Rose tossed the bottle away and instantly the pain was gone. I can't give these to her! They'll hurt her. Rose sighed. She was going to have to talk with Andre. She lowered her walls and called Andre's name. For a few minutes, nothing happened. Then, he started to materialize. He blinked and grinned lazily. "So now you call me? Why?"

Rose pointed at the pill bottle. "How can I give those to her if I get hurt touching them? If they hurt me, I have no idea of the effect they'll have on Lissa."

Andre crouched down and looked at the bottle. "You'll have to coat them in your saliva to neutralize the pain. So, surprise her with a kiss and get her to swallow them then."

Rose sighed. "I'm beginning to think it would have been easier if she just used a man to get pregnant and had babies that way."

Andre chuckled. "Yes, but neither of you really like that idea. The pills will work..." His voice trailed off. "Rose, your nose is bleeding. Send me away. Put your walls up. The darkness is too much!"

Rose's walls slammed up and Andre's form shattered. Darkness entered her mind and she had the urge to hurt something living. She was all alone down in the basement. Rose sprinted to the bathroom. She yanked the razor blade out of its proper place, slicing her finger tips. She roughly dragged the blade across her skin and watched as crimson creeks started to trickle and flow down her arm. Rose grinned at the full length mirror in front of her. A monster grinned back. Rose's eyes were black and the veins in her face pulsed. Canine-like teeth peeked from between her lips. Her hand reached toward the mirror and she wrote Hello, Winter. Then, she drew the world's most sadistic smiley face ever.

Meanwhile, Lissa was sitting at the kitchen island drinking the world's largest glass of white wine. Christian asked, "Wanna talk about it?"

Lissa shook her head. Her hand curled into a fist. "She's undermining my authority. She keeps acting like she can have control over the situation, but I'm her owner!"

Christian groaned, "Fucking hell, Lissa. This is Rose we're talking about. She may be submissive during sex, but everything about her personality says that when she believes she's in the right, she won't change her ways. Just what did she say that made you feel like you lost your control over her?"

"She said she could overpower me," Lissa replied angrily. She took a gulp of her wine.

"Well, that's true," Christian argued. "She was your guardian until yesterday. Her entire life went toward physical fitness. Plus, genetically, she's more likely to be stronger."

"That doesn't mean she has to point it out!" Lissa sobbed.

Christian glanced Lissa. "I get the feeling that this conversation you two were having involved how you took too much blood. Am I right?" Lissa nodded. "Rose was trying to get you to forgive yourself. She was trying to remind you that she doesn't break as easily as you think."

Lissa shook her head. "But the way she went about it was... wrong."

"How would she know that though?" Christian countered. "This is all new to her. You may know a lot about this lifestyle, but Rose doesn't. And she's still transitioning from your guardian to your sub. Those two positions are pretty much polar opposites. Give her time, and explain these things to-" He stopped and sniffed the air. "Lissa, do you smell that?"

Lissa inhaled and every fiber in her body stiffened. "It's blood. Rose's blood." Lissa sprinted to the basement door and unlocked it. She bounded down the stairs and straight to the bathroom. Rose was lying in the middle of the bathroom floor in a pool of her own blood. Lissa knocked the razor blade of Rose's shaking hand. "Rose, stay with me." Lissa placed her hands on Rose's wrists and healed them. Rose's eyes opened and she started to shake with fear.

"What did I do?" she sobbed.

Lissa shook her head. "It's ok now. You're ok. Do you remember what you were doing before...this?"

"Andre was here," Rose answered hesitantly. "I called him here because I was worried about something. It must have been the darkness. Since I was alone, I attacked myself."

Lissa hugged Rose tighter. "This is my fault. I shouldn't have stormed out. It's my fault you got hurt."

Rose shook her head. "It's never your fault." She wriggled out of Lissa's grasp. "I'll be right back." Rose ran to the living room and yanked the lid of the pill bottle with a hiss of pain. She threw two pills into her mouth and swished them around. She ran to Lissa and kissed her forcefully. "Swallow them." Lissa gulped the two pills down. "That's how we get you pregnant."

Lissa shook her head. "That's crazy." Rose nodded. "But enough of that. We both need a nap before we do any more harm to ourselves. When we wake up, I'll explain why I stormed out and locked you down here."