"This is your room." Solace told Alase as she unlocked the door. "That is my and Master Nooj's bedroom." She pointed to the door a little ways down at the end of the hall. "You are never to go in there without permission. You'll be severely punished if you do. Now go see your new room. If you ever want to redecorate, that can be arranged." She opened the door and Whore crawled inside.
Looking around, she noticed it wasn't much different from the first room she had been in at Master Baralai's house, since it also had an adjoining bathroom. The dark wood of the walls and the dark blue of the bedding were accented by sheer curtains and lacy pillows in a pale ivory color. Having the window covered made her happy, she wouldn't have to look outside. "It's…I…this is more than I deserve." Whore started sobbing.
"Ssshhh." Solace got down on the floor with her, stroking her hair, and Whore couldn't stop herself from burying her head in Solace's lap, unsure what she felt as Solace comforted her. "I have a few phone calls and other things to do myself, you're worn out already, why don't you rest in bed and I'll be back soon." Solace told her when she calmed down.
"You're leaving me alone?" Whore asked, sounding like a scared young girl.
"No, I'll still be in the house. I'll leave the door open so you know I'm still here." she replied reassuringly. Whore quickly crawled into bed when she said that, and then noticed her Light smiling at her. "Uh, you can take off your robe and slippers first. You are allowed to be naked in your own room. I'll be back soon." she repeated, making sure to leave the door open so Alase wouldn't feel trapped and alone.
Whore undressed, putting the robe and slippers next to her on the bed, then she closed her eyes, trying to sort out everything that's already happened during her tumultuous morning. Her Mistress…Whore paused in her thoughts as she didn't refer to Solace as her Light, feeling scared again at her blasphemy. Solace's voice echoed in her head, when she ordered her to address her as Mistress or my Lady. If that's what she wanted, it wasn't wrong, was it? Finally Whore was able to justify it by deciding that Mistress and Lady must be other words for Light. It did make her feel better to know that she could differentiate between Solace and Arrass. He would remain as her original Light, and she wouldn't confuse herself by referring to them both as her Light. Letting out a relieved sigh, her mental exhaustion took over and she was soon fast asleep.
A loud clap of thunder startled Whore awake, and she was disoriented at first, the dim light of the room making she was in a prison cell, until she saw the open door. Calming down, she got out of bed and crawled to the doorway, leaving her bathrobe and slippers on the bed. "Mistress?" she called out. Wondering if she had overslept and upset her Mistress, she felt herself start to panic again. "Mistress? I'm ready to be taught more!" Her panic grew when there was no answer, the storm raging overhead adding to her fear. Maybe she was in the kitchen. Daring to venture out of her room, she wandered until she found the stairs and crawled down them, still calling out for her Mistress as her voice grew more shrill each time. She was just passing by the front door when it suddenly opened, wind and rain coming in along with Solace, who had an umbrella in one hand, and a big colorful bag with three packages in it.
"Oh!" Solace exclaimed when she Alase naked in front of her. She quickly closed the front door. "Where are you bathrobe and slippers?"
"I thought you had abandoned me. I didn't mean to sleep so long!" Whore exclaimed, tears of joy running down her face at being in her Mistress' presence again. Then her words penetrated and she looked down at her naked body. She had broken another rule. "I'm sorry I forgot them. Please don't…"
"It's a good thing we're alone." Solace remarked deciding it was best to ignore Alase's outburst this time. The woman was bound to be easily emotional after what she'd been through, but she didn't want to inadvertently encourage her to get hysterical by offering her the comfort she unconsciously sought every time. She closed her umbrella and took off her raincoat, hanging them both up. "Go back to your room and get them. I'll go put the kettle on, so we can have some hot tea or cocoa to warm up. Then I'll meet you in your room, we'll need to hang the dresses up anyway. They arrived, but the storm knocked out the electronics for the gate, so I had to go down myself and get them. That's the advantage of the boutique only being a couple miles away, they offer same-day delivery for special clients if you do."
Whore got a hold of herself and started slowly up the stairs, her fright having made her unable to remember where her room was, and she didn't want to appear stupid. She hadn't been punished yet, and she didn't know how she would punish her, since her Mistress hadn't treated her quite how she was used to. Whore was sure the punishment would be horrific though, and the worst part was she knew she deserved it. Solace appeared at the bottom of the stairs just as she reached the top.
"Why aren't you in your room already? Are your legs hurting worse?" she asked Alase when she joined her at the top.
"No Mistress, I just…" Whore stopped, unable to lie to her, but so scared of telling the truth.
"Just what?" Solace demanded to know. When Alase didn't answer right away, Solace put the boutique's bag on the floor and cupped Alase's face in her hands and forcing her to make eye contact, wondering why the woman seemed so terrified. "You're scared, I know. But in this house, you will never be punished for honesty. But we will punish you for disobedience, however. So when I ask you a question, you will always answer it, won't you?"
"Yes, Mistress." Whore's eyes had widened when her Mistress said she knew how scared she was. She could read minds! But then why didn't she know why she was so scared?
"So then be obedient and answer my question." Solace demanded.
"I…I don't remember where my room is." Whore shamefully admitted. She understood now, her Mistress did know why she was scared, she was just testing her obedience. "I know I'm stupid…"
"Don't you ever say that again." Solace interrupted her harshly, tightening her grip on Alase's face, and her eyes widened again, this time with more respect. "We are in charge of deciding what you are or are not, that's why we are responsible for the rest of you training. And you will trust us without fail if you want to be trained properly."
"Oh, I do trust you, Mistress!" Whore quickly exclaimed. "I'll always trust you!"
Solace felt distinctly uncomfortable and guilty at the sheer adoration that brightened up Alase's dull eyes as she looked at her. She released Alase and quickly stood up, picking up the boutique bag. "Yes, well, I'll draw you a map to help you until you're familiar with our house. Your room is this way." Solace turned left and started down the hallway, Alase following her like a faithful puppy.