The Underworld
Chapter 3 ~ The Dancing Dove

Bryony walked into the brightly lit building. Unlike places she had been before it had an aura of good cheer inside it. There was a hustle and bustle as serving maids brought mugs of beer and platters of steaming food to customers. Almost everyone was smiling, laughing or dancing. People talked merrily and ate the delicious spread put before them.

She stepped carefully through the crowd of people milling about inside and walked over to the counter where a servant girl was cheerfully washing plates and humming to herself. Bryony had no idea what she was doing, but seeing all this happiness made her feel so lonely that she decided to try and talk to the maid who looked about her age.

"Um... Excuse me, miss. How much would a warm roll cost?" Bryony asked timidly.

She felt around in her threadbare pockets to see if she actually had any money to spend. She didn't. Not even a half-penny. Bryony almost burst into tears. The serving girl must have seen this in her eyes because she immediately took a liking to the poor, skinny creature standing in front of her.

"They normally cost a penny, but in your case I'll make a special exception" she said with a smile.

"Oh no, I wouldn't want charity... I wouldn't want to intrude..." Bryony was so shy she almost ran away.

"It is no trouble at all. I recognize a friend in need when I see one. I think you deserve a warm roll more than most of the people here tonight." she reached onto a shelf behind her that held the food items and produced a sticky bun for Bryony.

Bryony tore into it at once and devoured it in mere seconds, forgetting that this was extremely rude and she should mind her manners. She was so famished and half starved that she could barely even notice how she was acting. The serving girl looked shocked at this behaviour. She immediately went into the back kitchens of the tavern and brought back a small tray with several warm loaves of bread.

"I think you'll appreciate these indeed. I've ne'er seen a soul scoff food tha' fast! You must have been starving!"

Bryony nodded, her mouth full of bread. She ate all the food in silence before bursting into tears and apologizing profusely.

"Oh! Miss... I am so sorry! First I barge in with my bad manners and then I inhale this food without even saying thank you. I owe you something! Anything! Just say it..."

"Well. You can start by telling me your name and where you came from. And how it is that they treated you badly enough for you to come to bein' tha' hungry! Oh yes, my name is Rosetta."

Bryony launched into the whole story of her life (which was rather short because she couldn't remember much) and gave Rosetta all the details. Instead of looking shocked like most people were when they found out Bryony was a prostitute, Rosetta's face looked thoughtful and sad.

"Ah, yes. I see. It's very bad times these days that people are coming to this. Me own aunt was a whore a long time back. She escaped from her master, who was a cruel ol' 'un, yes he was. It's a good thing I found you when I did too. This Tekla woman, whoever she is will most certainly be searching for you tomorrow morning when she finds out you're missing." Seeing tears appear in Bryony's eyes again she quickly added, "But I won't let that happen. You can come home with me after my shift is over and we'll find you some new clothes, a good meal and a good hot bath."

Bryony almost bowed down and grovelled, before Rosetta told her that she would have none of that and she was simply doing a good deed for a fellow kindred spirit. Bryony's luck was already changing for the better. She now had a roof over her head, food in her stomach and pretty soon she would finally be able to cast off those rags she'd been wearing for years. She smiled and grabbed Rosetta's hand as they skipped through the moonlit streets of Corus to Rosetta's home loft.