"Regina?"
The pretty brunette sat up at the sound of that soft voice.
"Regina, wake up my little lovely." The voice was so gentle and tender. A woman's voice; like the warm sun on her cheeks in the spring. It was so sweet and she sighed happily as she dropped her pretty porcelain doll and ran towards the woman. Her face was blurry but she could make out the beautiful ruby and emerald ring on her finger. The gold was woven around the gems in a pretty braided pattern as she reached for the woman's hand.
"Regina?" The voice was no longer a woman's but a man's. "Regina, wake up. It's time for dinner."
She sat up, pulling her blanket around herself a bit tighter. It took her a moment to orient herself. The first thing she took in was that every muscle in her body was screaming from her quick movements. She let out a soft whimper before collapsing back on the floor of the large crate.
"Mistress said you'd be hurting and that you probably wouldn't want to eat." Jefferson's voice was soft sympathetic even.
"It hurts." She managed to get out as she tried to make her teeth stop chattering. It hadn't been this bad when Emma was petting her, why had her body suddenly decided to lock up like this?
"I know. It's supposed to hurt, it's meant to incapacitate you." Jefferson pointed out as he carefully settled himself in front of her crate.
She glanced over at him. "It wasn't that bad before," She whispered.
"No, it's worse later on because your muscles have time to stiffen. They hurt worse because of it. You have to loosen them before you'll be able to get comfortable again. The longer you allow them to harden up, the worst the pain is." He explained carefully. Despite the dull throbbing in his leg, he still managed to speak as calmly as ever.
"How do I do that?" She asked, trying to stop the tears from leaking from the corners of her eyes. Her body hurt so badly.
"A hot bath or a massage. Either one would help."
"I'd have to leave my crate for both." She pointed out.
"Do you not wish to leave it?" He asked her, with a small kind smile.
"No, but if I leave here, she might take it away."
"She won't take it away."
"How do you know?" Regina cut her eyes at him, still not willing to trust him or the other woman at all.
"Because she told you she wouldn't." As if it were that simple.
Regina snorted as she forced herself into a sitting position, her back screamed in protest and she groaned softly. Jefferson looked at her sympathetically but didn't say a word.
"And I'm supposed to trust her on her word?"
"Has she lied to you yet?" Jefferson answered her question with a question.
Glaring at him, she folded her arms carefully across her chest. Uncomfortable, she dropped them to her sides immediately.
"She is with her friend. Even if she wanted to take your crate away she wouldn't while they're here." He tried to reason with her.
Chewing on her lip, the little brunette made up her mind.
"I won't leave here for long."
"You don't have to. I'll run you a bath and then you can relax until your muscles loosen up. Then you can come back and rest." He offered, trying to coax her from the crate.
"You know once my body isn't hurting, I'll try to run?" she cocked her head.
"I am well acquainted with that fact but I think we both know it's a bad idea. For one you don't even know where you are going and for two you're still weak and sore from what happened with the slavers."
"According to you, I will be maimed if I try to run."
"If you get caught, you will." He stood up carefully, easing his weight to his good leg. "Unfortunately," He spoke a bit louder, "there is only so many places you can hide before you're caught."
"I'm pretty good at hiding. I've been hiding for four or five years now." Regina pointed out. She sighed as she watched his legs move away before she tried to settle back and relax as much as possible. Her body was still screaming at her and she felt a bit nauseated from the pain.
"So this is her?" Aurora asked as she knelt down in front of the crate.
Despite her wet hair and slightly ragged appearance, Regina glared at her daring her to say something about her physical appearance. She knew she looked bad but frankly she didn't care what this woman or Emma thought of her.
"Isn't she lovely?" Aurora was smiling as she looked up at Emma.
"Indeed she is." The brunette cut her eyes upward before pulling her blanket a bit tighter around her. Jefferson had found her a nightgown to wear but it was rather thin and she wasn't comfortable having her body so openly displayed to the strangers in front of her. Jefferson, she noted, was nowhere to be found.
Aurora frowned noting the way Regina covered herself.
"Emma it's not a good idea to allow it to do that." She pointed out as Emma knelt down.
The blonde cut her eyes at the younger woman before looking back at her new pet. She cocked her head to one side, noticing the little brunette baring her teeth.
"I think it's all right." She finally said. "I keep it rather cold in here. I would rather her be comfortable."
"It's not good to spoil it so much." Aurora's big eyes stared at Emma. "Otherwise they think they can get away with anything."
"It's mine Aurora and I'll do what I choose to with her." Emma turned her eyes towards the little brunette in her crate. "I would rather her be comfortable while we get to know one another."
"You should be more concerned about her knowing your wants and needs." Aurora sighed as Emma cut her eyes back towards her once more.
She lifted her hands. "Fine, fine. It's yours to do what you want with it."
"And that's exactly how it will be. Come let's go and enjoy some apple crumb." Emma stood up and offered her hand to her pretty younger friend.
"Of course." The pretty brunette offered her a small smile. "Would you like to stay with Emma's pet?" She looked back and for the first time Regina noticed someone else sitting just behind her.
"No ma'am. I'd like to stay with you." The Asian girl replied easily with her eyes on the floor.
Regina felt her stomach turn at the sight. There was no way in the seven hells that she'd act like that. She twisted, her body feeling much more at ease as she put her back to the others. Her own little form of protest.
"You should stop that behavior Emma. It's bad for it to think that's okay."
"That's enough Aurora. I know you mean well but do not proceed to tell me how to train my pet. It's mine, not yours and I will do with her what I choose." Emma snapped, her voice low but dangerous.
Regina turned her head looking up at the sound of the blonde woman's voice. She shivered a bit and curled up a bit tighter. Somehow she didn't think that boded well for her.
"You're right, I'm sorry. You do what you think is right. I'm just worried for you. I want you to succeed with this one."
"And I will. I will punish and reward her as I see fit. Now let's leave her to rest in peace. She's had a long day and I would rather her sleep."
The little brunette in the crate let out a puff of air as she relaxed back. She was in no mood to deal with these people tonight. When they were gone, she laid back down sighing softly as her body relaxed. She was almost asleep when she heard a throat clear.
She looked over her shoulder to see the blonde woman kneeling down. "Here I brought you some of the apple crumb Jefferson made. He said you really enjoyed the apples."
Regina sat up staring at the blonde who offered her a soft smile. "Eat, you look half starved. You could use the extra weight."
"Why do you care if I look half starved?" She asked.
"Because no one deserves to go to bed with an empty belly."
"And what would you know about starving?" She snipped as she tightened her grip on the blanket.
"More than you think I do. Eat and then get some rest. It's for the best."
The brunette girl opened her mouth to speak but the blonde woman was already gone. She frowned before sliding forward. Glancing out to make sure she was alone, she snatched the plate and began to devour the warm crumble.
She was almost asleep when she heard the door open and then close with an audible click. She sat up a bit watching the opening of her crate wearily as the blonde woman knelt in front of it after a few moments of listening to her movements. Tired green eyes stared into the darkness and she glared back daring the woman to say anything to her.
"Are you comfortable?" She asked. Regina physically pulled back at the soft tone of her voice.
Her lips parted before she forced herself to speak. "Why do you care if I'm comfortable or not?" She couldn't let the woman think she was softening up to her.
"I'll bring you some more pillows to sleep on, I know this wood is hard and I'm sure it hurts." The woman's voice was still tired. Her shoulders were hunched slightly as though she were bearing some heavy physical burden.
"I'm fine," Regina finally responded.
The blonde woman nodded, "All right. This is your room by the way. If you feel the urge to explore it you may. You'll sleep here when you're not in my bed. Everything here is for your use. Don't destroy it though or I'll take it all away from you and restrict you to the crate for however long it takes for you to realize your mistake."
The brunette's jaw clenched. "Why would you think I have any desire to use things that belong to you?"
"You may as well adjust to the fact that this is your life now. The sooner you accept it, the better off you'll be."
"I'll never accept this. This is a fate worse than death to me." Her voice was fierce but it didn't take much to hear the slight tremble to it.
"So be it little one. Do as you like but if you refuse to come out then I'll force you out as simple as that."
"I thought you said this was mine and I could stay here as long as I like?"
"Within reason you may." The blonde woman conceded as she climbed to her feet. "But remember your life is in my hands and I can do with your body as I choose. Don't think I won't take advantage of that fact."
"You'd rape me then?"
"Your body is mine. Is it considered rape if it belongs to me?" Emma asked, but it was impossible for the little brunette to see the woman's disgusted face from her standing position. Best if she didn't, even if the blonde had no intention of raping her, the fear would do her some good. Perhaps she'd fall from the pedestal she had put herself on that much sooner.
"You're disgusting." She snarled.
"And you're mine. I bought and paid for you just like anything else I own. You're my property and I'll treat you as such."
"Leave me alone."
"The door will be locked as soon as I leave and the windows are barred. You're not going anywhere so you'd best get that out of your head. I'm being patient with you little one but don't think I won't punish you for your wrong actions should you take any."
"You'd have to catch me first."
"Oh I'd catch you just fine. You'd best be more concerned about what you'll endure once you're caught because it's an inevitable thing if you choose to try and run."
The old familiar argument wasn't comforting at all to either woman but it seemed to be a part of their routine now and they both fell into it easily.