Kalliope knew this place well, she had been here most of her life. She watched Kassandra, the favorite of the men, saunter into the waiting area and move towards one of the men. The man smiled a sideways grin, clearly having enjoyed the wine that was offered. He seemed to not believe his good fortune in having been given Kassandra. Clumsily, he stood up, brushing the dirt from his cloak. Kassandra swayed in front of him, leading the way, her somewhat-dirty peplos dragging on the ground behind her. All of the women wore some type of peplos, or dress, but Kassandra's was by far the nicest. “Tomorrow night,” Gaia whispered in Kalliope's ear. Gaia was standing beside her, smiling, as she watched her girls satisfy the customers. Gaia was the closest thing Kalliope had to a mother and she had been more than good to her. Many of the girls in Gaia’s brothel had been put to work when they were fourteen, fifteen or sixteen. Gaia had allowed Kalliope to continue to earn her keep through her seventeenth year.
