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3. The Good Life

Like countless times before, the subtle swing of the cage that enclosed her had rocked her to sleep. It had been over an hour since Reaver had abandoned Anna once more but he had promised that someone would return to release her shortly. The young rebel awoke to the sound of creaking metal. Her bright green eyes shot open to see a maid standing beside the open cage door. The maid looked to be tall and thin, her face was emotionless as she stared at Anna in the cage.
"Master Reaver has instructed me to give you a bit of a makeover," the maid said, her stern eyes taking in every part of Anna's body, from her unkempt hair to her dirty clothes.
"Oh right," Anna replied, slightly offended, "And who are you?"
"Molly."

Anna nodded in acknowledgement of the name as she shuffled herself out the cage. The impact of her feet hitting the floor caused the rebel to wobble slightly. It had been a while since she had last walked and her legs were stiff and aching from being trapped in the large, metal enclosure.
"If you'd like to follow me," Molly said politely as if the instruction was optional, but Anna knew she had choice but to do as she was told. Molly escorted Anna out of the hidden room and up the dimly lit stairs that Reaver had dragged her down the day before. They entered a room that Anna still believed to be Reaver's own bedroom.

There was a roaring fire burning from within the fireplace, warming the entire room up. In front of the flames stood a large metal bath, filled to the top with clean, hot water. Anna thought for a moment, trying to remember the last time she had a bath. It must have been weeks ago and even then the water was not particularly clean or warm. That was one of the downsides to living in the Resistance Head Quarters, it was extremely difficult to keep good hygiene.
"First you must bathe," the maid said. Anna nodded, glancing down at the tattered fabric she wore as clothes. She began to undress by removing her gun holster from around her waist. In the commotion between Reaver and the rebels the day before, Anna had lost her gun, leaving the holster empty and useless.
"Have you worked here long?" Anna questioned, filling the slightly awkward silence with conversation.
"A while," Molly replied, taking the holster from the rebel, "A lot longer than most."
"Why is that?" Anna raised an eyebrow at the comment as she slowly unbuttoned her stained shirt, beginning to feel somewhat self-conscious by the woman stood in front of her.
"Master Reaver has a tendency to shoot those who disappoint him," the maid replied coldly.
"Why would you want to work for a man like that?" was all Anna managed to say, feeling completely on edge and unnerved. She could feel a large lump build in her throat and she swallowed hard. A million and one thoughts seemed to fly through Anna's head as she tried to comprehend the situation she was in. It didn't take a genius to realise she would have to go through with the party, no matter what. Nothing could be as bad as staring down the barrel of Reaver's pistol.
"It pays well and you get a lot of… bonuses," Molly said, a slight smirk gracing her thin lips. Although Anna was young and naïve, she understood the maid's reference. The rebel simply scrunched her nose up in disgust. "Although I must say, Master Reaver seems to be quite keen on you."
"What makes you say that?" Anna replied, taken aback by the comment.
"He's treated you a lot nicer than your friends."
"Why? What's he done to them?" The rebel asked in panic. Thoughts and images of what could have happened to her friends flew around her head. She thought being locked in a cage was bad enough, she despised thinking about what could have happened to the other Resistance fighters.
"I'm sure you'll find out soon enough. Now come on, if we keep standing around chit chatting you won't be ready in time for the party. Get in the water, I'll be back shortly with a sponge and soap."

Anna watched as the maid exited the room, leaving her completely alone. Despite it being the middle of the day, the curtains in the room were drawn and the main light source came from the fire. Reaver's bedroom was large, but it lacked furniture. Aside from the bathtub, there was a huge bed, two arms chairs and a few cupboards. But despite the lack of furnishings, the room did look exceptionally grand. Anna didn't expect anything less from Reaver though. There were also several paintings decorating the dark red walls and upon one wall was a huge mirror in an exceptionally, magnificent, gold frame. Anna looked at herself and frowned at her appearance. In the dim light she could still make out her thin and battered body, all a result of the life she lived in poverty.

The rebel couldn't deny, the bath looked incredibly inviting as the steam swirled above the water. Once Anna had kicked off her boots and finished removing the remainder of her clothes, she reached for the worn piece of string that kept her long plaited hair in tack. She pulled it gently and her plaited hair quickly loosened, now falling in soft waves. She stepped over to the metal tub and climbed into the hot water, letting it completely submerge her body. The feeling almost felt euphoric as she relaxed back in the tub. She had never felt anything quite like it, the feeling of warmth and relaxation.

Molly soon returned to the room carrying a sponge and a bar of soap and handed them to the young rebel. Anna promptly began using the two objects to clean her body. She was half impressed and half embarrassed by the amount of dirt and grime that came off her slender body. The once clean water quickly changed to resemble that of the Bowerstone Sewer. The girl continued to scrub and lather the soap on her body until no more dirt came off.
"I smell like a field of flowers," Anna mumbled in annoyance, not impressed by the feminine smell.
"Well it's much better than smelling like a toilet," Molly replied, handing Anna a dark red towel. She took it and hastily wrapped it around her naked body as she exited the bath. The maid gave her a quick smile, revealing a gap between her two front teeth.

"I have selected a dress for you to wear tonight," Molly continued as she walked over to the bed to retrieve the garment. On returning, she held the dress up, allowing for Anna to see it. Her emerald green eyes widened as she looked over the dress, she had never seen anything as elegant. The main colour of the costume was burgundy and it had black lace trim.
"I've never seen anything like it," Anna said in awe.
"I thought you might say something like that."

Anna shot the maid a small smile before returning to the task of drying herself. It didn't take long for her body to dry completely.
"Right, now, once you've got your dress on I can start on your hair and makeup," the maid announced, glancing towards the windows. There was a small crack in the drawn curtains, allowing for a golden beam of light to penetrate the room. It looked like the sun was beginning to set over Millfields.

Molly placed the dress on one of the armchairs and fetched some undergarments for Anna to put on first. Once the young rebel had, the maid helped her get into the dress, pulling it up her small frame and ensuring it fit her correctly before beginning to tighten the corset strings. Anna had never felt anything like it. With each pull of the strings, Anna found it harder and harder to breathe.

"I can't bloody breathe," Anna gasped, her hand clutching her stomach as she felt her waist get smaller and smaller. The corset not only shrunk her waist, but pushed her breasts together forcefully, making her cleavage extremely obvious to all who would see her. She did not know who would be attending this party Reaver was hosting and the way she was now dressed made her feel somewhat vulnerable.
"You're being dramatic," Molly replied, pulling the corset strings one last time before tying them.

The applying of the makeup was an extremely strange experience for Anna. Never in her life had she worn the stuff and as Molly applied it, Anna was happy she never had bothered with it. Every inch of her face was being poked or prodded by brushes or pencils. It made her wonder what Molly was doing to her face and whether it would even look good once completed.
"One more thing for makeup," Molly said as she waved a lipstick in front of Anna's face. The rebel's nose instantly scrunched up in disgust as the lid to the lipstick was removed, revealing it to be a dark red colour.
"Oh, that won't suit me," Anna commented.
"You don't know what suits you and what doesn't, it'll look lovely on you," Molly reassured her as she went about apply the lipstick to Anna's plump lips.

"Now for hair," Molly walked around to the back of Anna and ran her fingers through the girl's dark wavy locks. "I'm thinking an up do!"

Before Anna could mutter a word in objection, Molly began scraping her long hair into a bun and securing it in place with a diamond encrusted hair grip.
"Just a few finishing touches," the maid mumbled as she placed a diamond necklace around Anna's neck, fastening it effortless. She then proceeded to hand the rebel a pair of long black gloves and a pair of black heels. She put both on without complaining.

Molly looked the girl up and down and a small smile graced her lips.
"Much better," she commented as Anna made her way to the mirror to inspect what Molly had done to her. The rebel's eyes widened in shock as she took in her new appearance.
"Wow," was the only word Anna could find to say. The girl staring back at her in the mirror was unrecognisable. She looked wealthy and sophisticated. She looked like the girl Anna dreamt she would one day be. The way she looked instantly made her feel more confident about the party she was about to walk into and the night that was ahead of her.

I'm sorry this chapter was kind of slow and boring. I promise the next chapter is when the fun starts.

Thanks for reading!