A huge building loomed over the parking area where we were. It looked even more conspicuous as we got nearer. Night had descended fully by then but it might as well have been daytime due to the bright lighting inside the building.

Suddenly, fear gripped me tenfold and I started struggling again only to receive a hard slap across the face.

I have never received such a strike in my life and I suddenly regretted my actions. It left me deafened momentarily and when I could make out sounds again, my ears picked up on some music coming from somewhere in that place.

Their grip on me on both sides tightened so much that I couldn't move a muscle. My legs were no longer touching the floor and that was when I realized I was partially being carried.

We made a turn and started down a corridor—the music was getting louder. Soon, two more burly men came into my field of vision and we were ushered into this vast room.

My eyes literally wanted to pop out of their sockets at what I saw; there were various people—women mostly, in several states of undress. Two danced on long poles while a multitude watched. Others engaged in unmentionable, crude, and obscene activities with only booths reinforced by glass divisions to offer some bits of privacy—not that there weren't rooms.

The atmosphere was beyond sinful and I quelled the urge to throw up. Some made faces at me and I was mortified. How I would give anything to be anywhere but there. They led me to a woman in the middle of the room. She was seated on some kind of...throne?

"Here she is, your grace," one of them said.

"That's good," the woman merely voiced before she peered in my direction. "Hmmm, now what do we have here?"

She stepped down majestically, making her way over to me. I struggled some more while her grasp on my chin tightened as she scrutinized me.

"Don't try anything stupid, dearie. You belong to me now. Take a look at all this…" she swiveled my head to view all the wanton activities anew. The air itself was laden with alcohol and booze which had induced me to crinkle my nose in disgust. "This is your life now, breathe it all in. You gotta love it…"

I shuddered at the thought of descending to the abnormal behaviour being displayed there. Mentally, I cursed the day I met Harriet. Abruptly, the strange woman leaned in, until our faces were only inches apart.

"You look so innocent. We all were, at one point…" Her eyes betrayed nothing as she spoke. I couldn't imagine myself indulging in all these atrocious activities. The place was repulsive to me and I could feel the revulsion down to my bones.

"I don't belong to you! I don't belong to anybody!" I hollered.

This attracted whispers and stares but the shock on her face was suddenly replaced by a smile. One that radiated danger.

"I'll pardon you for that outburst. It's because you're clueless...but not for long." She faced her thugs. "Take her to be prepared. The boys will have the pleasure of being entertained by her tonight. It's going to be...fun."

With that, they literally dragged me away. We went through another door, almost hidden from view, and once we reached another corridor, one of them was quick to seize me by the throat. I gasped for air, coughing as I struggled with the brute.

"Nobody challenges the queen, you miscreant!" He said through clenched teeth, his hand tightening around my neck. "You should've been penalized!"

Black spots were already dancing across my vision by the time his cohort gripped his other arm, warning him. All the careless ideas that had been brewing in my head vanished and I was scared stiff as I coughed violently, grasping my throat. Before I knew it, I was handed to some women who, by the looks of it, were the ones to 'prepare' me.

Millions of tremulous thoughts were going through my head and I wondered if it was the end of the road for me. Had I come this far just to end up like this?

While some were pitiful, others were blunt. They said it wasn't the worst thing that could happen and that eventually I'd make my peace with it but I was having none of it.

According to them, the white petals—the name given to those who were new to this shenanigan—had to make their debut by first entertaining the clients, doing exactly as they were told for money. Apparently, these clients derived sadistic satisfaction from preying on the innocence of the inexperienced person.

They styled my hair to partially cover my face whilst leaving me in a skimpy dress that barely covered my thighs. All my protests had gone unheeded and once I remembered the thug's attempt to crush my windpipe, I held it all in.

Just like that, I was presented with doom. My heart palpitated erratically at the multitude of lewd, expectant gazes in my field of vision as I shuffled warily on my feet—the music heaved in pitch.

"Well, what are you standing there for b*tch, dance!" A man shot from his seat.

"Yes, b*tch dance!" Someone else assisted.

A bottle was even hurled in my direction which I barely missed and it wasn't until I spotted the queen somewhere amongst the drunken crowd did I reluctantly start to move. Her eyes narrowed at me and fear gripped me tenfold.

My dancing comprised distorted jerking motions and I didn't even match the plangent music's tempo. The heels they put me in weren't helping situations either and I detested that I was subject to their crazed requests. They laughed and leered and it was as if my clothes were see-through. I mentally cursed that witch over and over again as tears pricked at my vision.

The queen's expression remained arctic and insouciant as she watched. Someone threatened to maim me if I stopped dancing too.

It seemed that my terrible rendition was garnering attention fast and in the blink of an eye, the crowd had doubled in size.

I could feel the last barrier crashing down due to all the humiliation and bad names I was being called… My attention veered to a man giving something to one of the waiters which he surrendered to the queen.

Immediately, her eyes met mine and a smile crept onto her face. Before my befuddled mind could comprehend what was happening, someone had come from behind and cut the burgundy dress right off my skin!

Whilst the fabric pooled on the floor, and sardonic laughter prevailed, I was left in my underwear and stuck on heels I could barely walk in. I might as well have been nude because the leering and ogling rose in a crescendo.

"Now, that's a nice view!"

"We approve of this one, my queen!"

"Can't wait to have you in my bed!"

"You'll look good in my sheets!"

That was the breaking point! These monsters were preying on me. The sheer demoralization and shame I felt were torrential and almost immediately, the walls came crumbling down; an avalanche… And the tears that had previously been subdued, rained down prodigiously. I felt so ashamed of myself, being so bare before so many others… It was happening all over again. I felt so hopeless, so scared.

My legs gave out from under me, causing my unceremonious descent to the ground but I had already lost it and continued sobbing uncontrollably.

The embarrassment was too profuse… Only vaguely had I sensed a towel covering me and being led away from the jests and insults. I couldn't stop crying, I didn't deserve this.

"It's ok. It's ok." Someone soothed, patting my back.

That voice… I knew that voice. I wiped my face, trying to concentrate through my blurry vision.

"Constance?"

"They call me Tequila now but yes, it's me."

We were in a room and I could barely hear the loud music from there. Her voice was exasperated and her eyes brimmed with tears. She pulled me close, hugging me.

"I-I don't understand, you're here too?"

"Unfortunately, yes. It's a long story but I too fell victim to all this." She replied to me solemnly.

Constance had always had a knack for getting into trouble but the look on her face told me that she'd bitten up more than she could chew this time around. I could vividly recall the day she was sent away with Tommy.

She wore something similar to what I had on before however, a long coat was draped over her shoulders. Distaste was evident on her face and I wondered how long she'd been doing this.

"The queen promised me, she promised us all that she had plans for us and that was what led me to agree to it. But it's not long before you see your plans, hopes, and dreams collapsing before your eyes and you're powerless against it." She grabbed my arms, staring deep into my eyes. "I'm in too deep, Carina. There is not much left for me but you, you have your future ahead of you!"

As I beheld her disconsolate countenance, I wondered what she had gone through.

"I wish I hadn't met Tommy, he ruined me! I wish I had listened to the others, the ones who cared about me, but I didn't. If I'd listened then I wouldn't have fallen into their hands."

I could feel her pain and anguish as if they were mine because in a way, I had undergone all this too. Like me, Constance deserved none of this.

"You were still at the estate when I left, wha-"

"-it's a long story," I said, shaking my head forlornly.

Suddenly, I recalled one eluding detail. "Constance, when you left, you were pregnant, weren't you?"

Her expression turned even grimmer and I knew I'd struck something. "That too is a long story...one I'd rather leave buried in the depths of my mind...but let's just say that I've lost a lot for the time I've been into this."

I read between the lines of what she uttered and instantly understood that something terrible had happened with her pregnancy.

"Oh my God Constance, I'm so so-"

"-it's ok. Michael is never coming back to me, I've made my peace with it…"

So it was a baby boy, wasn't it? Almost immediately, memories of my own experience surfaced. I recalled how I was almost put in a family way and somehow it reinforced the feelings of empathy I now had toward her. She deserved anything but this.

Her distraught eyes met mine before she said, "On that God-forsaken debut, they break you and manipulate you and I couldn't bear to watch them do that to you. I know some will want to take their turns with you and if you're lucky, the queen won't trade you off."

"Trade me off?"

"Yes, I know there's some underground illicit trafficking that goes on. The queen's part of a faction of the mafia that owns this place, they're like a plague in this city, and the police are in on it too."

I tried to comprehend all the information she was blurting out.

"Don't worry about that though 'cause I'm helping you escape this place. I've tried to do it myself but I am already branded and no matter where I go, they will find me." She uttered in hushed tones as she looked around. Fear saturated her voice.

"Branded?" I asked.

She showed me something that looked like a tattoo and I realized that I'd seen something similar on several arms of those here.

"It's like a reminder that prevents you from straying too far. When given this, you understand that you belong to them now, no matter where you are."

That was what the queen told me, I gulped fearfully.

"You don't have it yet so you can get away." She further elaborated.

She looked around cautiously.

"But-but I don't understand. Constance, why are you helping me, why are you willing to risk so much for me?!"

I never really liked Constance and we never saw eye to eye but I would never wish her bad.

"When I first saw you here, my conscience wouldn't let me be. You have a better chance than I ever will. Promise me you'll never come back here. Run as far as you can-"

"-but what about you?"

"Tequila! Where are you?!" Someone called.

I was panicking by the time the voice called again. Constance dug around in the room's closet before producing some decent clothes for me to wear.

"Here, pull these on. I'll be right back."

The door slammed shut in the wake of her departure. Never had I thought that someone like her would one day be my saving grace or that the same person I lived in close enmity with would go out of her way and risk so much for me. That must've been why my father often told us not to judge anyone.

She returned moments later with my bag, an unreadable expression on her face. She led me through a series of passages after which we emerged outside the back gate.

"I'll create a distraction to give you enough time to get far ahead, ok?"

My mind was still not at ease.

"But Constance, when they find out you helped me, there's no telling what they'll do to you." I expressed.

"No, there's no telling what will be done to you if they get to you again. Don't worry about me, I'll be ok and will only be at ease knowing that this went successfully."

I nodded reluctantly before throwing my arms around her for the last time. "Thank you so much…" Tears slid down my face again.

"You have to go! Now!"

At her command, I turned and took off with the speed of lightning. I didn't know where I was going since the environment was anything but familiar to me. I ran with all I had, and couldn't care less about what anyone that saw me thought of me.

On flagging down the first taxi I saw, I jumped in but kept looking back, half expecting to see a particular shady vehicle, hot on our trail.