“It takes practice,” Zarina said when she noticed me watching them. “You can learn if you want. After all, you’re dressed like them.” She laughed, pointing to my black dress.
“I can’t even walk properly in these shoes, they keep slipping off, and you think I’d be able to carry a tray?”
“That takes practice too. You can keep them after this party,” she said, then shook her head. “That’s if my brother allows you to have them.” I didn’t respond, not wanting to get my hopes up. “Come, let me show you the real party.” She took my hand and led me toward large, closed doors at the back of the room.
Two men dressed in black stood on either side of the doors, and when Zarina approached, she held up something for them to look at before one of them opened the door and allowed us through.
Inside, the room was darker than the one we just left. “Is that music?” I asked, liking the soft sounds I heard floating around me.
Zarina smiled. “You’ve never heard music before?”
“No. It’s pretty.”
“Everything is pretty to you, isn’t it.” She laughed.
“Everything I see for the first time, I have nothing to compare it to. So, I don’t know if it’s pretty or prettier.”
Zarina frowned. “You’ve been locked up for so long, how are you such an intelligent girl, Cinder.”
“Books,” I replied. Whenever I did something Master liked, he rewarded me with a book.
I glanced around, noticing what appeared to be gold cages sitting high off the ground and spread out in the huge room. Frowning, I followed Zarina, already not liking what I saw. We passed the first few, and my eyes widened with each one. Couples were having sex in different positions. In one, a man stood behind a woman, driving into her so hard and fast it looked like her entire body was about to fly from his grip. Another had a couple giving each other blow jobs with the man standing and the woman upside down in his arms.
Expecting to see dancing and singing, I looked further away, where a group gathered around another cage. At first, I couldn’t determine what they were looking at until Zarina took me closer. I stopped moving, not recognizing the high-pitched whimper leaving my suddenly dry mouth.
“Cinder?”
My eyes stuck on the couple on the stage, I didn’t hear Zarina’s words. Stomach down, a woman was strapped to a cross and already had red marks on her thighs, butt, and back. The man in the cage with her put down a black crop and picked up a whip with a thin tip. Each time he smacked the air, I flinched while people cheered. When he struck the woman, I jumped, her cry echoing in the room. Gripping my dress, I whimpered, my body trembling.
“Are you okay, Cinder?”
Slowly, I shook my head, my eyes never leaving the couple as the man struck the woman several times, and people cheered each time she cried out. My insides rolled. I had the urge to vomit. When he cupped her butt cheeks, digging his fingers into her skin while biting her other, I shuddered, stepping back. Then he began whipping her continuously, her cries growing louder with each strike.
Shaking hard, I turned away and closed my eyes. I took tiny deep breaths.
“You’re scared?” Zarina came around to look at me.
“I...” I began, but nausea stung my throat.
“Come,” she took my hand and led me away.
She guided me to the other cages, and I hated all those acts too. This wasn’t how I imagined my first time outside my room. I wanted to go, but Zarina said she was there to work, meaning I had to stay. As we walked, heads turned my way. I clutched my arms to feel safe until Zarina stopped to speak to someone then a man neared me.
Forcing myself to breathe, I stepped away from him and lowered my gaze to the floor. Heat flooded my body, reminding me of the time I was so sick, my body burned even though cold sweat slicked my skin and all I did was vomit for days. Master brought the doctor, who said I had a stomach bug.
This man was like that bug. Some men were undressing me with their eyes, while others looked curious, maybe because I didn’t fit in with the other girls or because I wore fear on every inch of my skin that attracted their attention.
This man’s look was different, though. Admiration was one thing. Leering, another. His was neither. Dark eyes, empty of emotion, slid over me, and I suppressed the urge to bolt. If I did, where would I go?
“Her hair will look beautiful wrapped around my fist while she gags on my cock,” he said. I swallowed the bitter taste in my mouth, not liking him. His eyes never leaving mine, he asked Zarina, “how much do you want for her?”
I looked at her, my eyes pleading for her to save me, to take me away from this place that strangely made what Master gave me much better. The man reached out to touch my cheek, and I cowered behind her.
“She belongs to my brother,” Zarina replied sternly, almost sounding like Master. “And anyway, I thought this was a party where you watch, pick, and enjoy. I do believe no selling of anyone is allowed.” Now, she sounded angry.
“Pity.” He shook his head, his eyes on me. “You’d make a pretty penny on her.”
“I’m sure there’s plenty of girls around here to choose from that you don’t have to pay for, given they’re all here for the same reason. To enjoy themselves,” she suggested.
