Sahithi's Adventures

Vanished

“Who is it?”

“Lord Robert’s man is here.”

“I am on my way. Serve him some refreshments till then.” She turned to Sahithi. “You stay here till I return.” She took her to a closet and said. “Watch carefully.” Sahithi watched amazed as the woman turned the handle three times clockwise, three times anti-clockwise and twice clockwise again before finishing with a single anti-clockwise turn. The door opened to reveal a secret passage. “Take this if I don’t return. Never hesitate if you want to be safe. Understand?” Sahithi nodded. “Don’t worry. Lord Robert sends for girls every now and then, so it is a routine matter, nothing to worry about. Still, a girl has to be cautious, especially a beautiful damsel like you.” She added before striding out majestically like a queen in her palace, which was more or less the case here – she was the Queen of this little establishment that her patron Amarapudi Lokesh had granted her for her services.

When she entered the audience hall, she found a handsome young man with a soldierly bearing. She greeted the man folding her palms, which he returned by a gesture seeming to tip his imaginary hat to her. “What brings you here, captain? The usual?” she asked in a business-like tone, aware that the captain did not believe in small talk. He came straight to the point. “We are having a party at ‘His’ castle tonight.” Stressing the word ‘His’. “We need 30 fresh stock to attend the guests.” She cursed internally at the word ‘stock’ though she had been listening to that word ever since she had been entrusted with this establishment. She never used the offending word herself but couldn’t prevent the morons calling themselves men from using it either.

“You can have them.” She replied, keeping a tight rein on her emotions. “Shall I select them or will you choose?”

“My choice.”

“As you wish.” She clapped her hands and an attendant appeared. “Get 30 of the new girls.” She ordered. The man left immediately and appeared a few minutes later with 30 young, nervous, frightened girls, all of whom seemed to be in almost the same age group.

“I need to examine them properly.” She nodded and turned to the girls. “Strip!” the girls were shocked but complied when they saw the look of impatience in her eyes. She could be ruthless when she had to and they were afraid of her. He watched impassively as they became naked, trying to cover their private parts with their hands out of shame and embarrassment. They had not broken their bread yet.

He walked to them with slow, deliberate steps, stopping before each girl, examining them from head to toe, sometimes testing their legs or pressing their b***s. It was as if he were examining cattle and not humans. The girls stood shivering as he moved around them, inspecting them carefully. After what seemed hours, he finally returned to his seat. “These will do,” he said. “Can they dance?”

“Yes, of course they can dance!”

“Good. Send them by 6 pm tonight.” He ordered and marched out of the room without a backward glance.

“Get dressed.” She told the girls, who quickly put on their clothes, relieved that their dignity was restored so soon. “Sit.” She said to them. They complied, making themselves comfortable. She looked at them with an appraising eye. She had rescued these girls from the deepest hell holes previously and they were grateful for that. She had been training them in the art of dance and seduction for the past three years. She never forced any female into this quagmire, even advising them against it if she could. Those that remained were those willing to give and receive pleasure. Each of them had a story that was tragically unique in its cruelty – she didn’t want to remind them of that. But, she had to make sure they did it correctly, or her reputation would be lost. In this world, reputation is everything.

“I have been training you for years for this day.” She started. “Though I don’t like to push you into this, one way or the other, you will have to join this trade. Things are less painful if you do it willingly.” She gazed at them, her faces reminding her of her early days at ‘the palace’. “You chose this voluntarily, without any pressure from my side. If you follow my words, things will be smooth or they could become very painful, which I don’t want to see happen. Pale-faced people will make you do a lot of things – dancing is one of them. Hopefully, they will let you off with some dances, but be ready for more.”

“Do we have to, umm, sleep with them?”

“Possibly.”

“Will they make us strip?”

“Yes.”

“In front of everyone?”

“Perhaps.”

“What if they want us to dance naked?”

“You will dance.”

“But....”

“Remember this. You are going into their den. I will not be able to help you there. So, the best thing is to do what they say.” She looked at their terrified faces. “I am really sorry. The captain knows all the old girls, so I can’t swap you with the regular girls.” She took a deep breath. “You have to earn your bread the hard way.” She pitied their predicament, but there was no other way. “Remember, girls,, use your wits to protect your life but not your virtue.” She was pained to say this but she had to. “Do whatever it takes to survive. They kill disobedient girls.” They looked frightened. “As long as you obey them, you are safe. Return alive tomorrow, and you will all have a week off.” They stared at her wide-eyed – a week off for a night’s work?

She returned to her room after sending them away. Sahithi was to be found nowhere in sight. She went to the closet and opened it to find no one in it. Where had she gone? Lalitha closed the door of the closet swiftly and checked every nook and corner of the room after having bolted the door from inside. When she found nothing, she went back to the closet and opened it, unlocking the secret passage. She stared at the dark passage that yawned like a monster’s open mouth. She found it empty.