The Emerald of Elche: Part I
The night was cold and Esmeralda did her best not to shiver every time the breeze brushed against her skin. She wasn’t exactly properly dressed for the late hour, but she was properly dressed for her profession. Her violet skirt reached down past her knees, but it was cut just right to allow her to show off her shapely legs when needed, and that was usually needed quite a lot. Of course that also let in quite a draft during cold nights like this. Sometimes one had to suffer for a few coins.
The sound of male voices made Esmeralda perk up, coming from the nearby side road. She adjusted her low-cut powder blue blouse, assuring that her two best assets were displayed prominently, a gift from God the young girl had received with the onset of puberty. Certainly the other 15-year-old girls who worked in her profession were jealous that Esmeralda had bloomed into the beautiful flower that she was at such a young age. Of course those girls couldn’t see far enough past their hook noses to realize that it wasn’t just beauty that Esmeralda possessed. Esmeralda was skilled at what she did and she knew it. The other girls lacked such understanding.
As two men turned the corner, deep in conversation, Esmeralda casually placed on hand on her hip and twirled a lock of her lustrous black hair with the other. She eyed the men as they approached with a look that just oozed sex. That only lasted until she recognized one of them. Her hand immediately slumped to the side and the other followed. She wasn’t going to waste the effort impressing this lowlife.
“Well, well, what do we have here?” the man said as he approached. He grinned at Esmeralda, revealing numerous missing teeth and the rest stained brown. Esmeralda did her best not to recoil in disgust.
Deciding that she may as well humour him a bit, Esmeralda said, “Have you finally earned enough coin to pay for my services, Eduardo, or did you spend it all on booze?”
Eduardo let out a deep laugh, straight from the recesses of his potbelly. His friend chuckled along with him. “You know me so well, Esme. Don’t have a coin to my name.”
“It’s Esmeralda,” the young woman said. She had never been fond of that particular pet name some of the local men had given her. It sounded so juvenile.
“But surely we’re close enough to be done with such formalities,” Eduardo said as he tried to run a greasy hand down Esmeralda’s leg. The young woman was wise to such things and swatted his hand away before it got even close.
“We’re only close if you pay to be close, understand?” Esmeralda stared him down, but she wasn’t comfortable with his look. There was a hint of anger in his eyes, and she didn’t want to deal with a violent man.
Confirming her fears, Eduardo grabbed her by the arm, holding her tight. She tried to pry his grip loose, but lacked the strength. He grabbed her other arm and pushed her up against the wall. His friend licked his lips as he watched. Esmeralda tried to keep calm as Eduardo moved closer and his hot breath played against her neck. “Well maybe I’ll just skip the payment and get all up close and personal anyway.”
Esmeralda spat at Eduardo’s face, making him recoil a bit, and said, “Juan will skin you alive for this.”
The other man’s eyes widened and he didn’t seem so supportive of Eduardo’s behaviour now that Esmeralda had invoked the name of her procurer or pimp. Juan’s influence stretched across all of Elche and anyone who messed with one of his ladies did not last long in this city. The friend cleared his throat and said, “Perhaps we should just leave her alone.”
Eduardo released the grip on one of Esmeralda’s arms to turn around and smack his friend. “Shut up, fool. I’m going to have my fun now. Screw Juan.”
With one of her hands free, Esmeralda acted quickly and pulled out the small knife hidden in her belt. Any woman who worked the streets had to be prepared for men such as this and Esmeralda was no exception. As Eduardo turned back to face her, the young woman stabbed him in the side. He let out a groan and doubled over, just as Esmeralda then kneed him in the face and pushed him away.
Eduardo stumbled around for a bit, clutching at his wound. His friend moved to help him, but seemed unsure of what to do. When Eduardo regained his senses, he looked down at the blood welling from his wound, growled angrily, and said, “That bitch stuck me!”
Esmeralda twirled the knife in her hand, letting both men clearly see it. “I’ll stick you again if you try to touch me.”
The two tentatively circled each other as Eduardo drew out his own knife, neither wanting to make a move. The tension was temporarily broken as a carriage rumbled on down the street, an unusual sight for this part of town. No one with a significant amount of wealth in his right mind would ever go into this district, for they’d likely get robbed in short order. The sight distracted the group especially as it stopped in the street in front of them. A man peered out from behind the curtain of his carriage, eyed the three of them, and asked, “Are you all right, senorita?”
Suddenly confronted with the fact that someone of great importance had stumbled upon their dispute, Eduardo turned tail and ran. His friend didn’t notice at first, but started when he looked to his side and found Eduardo missing. He followed suit and was soon gone too. Esmeralda visibly relaxed and slid her knife back into her belt.
The carriage door opened and its occupant stepped out. Esmeralda had never seen a noble before, and perhaps it was for the best because his appearance suddenly made her feel shabby. The man was incredibly well-groomed, his black hair slicked back and mustache finely trimmed. His clothes were spotless and probably worth more than Esmeralda had made selling her body these past years. Esmeralda unconsciously adjusted her blouse and smoothed out her hair, trying to measure up to this man’s obviously high standards. She tried to assume her usual posture when enticing men, but she was thrown off by the recent quarrel and his sudden appearance.
The noble strode up to her, even the way he walked a display of his superior breeding. His face though showed nothing but concern. His chocolate brown eyes examined her body, not in the usual way a man looked at her but as a parent would look at their child after getting hurt. He maintained his distance, as though drawing too close would offend her in some way. “Are you hurt, senorita? I saw those men accosting you and hoped to prevent them from causing you further harm.”
Esmeralda wasn’t sure whether to feel flattered that this man had tried to come to her rescue or insulted that he felt she couldn’t handle herself. She ended up settling on both. “I thank you for your help, but I had things well in hand.”
The nobleman raised his hands, realizing that he may have offended the young woman. He then scrunched his brow and looked at her closer. Esmeralda felt uncomfortably under that gaze. She was used to men looking at her with lust in their eyes, but this was something different. The noble’s eyes suddenly widened as though he realized something. He gave a bow to her, the first she’d ever received and certainly from a noble, and said, “Excuse me for my behaviour, senorita. I did not intend to offend you.”
Esmeralda was completely caught off guard. Never had she met a man like this. All her encounters with them had shown her that men were lustful beings, only wanting her body and nothing else. The way this nobleman shyly watched her, his face reddening under her gaze, was unexpected. Perhaps he had finally realized just who she was and didn’t want to be associated with her any further.
Before Esmeralda could open her mouth to extradite herself from this situation that was clearly making the man uncomfortable, he offered her his hand and said, “This may sound a tad forward, but I was wondering if you would be willing to join me for the night.”
Esmeralda did her best to hide her smirk. There it was, the inevitable pursuit. This man was no different than a commoner deep down; he just had better manners. Now back on familiar ground, the young woman smiled seductively and took the nobleman’s hand. “I would be honoured.”
The noble gave a boyish grin and escorted Esmeralda into the carriage. Things were finally looking up for her. She now had a chance to make an impression with a nobleman. If she impressed him, no longer would she have to work some dingy street corner, sleeping with drunk men with barely enough money to pay her fee. Soon she’d be escorting nobles, fulfilling their every desire and getting paid quite handsomely for it. All she had to do was work her magic and she was set for life.