HPDBC Book 5 – Chapter 249
Book 5 – Chapter 249
Book 5 – Chapter 249<~> Book 5 - Chapter 249
When we stopped at the Ruby Vixen brothel, it took me a second to recognize the place. It did seem to still be a brothel, but it has gone through a transformation since we've been gone. The building wasn't exactly in bad shape before, but now it had been completely retouched and repainted. There were new windows inset into each of the floors, including the lobby, made from opalescent stained glass that would let light through without actually being clear. Various images were depicted in the translucent stained glass of some recognizable people. Among the ones I recognized were Oceane, Sibyl's older self paired with her newer self, Grace and her sister Lia, Raya's new twin-tailed form, and even myself...
Raya gasped. "This place looks so pretty now! Hey! Is that me!? That looks amazing!"
Cecilia pulled me aside while the others took in the sight of the revamped Ruby Vixen. "Once you get everyone loaded off and into the brothel, I'll go check our carriage and the uunas into a stable. How long do you plan on staying here this time?"
"I'd love to say not long, but trouble has a way of finding us. A few days at least," I replied as I climbed down from the coachman's seat.
The door to the Ruby Vixen opened and I smiled up at someone I recognized the moment our bond connected. Grace had come to greet us. "Lilith! Raya! Sibyl!" The woman smiled and rushed over to hug me before moving on to Raya and Sibyl. "I was so excited when Jade told me you and your friends would be arriving today." She glanced over at the women who were coming out of the carriage. "It seems you have brought quite a few new sisters home with you. Let me go get someone to help them get settled."
"Not all of them intend to work at the brothel," I hesitantly told her. "And one of them is a kid, an orphan we picked up."
"No trouble at all! We can put everyone up regardless. We are family after all," Grace said with a smile.
The women awkwardly entered the brothel, still unfortunately wearing their previous slave clothes mixed in with what few spare outfits we were able to give them. With so few things to spread around, all of them were looking pretty underdressed. Tenna and Kino followed the group inside, the wolf boy looking particularly embarrassed by the idea. Nelly kept the young Maddie close, a brothel isn't exactly a good place to take a child but no one seemed concerned about it at the moment. We'll figure out what to do with her soon enough. Once the carriage was empty I looked up at Cecilia and tapped the carriage on the side. "We're all clear, head back here when you're done and we'll figure out what we're doing next."
"Sounds good!" Cecilia replied as she gave a feeling of acknowledgment through the bond. Nikka chuffed at me and I stopped to pat her on the flank before she turned to pull the carriage away.
"Do you have any bags with you?" Grace asked as she watched Cecilia drive off the carriage off.
"Mimi's got it all."
She smiled. "Yes, of course. Well! Follow me then. There are lots of things I would like to fill you in on since you have been gone."
I followed her into the brothel. "Will Oceane be joining us?"
Grace shook her head. "Unfortunately, that will not be possible today. She has become very busy, even busier than she was before. Still, all of it has been growing well."@@@@
The inside of the brothel had changed significantly. Before the interior had a pretty homey feel, but now the place looked much higher class than it had before. All of the wood has been redone, the place has been repainted in tasteful colors, and the natural light that the stained glass windows let inside made the place feel a lot more pleasant to hang around in. There were still comfy looking benches and chairs covered in pillows everywhere but they had been replaced with newer high-quality ones. Tisha and Jade, the two bobcat snow leopard hybrids, were already talking with the new succubi and making sure all of them were comfortable. They had greater control over the bond and there was no telling how much their powers have improved in the last three weeks. They would do a good job helping the new girls improve their control over their new abilities.
I chuckled. "That does seem ironic." I paused for a beat before deciding to change the subject, "How have you been? Has everything been good with Lia?"
"She has been good! She has been mostly working the desk and I have been teaching her how to balance the ledgers. She also takes a few clients from time to time... Truthfully it has been a little weird to see her do that, but she needs to get it from somewhere. She spends time with some of the other succubi but seeing her interested in men all of a sudden has been a bit strange."
I frowned. "Do you think it's a result of the transformation?"
She shrugged and sighed. "I am unsure. Perhaps she has always had some interest in men and just never expressed it, or maybe she is just trying out new things because the brothel has become... even more sexually adventurous as of late. When the entire place is full of women who can shapeshift, the difference between the sexes feels a lot more... trivial. But she seems happy and I have not noticed any other odd changes, other than how much happier she is. No longer being bedridden is enough to explain that though."
"And you? How have you been?" I asked.
She smiled. "I have been good. Since Oceane has been busy with other things lately, I've taken over a lot of the responsibilities here. The two of us still regularly talk and she asks my advice on her other endeavors of course, but my day to day has been managing the brothel. Though, even that has become quite a bit easier since everyone's transformation. The bond by itself has resolved a lot of the friction between the girls and now that sex has become synonymous with eating for us, a lot of the girls are less focused on the money." She laughed. "Actually, the hardest part after everything has changed is coordinating the ones who are off doing other things. Many of the girls who work in the mercenary company are still doing one or two shifts a week here, so there is a lot of scheduling to account for. Still, as you can see, everything has been going well... I feel like all of the pressure that was on my shoulders is gone now. Now that Lia is safe I have been... just enjoying life more."
"That's great to hear Grace," I said with a smile.
"Now enough about me, what about you? How was your trip to the capital? With the number of people you brought back, it couldn't have been simple. I'm glad everyone has returned to us in one piece, I had been a little concerned for Raya and Sibyl but they seem to be doing well."
I nodded. "Yeah, it's quite the story."
I spent the next bell telling her everything that happened in the capital. I even delved a bit more into my personal background and revealed some of the stuff I hadn't told her before. She quietly listened and asked a few questions here and there until I had finished recounting the story.
She shook her head. "I still cannot believe the terrible things they must have done to those girls you brought here."
"Yeah, that's why I was hoping you would help them. Most of them aren't going to come with me, the carriage was already overfilled and most of them weren't interested in going to the frontier with us either. The only ones that are going to come with us for sure are Kal'daeryn and Nelly. Oh and I suppose Quinn, but he wasn't among the ones we found in the cells with Kal'daeryn," I said.
"I will help all of them figure out what they want to do. The ones who would not mind working at the brothel can do that, and the mercenary company should be a good first step for the ones who want to fight. Those two hyena sisters in particular I can see taking us up on that offer based on the emotions I felt from them through the bond." Her expression turned a bit more somber. "Those girls you brought who are catatonic will be a challenge to work with, but I've seen people like that before. I have a friend who works at the church of Morkinnen who may be able to help. You can leave them in my care, I'll do my best to get them back into a healthy state, as long as it takes."
"Thank you, Grace, that would be a huge help."
She smiled. "No need to thank me, Lilith. Whether you like it or not, I will always be in your debt. Anything I can ever do to help you, I will. But... if I may ask something in return, I would love to spend another night with you before you leave Goldenhearth again. Perhaps something a bit more gentle this time..."
I laughed and reached forward to grab her hand. "Sure, I promise."