I don't own Final Fantasy or anything related.

8/23/13

Chapter 4

Her stay in the room didn't last very long, in fact she'd only stayed there for a few days. He'd started out by stripping her of all of her clothes and putting a collar around her neck. "A lot of girls need to be trained. Some are naturals, they can adapt to this easily." he explained, "They've already been humiliated and obedient their whole lives. But some, like you, their parents weren't good teachers. They praised their girls for small things, build their confidence until they don't let anyone's insults bother them." He rubbed his hands all over her back, "It doesn't work to have girls like you."

She briefly wondered if he actually believed in what he was saying. There were sick people in the world, she'd met 5 in the last few days, but he just sounded so… convinced. Who could have brought him up to believe those things? "My how they've bruised you." he clicked his tongue as he felt every bruise on her body. "Shame." he murmured, "Now get into the cage."

"What?" she looked towards the cage. She recalled him saying that she would sleep in it but… she couldn't actually fit inside of it. If she curled up tightly, she knew she could, but why would he want her to do that?

"In the cage." he repeated. She inched towards it, unsure of how to proceed. "My dear, am I going to have to force you?"

"I can't fit.

"An obedient girl would have found a way to fit." he said as he dragged her over to the cage. It took a while for him to force her in, she'd struggled a lot, but eventually she gave up and allowed herself to be stuffed inside. "I'll be back in an hour or so." he said before shutting off the lights and leaving. Maybe she was just bad at telling time, but his 'hour or so' somehow lasted for 3 days. When he finally returned, she couldn't feel a thing. Her entire body was numb but that was good, because what he did next would have hurt if she could feel it. He said that he didn't want her to body to be harmed. She was his after all and he hated scarred women. But he wanted her to feel pain, he wanted her to know what would happen if she ever tried to resist him.

Sex, water torture, electroshock therapy, and prolonged periods without food or water. It was hell and it had the exact same effect on her that Don wanted. She wouldn't try to escape or dare to defy him.

What came next was less painful. Still numb and disorientated from her training, he dressed her up and snapped photos of her. These were to be hung in the lobby of the Honeybee in, so people would know what they wanted before they made an appointment. Her services had a base price of 112 Euros and went up depending on how well she did.

She'd been doing so for 14 days and as of now, she was paid well above the base price. But only because she was afraid. She'd seen several girls taken into the training room and she didn't doubt that one slip up would lead her there as well. But even with all that, she was exhausted and she knew that someone would be upset with her performance and file a report. That report would land her on the wrong side of Don Corneo's anger.

A knock at the door broke her thoughts. She was on her break and everyone knew that. The other workers didn't mingle until after closing hours… Was it Don? He made it a routine to waltz into a girls room and occupy her for the rest of the day. She'd been chosen for that quite a few times and it wouldn't surprise her if he had returned.

She forced herself up ad opened the door. It wasn't someone she was used to seeing. This … boy… was young. Really young. Which she found odd, because most people who came to the Honeybee were older. She moved aside so he could enter and closed the door after him. "Your new?" he asked as he looked around the room.

She didn't answer, she never spoke to them unless they really wanted her too. And none of them had ever attempted small talk. Why didn't he just get it over with? "Yes…" she answered finally.

"I know it sucks." he sighed, "And I haven't been in your position for years." Her position? Had he been one of the… it didn't make sense. Don didn't like boys did he?

"You work here?" she asked.

"I do… not as one of the… Honeybees…" he cleared his throat and straightened his tie. Only then did she notice the servants uniform he was wearing. How could a servant know what it was like to be her? All he did was clean and serve drinks. "I meant the training room… I haven't had to go in there for a few years…" he clarified, "I saw you in there a few weeks ago."

"Why are you here?"

"I wanted to talk," he shrugged, "I hope I'm not sending off the wrong impression." He almost was, but the way he talked was playful. He didn't seem to want anything more then a simple conversation. But she wasn't in the mood for that. "Where are you from?" Could this be a test? If she slipped up and told of her origins, would he report it to Don? She wasn't going to make a mistake like that, no matter how tired she was. "I'm from America. How about that? You don't have to tell me exactly where you're from. Just the country… You sounded like you spoke English. Can you?" he asked. She gave him a nod and he smiled at the response, "Good. You know, you're the only one who doesn't talk to me." he said, "I mean, everyone doesn't trust me. But they would have usually hurled an insult at me by now."

He sat down on her bed and watched her, his eyes weren't like the other guys. They weren't cold or filled with lust, they were normal. Maybe even curious. They were also blue, like Genesis's. "I've been here since I was 10." he said, "Does that help? Will you talk to me if I tell you more about myself?" she stared at him before giving in slightly.

"How old are you now?" she asked.

"15." he answered quickly, "I just wanted to see if you were okay, thanks for the engaging conversation." he said as he stood up, "I suppose I'll be serving you dinner soon."

"I suppose." she echoed as she watched him leave. Her eyes flew to the clock and she frowned, he'd eaten up what little bit of free time she had left. In 2 minutes, another client would be waltzing through her door. If she remembered correctly, it was a man named Beatus who would be coming. He was 34 and although he often found himself to be too nervous to speak to her, he had no problem abusing her when she couldn't figure out what he wanted her to do. Even then, he was a lot more polite to her then her other clients.

Beatus was on time, as he always was. He entered without knocking and closed the door after himself. He pointed towards the bed, his mouth opening slightly but then closing before any noise could escape. "You don't have to speak, I know exactly what you want." she hated having to speak like this. She knew what he wanted, that was true. But she hated having to pretend that she wanted it too. She did this because she had too, but if she ever made it home, would people understand? Or would she be cast aside as nothing more then a whore?

She had worked herself into a routine that didn't take much time. She let her hands wander, touching him until he couldn't stand the teasing. Then he would position himself on top of her and enter her. Often she had to make sure he was wearing a condom, because he didn't care for safety. But he was always done before 10 minutes passed. Again, her eyes flew to her clock. It was 9:30... What would she be doing at home if it were this time? In her bed curling up and sleeping? Helping her mom finish cleaning or even staying up and watching horror movies with Genesis.

Beatus finished quickly and tossed a few bills at her It wasn't American money and she had no idea if it was anything close to her base price. "This… This is 112 right?" she asked. Beatus dressed quickly and shoved her aside. "Hey, is it-" he slapped her and cut her off immediately. Even if it wasn't enough, she would stay quiet and let him leave. She just had to hope it was enough.

She closed the door after him and curled up near her closet. She wasn't sure if anyone else was coming to her room but she was tired. They would wake her up, or she would hear them coming. Either way she would be sleeping. Not in the bed, she refused to get into the bed until a customer requested her to. It was filthy and soiled and it was a reminder of everything she'd done since she'd been taken from home. She suffered discomfort on the floor while she was at the Honeybee and only let herself be a little comfortable at Don's Mansion.

It was there that she knew her enemy. Don Corneo, he was the only man she had to worry about, there were others. The men who watched them in the dining room, or the men who guarded the doors so no one could leave or enter late. But they were stones, they took no interest in anyone and remained silent unless they were ordered tto act. The only enemy was Don. He would choose a women at 10:30 and they would spend the night in his room. Even then. She always knew what to do.

A little 'Yes please.' here and an 'Oh God!' there and Don was always satisfied. And then he would pass out and she would sleep too. She would pretend his chubby arms belonged to someone else and then she would be able to leave.

She felt hands on her, small hands. "Aerith, wake up." she blinked and looked up.

"I wasn't sleeping." she said.

"But your eyes were closed and I was shaking you but you didn't move." Yuffie siad. The younger girls sat down next to her and looked down at her. "Someone hit you." she said.

"Yeah." she rubbed her cheek, "Is it bad?"

"No, just red." Yuffie said, "but it's dinner time." Aerith sat up and took a breath.

"I'm starving." she murmured as she searched the closet for her clothes. Dinner was back at the mansion and it would be the best thing she'd tasted all day. The cooks were amazing despite the fact that the oldest one was 17.

They walked out the building together and started for Don's mansion. The trail was beautiful, but she never had time to appreciate it. And even if she did, she wasn't sure how comfortable she would feel in the garden of her rapist. "Tifa's waiting for us." Yuffie said. Aerith could tell by the way she walked that Yuffie hadn't had any clients that day. It made her jealous, the way Yuffie spoke of the fact that only one person had requested her. She had 10 at the most and was always left in pain. Yet Yuffie continued to brag. It wasn't fair.

Another part of her was glad that Yuffie didn't have to suffer as much as she did. She was only 12 and no 12 year old should be subjected to tortures that she went through. "Who was that boy? He was in your room."

"Zack?" she questioned, "He said he wanted to talk."

"Talk?" Yuffie repeated suspiciously, "About what?" They entered the mansion and headed for the kicthen. Tifa was waiting for them. Aerith sat down and sighed, "About what?" Yuffie asked again.

"Nothing."

"What?"

"Zack was in her room." Yuffie whispered.

"The servant boy?" Tifa asked, "Is he trying to get you in trouble?"

"I hope not." she replied. But she couldn't say she hadn't had the same thought. Their dinner was served and Aerith found that she didn't have much of an appetite. She forced of few bites down her throat and picked at the last few pieces of her steak. "I think I'm going to bed." she said. She didn't wait for a response, instead she went to the showers and then back to her room.

Her bed was soft. Softer then any she ever remembered. But at the same time, it was firm and game her body the support it needed. She was glad for it, but she still hated it. It wasn't her bed… not the one she wanted. It had given her slight comfort for the last 2 weeks, but it also reminded her that she was far away from home. There was no where she could go that would help her forget where she was. No where.

Her door opened and she looked up, "What-" she stopped. It was Zack, "What are you doing?"

"Sorry!" he stepped back, "I'm supposed to clean in here now." She closed her eyes again and heard him begin to sweep the floor. As much as she wanted to be alone, she couldn't keep him from doing his job. If Don stopped by, and he would, he wouldn't like to see that one of his servants skipped a room. "How was your day?" Zack asked.

She didn't answer, it was a stupid question and maybe her silence would help him realize that. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Yes, I was kidnapped and I'm being used a sex slave." she said bitterly.

"Right… it's easy for me to forget that stuff, I'm sorry." He said. How could it be easy to forget? There was evidence all around of what happened to her on a daily basis. If she moved her foot to the right, she could even feel what was left of her recent encounter with Don…

Aerith jumped out of the bed and gasped. How could she sleep in the bed when it held the same filth as her bed in the Honeybee Inn? "You came back too early." Zack said quietly, "I meant to change those for you."

"We don't get new sheets." she said. Not unless Don was tired of the colors, then they were allowed to change it, but until then, her sheets would remain filthy.

"I also do laundry, I have clean sheets available. The red ones, like you need." Zack said.

"And you'd just give them to me?" she questioned, "You don't even know my name." To him, she was probably just a fling. He wanted things from her and assumed that an act of kindness and a smile would get her to give it to him.

"You could tell me your name." he suggested, "I told you mine."

"Aerith." She muttered and he smiled.

"Like… Earth." he set his broom against the wall, "That's what you name sounds like. I'll get you those sheets." He left the room and she watched after him. The littlest things seemed to make him smile, but that only annoyed her. Anyone who smiled at her only meant trouble. And if she wasn't required to smile back, she wouldn't.

"Hey!" Yuffie entered her room, "I saw that boy again."

"I told you to leave her alone Yuffie." Tifa entered after her.

"Why does he keep coming here?" Yuffie shut the door, "Well?"

"He had to clean, I came back to early." she said, "And he offered to change my sheets."

"Is Don changing colors again?" Tifa asked.

"No."

"Zack has Extra red sheets?" Yuffie said, "And he's giving them to you."

"He's being nice." she said. Even though she didn't believe it.

"No one's nice here." Tifa said, "Even the kids have soured out. It's impossible to be nice here." And it was true. The rules were strict and the slightest slip up would be reported by someone.

"I had an idea last night." Yuffie suddenly whispered, "I know how to escape." Aerith often wondered how Don had missed the defiance in Yuffie. It was clear that she was far too hopeful for him. You could see it in her eyes, the mischievous spark that appeared when she spoke. Yuffie wasn't afraid like she was, and that could only get her in trouble.

"I imagine your plan would need money." Tifa said, "And we aren't allowed to have more then 10 Euros at a time."

"Yeah, but we could save and buy tickets to an airplane." Yuffie said.

"How? We aren't allowed to leave." Aerith mentioned, "The guards won't have it."

"Yes but- Hmm." Yuffie tapped her chin thoughtfully, "Come on Tifa, we have work to do." Yuffie stood and Yuffie followed. It seemed those two were closer to each other then they were to her. Yuffie always chose Tifa to talk to after hours. They would sit in her room and speak hours about escaping. They never planned, Tifa knew better. But she listened to Yuffie and at times, Aerith wished someone would do the same for her.

"Knock Knock." Zack entered the room with the folded sheets, "I'll take the old ones, sleep easy, Aerith." He took the sheets off of the bed and grabbed his broom, "I'm sorry for bothering you today."

"Don't be." she blurted, "I mean, you've been nice…" Zack left the room and she just knew that beyond the door he was smiling. She sighed to herself and changed the sheets. She didn't trust him, but for some crazy reason, she still wanted him around.

She crawled into bed and smelled the sheets. They smelled like peaches… What an odd smell. Of course, she wouldn't complain. It was a pleasant change from the usual perfume that was sprayed in gallons after every client. It was enough to help her relax enough to cry. And after she cried, she slept what might have been the best sleep in 2 weeks.

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