Tira sat on the branch, slumped up against the tree. It was an uncomfortable position, and the bark of the tree was hard and rough, but her emotions at the moment were sapping all of her strength, and she couldn't even will herself to move an inch.

Her head was tilted back, and the full moon was in the center of her vision, but she wasn't looking at it. She was simply staring blankly ahead of herself, her mind a sea of painful thoughts and emotions.

...Master...How could you...?...How could you lay with that woman...?...

She was instilled with a desire to look at Ivy to see with her own eyes the woman her Master had chosen to sleep with, and she rolled her head to the side. When she saw her body still entangled with her Master's as they bathed in the warm afterglow of sex, she became overwhelmed with pain and jerked her head the other way.

What is it about her that made him want to lay with her? ...Her beauty? ...She is pretty...and her...body is...

Tira looked down at her own body. She was not a vain person and did not normally obsess over her appearance, although ever since she'd become the slave of her Master, she'd found herself caring a little more about how she looked. It was rarely that she looked at the shape or form of her body critically, but now she did so.

She has larger breasts than me...and her ass is bigger, too...but her waist is so thin...and she's always walking around in that outfit...Was it her body, Master? Her body, that is so much more attractive than mine?

Tira's feelings of insecurity and inferiority made her feel more anger towards her tormentor, and she began to think thought along a different line.

...How could you sleep with a woman who is so cold! She's discourteous, vulgar, and fights sadistically and cruelly. Even if she's so beautiful, her personality has to repulse you! Are you that shallow, Master? Do looks really take priority over personality? ...No. I don't believe it. You're deeper than that. How did she seduce you? What could you have seen in her?

Tira thought of Siegfried's righteousness and desire for justice. He didn't seem like the kind who liked such vile women. He valued innocence, and purity, and-

...That's it.

While exploring Ivy's mansion, Tira had seen a painting of Ivy as a child. Young and pure - the perfect picture of an innocent girl.

That Ivy...That innocent Ivy...must still exist. And Siegfried saw it in her...and then slept with her. That's the only answer.

Tira's head slowly tilted to survey the scene again. She tried not to look at the two of them. She noticed Ivy's gear lying on the ground.

Ugh. That clothing. How in the world does a woman wearing that kind of clothing actually manage to look innocent? Ivy must have preformed an incredible deception to trick Siegfried...A spell? Or just her deceptive abilities? I guess I'll never know.

The thought of Siegfried as one so righteous kindled another thought in Tira's mind. How could he have two lovers at the same time? That would go against his beliefs. Siegfried's not the sort of man that would do that.

Suddenly, a revelation hit Tira so hard, she nearly fell off of the tree branch.

...Master...must not think of me as a lover. ...He only sees me as his slave. Nothing more.

Tira's body suddenly felt very heavy, and her head hung downwards.

That is all I am - a slave. I have been a slave since the day I was born. I'm not fit to become anything else - a slave is only thing that I can be. I have a good Master. The best one I could possibly ask for. The best way to repay him for his kindness is to be a good slave. Obey him, serve him, appease him...and if he chooses to lay with another woman...he entirely has the right to do so.

As Tira thought these things, tears rolled down her cheeks as if her eyes were waterfalls. But, although she allowed her tears to flow freely, she did not allow her body to shake or shudder. She was unable to suppress her feelings that these thoughts were sad, but she forced herself to realize that she had to face and accept these truths as her reality.

There is no escaping it. This is who I am. This is my life. I must accept that Master will do this. He is entitled to. And I...am a slave.

"...But why did it have to be her?"

Tira's hands flew to her mouth after her sudden outburst. She looked quickly to the sleeping pair to see if she had awoken them. It appeared that she hadn't spoken loudly enough to wake Siegfried, but Ivy stirred.

Her eyes opened sleepily, and she turned and looked at Siegfried. She looked up and down his form for a few moments, admiring his body. Tira felt herself beginning to shake, this time out of anger. Ivy looked up to the perch where Tira was poised. Tira was mostly hidden by shadows and other branches, but Ivy could just make out the sight of her eyes. She smiled the same smug smile she'd given Tira several times as she pleasured her Master, and then slowly leaned down and placed a soft kiss on the sleeping man's lips. A rustle from the tree let Ivy know that her goal had been achieved. She then stood up, better covered Siegfried with his blanket with all the affection of a mother tucking her son in to bed, picked up her clothing and put it on, and then - very slowly, and while swinging her hips to side to side - walked to her own pair of blankets, which served as a bed for travelers, and slipped in them to go to sleep.

Tira's eyes had followed Ivy as she carried out these actions. Tira didn't know how long her gaze stayed on Ivy's still form after that. It felt like she stared at her for an eternity, seething in anger and thinking the darkest of thoughts. It was as if she was in some sort of trance, and she was only dimly aware of it.

What Tira saw next was Ivy's body laying at her feet, and her ring blade held high in the air above her head, ready to decapitate her with one swift movement. Then she swung her arm downwards, and the ring blade with it.

This sudden vision was pleasing to Tira, but as her blade swung down, she realized something.

This was no vision; this was reality.

Tira's blade stopped less than an inch above Ivy's neck. She realized that, in her trance of dark thoughts, she had subconsciously attempted to kill Ivy. Her second thought was, Why did I stop?

With regret, she realized that it would not be a wise idea to kill Ivy. Master would be angry with her, and Ivy was helpful to Master's goal. As vile a woman as she was, and as much as Ivy wanted to kill her, she would have to let her live.

...Wait. That's it.

'Let' her live.

Tira's mind flashed back to the moment in time when she was fighting Rock in the Arena.

The power to hold someone's life in the palm of your hand, poke a hole in them, and watch their life slowly seep out of them...

...But, instead of killing them, letting them live. They'd continue to live only because you let them do so...

...They'd practically belong to you.

Tira normally attempted to prevent herself from thinking such thoughts, knowing that her Master would disapprove of them. However, these thoughts from the Arena came rushing to her mind, and, as she looked down at Ivy's vulnerable neck, she came to a decision.

...I'll let her live. Yes. I will let her live.

Tira felt more satisfied than she had in a very long time - this feeling nearly matched the feeling from when she killed. It was perfect - from now on, Tira would hold Ivy's life in her hand, and her continued existence would be thanks to Tira, for, although she had the opportunity to do so whenever she pleased, Tira would not kill Ivy, and would let her live.

As a wave of content washed over her, Tira turned around, walked to her own blankets, slid into them, and slept.