Sayana celebrated her thirteenth birthday with some trepidation. This was the general age where the first of the actual courtesan classes began instead of the regular classes she’d been taking, so now Sayana was nervous all over again. She was developing a chest as well as having her monthly cycles, so she was definitely becoming a young woman.

The first class of the morning was one on deportment. It was the class on etiquette Master Benjin had warned she would have to take a second time. This time it was more intense than his had been. The students were split into boys and girls, and the boys were taken off by a Master to learn the manners and social cues that they must follow while the girls were taught what they must follow and do.

Sayana was taught how to bow, who to bow to, how low she should bow, who deserved how much respect when she bowed. She was taught who to address in what fashion and how to avoid insult if she didn’t immediately know a patron’s rank by addressing them generically as “my lord” or “my lady.” She was taught how loud to laugh, to cry, to speak in any given situation. She was taught how to hold her head, how to sit, how to stand. All the little things courtesans knew to put a patron at ease with their mannerisms she learned in her deportment class.

Her second class of the day was detailing what exactly a courtesan was and did. Here she learned the history of the courtesans. She learned who founded the first courtesan academy. She learned about the struggles of the first courtesans and the fight they had for the protections that all courtesans now had. She learned a lot about the politics behind the courtesan academies as well.

Her third class of the day was a lesson on the various families of note in the empire. She was taught family names, planets of origin, and what had led to them prospering. She learned those who served the emperor directly and those who maintained their wealth but served in a less direct capacity. She learned who the power brokers were and who wanted to be the power brokers.

Then came the usual twenty-minute break in the garden, which Sayana spent going over her notes from her first three classes so she’d have all the information down. Then came a class on fashion and what was in style. The young courtesans were taught how to design their own clothes to match the current fashion and where to go to find out what that was. They learned who the fashion mavens were at court, which was where they got their information.

The fourth class of the day was a free period, to be spent studying whatever one wanted. Sayana used the time to review everything she’d learned during the day and over the days previous to make sure she understood everything.

Then came lunch and after lunch came dance and aerobics. Then came the hour of free time before dinner, a time Sayana used for various purposes. Dinner was eaten and then Sayana devoted her time to reading. She was no longer so little that she was exceptionally tired after dinner every day, so she often stayed up until lights out was called, reading whatever book caught her fancy.

Halfway through her year the class on fashion changed to one on poetry and tales. This was different from the innocent poetry she’d learned as a child when she first arrived. The poems were salacious and full of innuendo and Sayana found them hard to memorize. But she persevered and managed to learn enough to please her teacher.

They were also given books of incredibly lurid and licentious stories and told to memorize ten of them. The overtly sexual nature of the stories put Sayana off, and she struggled to memorize even one of the tales, let alone the ten they were required to learn. The Matron often scolded her and the two others in the class who couldn’t recall a single story and told them they were going to fail if they didn’t try harder.

Hannelore came in one day and found Sayana and the other two practically in tears as the Matron was telling them they had one more week to improve or she’d send them to the Scullery. “And what, pray tell, have they done to deserve such a fate?” Hannelore asked.

“They refuse to memorize any of the stories in Rimara’s Book of Pleasure.” The Matron sneered at the three students. “They say they’re trying but I don’t believe they are. Otherwise, they’d have managed to remember at least one story out of the book by now.”

“Not necessarily.” Hannelore held up her hand. “Have you given them the alternative book to memorize from?”

“There is no alternative book.” The Matron glared at Hannelore.

“Matron Glendis, you know as well as I do that there is an alternative book that you are supposed to give to students who have trouble with Rimara’s work.” Hannelore gave her a hard look. “Are you telling me you haven’t given them Candora’s Book of Teasing Tales to try to memorize from?”

“That book is not appropriate for a courtesan,” Glendis snapped. “It’s a child’s book.”

“Yet some of our most popular courtesans tell tales from that book.” Hannelore gave her a look that made her squirm. “Give them time to memorize stories from Candora’s work or I will have you removed as a teacher.”

“You can’t be serious. Just because I refuse to teach out of a child’s book.” Glendis looked affronted at the thought.

“That book was approved by the Head Matron specifically for students who found Rimara’s work distasteful,” Hannelore snapped. “These three obviously do. Use the alternate book and teach them out of that one. Or I will have you replaced.”

“You three have one week to memorize five tales from Candora’s book. Or I’m sending you to the Scullery,” Glendis hissed as Hannelore left the room.

“That’s not fair,” one of the other students protested. “You’re giving the rest of the class longer to learn their tales.”

“I don’t care if you think it’s fair or not.” Glendis glared at them all. “You have one week to memorize five tales or you’re going to the Scullery. That’s my final word on it. If you complain to anyone about what I’ve said, I’ll send you to the Scullery without giving you that week.”

Sayana sat down and pulled up the book in question. The tales were easier to read, without the overt sexual overtones from Rimara’s book. There were some sexual notes to the tales, but they were more of a tease than a blatant description of the acts which so filled Rimara’s work. Sayana found it much easier to read Candora’s stories.

During her twenty minutes and her free hour, she was bent over her new book of tales. She was determined to memorize the first five stories in it so she could recite them to Glendis without fail in a week.

Hannelore came over and found her hard at work. “I’m glad to see these stories appeal to you more than the other book of tales, Sayana.” She sat down beside her. “But I have a question for you. I’ve already heard this from the other two, so you won’t be in trouble if you tell me the same thing. Did Glendis tell you that you had a week to memorize five tales, or she’d send you to the Scullery? And did she also tell you that if you complained to anyone, she’d send you to the Scullery immediately?”

Sayana hesitated and then nodded. “She did, Matron.”

“I see. You will have a new teacher tomorrow. Glendis will not send you to the Scullery for telling me this. I will not put up with bullying our students just because you don’t like the directions you were given.” She smiled at Sayana. “What do you think of Candora’s tales?”

“They’re much easier to read than the other ones,” Sayana admitted.

“Some of our students, even though a courtesan’s job is ultimately to sell sex to their patron, find it hard to cope with Rimara’s stories. They are very intense. We found a book that was just as enticing to our patrons without as much in the way of overt sexual overtones and allow for those students who can’t deal with Rimara to memorize tales from that one. I’m glad you enjoy the tales from it.” Hannelore patted her arm.

“I don’t exactly enjoy them.” Sayana tucked a few stray strands of hair behind her ear as she spoke. “They’re just easier to read and memorize than the others.”

“You don’t enjoy them? Most students your age are intrigued by them.” Hannelore seemed puzzled by her attitude.

“Most students my age didn’t grow up with parents who showed no concern for their children.” Sayana grimaced. “I learned about sex when I was three because we shared the quarters with my mother and neither she nor my father thought to keep me and Kallam out of the room when they got involved. I’m not ignorant like so many of the others.”

“Ah, yes, I can see how that would color your perceptions of it. Just remember that, in the end, you will be required to perform those same acts with your patrons.” Hannelore regarded her solemnly.

“I know.” Sayana sighed. “They taught us that in the class on what it means to be a courtesan. I know that we’re little better than overpriced pleasure slaves, even if no one else sees it that way.”

“Sayana, that’s hardly the way to look at your profession.” Hannelore’s expression was a mixture of shock and horror at her viewpoint.

“It may not be the way to look at being a courtesan, but in the end, that’s what we are, isn’t it? We are being trained to do one thing – please our patrons so they want to have sex with us. We must do whatever it takes to get our patrons into our beds. We’re there for three years, and then we’re whisked off to service another patron. On and on it goes until we retire, at which point we can teach other children to do what we’ve done or settle down somewhere and live out a quiet life.” Sayana paused. “I don’t see how that’s much different from living as a slave until the day your master frees you. Or you die. Whichever comes first.”

“Sayana, what we do is a service to the community.” Hannelore looked faintly disturbed. “Many marriages are arranged and there is no affection between husband and wife. Courtesans give companionship and affection where there is none and bring some happiness to a joyless situation.”

“That’s not what happened with my mother. She was just used for sex when my father’s wife refused to give it to him. Or when she displeased him in some way. My father would go to my mother to spite his wife.” Sayana shrugged. “Or so my mother always said. She said she felt sorry for his wife because she was married to such a miserable excuse of a human being.”

“Yes, and we’ve told you your situation was unique,” Hannelore reminded her.

“Was it? Was it really?” Sayana asked. “Or is it different because the Head Matron has laid down some different rules than the other academies to make it safer for us?”

“Actually, many of the rules the Head Matron has laid down come from other academies. Treolia was one that didn’t have such policies in place, and it cost your mother dearly.” Hannelore gave her a thoughtful look. “I know they were planning on making some changes after what happened with your mother was discovered.”

“I hope, for the sake of their courtesans, they made several changes to their policies and started protecting them better than they did my mother.” Sayana frowned and thought of all the women who might have been harmed by men like her father and wondered just how many courtesans Treolia Academy had lost over the years.

“I need to go deal with Glendis.” Hannelore rose. “Don’t think of this as being sold into sexual slavery, Sayana. Think of it as performing a duty no one else can fill.”

“I’ll try.” Sayana went back to the book of tales and Hannelore took herself off.

“Memorizing tales? Are you having any better luck?” Kallam asked as he joined her.

“They gave me a different book. The stories aren’t as lewd and I’m having a far easier time getting through them.” Sayana looked up at her brother. “I should be able to memorize ten of these easily.”

“The stories they gave us weren’t that bad.” Kallam looked at his sister strangely.

“I thought they were awful.” Sayana shuddered. “Then again, you’re not the one who walked in on mother on nine separate occasions while she was having sex with father. I did. I was probably there the day she conceived Addie, Eon, and Ethian. I don’t really find that all that appealing.”

“Yeah, I can see why you wouldn’t.” Kallam gave her a quick hug. “I’ll leave you to your reading. You’re way behind on the memorization part of it.”

“I know.” Sayana resumed reading until the free hour was up, and then she went to dinner.

After dinner, instead of reading the book she’d started a few weeks earlier, she sat down with Candora’s tales and pushed through several of them. She went back and read a few a second and third time, trying to lock the story details into her mind. She read the stories until it was time for lights out. She put up her pad and went to bed, still determined to memorize as many stories as she could.

The next day a new Matron was teaching the class. She reassured the three who were reading Candora’s tales that they did not have to memorize five in a week. That they just had to memorize ten by the end of the class and recite them over the last week like the rest of the students. This gave them a few months to work with, and Sayana felt a little more confident that she’d be able to do it.

By the end of the year, Sayana had memorized the ten required tales and recited them with all of the appropriate pauses and the proper inflections as taught by the Matron. She passed her classes with good marks. The two weeks of the winter holiday started off on a high note for Sayana.

Kallam found her reading in her room. “Didn’t you get enough books during the year?” he demanded with a laugh.

“It’ll never be enough.” Sayana grinned. “How’d you do?”

“I passed everything, as expected.” Kallam shrugged. “You?”

“Same.” Sayana shifted her position. “Now we’ve just got the two weeks of vacation which no one ever goes anywhere for except for a few of the Matrons and Masters, and then it’s back to the studies.”

“Next year is supposed to be interesting for me.” Kallam looked excited. “You get into some deep stuff apparently once you reach your sixteenth year, and that’s where I’ll be.”

“I’m only turning fourteen, so I’ve got two years to go before I see anything interesting.” Sayana looked at her brother. “You know, I still don’t like the idea of being a courtesan, but really, I can’t see doing anything else with my life. I never could.”

Kallam shook his head. “There was never any path for us but this one, Saya.”

“At least Addie and Eon have found a different way to go.” Sayana glanced down at her uniform. “I didn’t want this for either of them.”

“Being a scholar suits them. Addie is thriving there, and Eon seems to be doing okay too,” Kallam observed.

“I wouldn’t know how well Eon is doing since Addie does all the talking when we call.” Sayana laughed.

“She does dominate the conversation, doesn’t she?” Kallam laughed along with his sister. “Then again, you do most of the talking for the two of us. But I don’t mind that. You always had a better relationship with Adjira than I did.”

“I was more of a mother to her than our mother was, and I was only three when she was born.” Sayana shook her head. “I did the best I could for her, but I’m pleased she has adults she can look up to taking care of her now.”

“So am I. She needs that.” Kallam glanced over his shoulder and, noticing something Sayana couldn’t see, took a step back. Sayana thought a Matron must have said something to him.

“So do we.” Sayana wished she had someone she could talk to who understood how she felt.

“I’ve got a few of the Masters I really look up to,” Kallam told her. “I’ve chatted with them outside of class and they’re very willing to explain things to me.”

“I don’t know any of the Matrons that well.” Sayana sighed. “Except for Matron Hannelore, and she’s always too busy for me to talk to her. I haven’t found any other Matrons who seem to share my views on being a courtesan, so they’re all so hard to talk to.”

“Are your views still uncomplimentary?” Kallam looked at her with some amusement.

“In a way they are.” Sayana watched her brother. He seemed to have changed his mind about being a courtesan. “I’ve told them to Matron Hannelore, and she suggested I look at being a courtesan as doing a service instead of how I normally see it. I’m trying to see it her way, and I just don’t get how she can say it’s a service.”

“We’re serving those who need our particular type of help. That’s how.” Kallam’s expression made her think he’d already figured this out for himself ages ago.

“I just don’t see it that way. Then again, I’ve never had a very complimentary view of being a courtesan, so I suppose that’s not unusual. I’ll just have to try harder to change my viewpoint.” Sayana looked at her brother thoughtfully.

“It’ll become a whole lot easier for you if you do.” Kallam grinned. “I did, and now I’m enjoying myself and learning a lot.”

“Then I’ll follow your example.” Secretly she wondered if she could. Her dislike of being a courtesan was so deeply ingrained in her and none of her lessons were changing it. She now understood the process of being a courtesan more, so there was less a dislike of the unknown and more a general distaste for what she was going to have to do when she turned eighteen. Kallam seemed to see it all as a grand adventure. Maybe if she could figure out how to see it in the same way it would get easier.

“That’s the right attitude to have.” He stretched. “I’m going to go see if any of the other guys want to play a game or something. You want to join me?”

“No, I want to read. I’ve been focused on Candora’s tales for most of the past six months. I’d like to read something not to do with sexual liaisons for a change.” Sayana giggled. “You and your books.” Kallam grinned back at her. “Enjoy. I’ll see you later.” He sauntered off and Sayana returned her attention to her book.