Chapter 2

That hadn't hurt as badly as she thought it would and Tahlia was relieved, continuing to do her breathing treatment. It was the only way to get through staying perfectly still while he carved into her skin with the silver dagger. His voice pronounced they would know why they were afraid of the dark and they would learn to adapt. After that, another symbol hanging in the air from the rafters exploded on fire, signaling the end of the initiation. Tahlia could feel the symbol being wheeled to the back by Bradshaw and slowly opened her eyes, thankful he'd covered her lower half with the shredded robe. Once the binds were cut from her wrists and ankles, Tahlia stepped off of the symbol just as Undertaker came through the curtain. Mideon was already off of his and admiring the huge symbol carved into his chest.

Apparently, Paul was thinking the same thing about Mideon potentially being a fanatic because Taker caught him eyeing the man speculatively. All about keeping Mideon controlled. He halted in front of Tahlia, who other than just a hint of a flush to her cheeks, seemed just as composed as ever. He liked that. She would be a good fit.

"Brother Paul will treat those and ensure they heal as they should." He informed them both, glancing at Mideon and then back to Tahlia. "You did well."

"Thank you, sir." Tahlia replied with the barest hint of a smile, not showing the discomfort she currently felt and kept her eyes locked with his.

They were all equals now, so they could look their master in the eye. He preferred it that way; looking down signified to him something was wrong or perhaps they were hiding. The carving was small, it wouldn't take much to treat, but Tahlia knew better than to question what the master wanted done.

"If it's alright with you, I think Paul should focus on Mideon. I can handle this on my own."

Paul raised a brow at the mistress and shrugged, handing over the bottle of peroxide and bandage he planned on using. "If you insist." Personally, he agreed with her as far as Mideon needing his assistance more.

Bowing her head out of respect, Tahlia took her leave into the bathroom to treat her wound and change into regular clothes, all black and purple, as requested by Undertaker.

Shaking his head, he moved to sit on the locker room bench and shed his heavy robe, rolling his shoulders back. Sighing, Taker leaned back into the lockers, allowing the coldness from the metal to seep through his skin. He closed his eyes and reached for the straps to his wrestling attire, which he had worn beneath the robe, pushing them down and then rolled his shoulders again. Much better. Everyone knew the game plan, knew what they were supposed to do, where they were supposed to be. He hoped the newest recruits were able to keep up and handle it because he was not in the business of handholding and baby stepping.

Nothing else would transpire that evening; it would give Tahlia and Mideon time to rest from the initiation. What happened next, she would be prepared for. Slipping into black jean leggings and a long sleeved purple top, Tahlia pulled her hair back in a messy bun since they were all heading back to the hotel. Her wound was cleaned and wrapped; it wouldn't bleed long and then she'd remove the bandage to let air coat it.

Being in the Ministry of Darkness was definitely a change of pace because everyone within the group traveled together. Tahlia didn't mind that just as long as she got her own hotel room, needing some kind of privacy being the only woman in the group and all. Walking out, Tahlia froze at the sight of Undertaker shirtless, sitting on the bench with his head lulled back and eyes closed. Had he fallen asleep? Nobody else was in the locker room, just them and Tahlia didn't know what to do, chewing her bottom lip thoughtfully.

"Sir?" She called out, taking a step toward him and didn't see him flinch, frowning. "Undertaker?"

Another failed attempt at waking him. Sleeping on this bench wouldn't do well for him or his body. Finally, Tahlia stopped in front of him and placed a hand on his bare shoulder, hoping she didn't regret this.

"Undertaker, sir?"

Taker had fallen asleep. The sound of silence had lulled him there once everyone, except her, had filed out. He had been busy lately, on top of being an insomniac and tended to doze in the strangest of places, if it was quiet enough and he was relaxed enough. However, the moment her palm touched him, his eyes snapped opened and his hand flew out, catching her by the wrist and dragging her down to him. It took him a moment to realize who the touch belonged to and he growled, more at himself then her.

"What, Tahlia?"

That was a reaction she hadn't been expecting, amber eyes wide in wonder and maybe a hint of fear. It was good to fear the master, kept everyone on their toes with his volatile nature. Not to mention, it showed respect.

"I-I'm sorry, sir." She cleared her throat, hating that her voice had stammered and didn't move even though their noses were practically touching. "Sleeping here isn't wise considering who else is still in the building." Tahlia referred to the Corporation since the Ministry was about to be at war with them. "I was just trying to help…" She had to fight the urge not to lower her eyes from him and was sure he could hear how hard her heart pounded against her chest.

"Point taken." He admitted grudgingly, though he was fairly certain he would have woken up if that heavy locker room door had been opened; that damn thing squeaked like crazy.

Not necessarily a bad thing, especially if he was going to fall asleep. Taker stood up and stretched, realizing he had taken her with him and looked down, tipping his head. His hair spilled down over his shoulder as he considered her, letting go of her wrist so she could right herself. Tahlia took a few steps back to give him room and grabbed her bag, which spilled to the floor the moment he snatched her against him. Luckily, she'd remained on her feet and hadn't landed directly in his lap. She looked back at him, noticing how tired he was and honestly didn't want him driving back to the hotel for fear he'd fall asleep at the wheel.

"Please don't take this the wrong way, but you look dead on your feet, sir. Why don't you let me drive us back to the hotel? Mideon was my ride and he left with Paul to tend to his chest. You'd be doing me a huge favor." Otherwise, she'd be calling a cab to come get her at the arena and there was no time frame on when it would arrive.

He considered that, studying her before finally nodding. "You're right." He said in a low, gravelly tone.

Taker was tired. Planning all this, scouting recruits, evading Vince McMahon and his cronies was tiring, on top of going out and performing for those mindless masses. Factor in working out and traveling in general…he could use a solid 30 minutes of sleep. He turned, not surprised to see his robe had been folded and set on his duffel bag, knowing one of the boys had done it before leaving. Slinging everything over his shoulder, Taker procured the keys to his rental and turned back, handing them to her.

More like a solid 8 hours, possibly longer. Tahlia didn't dare voice her thoughts of that magnitude to him and took the keys, having her own bag slung over her shoulder. The rest of her belongings were at the hotel, she had a separate bag just for the arenas with her gear and the clothes she'd worn tonight for the initiation. They walked silently out of the arena together, noticing not a lot of people were left. She set her bag in the backseat while Taker did the same thing with his and unlocked the vehicle, sliding behind the wheel.

Patiently waiting for him to make himself comfortable in the passenger seat, Tahlia started the engine and rubbed her hands together, wearing black gloves since it was freezing outside. Taker simply had a black leather duster on, not bothering to pull the straps of his wrestling attire back on his shoulders. Normally, she would've voiced on how cold it was outside, but Tahlia remembered who was in the vehicle with her and remained silent, letting the car warm up a few minutes before pulling out of the parking lot.

He had an unnaturally high body temperature and ran warm even on the coldest of days. Not that he made it a habit to go around nearly naked in the middle of winter or anything, but 5 minutes waiting on a car to heat up wouldn't kill him. Taker tipped his seat all the way back, folding his hands under his head and closed his eyes.

"You did well tonight, Tahlia." He said after a moment, giving her rare praise. She'd better store it for a rainy day because he wasn't in the habit of doling it out often.

He'd already complimented her once that night, so hearing it again made her fully believe he was past the point of exhaustion. "I'll admit, it was quite the experience and…I actually enjoyed it. Even the whole carving your symbol in my skin thing." Tahlia had looked over at him while speaking, once again locking eyes to make sure he knew she meant every word she said. "Riding on the dark side is fun. I think I'll enjoy whatever comes next." Finally, the car was starting to warm up as she cranked the heater on full blast, not feeling like an ice cube anymore.

"You enjoyed the…pain?" Taker kept his eyes closed, but he was not falling within the next few minutes, he knew that. Interesting. "Or just the act of the dagger piercing your skin, marking you…in front of all those people?" Because some people had voyeur sides; some didn't know it, some did. Tahlia had hidden depths he hadn't suspected. Or maybe he was overthinking it and she had just overall enjoyed how well everything had gone due to a simple rush of adrenaline.

"Honestly? Both." Tahlia had surrendered everything to him, so lying was pointless. "The whole experience was…indescribable. Part of it was adrenaline, but a bigger part was knowing I'm about to become part of something amazing and memorable. Besides, a little pain never hurt anyone, especially on a pleasurable occasion. And since I've never done something like that before, it was a rush." One she would never feel again as long as she lived, but at least she'd have the brand to prove what she'd done during her tenure in the WWF.

"If you ever decide you want to try knife play again, make sure it's with someone you trust." Just because one never knew with people. She might've found herself a new fetish to dip her toes in, if that was her thing. "Keep up on the wound care so it heals properly." Don't be like Mideon, who had been talking about pouring tattoo ink into the wound to make a type of jailhouse tattoo. He could already feel the regret when the man eventually got over this. "I'm sleeping now, Tahlia." Taker closed his eyes again.

That was his way of telling her to shut up and drive. Tahlia didn't have any fetishes, though she did enjoy being tattooed. Maybe that's why being carved into didn't bother her or hurt nearly as much as it should've. Again, high threshold and tolerance for pain. She drove back to the hotel, keeping the radio very low to where it wouldn't bother Taker's rest. Every once in a while, she glanced over at him at a red light or stop sign, admiring the manly beauty he possessed. His face was very handsome, even with the newly grown out devil beard that made him look satanic. It didn't bother her. The black fitted him well too.

35 minutes later, she pulled into the underground parking garage and cut the ignition, once again in a hell of a predicament. Taker slept soundly and deeply, his chest rising and falling in slow breaths. What was she supposed to do? The last time she tried waking him up, he'd grabbed her and nearly pulled her into his lap. Instead of trying that again, Tahlia opened her door and shut it loud enough that would jolt the master awake, grabbing her bag from the backseat.

One eye popped open and he groaned, rubbing a hand down his face. Taker was seriously considering sleeping in the car. After hearing the backdoor slam shut, he got in motion and out of the car. He retrieved his own things and headed inside, not surprised when she kept up with his long strides.

"If things don't work out…you'll have a career as a chauffeur." He informed her dryly; the only hint he made anything resembling a joke was the brief spark of amusement that flickered in his eyes.

Taker even displayed manners and held the door open for her, eyes automatically scanning the near empty hallway for anything that would interrupt them reaching their rooms. Lately, he had a problem with ring rats of an even odder variety than the usual. Rolling her eyes playfully back at him, Tahlia chortled at his lame attempt at a joke and shook her head.

"Please, I'd just go back to working in a garage on cars." She shrugged at his raised brow, stopping outside of her hotel room door and blinked when Taker did the same thing…only the door right beside hers. What the hell? "Get some sleep, sir. Good night."

Tahlia didn't know what else to say to him as she unlocked the door and walked inside, shutting it behind her. She set her bag down against the wall and kicked her shoes off, settling on the bed with a sigh. Either Taker set this up on purpose to keep an eye on her or…fate had a weird sense of humor.

Her room right next to his was just odd. He generally tried to take a room at the end of the hallway, near the exits, and without people on either side of him. Taker lived in hotels and motels, he knew what happened in the dead of the night. Loud sex or louder fights, or some combination of the two. Shaking his head, he kicked the door shut with his heel and dropped his stuff on the bed, beginning to shed his boots and ring attire. Shower. Then sleep. Maybe food. Mostly sleep.