Chapter 8

She was on fire, every part of her body yearning and aching for completely different reason. The slight pain she'd been in earlier had evaporated and all that was left was the forest fire engulfing her from head to toe. Tahlia would've given just about anything to have the fire put out, swallowing hard at his questions firing off one after the other at her.

"I do not presume to know my master's reasoning for what he does, only that I accept it."

Taker would not break her, not now or ever; every line he could've crossed happened with her first few weeks in the Ministry. Tahlia had no qualms about any of it, enjoying the majority of it mostly. They were definitely going to have fun, he could tell. Taker stepped back, removing his robe deftly. Within seconds, he had Tahlia wrapped in it and turned her around, staring down into her eyes intently.

"You will break, Tahlia." He informed her, pulling her back towards the bench near the lockers where his duffel bag was. "The question is: which way will you fall when you do?" Would she break because of what he would eventually do or because she had allowed it to be done?

Tahlia clutched the robe to her body tightly, amber eyes full of perplexity at his words. "I don't understand. You WANT me to break? You want me to stand here and tell call you a bastard for treating me differently than the other members of this group? You want me to tell you how degraded and low I feel after you forced me to strip in front of you? Because I have tits and a vagina instead of a dick? Is that what you want me to do?" Taking the robe off, Tahlia dropped it on the bench in front of him and scooped up her clothes, her amber orbs finally full of gold fire much like they had been earlier when she was out in the ring. "Oh wait, I guess I just did, SIR." Storming into the bathroom, Tahlia slammed the door shut and gripped her hair in her fingers, trembling so hard her teeth began to chatter.

He began laughing at her outburst, a deep hearty laugh that echoed around the room and then began changing into his street attire while she did whatever she was doing in there. Taker waited patiently, keeping track of the time. When she was in there for a bit longer than he had thought necessary, he knocked once and then made his way inside. He wasn't surprised to find her staring at herself in front of the mirror, anger blazing in her features.

"When you keep objectifying yourself, you can expect others to do the same, Tahlia. You say it's because you have tits and a vagina?" He stared at her through the mirror. "Maybe. But none of my men, with the disturbing exception of Mideon, have gone as far as you to prove your devotion to me. So, tell me, why do you feel it necessary to prove your worth in any which way?"

"When we were taken, Mideon and I, we were told we had to obey you. Every command, no matter how demeaning, was to be followed. Every order given was to be done, no questions asked. Our devotion to you was either all or nothing." Tahlia couldn't meet his eyes in the reflection and shook her head, gripping the sink harder. She was fully dressed back in the clothes he forced her to take off, her bag sitting beside her on the floor. "And if we didn't obey our Lord and master, we would be punished. If we failed you in any way, shape or form, we would be punished. I'm only doing what I was told and I thought that's what you wanted." Spinning around to face him, Tahlia folded her arms in front of her chest eyeing Taker coolly, the anger in her eyes diminished for the time being. "And why I try to prove myself to you is simple. I respect you and I want to follow you. I want to be here. I want to fight for your cause and help you take out the Corporation, to bring the WWF to its knees." While she spoke, Tahlia slowly made her way over to him and kept eye contact the entire time. "I vowed to obey you and follow your lead, to be your soldier in the war we're about to be in. Anything you want, is yours. Doesn't mean I have to like some or all of the things you do, but I'll do them because you command it."

"You do realize, Tahlia, that I demand that at first? Have you heard me speak that way since?" Taker had not. "It is to prepare you for what might come, to make sure you understand what might be required of you. I want devotion, but I don't want blind devotion." Because he was seeing where that was going with Mideon, badly. "When I tell you that your only failing tonight was not being prepared for Kane, that is the truth. You, in your desire to be perfect -for me or yourself- had you thinking elsewise." He reached out, fingering a lock of her purple dyed hair thoughtfully. "You did well tonight in that fight. Your flaw was lack of foresight. And if what I require of you challenges who you are, at your very core, then speak up because you weren't recruited for just your prowess in the ring." He had recruited her for the total package. It'd be a shame if her spirit and personality were locked away because he needed to refine his indoctrination speeches.

"You want me to speak my mind freely? Here it is. I was a dumbass tonight. I should've known that Amazon bitch would bring Kane to the ring and I completely forgot about it. Why? Because I was so hell bent on revenge because of what that she-man cost me. That WWF women's title is MINE. I never lost it, I was screwed out of it and Sable is prancing around here acting like she's the greatest thing since sliced bread. I want to rip her fake blonde hair out of her hair and choke her with it." Tahlia had to take a breath and shut her eyes, reigning her temper back in where it needed to stay for the time being. "Being angry blinded me to things I should've been more prepared for. That's why I didn't do well tonight. Because again, I was a dumbass and that win means nothing to me. I want to actually beat her, pin her or make her submit and earn respect, not just take it and have people think I don't deserve it. I have a lot to prove to you and…you're right, I am a perfectionist. And I'm damn hard on myself, but it'll only make me stronger. I can't promise I won't fail you again, but I'll do all I can not to do it. Sorry for the rant." She muttered that last part, chewing her bottom lip and averted her eyes from his, letting out another shuddering breath.

She had averted her eyes from him and Taker felt this was disconcerting. "I want you to stand up when you're asked to do something that is against who you are." He corrected gently, noting she hadn't finished dressing completely and reached around her for the salve that Paul usually set out in the bathrooms for the Ministry to use in the event they got their backsides handed to them. Taker opened it and kneeled before her, dipping two fingers into the cream. "I want you to follow me, but not mindlessly. Not you." Because it went against who she was and Tahlia would need this fire of hers within days to come; he was sure of it.

The adrenaline had worn off, so the salve stung a bit when he applied the salve to her bruised abdomen, still shirtless with just her bra on. Tahlia had put it on along with her panties and jeans, just not her shirt, too heated to have a long-sleeved top on. He wanted her to stand up for herself and not take any grief, but how far did that go? Something was brewing between her and Taker; Tahlia could feel it and didn't know how to feel about the possibility of getting close to the Lord of Darkness.

Her Lord.

"Even you?" She asked softly, placing her hands on his broad shoulders while he tended to her for the second time. "Do you want me to defend myself against you, if you say or do something I don't like? Or are you the only exception to that rule?" Her eyes followed him as he rose back to his feet and turned her around, moving her hair to rest over her shoulder while he applied salve to her back.

"Fight me if you wish, if I overstep my boundaries." Taker said finally, knowing they were setting off down a path that would be interesting to say the least. "But... you will not do so in front of the Ministry. And I... I will endeavor not to put you in those positions before them." That was about as good as she was going to get from him and he gently moved her bra strap aside, finishing with the salve before slowly pushing it back in place, resting his chin on her shoulder. "Is defense necessary if you like it?" He rumbled, his lips brushing against her throat even though his gaze never left hers.

"I suppose not." She replied coyly, eyeing him from the side and the spot on her throat burned from his lips. They were a lot softer than she originally thought. "And I'm only admitting this to you since we're alone, but…" Tahlia was begging for trouble with what came out of her mouth next. "I didn't mind stripping in front of you, not completely." Had he been thinking back to the hot tub at the mansion, the kiss under the water, because she hadn't been able to forget about it. "Thank you for tending to me again. You didn't have to do that, but I'm glad you did." She would call him sir in front of the other members, but once they were alone, it was either Taker or nothing at all.

Taker had already gathered that. There had been plenty of nudity or partial nudity between them lately, enough to where, if there was a problem, it probably would have manifested itself by now. Or she would have just informed him in her little rant.

"You're very-"

"Undertaker?"

He let out a very long string of curses, all under his breath. Taker stepped out of the bathroom, the salve in one hand and arched an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Master, I came to see if you-" Mideon faltered, his eyes straying past Taker to the bathroom where Tahlia was now pulling on a shirt and then to the cream in Taker's hand. "If you needed a ride..."

Tahlia knew their time had ended abruptly and smoothed the shirt down her body, already seeing future problems with Mideon. He would assume what didn't happen and she could feel a headache already forming. Maybe getting involved with Taker wasn't the smartest idea, especially being one of his followers.

"Thank you for helping me with my wounds, sir." She bowed her head with her bag slung over her shoulder and walked out, leaving Taker to tend with the fanatic. Sometimes payback came when one least expected it and she chuckled to herself, heading straight to her car to go back to the hotel.

"I do not." Taker said after a long moment, considering his minion. He had recruited Mideon because the man possessed unique qualities and he was undervalued. Raising him up from nothing, Taker gave him purpose and, in doing so, had probably shot himself in his own foot so to speak. "Come walk with me, Mideon." Maybe having a small, one-on-one chat would appease the man as well as help put him in his place.

One beneath Taker's boot and out of his hair.

New York City.

Home.

For the moment at least.

Stepping out of the cab she'd hailed at the airport, Tahlia looked up at the old building she lived in and clutched the pea coat against her tighter. It was freezing this time of year, below zero weather sucked. Heading inside with her luggage in hand, Tahlia made her way up the creaky stairs and arrived on the third floor, unlocking the door. It was small and suited her, a typical studio apartment; she didn't own a lot of things, just had a couch, TV on a small stand and a kitchen table with chairs. A queen-sized bed sat up against the wall since the apartment was one big giant room with a couple closets, a radio in the corner on the carpet.

2 days off without the Ministry had Tahlia feeling lost, not sure what she would do while everyone parted to go home. Taker didn't invite them back to the mansion, which she was a little disappointed about, but he probably needed time away from his minions. She took her coat off, draped it over the couch and turned the heat up since it was freezing in her apartment. Then she opened the freezer to pull out a frozen pizza and preheated her oven, turning the TV on in the process to her favorite music station.

Not inviting any of them, Taker's reason was because he hadn't gone home. He needed a bit of a break, mostly from Mideon and Paul. Then there was Tahlia on his mind. She was a major distraction it seemed, but one he didn't mind being distracted by. The amber eyed beauty was intriguing. The way she had wanted to bow to him, but also struggling with it; it was an interesting moral issue on his part he rather enjoyed watching play out. Taker wondered if it was over after their 'talk' and what would have transpired had Mideon interrupted.

Once her apartment warmed up to where she was comfortable, Tahlia removed the hooded sweatshirt she pulled on and took the pizza out of the oven, cutting it up. While it cooled, she pulled the mattress from the wall to set on the floor and began moving her head to the beat of the music playing from her television. MTV had some great rock music on it, though she did prefer classic rock above everything else. Metallica was her favorite band currently along with AC/DC. Pulling her hair back in a messy bun, Tahlia cleaned up the mess she'd left behind the last time, not much of a housekeeper and raised a brow when a knock sounded at her door. Instantly, she pulled a small gun from beneath her couch cushion, her hiding spot and clicked the trigger back, cautiously creeping toward the door. She didn't exactly live in the safest part of the city.

"Who is it?" Tahlia called out through it, refusing to answer it and waited for a response.