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'Come along. Up the cart.'

The agent pulled aside the gaudy curtain and directed the two girls into it. Kaa glowered at her mother and the agent, but she climbed into the cart and sat there still like a statue. Jyo wiped tears from her face and tried to look at her mother. The woman glanced somewhere faraway impassively. Jyo strained her eyes, looking at the horizon, hoping to see a dark brown horse gallop down the dirt track, hoping to see frantic green eyes searching for her, hoping that Kai will be here to rescue her.

The sun's rays shone down hard on the track, waves of heat wavering up from the sand.

'You, up the cart quick. I don't have all time, we have to be there by nightfall!' The agent barked. He did not cuff her for disobeying. There was a rule not to damage the merchandise.

Jyo cast one last look at her village, and her mother.

The cart's curtain fell, covering them in half-darkness. The agent shook the reins and the cart tottered down the track, towards the city.

The cart's rhythmic movement made Jyo sleepy. She glanced drowsily at Kaa, who was already sleeping, her head leaning against the wooden board. Jyo pulled aside the curtain, and peeped out. It was twilight. The forest around them looked deeper and darker. Jyo's stomach growled. She was hungry. All she had was the morning meal of plain rice and pickles. She dared not wake Kaa up, nor ask the agent for food.

She had to be strong. She had to survive. For Kai at least.

Jyo let the curtain fall, and retreated to a corner, enduring the hunger pangs, and succumbing to sleep.

'We are here, wake up.' Jyo felt a rough hand pushing her shoulder.

'Gently!' A female voice scolded. 'You will bruise her!'

'I am sorry, Madam.'

'Wake up now, girl.' Jyo's eyes fluttered open. A pale white female face peered at her and a smile spread across the woman's dark red lips.

'She has very nice eyes.' The woman commented. 'Wake up now, Jyo-ha. You are at your new home.'

Jyo struggled to sit up. Her neck muscles felt strained. Kaa! She glances around. Kaa was nowhere to be seen.

'Kaa-ha needed to use the bathroom. She went inside real quickly with some of my girls.' The woman chuckled. Jyo looked at her suspiciously. Kaa will never trust strangers so easily, even if she needed the bathroom badly.

'Girls?' The woman called. A few maids came out and helped Jyo out from the cart. 'Bring Jyo-ha into the inner rooms and have her take a hot bath and dress her.'

'Yes Madam.' The maids bowed. 'Lady Jyo-ha, this way.'

Jyo let herself to lead away, rather bewildered. They called her a lady? What kind of courtesan parlor was this. A hot bath? A new dress? As she was escorted through the doors, some bits of talk floated into her ears.

'Very nice girls, Ouu. Here is your payment. The younger one you called Jyo-ha. She will fetch a high price.' The woman laughed beneath her fan, her wine-red eyes gleaming. 'Hair the color of pale sky, and blue-violet eyes. A definite charmer.'

'Lady Jyo-ha, your dress.'

The maid tightened the blue silk sash around Jyo's slim waist and brought her towards a polished silver mirror. A silver mirror! Jyo gasped. She had never seen such a thing like this. Everything around her was so luxurious, so dreamy. Only if Kai was here, everything will be perfect. She glanced at her dress, soft white gauzy material covering a inner gown of light blue silk, embroidered with silver birds and flowers. The maid styled her hair and attached silver hairpieces and fresh white narcissus to it. They made her sit down before a small mirror, and painted her face, reddened her lips and cheeks.

'Ahh, you look beautiful!'

'Madam!' The maids bowed and retreated, leaving Jyo sitting alone at the table. Jyo turned around and for once, looked at the woman properly.

She was tall and lithe, with a head of bright copper-red hair, the ends dashing down to her knees. A beauty tattoo of royal blue was marked on her forehead. She carried a blue fan, and she herself was dressed in rich reds and purples. Her wine-red eyes examined Jyo carefully.

'You are Jyo-ha?'

'Yes Madam.' She heard them call her Madam. Not knowing, she would just follow.

'I am Gin-yuu (Silver Moon). The owner of Gin-Yuu-Ka (Silver Moon Parlor). You will be one of my children now, Jyo-ha.'

'Children?' Jyo stood up, not understanding. She blurted out. 'But I am sold to a courtesan parlor! I am a …a …'

'A prostitute?' Gin-yuu supplied and laughed merrily. Her eyes narrowed slowly, and she spoke, her voice having a strange effect on Jyo's mind. Jyo reeled a little, feeling the hypnotic voice sweep into her ears. 'No, Jyo-ha. From now on, you are a haa-nyo, a flower lady, of Ginyuuka. You will work for me, your mother. And do what I tell you, like how your good sister is doing now……'

Jyo's eyes blinked slowly. Ginyuu moved closer to her and caressed her cheek. Something was floating around the room, a scent, like sandalwood, but the maids did not burn any scent, Jyo's mind recalled hazily. The smell was pleasant, very pleasant.

Jyo's head nodded slowly. The scent permeated into her nostrils, into her brain. It was a very, very soothing feeling. Ginyuu took her arm.

'Come, Jyo-ha. There are people I like you to meet….'

'Fifty gold taels for Jyo-ha!'

A burly man yelled, thumping his hairy fist onto the mahogany table.

'One hundred!'

Another yelled.

The burly man stood up and flashed a glare at the one who bided higher than him. It was a pale-faced man wearing rich dark green garments.

'You deflowered her sister, you greedy son of a dog. And you still want some more?'

'The one with the highest bid wins, don't you know that?' The other man spat into the burly one's face. 'Kaa-ha was an interesting experience, worth my seven hundred taels. I am sure her sister will be better!'

The burly man shook his fist at the pale-faced man.

'Well, well' Ginyuu walked towards the two angry men. 'The highest bid wins, my lords. Jyo-ha will be worth your money.'

Ginyuu batted her eyelashes and sauntered off to her seat besides the screen where Jyo-ha was sitting behind. The girl sat still, hypnotized by Ginyuu's magic, totally oblivious to the shouts and rants of the bidders.

'Three hundred gold taels for Jyo-ha!' The burly one shouted. The pale-faced man bided a hundred taels more. Ginyuu smirked. These animals, she laughed merrily in her mind, fatten her pockets.

Jyo looked in front of her, stone-still, captured in Ginyuu's magic. Ginyuu let the men see her for an instance, and their animal instincts were fired. She was a beautiful thing to them, soft blue hair floating around like a nimbus, large blue-violet eyes that hold so much delicateness, like a frail angel, waiting for them to save her.

The bidding continued, higher and higher. Ginyuu's smile grew wider and wider.

Suddenly, a young page boy walked up to Ginyuu and whispered into her ear. Ginyuu's face broke into an ugly grin, which was quickly wiped off.

'Well, gentlemen. Bidding stops for now. Someone has already bought Jyo-ha.'

The maids filed in and escorted Jyo-ha away. Dissatisfied shouts and yells came from the floor. Ginyuu shrugged her shoulders indifferently.

'You know the rules, gentlemen. How about other ladies? Clapping her hands, a group of young women strolled in. But the dissatisfaction was still there. Ginyuu did not want any disruption to her business. She sighed, well this was only a measly amount compared to the money she will be earning from Jyo-ha's first night. 'Wine be on me tonight, gentlemen, drink your fill!'

For now, the men were satiated.