Lora wiped the sweat off of her sister brow with the hem of her dress. The sick girl had been sweating for the last 3 days and confined to her bed, with only her sister to care for her.
"It's called Demonstain, Lora. It comes from when a man who is dirty with demon filth enters a woman and leaves his seed there." said another woman who walked into the small dormitory.
"I know what it is called Madame Vora, and be quiet or the Lord will hear you." Snapped Lora angrily as she placed a fresh towel on her sisters forehead.
"You know once he finds out you two are not the virginal twins your parents claimed you to be, then he will throw you in with the other girls. Nothing special would protect you little snots then" Said the Madame with a smile.
Lora narrowed her eyes, anytime Madame Vora talked to her, there was always a catch. Or at least a beating. Or she just wanted something.
"What do you want?" Lora said finally as the silence seemed to go on for too long.
"An extra horn of gold each day for my share is all. You sure wouldn't want the Lord to find out one of his prize cock suckers is sick with a disease from having relations would you now? He would separate you for sure, probably end up killing the sick one there anyway if she manages to hold on more than a few days."
"Done." Said Lora in a monotone and she went to her purse and pulled out 2 silver coins and held them out to the Madame. "Because I am the only one working, this will have to do until she gets better."
Madame Vora smiled big and reached out and snatched the two silver pieces greedily. She stuck them in her mouth and tasted them, making sure they were silver and not cheaper platinum or aluminum.
"You poor naive child." The woman said after a while. "You do know that the Demonstain is incurable, right? And of course as Madame of this establishment, I was obliged to tell the Lord ten minutes ago what I have found out about you two."
"You lying whore!" Yelled Lora as she leaped up from the bed, her hands balled into fists.
Madame Vora just laughed and put out a hand and shoved the girl back down onto her sisters bed.
"What are you going to do Lora? Attack me? Maim me? Call me more names? You are completely powerless. You are nothing! I am the one who decides what happens here. I worked my way up to this position!" Yelled Madame Vora as she moved closer to Lora. "I even murdered a few people to get where I am. And what are you to criticize me? Just a worthless orphan who was only special because she had a twin sister, and now that is going to be gone in a matter of days."
"VORA!" Came a bellow from down below. "Where are those lying bitches!"
"Up here my lord!" called Madame Vora.
Lora heard clunky footsteps on the stairs up to the dormitory and a man swearing under his breath. The Lord was not really a Lord, but had the temper of one. He ran The Glowing Eye, although not well. Madame Vora managed to keep quite a bit of coin from him, even more than he suspected.
When he crested the stairs, Lora saw that he was drunk, which was a good and a bad thing. He was more malicious and vicious when he was drunk, but his tirades were usually shorter as he would get drowsy and pass out. But tonight there was a fire in his eyes that made it seem to Lora that this would be the worst night of her 18 year old life.
"YOU!" He pointed at Lora. "You are what was going to help me retire! Live out the good life without having to deal with whores, or drunks. Now I find out not only is your sweet sister not a virgin, you were hiding it from me!"
"No milord." Said Lora, her eyes at the ground in front of her.
"What did she say?" The Lord slurred at madame Vora.
"She said no, milord." Vora cringed as she said this, the man's breath stank of leaf and drink.
"Well, tonight you are going to say yes." He grinned stupidly. "I am throwing out the both of you! Out into the cold and out where thieves and murderers would make short work of you both unless the wolves got to you first."
Lora's eyes grew wide and her heart beat rapidly. There was no way her sister could have gotten out of that bed, it would have been a death sentence. An idea popped into her young head and as revolting as it was, it seemed to be the only way that both Ilsa and Lora were going to get out of that mess alive.
"Wait, milord!" She said as the Lord turned to leave. "There must be something that I can do to convince you to let us stay until my sister is better."
"Looking that way I would say she hasn't got more than a day before her soul is thrown into the Pit, but what are you suggesting you lying skank?"
"Since we are no longer as valuable since my sister was raped-"
"Your sister is a whore and whores do not get raped little one. They only give out their cunts for free, which is bad business for me." Growled the Lord.
"What I meant milord, was that you could have me. You would not be losing out too much on gold and you would be able to have the night of your life." Lora swallowed nervously as she said that.
"You are just a cock sucker and I doubt that you would have gotten too many good tips from your whore friends around here, but I am feeling in a good mood today. Vora!" The madame snapped to attention. "Hold the sick one up so that she can see what her dear sister is doing to buy them one more day together."
Vora rushed to the sick girl and lifted her up into a sitting position where her eyes fluttered open and she came to consciousness. The Lord grinned and began to take his belt off.
"Don't look Ilsa. Close your eyes." Whispered Lora as she got down on her knees in front of the man who now had no pants on.