If I make a wrong move, she’ll detonate my heart, and I’ll be dead for good this time.
So, I turn my back to her and strip out of my underthings, hiding my father’s necklace in my clothes.
Barely warm water washes over me. But as I scrub my skin, wash my hair, I only feel dirtier, exposed to this disgusting place. I keep my back turned to the room, cleaning myself as quickly as I can. The minute all of the suds wash off of my body, I shut the water off.
“See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Madame walks back over, extending a towel out to me. I quickly wrap it around myself. “This way.”
She leads me to the wall of mirrors and instructs me to sit on one of the stained, padded stools. “Natalia,” Madame yells down the row.
Natalia is obviously a man. But he’s painted as a beautiful woman. Wears an overly sexual teddy. “Oh, everyone out there is going to love her,” Natalia says when she reaches me, raising perfect eyebrows at my dripping wet appearance. “She’s gorgeous.”
“She’s to be the star of the show tonight, so make her shine,” Madame says with a smile as she lays a hand on Natalia’s arm before walking away.
“It’s what I do best,” she says with a bright smile.
She starts brushing through my wet hair, adding in a little bit of product. She produces a blow dryer and soon my hair is being tugged and pulled and blown every direction.
“So, you’re a Royal, I hear,” she says when she’s finally done drying. She moves on to a curling iron. “Is it true?”
I bite my lower lip, looking up at her heavily made up eyes. I’m terrified to be here. I want to get this over as quickly as possible. Conversation wasn’t expected. Finally, I nod.
“So, are you a descendent of Dorian or Malachi?” she asks as she winds my hair around the hot iron. “Because, girl, around here, it seems to matter more and more these days. I swear, someday Malachi’s posterity will just wipe out those of Dorian, except their numbers are so large, they could never actually stand a chance if it ever came to battle.”
Natalia goes on and on, not actually expecting any response from me. And, I find she’s actually fascinating to listen to. She shares far more information than I bet she’s supposed to.
I learn that all the dancers here are descendants of the exiled grandsons. They’re Born, but have never had any claim to royalty. They’re the only exiled allowed in Roter Himmel . They make up about two-thirds of the employees of Klub Blut und Lüste , which I assume is the name of this club. Humans make up the other third.
There’s some kind of hard feelings between the Born and the human dancers. The clients who come to the club often prefer the humans because they’re allowed to feed on them while they engage in…activities. But they do have a large turnover rate. Not everyone who visits the club has good control.
If the humans are turned, they’re killed the minute they wake up as a Bitten.
Less pay as a Born stripper, but better job security.
Natalia never once stops talking as she moves from my hair to my makeup. And she takes her time. Foundation. Contouring. Heavy, heavy eye makeup. Lipstick.
I watch myself in the mirror as she transforms my face. I’m radiant. Glowing in the dim light. In some ways, I feel beautiful. But that face looking back at me, it isn’t me. I’m buried under five pounds of cake.
And it makes me feel better about this new prison I’ve been sent to. It’s not me that’s going to be forced to do whatever they have planned for me. I’m buried under the mask. Hidden deep inside until this passes over.
“Look at you!” Natalia coos as she finishes with me. “They are going to love you tonight!”
She sets the last of her tools on the table and lets me take it in one last time.
“Thank you,” I say through a thick throat, trying to smile. “You did a wonderful job.”
“It’s what I do best,” she repeats once again, flashing that
So, I turn my back to her and strip out of my underthings, hiding my father’s necklace in my clothes.
Barely warm water washes over me. But as I scrub my skin, wash my hair, I only feel dirtier, exposed to this disgusting place. I keep my back turned to the room, cleaning myself as quickly as I can. The minute all of the suds wash off of my body, I shut the water off.
“See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Madame walks back over, extending a towel out to me. I quickly wrap it around myself. “This way.”
She leads me to the wall of mirrors and instructs me to sit on one of the stained, padded stools. “Natalia,” Madame yells down the row.
Natalia is obviously a man. But he’s painted as a beautiful woman. Wears an overly sexual teddy. “Oh, everyone out there is going to love her,” Natalia says when she reaches me, raising perfect eyebrows at my dripping wet appearance. “She’s gorgeous.”
“She’s to be the star of the show tonight, so make her shine,” Madame says with a smile as she lays a hand on Natalia’s arm before walking away.
“It’s what I do best,” she says with a bright smile.
She starts brushing through my wet hair, adding in a little bit of product. She produces a blow dryer and soon my hair is being tugged and pulled and blown every direction.
“So, you’re a Royal, I hear,” she says when she’s finally done drying. She moves on to a curling iron. “Is it true?”
I bite my lower lip, looking up at her heavily made up eyes. I’m terrified to be here. I want to get this over as quickly as possible. Conversation wasn’t expected. Finally, I nod.
“So, are you a descendent of Dorian or Malachi?” she asks as she winds my hair around the hot iron. “Because, girl, around here, it seems to matter more and more these days. I swear, someday Malachi’s posterity will just wipe out those of Dorian, except their numbers are so large, they could never actually stand a chance if it ever came to battle.”
Natalia goes on and on, not actually expecting any response from me. And, I find she’s actually fascinating to listen to. She shares far more information than I bet she’s supposed to.
I learn that all the dancers here are descendants of the exiled grandsons. They’re Born, but have never had any claim to royalty. They’re the only exiled allowed in Roter Himmel . They make up about two-thirds of the employees of Klub Blut und Lüste , which I assume is the name of this club. Humans make up the other third.
There’s some kind of hard feelings between the Born and the human dancers. The clients who come to the club often prefer the humans because they’re allowed to feed on them while they engage in…activities. But they do have a large turnover rate. Not everyone who visits the club has good control.
If the humans are turned, they’re killed the minute they wake up as a Bitten.
Less pay as a Born stripper, but better job security.
Natalia never once stops talking as she moves from my hair to my makeup. And she takes her time. Foundation. Contouring. Heavy, heavy eye makeup. Lipstick.
I watch myself in the mirror as she transforms my face. I’m radiant. Glowing in the dim light. In some ways, I feel beautiful. But that face looking back at me, it isn’t me. I’m buried under five pounds of cake.
And it makes me feel better about this new prison I’ve been sent to. It’s not me that’s going to be forced to do whatever they have planned for me. I’m buried under the mask. Hidden deep inside until this passes over.
“Look at you!” Natalia coos as she finishes with me. “They are going to love you tonight!”
She sets the last of her tools on the table and lets me take it in one last time.
“Thank you,” I say through a thick throat, trying to smile. “You did a wonderful job.”
“It’s what I do best,” she repeats once again, flashing that
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