TW - Attempted Sexual Assault
*****
"How do you know he wasn't bad, though? If you knew he had done horrible things to, let's say… children, then you just prayed for a man who is the lowest of the low. You don't know what he's done, so don't bother praying."
"That's right. I don't know what he's done, so the only thing I can do is pray and allow him to rest easy. If he did something horrible, then whoop-de-doo… I guess that's my fault. But from what I know, he's an innocent man who has struggled all his life… And even then, forgiveness is an option. If maybe he did such a thing but realized his wrongdoings and changed, then maybe I would be able to forgive him, even while knowing about his wrongdoings."
I had nothing more to say to that logic. It was her course of thought, and I wasn't about to change that just because I had a different opinion. She is her own independent person who can do whatever she wants… but as long as she's not a hypocrite and doesn't go back on her words, then I won't care.
"Ah! I think I found it!" Wu suddenly shouted from the corner of the room, so we stopped this silly battle of ethics and walked over. She gripped a block of ice with both hands, a blooming rose with sharp razor teeth frozen inside. It was as long and big as my forearm while being as ferocious as a lion. Even as it was frozen, it still emitted a strange amount of bloodlust.
"Alright, let's go. I don't like this place."
…
(Aisa POV)
"Yeah, my mom is growing older, so she's now losing customers. Her younger appeal has finally faded, so she's forced to lower the prices. Her reign over the red light district has finally faded… also, I'm thinking of moving away."
"Oh, that's amazing to hear… and I'm sorry about your mother. She's… beating you more often, right?" My sister said as she stroked my cheek, which had been bruised by a vicious slap. She hadn't held back in the slightest, causing half of my face to swell up. "You can hang out at our place more. Our dad likes you. Whenever he's done with work, I'm sure he can make some food for you and give you a warm place to sleep-"
"I'm sorry," I immediately interjected with a somber smile. "My mom is growing more erratic. I'm scared that she'll do something stupid."
"So… leaving is just a thought?" My sister frowned. I reluctantly nodded back at her, keeping my eyes on the dirt street as a rubber ball was passed to me. I kicked it to my brother, who stopped it with his foot.
"Hey, why do you even bother with your mother anymore? She beats you, starves you, and makes your life a more miserable experience. Why even bother taking care of her?" My brother snarled, his eyes rolling in their sockets. My sister immediately elbowed him in the ribs, a warning sign to shut up… but he was right.
"I wish I could… but I still love her. No matter how much I try to separate from her, I just can't help but love her. If it wasn't for this lifestyle she was forced to adopt, she would have been a better person. I know that which is why I can still love her."
"Well, she isn't. So you better make your decision fast before she actually does something stupid. You keep saying you'll watch over her in case she does an erratic thing, but what if that erratic thing includes you? What will you do?"
"She won't," I smiled back at my siblings, and with one last pass of the worn-down rubber ball, I glanced up at the setting sun. "Well, I think it's time I head back. W-Wish me luck."
My hands began to shake violently as I attempted to keep a smile on my face. Moisture welled up in my eyes, and my smile then began to shake as well. I was scared. I was so, so scared. I didn't want to get hit again. It hurt. It really hurt.
Seeing this, my sister immediately hugged me, bringing me into her warm embrace. Unlike my mother's embrace, which was warm and icky, my sister's was warm and comforting. There was no fake love. There was no overwhelming smell of perfume. It was just her natural scent of flowers that filled my nostrils and eased my mind.
"If she crosses the line, call me. I'll tell her off for you," My brother smiled, hugging me as soon as my sister retreated.
"And hey, once you turn fifteen next month, let's run away together. My father has already approved that he'll fund the trip. And since my brother and I will be sixteen, we should be able to set up our own food stand. In the city, with towering buildings and beautiful skies… how about that?"
I nodded with an exciting amount of agreement, and so I separated from them and returned to the brothel.
The stench of perfume was seared into my nostrils, so I was used to it. The painful groans mixed with pleasureful moans were captured in my ears, so I was used to it. The viscosity of the sticky tatami floor no longer stuck to the bottom of my dirt-caked feet, so I was used to it. I was used to it all, except one thing.
SHUNK
I slid open the door to my mother's room. She was now an older woman, but not enough to be kicked out of the brothel. Being in her late thirties meant she was fit for a niche of men and women that preferred older sexual partners. So, not only did the amount of money she sold her body decrease, but she was also receiving very few customers.
Normally, I would be greeted by my mother's angry appearance, but as soon as the sliding doors opened, I was greeted by an uncanny smile. My mother gestured for me to come to her across the room while one of her clients dressed in easily removable robes stood aside, smoking a simple pipe.
"Today, you will start making money for our family."
At those words, my body shivered. My pupils dilated as the man standing beside my mother viciously smiled, the smell of opium in his breath lingering in my nostrils. My heart began to beat a million miles per hour, and before I knew it, I made a dash for the open door.
SHUNK
But then, it closed. Encapsulated in a purple glow, the man had used [Telekinesis] to close the door and hold it closed while he slowly walked towards me. Tears began to leak from my eyes as his smile continued to widen, my voice calling out for my mother, who glared at me from across the room.
BAM
The door coated in a telekinetic force was smashed apart as my brother and sister came storming through the front door. Their innate dark elf bloodlust shot right into the creep who had begun to grab my robes.
"Get your fucking hands off of her!" my brother shouted, pulling out two daggers that caused the man to hold his hands up as if he was surrendering. My sister also pulled out a short bow which was aimed straight in between his eyes. "And don't you dare use telekineses because the time you use it on one of us, the other will fucking eradicate you from the face of the earth!"
The man, who began to sweat, realized this just wasn't worth it and clicked his tongue, slowly backing away toward my mother, who strangely continued to smile.
"Sweetie, come back to me," my mother's voice echoed through the straw room. And just as my brother and sister began to run away, I naturally followed them but suddenly stopped in place.
"Hey, what are you doing? Let's go before the cops come and raid this place. I don't feel like dealing with their questioning!" My brother shouted, grabbing my hand, but my mother's warm smile caused me to go limp.
Yanking my hand from my brother's grasp, I slowly began to walk back into the room, my hands shaking and my eyes quivering. But this foreign sense of warmth that emitted from my mother was enough to get me to come back to her. I wanted more. It had been so long since I felt this warmth from her. I wanted more.
"That's right, sweetie. If you do this for me, I'll shower you with as much long as I can give you," She sweetly muttered, her stinking breath slowly enveloping me as I walked into her embrace. She kindly welcomed me with a hug, and as my smile quivered, I noticed my brother and sister staring at me from afar.
"Alright, now." The creep suddenly said, and all of a sudden, my mother locked my hands above my head, and the creep pulled my legs towards him. I flailed and kicked him, my mother betraying me once again and manipulating my feelings to her advantage.
"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HER!" My sister shouted, shouted shooting the hand of my mother, which gripped my wrists together. My brother simultaneously drew his blades and slashed the man's neck, causing it to pour blood endlessly from his now sliced-up carotid arteries.
I quickly took my brother's hand and escaped, the angry screams of my mother echoing through my ears as we left the brothel and disappeared into the growing crowd of the night.
