Massimo worked gently and quietly, as Elsa lay asleep on the bed. Exhausted from her savage assault suffered five days prior, Elsa had spent almost every minute since her arrival in Massimo's workshop sleeping.
Although he did not waste any time in beginning the treatment to save her life, Massimo could not deny that her beauty did not, at first, take him aback. The vast majority of his customers were soldiers, men whose limbs were torn from their bodies in violent explosions. He had never had a female client, let alone one as striking as Elsa.
Because of this, Massimo felt he was obligated to create a pair of legs befitting of her beauty and had spent many late hours perfecting them. This was not something he normally did, but then, Elsa was not a normal client.
He continued to adjust the prosthetics, securing them into place as Elsa stirred. Massimo beamed with pride as he looked down, admiring his masterpieces, while Elsa sat herself up and slowly leaned forward, her eyes transfixed on her new legs.
"Here it is, Elsa," smiled Massimo, reaching for the stocking that lay at the end of the bed. "Let go of what you know, and let my legs carry you," he offered, effortlessly sliding the fabric up her leg and over her thigh.
Elsa let out a breathless laugh, placing her hand gently over her mouth as she ran the other back and forth over the smoothness of the wood.
"They are beautiful," she whispered, eyes glossy with tears.
Massimo grinned, before gently taking her chin between his thumb and forefinger, turning her face towards his. "You are beautiful," he smiled, caressing her cheek softly with his thumb.
She gave a small laugh, her glistening eyes filled with what one could only describe as a sense of relief. She closed her eyes and let herself dissolve in the touch of his hand upon her face.
"Elsa, may I ask you something?" he enquired, softly.
Elsa nodded gently, slowly reopening her eyes as Massimo's face turned to one of concern.
"Who did this to you?" he asked, leaning closer in towards her.
Elsa inhaled deeply before tightly closing her eyes and allowing her head to roll back. Massimo watched as her tears began to spill onto her cheeks and roll down her face. She exhaled slowly, swallowing hard before she reopened her eyes and met his gaze.
"I do not know their names," she began, quietly. "I never dared to ask."
She was crying now, and Massimo continued to watch her as she gently cupped her hand over his own. She pressed it against her cheek firmly, closing her eyes and lowering her face as Massimo pulled her into his embrace.
"I was nobody. Just a whore. Somebody for them to use and then leave to die," she whispered through her tears.
Although a man of reputable taste, even Massimo knew of the new type of erotica that had begun to sweep through Germany. 'Pornographic snuff films' were what they were called. Although he had wondered whether his services would one day be required by the unfortunate stars of the new genre, Massimo had never imagined a day in which a woman as beautiful as Elsa would be brought to his workshop.
"You are not nobody," began Massimo, cupping her the other side of her face with his free hand. "I have not yet met a man who did not know of you."
Elsa looked up, her expression one of confusion.
"What?" she whispered, her eyes searching his as if they could offer clarification.
"You are a star, Elsa Mars," he grinned. "Even I had come to learn your name, from the many number of soldiers that passed through my workshop."
Elsa didn't know how to respond. She was aware of her status within the small yet irrefutably rampant world of erotica but was not aware that her reputation preceded her, even outside of it. She couldn't help but smile. She may not have made it as a star on the stage, but she was a star, nonetheless.
"They say-" Massimo hesitated, removing his hand from her cheek.
He wasn't sure if what he was about to say was appropriate. Or if it were something Elsa would appreciate hearing. But his curiosity had got the best of him and he wanted to know what Elsa made of the statement.
"They say you make men ejaculate gold."
Of all the things she had heard said about her, Elsa had never been confronted with an appraisal as candid and outspoken as this. As a result, she was unsure how to respond.
Noting her silence, Massimo immediately regretted his statement, feeling foolish for even considering it an appropriate thing to say. He could not bring himself to meet her gaze.
"Forgive me, Elsa. I –"
"Would you like to discover the degree of truth in that statement for yourself?" she interrupted.
Massimo looked up, allowing his eyes to meet hers once more. The silence became almost deafening as he examined her expression to determine the validity of her offer.
Elsa allowed the silence to thicken around them before finally cutting through it with her voice.
"You are my saviour, Massimo Dolcefino. And I am indebted to you," she stated, trailing her fingertips gently alongside his jaw.
"Would you like to know how it feels to be with a star?" she asked, her voice soft and her words deliberate.