The changing room was deceptively decadent, made to widen the eyes of a bright eyed innocent and show a small town girl what life in the fast lane would be. It was clear Georgie Porgie had seen too many Mundy flicks—or maybe not enough, because every princess that walked through the door did not stay for the “riches” showcased in an admittedly well imitated rendition of<i>Moulin Rouge</i>. Girls like Little Red bought it upon first glance, but the ones like Nerissa and Briar Rose did not. These two princesses had seen their share of<i>real</i>wealth and hardly anything materialistic impressed them anymore.<br/><br/>Nerissa, once a fireball of passion, was now a broken shell of a princess, having discarded her own bra one long ago in Atlantis. She had traded her tail for love, been rejected by the handsome Prince Eric in the end and spent too long alone, a dancer for Georgie Porgie at the<i>Puddin’ &amp; Pie</i>. She had all but given up on love when someone new had stumbled into her life—Gus. Sweet, beautiful, perfect Gus who had accepted her for who—and<i>what</i>—she was without question, without judgment. They<i>were</i>happy until he disappeared, the very thought of it enough to bring tears to her silver eyes. The<i>pain</i>: it was still raw, unrelenting and<i>alive</i>.<br/><br/>“Nerissa?” the Little Mermaid hear her name.<br/><br/>“I’m alright,” she mumbled swiftly, reaching up to dab at her eye before she ruined her makeup. It had taken no time for her to apply it having done so for years, but that didn’t mean she wanted to redo it.<br/><br/>Before she could protest, warm, long limbs enveloped her from behind and it was all Nerissa could do to keep from crying. She reached up to clutch the moon pale wrist and squeezed it in silent thanks.<br/><br/>“Pull it together, honey,” Briar’s angelic voice lilted close to her hear. Another princess that could sing. How surprising. “If he catches wind…” the non-spoken threat hung in the air. They both knew what would happen if that sadistic fuck saw one of his girls<i>crying</i>. He’d give her something real to cry about. “You want a bump?” Aurora asked, her platinum blonde hair tickling Nerissa’s cheek.<br/><br/>“Mm,” the Little Mermaid nodded. It would take the edge off her nerves. “But I wanna feel numb,” she said, rejecting cocaine.<br/><br/>“I’ll roll us a joint then,” her friend said, always ready to accommodate.<br/><br/>“Thank you,” Nerissa smiled weakly, watching her friend’s reflection as she straightened and walked away.<br/><br/>Briar Rose was built like a weeping willow: all slender limbs, almost boneless in their movement. She always seemed to sway as she walked, the melody of song evident in every pose she struck, whether purposeful or not. Even her long, wheat colored hair was below her waist, thick like hay, but silky smooth in the way it glided along her pale white flesh. Her fingers were long and tapered and her feet narrow and large. She stood at five foot eleven with barely a curve to her body. Her face was long, her nose aquiline, but there was no denying the beauty the princess possessed. Her makeup was ethereal, flawlessly hiding the dark circles that framed her pale blue eyes and most people who saw her mistook her for one of God’s angels.<br/><br/>Nerissa was slender as well, but she had an obvious curve to her hip and a very noticeable swell to her breast with a cleavage that dipped down any shirt or bra she wore. Shorter, at five foot six, she wasn’t exactly petite, but pretty much perfect for what an ideal woman might look like. Her bright red hair was her signature feature and the rest of her was simply just a fantastic body to grope and grind when a patron was looking for that particular fetish. Like all the princesses at the<i>Puddin’ &amp; Pie</i>, the Little Mermaid was beautiful and under Georgie’s thumb, she had been trained well to offer<i>a lot</i>.<br/><br/>“Did you meet the new girl?” Briar asked, making conversation. The music playing in the club would drown out any of their gossip, but of course Georgie had ears everywhere. His men were always hiding around a corner even in the quote unquote “private” rooms of the establishment.<br/><br/>“Who? Red?” Nerissa asked, irritated at the fact that the brunette had that name given<i>she</i>was the ginger.<br/><br/>“Yes,” Briar confirmed. “She’s been here a week already,” she mused meaningfully. The girl’s honeymoon period would soon be over and if Georgie liked her enough and saw her as a lucrative investment, he’d trap her in like he had done to the rest of the girls. And there was no way of warning an innocent to stay away. They<i>all</i>had their lips sealed.<br/><br/>Nerissa shook her head, not wanting to add anything more to that topic. Her own demise had been bad enough to relive in her mind; she didn’t need to add another tragic story to her memory. “Almost done?’ she asked instead.<br/><br/>“Yup,” Aurora replied, licking the rolling paper with the tip of her pale pink tongue before sealing it shut. “Wanna step out?” Georgie didn’t care one way or another where the girls lit up, but sometimes it was nice to get a little stale alley air.<br/><br/>“Sure,” the Little Mermaid replied, standing up in her six inch stilettos. She was wearing a silver thong and bra covered in rhinestones that made her look like a disco ball. It brought out the color of her eyes. “Let’s go out the back,” she suggested, not wanting to see one of the cronies who she knew was waiting on the other end of the door.<br/><br/>It chose that moment to be barged open.<br/><br/><i>Shit</i>, the Little Mermaid cursed, dreading the face and body that would appear next even though she was uncertain who it could be. Whoever it was, it was never good news.