A/N: Thank you for your extreme patience.

Chapter 3: Enter the Hero

Sophia bolted upright in her bed, breathing heavily in fright. She caught her breath, then scowled. It was the Dream, just as she'd feared. The Dream that was formed solely of memories best forgotten.

Knowing her time of sleep was over, Sophia rose and took a seat in front of the fire. She began to stir the embers back to life, her gaze becoming lost in the flame as her mind became lost in still more memories…

Sophia glared down the hall at her latest "customer's" back. The overweight, balding cretin had a noticeable swagger. It disgusted her.

Oh, well. Least it's over.

She rose from the bed, dressed quickly, and tucked some of the gold with which the client had paid for her "services" into a pouch within the corner cupboard given her for personal use. Then, before the guard could see what she was about, she hurried downstairs.

As she stepped down, she passed Amelia, the newest prisoner of the Bordello, leading a client up. The young girl had a perpetual air of innocence and a manner that Sophia had overheard best defined as "the girl next door". The poor lass's story started in the tiny village of Oakvale. The daughter of a poor barmaid, she'd taken to supplementing her paltry allowance through pickpocketing.

Unfortunately, she'd been caught picking the wrong pocket – Grope's. Grope had gladly traded his silence for her servitude, and he continued to blackmail her into submission.

Some of the other girls had changed only in their appearance. Hedwig had traded in her bandit's bodysuit for leather garments with metal studs that looked as though they would be more properly used in restraining a horse than as clothing. Lucrezia had been decked out in gold, while Sophia now wore a resplendent blue silk dress. The two were clearly intended to represent the height of the exotic and the luxurious.

There were other changes to the Bordello itself. Paint had been retouched; most of the woodwork had been refinished. Morton, the creepy old bartender, had been fired a month ago after starting his seventh fight in one week…on Tuesday morning. In his place was old Harry, a tragic grandfatherly sort who at least had the decency to look ashamed about the ladies' plight. Grope had hired him just before commissioning the extensive groundswork that had been finished only a couple of days ago.

That had been rather odd, Sophia thought. Grope had been abnormally absorbed in the project, displaying an exactness, precision, and care he normally didn't seem to possess. In fact, he'd been so absorbed that he'd neglected food, sleep, the ladies, even money.

It had been that inattention that had allowed Sophia to advance her own "project" by leaps and bounds. Lucrezia's prediction had come true that night of her arrival some three years ago. Her own prediction regarding Mr. McLandre had come true two days later. Her father had arrived with a bluster and thunder she'd never before seen in him.

Grope had discussed the matter with him out in the garden, away from the building. Sophia had seen her father pull out a fancy-looking document. Probably something to do with contract law, thought Sophia knew it would do no good. She'd learned her skills at reading a contract from her father, and she knew that her pact with Grope was perfectly legal. Unfortunately, Grope knew it, too, judging by his confident posture. Seamus Ednow appeared very upset and left in a huff, stopping only to cast a look filled with disappointment, disgust, and spite at her.

At that moment, Sophia had known that she was on her own, and so she'd devised a plan to buy her own freedom. She had begun charging more than Grope required, skimming off the extra and saving it amid her few personal things until she could pay off the debt wholesale. During the garden renovation, she'd skimmed off even more than usual , and was now almost two-thirds of the way to repayment and freedom.

Her reverie was broken by a creak of a stair as Amelia returned to the main floor. Thus startled, she looked about making certain no customers had been trying to secure her "services". After satisfying herself that no one was, she turned to ask Amelia a question, only to see the younger woman's mouth agape.

She turned in curiosity, to find a rather rakishly handsome man standing in the doorway. His jet-black hair waved in the light breeze coming through the door, and his blue eyes sparkled as he spoke to Grope. He listened to Grope's lecherous sales pitch, then chatted with Minzche for a short time.

The two glanced her way a few times during the discussion, leaving Sophia with mixed feelings regarding her distaste for her profession against the opportunity it appeared ready to grant her. Amelia leaned over and whispered, "You lucky duck. You're about to get the best-looking man ever to set foot in here!"

Sophia smiled and responded, "We all have our burdens. " She looked back at the man. "Who is he?"

"He's a Hero called Saber. The rumors I've heard say he's from Oakvale. I've also heard he has something of a taste for the high-"

Amelia suddenly stopped talking. Sophia felt a presence and mouthed a question. "He's right behind me, isn't he?"

Amelia smiled and gave a quick little nod. Sophia summoned up her charm, turned, and...was immediately struck speechless.

It was fast evident that the Hero was suffering the same affliction. Finally, he regained his voice. "I see Grope is ignorant of the true value of the treasure he has here. Dare I ask the price of engaging your services?"

She smiled while contemplating offering a discounted price. Unfortunately, the reality of her situation demanded that she keep the price up…mostly. "Well, that silver tongue of yours suggests you could afford my price of 1500 gold easily enough. Or will you decide that I'm overestimating my worth?"

Saber smiled. "No, I'm certain you are worth every coin of that sum. Should I pay upfront, then?"

Sophia smiled in turn. "Follow me, and we'll take care of our…business."

She turned amid the sea of envious stares and led him to the stairs. As they ascended , she couldn't shake the feeling that her life was about to change again.