one with the freckles asked in a whisper.

I shook my head, “No, pardon my asking, but which table is this?”

“We’re the gay table kid.” The one with the thin gold glasses stated.

I gave them a smile, “That’s quite all right, or do you prefer not to have any of our entertainers?”

“You have men that are willing to strip?” gold glasses asked.

“We have men that are willing to do much more than strip, at your request, that is.”

“Really?” The one with the freckles asked.

I nodded, “But you are going to have to tell me beforehand so I can let them know what they’re doing.”

“Could they do provocative things?” the one with the green bow-tie asked.

I nodded, “They can do whatever you want. We even have rooms if you would like to further your experience or if you prefer some privacy.”

“Are you an entertainer?” the quiet one asked, “Because I would definitely like to see what that mouth can do.”

I felt wrong after hearing him say that. He was, how should I say… dirty.

“Not at the moment,” I said flatly.

“Can I ask why?” he asked.

I frowned.

“Come on,” bow-tie said, “Then can we request to have you sit and just talk to us?”

“I don’t know what my boss would say,” I admitted.

Lanai was at the table next to me, where I just left. She was scolding Marnie for her stupidity and having her apologize for degrading me in front of such ‘Fine’ men.

I walked over to her.

“Lanai, I’m getting a few requests.” I said, “What should I say?”

“It depends on the request,” she said, “It’s your day. It’s up to you.”

I nodded, “They just want to talk with me.”

“Then do it,” she shrugged, “That should be good for us and easy on you.”

I nodded and walked back to their table.

“So, what did she say?” freckles asked.

“She said it was alright, but first, let me give the order to the back.”

They all nodded, and I walked back to Joni.

“Hey there, what was the deal with Marnie? She made someone leave.”

I turned to look back, and it was him who left… the guy with the glasses, and the older man…

“Really, they left because of that?”

He nodded, “So what’s the next order?”

“They want me to sit and talk with them. Lanai already said to do it.” 

He just shrugged as he took the order, “Alright, don’t have too much fun.”

I gave him a smile and walked back out. A few more guys were missing, but they were coming back into the room.

I intercepted Lanai. “Why were they leaving?”

“Just some curious guys, that’s all.”

“Anything bad?”

She shook her head, “Not that I’m aware of anyway. Why?”

“Just curious.”

“Oh, hey, did you see that one guy with the glasses?” she asked, “He was hot, wasn’t he?”

I was caught off guard. Do I tell her fuck yes he was, or do I disagree?

“Which one?”

“Nevermind,” she shook her head, “Oh, hey, that table is covered. I got their request. You’re basically done for now, alright.”

I nodded and sat down at the ‘gay’ table.

“So, we overheard a little,” bow-tie said, “Someone hurt you?”

I frowned.

“So, what happened, you have to tell,” freckles said.

I noticed there were only 4 guys here. I thought I might as well learn their names while I was here.

It was only talking. What would it hurt?

“Alright,” I said, “Can I ask your names? I’m Ralst, by the way.”

“Cam,” gold glasses said.

“Gabe,” bow-tie said.

“Charles,” the quiet one nodded.

“And I’m Liam,” freckles said.

“Nice to officially meet you,” I said.

“So, are you gonna tell us what the deal is?” Cam asked.

“Just something happened the other day.”

“What happened?” Gabe asked.

“Some guy tried to kill me because his wife came to see me.”

“That’s horrible,” Charles said.

“Yeah, you poor baby,” Liam gasped.

I frowned, “Yeah.”

At the corner of my eye, I noticed Mrs. Nekoda coming into the dining room, straight up to… me?

“Ralst, I have another job for you,” she said flatly.

“Uh,” I looked back at the guys, “I am working, Mrs. Nekoda.”

“Well, I’m sorry, but last time I checked, I wasn’t paying you to be a host. You’re a whore. Now it’s time to do what I pay you to do.”

They all made disgusted faces towards her, but I could hear them whispering.

“Wasn’t he almost killed?”

“And she’s making him work?”

“Not to mention, have you seen him walk? It must have been recent.”

I frowned and stood up.

“I’m sorry, gentlemen, but I must cut this short,” I said, “Good evening.”

“Bye, Ralst,” Cam said.

“You’re such a sweet boy,” Gabe said.

“I could just eat him up,” Charles said.

I followed Mrs. Nekoda out to the main hall.

“So, I got a request for you.”

“I was told I had the night off,” I stated.

“Well, this guy kind of brought up an offer we couldn’t refuse.”

“How much is he offering?” I asked, offended.

“Well, that doesn’t matter. What’s more important is….”

“How is it not important?” I asked.

“Because he wants to buy you,” she snapped.

“I know you already said that.”

“Not what I meant, Ralst, just listen. He wants you.”

“Wants me how? What weird thing do I have to do this time? Did you check his belongings to make sure he can’t kill me?”

“Ralst,” she sighed, “He wants to take you away from here.”

I felt sick, “And you told him yes?”

My heart was racing. I wanted to sob.

Why would she sell me away?

“He looked like a good man.”

“Anyone could look like a good man,” I shut my eyes tightly, “How could you?”

“Just go and see him,” she said, “Then you can tell me what you prefer.”

I stared at the ground, “And if I don’t like him?”

“I have a feeling you will.”

“Hypothetically speaking, what if?”

“Hypothetically, you can stay and continue being a whore.”

I nodded, “Where do I go?”

“Just go to your room, the rest you should be able to handle on your own,” Mrs. Nekoda said, “If you don’t want to go with him, tell him yourself.”

I nodded and walked back to my room. This should be easy enough.

I hesitated before opening my door.