LITMIR.BIZ

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up the tavern stairs. The tavern had a strange smell, a mix of wine, mead and perfume seemed to permeate the air. As they walked down the hall, sounds came from some of the rooms. A man’s snoring, two women talking, and distant crying.

      «This is my only free room,» Oxana said shortly. «There’re water and towels there, and the sheets are clean. You smell like a sailor, so… wash!» she insisted.

      Maria nodded, «Mda, I’ve been hiding in a cargo net since yesterday! Thank you!» she said

      The door closed as Oxana left, and Maria walked toward the mirror near the window. Her face and hair were filthy. Her hands looked almost black with dirt as she pulled the items from her dress and let it slip off. She reached into the large bowl of water and began to wash away the last few days of suffering and guilt.

      She found a brush and began to pull the tangles from her hair. She remembered the last time she did this; her mother had insisted on helping her so they could braid it. Just moments before her father was leaving to deliver the mead.

      «Why can’t I go back in time?» she agonized.

      She changed into a cleaner dress and slid into the bed after washing, the clean sheets and soft mattress made her gasp. It was such a comfort after so many hours of running in the woods and stowing away on the ship.

      She had hardly pulled the blanket over herself before she fell asleep. For the first time since her father’s death, she felt safe.

      Morning came and went as Maria continued to sleep. Oxana knocked at her door with breakfast but left it by her bed when she saw how tired she was.

      Maria woke up as the sun had just begun to set. She saw the breakfast and ate everything at once. Moments later Oxana returned with dinner and marveled that Maria was awake.

      «Are you one of those vampires that only comes out at night?» Oxana teased. «Still hungry?»

      Maria nodded in agreement as she began to chew on the first thing she touched.

      «The ships are coming in from the Volga now; I expect whoever is coming for you will be here tonight,» Oxana said.

      «Spacibo, Oxana,» Maria said as she swallowed and reached for water. «Spacibo bolshoe.»

      «Well I’ve got work to do, so I’ll leave you to this,» Oxana said as she left the room.

      Maria finished her meal and looked out the window. The sun set over the city, and she wondered if her mother might be somewhere nearby.

      A recurring sound began to resonate from the room next door. It was like the crying she had heard the night before. Maria walked closer to the wall, and could feel a vibration coming from the floor as if someone was jumping or fighting.

      Her curiosity drew her closer and closer until her ear was against the wall. «Was someone in danger?» she thought. As her face pressed against the wall, she could see a small light coming through from the other room. She walked towards it and found a hole just big enough to peek through.

      She leaned in and started to focus her view into the other room. It was similar to her room, but more candles were lit along with a lantern by the bed. The walls were wooden with fabric tapestry hanging across a wooden rod. The bed had a fancy lace blanket, nicer than anything she had seen in Rostov. A young woman with dark red curly hair was sitting on the bed facing a half-dressed man who moved toward her. He began to slide her dress off her shoulders and slid his hands over her bare breasts.

      Maria gasped, she was shocked and intrigued at the same time. She pulled away from the wall, feeling embarrassed by what she had seen. She walked back to her bed and sat there, listening to the woman giggling as the man’s voice lifted and dropped in conversation.

      Maria understood perfectly what they were doing; her mother had explained everything to her when she was 13, but she had never experienced sex or even seen a naked man. Although she had seen more than expected through the clothes, her classmates wore when they went swimming, in the village. Soon she found herself back at the wall, watching again.

      The woman was now on top of the man; his hands slid across her smooth skin as she rode him like a horse, gliding forward and back as he moved beneath her. Her breasts were large, and he caressed them often. She seemed to enjoy him, she smiled and moaned and placed her hands over his, encouraging him to keep his hands in place. Her hair spilled across her back as she tilted her head back and slowed her movements.

      The man’s body was slightly concealed by the bed linen. Maria could only see his arms and legs from her point of view. He looked rough and hairy in comparison to the woman’s smooth skin. They moved together with increasing force until the man pulled at her body, thrusting himself upward and then holding her there as he moaned. They stilled as the woman lay forward on his chest and kissed him as his hands stroked down her back.

      Maria was entranced. It was the most erotic experience in her life, and she felt as if she was on fire after watching them. «Was this her husband?» she wondered. «Is this what married couples do?»

      The woman then slipped away from him, standing and pulling a bed sheet to wrap around herself. She walked to the washstand and poured water from a pitcher into a bowl, then began to clean herself. It seemed odd to Maria, the woman was so passionate and then washing right away as if removing the experience entirely from her body.

      She watched the man stand up and reach for his clothes. His body was muscular, and as he turned to get dressed she saw his manhood hanging between his legs. Her mouth parted in shock as she admired the fleshy shaft he covered as he pulled his pants on. A warm sensation washed over Maria, intriguing and beguiling her imagination.

      She heard the woman and man talking and looked to see what else they would do. The whole in the wall painted a different scene when she peered through on the unsuspecting couple. She saw him fully clothed and smiling at the woman as he slid his boots on. He wore the clothing of a sailor and appeared to be an older man. The woman seemed uninterested in him now, a strange look was on her face as she appeared impatient and annoyed.

      The man reached into his pocket and handed her some coins. The woman counted them and looked at him with a disappointed face. The man gestured with his palms up as if surprised then gave her two more coins as he walked out. The sound of his footsteps echoed down the hall while the woman went to the candles and blew them out, darkening the room.

      Maria was confused and went to sit on her bed to calm herself down as she began to realize where her cousin had hidden her. She was staying in a brothel and had just watched a prostitute render her services.

      «The rumors of sailors and harlots must have some basis in fact,» she thought, but then she connected the most important point: Her cousin Dima was a well-known customer and must have had some favor with Oxana to accommodate his cousin in so early in the morning. Her opinion of Dima changed instantly. She had always pictured him so proper and hardworking, this was a new side of him but after pondering the idea, she came to accept that if it were any other man she would not be as surprised by the act. He had no wife, and there was no time for love in their world destroyed by war and invasion. Perhaps this tavern offered comfort to her lonely cousin who lived a hard life on the river.

      Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Maria thought it might be the woman she had been watching. She put herself under the blankets to give the appearance she had been sleeping, «Yes?» she said firmly.

      A man opened the door and stepped inside.

      «Sorry to disturb you so late in the evening, are you Maria?» he asked?

      Maria panicked, had this man been sent to her room like the sailor she had just watched? «Why!?» she replied nervously.

      The man nodded, realizing it must be Maria, «My name is Sergei, Dima paid me to take you to Neva.» He said calmly.

      «Yes, I’ll be ready to go as soon as my mother arrives,» Maria replied as she kept the blankets pulled up to her neck.

      «Oh, I didn’t know about

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