Chapter 411
"Red Lobster"
They walked for quite some time. The mist had grown thicker.
How had none of them fallen ill to the mist? Eva wondered.
They traversed the town until they finally arrived at a rectangular stone building. When the doors opened, the man with the top hat was greeted with kisses on both his cheeks by two women.
"Home sweet home," The Godfather whistled, stretching his arms out.
They entered a large room that had been sculpted into a bar. The floor was covered with rose-red carpet and behind the bar sitting in the corner was a pokemon Eva had never seen before.
The pokemon was pink with a pale-yellow muzzle. It walked on two legs and had a red-and-white striped spiny ruff around it's neck that resembled a scarf. On top of it's head, a grey-shell resembling a crown bllinged under the candlelight.
(A Slowking?) Eva realized.
The Godfather smiled at the pokemon, "My man," before strutting across the floor and leaning over the counter and smiling at a woman in purple beside the pokemon.
One lady, wearing a purple dress smiled, "Daddy's home!" She announced, planting a kiss on his cheek. She gave a warm smile to the women in his entourage, then nearly scowled at the new face, "And who is she?" Measuring Eva.
"This," The Godfather gestured with his arms, "is Red Lobster."
Eva rolled her eyes at the nickname The Godfather had given her. "Look," She began, "I appreciate you helping me out but I'm not a hoe."
The women all glared at Eva. "You got a problem with hoes?" The woman in purple behind the bar asked with acid in her voice.
Eva paused before answered, "Well, yes, actually-"
The Godfather cut her off, "You didn't seem to have a problem acting like one to get yourself out of the dungeon, did you?"
Eva exhaled, "I was locked up and-"
"Look here, bitch," The Godfather exhaled, "You listen to her," pointing to the woman in purple, "Whatever she tells you to do, you do it. We'll figure out a way to even out the favor I did you."
Eva opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. What could she say? Should she object? It would be all too easy for The Godfather to have her thrown back in the dungeon. Especially with a powerful pokemon like a Slowking at his side. Eva's pokemon were still locked in the dungeon. She didn't dare think about retrieving them now.
"Hmmm…" The petite woman in purple groaned. "Well, no time to rest. We have customers waiting. Time for a line-up."
(Line up?) Eva glanced around confused.
"Let's go, bitch," the lady in purple waved as the other women hurried off.
The Pegasus was a very high-end brothel that'd operated for years in the red light district and away from the eyesight of morally astute. It was a place frequented by high-ranking officials and officers.
Nunzio had taken his leave from kissing the Pharaohs of the Promised Lands asses. By his side, his best friends Vito and Stromboli had decided to not let the pharaohs have all the fun tonight.
"Here ya go," the barkeep smiled, placing a three narrow glasses filled with violet liquid on the small circular table, "this will continue to protect you from the mist."
"Bottoms up, boys." Nunzio cheered, slamming the shot of violet liquid down his throat. It had a sweet tangy taste unlike anything he'd sampled before. "There's no way," turning to the barkeep, "you can tell me the secret ingredient to make this stuff?" Holding up the empty shot-glass.
"Trade secret." The barkeep, wearing her signature purple, smiled.
Nunzio shrugged, "Damn shame. Everyone on the continent could use this stuff, ya know."
"To quote the owner, "and we can use more gold so they can bring their asses here if they want it"," She copied The Godfather's bombastic voice.
"Hehe," Nunzio chuckled, "See fellas," gesturing to the two silent giants, "toots here nailed it. Sounds just like him."
Suddenly, one-by-one scores of women marched into the room. They all stood shoulder-to-shoulder smiling at the three men.
The barkeep motioned to the men, "Which girl would you like?"
Eva awkwardly stood in the rear, silently praying she wasn't selected. She took a second to glance at the faces of the men.
(Oh no!) She panicked. Nunzio was associated with Carmella and the King. She'd seen him a few times in passing when she was appointed ambassador but they'd never spoken to one another. (If Carmella finds out I'm here, they'll throw me back in the dungeon.)
Eva lowered her eyes and stared at her feet and the legs of the women around her. (Maybe he won't see me.
Nunzio scratched his chin as his eyes scanned the platoon of harlots. He looked left-to-right, side-to-side. And each time his gaze surveyed the women, his eyes lingered on the same woman.
(Have I seen her somewhere before?) He wondered as a spell of dizziness shook him. The side effects of the elixir the barkeep had just served him. (Ehh, maybe not. Still, she's sexy.) Staring at the tall red head in the back.
"I want her," Nunzio pointed to the tall woman with flaming-red hair.
Eva's skeleton nearly jumped out of her skin. (No!) She thought.
The woman in purple turned to Eva with a sinister glint in her eyes. She said nothing, she motioned for Eva to join Nunzio.
(Oh God!) Eva gasped. (What should I do?)
Seeing no other option, Eva squeezed past the other women and smiled at the elfin loudmouth and approached him, "Hi," she said.
"Very nice," Nunzio slurred as the elixir's effects percolated through his body. "Have we met before?"
Eva shook her head, "I think I'd remember."
"Right," Nunzio smiled, "There's no way you'd forget this face."
(I would if I could.) Eva thought.
Nunzio offered his arm, "Well, shall we?"
Eva was lost. She had no idea where anything in the building was.
Realizing this, the woman in purple took Eva's hand and smiled at Nunzio, "She'll just be a minute. You can head to the room and get ready."
"Oh," Nunzio groaned, "Okay," looking a bit confused as he stumbled out of the room and into the adjacent corridor.
The woman in purple dragged Eva behind the bar, "Is this your first time?"
Eva paused. She wasn't sure what the woman in purple was referring to. Was this her first time having sex or her first time being a prostitute?
"Yes." Eva answered.
The woman in purple quickly retrieved a glass and filled it with silver liquid, "Have a drink. It makes things a bit easier." The woman in purple advised.
Eva shook her head, "I don't drink."
"Well, maybe you should start," The woman in purple pressured.
Eva stared into the woman in purple's brown eyes, "I can't sleep with him. If he finds out who I am-"
"No one cares who you are here." The woman in purple countered. "As long as they don't have a bad time, they don't care. They're here to have fun not to spread gossip about any of these girls' lives. We see them in the street all the time and nobody talks about what happens here. Whatever happens here stays here."
(I can't take that risk.) Eva thought. She searched for a way out but found none. (What am I going to do? What can I do?)
She was alone. There was no Prince coming to save her, the damsel in distress. Eva was on her own with her own wits to get herself out of this situation.