The Tale of Virginia Curtis Ch. 02

[Summary if you skipped the exposition chapter: we've colonised a new planet, and the lower socioeconomic classes live in a Wild-West like setting in barely terraformed lands. Virginia Curtis is a 19-year old colonist surviving with her twin brother, Eli, by working as a waitress in a saloon/brothel. She's been successfully pretending to be younger than she is to avoid having to whore herself out, but the saloon owner, Simmons, has called her out. The owner's son, Jacob, is trying to get her out of it.]

***

Tension in the Morning Glory was palpable as Virginia manned the bar. For one, she was manning the bar - Jacob or his father usually did that. Thankfully, the only customers were Jo and Benji, a couple of early bird regulars. If the unusual sight of Virginia at the bar got them thinking, they hid it well. The Simmons pair were in the back office, and despite Bennie's best efforts to cover it up, every now and then a burst of raised voices drifted into the main room.

A door slammed shut somewhere, followed by unnerving silence. A few seconds stretched into eternity, and the office door opened to let Jacob into the room. Without a word, he took his customary place behind the bar. Virginia stood awkwardly, not sure what to say, not daring to ask the question burning a hole in her brain.

"I bought you six months," Jacob murmured, "but you've got to..."

He pinched the bridge of his nose, a deep sigh seeming to deflate him. Virginia was already mentally sorting through her and Eli's meagre possessions to identify the few she could afford to carry if they had to run.

"You don't have to do anything with anyone," Jacob continued, "but you have to... advertise."

Virginia cocked her head. "Advertise?"

"I convinced him that having an unattainable girl made the service look more exclusive - if you can fuck any girl, why bother paying? It's a shaky argument, but he agreed to try for six months, to see if you can drum up more business this way." Jacob turned to look at Virginia directly. "You'll need to dress nice, look nice, get them all hot and bothered, and send them upstairs to the girls to seal the deal."

Blood drained from Virginia's face. "I'm sorry," Jacob whispered, "it's the best I could do."

"No," she breathed. She stepped towards him and put her hand over his on the bar. "Thank you. You have no idea what he was going to make me do... just, thank you."

"Well, he's stormed off," Jacob said, turning his hand to intertwine his fingers with Virginia's, "so hopefully he'll have cooled down by the time he comes back. But just in case..." Jacob cleared his throat, uncomfortable, and looked sideways at Virginia. "Just in case he does pop back in today, could you borrow something from one of the girls?"

"Oh." Virginia glanced up at the banister. Kitty was looking down at them, a smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. Virginia hurriedly untangled her hand from Jacob's and stepped away, then brushed invisible crumbs from her apron. "Um, okay. I'll ask them."

***

"It's a good thing you refuse to join us up here," Kitty said as she stepped back to admire her work, "or you'd give us serious competition."

Virginia sighed and brushed her hands down her skirt, trying to smooth the fabric into lengthening. The back of her skirt wasn't too bad, reaching just past her knees, but the asymmetrical front barely covered the top of her thighs. The garters holding up her stockings were on full display, and every step she took gave anyone not standing at full height - so, most of the customers downstairs... - a look between her legs.

"How am I supposed to serve drinks in this thing? I can barely breathe, let alone move!"

Virginia twisted to look at herself in the mirror and winced as the corset around her waist dug into her skin. She shifted her hips instead to face her whole body forwards, and grimaced at her reflection. Her chest was on full display, her forced upright posture pushing her breasts forwards and up.

Kitty shrugged, busy touching up her makeup in the corner. "I think you look fine. Just remember to use your legs to bend down, not your back."

Virginia sighed one last time, then gathered her courage and headed downstairs. Jacob glanced up and froze, his mouth hanging open for a brief second before he collected himself. Joining him behind the bar, Virginia tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "What do you think?"

Seconds stretched interminably and Virginia looked up, trying to read Jacob's expression. A storm she couldn't interpret brewed behind his eyes. "You look...," he started, and she looked away. He stepped towards her and reached a hand up, before letting it drop back down, unsure how to touch her now. "You look beautiful."

Beautiful wasn't quite the word Virginia would have used - slutty, whorish, trampy, even ridiculous, but not beautiful - so she glanced back at him suspiciously, but his features had calmed and all she could see now was sincerity. She smiled tentatively and bowed her head in thanks.

Unsurprisingly, her change of attire was noticed, and after a few hours Virginia's jaw ached from grinding her teeth through the lewd comments and wandering hands. That pain joined her ribs and back from straining against the corset all evening.

The evening was drawing to a close, and Jacob rang the last call bell. The room remained busier than it normally was this close to closing, no doubt thanks to Virginia's new look, and several men approached the bar to order their last drinks.

The door swung open, and Jacob shouted from behind the bar. "Sorry mate, just rang last call, we're closing."

Heavy boots thudded as the newcomer walked across the room. A man walked confidently through the saloon, followed by two hulking silhouettes. Murmurs followed in his wake, quickly turning to hushed silence. "That's Jesse Morton..." Virginia just about overheard someone saying as they nudged their neighbour.

Virginia shuddered. Jesse 'the Demon' Morton was infamous round these parts. You didn't earn a nickname - let alone one like the Demon - unless you'd done something noteworthy... and Jesse had done many. Rumour has it he'd come over on the very first liveship. Of course, that would make him both insanely rich and powerful, and every single other member of that ship was now part of the planetary government in some way, living in the comfort of the major cities.

Nobody really knew why Jesse chose to live the way he did, out in the midlands with the lowest classes of society. Some believed he'd been shunned by his peers, his violent and ruthless tendencies too uncouth for their brand new regime; others thought he'd voluntarily chosen this life, that he got off on power. Either way, he could do whatever he wanted out here and nobody would care... and if they did, there was no trouble he couldn't get out of by throwing money and influence at it. Looking at him now, Virginia could believe the rumours. He walked as if he owned the place.

Jesse sat down at the table Virginia had just cleared, his two companions silently hovering behind him, their eyes constantly scanning the crowd. "Whiskey. Triple," Jesse said.

Virginia hesitated, glancing back to Jacob at the bar. He nodded to her, eyes wide, and had the drink ready by the time she reached the bar. He handed it to her wordlessly and she set it on her tray, which she gripped tight to avoid shaking. She set the glass in front of Jesse.

"I've heard a lot of good about the girls at the Morning Glory," Jesse said, unashamedly ogling Virginia up and down. "What's your name, girl?"

Virginia stepped back, holding her tray in front of her in an attempt to cover herself. "Virginia."

"Virginia," Jesse savoured the name on his tongue. "I'm sure you will do the Morning Glory proud," he said, then tossed back his drink in one motion. "Let's go."

He stood and reached his hand towards her waist. She smoothly stepped back, his fingers barely brushing her, and she looked down meekly. "I'm afraid I'm strictly a waitress," she murmured, "but any of the girls on the first floor will be more than happy to show you around."

Jesse stepped forwards again, and as Virginia attempted another step back she bumped against a table. "I don't think you heard me, lass," he said, his voice cold as ice. "I said let's go."

Silence fell across the room. Virginia swallowed past the lump in her throat and glanced up to catch Kitty's eye, pleadingly. The girl nodded and started downstairs. "I assure you, you will be much better served up there," she said, her voice strained and cracking. "There's nobody better than our Kitty here to show you a good time."

Kitty approached, and laid a hand on Jesse's arm, smiling sultrily up at him. In one smooth movement, he pushed Kitty back, making her stumble a few steps, and his hand shot up to grasp Virginia's throat. Within a second he'd slammed her down on the table behind her, a cup tipping over and spilling its contents over her hair.

He bent over and held his face close to hers, his breath hot on her skin. "Remember your place," he said. "Now, I've told you what to do, twice. There will not be a third."

His fingers inexorably tightened over her throat, and her vision narrowed down to nothing but his face, his eyes staring into hers. She could see nothing in those eyes - no anger, no lust. Nothing. She had never seen anything so terrifying in her entire life.

"I..." she started, her mouth dry. She didn't have a choice, did she? If she didn't give in, she felt certain he'd kill her, right here, right now... and yet, if she did give in, something told her a fate worse than death awaited her.

"Jesse Morton!" Jacob shouted.

Jesse let go of Virginia and straightened, a smile returning to his face. "My, but you're the little Simmons brat, aren't you!"

The men clasped hands vigorously. "What are you doing here?"

"I work here," Jacob shrugged, "Da owns the place."

"My my, Simmons moved up in the world then." Jesse looked over his shoulder to Virginia. "What's her deal?"

Jacob shook his head dismissively. "Oh, she's nothing, just a bit of help cleaning and serving drinks. The real girls are upstairs."

Jesse grunted and crossed his arms. "She's a real girl."

"Well, technically," Jacob replied tentatively, "but she doesn't, you know..."

"You know I always get what I want," Jesse said, voice low.

Jacob smiled and nodded, ever the jolly bartender, but tension crept into his eyes. "Of course, of course, but let me tell you everything we have on offer before you decide what you want!"

Jesse raised an eyebrow, waiting.

"Well, you've already met Kitty, here," Jacob motions and Kitty scuttled forwards, and gave a small curtsy. "And, uh, we have Cass - she's a real beauty, her innocence will make your heart melt."

Jesse kept staring at Jacob, and tapped his foot impatiently.

"In fact, why don't we get all the girls down here, so you can see - girls, come down here!" he shouted. "And of course, as a close personal friend of da, I couldn't possibly make you pay full price - friends and family discount, nothing but the best for Jesse Morton!"

Jacob smiled as the girls shuffled down the stairs and arranged themselves around him.

"Well," Jesse approached the girl closest to him and brushed his fingertips over her exposed chest, "a discount is of course welcome." He walked down the line, absentmindedly running his hand over a shoulder or clavicle, over a hip here, through a lock of hair there.

"But of course, I couldn't do that to my entourage," he motioned to the two men who'd walked in with him, and had stood silently behind him throughout the whole exchange. "That's just so unfair to my friends."

"Any friend of yours is a friend of mine," Jacob said.

"Good," Jesse grinned. He shook Jacob's hand, then pointed to two girls without looking at them. "You, and you."

The chosen girls stepped forwards as the others retreated - fled, really - back up the stairs. One laid a hand on Jesse's arm, tugging him towards the stairs, but he grabbed her shoulders and pushed her down to her knees. He started unlacing his trousers.

"Oh, uh, the girls work upstairs," Jacob said, then stopped short as Jesse threw him an icy stare. "Um, normally, that is..."

Without another word, Jesse pulled his trousers down and took his cock out - it was still mostly flaccid, but already an impressive size. The girl got to work without prompting, using hands and mouth to get him hard.

The two men accompanying Jesse surrounded the other girl, and soon she was on her knees pleasing both simultaneously. Trying her best to ignore the sloppy, gagging sounds, Virginia turned away and started collecting glasses.

She brought her tray back to the counter and set to stacking the glasses in the sink, ready for washing. She heard the distinctive noise of an open palm striking flesh and looked up reflexively, only to see Jesse had flipped his girl over and bent her over a table. He'd pulled up her skirt and had buried his cock inside her. He wasn't even bothering to fuck her, and instead repeatedly slapped her ass, grinning every time she let out a whimper.

Virginia ground her teeth and looked away, turning her back to the room. She startled as she bumped into Simmons, standing so close to her she could now smell the whiskey on his breath. Rage distorted his features as he glanced down at her, seething.

Without a word, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her behind him. She stumbled to follow him, and he threw her to the ground next to Jesse. Simmons crouched and pulled Virginia's head back by her hair. His other hand wrapped around her face, thumb and forefinger digging painfully into the sides of her jaw. "Watch, you fucking bitch," he growled in her ear. "Watch what your pride makes them do."

Jesse had stopped spanking the girl, and was now holding her arms, pulling them back until her chest lifted from the table and using his grip for leverage as he pumped his hips.

From her angle, Virginia could see his cock sliding in and out of her, his balls swinging and hitting her clit with every thrust. She was so close she could see the girl's juices coating his cock, making it glisten in the dim light of the saloon.

Virginia could feel the blood pulsing in between her own legs, and blushed. She hated her body at that instant - the yearning she felt to know, to understand what these girls were feeling. She glanced away and Simmons dug his fingers into her jaw further, making her whimper. He wrapped his other arm around her waist, pinning her in place.

She looked back up and her eyes landed on the other girl. One of the men was somehow holding her up, bouncing her on his cock as she held on to his shoulders. He held her still for a moment, letting the other man approach behind her and set the tip of his cock against her ass. The man holding her lowered her, spearing her on this second cock.

The girl whimpered and buried her head in the man's neck, and they started fucking her in time with each other. Again Virginia's angle gave her a full view of the girls' predicament. Her pussy throbbed once more and she felt pressure against her lacy, flimsy underwear.

She gasped and reached down to find Simmons's hand had drifted from her waist down to between her legs. His fingers pushed the fabric aside and one fingertip dipped inside her pussy. She pushed his hand away and stood, tearing her face away from his loosened grip.

Simmons stood as well and held his hand out towards Virginia. "See, you're not so perfect," he smirked at her. "Little miss naïve, little miss innocent, little miss better-than-us, you're just a fucking filthy slut like the rest of them."

Virginia stared at his shining fingertip in disgust - whether at him or at herself, she wasn't sure - then glanced away, her eyes accidentally finding Jesse's. He was staring at her, and grinned once he noticed her looking back.

He thrust into the girl a few more times, then with a grunt pulled himself out and let her fall onto the table. He angled himself towards Virginia and stroked his cock a few times until he shot thick ropes of cum towards her.

"Clean that up," he said. "This place is disgusting. Come on," he said, motioning to the other two men. "Let's go."

They groaned in disappointment and pulled themselves out of the girl. She stumbled, unsteady on her feet, and collapsed into a nearby chair. Within minutes, the men had left, as had the few remaining stragglers who'd stayed behind to enjoy the free show.

Jacob hovered in the background, the two girls lay in a heap catching their breath, and the others stood at the first floor banister, glancing uncertainly at each other. Silence stretched until Simmons broke it.

"If only you'd given in," he said, "then these two poor girls wouldn't have been humiliated like this. Fucked like common street whores, in plain view of everyone. This is your fault, Virginia."

Virginia bit her lip and looked down.

"And all for what? I felt you, I touched you," Simmons continued. Jacob bristled, balling his fist and gritting his teeth. "You'd fucking love it. You think you're so much better but the thing is, you're not, see. The discount my stupid son gave is coming outta their cut, y'know. That's on you. They'll go hungry, because of you."

He glanced down at the cum slowly drying into the floorboards. "Now clean this fucking shit up."

Simmons turned and stormed off, slamming the office door shut behind him. Virginia rushed to the girls and fell to her knees in front of them. "I'm so sorry," she sobbed, "I'm so sorry, Annie, Clara, I'm so sorry, I'll pay you what he owes you, I didn't think they'd do this, I'm so sorry..."

"Don't worry about it," Annie waved her hand dismissively. "I ain't bleedin', so it's fine."

Virginia wiped her nose on the back of her hand. "But..."

"Listen, Virginia, whether they fuck us up there or down here doesn't make a lick of difference," Clara continued. She kneeled to come to Virginia's level. "Fucking is fucking. We're not really... here, anyway," she explained, tapping her temple.

Clara held a hand out to Virginia and helped her to her feet. "This," she gestured to her body, "is just a tool, it's not really me. Right, Annie?"

Annie shrugged and removed the barrettes holding her hair up. Loose curls tumbled down her shoulders and she set to combing her fingers through them. "Right. The day they can fuck my brain I'll complain. For the rest, whatever."

Virginia sniffled one last time, looking at the girls thoughtfully. She could comprehend their words, rationally, but part of her rejected the concept. How could they exist, go through life so disconnected from their bodies? They may not think what Virginia put them through was a big deal, but she did, and she'd find a way to pay them back.

***

For the second day in a row, Virginia stumbled home past dawn. She'd given Annie and Clara's dresses an extra bit of attention, but she still felt she'd be paying them back for the rest of her life for what they did for her.

Two large quad bikes were parked outside her and Eli's shack. Adrenaline surged through Virginia, instantly lifting the tiredness from her bones. They didn't normally have visitors - hell, very few people even knew she lived here, and even fewer knew of Eli's existence. She hurried to the front door and threw it open, early morning light spilling into the room.

"Hello, Virginia," Jesse 'the Demon' Morton grinned at her.