A boy about Seren's age had been sitting uncomfortably in the dining room with his heavily-drinking uncle. When the previous guest had finished his business, the boy had been ushered in to meet Kaio with a hearty slap to his back. "Best of luck, dear nephew! Don't come out 'til you're spent!" he'd slurred, as Dal dragged the uncle off to her own chamber. When the door was closed the room became quiet. Kaio sat the boy on her bed and knelt before him. "I hear your uncle paid extra to ensure a happy first time for you. Welcome to adulthood young master, I'll serve you well." Kaio placed her hands on the young master's knees and slid her palms along the length of his thighs.

The boy gently placed his hands over hers and held them in place. "You don't have to... serve me" he said, "you can keep my uncle's money. I'll tell him... I'll just tell him we did it." Seren stepped a little closer to the open window. Kaio smiled at the boy, "Don't be nervous young master." She gracefully withdrew her hands and sat next him on the bed, planting soft kisses on his neck and reaching down to deftly unbutton his breeches. The boy winced as if in pain, but allowed Kaio free reign to continue with her work. Her hand slipped beneath his clothes and began to rhythmically stroke and caress him as she moaned softly in his ear. "Oh" said Kaio, as the awaited reaction never came, "Let's try another way then." The boy shut his eyes tightly as Kaio knelt once again before him and proceeded to use her mouth. Seren watched as she valiantly fought to breathe life into the boy's sleeping 'friend', her tongue working tirelessly to excite and arouse. At last she pulled away dejectedly, wiping the saliva from the corners of her mouth as she pondered her next move. The boy fastened his clothes and exhaled deeply. "It's not your fault" he told her, "it's... happened before like this. It won't... I just... Keep the money." With that he walked out of the room and exited the inn. Seren couldn't help but think that a time like this would come for him soon. If a pretty girl did those things for him, would he at least get hard?

Seren walked to the stable and found the boy, sitting outside with his head in his hands. He looked up when he heard the footsteps then buried his face once again. "Are you waiting for your uncle?" asked Seren, as he crouched a comfortable distance away. The boy loosened the frustration on his brow and shook off his humiliation, unaware this child had been witness to it. "Yeah" he nodded, hugging his knees as he stared at the floor. "Did..." Seren began, unsure of how to start, "did Kaio... not please you..? You left her room so quickly... perhaps she wasn't to the young master's taste?" The boy's panic-stricken face met his and a vehement denial came to his lips, "How would she not please me? Of course I was pleased!" he cried as he angrily rose to his feet, "My uncle paid for the deed and the deed was done. It was only so quick because it was my first time. She was too good, that's all. Next time I'll last longer!"

"Oh, I see... I understand" offered Seren, not wanting to upset him any further, but still curious to test his theory. "First times are like that I suppose..." he said, somehow finding the courage to continue, "Would you... like to try a second time..?" Seren had seen so much in his years of fox hunting, but had never before had the chance to put it into practice. The ladies of the inn were like sisters to him; he didn't have the inclination to try and touch, and had never asked them for a demonstration of their skills. Still, he wanted to start somewhere. And so his hand followed his thought and gently touched the member between the boy's legs. The boy stood still and as Seren stroked, he felt it harden and come to life at the touch of his fingers, tracing its shape beneath the fabric. A sly smile crept to his lips as he watched it move with fascination, and snapping the boy back to his senses in the process. He pushed him hard into the stable wall and covered his shame. "You!" he shouted "How dare you? How dare you touch me?" Seren rubbed his shoulder, the impact of the wall had caused a painful bruise. "You're sick!" the boy spat, before running awkwardly into the stable and mounting his horse with difficulty.

Seren stood in the still, dark, night and watched the boy ride away across the dust. If I'm sick then so are you, he thought. After testing the movement of his shoulder, Seren hurried back to work as if nothing had happened, simply informing his father that the young master who'd come with his uncle had departed first on his own. Therobod grunted his understanding and sent him upstairs. Adalina bombarded him with questions as soon as he arrived, ensuring her innocent son hadn't been forced to drink or witness anything obscene. "Mother, I'm fine. There's nothing to worry about. I just fetched and carried as always and helped with the horses. One stallion gave me a bit of trouble..." he said as he touched his shoulder, "but I'm sure it won't be the last."

 Adalina frowned and rested her hand on his arm, "I'm sorry little one, that this is the life set out for you. If only... if things had been different..." She smoothed his eyepatch and ran her fingers over his short, spiky hair. Seren smiled at her and held her hand. "Mother, how different could things really be? We're all just trying to survive. Did you want me to be a merchant instead? I've heard they get to visit all kinds of places. But then, wouldn't you miss me?" Adalina sighed and flashed a rare smile, "Hm.. maybe not a merchant. How about... a noble..?" she laughed. "Oh is that all?" he scoffed "Lord of the Cinder Vale perhaps? Duke of the Dust? The nobles are too busy killing each other in their golden cities to come here... But mother, have you seen one before? Do they really look so different from the commonfolk?" Adalina thought for a moment, "Well, I'm not sure. If they're really all that different looking I would have noticed if I'd seen one. It's as you said... they're too busy to come here. The nobles have their world and we have ours. I just wish... I wish your world was somewhere sweeter." Seren rested his head on his mother's shoulder as he'd done when he was little. "And in this world" he asked her, "can I fall in love, do you think?"

Adalina looked at her son, "Oh Seren... please don't tell me you've got ideas about one of those girls downstairs? They're not good women, Seren. They sell their love. There's nothing left over for them to give to you." Seren tutted and raised his head. "Mother" he chided, "it isn't love that they sell, its their bodies. They sell what they can to make a living. But they shouldn't have to sell their hearts, too. Let them keep something of themselves." Adalina disliked it when Seren would stand up for the ladies on the lower floor. She had never tried to speaking to them, preferring to spend her days talking with her son and reading by herself. She felt it was the only way to keep her pride, but if anything it kept her lonely in the hours that Seren would go to work. When her son first started telling stories of how Dao had played a game with him, or Dal had told him a dirty joke, Adalina grew a little jealous and hated them even more. But over time she began to understand him, that she herself had raised such a kind and compassionate son, and would no longer hold it against him for making what friends he could.

"Okay, fine. I'm sorry. I know you like them Seren, I just wish you wouldn't fall in love with them" she cried. If only Seren could meet more suitable young ladies, she would have nothing left to wish for. "Who should I fall in love with..?" he asked with caution. Adalina had long imagined the ideal partner for her son; "Someone pretty?" she began, "But more importantly, someone smart, kind, loves to read... is devoted and trustworthy, likes children and sewing, and singing, and..."
"And is a woman, right?" he asked her. Adalina stopped in her fantasies and looked at her son. He was watching her reaction intently. "I..." the door opened and Therobod entered the room, snuffed out the candle he was holding an uttered a simple command to his family, "Sleep."

The next day, Seren's father joined them for lunch, and that night both men worked in the inn until it closed. Days passed without an opportunity for Seren and his mother to be alone together, their conversation left unfinished. When Seren's seventeenth birthday finally arrived, Therobod had seemed to make up his mind about something. The family sat down to their meal and Adalina handed a gift to her son, "Thank you for growing well all these years." she told him. Seren could feel that beneath the pretty floral paper was a book. He smiled at his mother and thanked her. Therobod cleared his throat and made an announcement. "You'll be eighteen next year. It's time you learned the ways of men." Adalina and Seren looked at him in turn, fearful of his next words "You'll go to Kaio tonight at dusk" he said, "She will teach you..." Adalina saw the color drain from her son's face and for the first time in over a decade, dared to speak up. "Therobod Straw" she said as she rose to her feet, "my son," Therobod's eyes flashed with a murderous rage before settling on his plate, "...our son, shall wait until a suitable marriage has been made. Only then will he 'learn the ways of men'."

Therobod pushed his plate away and noisily pulled out his chair, he stood facing his wife but refused to look her in the eye. "Very well." he said, before leaving the room. Adalina caught her breath and sat hard in her seat as soon as her husband was gone. Her body was shaking and her face had turned pale. "Go," she told Seren, "go to work and try not to make your father angry today. Okay? I'll be fine in a moment." Seren thanked her, tucked his gift inside his jacket, and headed cautiously down to the inn. In the year that followed, Therobod never sent Seren to Kaio's room after dark. Sometimes, Seren would still watch through the window... but the boy that pushed him never returned with his uncle, and there wasn't much to see that piqued his interest. The guests that followed were often old, or fat, or ugly, sometimes all three as Mr Thatch had become. Seren learned later that 'dear' Mr Thatch was the local magistrate. He'd taken an interest in Kaio's youthfulness in recent years and would come to visit once a month, leaving Dao relieved to see the back of him. On the nights he came, Seren was told he wasn't needed in the inn and would stay upstairs with his mother.

There were currently only three ladies working at the Skin & Chalice; Dao, Dal, and Kaio. To Seren, they were friends, sometimes family, but the things he heard and witnessed were more than even the closest pal would be privy to. "Oh noble death he's left me done for!" cried Kaio as she laid face-down on the sofa in the downstairs parlor. It was early afternoon, Therobod was away on an errand, and shafts of sunlight streamed though the shuttered windows, lighting the specks of dust that rose from Seren shaking out the curtains. Dao came out from her room and passed Kaio a small, blue bottle of ointment. "Uncle Thatch is rough as all hell when the mood takes him. At least you've got a month to recover. I daresay he's the only one using that hole anyway."

"If he wasn't Mr Straw's most important guest I wouldn't let him do it" Kaio said, before realizing Seren was still in the room and shutting her mouth sharply. Seren gave the curtain another shake before hanging it back up. "You don't need to be mindful of me," he laughed, "there's no guest as important as the three beautiful ladies before me." "Three?" asked Dao, "Are you including Dal in that?" Dal promptly threw a cushion at her head, gave Seren a peck on the cheek, and pulled up a chair, urging Dao to rub her feet. "Hmph" said Dao, "you never ask Kaio or Seren to do such a thing, you old witch."

"Seren is the young master," said Dal, "and as for Kaio, she's busier than both of us. Not to mention having to serve up her tender asshole to Mr Thatch when he calls." Dal turned to Kaio with a face of concern, "Is he... does he... stretch it first at least? Use the stuff...? You won't go to the bathroom for weeks if he really tears it you know."
"Pokes his finger a bit and away he goes" replied Kaio, full of disgust, "I get it as ready as I can before he arrives. Bastard. If only Dao was still young... she could have helped spread the load." Kaio giggled and promptly felt the pain it caused her. Seren had long heard such tales at The Skin & Chalice, and only learned they weren't stories fit for polite society when recounting one or two to his horrified mother. Sex was as much a part of his life as eating, and yet of the two, he was truly only familiar with one. It's like hearing tales of a far off place and seeing pictures of it; you know it so well it's almost like you've been there yourself. But Seren had yet to experience its sights and sounds firsthand.

"I wonder," said Dal, as she mused on the topic of conversation, "does that bearded chap lie on the sofa all day after he comes in for his 'special'...?" Dao and Kaio turned their heads in unison. "You mean..?" asked Dao with wide eyes. Dal laughed, Kaio slowly opened her mouth in understanding, and Seren tried in vain to follow what she meant. "Ah now there's a rare one." said Dao, "Not often they ask for a pegging around here."