I gave Mhairi the thumbs-up, the picture she was hanging now straight on the wall. It was my gift from Rick, and as soon as she stepped back I grinned. It already made me feel that little bit more comfortable.

Hung above my dresser, I would be able to look at it each day before I left the room, one last reminder of the life I'd had before and what I now fought to have again. Freedom.

Sat beneath it, on the wooden dresser surface, was a box of doughnuts, some books and a martial arts gi. All gifts I'd had waiting for me when I'd woken. Benton and Rick hadn't appeared to wait a moment to send me a thank you.

Mhairi took one of the cakes before coming to sit on the bed beside me.

"How are you feeling?" she asked. I thought about the question a moment, not completely sure.

"Sore, but not as much as I'd expected," I said a moment later, giving myself time to process the answer on a deeper level. "Nervous about tomorrow... I still can't quite believe this is my life now."

"I felt like that for months. Kept thinking something would wake me up. Never did, though. And I'm used to it now."

"Do you ever enjoy it?" I asked, knowing she'd understand I didn't mean each act of sex, but the job as a whole.

"Sometimes, for a while. A lot of men really do revere us. But it's still not the same as having a normal job was. It's not worth dwelling on, however. It only makes it harder."

I let out a sigh, our hands entwining without either of us looking.

Edward disturbed us, a box in his hands.

"Another gift, princess," he said. This one is from the bank. Carl, I guess."

Or Aiden perhaps, I thought but didn't say.

"Add it to the pile," I replied, not yet ready to face messaging my companions and establishing some regulars in my life. It was enough for now that I'd begun my journey. Before Edward could place it down, Yaru walked into the room. He also came bearing a gift. A large bouquet of flowers.

"Don't get up," he said as I instinctively shifted on the bed, assuming it was time to begin another day. "I've come to say goodbye."

"Goodbye?" I blurted, without thinking.

"Yes. My work here is done. You've blossomed into a wonderful courtesan." He held out the flowers, making it obvious the pun had been deliberate. "And I've been offered several other jobs since your final figure was announced."

I nodded, understanding that was the real reason. Money, just as it always had been.

"I'm sure I'll see you at Tomichii's in the future," he said, giving me a brief nod. Before I could find the words to thank him, both he and Edward left. For a moment I frowned, Mhairi already on her feet to arrange my gift, a vase coming from seemingly nowhere.

A moment later Daniel also appeared, a crystal in his hands.

"Your final bills and earnings," he said, holding it out. "I'm sure Mhairi will show you how to find this on the system to track your debt and costs, but I thought you'd want to see the results."

I took the device from his hand, reading the numbers on the screen, noticing the breakdown for expenses was long. My initial debt, training under Yaru, paint, personal bodyguarding and share of the costs to run the court was higher than I'd expected, but Mhairi and Yaru had warned me they wouldn't be cheap. At the bottom was a summary, my interest added before my earnings were taken off.

Initial debt: 2,145,000

Training and Talent costs: 160,000

Other costs: 10,491

Interest accrued: 7,954

Earnings after fees: 98,392

Final debt: 2,225,053

I frowned, noticing the final balance was higher than the day Daniel had brought me back to the court healed, but it was clear why. Yaru and the paint. They'd cost me more than my unveiling had earned me.

"Thank you," I said, handing the device back. I knew where I stood now and what I needed to do, and it gave me a sense of peace I hadn't expected.

I was a courtesan, and one day my debt would be gone.

~~~~~
Thank you so much for reading Resurrected. It's my first book here on Wattpad and I've been blown away by all the awesome comments, reads and votes I've had along the way. If you've not said anything yet (and even if you have), I'd love to hear what you think of the story and the characters? Do you have a favourite companion? Is there an element of the courtesan life and the new world you want to know more about?

EDIT: You can now start reading the sequel (a new chapter every Wednesday) here - https://www.wattpad.com/story/205909645-surrendered . I hope that link works. If not the sequel is Surrendered and should be on my profile.

Also, if you loved the story and want to make a financial contribution to my life (I'd love to be able to stop ghostwriting and just write the books that matter to me like this), then the ebook is now up on Amazon as a pre-order. https://smarturl.it/courtesan1 will take you to the right Amazon shop.