It had been him and his men that had been the ones to keep this brothel running with their patronage. The Duke's father owned the island but could never be bothered to visit. It had become a wild west. Without him and his crew this island would probably be in complete disarray. He was snapped back to the Present when Urika walked back over to him.
She had been standing by the changing room. She leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Luna wasn't among the other girls."
Amaruq looked troubled. He had told her last week of his plan and what she needed to do. Seconds later, his breath was taken away at how beautiful she was. She was standing on the threshold of the tavern. She was out of the provocative outfit she had worn on stage.
Now she wore an even more revealing, sheer dress made of rhinestones. A long fur covered her intimate body parts. She made eye contact with him briefly. Thinking she would come to him, but she didn't. Instead, she averted her gaze and went over to where Madame Bouvier stood, which was on the opposite side of the room.
A table with very wealthy human men. Another insult, he thought. He had felt an inkling of regret for what was to come, but no more. Now he stopped staring at Luna and turned his back to her. Shortly after that Madame Bouvier reappeared in front of him.
This time he removed all civilities when speaking. "You know, Luna is mine. Why is she over there entertaining those silk shirts, and not over here on my lap?"
Madam Bouvier tried to reassure him. "Apologies, my good man. Those are some of our wealthiest patrons. They insisted on having an audience with the star of the new show. It would be rude of me to decline their offer."
"You will hand over Luna or I will burn this entire place down to the ground, then piss on its ashes. Madame Bouvier felt alarm bells going off in her head. He was angry with her. Far too angry.
Sylvie looked on at the intense exchange of words between the Madame and the rogue. It was difficult to watch. She had seen him always here with her mother. She had no idea he was the leader of a gang or that he was this dangerous. It rumored he communed with the Lycanthropes.
She didn't believe the gossip, he continued. "You should be ashamed of yourself acting like an old whore."
Those words stung and enraged the Madam. "Excuse me!"
"You're going to give him the Lily and not us. We take care of you, Bouvier. Your girls are paid handsomely, and we treat them with respect. You on the other hand, have shown us whose side you are on, and you will pay dearly for it."
Madam Bouvier didn't understand. A few seconds later, her mother arrived. She was being escorted by one of his men. Sylvie could see the fear in her eyes. She tried to hide it, but she could tell. Suddenly she was yanked up by him and quickly pulled to his side.
Madam Bouvier called her bodyguards.
"Romulus! Remus!"
There was no answer.
"They are knocked out from that whiskey we drank."
11.45 minutes later (Cont'd)...
"They are knocked out from that whiskey we drank." He supplied. Then he whistled.
Sylvie watched a dozen men get up from the wooden tables and walk over to stand behind him. It was his crew. He held his hand up, then formed a fist, and that's when the chaos ensued.
Madame Bouvier's eyes went from sparkling to fear when she heard Amaruq's words. Everyone on the island warned her about doing business with the nouveau riche and what could befall her if she wasn't careful. She watched as the large brute they called Beowulf took the bottle he was drinking and smashed it against the bar. It shattered. Some splashed on Sylvie's feet.
Everyone looked on. No one interfered. Beowulf took a lantern out of his holster and smashed it where the bottle had shattered.
Madame Bouvier shouted. "No! Please! No!
This is all I have!"
The fire spread all over the bar and the bartender ran away. Panic ensued as the patrons headed for the exit screaming and running for their lives. The fire was moving quickly. Madam Bouvier yanked Sylvia's arm and got her away from Beowulf. They began running up the stairs to her office.
The fire hadn't made it up there yet. Slyvie lifted her heavy skirt to keep up. She ended up tripping over it. Once they made it up the stairs Sylvie could tell madam Bouvier had forgotten all about her. She let her go then spoke. "Go! Find a safe place! This fire shouldn't last long with the rains. Go!"
"Where do I..." She trailed off realizing Bouvier wasn't there anymore.
She had left her sitting on the steps. Sylvie was now an afterthought and because of that, and the quickly spreading fire she would be able to escape. She had to find her mother. They had to leave. Time was against her.
The smell of the smoke wafted up the stairs she sat on. She got up and quickly went down. The smoke was beginning to fill up the entire space. She was terrified. She could hear far off screams.
She ran back into the tavern area. It was a full Blaze. There was a few servants throwing water at it, but it didn't seem to be doing anything. Someone ran by her. She stopped them and noticed it was the blonde who had confronted her earlier.
She was covered in sweat and ash. They both covered their noses and mouths. "Gotta get out of here! The Tavern exit is blocked?" She looked ahead. "The kitchen! Let's go !" She said.
She started walking that way. Sylvie didn't move.
"Ay! You! Come on!"
"I have to find my... Luna. Where is Luna?" Sylvie asked. Her Panic was palpable.
The blonde walked over and gripped Sylvie's shoulders. "Luna left with those blokes!"
What! Her mother had left her here. No, no, that couldn't be. The smoke burned her eyes now.
"No! She wouldn't leave me!"
"Yes! Yes, she would! That one is spoiled and only cares for her self. Let's go!" she yanked on her arm one last time.
Sylvie allowed her to pull her in the direction of the kitchen. Fire was crawling and eating the wallpaper now. Sylvie's doubts increased.
"Stay low!" The blonde called to her and she bent her body down towards the floor.
Sylvie mimicked her. It felt like it took them hours to reach the door, but in truth it was only half a minute. They kept going neither turned around until they were a good distance away. When they were they both turned around. The brothel was up in flames.
The rain seemed to make it burn hotter. Sylvie bent over and coughed the fresh air back into her lungs. She felt dizzy. She inhaled slowly and when she felt like herself, she opened her eyes. The blonde was gone.
It was just her once again. The rumble of thunder overhead reminded her she was half naked, barefoot standing in the rain. She started to shiver and recalled she had a fresh pair of clothing hidden away in the stables. She wrapped her arms around herself and walked away. It was the strangest feeling to see the one thing that kept her and her mother away from each other destroyed.
It was the strangest feeling to see the one thing that kept her and her mother away from each other destroyed and to find out that once again, her mother had left her alone. Sylvie shook off the feelings of insecurities as she made her way into the stables. She noticed no one was on watch. They were probably checking out the fire she deduced. Not sure if or when they would be back.
She walked into the last stall and went to the far right corner. She lifted up a large hay bale to reveal a brown leather satchel underneath. She opened it and quickly got out the dry clothing and got out of her wet ones. She couldn't get out of her corset so she kept it on. She dressed and just as she pulled up her trousers she heard someone whistle.
She turned around to see it was him. The big man who stood 6'7, weighing 276 pounds of solid muscle. He had wide shoulders. He was not very nice to look at either. His face was covered in stubble and scars.
She recognized him from earlier. He was with Amaruq. He was the one who had held her tight.
He licked his lips like he had just acquired a tasty treat. "Lily," he growled, referring to the Lily crown she wore on stage.
She was frozen. Her fear paralyzed her. What would he do to her? She didn't want to find out. She would fight him if need be. He walked over to her. She tried to bypass him but with a flick of his hand. He pushed her back into the stall. Her back hit the Stone wall hard. He put his hands on either side of her so she couldn't escape. She was pinned in. He leaned down and forward. Then he inhaled sharply, smelling her.
"You smell like lilies. I wonder if you taste like lilies..."