1.
The Naming of Red Tiger
When Yao Wang arrived at the House of Everlasting Peace, he burst into bitter tears and broke a window with a nearby rock. For breaking the window he was slapped across the cheek. For picking up a sacred stone as a weapon he was sent to his room: a shabby, cramped space with dusty air. For crying he was deprived of food for a week.
After this, Yao Wang learned not to cross Mother ever again. At the time of his arrival he was only fourteen years old, almost old for a virgin courtesan, and a tangled knot of confused emotions and wild concerns. He lashed for the rock out of instinct and aimed at nowhere and everywhere all at once. Tears blurred his vision. His valise lay on the ground next to his bare, dirty feet. His pant legs were rolled up tightly and his hair, worn long because he never bothered to cut it, swung along his back.
The first sister courtesan of the House of Everlasting Peace to see him mistook him for a boy and wondered where the foretold male prostitute would arrive. Seeing as he did not and instead a frantic beast stood at the foot of the house, groping for more rocks, she rushed out to take him indoors. There, Mother approached him and applied the back of her hand to his cheek. That was Yao's welcome. That is what Mother believed he deserved for having arrived with such a hideous attitude.
"Aiyah! How could we have gotten such a cantankerous child?" Mother sighed.
The eldest courtesan, May Leaf, nodded in agreement. She watched a maid pour Mother her tea and then waddled away, her large bum swaying. May Leaf watched in disgust, pleased not to have been a poor maid who went home to a vicious husband. Her eyes narrowed, her brown irises twitching in contempt. She turned back to Mother.
"But was he expensive?"
"Terribly so," Mother said, running her tongue along her dry lips. Her face was a dry white color, poisoned from lead make-up and years of wear. Her long, gnarled fingers were spread across her knees, tapping occasionally. Mother sighed, her nostrils flaring, dark holes on her face, dark as her eyes. "He is still a virgin, which proves his upbringing. And I believe he was a good purchase. I dare say no other House has a male courtesan in their collection…"
Mother paused, raising her head. She heard feet shuffling past the hall. Her eyes flicked in that direction. The maid in the hall stopped and turned to face Mother, her gaze fastened on to the ground so not to be rude.
"Bring me the new one. I think he has relaxed by now."
The maid nodded and vanished down the hall. May Leaf looked at Mother for a long time, judging what the next course of action would be. May Leaf was a senior courtesan, but she was not old. She was successful but not cheap. She took men by the dozens and all with heavy pockets. The House was not necessarily of a gilded reputation, but May Leaf decided she would try her best to bring Mother more profit, so the courtesans could have some for themselves.
"Will it not seem wrong to the other courtesan Houses that we have brought in a young male?" May Leaf asked. Jealousy began to poison her heart.
Mother laughed in a broken, horrible way; "Pah! Think, May Leaf, can we hear their jeers from atop a mountain of income? Do you know how many men would rather prefer a young male than a used woman?" Her lips spread, revealing yellowed teeth.
May Leaf nearly winced from the force of Mother's bark.
The maid returned with a deflated Yao. Mother beckoned Yao to come closer and dismissed the maid. The maid soundlessly left. Yao slowly dragged himself to Mother, making a show of his stubbornness. Mother ordered him to sit down by her. He did begrudgingly and without a word. She pinched his cheeks and tilted his head this way and that.
Yao's skin was smooth and soft. His lips were naturally full and pink. The top eyelids sloped down evenly, casting a thin shadow over his fiery eyes. His broad forehead allowed for inky hair to spill in an almost feminine way, caressing his slender shoulders and his red peasant shirt. Mother let go of his chin, leaving thick red marks along his jaw. He didn't dare rub them. He watched her evenly, without making eye-contact.
"Wang Yao, you will no longer be known as such. You have stepped on a different road in your life and you must leave the old path behind. You can choose to return to it, but it will be like climbing a mountain. You saw how easy it was to slip to our trail, now imagine trying to climb a steep hill. Your old life is going far away and it will continue without you. You must suffer, you must hurt, and you must live because there is nothing else you can choose to do. In order to remind you of this, we will give you a new name." Mother spoke calmly. She took her tea and sipped it. Dry leaves floated in the top, rocking like ships in a storm.
Yao felt his heart drop to his knees. His fingers curled into fists, but all the fight left his muscles. All that remained was the fire burning in his eyes. Mother noticed this and regarded it quietly, choosing a name for Yao.
"Most of the courtesans here have their private names," Mother continued, "Some choose their old ones and keep it. For others it serves only as an agonizing reminder of a life that dropped them like an unwanted infant. You can choose a secret name or you can keep this one. It is your choice. But you will around me, around the other courtesans, and especially around our customers use the name I will give you. If you ever own your own House then you can use your own names." She added, seeing Yao's face contort.
May Leaf watched the transaction and decided now was the time to finally make her quiet exit. She left like a cat. Mother bade Yao to take May Leaf's seat. Yao scooted to it, tucking his legs beneath him. He waited.
"I can see a tiger in your eyes." Mother said.
The tiger prepared to pounce. But its tail was caught in brambles. Yao lowered his gaze to his fingertips and kept them there. He didn't know what he could do.
"Before I reveal your name, I will explain the rules. In the House of Everlasting Peace you are a part of a heavy machine, just like your sisters here. If one of the cogs cracks or a piece of metal rusts, do you know what we have to do?"
When she paused for some time Yao answered; "you fix them."
"Yes, in a machine where you have the time and resources, you fix the broken parts. Here we have neither, so we throw that piece away and replace it. Your time here is not guaranteed or finite. In a moment you can be snuffed and taken away. I cannot promise you will receive better treatment then. In fact you might be thrown on to the streets where you will be killed if you cannot bring at least twenty men each day. And for you that will be extremely difficult."
"So if I behave—"
Yao's face snapped to the size when it met Mother's palm. Yao stared in the other direction, his eyes passive and his cheek burning bright red. He slowly turned back.
"Do not speak unless you are prompted to. Aiyah! What horrible manners you have."
Yao stared at the table, watching the half-empty teacup trembled with the echo of her slap. His vision blurred as hot tears welled and began to drip down his cheeks and on to the still humming slap.
"Apologize!"
"I apologize, Mother." Yao stated. A maid had told him to call the Madame Mother and only Mother.
"Good, you are learning. A change of scenery can humble a person." Mother offered a lewd grin. Her face stretched where her thin salt-and-pepper hair had been severely pulled back at the temples.
Yao wondered if she did that to stretch out the wrinkles. He said nothing, reminding himself painfully of the bruises and welts he already suffered.
"So here are the rules you must learn for now: respect your sisters and your elders. When you are ordered to carry out a task you must do so without question. For the window you broke you'll have to pay for it. That will cut away from your earnings, so for some time you will have little to spend for yourself. You will pay for your food and for all services done for you. I'd think twice about hassling maids to bring you food wherever you are. Do not think of yourself as king, no matter what your male blood dictates. Here, you are a courtesan, and here you will stay. Do you understand?"
Yao nodded quietly.
"Ah, I am proud to see improvement. A little hit goes quite a long way." She sipped the rest of her tea, allowing Yao to soak up the new information.
It still hadn't hit him yet that he was really here and away from his life before. He felt as though his body was a million miles away and he was a homeless, listless spirit wandering through the streets. He felt he could collapse and the earth would swallow him up. Even the stinging on his head and cheek faded to a dull electric pulse.
"Your name is now Red Tiger."
Yao nodded again and thanked her, resigning to his fate.
There was nothing else he could do.
"Red Tiger, you will be later called by a courtesan to meet all the others. Rain Water will arrive after her appointment. Go to your room for now and sort your belongings. Remember, whatever you have belongs to me as well."
Yao stood slowly as he was dismissed and went back to his room.
He stepped back through the doors and in front of a low bed and an open closet. What few clothing articles he happened lingered in the valise he had thrown open in his madness. Aside from the clothing, a pair of shoes, and other necessary garments, all he had of his own was a jade statuette of a tiger ready to pounce. This he tucked into his clothing, promising that Mother would not own this or his spirit. If she did then he knew he would truly have lost everything. Until then he would suffer and work through his debt, as Red Tiger, and as a male Courtesan of the House of Everlasting Peace.
I do not own Hetalia
This is not a precise representation of Chinese culture, courtesan houses. This is not a nonfiction essay. It's historical fiction for a reason.