Bending Hearts

Chapter Two Yuna 

"Go take a bath, you're stench is unbearable."

"Yes Ma'am."

Before her mistress had time to reconsider her release,  the young girl stumbled from the soiled volt, joints screaming in agony and relief as she made her way to the door. The light of day burned her eyes which hurried her escape to the hall. The hallways of the brothel were always lit by dim lamps covered by colored shades. The colors changed according to the season and the winter blues usually resulted in her tripping over something.  Today however,  she had never been so appreciative for the subdued summer reds. The maroon lights made her uncoordinated journey through the halls and down the stairs cumbersome but they gave her eyes relief from the shock of the early morning sun.

Her journey came to an end as she collapsed on the landing that split to the left and right. Three steps to the right led to the entrance to the female baths, the two steps to the left went to the men's washroom. The twitching muscles in her legs protested as she made the short descent into the bath area, and in the changing area they finally gave out. A part of her simply wished to lay on the cool stone and wait for the throbbing in her joints to go away but the desire to scrub herself raw forced her to push herself up. On hands and tender knees she crawled into the wetroom and by the grace of the spirits, someone had forgotten to turn off their shower. Too drained to even remove her clothes,  the young girl willed herself under the steamy shower and reclined against the stone wall. 

Her mind was blank and body numb as the hot water pounded the top of her unkept black hair.

"You look like hell Yuna."

The sultry voice snapped her head up as her eyes frantically tried to find the owner of the voice. Squinting through the steam, she found the bored expression of the brothel's top earner looking back at her.

Yuna: "Xin?" Her voiced crcked towards the end as her throat was painfully dry. The young woman gave a nod before wadding to the edge of the massive hinoki wood tub. She then lazily reached into the tub and tossed one of the apples floating in her specially drawn bath, into the small girl's lap.

Disbelief stretched Yuna's lime green wide. Trembling mocha hands gripped the bright red fruit and then clutched it to her chest. A silent moment passed as she processed what had just been given to her. The aroma and slight weight were unmistakable but she still feared to trust that her mind was not playing tricks on her. It was entirely possible that the hunger twisting her guts had driven her insane, and yet, the precious gift had not yet dissappear from her grasp. The realization was too much to bear. A sound somewhere between a cry of anguish and joy left her throat as she pulled the apple closer.

Xin rolled her eyes: "If you've got time to cry then I you should be using it to eat."

Yuna nodded dumbly while wiping her nose. She then bit into fruit, the burst of sweet juicy pulp hydrated her desert dry tongue. If possible the growl of her belly drew louder and for a split second she thought she might vomit. Why her starved body would reject food, she wasn't sure, but she would not waste the blessing that had been given to her. After taking a moment to breath, she then quickly resumed her assault on the large fruit.

Xin watched the girl with a mixture of sympathy and disgust. A part of her truly felt sorry for the poor living conditions Yuna suffered in, and yet she could not bring herself to even want to touch the filthy girl. It made her lip curl in disdain when she watched Yuna devour the apple without care of manners or self respect. 

Yuna: "Thank you!" She said between mouthfuls. 

Xin: "Whatever, you had better consider yourself lucky kid. I've seen much worse happen to transporters for losing a shipment."

Yuna: "But it wasn't my fault! The other transporter collapsed the tunnel!" She defended.

Xin glared: "You should have tried harder to save the shipment!  Do you realize the hell the rest of us had to go through because you fucked up! We had to pay that entire cost plus interest to Boss Wan!"

Yuna shrank back against the wall: "I, I I..."

Xin: "Save your apologies," she snapped. 

Yuna's eyes teared up as she turned away from Xin's hateful glare. Looking down at her lap, she finally remembered she had yet to undress. Without another word, she removed the soiled hand-me-down drawstring pants and patchwork long sleeved shirt. Slowly she washed away the dirt and grime of her failed job and was careful to avoid scrubbing the bruises that had formed from the punishment her mistress had given her.

Xin: "There's another delivery tonight. The Proprietess won't go easy on you again if you let another tunnel collapse. Do not fuck up, otherwise,  two weeks in the volt will seem merciful."

Yuna only nodded as she set about scrubbing the only set of clothes and underwear she owned. Tonight she would redeem herself in the eyes of her mistresss and make sure that the medicine made it safely into the city. 

A/N: Sorry for this long wait.  Nursing school is a beast but please RnR! I love to what ppl think as they read. Thanks for reading and I will update soon,  Tenpenni!