How to Care for Your Human [Gambuiness x Degu]

[Degusaurusrex]

May 1st

“Come now, Serenity.” A head full of red hair turned, brightly colored eyes staring at the man that was commanding her. She had already been properly dressed for the upcoming event, left in a pair of less than modest shorts and a form fitting tank top. Still, it was better than being naked, or in a dress that could easily be torn off, but not by much. The fact that she was finally being auctioned off however, made a ball of anxiety form in her stomach. It almost seemed that being kept in servitude for other things would be better, where at least she knew what was going to happen to her. Nodding her head as she let him tug her along, she winced at the way the cuffs bit into her wrists. Still, she made no complaint, not wanting to suffer further consequences for doing so. It was a small price to pay, after all, and any potential violence could wait until she saw who was buying her. After all, it would be rather hard if it was someone twice her size, but she could still try.

The ride was made in silence just as she had assumed it would be, but when she was yanked out of the car the man had the decency not to leave more bruises, knowing she would soon be someone else's property. Most of the ones she had were faded, only one or two still darker from the last time she had misbehaved. It had been worth it, though, in a way. It became a common occurrence in patches, when she got fed up and decided she'd had enough until it became too hard to disobey.

There were many people waiting to be sold off, both male and female, although there seemed to be more females than males in the lot. She balked at the entrance to the building, trying to dig her shoes into the ground until she was forcibly pushed inside and into the line of others. By the look of things it was going to be awhile before it was her turn to become the focus of attention, which meant she had to endure the anxiety of waiting to see who would purchase her. There were so many people eagerly awaiting an addition to their home, and she observed all of the different faces as she waited her turn. Before she knew it, however, she was being shoved onto the stage, shouldering off her escort with a scowl. All she could hope for was a decent owner who wouldn't put her at death's door for amusement.

 

[DreamingDaniel]

'This hasn't worked out as planned, where am I?' Matthew thought to himself. It was risky to keep up with his experiments but there was no other way. He had to keep trying.
No one saw him appearing, which spared him a lot of unpleasant reactions and questions.
One of the drawbacks of being well known as the youngest magician, way too many people recognise you.

He finished his education four years ago, at the age of 28 and since then he was known as the young magician. Most magicians finished their education at the average age of 45, those who finished before they were 40 were labeled as gifted. Never before was there someone, who finished the education before he or she turned thirty.
Since his exam, he was well known, not just to other magicians but most humans knew him as well, cause he although learned the second least learned spell overall. 'Heal' Most diseases and injuries could be treated today by modern medicine, so the people didn't had to pay an expensive visit to a magician, to get healthy again. No one understood, why such a gifted mage learned such a useless spell.

Human mages only ever could learn one spell. Those who tried to learn a second either went crazy or killed themself by accident. Since the beginning of humanity, there has been just one person, who was able to learn two spells and most people today think, that this is just a fairy tale. His name was Jesus.
Matt had the same opinion, until he found out, three month ago, that he was able to create Portals to distant places. Since then he experimented with these portals and since two weeks, he had enough confidence in his ability, to walk through them. That was a risk in itself because if the portal vanishes, while he was passing it, well ... it would cut him in two pieces.
Until now, he kept it a secret, why should he tell anyone? Being the youngest mage was enough for him, he didn't wanted all the trouble it would bring, when people found out about his second spell. At least not now.

He stepped out of the dark alley and checked where he was and if there was anything familiar. It was the part of the town, with all those human markets. Buying and selling slaves, well since he was already there, he could as well visit one of the auctions. Leta, his service maid asked him two days ago, for some assistance for the work around the house. She couldn't keep up with the work as she got older. This place is as good as any to look for someone.

As he entered one of the auction houses, he sat down and watched six people getting sold. The people in the audience recognised Matthew as he entered the room and started to whisper and chat about him.
''Isn't that this young mage?'', ''What is a mage doing here?'', ''Wasn't he this super young gifted mage, who learned this stupid spell?''

Matthew ignored them and focused on the humans, that were presented on stage. Five of the six people, that got sold by now, were bought by this organization, that specialises in training and torturing their humans until they either get better at certain job skills, so they are worth more or until they would die. Those bastards, life for them was only worth so much money.


The auction was coming to an end and up to now there was no one, who Matt got interested in. This was never something he liked to do, mostly because of the way those humans were treated but although, because he had no clue what exactly he was looking for. A male or a female? Young or old? He really had no clue.

When a read haired girl was brought up to the stage, he heard the people from the oranization talking, that they wanted her. Red haired woman would be the next big thing, the wealthy people would be looking for. Matt grinned and decided, that he would get her and if it is just, to anger those people from the organization.
So he started to raise his arm each time, after the people from the organization did it. They reached a point, where everyone else stopped to bid and soon they would reach a point, where Matt would have to stop too.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

"Get off of me!" Hissing angrily as she straightened up, Serenity scanned the crowd again. There were so many people, and none of them appeared kind. Less cruel, perhaps, but far from kind. She knew what would happen if certain people bought her, and she was barely able to stop her shudder from becoming visible. There were several murmurs around the room, eyes directed her way with thoughts she was glad she couldn't read. Hands were flying up every time the bid grew higher, and her eyes turned towards one man in particular. He seemed different, in a way, but appearances could be deceiving. She had learned that lesson rather quickly, and instead kept her eyes off any one face for too long.

"--Going twice, sold!" Her head snapped up as she came back to reality, looking around in an attempt to see who had bought her. It was her own fault for tuning out the conversation and event around her, but it was just so loud. A scowl crossed her face as she was pulled off, her foot connecting with the man's leg before she gave a satisfied smirk. She had just been bought, he couldn't go around bruising her anymore.

"Watch it, lil missy." She rolled her eyes as he led her across the room, bringing her to an abrupt half in front of the man who had previously stood out to her. He was huge, at least in comparison to her, and her eyes flickered in annoyance as she pulled away from her escort. "Here you are, Sir, I hope you find yourself satisfied with your purchase. The key for her handcuffs will be at the counter when you pay on your way out."

 

[DreamingDaniel]

If the stupid idiots from the organization had raised their bet one more time, then they would have won. But they didn't, instead they glared over to him but no one dared to say a word. Not against a mage. The satisfaction he felt, as he saw their angry faces was worth every penny. Grinning he stood up and turned to them, ''Maybe next time gentleman.''
In addition, he finally found someone who could help out Leta, so everyone is happy.

Well, not everyone it seems. He thanked the guard and turned to the girl. She seemed bitter, angry. No wonder, she must have been in hell. With her looks she probably was not used as a service maid, to help with the household. It is rather unusual, that someone would give her away. Better be carefull around her. ''Please follow me to the counter so we can get this done quickly.''

She followed him and he could feel her glaring at him. While they were walking, he forced himself to not ogle her though he found himself again and again looking her way. A girl with her looks shouldn't be at a auction. She should be at some rich guys' mansion and be shown around. Why was she sold here? Normally you found here old or sick people, those that no one wanted or which were only good to work and die in one of the big factories.
''What is your name and how old are you?''

 

[Degusaurusrex]

"Why bother with manners when I have no choice?" Scoffing at him, she followed anyway, keeping herself closer to him than the other wandering eyes. They could look all they wanted to, but there weren't allowed to touch her, not anymore. The look on her face could only be described as fury as she stared at his back, realizing he appeared to have quite a bit of height on her, more than she had originally thought.

"What?" Her eyes narrowed as she stopped, huffing out a breath to move hair from her face. "I assumed there would be all of that information on paperwork for you." Still, he was going to find out one way or another, and it offered her a brief distraction from her surroundings. "Serenity. Twenty seven." There was no point in explaining it further, it gave him a full answer to what he'd asked. Still, the fact that he was asking her directly was.. Strange? Different?

 

[DreamingDaniel]

''OK, hello Serenity, my name is Matthew.'' he smiled at her but she kept on with her angry face. They reached the counter and he did all the necessary paperwork.
When he finished he turned back to her.

''Listen, we got 10 minutes until my driver is here and takes us to my house. I know that this is not what you want but you can still decide, how your time at my house will be. That is entirely up to you and how you behave. I would prefer if we all get along and don't try to make our life horrible.''

This will be a hard case, he already saw all the pain coming, she would cause him. A defiant one. And that all just to anger the guys from this stupid organisation.
''Before I forget, you won't receive a tattoo from me for your first two days in my house. You surely know what that means. As long as you are in my house, everyone will think of you as a part of my house. So you are safe. On the other hand, I don't have anything to proof that you are mine outside of the house. So if you want, you can leave the house and try to survive. That is up to you.''
He turned to her and looked her straight into her eyes. His green cat like eyes seemed to be brighter than a moment ago. ''After two days, you can come to me anytime and ask for the tattoo. You will only get it, if you ask for it.''

 

[Degusaurusrex]

A stiff nod was her only acknowledgment of his name, and she shuffled in place as he finished the paperwork that legally gave him ownership over her. Ten more minutes in that filthy place, she could handle that, right? She was still cuffed, but being off the stage had helped significantly. "Yes, I know what it means." Spitting the words and flinching, she took a large step backwards and narrowed her eyes. "You're not putting any type of needle near my skin." So what, if she accepted the tattoo and ran, she could make it along with people assuming they couldn't touch her? That was an interesting thought.

"You're lucky I have these cuffs on, or I'd be waving two middle fingers at you. Although that would probably be the least of your worries." Still, he didn't seem nearly as bad as the others there. Not that it improved her mood at all, and she glanced around before letting out a heavy sigh and avoiding his eyes. They were almost hypnotizing, and she knew better than to stare for too long. "Whatever you say, Master." The last word was spoken with obvious sarcasm, her eyes to the ground as she scraped her shoes along it. "Let's just get this show on the road so you can take me away and then tell me what you want from me."

 

[DreamingDaniel]

A headache was coming his way, he could already feel it approaching. Talking to her seems pointless, so silent treatment it is. He really wasn't interested in raising her. Leta wanted some help, she should take care for her.
But he although found out a little bit about her. She never was part of a house of a magician. Magical tattoos aren't done with needles. Since she didn't knew that, she never lived with a magician. The old clothes only hid the fact, that her skin was clean, really clean. Someone wanted her to look good and he doubted, that the guys from the auction house would do all that.
Where is she from?

He grabbed the keys, freed her hands from the cuffs and brought them back to the guard. Maybe he was lucky and she would run away while he turned his back to her. Why couldn't she just be a shy nice girl, that would try everything to please him?
From the corner of his eyes he saw his car parking outside. Hallelujah.
''Allright, Charles is here to take us home.'' he said as he turned around to Serenity.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

"Finally." Hissing the single word as she cuffs fell away, she jolted back and rubbed at her wrists. She hadn't actually expected him to remove them there, but there was no reason to complain about it. Her first instinct was to run, but a quick glance around showed there was absolutely no point. A few feet was all she would get before hitting the ground, either shoved right back at her new owner, or given back if he decided she wasn't worth the hassle.

"Your home." Stalking out after him, she waited impatiently for instructions on getting into the vehicle before doing so. It was a bit of an overly dramatic action, throwing herself into the furthest corner of a seat and glaring. He couldn't actually hear her heart racing, could he? "I don't have homes, I have places I am kept, and this will be no different, but you may call it as you please, of course."

 

[DreamingDaniel]

She hasn't showed him both of her middle fingers as soon as the cuffs were gone. That could be described as progress. In addition she hasn't tried to run away, though she could. That was unusual. Most of the unwealthy humans, who got a chance to run, did so. No matter how small the chance of success was. She didn't, she did the thing one would do after thinking the whole scenario through. Good looking, smart, this woman became more and more a mystery to Matthew. A mystery that asked him to be solved and he just couldn't say no.

''It is my home, as well as it is Charles' home, Letas' home and hopefully someday, you will look at it as your home.'' She squeezed herself into the seat, so that she could keep the maximal distance between herself and Matthew. Keeping him in check, she probably is expecting him to tear her clothes apart and force himself on her right here and now.

The silent treatment was a success so far, she answered with a foul mouth bad as long as no one asked her anything, she kept silent. Matthew never realised, how beautiful the sound of silence could be. And that after just thirty minutes with her. Most of his colleagues would just sell her again and spare themself the trouble of living with a bratty girl. But he knew, that under all those layers of anger, hate, fear and her lost faith in mankind, somewhere there is still a person that wants to live a happy life, a person with dreams and ambitions. Just what is necessary, to bring her back to life?

He remembered how his parents once told him, that he was often a horrible child. After they adopted him, they never had a quite night or a relaxed day, he screamed, destroyed things and was the biggest asshole in general. But they never gave him up and after a lot of time and many broken windows he calmed down and saw what he did. Throwing the stone through the window was bad enough already but he didn't saw from the outside, that his mom stood behind that window. He hit her at the head and heard her crying. Realizing what happened and what he did, he prepared himself to be thrown out of this family.
But that didn't happen, his mom stood up when he entered the room and took him in her arms. No accusations, no anger, just a hug. That day he called her mom for the first time and from there on, life started to get better. His pessimistic side started to make room for hope, dreams and love.
All that only because, they never gave him up.

He missed half of the ride lost in thought. When he looked at her once again, she still had him in check. Looking at her now, without of all the distractions from before, he saw the bruises on her arms and in her face. Some were healed up and some other were fresh. If she allows it, he would ask her later to heal them up. Maybe that could be a first step.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

"I'm not Charles or Leta." How he could think she would consider it a home only made her shake her head. She was property, not family. Staring at him, still with a bit of a glare, she would have growled if she had the ability to. It was almost a pity, all she could do was sit in the seat and hope to keep him away with her attitude alone. Even that couldn't last forever, as she would eventually have to sleep. She could go on little or no sleep for a day or two, though, until she fully understood what her position would be in this new place.

Catching him looking between her arms and face, she drew her knees up to her chest to hide her arms behind them. Scowling as she turned her head away, it only took seconds to realize how much skin her position was showing. Quickly dropping her legs back down with a slight look of horror, she crossed them instead and held her hands in her lap. Was he looking at her bruises, or simply looking her over to see if he liked what he saw? "Why did you buy me?" She knew full well what her paperwork probably said, but he hadn't seen that until actually paying. "You may own me, but I'm not sharing your bed."

 

[DreamingDaniel]

A question from her and on top of that asked in a more or less proper manner. Aside from that, of course she kept her attitude but she started to talk, she probably is testing out her limits and how far she can go before I punish her. Most wealthy humans and other magicians don't wait very long until they punish their servants but Matt never really liked that sort of behaviour. That doesn't mean, that he would never punish someone.
Especially during her early time with him, he had to punish Leta from time to time. Mainly because she didn't wanted to trust him. She said, she would trust him and ask for help if she needs any and in the next day, she tried to deal with her family problems alone and brought herself in dangerous situations.
She never learned to ask for help or to expect anyone to help her with her problems, in addition she was afraid to be thrown out of his house. So she didn't want to become a burden, what she didn't understood for a long time, was that her behaviour caused him a lot of headache. Aside from that, he had the sneaking suspicion, that she liked a little bit of punishment.

''You wouldn't believe me if I tell you, why it was exactly you that I bought. But I came there to look for someone, that can help Leta with the work around the house.'' Her self esteem seemed to be strong on the outside, but when she told him, that she wouldn't share the bed with him, he heard a tremble in her voice. Was that insecurity? She probably was nervous, hoping that he wouldn't force her to do the things, her previous owners did to her.
''There is a room in my house that you can use, you will have your own bed and just have to share the bathroom with Leta and Charles.''

 

[Degusaurusrex]

"To do.. Housework?" The fury on her face turned to surprise, her head tilting to the side slightly. What kind of person would want her for housework when she'd been sold for disobedience? Perhaps he wanted to be the one that broke that trait, but she had to admit that the thought of her own bed was almost exciting, should it be anything better than what she'd had before.

"I don't.. That doesn't make any sense." If that was the case, why hadn't he bought someone that wasn't fighting everyone every step of the way? "What's the catch to this seemingly good arrangement? Do I have to dress in demeaning clothes, or do absurdly filthy work around the house? This doesn't make sense. You could have bought someone younger that you could train to do whatever you want, yet you got me. You saw me on that stage, you should have known I wouldn't just bow down and do whatever you commanded. I'm still not going to."

 

[DreamingDaniel]

''You want to know the truth? Okay, here comes the truth.'' He inhaled and waited for a couple of second. She doesn't believe, that he bought her for the work around the house. He didn't care too much if she did believe him or not but there was no reason, to not tell her the truth.

''It wasn't my intention today, to be at the auction, I just happened to be there and remembered that Leta asked for help around the house. I normally don't buy humans, those that currently work for me have been living on the street and I asked them, if they want to work for me. The reason I bought you is, that there is this stupid organization that I really don't like and I heard, that they wanted to buy you. I haven't bought you because of you, I bought you to anger them, to deny them of what they want.'' he smirked when he said that, thinking back to the faces of those idiots.
''If they would have shown that interest in anyone else, then anyone else would currently be in my car. I don't expect you to bow down. What I expect from you is, that you treat the others in the house the same way, you want them to treat you. I expect, that you help Leta in any way you can, that woman means a lot to me, if you anger her, you anger me. I expect that you take care of yourself. If you do all that, you can live a good life with us. It is up to you.''

Matthew leaned back for a moment and closed his eyes. Then he grinned and said, ''If you want to run around in demeaning clothes, then do so but I would never force you to. Wear the clothes you want to wear. Though, ... ... no one would complain if you run around in demeaning clothes.''

 

[Degusaurusrex]

"So you just decided to go on in, and see what looked good. Who looked good." He made it sound like he went around rescuing humans off the street, which was almost hard to believe, even if it was a possibility. "I know about the organization." Her face paled when he confirmed that they had intended to buy her. She'd had a feeling, but couldn't figure out which people were part of it once they started bidding and she had zoned out. "And I know what they do." Some of it, at least. There had always been rumors floating around, but to hear they had wanted her was terrifying.

"So you bought me just to piss someone off. Fantastic." The color returned to her face as it twisted into anger, and she frowned at him before she was bending down. "I am not going to walk around dressed like a whore!" Yanking one of her shoes off her foot, she threw it at him before letting the second join it. "You can get that thought out of your head right fucking now, because that's never going to happen!" Panting from her outburst, she crossed her arms over her chest even as she winced. "Bastard."

 

[DreamingDaniel]

He didn't dodged her shoes and when he realized, that Charles was about to stop the car, he gave him a sign to keep on driving. One shoe landed on his arm and the other on his chest. The second one left some dirt on his hoodie. He really liked that hoodie. She seriously had a temper but she has to learn, that her actions have consequences. Always!

He leaned towards her and talked a little louder than a moment before.

''You are pissed, because I tell you to wear what you want? Or are you pissed because you weren't the reason for me to buy you? Is it a problem for you to not be the center of all attention? Would you prefer if I bought you because I want you in my bed every night? Tied to the frame of the bed and doing with you as I please?'' Matthew turned the situation on her, acted as if her behaviour was that of a diva, that didn't got the attention she wanted. Charles knew how Matthew thought and what would come next and he started to smile. Matthew saw him smiling but ignored it, Serenity could surely see that too.
''What happened to you until today, was not my fault and I won't take any responsibility. But what happens to you from now on will be my responsibilty. Understand that.''

Leaning back, he started talking again when she was about to open her mouth. This time a little more quiet and with more dominance in his voice, not allowing any interruption.
''One thing you need to know about me is, that I mean what I say. I told you, that I expect you to treat others the way, you want to be treated yourself. So, when you throw your shoes at me, that tells me two things. ... (he turned around to Charles) Charles, could you stop the car for a moment?'' He exhaled, whiped the dirt, her shoe left, off his clothes and looked her straight in the eyes until the car stopped.

With both shoes he left the car, walked around it to the walkway and dropped her shoes in a garbage can. He then returned to the car and told Charles to keep on driving.
''First, you don't want your shoes, good no more shoes for you. Second, I told you to treat others the way, you want to be treated yourself, you can probably guess what comes next right? When you throw something at me, I will throw something at you. But since I like to wear my shoes, that will have to wait until we arrive at my house.''

He went quiet for the rest of the drive until they arrived at his house twenty minutes later.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

Flinching as panic flickered across her face, she shook her head furiously. That was not what she wanted, not at all. The fact that Charles was smiling about it terrified her, and she clenched her hands to keep them from shaking. Whatever he was smiling about couldn't be good, and she'd all but sealed her fate at that point. Any chance she'd had at a better life than what the organization would offer was gone.

"What are you doing?" Staring at him as the car stopped, she watched him exit only to throw her shoes away. That she could handle, lacking shoes wasn't going to kill her. His other potential threats, however, were enough to keep her quietly huddled in the corner of the seat. If he wasn't going to throw his shoes at her, what exactly was he going to throw, then? Probably something that would hurt far, far more.

"No, nonono." The car had stopped after some time and she panicked, flattening herself against the seat before looking to him. They were there already, which meant the aforementioned punishment awaited her. She could try and run, but there seemed no point. She had no idea where she was, nowhere to go, and now, no shoes. "Don't--" Cutting off abruptly as she gripped the seat to keep herself firmly rooted there, she shook her head. "Don't throw something at me or hit me. I'm sorry I threw my shoes at you!" Blurting out the words before she could stop herself, she panted quietly and shook her head again. "Please don't."

 

[DreamingDaniel]

His house had three floors and a cellar. It was spacious and had a little garden at the front.

Matthew remained silent as she started to plead. This now has to be done, she needs to learn her lesson. Leaving the car silent he walked around it and opened her door. ''Charles, please go inside and bring a chair to the entrance hall. I want her to sit when I throw something at her.''
The way from the house to the car was about 4 m in length and covered with crushed stone. She will probably start to miss her shoes. He didn't liked to be this way but if he showed any weakness right now, she would never change her behaviour. As she left the car, he saw the pain on her face from the ground she was walking on. It took a few moments until she took two more steps towards the house and paused again. Matthew stayed at the door of the car and watched her struggle.

The front door of the house was slammed open and a older woman stormed out of the house, dragging Charles along. She was a little smaller then Serenity, had short hair that already turned grey but her eyes were those of a woman which had seen it all. There was passion and love and right now although anger. Charles, who was bigger than Matthew seemed to have shrinked next to that woman.
Stopping Serenity from moving further she went on to Matthew and starred him down. ''How dare you, Charles told me what you planned. I thought you would be a better person. I won't allow you to treat a woman this way. You should really be ashamed.'' She let all her anger about the situation out and no one dared to say something. The air was filled with tension.

''Charles, you will carry this young beauty inside, she shouldn't walk this ground with bare foots. Then you will remove the chair, we won't throw things on guests in our house. You show her the way to my room and leave her there.''

Charles and Matthew both avoided to look into her eyes and just nodded. She turned to Serenity and talked to her with a warm and loving voice. ''Please excuse the behaviour of those two brutes honey, they don't know how to treat a lady. You are safe now and they won't harm you, they won't even think about throwing stuff at you.'' She said the last part looking back at Matthew.
''Let me take care of you and let Charles carry you inside honey.''

She turned back to Charles, ''Don't make me repeat myself Charles, get over here and carry her inside. I follow shortly after I talked to these brute here.''
Charles went to Serenity, lifted her up as if she weight nothing and brought her into the house.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

"Fuck you!" Hissing the words when she realized her apology was going to do nothing, she forced herself from the car onto the stones. The pain was immediate, and although it was evident on her face, she refused to voice it. That would be giving him more satisfaction, and she wasn't willing to do that. Even as she felt them digging into her feet to the point she feared blood would be drawn, she paused only once before continuing.

Jumping back when the door slammed open, Serenity stared with wide eyes at the furious woman. There was too much going on around her. The pain in her feet, the fear of her punishment, and now this small woman that was so angry. What she hadn't expected was for the woman to come to her defense, and she stood there uncertainly and in silence. Was it a trick, or a joke? Something to make her go inside and cooperate? Looking warily between the others, she sucked in a sharp breath when the woman approached her.

"They won't?" There was a hint of hope in her voice that she despised, her shoulders sagging tiredly as she managed a small nod. If the woman was speaking truth and she had just escaped a punishment caused by her defensive nature, then at least one good thing had happened to her that day. "Okay." While she didn't fight Charles when he picked her up, she didn't make any effort to steady herself on him. Nor did she say a word as he took her to the woman's room, skittering across the room the second she was able.

"Thank you." They were the only two words she could get out at first, jaw tight as she stood on sore feet. "Now please go away." She knew very little about any of these people, other than the fact that her new owner was more than willing to hurt her when she disobeyed. Out of everyone though, the woman she assumed was Leta seemed the most trustworthy, and she latched onto that short defense as she sank down the wall to sit and inspect her feet.

 

[DreamingDaniel]

As soon as Charles went inside with Serenity, Matthew and Leta started to talk. He explained to her who Serenity is, how he got her and why they ended in this situation. After he finished he asked her, ''You really want to take the punishment, that was meant for her? I know, that I once installed this rule but I never thought, someone would make use of it.'' Matthew said.
''Yes I am sure, you can punish me. I want that she has a little time to realize, that this is not the worst place where she could land. A punishment would give her the wrong first impression.'' replied Leta.
Matthew mustered her. ''Okay, you take care of her. She got the rest of the day free. You will come to me after dinner and receive your punishment.''
''Thank you.'' answered Leta and went inside to her room.

As Leta entered her room, she saw Serenity checking her feet. Poor thing. She went over to here and kneeled down before her. ''Let me have a look at your feet.''
Not waiting for her reply she took one of Serenitys' feet into her own hand and removed any stones or dirt, that was still on it. ''I will take care, that you get new shoes tomorrow until then, take care where you set your feet.'' She looked up to her and gave her a smile.

She cleaned her feet and took a creame from her pocket. Putting some on her feet, she started to massage it in. As she massaged her feet, the tattoo on her arm was visible. It seemed to be a cloud but it changed, one time the cloud was raining, next time the cloud started to vanish and make room for a rainbow.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

"They're fine." She could clean them when she had access to a bathroom, or something. Leta didn't give her a chance though, she'd already taken one of her injured feet and began to clean it. "You don't.. You don't have to do that." Watching in confusion, Serenity's eyes went between the creme and the exposed tattoo. It wasn't quite what she expected to see considering Matthew's demeanor, and it only made her question how such a kind woman would willingly work for him.

"He's not going to tie me to the bed, is he? I don't want to be the center of attention, that's not why I'm angry he bought me for the reason he did." Pulling back once her feet were properly cleaned and cared for, she made no move to stand back up. "He said I was supposed to help you with housework. That's it, right? Just cleaning?" She was still furious, at the entire situation, at life itself. But she was also tired, "Fuck all of this!" Snapping, she immediately flinched and shook her head. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to yell at you. Thank you for cleaning my feet, I just don't," She heaved out a frustrated sigh as her lip trembled. "I hate this and I don't want to always be worried about being hit because I say or do something wrong. I don't even want to know what he was going to throw at me." She would have much preferred it if she could hit something, but that would never be an option.

 

[DreamingDaniel]

Leta reached out to her and embraced her in a loving hug. ''You have to worry about nothing today. Today, you are the princess of this house. You will have your own bath, if you want and after that, I will show you your room.''
Leta remembered the times when she was young and so afraid. She although remembered the times, when she took care for Charles, who was afraid of everything and was just about to die. And now this beautiful little thing, She wouldn't let anything happen to her as long as she could do something about it. Serenity probably didn't wanted to be here but she was and it is Letas' task, to show her that this could be something good.

''No, you don't have to share his bed and you won't have to please him. I know that he already told you what he expects from you. Do that and you will have a better life than you ever had before. He is no bad person, just someone who doesn't like to be tretaeted as a idiot. I think, that you probably only treated him as such right?''

''But let me ask you this, what has he ever done to you, that would justify the way you acted to him?'' She stood up, grabbed a towel and threw it to her. So Serenity, would you like to take a bath?'

 

[Degusaurusrex]

"A.. Princess? I don't understand." A bath sounded wonderful though, and she rubbed absently at her sore wrists when Leta pulled back. "He asked if I would have preferred he bought me for that." She wrinkled her nose, shoving her messy hair back with a sigh. "I didn't know. I don't know." It made sense that no one wanted to be treated like an idiot, and that hadn't specifically been her intention.

"Not like an idiot." She muttered under her breath. "But I threw my shoes at him when he said no one would mind if I walked around in demeaning clothes. Like he wanted me to." Catching the towel without looking, she cradled it against her chest and hesitated. "He bought me. Was I supposed to be happy and act nice to someone I know something about? For all I know, he could have thrown me in a room and starved me when we got back. He was going to throw something at me! I even apologized.." Sniffling quietly as she pressed her face into the towel, she slowly nodded. "What do I have to do to get something else to wear? I feel very.. Naked. It barely covers me. I don't want to dress like this forever."

 

[DreamingDaniel]

''All you have to do, is come with me.'' She smiled at her.
Leta stood up and turned towards the door of her room. ''I know how the world around us is functioning. I know how you feel.'' She turned to her door and opened it.
''You have been granted two chances now. Either you leave this place and take care for yourself. You can do that and no one would stop you. Though you and I know too well, that you either wil be caught by those guys, that willl try to sell you or you are lucky, and make it to the outside of this town. You know as well as me, how likely this is going to happen.''

Leta left the room and crossed the corridor to a nearby door. ''Or you just give him a chance, like I did. He is someone, who needs guidance and doesn't accept the world as it is. But that does not mean, that he will let you do as you please. Either you ask him to become a part of his house, or you just disappear from here.''

''And when he mentioned, that you can run around here as you like, even in demeaning clothes, then he meant exactly that. He doesn't know what you like to wear and this is his way to let you know, that you can wear whatever you want. Even demeaning clothes if you want.''

Leta turned to the second door on the right and opened it. A warm and steamy feeling came from it. A bath had been prepared.
''Would you like to take a bath?'' Leta asked as she turned back to you.

 

[Degusaurusrex]

"Okay." Forcing herself to stand up, she wobbled a bit on her feet before following after Leta. "I know what will happen if I get caught." She averted her eyes, swallowing the lump that was quickly forming in her throat. "I don't want to go back to that." Peeking around even as she walked slowly, Serenity hesitated. "I don't.." She didn't have to make any decision then, it had been clearly stated that no tattoo would be forced on her, at least not from what she understood.

"I just want something comfortable that doesn't show off my body. That's all. I'm not greedy." The warmth from the room was immediate when the door opened, and she stared at the bath with a startled look. "It's a bath." Feeling incredibly stupid for stating the obvious, she shuffled slowly towards the doorway. "Yes." Voice small, she nodded her head. "I would very much like to get clean and into different clothes." She paused before actually stepping into the room, leaning down to test the temperature of the water. "And it's warm." Had that actually been prepared for her, specifically?

"You can tell your.. Master," She cringed at the word. "That I won't throw anything at him again, as long as he doesn't touch me." It wasn't so much a demand as an awkwardly worded request, and she looked back at the older woman. "I'll try to keep what you said in mind. Thank you. I won't be mean to you or anything, you don't deserve it just cause I'm angry." And terrified, but that didn't need to be voiced. "I can help you with things once I have clothes, as long as I don't have to walk outside without shoes."