"Oh damn... I liked that vase," Laelia muttered as she held onto the trembling table, vases and pillars toppling over with the shaking. When the tremors stopped the girl stood up with a few others and they began the almost daily task of cleaning the mess that the shaking made. When she was done, Laelia looked up the stairs towards where she had left Marcus. Biting her lip and thinking about their night together, Laelia went to her private room that she shared with another girl and began preparing for her work in the coming hours. Some men would come during the day, but they tended to go to their regular girls for a couple minutes. Laelia sat down on her bed and sighed, feeling put out. She usually went about her business with a certain detachment but now the girl couldn't motivate herself to get up and move. All she wanted to do was get away and change. 

After a few more minutes, Laelia stood up and hurried out of the brothel and into the street. The smells and the warmth of the building feel like she was choking or suffocating. Picking up the hem of her silk dress, Laelia walked as quickly as she could through the crowd and out of the city gates.