Chosen by the Royals

EVERLY

“Wake up, scum!”

My eyes snap open as the violent crack of a whip snaps through the air. A girl cries out and sobs as others try to fearfully shush her.

“On your feet!” I flinch as another whip cracks through the air. I scramble to my feet as looming men in dark cloaks yell at the other girls to do the same.

I blink, trying to get my eyes to adjust to the darkness of the room. Some torches hang on the walls. The dim light sends long, ominous shadows dancing around the room. Where am I? What happened to me?

I’m in a cold, concrete room with a dozen other girls. I look to the others beside me for answers, but they all look just as scared and confused as I feel. We all huddle together at the center of the room, shaking in fear.

“What are they going to do to us?” a girl beside me whispers. She doesn’t get a reply. I don’t know. None of us do.

I have to bite my lip to keep from sobbing. I never thought I’d miss Aunt Tessa.

I blink.

Where was Aunt Tessa? I try to remember what happened, but for some reason my memory is fuzzy. All I remember is Aunt Tessa taking me to an attractive man with unreal strength…

A wooden door suddenly bursts open, and in walks a lady I’ve never seen before. Her high heels echo in the fearful silence. She looks like a supermodel, but instead of a runway, she struts down a battered dungeon floor.

“My name is Victoria Dupont, but you will call me Mistress,” she says. She smiles but it comes across as frightening rather than welcoming. “Welcome to your new home.”

I look around at the dark dungeon around me. I see old rusty chains and restraints on the walls. How was this supposed to be home?

“I will be teaching you how to serve your new masters. If you are docile, you will be treated well. You will be fed, clothed, and sheltered. If you misbehave—”

“You can’t be serious!” A girl yells out. “You kidnapped us! Dragged us to some dirty basement! Do you really expect us to listen to you?”

If I thought Mistress Dupont was scary before, now she was downright terrifying. Her expression turned murderous. She snapped her fingers and immediately two hooded men walked forward, placed a black bag over the head of the girl who had spoken up, and dragged her kicking and screaming into another room. The heavy wooden door closed with an ominous thud.

Mistress Dupont turned back to us, smiling that blazing smile. “If you misbehave, you will be disciplined.”

We could barely hear the muted screams of the girl who was dragged away.

“Keep each other in line,” she went on. “You’re all sisters now.” She snapped her fingers and a different set of heavy wooden doors opened. In walked a girl who looked pale and thin, with dark circles beneath her eyes. I had a feeling she had been here longer than the others.

“Lydia here will help you get acquainted with your new surroundings.”

A dark red light filled the room, revealing stairs that ascended to an upper floor. The steady thud of deep bass music filtered down towards us. “Get moving, girls,” Mistress Dupont says. “I will never tell you to do anything twice.”

Lydia reached for my hand. Hers was clammy with sweat.

Normally I don’t like touching strangers. I barely got out of the house, as Aunt Tessa rarely let me go outside.

But now I don’t mind. It was almost comforting to hold this girl’s hand. No matter what happened next, we were in it together. I gave her hand an encouraging squeeze.

The image of the other girl being dragged away fresh in our minds, we stepped forward into the crimson light.

We climbed the stairs one terrifying step at a time. I didn’t know what to expect. A torture chamber? A medieval horror house? Were they going to feed us to lions, or crocodiles, or some kind of monster for their entertainment?

But as we got further up, the steps slowly turned from ancient stone to burnished hardwood. Our surroundings transformed from evil torture castle to…a high-end nightclub.

We all stood there, dumbfounded as we took in the scene before us.

***

The place is huge. There are multiple floors that ring around the main dance floor. Strobing lights and thumping bass overwhelm me. I see exotic acrobats twirling in the air, hanging down from the ceiling with ropes of crimson silk. A massive stage with a DJ and half-naked men and women dominates the space.

And the number of people here…

An ocean of bodies writhe to the music, winding and grinding with reckless abandon. The air is thick with laughter, moans, and sweat.

My head begins to spin, and I suddenly feel nauseous. The last few years of my life, my world was my tiny room. The most I saw of the outside world was whenever I snuck watching some TV when Aunt Tessa was out of the house.

The ground tips underneath my feet, but Lydia steadies me.

“Easy there,” she says into my ear. She smiles at me and I can tell she wants to comfort me. Maybe I can find a friend in all this craziness.

“Thank you,” I mumble, but I doubt she hears me over the music.

Suddenly we’re crowded by a group of people, their bodies pressed against us. I’m separated from my friend as this new group squeezes in. They’re all beautiful.

A man brushes against me, a seductive smile on his face. He takes my hand and runs it along his chiseled abs. Another one comes up behind me, pressing himself into my backside.

“What have we here?” he murmurs into my ear. A shiver of heat runs through me.

The man in front of me squeezes closer, and I’m sandwiched between two half-naked, very attractive men.

“Fresh blood,” the one in front says.

I don’t know what to do. Adrenaline courses through my veins, and I don’t know if I’m terrified or excited. Was I allowed to push them away? I’m caught up in the moment as they sway my body to the music.

“Relax, beautiful,” the man whispers into my ear. “That’s it…”

They both run their hands over my hips, my back. I’m lost in the rush of their touch when I hear a voice loud in my ear.

“Enough!” The two men immediately back away as Mistress Dupont walks up to us. “Get your hands off my trainees.”

A look of annoyance flashes on their faces, but they step away and melt back into the crowd. Mistress Dupont looks around and does a quick headcount. “Looks like we already lost some.”

I panic as I look around and notice a few girls have disappeared into the crowd. I look for my friend, and a wave of relief washes through me as I see her. She hurries next to me and grabs my hand. I feel just a little safer.

“Follow me,” Mistress Dupont says. “Stay close, or you’ll get lost.”

We quickly follow her through the crowd. The dancing bodies part before her, and we try our best to keep up. She leads us to the back of the club. We pass the two massive guards and walk into the back rooms.

It’s much quieter here. Private rooms with exclusive performances line the rooms on either side of the hallway. I can’t resist peeking through the velvet curtains as we pass.

Women are winding around poles, caressing each other on beds. I blush as gasps and moans dance in the air around me. I see a girl on her knees before a man, his fist tangled in her hair.

And I see the man plunge a syringe into the woman’s neck. She collapses at his feet.

Did he just kill her? A shiver of fear runs down my spine as I quickly walk past that room. I wish I hadn’t looked.

Is that why we’re here? To be toys for these men?

“Ouch,” my friend says. She looks down at our hands, and I realize I’m squeezing way too tightly.

“Sorry,” I mumble. I try to let go, embarrassed, but she holds on. She smiles reassuringly.

“What’s your name?” she asks.

“Everly.” I pause, whispering into her ear. “What is this place?”

“It’s called the Midnight Mirage. It’s a place for Royals.”

“Royals?” I ask. “Like, in England?”

“No,” she says. Her eyes are pleading, as if she’s aching to tell me more. “There are Royals everywhere.”

“Quiet,” Mistress Dupont says without turning. “You will only speak when spoken to. I won’t warn you again.”

Lydia and I go quiet, but we share a small smile together.

We continue on, veiled scenes of lewdness and intimacy passing us by until finally we reach a dark red curtain at the end of the hall.

“Everyone through,” Mistress Dupont says. The girls begin to file through the curtain, but she stops me when it’s my turn. “Except for you,” she says. She gestures towards an empty room to the side. A similar room to all the ones we’d just passed on the way here.

I can’t help but look at Lydia, and the fear in her eyes mirrors my own.

“W-why?” I ask.

Mistress Dupont leans down so her face is right in front of mine. If looks could kill, I’d be dead on the floor.

“You will do as you are told without question. Now go, before I lose my patience.”

I let go of Lydia’s hand, and she tries to give me an encouraging nod before she disappears through the curtain with the other girls. But I know she’s thinking the same thing I am.

What if we never see each other again?

I try to keep the tears in my eyes as I walk into the empty room. Mistress Dupont closes the curtains behind me so I’m alone. None of this is fair. Not only was I kidnapped, but I was given, no, sold by my aunt to them! And now I wasn’t even allowed to have a friend.

The room is all silk and velvet. There’s a small stage with a metal stripper pole on it. A plush bed and leather couches are off to one side. There’s even a bathroom with a shower in the corner.

The image of the girl kneeling in front of the man flashes through my mind, and I feel sick. I didn’t want to do that, no matter how much Mistress Dupont threatens me.

I sit down on the couch, my heart beating wildly in my chest.

Who’s going to walk through those curtains? What will they do to me?

I don’t have to wait long.

A man with slicked back raven-dark hair walks in. His skin is pale, and his tall, athletic body is clothed perfectly in the suit he’s wearing. Dark gray eyes stare out at me from his handsome face.

It’s the guy that my aunt sold me to.

“Remember me?”

I find myself, once again, scanning for exits.

“You can try, sweetheart,” he says, a dark smile on his face. He walks up to me and sits uncomfortably close to me on the couch. “You won’t get far.”

I try to move away from him, but he places a powerful arm around my waist and pulls me closer. His cologne smells good.

“You’ve got a lot of questions buzzing around that pretty little head of yours,” he says.

“Will you answer any of them?” I ask.

“Maybe,” he smirks.

“Who are you?” I ask.

“You can call me Lord Lacroix,” he says.

“Lord of what?”

“I’m the Lord of this House. House Onyx.”

I have no idea what he’s talking about. I try to think if I recognize the name or not. Maybe it will give me a hint of where I am, or how I can get out of here. I look for a cracked window, an unlocked door.

“I can tell you’re trying to work out the escape routes.”

His gaze looks right through me. “Don’t bother.”

He points at the ceiling, then the corners of the room.

“Cameras. I’ve got eyes everywhere.”

He pulls out a tablet and shows me the screen. There are a dozen tiny windows showing the nightclub, the dungeon I’d just come from, hallways, other rooms I hadn’t seen yet. He was right.

I decide to move on. There’s not much I can do right now.

“What is a House Onyx?”

“Ah, poor little commoner. You have no idea what world you’ve just fallen into, do you?”

“What is this place?” I ask instead.

“This is part of the kingdom I’ve built,” he says, pride in his voice. “I call it the Midnight Mirage. One of the most popular service establishments in the world.”

“What kind of services?”

His arm tightens around my waist. “I’m sure you already know.”

“Is that why you bought me? All those girls? To make us service these creeps?” I don’t know where this bravery comes from. I usually never talk back, not even to my Aunt Tessa. But seeing how scared Lydia and all those girls were, imagining them being forced to pleasure random people~…~

“There’s one thing you will come to understand,” he says. “I am your master. I bought you. I own ~you.~ And what I say, you do. Whether you want to or not.”

I still had so many questions. What is the Midnight Mirage? A sex dungeon? A nightclub? A prison? Who runs it? How did they get away with such a large operation—I remember the club, packed with people—without being caught? I don’t say any of this, because his usual smirk has morphed into a hungry expression.

“Go and lie down on the bed.”

I feel a strange tingling sensation in the back of my mind. I frown at him, trying to squirm away from his hold.

“No,” I say. “What are you going to do to me?”

For the first time his composure of ultimate confidence cracks. He’s not used to hearing the word “no.”

He leans into me, his weight forcing me down on my back. He pins me in between his arms as he lies on top of me on the couch.

My heart thunders erratically in my chest as I look up at him. I hate how attractive he looks, even in this messed up situation.

“I usually don’t indulge in my own stock, but this time I can’t resist.” He leans down and brushes his lips against my neck. A shiver of pleasure runs through me. “But there’s something different about you.”

His thumbs are pressing against my sternum, making it difficult to breathe. I feel so many things at once: lightheaded, ecstatic, afraid.

“Be a good girl and you’ll be treated like a princess,” he whispers. “Be a bad girl and I’ll punish you myself. Do you understand?”

I don’t trust myself to speak, so I only nod.

“Good,” he murmurs against my skin. I feel his breath against my neck. “I have a feeling you’ll be an excellent salesgirl.”

“What?”

He smiles. From behind his back, he pulls out a shiny black lacquered box. Inside is a glass syringe, its needle sharp and silver.

“You’ll have to test the product in order to sell it.”

“No, please!”

He brushes his thumb against my chin. With his other hand, he ties a sash of black velvet around my upper arm, knotting it so tight that it hurts.

I can’t stop what happens next. The needle enters my vein.

I felt a wave of warmth wash over me. Alongside the pleasure is the nausea, flip-flopping in my stomach.

Before it all goes black, I feel the vomit rise from my throat.