The Palace of Pleasure

Tiff already didn't like the place but the next room, small and dark, set her on edge. There was another teller window set in the wall with a door beside it, once again not having a handle. Being here felt like being trapped and she hated that feeling.

"Ticket please?" Another woman's voice and Jacky handed it over, fidgeting while glancing over at her. "Alright, you two enjoy The Palace!" And with that, the business card was slid back out and the door opened. Tiff slipped through, wanting to be out of that room and found she was standing in a dark hallway, with doors only on the left handed side. And, faintly, there was music.

Jacky took her hand and down the hall they went, past doors with sliding peepholes on them until he stopped before one that looked like all the others. Then he reached into his pocket and produced a coin that was too big to be a quarter and put it in a slot that was on the wall for some reason. He grabbed the handle and it didn't budge, his smooth brow furrowing for a moment.

"Right, I have to pay for you too." Jacky said before pulling out another coin she was absolutely sure he hadn't had when leaving home and handing it over to her. Raising it closer to her face in the low light of this secretive hallway, Tiff saw that it was badly damaged to the point the text was almost completely gone. One side had what might have been at one point an eagle but the other had a face, familiar enough she squinted, her base instinct making an impossible claim.

It appeared to be Jensen on the coin, handsome and smiling in the profile print. She rubbed a trembling thumb over the too warm surface of metal, feeling the scars upon it, the weight of what Tiff held. Now the face was of Jacky's Mother, worn but still with sharp features. Another rub of her thumb and then the face was faded more, barely even human but...

It was Jacky's Father there, she knew him from the framed pictures and nothing more. Her eyes swam with tears and Tiff clenched the coin in her fist, no longer wanting to know anymore of it. Jacky had pulled it from his pocket and she was scared that her face would be next upon a canvas so damaged and obviously wrong. Instead she fed the coin into the slot on the wall, wanting to be rid of it along with this entire place.

The handle turned under Jacky's hand and the door opened to a narrow stall that ended with a plane of something translucent that looked over a small stage. Right away she noticed there was no pole, which made her feel better. But there was a woman standing on the stage, lights trained on her, looking down at them. She was in a sparkly bra, pleated mini skirt and black stockings, along with nigh perfect makeup. And the familiarity on her face towards Jacky made Tiff slip an arm about his waist and pull him close.

That only made the woman on the stage smirk and Tiff found she might hate this stranger. She had so many questions and none of them had any answers yet.

"Tiff, please stand back." Jacky said and she wanted to demand why, why was he looking at this stranger as if they knew each other so well but then the music started. Back to the door, Tiff cocked her head and listened, finding it vaguely familiar far from her favorite. But Jacky and the woman both nodded their head in time to it and then she watched as they started to sway in tandem with the song and each other.

The brief flashes of Jacky's face she got while he spun and danced in the darkness showed him both pushing himself and also at peace, a mix she didn't know what to do with. But Jacky danced to the music and his movements matched the woman's except she was dressed for it and he wasn't. And that he didn't like dancing, Jack left that sort of thing to Jensen but here he was, dancing with a woman but they weren't going together but instead doing the same thing to the song as it rose, going faster and so did they before there was silence and Jacky was facing her, sweat running down his face and there was an unfamiliar collage of darkness swimming in his eyes.

She blinked and it was gone, Jacky asking what she thought of the song. Before she could say anything there was a rush of air as the door behind her opened and Tiff nearly screamed at seeing a tall, masked woman standing there in a plain, high necked dress. She looked like something out of the 1800's aside from the mask, which had what looked like a sketch of a female face on it, a few red lines for lips and curved lines for eyes and lashes. Tides of dark hair spilled down her back and curled about the mask, reminding Tiff of vines reaching for purchase as they overflowed their current space.

"I see you returned and with company." This new woman said in a voice that wasn't muffled by the mask and Tiff felt the hair on the back of her neck rise. And yet Jacky poked her in the back and they walked out in the hallway, the masked woman taller than them both and watching behind that mask which didn't appear to have any eye holes. But her head still turned to watch Jacky emerge from the stall and close the door behind him.

"Is that alright?" Jacky asked, as if he was carrying on a conversation like normal with someone who shouldn't have been able to see him.

"Of course. In fact, I want to extend you a special offer." She said to Jacky and Tiff wanted to tell this stranger 'No', then grab Jacky and run out of here. The song hadn't cleared anything up for her and while watching Jacky dance had been something else, it was just another question she didn't need.

"If you are willing to change, I'd like to give you a stage to dance on tonight. If it's to your liking, you may have it any night you wish." She said and Jacky was already nodding before she finished speaking.

"Hang on!" Tiff said, grabbing Jacky's hand and pulling him close to her. "Nothing is happening until someone tells me what this place is!" The masked woman's painted on gaze found her and Tiff felt a cold certainty: This thing before them wasn't human. Tiff felt childish and small at thinking it but it rang no less true.

"Of course. Please follow me." And the masked woman walked towards the entrance and Jacky tugged Tiff along. All of this was wrong and she didn't understand why Jacky was so willing to play along.

Back in the tiny room, the masked woman having to duck slightly and then the wall to the left of the teller's window opened into another hallway with bare walls. To the left was a curtain that once pulled back made Tiff stop and stare. The tall masked person ducked and stepped into what was clearly a locker room, bright and clean. Jacky took one of her hands and led Tiff inside, the masked lady very out of place in here.

"Welcome to the back rooms of The Palace. Here, our dancers change for the night or clean up after." The tall stranger said and Tiff pulled Jacky along to a skinny Mexican girl who was looking at them with open curiosity, dressed in the same way the other dancer had been.

"You work here?" Tiff asked and the small and very pretty girl nodded, looking at Jacky then her. "Is that all you do is dance?"

"Yeah." She said, as if the answer was blindingly obvious. "This your first time here?" Tiff nodded and the skinny Mexican girl nodded. "Okay, look, I know it's weird but I'm betting she brought you here." The dancer pointed at Jacky, who nodded and blushed.

"So... If you feel the music you dance to it. She feels it, you don't." The dancer said and Tiff shook her head, not understanding what made the song she heard so special or why Jacky refused to say anything. "What room were you in?" She aimed the question at Jacky, who finally spoke up.

"Six." He said and the dancer looked him up and down, perfectly shaped eyebrow raising.

"Well, I'd say you'll fit it soon enough." With that, the dancer waved as she walked out, including the masked woman, who had been silent during the whole conversation. Before Tiff could lose her mind, the red headed dancer from before walked in, a sway in her steps like when Jacky had approached her on the bed.

"I'm sure you have questions?" The red headed woman said, gesturing them to a plastic bench that she sat on. "I'm Amy, by the way."

"Amy, none of this makes sense and Jacky says he's been here before and that it all would make sense but it doesn't! How can he have changed so much..." And then Tiff stopped when Jacky hugged her, squashing the panic before it grew any further. This all felt wrong and dangerous and she didn't want to lose this new Jacky to whatever this place was.

"It's weird, I know." Amy said, looking at Jacky before resuming her attention to Tiff. "It's hard to explain but it really is the music." Tiff wanted to kick something, to scream it had just been a song and not even a good one.

"Music is only one half of it." The masked woman said, her voice deeper but still calm, dangerous to Tiff's ears. "These are the other half." A gloved hand held out a business card and Tiff took it, seeing the vague name on the front and nothing on the back. "Having one of these gets one access to The Palace."

"I found mine under the wiper of my car." Jacky said slowly, having pulled his out and it had far more personality than the blank Tiff held.

"I send them out into the world and more often than not, they find who needs them." The masked woman said and raised a finger to cut off Tiff's question. "Amy, would you please help this one change? Tonight is going to be a trial run."

"Of course." Amy said, rising and pointing across the room where there was a changing booth with a curtain for privacy.

"I don't trust you." Tiff said to the masked woman, not taking her eyes off of Jacky, who was handed a container that had a sparkly bra on top, it catching the light and reflecting it like a disco ball.

"That is fine." She said and Tiff chanced glaring at her before looking back to Amy showing Jacky how a bra worked. "I just need to you to care for the one you love."

"And that's why I don't trust you!" Tiff snapped as Jacky went behind the curtain, Amy making idle chatter.

"Your love only came here due to a burden that weighed heavily." The calm, husky voice said, finally getting all of Tiff's attention. "Those are the one's that my cards tend to find. So they come here." Tiff said nothing, replaying the last few days in her head, the days that had been Jack lighten up then become pretty and finally be utterly beautiful.

"What do you do to them?" Tiff asked, not sure she was going to like the answer.

"I offer them a chance to let the burden go. Know this: I cannot take it from them, it must be given willingly." Tiff twitched, recalling how Jacky had pulled forth coins from a pocket that contained keys and nothing else. How that coin she held had weight and damage and familiar faces upon it.

"They spend to watch the dancers or listen to the music. Either way, they are relieved of their burdens, free to be who they want and that makes me happy." The masked woman said as Jacky pushed the curtain aside and stepped out, bashful and with a red face. But Tiff saw Jacky fit the clothing perfectly, breasts threatening to overflow the bra and the skirt hiding away what little might give away Jacky used to be Jack.

"This, right here, is all I want." The masked woman said silently as Jacky gave a shy wave at Tiff before Amy started talking, Jacky still blushing hard and his hands were at the front of the skirt, as if to keep it down.

"Who are you?" Tiff asked, knowing that was the wrong question. "What are you?" Getting those words out was a fight, her rational mind knowing it was impossible, all of this was impossible.

"One who was given a burden and then transcended it. After, I found I had little to live for and roamed before finding this music, music of a sort I had never heard before and it soothed me. So I made this place, where it can do the same for others." The masked woman said as Amy started applying makeup to Jacky, who kept glancing over at Tiff and each time she waved.

"But I cannot make people listen or give up the burdens they carry. So instead I employ those who hear the music for what it is, give them space to dance and grow into who they will be. In turn, they entice others to let go." The masked woman said as Tiff wanted so badly to join Jacky across the room but had to hear this, to make sure she understood this gibberish.

"So Jacky loses his job but gets the dance here?" Tiff asked, not able to keep the bitterness out of her voice.

"I pay my dancers. Those who find the cards but don't have a heavy enough burden or are unwilling to give them up pay money that I have no use for. So I give it to them." The masked woman said and Tiff felt the unsettling, raw panic start to fade.

"This is who Jacky wants to be." Tiff said, not asking but tasting the words, getting a feel for them.

"If you wish, you may come here each night to ensure nothing happens to your love if my promise means nothing to you." The masked woman said before turning to face Tiff. The mask hadn't changed, why would it change, but Tiff still took a step back from this person, this... Stranger. "Life all too often is not fair. All I do is even the odds." And then Jacky was walking towards her, with that new glint in her eyes and the swaying gait that made Tiff feel all tingly. And Jacky looked so damn good in the dancer's garb but that wasn't a surprise, Jacky had a woman's figure.

And just the smile, deep red lips curving and dimpling a cheek, told Tiff this was Jacky's idea of a great time. "I can't wait to dance for you." He said and even his voice sounded slightly different, lighter. Less and less like the guy who had tried his very best to ensure Jensen got what he deserved from life without thinking about his own existence.

"Okay." Tiff whispered before clearing her throat and speaking louder. "Okay. What room?" Tiff asked the masked woman and she said six. "See you there." Tiff said, leaning towards her stunning Jacky and kissing those painted lips, careful not to smear the lipstick. Jacky pressed a coin in her hand, to pay for the door to open and this one didn't feel so heavy or scarred.

Jack watched Tiff leave and swallowed hard before looking at the masked woman. There was a familiarity, almost like the music but he didn't say anything as she led him out of the locker room where Amy was changing to a back hallway, with bare wooden walls and power lines running in the upper corners. Back here, each door was labeled and she stopped before Room 6.

However, with each step, Jack was growing more conflicted. Even dressed as he was, Jack still felt more complete, more himself than nearly any other time. The closest he could compare this peace to was being little and in the backseat of a car while his parents drove in the front when it had been night. The radio had been playing and his memories insisted it was the same song that played here in The Palace. He'd been covered in his Dad's coat and the glow of the lights from the dash weren't enough to keep him awake nor the passing headlights of other cars.

Jack had felt a peace there, securing in knowing his parents were driving, in control and he was safe enough to slip away into the slumber of those who don't have to worry. Being here, with this masked woman, felt much the same way. And with her face covered, the rest of her not showing, Jack thought that maybe, just maybe they could be hiding injuries. That wild love for a parent that only a child can feel sparked back to life, paired with a hope that ached for how deep it was, to have finally found the person who'd been gone so long.

"Da-" Jack tried to say before his throat closed up and he reached for the person who might have disappeared only to end up here. If that was the case then Jack didn't need to feel guilty for coming here, wanting to shed the weight of being a man.

"No." Said so quietly it might have been Jack's imagination, the masked lady's head tilted slightly as she looked down on him. "Whoever you think I am, you are wrong." And just like that, Jack felt that slight hope of seeing his Father, or whoever his Dad had become, vanish.

"Gone is gone." She said and Jack fought back tears, of sadness and disappointment and also for feeling dumb, for even wishing to see his Dad again. "But now is not the time for such things. You have an audience who happens to love you very much waiting." Jack nodded, carefully wiping his eyes before blurting out a question.

"Did you make it? The music?" He asked and that masked head shook slightly.

"No, I just found it. And it makes me as happy as it makes you." Jack grinned at hearing that, not knowing how absolutely eye grabbing attractive he now was. He grabbed the handle, took a deep breath and opened it to the lit stage. Shading his eyes with a hand, Jack walked out to the middle of the space and looked down, seeing Tiff looking up at him with a slight touch of wonder.

'That's what I probably looked like my first time here.' Jack thought and that only made him smile all the wider. The sorrow that had stabbed him was gone now, the lights and low beat of the song washing it away. Tiff might not hear the same music he did but maybe, just maybe, she would understand once he danced for her properly, up here.

Jack felt no fear, no hesitation while striking a pose, two fingers raised from a fist pointing upward, legs spread and head back. He couldn't see Tiff's awe at him being up there, wearing so little or for looking like a beautiful woman. Jack counted the beats until the song took off and thought of Tiff, who had rolled with all of this in such a short amount of time and what she had been calling him. And that was right, her name.

Tiff watched, barely able to process her love was up there, as the song and Jacky erupted at the same time. Jacky danced and found freedom in the music, in the motion of moving along with it. There was no worry, no thoughts whatsoever, only action. And whatever came after the song? All that life left to live, jobs and relationships and the future? None of that was Jacky's concern. Only that moment, dancing on the stage for Tiff mattered.

And that was enough.