Kioku: Is this my cue to laugh insanely? Aside from that, I'm not sure if I should be happy about the hijacking. Don't indulge in property damage when you arrive...
Lauren-sama: I'm glad you think I did a good job filling out the minor chara in the previous chapter. I wasn't sure if I'd filled them out enough or too much, so it's nice to hear that I did just find. (Melannye may not stay a minor chara, though; I'm not sure yet.) I'm very happy that you enjoyed all four scenes & found the final one sweet and that the descriptions in it worked so well.
Claudia: Thanks for the dark chocolate! I'm working very hard on keeping the chara mostly IC, and I'm quite happy that you also find the end of the previous chapter sweet.

I only just noticed that I've been neglecting to include disclaimers, so...
Slayers is the creation of Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi. I don't own it; they and a lot of other people do. I'm not making any profit off of this story.
I may go back soon and reload the previous chapters with the disclaimers added.

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Blue Lotus
By Ryo Hoshi

Chapter 6 Changes (1)

Zelgadiss adjusted his cape and veil nervously. He still couldn't quite believe that he had accepted Ami's request that he join her that afternoon. He had been aware in a vague way that the girls in the brothels lived under strict travel restrictions, but he hadn't before quite realized that those rules would apply to her.
He managed to determine that yes, the travel restrictions did allow her to leave unaccompanied, but he'd still found himself incapable of refusing her. There was something attractive about the idea of helping her choose a few new outfits, too attractive for him to say no to it. He was still wondering if it was worth all the bother, particularly that of having the guards manning the gate to the red light district making sure they had record of who was inside his car as he entered the red light district, when her door swung open.
It took him a minute to realize that it was Ami standing there. He wasn't used to seeing her wearing more than lingerie under a robe. He didn't mind the change, though. The simple white dress she was wearing, with matching gloves, stockings, and shoes, looked very good on her. The only discordant part of her outfit was the white leather choker locked around her neck with a pair of metal tags dangling from it.
She smiled cheerfully at him. "Thank you for coming, Zelgadiss-sama. I wasn't sure if you would come."
He shrugged slightly. "I said I would come, and I keep my word. Let's go."

Amelia sighed. She had been expecting Zelgadiss-sama to walk with her. Instead, he was currently following her from nearly a block behind her and doing his best to not have it look like he was with her while on the street. She knew that she really shouldn't be surprised, but...
It was still depressing, particularly since at the start Zelgadiss-sama had been walking with her. Then he had insisted on lagging behind her after they had stopped at the border between the red light district proper and the shopping and entertainment district that was treated as part of it for the guards to check her tags. It was a humiliating reminder for her, and it didn't help that it seemed that the only reason Zelgadiss-sama had been walking with her in the first place was because he hadn't realized that her status would be so obviously displayed.
She stopped at the corner to check the sign, noting as she did that Zelgadiss decided to take an interest in the window of a store selling linens and beds. The sign said she was at 'East 25th Rowan.' A quick glance told her that Rowan turned into a dark and narrow alleyway to her left, which meant that she needed to stop and remember the directions Asp had given her. The clothing store her friend had suggested was supposed to be less than a block away from here, but she couldn't remember if she was supposed to go straight or turn to the right.
As Amelia was lost in thought, a big thug stepped out of the alleyway and grabbed her tightly from behind, pinning her arms to her sides. She tried to break free or at least call for help, but was thwarted by a combination of a large hand being quickly clamped over her mouth and her captor's seeming insensitivity to pain.

Zelgadiss looked at the window display of one of the stores and tried not to look suspicious nor be too interested in what was on display to be oblivious to Amelia's actions. He hadn't realised before what form the passes issued to prostitutes took, nor how obvious it would be to everybody exactly what the profession was of the girl walking with him. It was embarassing, and the jokes he had overheard the guards at the checkpoint making about her and himself didn't help diminish his embarassment in the least.
The shops weren't what he had expected, either. The ones so far had been mostly selling furnishings and room decorations. A few were somewhat out of place, like the small 'mart' right outside of the guard-station that carried groceries and various other things a person might find themselves needing on short notice or a store carrying only mirrors. Of course, he was certain that once they were more than a couple blocks away from where the brothels were restricted to the stores would at least become more exotic; these stores probably survived almost purely upon the business of those who lived in the immediate area.
That didn't keep the window displays from being interesting, though. The things displayed in the windows were always tasteful and sometimes even appealing. The bed in the window of this particular store was a good example of that second category.
The four-posted frame was made of ironwork, its lines plain and simple aside from the posts themselves which twisted their way upwards. A piece of dark wood was fixed at the bed's head as a headboard, a bit of a gap between its ends and the posts it was between so that the rods holding it in place could be seen. The white bedding looked somehow appropriate to it, and the mattress looked soft.
The thought of how nice Ami would look on that bed reminded him that he needed to be paying a bit more attention to her so he'd at least know which direction when she started walking again. He looked towards the sign, only to see that she was gone. He walked carefully towards where he had last seen her, berating himself for having been so distracted.

Amelia watched her cousin warily. She didn't like the fact that he'd gone to such trouble to meet her again after having sold her simply to get her out of the way. She had been relieved when she realized that she'd never see him again; rumors find transportation easily among the girls of the brothels, and she knew that Alfred had at least ordered several murders after she had vanished and that she was lucky to be alive. Seeing him again made her wonder if he had changed his mind about letting her live.
"Hello, my dear cousin Amelia. I've not seen you in such a long time." He grinned, and lifted Amelia's chin so he could see her eyes. "You wouldn't believe how disappointed Kanzel has been about all of this... He had originally wanted me to kill you, did you know that? But I wasn't quite prepared to kill a member of my own family, yet, and he relented when Mazenda proposed that we sell you...
"I'm sure that, if you weren't gagged, you'd ask me to thank her for you. Do you have any idea how disappointed I was to discover that I couldn't come and tell you how much you had to thank Mazenda and myself for? I'm sure your thanks would have been worth the cost of buying your virginity..."
Amelia became all too aware of the feeling of his other hand slowly moving up her leg, lifting her skirt, and the feel of his crotch against her. She tried to break free, and he only laughed. The two goons with him were as silently oblivious as ever, and continued to hold her against the brick wall. She was left with only the hope that Zelgadiss-sama would notice she wasn't on the street corner and come to save her.
"I had been expecting a much friendlier welcome from you, Amelia..."

Zelgadiss heard, faintly, somebody saying something to somebody named 'Amelia,' and realized that something was wrong. Not making any attempt to approach them quietly, he arrived at the mouth of the alley in time to see a man turn the corner at the other end while a pair of matching thugs let Ami fall to the ground so they could delay him long enough for the fleeing man to get away.
A pair of fireballs took care of them, revealing that they were merely golems, and he knelt beside Ami. He gently took the gag off of her, checking he as well as he could for any injuries. "Are you okay," he paused, unsure for a few moments of what name to call her, "Amelia?"
She looked at him, eyes wide. "Zelgadiss-sama, you heard...?" He nodded. "Please, Zelgadiss-sama, don't call me that in public. I...I'll explain later, in private. Please?"
"I will hold you to that," he said, not wanting to insist on her explaining right now. "We're going back to the Blue Lotus now, though. You're in no condition for us to continue your shopping trip. I'll tuck you into your bed, and let you get some rest." He lifted her up in his arms, ignoring the feelings that stirred within him as he did so, and started walking back to the guard-station.
She sighed and rested her head against his chest. "Would you please stay with me, Zelgadiss-sama? And, please, I don't want this reported to the guards. Their investigation of it would do nothing more than cause me trouble."
He sighed. "I suppose you'll explain that later, when you explain why you don't want me to call you by that name?"
She smiled slightly and nodded. "Yes, Zelgadiss-sama."

Zelgadiss made sure that the apartment's door was locked, wanting to let Amelia, or whomever she was, change. It didn't hurt that this way he also got more time to consider what had happened. The walk back, with her often in his arms and close beside him (except for the few minutes it took for Madame Zola to take her collar off of her), had not been conducive to deep thought.
The door to her bedroom creaked as she swung it open, and he turned. Coherent thought took a short break as he realized that she was wearing her white robe, tied closely. "Zelgadiss-sama, thank you..."
"I couldn't let you be...attacked when I was supposed to be walking with you," he said with a faint blush gracing his cheeks.
She smiled. "I promised to tell you why I didn't want to report the attack, and why I didn't want you to call me 'Amelia' in public. I assume you would rather I told you now, instead of later?"
He nodded, and she sat down on the couch. "The man leading them is...a relative of mine. He was the one who sold me, and he has been...disappointed about not being able to...hire me. If he had succeeded with his intentions, we would at best be separated for at most a month while waiting to make sure I was not carrying his child. More likely, I would just...lose my contract instead. If that happened..."
"Oh. Then, he could...rent you." He sat down on the couch beside her, letting her lean against him and unconsciously slipping an arm over her shoulders. "But wouldn't that be a reason to report him? So he'd be arrested and unable to try again?"
"It's not that easy. He had my papers forged, because he didn't properly have custody of me. That would be almost certain to come out, and I'd be freed... He's a dangerous man, though, and I feel safer here right now."
"That's why you don't want me to call you 'Amelia' in public, right? Because that's your real name?" He wondered where he had heard the name before, but it probably had nothing to do with her. Even with her having false papers, that had been common for a while when a family had wanted to hide the fact that they had sold one of their daughters.
"Yes. I'm currently waiting until it's safe to leave..." She looked up at him with a slight, nervous smile. "Zelgadiss-sama, you've been very kind to me, and you're really a very good person. I really like you..."
He looked at her, his confusion clear and a blush on his face from the compliments. "I like you, too...but...?"
"Oh, no 'but's. I just would like you to make love to me. Often."
He stared at her, not missing her giant blush. "What? Why?"
"Because, if we're not trying to make a baby, I'll lose my contract. I won't cheat Rezo-sama by lying about it, either. It wouldn't be just. Also..." She looked down, shyly. "I would like to have your baby."
He pulled her close to him and hugged her gently. "Are you sure about that, Amelia? You don't care if you get hurt, or maybe even die because...?"
She sighed and relaxed against his body. "I'm certain, Zelgadiss-sama. I like you, a lot, and I want to do as much as I can for you and be as close to you as I may..."
He sighed in resignation. "Then, if that's what you want... I won't refuse you it."
"Thank you, Zelgadiss-sama."

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The average prostitute in this world is functionally a slave to the owner of her brothel. Admittedly, they are usually very pampered slaves, they officially will be free should they either buy out their contract or wait until it runs out, and any offspring of theirs are almost always free. However, since it's very rare for a prostitute's employment contract to be allowed to expire -- they can be renewed without the prostitute's consent -- many who cannot save up the money to buy their contracts out or who have trouble waiting until they have enough to do so try to run away.
The travel restrictions also are used to control where prostitutes go and when they are out and about. While prostitution is an accepted and highly regulated business, it is not considered acceptable to have prostitutes running around all over the place, which is why the red light district exists. Over the years, the area that prostitutes are restricted to has been called the 'red light district' even though it might be more accurately called a 'Tenderloin' as the brothels themselves are restricted to a smaller section contained completely within it.
It is actually not all 'sleazy,' though certainly there are some parts that are more sleazy than others. Most of the theaters are inside of this district, as well as all the houses of the professional hostesses, who are very much like the geisha of Japan. The professional hostesses are a highly respected class, and have great freedom.
(Details on this will be covered at another time.)
The tags are, like the travel restrictions, part of the rules regulating when and where prostitutes go. They are a clear sign that the wearer is a prostitute, and both serves to make it easier to enforce the travel laws and the unintended effect of warning people of the wearer's profession.

As always, dark chocolate and reviews will encourage me to work faster and are very welcome.