"Right then," Cobb said. "Back to the basics."

They were outside in the cool evening air. The sky was starting to turn gold and orange with the sunset, and there was a gentle breeze rolling over them. Cobb stood to her left, and Mistress Alexa sat on a bench beside the wall of the house to her right, reading a book and smoking a cigarette. Kat stood between them, back straight, shoulders back, just as she'd been instructed. By Cobb. For the past hour and a half.

Her body was starting to get stiff.

"Alright, five steps, go," Cobb said. Mistress Alexa looked up from her book briefly, but went back to it, taking a drag off her cigarette and sighing. Kat, still in her uniform, but wearing a pair of black flats, took five careful steps forward, and five careful steps backward.

"Now seven," Cobb said.

Kat wanted to curse at him and flee, but kept the urge to herself. As much as she wanted to grimace, her Mistress would have her head if she did that. Quite possibly, literally. Just her presence put butterflies in Kat's stomach. Her Mistress was quiet so far, and that was how Kat preferred it. So, she pushed down the anxiety and took seven steps forward, and seven steps backward.

This was humiliating, she thought. She'd had a blush in her cheeks for the first fifteen minutes of her punishment, before the air had cooled. Learning how to walk. She was learning how to walk. This is what she'd sunk to. For an hour and a half. Still, Cobb seemed to be getting more and more satisfied with her performance, so maybe it was almost over.

"Good," Cobb said, clapping his hands and walking over to inspect her. "Perhaps now you will walk without tripping over yourself."

She flashed him a glare, but it was brief, before anxiety choked her and she turned away. Cobb either didn't notice, or didn't care.

"Tomorrow, we will work on knocking," he said. She could hear the grin in his voice as he said it. "For now, I am through with you. Madam?"

Mistress Alexa closed her book and looked up, taking one last puff of her cigarette before putting it out on the stone below her feet. Just having her eyes on Kat made her palms grow sticky. It was times like these where uncertainty ran rampant through her mind like a loose child, drawing cartoonish images of the horrors that could be.

A breeze passed over them as Mistress Alexa stood quietly. She eyed Kat up and down, standing at least a head taller than her.

"Thank you Cobb. You are dismissed for the day."

Cobb nodded and, with a little bow, said, "Thank you Madam. Tomorrow, same time?"

Mistress Alexa laughed. Kat thought it sounded like little bells. "Same time tomorrow."

"Very good then." And with that, Cobb strode off, passing through the french doors into the kitchen and out of sight, leaving them alone in the garden. The daylight was getting thinner now, and things took on a purple hue with dark blue undertones, and the first stars of the night were starting to shine through. Somewhere, a cricket chirped.

Mistress Alexa snapped her fingers and pointed at her feet, and Kat walked over and knelt down before it. It felt good to kneel - her legs were burning from all the walking and her feet were tired. For a moment, they were silent, nothing passing between them but the air and the breeze.

But then, brushing her hand through her loose hair, Mistress Alexa asked, "That scar on your back. Where did you get it?"

Kat paled. Of course the question would come, but she hadn't expected it so soon. Licking her lips and swallowing dryly, she said, "My last Master, Mistress."

Mistress Alexa rubbed the bridge of her nose. "How."

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Kat gripped her uniform and looked down. "A bullwhip, Mistress."

"That's no good," Mistress Alexa said, looking down at her and crossing her arms. She leaned to one side and seemed to be inspecting Kat. For a moment, they shared the silence, some strange emotion passing over Kat.

"I don't want you to expect that sort of thing here," Mistress Alexa said. "I will not tolerate disobedience, but I do not condone beatings. Whoever your last Master was, he was wrong to do what he did."

Then she leaned over and placed a hand on Kat's head, making her flinch. But her hand was soft, and gentle, as it stroked her hair. "I understand that you're worried. But you don't need to be. We're different around here. We don't hurt people."

Bullshit, Kat thought, but she kept it to herself. There would be no point in saying anything. But this had all been played out before, almost word for word, and she knew it was all a lie. The moment she slipped up again, the beatings would come. The 'I won't hurt you' shit wouldn't fool her again. Not again.

Mistress Alexa stayed there for some time, gently petting her, before she ran a finger along her cheek and placed her thumb on Kat's chin, forcing their eyes to meet. "Go draw yourself a bath and prepare a small meal for yourself. If you need me, I'll be in the study, working. Understand?"

"Yes, Mistress," Kat said, standing, bowing, and starting to walk away. Yes. She understood very clearly.

There was a warning in those words, she thought as she sank into the lavish tub, the dim lamps creating an orange glow and peaceful aura in the bathroom. There was a clear 'unless' in Mistress Alexa's tone. Unless you piss me off. Unless you fuck up in front of company. Unless I just had a bad day. Unless, unless, unless. There was always an 'unless'.

Still, the water felt lovely on her cool skin, and she enjoyed the way it made her steam. Sinking down into the tub, she let herself melt into the water like a dissolving bath bomb. Her worries didn't dissolve with her, but at least for now, she could let her muscles relax and her mind go numb. It didn't stop the thoughts, though. The memories.

Looking around, she searched for a bar of soap. There was one on the corner of the large tub. She took it and began to lather herself with it, enjoying its gentle touch. It felt specifically gentle against the scar on her leg, and the water against her back soothed her. For just a moment, things seemed alright. The warm water, the soft soap, she felt like she could simply lay in this tub forever.

But then, niggling at the back of her mind, the thoughts were there. The dark ones. The memories.

Why do you always fuck up?

Must I always beat you?

This is your fault. If you hadn't done this, I wouldn't have to hurt you.

The blows, the hammer like blows that rained down on her in a flurry. The times the boot connected with her side and knocked the wind from her. His voice echoed in her mind, bouncing like an angry marble, stabbing like a heated knife. She could almost feel his calloused hands as he gripped her arms and tossed her like a ragdoll. Like an object.

To him, she was less than human. She was a thing. An 'it'.

She huddled into herself and shivered, despite the warmth of the bath. Not even the heated water could seem to warm the cold, dead spot in her soul that her last Master had beaten into her. Despite herself, she found that she was crying, warm little droplets making their way down her cheeks and dripping into the bathwater.

It's your fault, you know.

Her fault. It was always her fault that she was being beaten. If she hadn't burnt dinner, if she hadn't been late, if she hadn't tripped... it was always her fault. The blows, the hits, the kicks, all her fault. She sniffled and shuddered.

And all at once, she was back in the bath, blinking the tears away and wiping her eyes with a wet hand. More water streamed down her face, as if she'd cried for longer than she really had. It made her laugh bitterly. It was as if all the tears she'd ever cried were streaming down her face once more. She was an island in a storm, forever.

Suddenly, a light knock came at the door, causing her to jump and spray water over the lip of the tub. She looked down and cursed quietly, taking a deep breath to calm her pounding heart.

"Are you alright in there?" It was Mistress Alexa.

Kat straightened up and covered herself. "Yes Mistress."

There was a pause. "I thought I heard you crying."

Kat shook her head. "No Mistress," she said with a sort of forced cheeriness that almost sounded real. Almost. "Thank you Mistress."

"Just... come find me if you need me."

"Yes Mistress," Kat said. She waited for a moment, and, hearing light footsteps trail off into the distance, she sunk back in the tub. Her Mistress was gone. She sunk down until she was just above the water, laying back and breathing out a sigh of relief. If she needed her Mistress? That was so strange, she thought. Why the hell would she go to her Mistress, she wondered with a sad smile. Why the hell.

Well, that was that then. Her bath was ruined before it'd even gotten good. Sighing, she stood, reached over to a steel towel rack with a white, fluffy towel on it, and grabbed it. Her body glistened in the warm light of the bathroom, and she could see clearly the scars on her body as she dried off and drained the tub of water.

Come find me if you need me.

Why the hell.