Chapter 2: Coming Home
Author's notes:
Hi everyone :D So here I am with the next chapter already, I figured I wouldn't keep you in suspense for too long :)
I hope my Mimea doesn't get too out-of-character, but then again this is a character we know very little about from the novels, so anything's possible really ;) Only thing we know about her is that she's very spirited and brave for a Pet, that she's madly in love with Riki, that Iason made Raoul send her off to some terrible whorehouse in Midas and that Riki betrayed her feelings by not saying anything when Iason confronted them … Sounds like the ingredients for a truly poisonous concoction, right?;)
Oh, I'm again also making use of lyrics, I hope that's not bothering anyone? I just kinda felt that this song matched the events in this chapter :)
I hope you'll enjoy this chapter and don't hold back on those reviews please!;)
…..
CellDweller – Tainted
Standing out there alone completely naked
Another secret's been kept and left her tainted
There's nothing more she can do to make them change it
She does the best that she can to rearrange it
There's still the question of how she's grown so tainted
A tattered canvas unfolds, watch as they paint it
She's at the edge of the world
She's there standing alone
She's the loneliest girl
And now she finally feels like she's coming home
…..
Orange eyes remained fixed upon the cityscape unfolded before them, a kaleidoscope of coloured lights against the backdrop of the now ink-black night, containing both a frightening chaos and a fascinating beauty and implying both hierarchical unity and desolate isolation. The last of which was not unknown to the physically girlish, mentally adult unlooker. Somehow order had lost its appeal to her in favour of the chaos of life, which had led to her life changing from certainty and security to uncertainty and danger in the blink of an eye. And now that eye could never unsee the ugliness, the inhumanity, the loneliness that made up the seemingly divine order of Tanagura, it was all just a matter of perspective really. That beautiful, glorious place of prosperity, progress and luxury of her youth had merely been a figment of her imagination, and now a corrupt system that caged personality and exterminated innocence had taken its place forever. Once one became an adult, one could never become a child again. And in this world, one could better grow up quickly or be left to pick up the pieces of shattered childhood dreams.
"Is it any better than the view from the Am household? I suppose higher does not necessarily imply better", the soft yet firm voice rather forcefully shook her from her reverie, as she had not even heard his approach.
There was no telling how long the motionless Elite had stood only one metre from her without her noticing, as Elite were capable of remaining completely still for a seemingly endless duration of time. It was almost as if time did not exist in Tanagura: no one there ever had to even think about the future, either because their future was endless or because they had no future. Moreover Jupiter regulated everything perfectly, so there was no need to concern yourself with doing something so redundant as organising your own future.
"It looks very different from what it did before … but I think that is because I am different now, not because the view itself is", Mimea responded after regaining her composure from the shock of Iason Mink's sudden, brilliant appearance. There was no getting used to his presence like there had been to the presence of Master Am. When you noticed Lord Mink it was as if you were facing the sun, blinded by its golden brightness and burned by its merciless rays.
"Ah. Well, they always say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, do they not?", the radiant blonde spoke again, his voice as frosty as always, if not slightly more so. There was no way to tell at all that he had seemingly melted only hours before, no way to tell but her memory of it. Mimea could not help but think the phrase somehow applied to Riki, he had not been beautiful at all in the eyes of most beholders, but he had managed to steal both her heart and apparently that of the android standing next to her. She would have never guessed one such as him even had a heart.
"If I may be so bold, what is it that you see when you look at it? Has that changed at all?", the fallen Pet responded, keeping her stance respectfully bowed and her voice soft. But it did not sound like it had before, it sounded hoarser now, probably due to many nights of screaming and crying at that sickly brothel until her voice had become raw.
An uncomfortably long silence followed, uninterrupted by the cacophony of noise below, which could not reach that high or pierce to the thick glass that separated them from the rest of the world.
"I used to see something despicable, something wild and animalistic that had to be kept under control, or otherwise pure chaos would erupt. It was not something I associated at all with myself, not something I thought I required or was even capable of." The blonde, imposing figure did not continue his speech but his meaning had already been clearly imparted.
The prettily fragile, red-haired creature beside him pursed her full lips before replying, all the while not even glancing in his direction. "I used to think it looked rather attractive, all of those bright lights. But now that I have flown into that light, it's not so appealing anymore. Then again now that I have had a taste of real life I don't think the synthetic version will ever be truly satisfying again. It's hard to explain, it's … a terrible place. But it's also a beautiful place because it offers something more somehow, it offers opportunities to …"
"Make your own choices", it was unclear whether that was a question or an affirmative statement. Even for one of Iason's high social standard and esteemed position it had become very clear that the Tanaguran system did not allow for true choice, and that him choosing Riki had proven to be very difficult because of that.
A strange sense of understanding began to form between the two very different creatures standing there, gazing out the window. The system had made them to be different: socially, physically, intellectually. Yet in their souls, that part the system had not intended for, they had in fact become very similar.
"Yes. But it's not true, is it? Except for them, the mongrels, they are the only ones who are truly free. Perhaps that's why I did what I did, that I wanted to do something because I chose to do it, just to taste freedom for once in my life", the now retired prostitute said, still unable to keep a tinge of hope from her voice. Despite having been beaten down so harshly because of her foolish emotions, she still continued to worship them on the altar of her heart.
"I suppose that is what I wanted as well, what I still want", Jupiter's representative mused while noiselessly turning his head in his interlocutor's direction, now studying the former Pet rather than the cityscape. "And I always get what I want", he added icily and rather ferociously, as if a wild ocean was just below his serene, pristinely white surface.
As she slowly turned her head towards him in surprise, the look of his glacier eyes only served to further enhance that disturbing effect. Strangely fascinated, the small humanoid continued to stare, like a doe caught in headlights. Or a moth drawn to a flame, once more ignorant of its ability to burn. Iason Mink's blue flame appeared to be something very different from the cheap neon that was displayed far below. Despite all his distance – his gloves, his expressionless mask, his ever-present façade of propriety, his rarely disturbed calm composure, his cruelly emotionless gaze – he had never lied to her.
But then the moment of odd, mutual fascination was disturbed by the arrival of Lord Mink's latest Furniture, a young boy called Cal who despite his shy nervousness was proving to be a very promising addition to the household. Even while keeping his gaze aimed at the floor, as was expected of Furniture when facing their superior, he could not help but notice the presence of the unknown exotic-looking Pet standing beside his Master. He did not see her clearly enough to distinguish the many bruises and scraps on her otherwise flawless skin.
"Ah, Cal, I was just about to call you. This is Mimea, starting from today she will be a part of this household. Show her to her room and bathe her before dinner, which she will be having with me in the dining room." Even the sudden use of his now flatly instructing voice could not break the spell he had cast over the small female next to him entirely. But as soon as the meaning of the words spoken to the Furniture penetrated her still-dazed mind, she snapped back to reality with a surprising snap.
"I will be … staying here?" She was not sure what she had been expecting, but last of all that she would be rescued from that dreadful brothel by the nemesis that had put her there in the first place and that he would then make her a part of his household. She had assumed when he had taken her away from The Red Lotus it had merely been his intention to speak to her in a more private setting, or possibly to resell her for a profit. But apparently he was not planning on taking her back to the Lotus or anywhere else for that matter, and she was to remain at his own penthouse, several floors up from the household she had been a part of during her golden years, or rather months.
"Of course. You might come in very handy in my attempt at reclaiming what is mine, so naturally I cannot have you die on me in some derelict establishment in downtown Midas", and as if those rapidly spoken, supposedly rational words explained everything, he graciously turned away from Mimea and the Furniture and walked straight out the door in a matter of seconds. Strange how Elite could remain so still for such a long time, and then move away so quickly and unexpectedly.
…..
Mimea shook her confused head in an attempt to clear the fog in there and to try and come to terms with both her new position at the Mink household and her apparently altered relationship with the elusive Master of said household. Looks like I am a Pet once more, only this time with a former enemy for a Master.
Cal only now dared to face her and could not suppress a soft gasp at seeing the state she was in, he had never seen any Pet looking quite like this, even those that had been cruelly beaten by their Masters as punishment. A Master would never beat his Pet in places where it showed to such an extent, especially in the face. And the slightly gray undertone of her skin and skeleton quality of her limbs implied malnutrition for a longer period of time.
"Hi … I'm Mimea, what's your name?" It sounded rather hollow and matter-of-fact, not at all the sweet, cheerful sing-song that one would expect from an Academy Pet. Looking at the boy staring at her, she could tell straight away that he had not been a Furniture for very long and that he had never seen anyone badly beaten or mistreated before.
"I … I'm Cal. I should … I should probably take a look at your injuries", Cal nervously indicated, while bowing his head all over again after being stared at rather directly, the haunting sorrowful quality in her eyes frightening him.
"Don't worry, Cal. It's not as bad as it looks." It's worse. No physical pain could ever come close to the mental pain she had experienced over the last couple of months. But now was the time to look at the future, now it seemed like she had one again. She was painfully aware now, where she had not been in her younger years, that that future depended on the whims of an Elite. And not just any Elite, the most cruel and unpredictable of all the Blondies, and also the one she had managed to seriously piss off in the past.
After having followed the nervous Furniture into one of the gigantic, white-marble bathrooms and meekly sitting down at the edge of the enormous ground-level tub, allowing Cal to undress her and examine her wounds, Mimea felt the unusual urge to establish some kind of connection with the boy. She had never even considered befriending a Furniture before, seeing them as mere appliances to use when she saw fit. But now as she gazed upon the nervous, slightly clumsy boy in front of her, she could not help but see a kindred spirit. Lost, confused, frightened. Just like she had been, still was to a great extent.
"So what is it like, living at this household? What is the Master like, is he very demanding?", she attempted to start a conversation, having a feeling that a lot of input from her would be required to get Cal to speak out of his own volition. She tried to keep her voice light and conversational, her eyes-lashes soothingly fluttering and it actually hurt to smile even slightly, maybe because of the bruises or due to not having used those muscles in a long time.
Cal hesitantly looked up from gently rubbing disinfectant on her many scraps and cuts, surprised at the questions and unsure as to how to respond. Master Mink had not had any Pets since his arrival so he had no experience in dealing with them. Was he even allowed to talk to her? But surely he could not refuse to answer her questions when she aimed them directly at him? But to share his opinion on the Master with her … surely it was not his place to do so?
She immediately recognised the cause of his hesitation. "I mean, do you like it here? What does a normal day look like? Many parties, many evening activities?" If he would continue to respond, she suddenly felt she would go out of her mind with boredom. How strange, it never used to bother me while at the Am household.
"Ergh … Yes, I do like it here. I mean, of course I do, this is the most esteemed household in all of Tanagura. Well, there does not appear to be that much going on. I mean the Master organises social events in his home every now and then of course, but on a day-to-day basis he seems to prefer his privacy. It struck me as a bit unusual that a household of this size would not have any Pets … I mean, not that it should have! Of course it's not up to me to say anything about it … I'll just be quiet now!" He clumsily attempted to open a tube of moisturizing lotion to apply to Mimea's purple and yellow bruises, but because of his shaking hands he only ended up making himself even more terrified.
All of a sudden her small, elegant hands were there, clutching his and effectively ending the incessant shaking, gently taking the tube from his hands and opening it for him. When he looked up in utter shock, she smiled reassuringly at him, her beauty clearly shining through now, despite all the visible damage to her frail body. "It's all right. We're just talking, Cal, there is no need to be so worried about what you say", she said in her most soothing tone, imagining she was addressing a frightened little bunny. The analogy even managed to briefly paint a genuine smile on her face, that was already beginning to look more like its former self.
When Cal appeared to have calmed down again and was carefully applying the relaxing, fragrant cream to her pale skin, she attempted to continue their talk. "I know why. Why the Master has kept no Pets for the last six months." She experimentally waited until he would urge her to tell him. A part of him had to be curious about the fact, or else he would not have stated it in his babbling attack. Yet he continued to silently apply the cream to her skin and then proceeded to cut and file her long, broken nails. As he was beginning to comb through her hair, she tried again. "Would you like me to tell you why that is? Why Lord Mink has not taken a new Pet until now?" The boy blushed slightly, he had been hoping she would just forget about it. But it appeared as if he would be forced to inquire about something that was in fact none of his business. "If you would like to tell me, I cannot stop you." That was probably as close as this Furniture was going to get to "Tell me now!", so Mimea responded. "It is because no Pet could ever replace the last one he's had. I assume you know about the one called Riki?"
Cal shook his head, he had never heard of anyone by that name in Eos. Or there had been this legend about a certain Riki the Dark back in Guardian, but that seemed like a different lifetime now, of which he was not allowed to talk to anyone. And without a doubt the Pet she was referring to shared nothing whatsoever with that legendary figure except for the name.
"Are you serious? Don't Furniture ever gossip then? Truly everyone I knew was talking about it only six months ago …" But then again to the Pets of Eos six months ago seemed like a lifetime ago. An entire generation of Pets could have retired and another entire generation of new Pets could have debuted in such a short period of time. Seeing that Cal would not take the initiative to say anything to her if not explicitly probed by a question, she proceeded. "The reason why Riki's arrival in Eos caused such a major disturbance is that he is in fact a mongrel from Ceres."
Cal immediately seized the motion of removing Mimea's make-up and in his complete shock he could not help but down-right stare at her in amazement. Surely it could not be the same Riki he had heard about in Guardian? Because that was the kind of personality that would never ever fit in here. And why would an Elite, especially one in a position as high as His Excellency's, be even remotely interested in a mongrel?
"Yeah, I know! It was quite a stir … I can't imagine what kind of scandal it must have been when it was discovered that I had slept with him, without our Masters' permission." She might just as well tell the kid everything, seeing as how they were going to be each other's only company during the day. Cal's mouth fell open at that, not believing what he was hearing. Was this Pet just pulling his chain? Was telling him all of these incredible falsehoods a way for her to amuse herself in her Master's absence perhaps?
"What, you don't believe me? I got kicked out of Eos for it, sent to this terrible place in Midas … I'd rather not talk about that, if you don't mind. But I think it was worth it. Everyone hated Riki because he was a mongrel but … he is actually one of the nicest people I have ever met. There is something real about him, something genuine, he would not laugh in your face and then stab you in the back. And he never gossiped about anyone, when he had something to say he just told you straight to your face. And he was brave, with such passion! He kept on talking about how he was going to escape Eos, how he was going to get back his freedom. It was so inspiring that at some point I even imagined what it would be like to run away together with him, to meet his friends in Ceres, to spend time with him outside of these walls … It's silly, I know, but somehow he infected me with his fire."
It was rather tiresome to have a conversation with someone who did not respond in the slightest, but by looking at Cal's expression she could tell that he was anxious to hear more. He is interested in mongrels from Ceres? How strange for a Furniture.
"Has the Master explicitly forbidden you to speak to me, Cal?" In order to have any kind of decent conversation with this boy she would have to somehow convince him that it was OK with the Master. The young Furniture shook his head, but she could tell from how wide his brown eyes still were that he was not yet convinced. "Listen, if you were to speak to me and it would turn out that the Master did not want that … then I promise you I will take the full blame for it. I will tell him that it was entirely my fault, that I was demanding that you answered me and that you were just telling me what I wanted to hear, so anything inappropriate you might say would be my fault then."
But it turned out that approach had been a grave mistake, for Cal immediately jumped up while shaking his head even more vehemently. He was not the kind of person to let someone else take the blame or risk anything on his behalf. "OK, OK! I'll just tell him it is all your fault regardless, is that better?", she laughed with a wink, hoping that perhaps humour would be able to make him open up slightly. At least he appeared to understand that it was said in jest, for he kneeled down again and started pouring contents of priceless, high-quality bottles into the already-steaming bath water.
"I have heard of this Riki you describe. He is dark-skinned with pitch-black hair, right? I would have never guessed someone like that would end up here. How did that come about? I mean, how did Master Mink even get the idea to purchase him?", he finally said while helping Mimea lower her punished, sensitive body into the hot, foaming water. She moaned in pleasure at the comforting heat of the water, despite the slight sting it also caused where her skin had been broken. When Cal started massaging sweet-smelling shampoo into her hair, her state of complete peace and relaxation was complete. How come she had never realised what a rare blissful pleasure this was before? A deep sense of gratitude filled her at the thought of those months spent in that filthy whorehouse and its drunk, abusive customers.
"The way he told me, Riki was never really purchased by Lord Mink. Apparently he had just been stealing credit cards from tourists in Midas when he came across Lord Mink, who prevented him from being apprehended by the police. And then Riki followed him, demanding to do something for him in return. And from what I understood Riki was simply taken from the street and brought here by Lord Mink several months after that." When she thought about it like that it really sounded like an unbelievable, highly unlikely turn of events. But then again so was her taking a liking to a mongrel and vice versa. Who would have thought there could have been such an understanding between people from such very different social and genetic backgrounds?
"So what you're saying is … Lord Mink fell in love with Riki?" Mimea gasped in surprise, he had been remarkably quick in jumping to that conclusion. In the beginning no Pet in Eos would have ever thought that an Elite was even capable of falling in love, least of all with a mongrel. Even if said Elite had decided to take a mongrel for a Pet, that did not mean in the slightest that he had personal feelings of any sort for the creature. Staring at his face, she realised that he knew nothing whatsoever about the matter. To him it had just seemed like a perfectly normal conclusion to draw from what she had just told him. She had never given the intelligence and ways of thinking of Furniture any thought, but she was definitely interested now. It was almost like speaking to an alien all over again, as if Cal came from an entirely different world just as Riki had.
"Well, yes, that's true. But I only know that because Lord Mink has told me so himself, I would have never even guessed at the time. How did you know that?" Her new friend was proving to be more and more mysterious by the minute. Good thing she had managed to get him to finally talk. Apparently she had not lost all of her charms just yet.
"Doesn't it make perfect sense? I mean, why else would he go to such lengths? I can't imagine taking a mongrel as a Pet would be easy, probably lots of red tape and it's without a doubt a huge social risk to take, I very much doubt an Elite in a lower position could have pulled it off. So what happened? Was he forced to give Riki up? Or did Riki somehow escape?" Another very unlikely conclusion. No Pet would have ever even thought it possible to escape Eos, or even understand where a desire to do so could originate from.
"No. I mean he tried to escape but he was caught, shortly after our tryst was discovered and I was sent to Midas. But no, the Master actually let him go." A fact that up to this point she could not entirely wrap her head around. Surely, to a human his reasoning made sense, but it was not the kind of selfless, uncalculated way of reasoning that an Elite would use.
"Why would he do that? Go through all that trouble to obtain him, only to let him go?" Cal could not understand it either, because he knew – probably even better than any Pet – the way in which the cold, purely mathematical minds of the Elite functioned. An Elite would never even considers a human being's feelings in any matter, and they would definitely never disregard their own wishes on behalf of those of a mere human.
"He did it because he noticed that Riki was unhappy here, that he would die from boredom and despair if he remained locked up in a cage. Cause that's what love really is: the ultimate sacrifice." Cal was equally as amazed at Mimea's sharp perceptiveness as she was at his mongrel ways of jumping to conclusions. Yet he had always felt that becoming a Furniture was "the ultimate sacrifice". But seeing as how love was apparently the same thing, he wasn't missing out on anything.
It was with good reason that any alliances between Pets and Furniture were subtly discouraged in Tanagura. It was not so much that the Pets lacked the actual intelligence or will-power to rebel, but they did not possess the necessary knowledge, skills and experience to do so. And the Furniture by themselves were too isolated from everyone else and too conditioned to obey to even consider any rebellious plans. But if somehow those two factions were to combine their talents in a mutual cause …
"That's … that's a very touching story. I would have never guessed that an Elite could care so deeply about anyone, especially a human, and a mongrel at that." Cal had always felt that his Master treated him fairly, more so than some other Masters he had heard his fellow Furniture speak of. But his admiration had never gone any further than this professional respect. Now that he had heard this amazing story of his Master's love for Ceres' very own Riki the Dark, his Master had risen far higher in his personal esteem. He had the capacity to care for human beings, at least for one particular human being. Somehow it made Cal feel less alone in the world, the fact that there was someone so close who cared and from whom he would have never expected it …
"So did you love him too? Riki, I mean?" The Furniture continued their conversation, while now helping her stand up so he could gently lather her body with pink foam that smelled of raspberries. "Yes, I did. And I still do. But I don't … There is this unspoken rule among us Pets, that the first person to claim someone has priority over anyone else in the future. So if the Master was the first to claim Riki, I would not dream about standing in his way, regardless of his station. It is so strange, to talk with the Master about Riki, it always makes us seem … not quite like equals, but as if we actually have something in common", the Pet mused while she absently moved her long fingers through her wet, vibrant locks, unknowingly making herself look even more alluring.
All of a sudden Cal dropped the washing sponge into the bath water and suddenly stared at her. "But when Pets say "claim", they mean … physically claim?" When Mimea started nodding, his eyes became as big as saucers and his mouth formed the shape of an O. "That's why there was so much gossip about Riki. Not just because he's a mongrel Pet, but also because we could see the signs that someone had claimed him on his body. Yet we also knew that he had not been a part of any performance and that there were at the time no other Pets in the Mink household, so there was only one person left who could have left those marks on him: the Master himself." Cal continued to stare at her in disbelief. So the Master did not just care for Riki's well-being, but he had also lowered himself to such a base, human act as sex?
This was not exactly a subject Cal had any experience in, yet his interest was piqued and his old curious streak got the better of him. "But you said … marks, like hickeys? Surely you don't think they … that they went … all the way?" Having bathed the Master and thus seen him naked, and knowing that according to the stories Riki had been rather slight in build for a mongrel, such a thing simply did not appear feasible in his mind. Not without inflicting a great deal of pain.
"Well of course they did! I mean, why leave anything visible on him and risk exposure while not going for the complete prize? Besides, Riki more or less confirmed it himself, although I could tell it was something he was embarrassed about. Imagine that, embarrassed about being bedded by the greatest blonde Elite that has ever lived, the very representative of Jupiter herself! If it were me I would have been extremely honoured and proud. That's also why so many Pets were mean to Riki, because they were insanely jealous of course!"
"But … but …", Cal stammered, while taking in Mimea's petite form, which was considerably smaller than Riki's even. She was apparently very willing to suffer torturous pains for the sake of showing off to other Pets. A part of Cal admired her immense bravery, also for daring to have an affair with a Pet who she knew was being taken by his very Master. "But surely such a thing must be extremely painful?", he eventually blurted out when Mimea continued to stare at him questioningly.
A look of pure surprise appeared on Mimea's pretty, doll-like face. Was it possible that her little brain had not even thought of the physical implications of such a joining? Then it dawned on him: Pets were not supposed to see any Elite naked, only Furniture were allowed to. "You know, Elite are ergh … very … ergh very … well, you know!", he frustratedly exclaimed why he was making surprisingly accurate measuring gesticulations with his hands.
At that very moment they were both shaken by the Master's voice, booming through the hall-way all the way to the bathroom: "CAL! You were supposed to serve dinner over fifteen minutes ago!" Both Cal and Mimea had completely forgotten about the tight schedule they were on while engaging in a gossipy conversation on such tasty subjects.
Both silently stared at each other for a few seconds, wondering if the other one was also thinking very hard about just how far Elite hearing could stretch …
…..
Eventually dinner was served - only half an hour late - and Mimea surprised herself by appreciatively thanking Cal when he served her food unto her plate for her. No Pet had ever bothered to thank a Furniture before, as they were simply doing their job and they were not sentient beings after all. Iason looked up briefly at the words, but did not otherwise say anything about it, apparently not bothered by Mimea's unusual behaviour.
And her behaviour was not the only unusual thing about her, also her appearance was unusual. For Cal had been instructed to put her into a dark red dress for the occasion, admittedly a rather short dress with a low cleavage and an open back, but a dress nonetheless. This was an item of clothing that was rarely worn by Pets in Eos, even for ex-Pets working in Midas it was rather unusual to wear something that covered their bodies to such an extent. Mimea could only assume that it was because her new Master did not wish to have to look upon her many imperfections, caused by the harsh treatment at the brothel. Yet why ask her to dine with him at all, if he did not wish to gaze upon her? It only happened very rarely that an Elite would dine together with a Pet. And then there was the fact that upon arrival, he had indicated for her to sit in the chair opposite him. Pets were not supposed to sit in chairs, at the same dinner table of their Master. They were always asked to sit at their Master's feet, if they were asked to eat together with their Master at all.
Apparently the surprise at all of this showed on Mimea's face, for seemingly out-of-the-blue the blonde inquired about it. "You are probably wondering why you're even here." Here? As in dining together with him, in a chair? Or here as in a Pet at his household? Or here, back in Eos, after having been sold off to The Red Lotus? As far as Mimea knew, there was no other Pet that had ever crawled its way back up the waterfall to Tanagura after a fall to Midas.
When he kept on waiting as if expecting her to confirm his statement, she shakingly replied at last. "Ergh … Y … yes, I am wondering about that. I mean, I … I disobeyed my former Master, I broke the law, and I shamed you, my Lord … and I ergh … I …", she was not quite able to spit out the words "hurt you", seeing as how that would imply that she, a worthless whore, had some kind of influence over him, the Head of the Syndicate.
Fortunately for her, he calmly held up his hand for her to stop her ramblings, while thoughtfully sipping some of his expensive, imported wine from an even more expensive crystal, design glass. Of course she shut her mouth straight away, no hair on her head would think to disobey or interrupt him. She may have spoken out in a most unbecoming way after her deceit with Riki had been discovered and earlier at the brothel, yet those words were spoken in a situation in which she thought she would receive the worst possible punishment either way. She may have become more feisty than most Pets after her acquaintance with the wild mongrel, but a very large part of her still sought the approval of a Master and longed for a life of luxury such as the one she was currently living again.
"I am not keeping you here for any of the qualities you have just described yourself to be clearly lacking in, despite your upbringing as an Academy Pet. I am not keeping you here because you are pleasing to look at, even if in time those bruises would disappear and you would grow some more flesh on those bones, you would still be damaged goods. Not to mention nearly too old to be considered as a worthwhile investment. Also females are not to my tastes at all, especially red-haired, skinny ones. And of course, as I am sure even one of your low IQ can comprehend, I am most definitely not keeping you here because of anything you have done in the past to please me or show me your undying loyalty", despite the calm soft-spoken voice he was using, the icily cutting reproaches were clearly audible in his speech. And all the while he did not even glance in her direction, as if she was not worthy of his attention at all. Moreover he had an almost mocking small smile on his face that implied that perhaps he had purchased her merely for the sake of making her pay for her crimes against him.
Slowly fading and decaying
Please ignore what they're saying
As Mimea remained silent and kept her eyes fixed firmly on her plate, he continued his onslaught after a long silence during which she could almost feel his sharp eyes cut through her like icy daggers. "Honestly I cannot imagine what that man - Iago, Jacques, whatever his name was – even saw in you in the first place. That he would consider one so scrawny and feeble-looking, momentarily not including your psychological instability for the moment, to be the best worker he had, I find that very hard to believe. In fact I am positive that someone was paying him to do so because it would mean bad publicity …" And so it went on and on, with long, meaningful intermezzos that in and of themselves seemed to sting even worse than the words spoken after them.
Slowly fading and decaying
Please ignore what they're saying!
Mimea just sat there and let it all wash over her like an ice-cold tsunami that was both assaulting her violently while simultaneously making its freezing cold soak into her very bones. After nearly fifteen minutes her eyes were watering, her food stuck in her throat and her fingers were curling around the edge of the table, grateful for at least something to hold unto for she felt like she was being slowly but surely blown away by a merciless blizzard.
Slowly fading and decaying
Please ignore what they're saying!
"And like I said earlier, one that has fallen as low as you have ought to be considered damaged goods on all levels. The idea of a stranger laying hands on one's Pet is of course bad enough in and of itself", a meaningful pause accompanied by an accusatory, stabbing stare was added to this before he continued. "But to have the merchandise having been fucked, licked, beaten, scratched, bit, spat on, probably even urinated and bled on, by an endless hoard of uncivilised, unwashed, diseased, lowly characters of the most despicable nature imaginable …", he went on and on while his voice remained just as calm as ever yet had a cruel, mean, humiliating undercurrent that cut straight through Mimea's poor, shivering body to torment its very core.
Slowly fading and decaying
Please ignore what they're saying!
And as he was describing the things that were done to her, it was as if she was vividly living them again, in detail, and humiliated by them even more so by the way his voice implied that it was what she deserved, all she was good for. And then there was the suggestion that these things had irrevocably damaged and fouled her, that there was no hope whatsoever for her to crawl out of that stinking pit of despair ever again to see the daylight or to breathe the clean air. That it would have been best for her if she had just crumbled and died at the very bottom of that pit, buried in filth, to be forgotten, to have meant absolutely nothing in the world.
She fought them bravely until defences caved in
Pressing their teeth to her neck until she gave in
Now there's no question this girl is well acquainted
With suffering in a world that's left her tainted
It was just too much, she could not possibly take any more of it. It was simply too cruel and too menacing. Without even fully realising what it was her limbs were doing, she was suddenly up on her feet in a matter of seconds, her chair slamming into the ground by the force exercised upon it by her deceivingly strong, small body. Her voice was yelling at him while staring straight at him in an almost threatening way, seething with rage, without her even spending one conscious thought on it before acting.
After a few seconds she realised that it were in fact meaningful words she was screaming out, almost like a wild animal: "Yes, and it is YOUR fault for making it so, it is ALL your FAULT! It's hardly surprising that SOMEONE came along and took Riki away from you, seeing as how you'd made it abundantly clear to him that you clearly did not GIVE A SHIT about him, not in a million years! Oh no, you could never come down from your high throne to even ATTEMPT to have a decent conversation with the likes of us lowly people down here! So you went and KIDNAPPED the poor boy, against his will, and then LOCKED HIM UP in a cage, HUMILIATED him and then BEAT HIM into a pulp for no sensible REASON at all! And then you're surprised he came to ME?! He came to me because I'm actually a HUMAN being, capable of EMOTION, like COMPASSION and LOVE, something YOU are clearly NOT capable of!" He just sat there in all his blonde, cold beauty and grace and said nothing, apparently waiting for her finish before reacting in any way. Yet his blue eyes were upon her, and within their calm depths there was apparently the silence before the storm.
She's at the edge of the world
She's there standing alone
She's the loneliest girl
She stopped, only for a moment, to briefly catch her breath and reach the conclusion of her high-pitched, yet very loud, tantrum. "So even if I'm mortal, and damaged, and filthy, and disgusting, and willing to degrade myself through carnal acts, and humiliated beyond all repair, and stupid, and naïve… I have something that you will NEVER have, and that is HUMANITY! So I'm not ashamed, I'm not sorry for existing or for caring about someone, not one bit, but you ought to be!", and she ended her shrieking speech by slamming her small fist into the table, breaking her porcelain, antique plate in the process and cutting her hand on the glass until it bled on the priceless, pristinely white, silk tablecloth.
And now she finally feels like she's coming home
Her new Master was silent for at least five minutes after she had exploded like that. And five minutes was a very long time to prepare for your impending death, especially as it gave you time to think very long and hard about how exactly you had dug your own grave without even thinking twice about it. As if your eminent doom and end was the only goal your life had ever really had. Mimea remained standing during the full duration of those five minutes, even if she was rather shaky on her legs and had to lean on the table for support. She would not back down before the end, she would stand by what she said, even if it meant an even more painful death. That heartless bastard had deserved to hear those words for a very long time, for Riki's sake.
She was completely astounded when the Elite opposite the table started clapping his hands in applause, after which he gestured to Cal – who had been frozen to the ground as if paralysed throughout the entire event – to clean up the mess Mimea had made. Cal was shaking so bad the entire table was shaking with him as soon as he attempted to clear away the porcelain shards from the table, cutting his own fingers on them in the process. After which he tried to wrap a napkin around Mimea's bleeding hand while at the same time trying to avoid any more blood staining the tablecloth.
"Bravo. I must say I had my doubts about you, and I surely did not expect a performance of quite such a calibre. It is truly remarkable, isn't it? Seeing you debut as Raoul's Pet last year I could have never guessed that it was even remotely possible for you to develop in this way. The treatment at that disgusting establishment should have broken you as if you were made out of glass. Yet you reacted more like a stone statue, shards broke off yet you did not shatter completely. Moreover I would say you have come out stronger than you were ever made to be."
As sudden realisation dawned on Mimea's face, she sank down into the chair again, exhausted by her attack, who could have guessed that it would be so tiresome to get angry? "You wanted me to react in that way … You were purposely egging me on … But why? If you knew I would react in such a way, then why bring me back here at all? I am not fit anymore to be anyone's Pet!" She realised this with a sickening feeling of finality. She had changed.
"Ah, but that's the beauty of it. You are not fit to be anyone else's Pet anymore, but you are now very much fit to be my Pet, Mimea. I had never figured that any Pet that could possibly interest me could ever come out of one of Raoul's labs, and I always assumed that it was because your genetic make-up simply did not allow for anything even remotely interesting in your personalities, or rather lack thereof. But now I wonder whether it was not the nature, but in fact the nurture that made you into what you are. It appears to be the only explanation as to why a harmless, boring Pet can turn into a wild mongrel-like creature overnight, given the right circumstances."
Urged on by courage she did not even know she had within her frail chest, she responded again, be it that her voice was somewhat trembling and still sore from the shouting. "I am not the only one who's changed. And that's why you want me, isn't it? You want to study the effect Riki has had on me in order to understand the same effect within yourself better. But you can't study yourself objectively, therefore you have to study me instead."
"Indeed, that was my initial intent for purchasing you and bringing you here. However now I have observed something even more remarkable in you: you have not merely changed through your encounters with Riki, you have become more like him. I can see it clearly now, the raging fire in your expression, the anger in your incoherent movements, the way in which you lash out and act completely outside of your own interest. Of course a Pet does not have the same kind of self-restraint one such as myself would have, yet to act in such an uncontrolled manner as you just did would be utterly unthinkable for any Pet I have ever heard of. Except for my own, of course", the blonde spoke in the same bored tone as always while nonchalantly nipping from his glass, however there was a slight spark of amusement detectable in his usually empty gaze.
"Apparently your self-restraint is not as perfect as you thought, since you could not restrain yourself from bringing a mongrel here and fornicating with him", Mimea mockingly went on. She did it almost without conscious thought, for a relentless urge to put the other in his place hade made itself master of her. Perhaps she was just testing the waters, but it seemed more as if she was plunging head-long into their very depths.
"You sound as if you disapprove? My my, that is a very hypocritical thing to say for you, isn't it, Mimea? Seeing as how you were not too hesitant yourself to fornicate with said mongrel, without anyone's permission", the Elite sneeringly pointed out, no longer bothering to mask any of the imperfect jealousy and possessiveness that shone through in his perfectly symmetrical features.
"I don't disapprove, for love needs no permission. In fact … in fact it gives me a better opinion of you. I can see now that I am not the only one who changed", the girl with the fiery hair responded, as she began eating her soup with rather ill-mannered, large scoops. Regardless of any immediate danger she was still in, she had not had a decent meal in six months and was not about to waste this opportunity. This must have been what Riki had felt like all his life. Hungry. Hurt. Cold. Cast out.
"Yes, but is the change for better or for worse, I wonder?" The cold-hearted Elite wondered while slightly rising his elegant, fair eyebrows. In the mean time the timid Furniture had carefully approached the unpredictable Pet once more, this time armed with a medical kit to take care of the shallow cuts she had inflicted upon herself.
"Whether you'd want to be stupid and naively happy, or knowing and truthfully unhappy? Doesn't sound like a very difficult choice to me. I'd prefer someone who truly hated me over someone who pretended to love me any day", the formerly innocent girl responded, realising full well that true hate was in all probability what Riki now felt for her, after his indiscretions with her had undoubtedly caused him to be punished severely by the unrelentingly vicious android she was currently having a semi-civilised conversation with.
"Ah, yes. The blissful ignorance of all those spellbound by Tanagura's splendour and magnificence. I suppose that knowing exactly how said system functions on all levels, does not exclude one from falling under its spell himself. Let us say that I was apparently waiting in blissful boredom until such an opportunity as Riki the Dark presented itself to me", Iason spoke with an inhuman attachment that was highly unusual when considering that the statement was in fact of a very personal nature to him. "I must admit that I had always considered this recent endeavour of mine to defy the Tanaguran system to be a solo-operation, simply because no one else here seems to understand the appeal Riki has to me. They're all too busy being "stupid" and "naively happy", as you've so accurately put it. But not you. You and I have something in common in that way, do we not?"
"Desiring the same lover is not usually a common cause that results in friendship, is it?" The former Pet gestured to Cal to fill her plate once more, better to take advantage of the situation while it lasted. But she was not about to voice any sentiment she did not feel, regardless.
"We both know there is no such thing as friendship in Tanagura. But a mutual agreement could go a long way for one in your current predicament", her malevolent host added, now attempting to keep the rancorous undercurrent out of his voice. There was no rational reason for those feelings, as they belonged to the past and did not serve his purposes at the moment. Even if he had been recently blessed with the ability to feel something for someone, he still thought like a calculating, unfeeling Elite: rational, practical, patient, mathematical.
"So what is it you want me to do? Not fornicate again with Riki? Never gaze upon his face again? That shouldn't be too hard to accomplish when I'm locked up in here and he's roaming the streets out there. And I haven't forgotten how he betrayed me. I'm not a fool, I know he does not feel for me as I do for him. I know now that he was just using me to make you jealous. So in the end you've nothing to worry about: it's always been all about you, even for him."
"That's exactly the thing. You do not wish to feel for him anymore, as it is clearly disastrous for you. But it does not work that way, does it? You can't just turn it off when it does not suit your purpose anymore."
"It is not because I still feel something that I ought to act on it when I see him. If you want me to promise you not to, I will, because I was not planning on acting in that way anyhow."
"No. In fact I was hoping you would do exactly that, for this time it would in fact be to the advantage of both of us." The reintroduced Pet raised a freshly epilated eyebrow at that, her unnaturally bright eyes widening slightly. The blonde synthetic looked right at her as he continued to speak, entirely in control of his facial mimicry once more while spinning an intricate web to catch that ever-evasive prey that was Riki.
"You see, you are right. The reason he went to you willingly and not to me is because he does not feel threatened by you, he thinks he can handle you because you are too innocent, too dumb to do him any harm. And you were. But thanks to his own efforts, you are not so now. How far are you willing to go to make your position in this household permanent and to see the object of your affections on a day-by-day basis again, perhaps to do even more than just gazing upon him?", the fallen angel said in one of his most seductively silky but simultaneously threateningly harsh tones.
If she agreed she could get everything that one of her standing had ever desired, and maybe even part of what it was she now truly desired, if she would be willing to compromise on the mongrel's devotion. But if she disagreed, The Red Lotus would seem like a harmless bee-sting compared to the next place she would be sold off to. At least they had left her in one piece at least physically in there, and they had not botched up her memories or sense of self with drugs or chirurgical interventions of any sort.
She's just done what she's been told
Her heart is turning to stone
Mimea remained quietly picking at her dessert for some time after that final question, the very climax this entire confrontation with the icy devil had doubtlessly been leading up to. How she responded now would determine how she spent the rest of her life and how long that life was going to be. Everything depended on this moment, her uncertain future was dangling on a mere thread. But of course as long as she lived in Tanagura it would always be that way, but she figured it would be preferable that thread were made out of steel rather than silk. She was aware that said thread could also suffocate her in its web, but she would definitely choose that over a certain fall once her own silk thread snapped. It was only a matter of time, and an Elite as powerful as Iason Mink could buy her as much time as she could ever get in this place. So the only question that remained was: could she betray the one she loved and hand him over to the competition?
"I have but one question to ask before I make up my mind, Lord Mink", she said in her softest, most alluring voice but in her eyes there burned a dangerous flame, fuelled by both heartbreak and ambition. She might be damaged goods but she had not lost all of her natural charms, in fact from Iason Mink's perspective her brush with reality had helped her gain charms rather than lose them.
Here at the end of this girl
"Which is?", he inquired, not adding any more words than were necessary at this point, for he could already sense that he had snared at least this prey already. What they were discussing now was merely how high the price was going to be.
"Do you truly love him?" And as she finally spilled out the words she had been dying to speak ever since she had laid eyes upon her icy competitor, she could not help but smile.
This time she finally feels like she's coming home
A wicked, gleeful smile that expressed an ominous satisfaction in the knowledge that the other did have a weakness, an imperfection, and a very significant one at that. Yes, they were negotiating terms here. But they were doing so as equals, because both had access to something that the other needed like air to breathe.
Like she's coming home
A disturbingly similar yet more distantly regulated smile appeared on the Elite's divinely inhuman, purely white face. He had been right about her …
She's coming home.
…..
To Be Continued …
…..
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