Oldest Professions

Cathlinn didn't make a sound as she was thrown to the floor, the guard panting over her glaring down. She held a thumb up at him as she slowly got to her feet and the guard gave a confused look. "Your highness, didn't that hurt," he asked.

"Like a bitch," Cathlinn wheezed. "But it's fine. It's not new." She picked up the sword she had and swung it a bit as she got her breath back. The maid would be shocked when she saw the new bruises but it was fine; she'd still try her best to fix Cathlinn up. "Round six," she asked.

"You're going to have to ask another knight, your highness. I'm exhausted," he laughed. She snorted a bit as he put his sword away and he hummed. "Why don't you challenge Carmichael? He's the best there is here and you two seem close enough."

"He's doing enough for me as it is," Cathlinn sighed. "And I want to get to know the military- guards and knights around here. You guys are the last line of defense so I want to know I can trust you fully and you to know you can trust me." The guard blinked a bit and looked around.

"Us to trust you, your highness," he asked slowly. He motioned between the two of them and Cathlinn nodded.

"I won't just let you fight my battles for me. I'll be right next to you," she replied. The man stared and began to tear up a bit.

"Well ain't that somethin'," he chuckled lightly, "You sound like a brother at arms."

"I," Cathlinn stopped short, a small smile coming to her face. "Do I?"

"How about you come with us tonight, your highness," he asked.

Cathlinn suddenly blinked and frowned slightly, "Come with you?"

"Yeah, we were all headed to a tavern tonight," he nodded quickly. "One of the best traveling shows is there tonight and the senior knights wanted to show the young ones what it was about." Cathlinn slowly smiled a bit more and nodded as the man cheered.

"I'll tell the king and I'll be on my way," she nodded.

"Cathlinn," Carmichael groaned. The knight had been shocked when the woman had walked down to the entrance of the castle and he was more shocked that a few of the others talked to her as if she was one of them. She glanced up from shaking hands with one and gave a cheeky grin as he rolled his eyes, "This show isn't for ladies."

"Then I guess I'm not a lady tonight, huh," she sniffed. She moved a bit closer and bumped him as she tied back the longer locks of hair just at the base of her skull, "Besides, naked women are my specialty."

His face turned a bright red and he quickly cupped his ears, "Cathlinn!"

"What? You've never seen girl on girl," Cathlinn laughed. A few of the other knights chuckled as one put their arm over her shoulders.

"Who knew the princess could joke," he sniffed. "So we're calling her Cathlinn tonight then? Well, I'm Jeremiah. It's nice to meet you little miss!"

Cathlinn grinned a bit and nodded, "Nice to meet you!"

"That's not fair! Let the rest of us introduce ourselves too," a knight exclaimed. They all started to introduce themselves and Cathlinn's head began to swim with the names. They had already started to walk, talking with her excitedly and she could tell they were keeping in mind who she was supposed to be. They hadn't ostracized Cathlinn for it though and it brought an almost full feeling to her chest.

They dragged her into a tall wooden building after traversing through a town that was filled with people. Her first thoughts were on how heavy the drinks would be but the group had told her they'd cover for her. She was handed mostly ciders after they sat down and when she found that they weren't too heavy she grinned. She had drunk them like water within the hour they had been there and Cathlinn began to get bored.

"Hey, these aren't really-"

"Cathlinn, if you ask for something heavier you're going to get drunk too quickly," Carmichael stated. He glared at her and she grinned at him. He blinked before his shoulders dropped and he hung his head, "Gods, you drank heavily? The hell did they let their women do?"

"I'm going to ask for liquor," she stood up from the wooden chair, walking through the crowd of people to the counter. She leaned on it, staring at the words written on a board with a squint. She wished she had her glasses at that moment, a headache was starting to form.

"Well hey there cutie," Cathlinn jumped as someone rested their chin on her shoulder, their hands wrapping around her waist and traveling downwards. Cathlinn squirmed when the hands stopped at her crotch and she turned around, staring at a tall woman. Her hair was pencil straight, her make up heavily done, and her dress was oriental- short and revealing for what Cathlinn had seen to be the norm. There was a surprised expression on the woman's face as she stared at Cathlinn's reddening one, "You're not- you aren't a man?"

Cathlinn felt the hands feel at her and she grabbed the woman's arms, "Whoa there. Getting a little handsy aren't you?" Cathlinn let out a laugh and felt her heart race. She had a few choices and if she was honest, the touch felt nice. She leaned over the counter a bit, not quite getting out of the woman's hold, "Let me get a drink and we can talk before that, okay?"

The woman blinked as Cathlinn ordered something stronger and leaned in. "Want anything," Cathlinn asked. She stared at the woman and watched her own cheeks go red from something.

"You're not," the woman hesitated before she laughed, "You're not panicking?"

"Oh, I am," Cathlinn nodded. Cathlinn looked the woman over before an idea popped into her head. It wasn't anything she saw as bad as long as she didn't voice it, but lying wasn't always a good first impression, "But at the same time, it's been a while since I've been hit on by a girl. They always proved to be the better emotional pillars than men." The woman's face turned a bright red at that and Cathlinn's inside went crazy.

"I'm sorry," Cathlinn quickly squeaked. "It's been- I just haven't flirted with another girl in a while!"

"Come with me," the woman grabbed Cathlinn's hand and pulled her towards the opening in the place's floor. A band had set themselves up, many of them in good clothing for the occasion. Cathlinn's heart began to race as she was sat down in a chair and the woman removed her shoes. "I was going to get a bigger guy, but you'll do even better."

"What are you-"

"Cathlinn," Carmichael blinked as he was sat down by another woman in a similar fashion with a different color scheme than the woman's red.

"Mei, we talked about this," the other woman hissed. The woman, Mei, now had her hands over Cathlinn's shoulders, the back of Cathlinn's head between Mei's breasts. The blond man's face turned almost serious as he started to get up but he stopped at the stupid grin on Cathlinn's face.

"I know, but he was too cute," Mei whined and put a slight emphasis on he.

"Next time don't go for someone so young and girlish," the other woman sighed as the music started. Cathlinn drank and nearly choked as Mei began to dance around her, the woman's body grazing against hers as cheers erupted from the throngs of people in the establishment. Mei seemed almost miserable though, her actions slowly getting less and less gentle and more forced. Cathlinn finished off the drink, scowling a bit as Mei stared at her.

"You can touch," Mei angled herself to straddle Cathlinn, her lips parted a bit. Cathlinn stared and her face relaxed into something sad, surprising Mei into flinching back. Cathlinn had done plenty of training in the military, human trafficking being one of the main yearly lessons she was forced to review. Some form of this was beginning to make her feel uneasy as it struck a few chords. If Mei wanted her to know or not, it wasn't her choice.

"Are you being forced," Cathlinn asked quietly. Mei opened her mouth to say something but Cathlinn quickly pulled her closer by her waist, getting the audience to get loud enough to cover her words, "A kiss for yes. A slap for no." Mei stiffened in her arms as she leaned back. Cathlinn's lips were suddenly pressed against, a desperation there Cathlinn had only felt during sex before this.

Cathlinn stood up with her, struggling a bit as the alcohol caught up. "Where is he," she asked. Mei wrapped around Cathlinn in surprise as Carmichael stood up in shock, his eyes on the two women. The crowd had gone quiet and Cathlinn didn't understand why until she felt her shoulder dampen. Cathlinn's lip rose as she frowned and she looked around, "Party's over fuckers."