Lyra (I)

The girl led him to a private room in the upper floor of the tavern.

She moved with subtle grace as she walked, her movements were smooth and elegant.

Meanwhile, Sol tried hard not to stare. The lovely scent of her perfume filled the air, her porcelain skin was beautiful and her boobs were...

'Shame on you, Sol! What are you thinking?' he thought catching himself.

He wasn't supposed to be thinking about things like this considering his current situation.

Somehow though, he found his thoughts constantly drifting back to her.

Once inside the room, she shut the door and turned the key, locking it with a soft "click".

The room was dimly lit by a single candle on a wooden table. The flickering light added to the intimate atmosphere, along with the scent of incense that filled the air.

With a practiced grace, she moved towards the bed, her hips swaying slightly as she sat down, patting the space beside her invitingly.

Her eyes glinted with a mix of anticipation and curiosity.

"Come here," she said, her voice laced with seductive undertone as she tapped the bed.

Hesitantly, Sol walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, his gaze fixed firmly on the floor—away from her beautiful blue eyes.

"You can do anything you want," she said, trying to bolster his courage with a seductive smile.

"Oh... T-thank you,"

He mentally cursed himself for saying that.

'Sweet Jesus, why the hell did I just thank her?!'

He wanted to facepalm himself so badly.

She studied him closely, her eyes narrowing as she noticed his discomfort.

"So..." She began. "This is your first time, isn't it?"

Sol looked away knowing she had hit the bullseye. How could she not? He made it too obvious for her; he might as well have written the words "VIRGIN" in his own forehead.

[A/N: Virgins gonna virgin, right?]

"Don't worry," she said, her tone softening as she climbed onto the bed, her hands reaching for his clothes with a gentle touch. "I'll take care of everything."

"Wait!" He said, stopping her.

The girl froze, looking at him with wide, confused eyes.

"What's wrong?"

Sol turned his face away, his voice trembling slightly.

"Let's... Can we just talk for a moment."

Her expression twisted further in confusion.

"Talk..?"

"Yes," Sol fidgeted nervously. "Would that be alright with you?"

"I'll pay you regardless." He reached into his pocket and handed her the small pouch of coins.

She looked at the pouch in her hands, her brows furrowing in bewilderment. She was still confused as to what was going on.

Sol sighed, trying to explain himself. "It's been a while since I've had a proper conversation with anyone my age."

Although the girl was much older than him—probably eighteen or nineteen, judging from her appearance—he still wanted her company. She was close enough to his ag, and maybe talking to her would take away some of the worries that had been plaguing him.

"Oh..." she said slowly, sitting back down beside him.

She assumed he might be one of those clients who wanted to boast about their exploits before moving on to more intimate matters.

She wasn't going to reject it, though. Their time was limited, and if he wanted to waste it bragging then so be it.

Whatever her client wanted, that was what she would give them. In this situation, it was just easy money.

"Alright then," she said, then continued trying to stroke his ego:

"How was your fight in the war? I'm sure you must have been very heroic."

"Heroic..." Sol's face darkened as he repeated that word.

"There was nothing heroic about it. I saw people die, and I killed people with my own hands. Tell me, what is so heroic about taking someone's life?" His voice cracked, revealing a deep pain.

She was taken back, this was not the sort of response she had expected.

She shifted slightly uncomfortably, the vulnerability in his eyes had caught her totally off guard.

Sol closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming himself.

"What is your name?" He asked, his voice softer now.

"Oh, uhh... My name is Lyra."

"Lyra... That's a beautiful name. Do you have a family?" He asked.

She hesitated for a while then eventually replied. "No, at least, not that I know of." She shrugged then continued:

"I was an orphan begging on the streets before I was taking in by madam."

Well, he should have figured out as much. There was no way a young girl like her would be in a business like this willingly, she was a helpless orphan taken advantage of and put into the world of prostitution.

At least it was a good eye opener, he wasn't the only one who had it hard in life afterall.

There was a long silence after Sol heard those words as he didn't know what to say.

It wasn't like his sympathy was going to save her and he didn't think sympathy was something she would want from him either.

"Oh... I see... I'm sorry I brought that up." He said eventually, breaking the stillness.

"It's okay," she replied. "Besides, who knows? Maybe I do have family out there? If I do, I'd love to meet her." She said wistfully.

"Her?" Sol blinked.

"Oh! I said that?" Her eyes went wide and she put a hand to her mouth before waving both of her hands dismissively. "Sorry, sorry, ignore that. It's just a wild delusion of mine."

Her eyes suddenly turned sad and somber, "Maybe... I can't really remember it clearly, but sometimes I get this feeling I used to have a younger sister with me back then."

Sol's eyes went wide as he stared at her, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. What were the chances that they would be fraught with the same thing.

She quickly waved her hands once more and laughed it off. "Forget it though, it's likely just something I imagined, I was no older than five back then."

'She... imagined her?'

Sol was trying to make sense of the whole thing. Did she have a sister or not? He guessed that her memories from that far back would simply be too vague for her to tell.

Maybe she really did have a sister out there somewhere, but if her memories were so vague that she couldn't even tell whether they were reality or her imagination, then it was likely her sister wouldn't remember her either. If that was the case, it was already a lost cause.

"I'm sorry." Sol said.

"What are you apologising for?" Lyra asked laughing. "Were you the one who took her? Why are you so bothered about it anyways?"

Lyra was laughing outwardly, but inside she was wondering why she had told him all that. She had never mentioned her sister to anyone. So why had she told him? Was was she being so open with him?

Sol looked at her skeptically, but eventually decided to let it go. If she said her sister wasn't real, then she wasn't real.

There was no way for him to know whether her sister was real or just a figment of her imagination anyway, and he knew how people were in their desperation.

Life is cruel, and people can and will imagine or believe anything as long it helped them cope with its harsh realities.

"That's because I'm... Looking for my sister." He said quietly.

"Oh..."

"Yes," Sol said, his eyes reflecting a deep sadness. "My village was attacked, and everyone was either killed or captured. She was among those taken by the attackers. When I first arrived in this town, I went to the slave market, but she wasn't there."

Sol turned to face her and took her hands in his. "Please, if you've seen any girl with red hair and green eyes who looks my age pass through this town, let me know."

Maybe she wasn't in the slave market because she had been bought, maybe she had somehow escaped and happened upon this town. Anything could have happened.

"Oh, I-I haven't seen anyone like that." Lyra replied, her voice tinged with disappointment at not being able to help.

She could see it clearly in his eyes how much a toll the loss of his sister had taken on him.

"I see..." He said letting go of her hands as his eyes grew even more downcast.

For some reason, she felt a pang of sadness now that his touch was gone and felt as though a blade had been thrust into her heart seeing the pained expression on his face.

.

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[A/N]

For those of you who've reached this far, thank you. BTW, if you're displeased with my writing at any point, let me know, I'll take any advise you give.

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