Madame Swan
(Swords with Souls)
Cover by Darren Joy
Fantasy Fiction
(Adult content)
After a few months Crimthann had returned to see how Endellion was doing. Once her filthy hair had been washed and the tangles straightened, she looked very pretty. Her long red hair made the green of her eyes shine like emeralds. But she couldn’t stay, her ears were pointed. That would be a death sentence if the wrong person found out. Infants with pointed ears were considered dangerous and were placed on reed rafts to be swallowed by the nearest river. Far in the past, all leaders had pointed ears. They were known for longevity and to be superior individuals with little patience for their inferior subjects. Nowadays, all but the most radicalized parents had any children with pointed ears sent to the dwarves or giants who took them to live with the quarter-moons in the far north. These days, she knew commoners tried to keep births secret until they knew the newborn’s appearance.
The hostel business could be fun and welcoming. There were happy occasions when a patron only wanted to see one girl and that girl shared that sentiment. Rarely, but occasionally they were married. She loved those weddings. But there were also devastating moments when a girl hated pleasing a man she did not love. Not often but there were times when a girl would be found dead by her own hands. After it happened twice, she invested, with the help of Sir Oliver, in farmland discovered by his uncle within an open valley deep in the Black Forest not far from his fiefdom. This is where Crimthann and two of the girls brought Endellion. Crimthann assured Endellion she could leave at any time. Now she’s the keeper of the valley. Some of the older women, no longer requested by patrons, also went to the farm. All the girls in the Black Forest Farm had to swear to secrecy. Unavoidably it would get out but maybe there would be a better king by then.
The agreement, was that girls could work there, without harassment, if they didn’t want to be a lady of the night. In the same valley they were also growing grapes. It was a good place and fairly safe from the king’s or anyone else’s knowledge. The Black Forest was known for wolves and bears, improper folk, and faie. No one saw the need to go there or had the desire to. It was considered worse than undesirable.
Her thoughts wander back to Sir Oisin as he gallantly sits atop his noble horse, Ronnin. Sir Oisin never comes to the brothel. But some of her girls lined up at the tavern he haunted to see what all the fuss was about. She inhales and leans back. She’s enjoyed the intimacy of being with so many different men. The play acting involved in foreplay and the gossip after sexual release made her feel full and useful. Someday she would have to pass the brothel onto someone else, and they could keep its current name or come up with their own. But for now, she still has urges that need to be satiated.
Thinking of Sir Oisin reminds her that Lady Elva had made a secretive appointment to learn the art of seduction. Lady Elva was worried her husband was losing interest in her because of an accident, when she was an infant, causing the tops of her ears to be ripped off. So, Madame Swan had ordered special scented oils to arouse the loins of men. She planned, after their meeting, on gifting the baroness a bottle of the oil. But with the death of the baroness’s husband, and what happened to Prince James, everything is unsure.
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