Yaru's bubble car came to a slow stop outside a large sky-scraper, every surface glinting in the sunlight. He got out, holding a hand out to me to help me down onto the pavement. I hesitated, suddenly far more aware of my semi-nakedness than I had been before.

"Come on, my dear. We don't want to keep them waiting," Yaru said, his words calm, as if he hadn't noticed my reluctance, but his eyes said otherwise. At least he was an understanding mentor, even if he was likely to put himself first.

After taking a deep breath, I gave him my hand and stepped out of the car. A red carpet stretched out before us, sheltered by the building's awning until it led inside the doors. Men in uniforms stood either side of the door, glasses over their eyes hiding what they were looking at.

I tried not to show my nerves as I walked beside Yaru, matching his slow pace. At first I wasn't sure I managed it, but I caught sight of my reflection in the highly polished glass. My jaw dropped. I was a walking work of art, every curve and feature gracefully accentuated by Mhairi's painting. Not even my face had been forgotten, the paint blending into the make-up I wore and a tight bun, reminiscent of a geisha hairstyle, finishing it off.

As we moved closer, both men reached inwards, grabbing handles and pulling the doors open for me. It was only as warm air rushed out, hitting my face, that I realised I didn't feel cold. Was that also a feature of the paint I wore? Could it be keeping me warm? I didn't get to think of it any longer. It was time to be presented in public.

My heart pounded at the thought. And another twenty followed it. Would I stand out? What would society be like this far into the future? Would people treat me with respect?

I let Yaru take the lead as we went inside, hoping any attention would be drawn to him and not myself at first. My hope was short lived.

Almost immediately heads turned, pockets of men in suits noticing me, their conversations interrupted mid-sentence. I felt like a deer in headlights, rooted to the spot while everyone else starred.

"Ah, Tomichii, and Kioshi, I hope we don't interrupt your talks of business this morning," Yaru said, walking over to the only group of two men. Not wanting to be left standing alone by the door, I did my best to follow.

With all eyes on me, I felt like any moment I might stumble or do something equally as undignified, but to my relief, my limbs continued to function and bear me across the smooth marble floor.

As we reached the two men, they turned towards us and bowed.

Without thinking, I copied the movement, noting that the two men couldn't be more opposing in their mannerisms and countenance if they wanted to be. While one smiled, seemingly pleased to see me, his eyes lighting up as I tried to be respectful, the other kept his face almost sullen, with no hint of happiness or pleasure in meeting me, although his eyes flicked across the artwork I inhabited. I tried to smile back, finding it easier to do so when I looked at the thinner, more jovial man.

"This is Auralia," Yaru said, sparing me the task of having to find my voice when I still felt so vulnerable. My pulse raced, making it hard for me to concentrate, but I somehow managed to relax my face and body, halting off to one side of Yaru, the three men now shielding me from at least some of the prying eyes.

They both bowed again. I went to repeat the action, but this earned me a laugh from the more jovial fellow. Mr Grumpy merely rolled his eyes.

I froze, looking between Yaru and the more amused of the party, hoping one of them might explain what I'd done to cause the mirth.

"In our culture, to bow is to offer respect or honour for something. We bow to greet, but also when we are given someone's name."

"Oh," I said, feeling my cheeks flush with heat. Instantly I wondered if it could be seen through the paint.

"I am Tomichii," he said before pausing, his eyes twinkling, the corner turned up along with his mouth. It took me a fraction of a second to realise I was being given the opportunity to bow. I repeated my earlier motion, this time to a grunt of satisfaction from Mr Grumpy and a nod from Tomichii.

Not sure if etiquette now dictated that the less pleasant of the two should introduce himself as Kioshi or not, I looked his way while waiting for a moment.

Not looking at me, he merely bowed towards the centre of our little group and wandered off. I raised my eyebrows, blinking in my surprise. I was pretty sure that was considered rude in any culture.

"Please forgive Kioshi. He does not approve of our world's reliance on courtesans, nor of the environment around them."

"A baffling viewpoint when so many lovely women make an artform of the lifestyle," Yaru said, his voice taking on an extra smooth tone.

"Yes. I can see Auralia here has a flair for the artistic. You remind me of the kimonos the women in my culture used to wear, yet you would not look out of place in any court today."

I lowered my eyes and gave a slight nod, hoping to look pleased with the compliment. In truth I didn't have a clue what I was doing, but when I looked back at Tomichii, his smile was still fixed to his face and his eyes hadn't left mine.

"Thank you," I said, still desperately trying to think of something more engaging to say. "I can understand your friend's reaction."

Yaru, very subtly, raised the end of an eyebrow and tightened the line of his mouth. I wondered if this was his way of trying to steer me in another direction. Tomichii's smile hadn't vanished. However, he glanced away from me for a moment. I was losing his attention.

"You do not strike me as so disapproving of being seen with a courtesan," I said, letting words tumble out. "I hope my talking to you won't cause your friendship any harm."

Tomichii chuckled and shook his head, his eyes lighting up once more. I felt myself relax a little more.

Not a total train wreck so far. But Yaru hadn't given me much instruction on how to handle meeting new people or what the goal of the day was.

"Kioshi and I have been business partners for almost an entire century. I promise you a little disagreement on the company I keep will do us no harm."

I smiled and lowered my eyes again, playing the situation as coyly as I could. "I'm glad to hear it. I'd hate to start my first day as a courtesan so badly."

"Your first day! Yaru, you should have said such a beauty has never been out in public before."

Yaru gave an almost apologetic shrug but didn't reply.

"Yaru seems to like to say very little. Perhaps you would be so kind as to fill in some gaps. Please, tell me what sort of business you run. And do the people here, in this culture, still drink tea?"

This earned me yet another pleased chuckle before he held out an arm to me. I tucked mine into his, aware it brought my very exposed body closer to him.

"I have several different sectors in this building. Let me go one better than telling you. Let me show you."

I didn't hide my grin, only the small amount of smugness I felt. I had a feeling, as Yaru slipped silently into formation, walking just behind us both, that I'd managed exactly what I ought to have done.

Tomichii led me up a large flight of stairs towards the back of the building, passing many different people as they came and went. I soon noticed the lack of women anywhere around. The few I did see were dressed in similar provocative fashions. More courtesans, just like me. Wherever there was a courtesan there was almost always some kind of bodyguard lingering nearby. They also held the attention of at least one man, often many men.

The men who weren't with one of these, and even some of the men that were, often stared in my direction, looks of curiosity on their faces. I tried not to be distracted by them or by how vulnerable it made me feel, instead listening to Tomichii as he told me about the medical equipment his company made and how it saved lives, healed some of the people as they were resurrected and kept the current population living in their prime.

"What illness did you suffer from before you were frozen?" Tomichii asked as we walked into an elevator.

"Motor Neurone Disease," I replied, noticing Yaru still silently accompanied us. My chaperone. Both knowing he was there, one of the only men who seemed to take no interest in my exposed body, and being shut inside a small metal box helped me relax a little.

"Quite a difficult illness to cure. Kioshi helped provide the breakthrough we needed. For a long time we couldn't return all function if it had been lost for too long, but he didn't give up."

"I'm very grateful he didn't." I smiled and tried to look genuine. It was mostly true. But only mostly. Being a courtesan hadn't been my idea of the future.

"I can only apologise the treatment is not any cheaper. It requires a great deal of skill and expertise to execute. Not to mention time. I believe the current average is over three days of constant surgery."

I raised my eyebrows, shocked, but didn't reply. No one had told me that part.

Before either of us could continue the conversation the elevator doors swung open again, revealing the next part of our little tour. I allowed Tomichii to lead me out into a foyer, several men waiting for different elevators.

As we got closer to the man nearest us, a well-built guy with ruffled hair and a cartoon character on his t-shirt, he looked up. His mouth fell open as soon as he spotted me, and his feet only took two steps more before he caught one on the other.

Everything he'd been carrying tumbled to the floor. Books thwumped, pages rippled, pens clattered and a paper bag with what appeared to be food thudded to the ground.

"Oh my. I'm so sorry, Tomichii," the guy said as he bent, scrambling in his effort to grab the books again.

"That's quite all right, Benton. Accidents happen," Tomichii replied, scooping up a book that had fluttered towards him.

The paper bag had landed near my feet. I bent and grabbed it, more than a little grateful the attention wasn't on me for a moment. The contents hadn't quite come out, but the top had unfurled, revealing a set of glazed doughnuts. When I noticed the baker's logo, I squealed.

"Oh my, these were my favourite brand," I said as I handed them back. "I can't believe they're still around."

"Yes. Uhhh. Thanks," the guy replied, pausing like a deer in headlights, his cheeks crimson. He clutched the bag tighter, pointed to the elevator with one finger of the hand holding the books, almost dropping them again, and walked off.

For a second I watched him go, feeling his embarrassment as the elevator doors almost closed on him and he proceeded to perform an awkward back-and-forth shuffle.

"Auralia!" a voice startled me. A familiar voice.

I looked towards its source to see Bernice getting out of another of the elevators.

"Yaru... And Tomichii. How kind of you to take the time to help introduce Auralia. You've always had such a great heart for helping those less fortunate than yourself. Even when you're so busy with important matters." Bernice grinned and went to take Tomichii's arm while I wasn't attached to it, her back towards me, cutting me out of the social circle.

He gave her a smile back but didn't move.

"And what brings you here, Bernice?" Yaru replied. "Has someone summoned you to entertain them? I find myself drawing a blank at the name of your companion here."

Bernice laughed, a shrill, far too loud laugh. Tomichii still smiled, but he grew more and more rigid. At first I couldn't move, and it appeared neither could he.

Think, Auralia. Move this onwards.

"Tomichii, you mentioned that there was a delightful view from one of the windows on this floor. Perhaps you'd be kind enough to point me in the right direction to view it. I'm sure I've taken up enough of your time, and I wouldn't want to keep either you or Bernice away from pressing engagements. Bernice is right, you've already been so kind." I gave him the most genuine smile I could manage. I wasn't going to play Bernice's game. If I was going to stand out, it would be because I didn't stoop to anyone's level. Because I didn't react the way people expected me to.

Yaru raised his eyebrows, but I also saw the corners of his mouth twitch upwards. I hadn't displeased him.

"Oh, I couldn't possibly let you find it alone. I love people's reaction to it almost as much as I love seeing it. Come, let me take you there now. Forgive me, Bernice, but my duty calls me elsewhere."

Tomichii extracted his arm from her clutches and offered it to me once more.

I gave him a small bow before taking it again. Once more, Yaru fell in behind me.

So far so good, I thought. Tomichii chose to come with me over Bernice and I didn't have to beg. I don't completely suck at this courtesan thing.