Lady in the Iron Mask

II: Chapter 10

As Eve struggled upstairs with Evie, she groped along the wall for the handle to number 10. She could hear groaning and ecstatic female voices, and cringed.

No doubt, this was a brothel. She had never been inside of one, and the exterior of the building hadn't suggested anything remotely suspicious...apart from the red beam. She wished she had paid more attention, because then perhaps everything would have been resolved by itself.

But she knew that she was dependant on Scott, if not in the way you would expect. He was the hidden key to the Brotherhood, and she also needed him to help Evie, who was now lying propped up slightly against the wall on a hard, cold double bed. Her eyes were squeezed tightly shut, and her mouth convulsed in agony. Eve looked around the room and rifled in the drawers next to the bed, hoping to find some medication for Evie, although she was unsure as to if they even had such a thing.

She cried out as she felt around in a drawer, and came away with a used sheepskin manhood-protector. Shaking her hand, the dead skin flopped onto the floor, oozing yellow-tinted, pus-like liquid. Immediately, she turned and ran to the door, snatching up a lonely chair in the corner and propping it against the door, as well as locking them in the room. Hands shaking, she rubbed them furiously against the bed covers, trying to eradicate the scent and feeling of the sheepskin off her fingers.

Feeling satisfied only when her hands were red and chapped, she collapsed onto the bed next to Evie, staring at her. Eve knew she would have to leave the room once more in order to get help for her friend, but she was afraid for the first time in a while.

She was not afraid of what happened in this place, nor was she afraid of the men. She was afraid that she would not be able to defend herself in front of Scott lest he figure out her identity, and would have to compromise her dignity and do things she didn't want to to get this medication. But surely, she would have to gather her courage, otherwise both of them would be goners.

Propping herself up, she sighed and then went once more over to the chair, removing it from the door as well as unlocking the door. Then, she went back along the corridor and downstairs, to confront Scott once more.

She found him fondling some women in the corner after asking James where he was. He was clearly already intoxicated, and she groaned in annoyance. 

"Scott?" She asked sweetly. "Do you know where I could find some medication for Evie? I think her wound may be infected."

His head rolled around on his neck, and his eyes struggled to focus.

"Whur-What? Go ask James," he responded, before burying his face in one of the women's tits, who giggled and pushed it further in.

Eve's ears turned pink and she decided to leave him to it, before heading back to the bar. 

"James." She stared at him expectantly. "Do you have medication or a pharmacy nearby? My friend's wound is infected and I'm not sure she'll last the night."

He laughed, twirling a set of copied keys on a large key-holder. Eve saw the copy of the room 10 on it, and shuddered, knowing she would have to steal it off of him. This was easy work for old Eve, but to get this close to a man she had no feelings for whatsoever now bothered her, and Kieran's face popped into her head when she decided to try and hit on James to acquire the key. 

"Why should I care?" He leaned across the bar, "If she dies it means one less noisy bitch, right? It's not like you're paying for the accomodation anyway."

Infuriated, Eve reached over the bar and grabbed James by the neck of his tunic, yanking his face close to hers.

"It matters," she snarled, "If you want to be alive by tomorrow morning. Okay? If she dies, you're next."

With the other hand, she grabbed his still one, which held the keys, and fumbled the room 10 off the hook while still keeping his attention on her. It was easy; he struggled a little, attempting to throw off her grip, and realising he couldn't, threw her a horrified expression.

"Who...who are you?" He whispered.

"Nobody you need to ever know," she murmured, smiling like the true rogue she was, then threw him backwards after slipping his keys back into his hand with one missing, like nothing ever happened.

He slammed against the back wall of the bar, knocking a few bottles of wine onto the floor where they smashed. However, against all of the noise of the brothel, nobody even noticed their little exchange. His chest rising and falling rapidly, James gathered himself, adjusting his tunic. 

"The medication?" Eve asked, throwing him an impatient look.

"I'll get one of my girls to bring it up," he muttered, glaring.

"Well remember this, and remember well: nobody will even notice if you suddenly have a little...accident, if things don't go the way I want. Tomorrow you will give me every single detail you know on your friend, Scott."

"But I don't know anything!" He simpered.

"We'll see."

With that, she stalked off, planning to go back upstairs. Yet, when she was about to step foot on the bottom step, someone called out to her from the corner nearby, stopping her.

"Very impressive, little lady. I've never seen such a petite woman intimidate a grown man like that." 

Her eyes followed the sound of the deep voice, and met eyes with the darkness. 

"You are?" She swallowed, feeling slightly nervous, for she could not see his face.

"A friend." He puffed on a pipe, and the flames crackled, lighting his coal black eyes for a second, before the light was extinguished once more.

"No friend of mine would be caught willingly in a den of wolves such as this."

"How do you know I'm here by choice? Do they not say that to stay hidden well is to deceive and pretend you blend in?" He smiled coolly, his five o'clock shadow illuminated by the pipe. "Isn't that what you're doing by manipulating that poor bastard over there?" He nodded at Scott over the other side of the room, his face hidden by a cloak and the darkness.

"You know nothing of what he has done," she hissed, surprisingly furious, "This man is the reason I'm in this pit, and he will not be alive to see the next day after he has served his purpose."

He sighed, the sound whistling between them, relaxing Eve slightly.

"I wouldn't be so sure, Eve."