Selisilia- Part Three: Inner Awakening

  It was the day of the kill, and Veltiar had things to prepare. He already had purchased an outfit, a disguise to get into the duke's party, which the bishop was confirmed to be attending. If Veltiar could eliminate this man, the position would be takable by anybody. Veltiar would garantee that it would be a much better man, one who would look to the east side of the city and see its corruption. The east side was hell to far too many souls, and it had to be changed. If the biship walked, he would continue to neglect the district, and the child brothels, the underground arenas, the blood-bars, the constant rapes and murders would all go on.

  After the kill itself, Veltiar planned to reveal himself to the witnessing crowd, including whatever dukes would be attending, and he would announce the forever continuation of the sluaghter of one biship after another, for as long as they neglect any district. Sooner or later all corrupted and lazy officials would fear these words, and not one of them will gain the position. Then, with luck, one man, a kind man, would take the title, and he would show no fear, as he would do nothing wrong. And that will be the man that Veltiar would spare. He will leave that man to lead, and as the new biship he would assure the purification of the city.

  The east district would be saved, the west would be availabe to all, the north would be renewed and rebuilt, and the south would no longer bare the burden of holding up Selisilia. And the city would become known. Not as a scab, or a bucket of human waste, but as a grand place that one could make a life in. It no longer would be the disgrace of the Estian Empire, and no other nations will laugh at them.

  But Veltiar was one man, and assuring such things when he was acting on desitions blindly could not grant those things so surely. First thing was first; Veltiar had Jenine smuggle in some weapons from the underground. If only those gangs and scoundrals relised that they were assisting their own destruction.

  Veltiar had until the party would start to ready himself. All he needed wwas the weapons, and a ticket in. He walked along the stench of the streats and up to the door of the brothel. He opened the door and entered, though the place looked empty.

  "Sorry sir, we just opened and- Oh! master Da- Veltiar!" said Laira, who was busy whiping off the tables when the mercenary came in. Several other girls were on the small, oval shaped stage to the side of the room, rehersing some sort of dance, and a bartender was assembling products and organizing a new shipment of drinks into his cabnets. The rest of the place seemed completely empty.

  "We just opened up a few minutes ago. You came pretty early."

  "I need to speak with Jenine agian."

  "Miss Fruawa? I believe she is in the back," the young girl said as Veltiar passed by her. She quickly cought pace and trailed behind him, "Though sometimes she takes strolls around the block, she may have-"

  "She whats?" interupted Veltiar as he stepped up the stairway to the second floor. "Why the hell would she walk around this place?" Obviously it wasn't such a safe thing to do, at day or night. And she did it daily? Veltiar would have to talk to her about that whenever he'd get the chance.

  Veltiar stepped into the luxeriuos office, and Laira followed him inside.

  "Jenine? Jenine, are you in here?" he asked, but with no answer.

  "Um, Veltiar, nonemployees aren't really allowed back here. And if you're not a paying customer, then I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

  "What? I've been in here times before."

  "Yes, but with Miss Fruawa's permission. Now, we don't know if she wants anybody in here, so-"

  "Fine then, how much for you?" Laira shrank into herself.

  "What? I..."

  "You said customers can get in? Then I'll rent you. How much?"

  "I... It's twnety ude if we come in here..." she answered timidly. Veltiar fished in his pockets and handed her the money, then began to search the place for something that Laira did not know about. She looked at the money as if it was the first time she had walked in the place again, and then did what was natural and stow it in a small handbag all rent girls had with them. Veltiar ignored her completely and checked every inch of the room for something.

  "...Veltiar, what should I do now?"

  "What?"

  "You rented me... What do you want me to do?" Veltiar's face turned into a quick mask of horror. He didn't want her to do anything, he wasn't a pedophile, and he wasn't pethetic enough to buy a women. All he had wanted to do was be allowed into the room without Laira's worries pestering him. And he could tell that she was confused, and seemed to be extremely timid to the thought of being rented by a friend she'd known since she started he life with Jenine Fruawa. Her brain was programmed to be a rent girl, and Veltiar had just given her the money.

  "I don't want you to do anything, Laira. Just sit down somewhere."

  "But-"

  "No, listen to me, you don't have to do anything. It'll be our little secret, okay?"

  "...Okay," and she sat down at one of the room's pillows within the inner circle. This was one of the reasons that there had to be the kind of bishop to outlaw these places. No child should have to be in such an occupation, and someone, no, everyone in Selisilia had to see that.

  "We'll just talk," said Veltiar, who could find none of Jenine's purchased weapons in any of the rooms hiding places. He would wait for his friend to return.

  "So, what do you like to do in your free time?" Veltiar asked, and Laira laughed at him, now returning to her normal self.

  "Veltiar, that's a stupid question."

  "I'm rusty with small talk."

  "I like to sleep, what about you?" It was at this moment that Veltiar realised that he had no idea what he liked to do in his own free time. He didn't even have free time anymore, and tried to remember something he used to do before he became a mercenary, but that was much too long ago.

  "I like to sleep, too," he said the first thing that he could make up, even though he hardly ever slept.

  "You see? That was a stupid question."

  "Fine, you ask something then."

  "Okay, what do you do, Veltiar?" that was a tendar area to discuss with the child.Veltiar killed for a living. He had seen things that she should never see. But of course, she too had her own experiances that Veltiar would prefer not to know. He was touchy when things boiled down to his friends, even if there were so few of them nowadays.

  "I help out people with things."

  "What kind of things?" she asked him. Veltiar had to think of something. He never told the child that he was a mercenary.

  "I, uh..."

  "Do you hurt people?"

  "Who said that?" he asked as he grew nerious.

  "I heard you and Miss Fruawa talking about killing someone," she said more timidly. Veltiar new that he couldn't lie, "I only hurt bad people, so that others like you and me can live in a better life," which was mostly true.

  "Do you really?" and he nooded in response. "Then please stop..."

  "Why?"

  "You'll get hurt, Veltiar, and I don't want to see that."

  He sat there in silence for a minute, when the door opened and in walked Jenine. She was carrying a carpet.

  "What are you doing in here?"

  Laira spoke up before Veltiar could speak, "Master Daslle rented me!"

  Jenine's eyes went wide with shock, and Laira laughed as Veltiar turned his head in embarresment. Well at least the young girl was back to normal. Veltiar would later find that the weapons were stashed inside of the carpet Jenine had carried in. The job was so close now.