-Chapter Two-

Okay, so how does a tiny girl remove almost three hundred pounds of comatose man from her hallway?

I'd like to say that's a joke, but it's not. I'd also like to tell you that I did it with my amazing magical powers, but I'd be lying. The truth is, I had to flirt a bit at the waiting customers in order to get them to do it. Embarrassing, really. I often wished that the Madam would hire a bouncer or something, so I wouldn't be stuck doing this sort of thing, but of course she never did.

Once the Nord was safely heaved outside and his clothes chucked out after him, I stashed the staff and ran back to Eria. The oaf probably wouldn't freeze to death. Probably. I had more important things to worry about anyway.

Eria was still in her corner, rocking back and forth, sobbing. I pulled the blanket from the bed and draped it carefully over her shoulders. "Shhh…shhh…It's going to be all right. He's gone. It's okay."

She shook her head, "N-no! No, it's not! L-l-look…" She pulled the blanket back to show me her arm. I recoiled. You didn't have to be a healer to see that the man had broken it, not to mention dislocated her shoulder in the bargain. And here I thought he had just hit her.

I regretted not castrating him when I had the chance, Madam's rules or not.

Eria burst out into howling tears again. Damn. This would not do. She'd scare off the other customers, and then all the workers would get their pay docked. I balled up a bit of the blanket and shoved it into her mouth. Her eyes widened and she looked at me plaintively.

"Bite down on that when it hurts. It'll distract you until I get the potions for you." And it'll keep you at least a little quieter, I thought, though I felt extremely guilty. "Stay here, and try to calm down," I told her, before rushing out of the room.

Fortunately, even though my makeshift lab was further down the block, I kept a small store on hand, just in case. I picked out two, along with a stick that I'd hoped to never use, smiled genially at the customers, piped something cheerful along the lines of: "I'll be right with you!" and went back to my patient.

I knelt in front of the girl and pulled the blanket from her mouth. "Okay. Drink this one first." I instructed, uncorking the bottle with a loud pop.

Obediently, she leant forward and swallowed the offered concoction. She grimaced at the taste before her eyes rolled back into her head and she crumpled. She'd probably be pretty annoyed with me for knocking her out without warning, but it was definitely better than the alternative.

"You'll thank me for that later," I muttered, bracing myself against the wall. "Oh, I hate this part."

With a much less pleasant pop, I yanked her shoulder back into its socket. Brutal, but effective. If I'd had more time, I'd have done a slower job. The fast-fix method tended to tear things. But since she was unconscious, and I had plenty of healing magic at my disposal, I was willing to take the risk.

A moment of more gentle work had her bones set and braced against my makeshift splint. Then, holding her arm steady, I began chanting a simple cure spell. The pale light streamed from my hands into her body. Finally, I sat back and wiped my forehead. There! That should be enough until we get the potion into her.

I smiled, pleased with myself, and propped her up against the wall. I gently pried her mouth open, and poured in the healing potion, rubbing her throat to make sure she swallowed it. When it was gone, I ran my hands over her arm. Perfect. Good as new. Yay for me.

I grinned wickedly. Now came my favorite part -- waking up the patient.

I placed the tip of my finger against her forehead and cast an itty-bitty shock spell. She jerked and her eyes flew open. "Wha-? Who? Oh... hello, Cla'nee. Why am I on the floor?"

I shrugged. "Long story. Trust me. Short story is: you attracted the attentions of a drunken Snow Bear disguised as a Nord. He snapped your arm, I cracked his head, he's cooling his heels in a snowdrift, I fixed your arm, and now you're taking over for me for a while."

"Huh?"

I poked the tip of her nose. "I am going to go speak to the boss. You are going to get dressed and keep an eye on things while I'm gone. Understand?"

Guess she was still a little woozy. Hopefully I didn't shock her too hard.

She nodded, struggling into her dress. Once she was decent, I took her hand and lead her into the waiting room. There, I grinned cheekily and waved at the men and women. "Okay, everyone! I need to go run some errands, so Eria here is going to take care of you for a bit! Be nice to her, she's never done this before, so if I find out that anyone tried anything, I'm planting a staff in their skull. Got it?"

Nods, grins and whistles met my announcement. It was almost a pity that they would behave. One of these days, someone would actually try something, and they'd find out that I wasn't being cute. I hate acting perky. And dealing with the Nord had given me the beginnings of a migraine.

I massaged my temples and opened the door with a little more force than was necessary, letting in a blast of frigid air. Ignoring the yells of protest, I let it slam shut behind me. I threw back my head and took in great gulps of the blessedly cold weather. The sun was just setting, and the wind had picked up. Despite that, I didn't care that the dress I was wearing was far too flimsy to wear outside for long. I was just happy to be out of the sauna that was Madame Hlaano's House of Pleasure.

Yes, that is actually the name. Have I mentioned that the woman has the imagination of a brick? No? Well, the woman has the imagination of a brick. She has the imagination of an unimaginative brick.

No, I am not bitter.

Sadly, I needed to walk down to her home and deal with her now. We usually didn't exactly see eye-to-eye on a lot of things.

Actually, she hated me.

I think she hated me because I pretty much controlled her brothel, and I hated her, well, just because. Partly because I had to pretty much control her brothel, but without the benefit of anything really useful. Like...oh... money, for example. But mostly just because.

At least her house was where I kept my Alchemy equipment, so I'd have the chance to restock the potions I had just used. That way, this wouldn't feel like a complete waste of my time.

The snow continued to fall. It caught in my blue-black braid like diamonds, and blew into my eyes, making me blink. I made my way down the cobbled street, kicking up little puffs of snow in front of me. Occasionally, a passerby would either give me a wolf whistle, or a disgusted glance. I ignored both. I was used to them by now.

I knocked on Tevala Hlaano's door. No answer. I knocked again, thankful that I enjoyed this weather. Even when my extremities begin to go numb.
Eventually, she managed to rouse herself and trundle to the front door. I heard her tromp up to it before it opened a crack, greeting me with a beady little eye. "Whad'ya want, 'Nee?"

I stifled a groan. I'd told her again and again, my name was "Cla'nee", pronounced like a slurred "claw-neigh." She, however, insisted on calling me "'Nee," pronounced as "knee." I never figured out if she was simply too dense to know the difference, or if she simply enjoyed provoking me. "I need to talk to you. I'm coming in."

I shoved the door open before she could react. She sprang back, surprised. You see, normally I wasn't this testy. Normally, I managed to make myself behave. The problem was that I had had the most unnerving feeling that somebody was looking over my shoulder all day long, and it was driving me crazy. I couldn't shake it, and I kept spinning around, hoping to catch someone in the act.

Of course, no one was ever there. And now, with the Nord, and the broken arm, and the mess, I was dangerously close to completely losing my temper, along with any semblance of self-control I had left. Which was bad.
Trust me.

The Madam slammed the door shut, muttering something about the cold. She was a big woman, especially for a Dunmer, with a startling shock of red hair. Annoying as she could be, she was still quite impressive. Granted, compared to me, a goblin was impressive.

She rounded on me, hands on hips. "Why are you here? You're supposed to be watching the girls!"

"I was. That's why I'm here!" I narrowed my eyes and fairly spit out the words, "That drunken oaf was back. Again! And this time he broke Eria's arm! And he's not the only one that you allow back in, despite me telling you time and time again that they're bad for business and terrible for the girls!"

"They're paying customers!" she blustered back at me.

"I don't care! Haven't you been listening? He broke a girl's arm! If I hadn't knocked him out, who knows what else he would have done to her? Either you let me throw them out for good, or I'm going to start using Destruction spells to remove them!" I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down. If I yelled too much, it just reduced her to a useless, blubbering mess. "Ma'am, I'm quite serious. If one of those men lays another finger on those girls, I'm leaving."

"But-"

"No. I will. You'll lose a lot more money without me than without those goons. The girls have been through enough without having this hanging over their heads." It was an empty threat, and I knew it. I just hoped she didn't, because threatening her purse was the only way to get results around here.

The Madam looked me in the eye and an evil grin spread across her face. "Except…I still own you, 'Nee. You belong to me, and you have to do what I say. And I say that paying customers get what they want, no matter what!"

Defeated, I shook my head. I hadn't really expected this to end any other way. The woman only wanted gold. She didn't actually care about the girls.

I was about to get my potions and leave when I got an idea. It was stupid, foolhardy, and quite possibly the worst idea I've ever had.

Naturally, I decided to do it.

"All right, fine. But don't come whimpering at me if something happens. I wash my hands of this whole mess."

She looked at me smugly. "Good. I'm glad we had this little talk. Is there anything else you need?"

To shove that grin of yours so far down your throat it can say "Hello" to your toes. "I need to pick up some potions before I go." I muttered, heading toward the basement.

My "lab," such as it was, was down there. Even though I only owned the Novice-level equipment, I was pretty proud of my Alchemy skills. The basement was a squalid little place, damp and mildewy. Still, it was more private than any other place I spent my time in. And it had a secret that only I knew about.

Once I was sure that Hlaano hadn't followed me down the stairs, I grabbed a sack and shoveled all of my equipment into it. They were joined by the few ingredients I had, as well as a couple of my best potions and poisons.

Then I double-checked that the Madam wasn't watching, and pulled out a certain stone in the corner. Behind it lay my secret, my stash. The coins that I had taken from customers I had served, or pick pocketed, or skimmed from the Madam.

Thieves Guild force of habit, like I told you.

I weighed the bag in my hand. I had about a hundred gold now. I would have more, but I often had to pay for new ingredients out of my own pocket. So what I had wasn't a fortune, I wouldn't be able to buy any armor, but it was enough to feed me long enough to get to another town and find another job. It would have to be enough. I added the coins to my sack.

I slung the sack over my shoulder and looked over the room one last time. If things went the way I expected them to, I'd never be able to see this place again. Somehow, I wasn't nostalgic.