Kiyui helped me into the bath, before groping around the side of the tub in an attempt to locate one of his bottles.

  Dwynfel: “Its ok, you can open your eyes.”

  Kiyui: “You sure?”

  Dwynfel: “I’m sure.”

  He opened his eyes and smiled at me before picking up the bottle he was looking for. He slid himself into the bath behind me. This is a situation where us both being short and slight definitely comes in handy. Even though our bath is a good size, there is no way that my parents would be able to share a bath like this so comfortably. Mind you, Kiyui is very flexible, which also helps. He kind of squatted with his legs apart behind me and started massaging the lotion into my shoulders. His hands were so very soft… it was… relaxing.

  The guilt then returned. I’ve ruined this boy’s life… this sweet and gentle boy… and he doesn’t even harbour any resentment towards me. I can feel the tears welling up in my eyes again. I have to say something to him… I have to apologise… somehow.

  Dwynfel: “Kiyui… I’m sorry.”

  Kiyui: “Sorry for what?”

  Dwynfel: “For ruining your career.”

  Kiyui: “Don’t be silly. It’ll all blow over eventually… you’ll see.”

  Dwynfel: “Kiyui… this isn’t something that will just blow over.”

  He stopped massaging and slipped round the side of me to sit opposite me. He looked me in the eye with a look of confusion.

  Kiyui: “What do you mean?”

  Dwynfel: “I’m a goblin.”

  Kiyui: “Yes, I can see that.”

  Dwynfel: “You defended and protected a goblin.”

  Kiyui: “Yeah…”

  Does he seriously not get why this is a problem?

  Dwynfel: “Nobody is going to take you seriously as an adventurer now. That’s it… your career is over. I am so sorry.”

  Kiyui: “Why are you sorry? It isn’t your fault.”

  Dwynfel: “Would you stop that!”

  Kiyui: “I don’t understand.”

  Dwynfel: “Stop being nice to me! It is my fault… all of this is my fault… I lied to you… I lied to all of you… I tricked you all into trusting me… and now you are all going to pay the price for my lies. You’re probably going to have to go back to a life of prostitution… you’d finally escaped from it… and now you will have to go back… and it’s all because of me! You should be angry… hit me… do something other than be nice to me!”

  Shit… I may have been too blunt with him there. Oh gods… is he going to cry… shit… what do I do. Hang on… is he laughing.

  Kiyui: “Oh, Dwynfel. You didn’t trick us into trusting you. We trusted you because of what you have done for all of us over all this time. Yeah, you lied about being a halfling. But you were still a great ranger. You kept our party alive. You are a great tracker and you saved all of our lives plenty of times. What you are doesn’t matter… it’s what you do that counts.”

  Dwynfel: “Regardless… I have still ruined your life.”

  Kiyui: “No you haven’t. And putting that aside for a moment… I didn’t need to escape my old life. I liked my old life. Granted, I prefer the adventuring. But I didn’t need to escape.”

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  Oh, for the love of the gods… he isn’t making this easy. Just accept the apology so we can move on.

  Dwynfel: “Stop trying to make me feel better… I know how much you wanted to get away… I remember all the crying, and the bowing and stuff.”

  Kiyui: “That was cause you guys had faith in me. You thought I was useful, that I was a good adventurer. Not because I hated my old life. There is nothing wrong or shameful about being a prostitute.”

  Dwynfel: “Yes there is… you were selling your body to get by… that can’t have been pleasant.”

  Kiyui: “Every job is you selling your body to somebody in some way. If you are a blacksmith, you loan your body to somebody for it to be used to make weapons and armour. A tailor does the same with clothes. All jobs will destroy your body over time. Do your back in, destroy your hands, in some cases workplace accidents can even kill you… and I’m not even talking about adventuring. How is having sex with somebody for money any different? I’m just using my body for a different purpose.”

  Yes… a disgusting and creepy purpose.

  Dwynfel: “I get where you are coming from… but come on… aren’t the clients a bit… you know… creepy.”

  Kiyui: “Yeah, there were creeps. That’s why I worked in a brothel. The creeps get barred so they can’t come back. When I first started, obviously, I was rather young and my clients were mostly boys around my age, many of which just wanted to lose their virginity. Initially, there were also a lot of older men who clearly had issues with power, and enjoyed exercising those issues on the young. Those men were not allowed back. Most clients are just lonely, or they have issues that make relationships difficult, or they are into things that they are ashamed to tell their partners about. There is a variety of reasons why people use prostitutes. Not all clients are creepy psychos. My regular clients were all perfectly fine. One of my regulars was absolutely lovely. He just had a really bad stutter that made him really anxious. He didn’t have the confidence to ask someone out or chat someone up. Several of the times we were together we just talked. He took me out for meals. He just wanted company.”

  He turned round and bent over the side of the bath to change bottles. That’s weird… his scrotum is attached all the way to the back of his perineum… it almost looks like it’s been pinned back, but it hasn’t… is that normal? Mine certainly doesn’t… I mean… that certainly explains why his balls don’t hang very low, but that must be weird… it’s attached all the way to his… oh gods… I can see right into his… this guy has no shame… I know he was a prostitute but come on… why doesn’t he cover up… and why do I want to stick my… oh fuck…

  Dwynfel: “Umm…”

  Kiyui found the bottle he was looking for and turned to look at me.

  Kiyui: “Yes…”

  Shit… what were we talking about before… he was talking about prostitutes and stuff… fuck… what do I say…

  Dwynfel: “Sorry if I insulted you.”

  Kiyui began to put the lotion in his hands and started rubbing it into his hair.

  Kiyui: “You didn’t insult me. Most people don’t understand. People have a very narrow view of prostitution… its sweet of you to apologise though. Most people don’t really change their minds even after they talk to me about it. Everybody always assumes you need saving. I could have tried to get work on a farm, or become an apprentice at one profession or another. I chose prostitution. I know it’s not a life that many people would choose. And indeed, many prostitutes don’t choose it. They end up there through circumstance. Everybody has their reasons for doing what they do. I’ve been having sex since I was twelve. I enjoy it. I’m good at it. And if I can make money from it, then why shouldn’t I?”