Escort Services

Spoiler:

The weapon is in the shop and his jewel balance is beginning to dry up.  Any job, regardless of the size, is needed to feed his habit.  What habit is that?  Well, it's a habit that most people shouldn't consider unless they want their liver to go bad.  As well, Baal is considering buying a present for a certain someone in the guild.  In order to do that, he really, really needs jewels!  Clearing his throat as he stood in front of the mirror at the guild hall, he stares with discontent.  The corner of his lips tugged downwards as he saw himself in a tuxedo with his hair pulled back into a tight pony tail.  

“Seriously, I look like a joke,” he said out-loud to the mirror.  He half-expected the mirror to speak back for some strange reason.  Clearing his throat and adjusting his tie, Baal floated out of his room and mysteriously appeared in the Capital City at the appointed location.  It was there that he was given a briefing and a picture of the woman he is to spend the night with, attending a ball with them.  Looking over the image of the female, Baal thought that she was pretty, but didn't hold a candle to the beautiful Miss Tyriel.  

Returning the image to the strange man in black, Baal nodded.  The woman he is to take to the ball is a young woman of nobility the age of 18.  She is old enough to take over the family estate, but her sour attitude is making the transition difficult.  This all stemmed from the death of her mother.  A kind soul that cared about everyone and everything.  A woman who was willing to  give money to the poor and feed hungry children.  The perfect woman.  With her passing, the woman he is to accompany (we'll name her Jennifer) hasn't smiled since and has only been a terror to all potential suitors.  While it isn't Baal's job to become one of her suitors, it is his job to make her less bitchy for other potential 'husband-to-be' candidates.

WC: 349

After Baal received his briefing, he was rushed into a carriage.  The entire ride was silent and awkward.  While Baal is treated like a professional in this manner, a little bit of small talk would have been nice.  It would have put him in more of the mindset of what he's about to do.  Nope, just an awkward, silent ride to Jennifer's estate.  As the carriage comes to a stop, the door opened and one of the men-in-black poked their head in, ordering Baal to move to the other side of the carriage and closed the windows of the carriage.  

Before the man shut the door, Baal caught a small glimpse of the estate and his jaw began to drop.  Before he could get a good enough view of the large palace-like building, the door was closed.  The size of the estate reminded him of something from his home-land.  Now, he waits.  After a moment, the door was opened once again only for one of the men-in-black to now be dressed in white.  Actually, all of the men were dressed in white now.  “After you, madam Jennifer,” spoke the man that addressed him firmly before.  He spoke with softness and elegance.  Jennifer loaded into the carriage and took a seat next to Baal.

She was dressed in a very pretty blue dress with her hair pulled up by a blue ribbon.  She would be a very pretty girl if only she'd smile.  She turned her head to look towards Baal with a superior look on her face.  “Don't tell me you were hired to be my date for this dance,” she said as her eyes scanned over Baal for a moment.  “A commoner like you?” she said with a scoff, turning her head towards the window.

WC: 296

Baal cleared his throat and laughed as haughtily as the woman. “Please, don't confuse me for the common rabble.  I was higher than nobility in my home-land,” he said in a rather snobbish tone.  Well, Baal wasn't lying.  This caused the woman to turn back around with an eyebrow raised.  “Oh?  You don't say?  Then you were royalty, huh?  Of what kingdom?” she asked before flinging some of her long hair over her shoulder.

Baal said something in an unintelligible language.  This caused the woman he was with to appear insulted.  “Did you just curse at me?”  This only lead Baal to laugh at her ignorance.  If only he knew how to return to his home, he'd bring people back and purge this planet of most of it's inhabitants.  But alas, he was stuck here.  “No, you pleb,” he stated with an air of superiority.  “That was the name of our kingdom.  Or does rudeness run in your family?” he asked before receiving a firm slap to the face.

Tears and anger were upon Jennifer's face as the duo then sat silently in the cab for a moment.   “Aren't you going to apologize?” Jennifer finally piped up only for Baal to, once again, laugh at her.  “For what?  Apologize for insulting you?  Why should I apologize to someone of such a low birth acting high and mighty?” This caused Jennifer to curl her lip and look back out the window, keeping silent for the rest of the way.  There was palpable tension between the two until the carraige came to a stop at a large mansion.

WC:  266

The carriage door swung open and the a white glove appeared from outside to assist Jennifer out of the carriage.  Baal's side opened up as well, but he was able to help himself out of the carriage.  As Baal exited the carriage, he was given a firm glance from one of the men responsible for the carriage and reminded Baal of the time to leave the party.  10 PM on the dot.  That is when Baal is to return her to the carriage so that she can be taken home.  Baal made his way beside Jennifer for a moment before the lead man-in-white cleared his throat and forced the two to walk in with their arms interlocked with one another.

"Now have fun, Miss Jennifer.  You haven't had fun in years, so please mingle.  You'll need to build contacts for when you take over the estate," the man said before he was waved off.  "Yeah, yeah."  With the dismissal, then men-in-white glared at Baal for a moment before loading up on the carriage and took off to go park the vehicle.  

"Don't get any bright ideas now that you're touching me, Mr. Prince," she said as the two of them walked into the ballroom.  As the two entered the ballroom, they were announced.  "Introducing Madam Jennifer of Canterbury being escorted by Baron von Shlect of Bachland," the man said as people turned their eyes at the mention of 'Jennifer of Canterbury'.  Giggles and rumors began to fly upon her introduction.

"Baron von Shlect?  I'm certain that isn't your real name," she said in hushed tones to Baal.

"Of course it isn't.  Do you think I would give my actual identity to these scrubs?" he stated.  He heard the rumors flying through the air.  The words of malice being exchanged by those in attendance was palpable, as if the two of them were walking through a thick cloud of evil.

WC: 319

"It's the ice queen."
"Oh my, what poor soul did the Cry Baby cry into taking with her?"
"Oh, she didn't cry him into coming with, she's going to take his soul."
"Or his bank account."
"At this rate, she's going to die an old, decrepit woman."
"Nobody wants damaged goods as a wife."
"And to think the House of Canterbury was such a good family."
"You'd think that the daughter would follow suit with such a kind woman."
"Perhaps she wasn't a very good mother for not passing along the same kindness."

The last comment was a biting one.  Nothing struck at her except for the last comment that she heard from all of the rumors, causing tears to bead up in the corner of her eyes.  Noticing this, the next comment made by one of the people were met with a push.  This left the person dumb-founded.  The next person to say something also received a push from seemingly nowhere.  Luckily for Baal, he was able to push and pull people with something called Mystic Hands.  

"People seem to really compare you to your mother, hm?" he asked in silent tones as the crowd began to gather around Jennifer, only for Baal to move them out of the way with the Mystic Hands.  Jennifer lowered her head for a moment and nodded her head.  Baal cleared his throat and turned towards her, placing his hand upon her cheek with a smile.  

"You're still you're own person, don't forget about that," he said with a big smile before Jennifer gasped, recalling her mother saying something like that once before in her youth.

WC: 273

A blush came over Jennifer's face for a moment as she let out a little smile.  "Yeah.  You're right," she said as she wiped away the tears from her eyes.  This caught Baal's attention.  A little smile from the woman's eyes instantly made her appearance much brighter and full of life. She was much more beautiful with a smile upon her face than a frown.  

A loud scream could be heard coming from the outside followed with loud thuds.  Turning his head towards the sound, he was instantly stopped with a pinch of two small fingers upon his shirt.  This was almost as if she didn't want him to go.  With a big smirk upon his face, he scooped her up and ran towards the sound of the screams.  

Upon going outside he set Jennifer down.  The spectacle wasn't what he originally thought it was.  A noble woman was approached by a raggedy man begging for money.  The woman shouted in bloody-murder merely for being in the same presence as the man before beating him with her purse until the man backed off.  Narrowing his eyes, Baal walked passed her, only to have his Mystic hands slap her on the back of her head.  He was far enough away to where he couldn't be blamed for the slap.  

Approaching the impoverished man, he took a knee to get on the same level as him.  "Why?  Are you here to mock me too?"  asked the poor man.  

"No, I'm here to give you what you asked for.  I haven't been on your planet for very long, but I know that the best things you humans could do is stick together and that stuck with me," he said.  The poor man looked at Baal inquisitively.  

"So, that makes you an.." he asked before being cut off by Baal.  A voice could then be heard in the man's head.  ~ Don't let them know ~ Baal stated before taking a firm grasp of the poor man's hand and put some money into the man's hand.  Baal placed his hand upon the man's shoulder with a pat and a smile upon his face.  Upon seeing how much money was put in his hand, the poor man's eyes lit up.  

WC: 376

Joy was easily seen in the man's eyes before he lunged forward into Baal, giving him a big hug.  This, in turn, rubbed the poor man's stench all over Baal, but Baal didn't particularly care at the moment.  Seeing this display brought disgust to the rest of the nobles at the ball except Jennifer.  Tears began to pour down her face as she saw the pure display of humanity from someone who wasn't even human.  This act of kindness reminded her of her mother.  Oh, she missed her mother so much.  

People began to go back inside now talking about Baron von Schlect's actions and how he 'pities the plebs'.  After Baal dismissed the poor man to go get something to eat, he turned to walk towards the ballroom once again, only to see Jennifer on her knees crying.  Her palms were used to wipe away her tears.  "So, your actions in the carriage. It was all an act wasn't it?" she asked simply.  "Yeah," was the only response given to her.  

"So," she said as she sucked the snot up her nose.  "That's how I treated people until now.  I see.  What guild do you belong to?" she asked as she finished wiping away the tears from her eyes.  

"Infinity Hydra," he responded.  

"I see.  So was what you told me about being royalty on your home planet even real?"

"Yeah, that much was at least real."

"Why do you treat us humans so kindly then?"

"Well, when I first came to this planet, I was in the same position as that man. They treated me with respect and kindness until I got my bearings and was able to stand on my own two feet.  I didn't come here as a visitor, I was thrown here without knowing the reason why," he stated, which was also the truth.  "They took care of me.  They clothed me and they fed me.  They didn't know of my lineage on my home planet nor did they care.  They saw a living being that needed help so they helped me," Baal stated.

"What happened to them?"

"They died," Baal stated turning his eyes.  The events happened over a hundred years ago.  "You humans have such short life-spans."  Clearing his throat and turning to look back at Jennifer, he was stunned to see a big and radiant smile from her.  The first time she showed one in many years.

WC: 405

"So?  Are we going to go back in?" Baal asked as he approached the woman and held a hand out.  With a nod, the woman grabbed Baal's hand and picked herself up.

10:01
Crap!  He's late.  Cutting Jennifer off in the middle of conversation with her curfew.  This left a sour look on the faces of those she was talking to, but she left with a pleasant attitude.  The rumors evaporated into nothing but kind words towards her.  The attitude of these people changed as Jennifer became more sociable, treated Baal a bit more respectfully than they saw her treat another man before, and the fact that she picked a good person this time around.  If only they'd stop talking about the way Baal smelled due to hugging that vagrant.

Walking out of the ball, he was met by the two men in white.  They had a stern look on their faces as Baal had missed his deadline. However, their stern faces changed as they saw Jennifer smiling.  "Oh hey!  You guys came to meet us huh?" she said trying to lace her fingers into Baal's.  However, Baal refused to do so as he had his eyes on someone back at the guild.  

"It's time to go home, Madam," said one of the men in white as he scraped her away from Baal and began to tug her back towards the carriage.  "I'll miss you!  What's your real name?"  she said as she's being dragged.  A smile came across the man's face before responding with,  "Baal."  

"I'll miss you, Baal!  I want to see you again!  Make sure you come and visit, alright?" she said before Baal waved to her.  However, before him was the main man-in-white.  He looked at Baal with a stern expression.  "You will be receiving payment for this job.  I thank you for bringing Madam Jennifer back, but I must forbid you from ever visiting her again.  She will need to concentrate on finding a man of her stature to take over the Canterbury estate."

"I understand.  You didn't set up that event earlier with the vagrant did you?"

"Not at all.  That was simply deus ex machina.  Though, we did do our best effort to let it play out though, hoping you'd do the right thing.  You performed splendidly," the men stated before pulling out a gadget and flashing him with it.  "You came to the ball with a woman and the two of you had a good time.  Her name was Yesenia of House Delcourt.  You brought her out of the ball only for her husband to take her away," the man said before putting the item away.  

Clearing his throat, the man walked away as if he was never there.  Baal watched dumb-foundedly as the man did all of that.  He blinked for a moment before shaking his head with a laugh.  "Did he seriously think he could re-write my memories?  That's charming," he said before looking up into the sky.  "I need a drink."

WC: 502