Babylon

It was strange to think that home was so much closer than it had ever been. Maia’s eyes were drawn to the crystalline waters that sparkled and shimmered in the dying sunlight that was dancing across the horizon. Maia leaned forward a little bit in her seat and cast her eyes over the scene before them. She inhaled deeply, relishing in the smell of salt and seafood. Her mind cast itself back to the meals that she and Aaron had on the boat from Athens to Alexandria. It was composed of beautiful cuts of fish that seemed to melt on her tongue. She recalled the catch of the day, a fish the waiter stubbornly refused to tell her the name of in anything other than Arabic, being the best meal she’d ever had and if she closed her eyes and imagined for long enough, she could taste it on her tongue. She had not tasted fish like that in an incredibly long time. Prized, though she was to Aaron, the meals weren’t substantial or to a degree of quality that was even a fraction of what that meal aboard the boat had been.

Her eyes followed a pair of seagulls as they dipped and dived across the sky and she allowed herself to be lost in the scene, the warmth of the world and the light breeze that brushed across her body a relief in itself. It had been a long, long time since she’d properly looked at the world. Since for as long as she could recall her life had revolved around Aaron and the club. He didn’t like to take her anywhere. He preferred to bed her there to avoid a messy divorce or anything of the like. He certainly hadn’t courted her like many of the girls had talked bitterly of. He’d used her, this she knew, and she was acutely aware of the fact that once again she was going to be used for a single purpose only, though this time there would be a change of hands. Maia had learnt the words that tagged a profession such as hers. The one she had now been pressed into was given the title of Mistress; many other women preferred harlot or slut.

Maia’s eyes returned to Augustus when he spoke and she tipped her head to the side as she tried to figure out what he was getting at. He was flirting with her – this she could tell from his tone – but there was nothing else she could really get a good grasp of without taking her time. She wanted to have a quick fire conversation that many others enjoyed. Truly she wished she was capable of it, but she knew she’d have to wait for that. She got the impression Augustus was a talker. She had a feeling she’d have to learn fast. Maia blinked at Augustus after a moment and settled with first nodding in confirmation that Greece was where she’d come from. Maia wrinkled her nose at the nickname, visibly unimpressed with his choice, not that she’d ever had a nickname before but she was sure there were ones that could be used for her that weren’t as downright awful as Pappy!

Maia squinted at Augustus a little before shaking her head at him. She wasn’t a goddess; far from it in fact. She cleared her throat before trying, no doubt in vain once more, to string a sentence together. “I am not... no. I am ... me. I ...” Maia trailed off uselessly and looked at her hands, sighing with obvious frustration. “Sygnómi.” She murmured softly, shrugging her shoulders helplessly.

A raised eyebrow, and a chuckle. But the amusement was short-lived. Augustus shrugged and returned to the last of his drink. And then, getting up, he made his way to the dated fashion of a phone near the side of the bed, and dialled for room service. "Hungry?" It was a question that didn't bother with an answer. After all, it was clear now that English was hardly the girl's first language, nor any language of her knowledge either. Shrugging again, he gestured around the room.

"Well, dinner is on the way. Amuse yourself. I'm going for a bath." Without turning back, the man began to undo the buttons of his shirt as he made his way to the bathroom. The heat from the bath was less appreciated in a country such as Egypt. After all, it was almost as warm outside as the water in the bath; under the scorching heat of the sun, at least. Still, Augustus dipped his head one last time in the water and relished the comfort of it before stepping out of the bath.

By the time the man stepped out into the suite again, dinner was already waiting. Pleased with the aroma of the Middle-Eastern cuisine waiting for him in the balcony, Augustus wrapped the towel loosely around his hips and walked towards it, settling himself back down in the chair he was on before. He licked his lips before reaching for a Pita and dipping it into the Hummus that was laid out close to him. The man relished the taste as he enjoyed the view of the darkened skies and the calm sea.

"I suggest you start eating before I'm done with all of it." And then, he bothered himself with a smile. "Eat," he repeated. Augustus picked up the Shiraz that was already poured into a glass for him, sipped it, and then went for the Kebab. It didn't take long for the man to be done, both with the food and the wine, what with Maia having very little of it all. Augustus was more concerned with sleep, halfway through dinner. He stretched and yawned.

"Well, in case you do get hungry, the rest of it is yours." He stood up. "I'm done." Swiftly, Augustus removed the towel and tossed it to the chair. "Because I'm decent, half of the bed is yours." He smirked, then turned and strolled to the bed. It was a warm night, despite how it was supposed to be cooler. The breeze that was typically promised hardly stirred the curtains. Augustus sighed and slid himself beneath the covers, before deciding that they were not needed.

With one last stretch, the man tossed the covers aside, placed both hands beneath his head, crossed his ankles, and closed his eyes. "Nighty-night," he muttered and smirked, before letting the heaviness of his breathing take over.

It was impossible not to think the situation anything other than bizarre. Here she was, a young woman just under nineteen years of age, in a hotel room far away from the place she’d called home since she’d been small with a man she did not really know at all. Maia knew her task with him; she knew what she had been traded to do. However, she’d never met a man quite as odd as Augustus Rookwood. He was significantly older than most of those who got hold of her for a time. Most were young ones holidaying in what they believed to be an exotic local, hell bent on spending their parents’ money on some of the most ridiculous things they could imagine; and more often than not that included purchasing an exotic dancer used more for her less publicised occupation than the former, more publicised one. She’d also never been given away for good, either; and as that thought entered her mind she began to worry – thoughts she could not vocalise to Augustus, much to her unobvious dismay.

Maia narrowed her eyes a little in disbelief at Augustus as he spoke, the arrogance of his body language communicating that was well aware she did not understand him. Maia’s hands balled into fists but were released and unfolded as soon as they clenched. Maia rose as Augustus did and raised an eyebrow when he moved towards what she imagined to be the bathroom. He did not make any movements that suggested he wanted her to join him and so Maia lowered herself back down into the soft fabric that provided padding to the otherwise hard the wicker chairs. She sighed heavily, her frustration with the bizarre man growing by the minute. She listened to the sound of the bath water running for a while, only rising from the chair again once she had heard the displacement of the water as Augustus had gotten in.

It was during his time in the bathroom that Maia took her time to explore the room. It was incredibly clean and mostly untouched, suggesting that he had no motivation to stay there long, though she did find a few changes of clothes in the wardrobe. She was careful to make little sound as she moved about the room, prying open storage units and peeking around beneath the furniture for spoils that Augustus or predeceasing inhabitants of the room may have lost. Coincidentally, it was while she was crouched beneath the table by the door that a knock broke the silence. Maia threw herself up immediately, connecting her head with the underbelly of the table. She gasped, her eyes squeezing shut as she absorbed the momentary pain, the initial shock, before reopening them as the real pain set in.

Maia lifted herself to her feet when the second knock came and she wrenched open the door, one hand on the handle, the other rubbing at the back of her head, to find a butler of some sort stood with room service. He was a young man and couldn’t have been any more than seventeen or eighteen years old – her age. “As-salām 'alaykum,” the young man uttered hesitantly. Maia nodded and returned the greeting with a small smile. “Room service,” He told her in English, assuming that was her preferred choice of language. She stepped away from the door and opened it wider so he could wheel in the cart upon which the food was set. “You’ve got a good selection of foods here, madam.” He spoke carefully, slowly as if his lips couldn’t quite wrap around English – just as Maia’s couldn’t. “Fantastic, in fact. Our chef is quite, um, how you say...distinguished.”

Maia nodded and watched as he set the covered plates on the table. He was a ropey young man, definitely more of a beanpole than she was used to seeing. He was young though, she reconciled with herself, and he had plenty of time to bulk up. He was quick about putting the plates away, wishing her a good meal before ducking out of door, the rumbling of excess ceramic and stainless steel leaving in tow behind him. Maia closed the door once the boy had gone and as she did so, the bathroom door opened to reveal Augustus in nothing but a towel. Maia’s cheeks flushed red with blood and embarrassment, believing it to be far too early for such shenanigans. Thankfully the man was just insufferably comfortable with his body and his appearance and was just settling himself down for dinner instead of imploring with her to do the work she had been traded to do.

Instead, Augustus just sat there and ate; most of the food already plundered by the time instructed her to do the same. Maia waited until he was done with the hummus before picking at some of the food she wanted. She took the dessert which was a selection of sweets which were mainly composed of fruits, caramel nigh on everywhere and, oddly, marzipan. She wasn’t about to complain, though, and picked at the bits of melon that were squeezed into a bowl with orange and pineapple and goodness only knows what else. It was not long before Augustus finished, seemingly full, and took to bed, mumbling something about food again. It wasn’t until he mentioned the bed that Maia looked up having previously been distracted by the food.

He was naked. Oh god. Naked. Legitimately naked. Naked!

If she could’ve fainted, she would have done and she wished she had. Never, ever had she been this embarrassed. He was only a man! But even so! No man had been this blatantly... blatantly anything around her! He was just blatant. Blatant in all aspects and so not bothered about indecent exposure or anything of the like.

Maia quickly realised that once she was done with dinner she would have no real reason to stay up. She rose from where she was sat and looked about for any clothes she could wear to bed. There were none, unsurprisingly. Maia sighed a little and reached for the ties of her dress. Her fingers worked quickly to undo them and then unfolded the white material from her frame. She folded it carefully before tossing it over the back of one of the chairs before squatting down to release her feet from the shoes that they’d been confined in since early that evening. Maia placed them down beside the chair and then took the pearl pins and such from her hair, allowing it to fall around her shoulders in soft waves as the girls had intended.

She then moved to the side of the bed that was left for her and pealed back the sheets, holding them up long enough for her to lay down on the soft mattress, as close to the edge of the bed and as far from Augustus as possible, before dropping them down over her body, resigning herself to sleep.