24th October, 23 days until the banquet.

“Good morning, St. Clair.” Chloe was in an unusually chipper mood this morning, especially around Candace. “A little bit late to just be getting here, don’t you think?”

“Yeah yeah yeah.” Candace pushed past her and into the sitting room, her mood opposite the other girl’s. “Let the princess sleep in on the weekends, why don’t you?”

“I don’t sleep in.” Chloe chuckled at her. “Princesses might get to sleep in, but servants don’t.”

“Thank you, Sophia.” Candace groaned, rolling her eyes. “I didn’t realize, thank you for this vital information.”

“Now don’t get mad at me, I’m just trying to help you do your job better.”

“Oh yes, because you’re so great at your job.”

“Why yes, I am in fact.”

“That’s because your job, cooking, cleaning, and obeying- is easy.”

“Relative to what?”

“Relative to what I do-”

“And this all important job of yours, what is it- really?”

“We keep going around in circles on this, why?”

“Because I want to understand.” Chloe stepped after her, grabbing her by the hand and stopping her in the sitting room. “If you do love me like you say you do… why did you let me go?”

“Because isn’t that the saying- if you love something, let it go -”

“Candace, please.”

“You made the decision to leave me, Sophia. You had your own reasons for doing that, who am I to get in the way of your desires?”

“Because maybe I did want to hurt you… and I’ve gotten what I wanted.” Chloe stood in front of her, staring her in the eyes. The two of them, importantly, always talked quietly to each other while doing this. “But maybe I wanted something else.”

“My power has a reach, Sophia.” Candace sighed, staring down at her own freakishly pale hand. “That’s why that night was so important… because there are some people I don’t have power over.”

Chloe held Candace’s hand in her open palm, watching it tremble. “Like who?”

“Like my family.” Candace clenched her hand into a fist. “Like my father.”

“Is that why-”

“My job is to make my family happy, Sophia. Remember that?” Candace grabbed Chloe’s wrist with her other hand. “My very important job is to be my father’s heiress… to be in charge of the family once he’s gone.”

“But you’re the youngest.” Chloe gently pulled away, locking her fingers with Candace’s. “What about your sister?”

“You don’t see it yet, do you?”

“See what?”

“You never answered me.” Candace squeezed Chloe’s hand. “When I asked you… do you really think my sister loves you more than I do?”

“I thought so.” Chloe squeezed back. “But I don’t know anymore…”

“I am not a submissive person, Sophia… this was a hard decision to make- but I made it because it’s my job. It’s what my family expects of me… to do anything to make them happy. That’s why I’m working for my sister at the party… to fix our relationship. Because it’s my job to keep my family together. It’s my job to suffer for their sake.”

“Why… why would you agree to that?”

“Because I have no choice. I have no power over my sister. I’m not my father… not yet.” She slipped her hands away from Chloe’s. “There’s a reason Claudia isn’t the heiress. There’s a reason it’s me.”

“And that’s what you want?”

“I never said that-”

“Then why not just tell them?” Chloe persisted. “Why not just let her be the heiress?”

“Because that’s what she wants, isn’t it… that’s letting her win.” Candace shook her head. “But that’s not it either-”

“Then what’s keeping you?”

“He is.” Candace broke, her voice shaking as she spoke. “You don’t walk up to my sister and ask to be released, because you can’t… and I can’t just walk up to my father and ask him to let me go… because I can’t.”

Chloe swallowed nervously, beginning to genuinely feel for her. “I don’t understand…”

“I’m the hybrid monster child born to the slave mother. I’m the one who doesn’t belong. I’m the one who has to earn my place when my siblings never did.” Chloe could only stand there and watch as Candace struggled. “Now I’m not saying that I’m a slave… but I am most certainly not free.”

“Don’t equate your life to mine, Candace. You had parents. You have a family. Don’t pretend like you don’t have your entire life already figured out thanks to your family.”

“If you want the truth, then here it is- Yes. You’re right. My path in life has already been paved for me thanks to my father, thanks to who I am- but it is a straight highway with no off ramps.” Candace stepped into the ballroom and Chloe followed, watching Candace gesture up to the massive portrait of her father hanging above the fireplace. “Right now I’m meandering about city streets, right now I have time. But come a couple of years from now, I’m nothing but a puppet. Once I get off the on ramp and merge onto the interstate, I will never get off.”

“That’s why the title meant so much to me… because I never know what year will be the last year I have a chance to make something of myself before I have to take over.” Candace turned, grabbing one of Chloe’s hands and squeezing it with hers, holding Chloe’s hand to her own chest, letting her feel her heavy heart beating. “I have to put my family before myself at every twist and turn… I have to be the heiress because I have no other choice.”

“As if I haven’t already suffered enough, my father has forbidden me from competing again… my father has forbidden me from owning a slave again, from finding my own lover.” Candace swallowed her sobs before they could form, letting go of Chloe’s hand. “Forgive me for being so self-centered, but that championship was my last chance… you were my last chance.”

“Me…” Chloe kept her hand pressed to Candace’s chest, feeling her heart beating against her palm. “Why me…”

“Because I wanted to prove that I wouldn’t end up like him- like my father… because I love you, Sophia.” Candace frowned, holding Chloe’s head in her hand. “You remind me of my mother…”

“How-” Chloe held her hand over Candace’s. “How am I anything like her?”

“When I was fourteen years old, my mother died, and I was helpless to stop it from happening.” Candace frowned, letting go of her completely. “I’ve had to live with knowing that she blamed herself for everything- when really… it was my fault. Everything that happened to my mother was all my fault. Everything that’s happening to you is all my fault… and I don’t want to live with knowing that I was responsible for your death like I was responsible for hers.”

“I… I…” Chloe steeled herself, taking a deep breath and stepping back away from her. “I don’t care. Why should I care?”

“I’m not asking you to care if you don’t. I’m asking you to understand.”

“To understand what?”

“To understand why I did what I did, regardless of how I ended up doing them.”

“And the ultimate conclusion I’m supposed to come to is what?”

“I want you to know that yes, I am the one who had you kidnapped and turned into my slave- and that is something my sister has over me, sure. But the reason I did it wasn’t because I hate you, not really… I don’t hate you, and nothing is going to change that, even if you do hate me for the rest of your life. I did it because I like you… I like you a lot, and I wanted you to be mine- I wanted you and I had the power to get you, so I did. You’re special to me, Sophia, and sure maybe my sister does treat you better, or maybe she doesn’t… but you’ll never be special to her like you’re special to me.”

Here they were again, back and forth, loving and hating each other at the same time. Those two pairs of eyes were drawn to each other like moths to a flame- right there they were each other's flames. One flame may have shown brighter while the other burned hotter- but they had a connection.

“And if you can stand there, knowing what you mean to me, knowing why I did what I did- and still choose her over me, then that’s okay. If that’s what you want, then that’s what I want to hear. But if that’s not the case… I’m never going to know unless you tell me.”

Chloe almost spoke, she almost said something she would have regretted. “You want me back?”

“Yes. Of course I want you back.” Candace was finally the first one to say it, and they both knew she did, Chloe knew Candace wanted her back. “But not if you don’t want to come back.”

Chloe bit her tongue, desperately holding herself at bay. It was like wrapping herself in chains to keep from jumping into the other woman’s arms. “And if I don’t?”

“If you choose to belong to her… then you’re hers.” Candace smiled, her emotions caught in her throat. “If that’s what you want, that’s what I want for you.”

“I don’t want this. I’ve never wanted any of this, Candace.” Chloe’s rage boiled to the top of her. “This is your fault. I never wanted to be a slave- but because of you, I have no choice. I will never choose to belong to anyone- you made that choice for me. So forgive me for not wanting to crawl back into your shallow abusive arms just to go for another round of killing myself at your side knowing deep down that you’ve ruined everything I’ve ever worked for my entire life- all because you’re a manipulative, self-centered, serial rapist. You’re not getting any pity out of me, alright?”

“I don’t care if your sister isn’t any better, I’m never going to find any better . I have to settle for some monster either way- and the reason why I have to settle for the lesser of two evils is because of what you chose to do to me- so regardless of why you chose to do what you did, that’s always going to make you the greater of two evils.” Chloe finally had to put her foot down, and stand her ground. “Thank you for your apology, but no. No I don’t… I don’t-”

“You don’t forgive me.” Candace frowned, choosing to be the first one to break eye contact. “That’s what I needed to hear… thank you.”

“I do forgive you, Candace… I just… I need you to be better than you are. Just because I forgive you doesn’t mean I want to go back.” Chloe swallowed her anger and her pride, slowly calming herself down. “I will never give myself up to someone like you or her… I won’t forfeit. Not anymore.”

“If you choose never to call me Master again, that’s your choice.” Candace gave her a sullen smile. “But if you do- I’m ready to be that for you again.”

“Thank you, Candace… I’ll keep that in mind.” She returned the smile, her cheeks painted over with a faint blush. “But if you want me… you’re going to have to take me.”

✶ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✶ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✶

Do you really think my sister loves you more than I do - God, how vain can you be?

Chloe stormed her way upstairs, the bell on her collar jingling as she walked.

If she’s gonna be like that, I’m glad I don’t still belong to her… As if I’d beg her to take me back. Chloe had one destination in mind, straight to her master’s side- if anything, the idea of Candace doing the same was what she was after. She should be the one begging to have me back~

“Mistress?” Chloe knocked on the door, waiting patiently on the other side. “It’s Chloe…”

“Claudia’s still sleeping…” Josephine was the one who answered the door, stepping out from inside. “Did you need something?”

“Oh, hello Miss Josie-” Chloe was honestly just surprised to see Josephine inside of her own bedroom for once. “Did I wake you?”

“Believe it or not, my wife and I are still married, you know…” Josie frowned, already dressed for the day. “And no, clearly you didn’t wake me, I was just in doing my makeup is all~”

“I’m glad I didn’t disturb your beauty sleep, Ma’am.” Chloe gave her a reluctant smile and a small nod. “You look very nice today.”

“As opposed to last weekend, you mean?” Josephine just kind of stared at her, despite her gorgeous eye makeup. “Well I appreciate the compliment- being sexiled from my own bedroom by my wife every weekend isn’t doing much for my self-esteem I’ll have you know…”

“Sexiled?”

“It’s when you- oh never mind.”

“I’m glad to see that you at least seem to be doing better?” Chloe smiled nervously, unsure of how to talk to Josephine. “How was your week?”

“It’s been nice, actually.” Josephine said, sighing under her breath. “As nice as it can be, at least… Darcey and Autumn have been a big help-”

“You’re welcome for that, by the way~” Chloe smirked, taunting her to her face. “If there’s anything I can do to help you like I helped them, please-”

“I never wanted you.” Josephine grabbed her own wrist, nervously- the number of controllers now cut in half. “But my wife seems to like you a lot… and clearly she doesn’t mind me being unprotected around you anymore…”

“She took the controller from you?” Chloe’s eyes seemed to glow as she looked down at Josie’s hand, decorated with Darcey and Autumn’s controllers alone. “And what about… Zenna?”

“Y-yeah…” Josephine blushed, lowering her head in shame. “Just… please don’t hurt Zenna like you hurt Autumn. She was really shaken up by the other night-”

“Hurt Zenna?” Chloe gasped preposterously. “What do you mean hurt Zenna?”

Josephine’s eyes seemed to lose all of their light just then. “She might not be mine, but I still love her.”

“Girls girls please-” Claudia. Definitely Claudia. “Let’s not fight over me~”

Chloe and Josie both took a few moments to stare each other down before breaking away, but this time Josephine blinked first. “Yes, honey… I’ll just be helping Darcey and Autumn around the house-”

“Since when do you help out around the house?” Claudia stopped, her cheeks a little bit pink as she looked her wife up and down. “You did your makeup too?”

“Yes yes, I look great, just don’t ogle-” Josephine scoffed, snarling just a bit under her breath, which sent Claudia’s head just a little bit spinning. “Have fun leading a family with your new favorite girl .”

Chloe’s heart sunk guiltily as she stood beside her master, watching the other woman of the house walk away, indeed making her way downstairs rather than returning to relax in the guest room. “What… was that, Ma’am?”

Claudia just sighed, lowering her gaze in shame. “I had to confiscate the controller to your collar from her.”

“I saw that, Ma’am.” Chloe smiled, a little bit more than happy to have it away from someone who was going to be eavesdropping all the time. “Why’d you take it away?”

And that turned out to be exactly the problem. “She was listening…”

“Oh…” Chloe blushed, now feeling guilty about not saying something about it. “She heard all of that, then?”

“As it was happening, yeah…”

“I see…”

“But enough of that-” Claudia smiled, holding a hand out towards Chloe and grabbing her by the chain hanging between her nipple clamps, tugging her towards the room. “You came up here for a reason, didn’t you?”

“Y-yes, Ma’am~” Chloe smiled, blushing as she kicked the door closed behind her. “It’s about your sister.”

“What about my sister?” Claudia scoffed. “Nothing good I imagine?”

Chloe took a deep breath, readying herself for what she needed to say as she sat down on the edge of the bed. “She said she wants me back-”

“Well she can’t have you back, now can she?” Claudia was having absolutely none of that. “You have an owner already, you belong to me. You’re my slave now, not hers~”

“Y-yeah…” Chloe smiled, blushing. This was more what she wanted- not to choose an owner- but to be claimed by one. “That’s what I tried to tell her, it’s not my choice…”

“But if it was-” Claudia started, her cane tightly gripped in her hand. “Who would you choose?”

“Who would I… who would I choose?” Chloe wasn’t prepared to answer that question. “I… I won’t choose.”

“Chloe please, it’s just a hypothetical~”

“No, Ma’am.” Her chest drew heavy. “I refuse. I will not be forced to choose.”

“There it is again…” Claudia frowned, slowly standing up from her bed. “You’re not finished. How are you not finished?”

“Finished?” Chloe gazed up at her, admiring her master from below. “You mean I’m not a finished slave?”

“The other girls are finished slaves, they’re drones.” Claudia pondered it over. “But you’re not.”

“Master, I-”

Knock knock . Chloe was grateful to have that kind of distraction right about now. She stood up from bed at her owner’s command, making her way over and answering the door for her.

“Mistress…” It was Zenna. Just Zenna. She spoke through Chloe and into the room, despite her answering the door for Claudia. “C-can we talk?”

“Zenna…” Claudia’s tone turned stern as she responded. “I’m busy. Can you not see that?”

Zenna seemed to shake, her eyes already wet with tears before she arrived at the door. “I… I know, but this is serious-”

Thump . And Chloe thought that Darcey and Autumn were affected by the sound of Claudia’s cane- but the moment Zenna heard it, she was on her hands and knees. Soft pathetic murmurs, those were all that Chloe could hear leaving Zenna’s lips.

“Chloe, sweetheart.” Claudia’s voice curled upwards, mixing into a sweet hum as she addressed her newest slave. “Please take the cat back to her kennel for me, won’t you?”

“Of course, Ma’am~!!” Chloe noticed and appreciated the difference in which Claudia spoke to her compared to Zenna, it was far sweeter and much less dismissive and cruel. “How will I get into Lilian’s room without keys?”

“B-because it’s unlocked, M-Miss…” Zenna mumbled from the floor at Chloe’s feet, addressing her for the first time with a title . Chloe wasn’t sure that she liked it, but she definitely didn’t dislike it. “L-Lily doesn’t lock her door, sh-she’s just a girl yet… she loves company-”

“She doesn’t?” Chloe swallowed nervously, realizing how terribly she’d been overthinking these last few weeks. “You mean… I can come in to visit anytime?”

“O-of course, Ma’am…” Zenna tried and failed to calm herself. “Lilian l-likes you a lot…”

Chloe’s face turned bright red, unsure of how to handle this new knowledge. “She does?”

“Well… yeah?” Zenna’s voice shook nervously. “She… she thinks-”

Thump . Claudia put Zenna back under with another loud sound from her cane. “She thinks you’re her new aunt.”

“Her aunt? Why does she…” Chloe giggled at the thought of that, taking a quick glance into the vanity mirror and answering that for herself. “Oh… right.”

“Lilian’s uncle- James- also looks just like her.” Claudia sighed, sitting herself down at her wife’s vanity. “She just assumes that since you look like Josie, you must be her aunt~”

Chloe couldn’t help but find that funny. “Have you explained it to her, Ma’am?”

“No!!” Claudia didn’t find it funny at all. “Because why should I be the one who always has to explain things to her- I’ve already had to explain to her that you’re not her lazy pillow princess of a father, why should I-”

“Pillow princess?” Chloe was caught off guard by her master’s choice of words. “Father?"

“Claudia?!” Zenna’s eyes shot up, staring at her master with intense disapproval. “M-Master!!!”

“I didn’t mean that.” Claudia nearly jumped back in her seat, not used to Zenna growling at her quite so loudly. “It just slipped out… I mean…”

“You said you were going to work on that-”

“And I have worked on it, Zenna!!” Claudia clung to her cane not like it was a tool for punishment, but like it was a self-defense weapon. “N-now quiet down, you know how I get when you raise your voice at me…”

“Yes, Ma’am…” The angry little lion slowly calmed down, making herself soft for handling purposes. “I’m sorry Mistress… I didn’t mean to upset you…”

“Take her to her kennel, Chloe.” Claudia turned her attention back to the mirror. “We’ll talk when you get back.”

✶ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✶ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✶

Chloe escorted Zenna straight across the top floor, around the balcony, to Lilian’s room. Chloe had grown up in a foster home, sharing a room with three other girls or three boys depending on the night, but this- this was all she’d ever dreamed of in a bedroom, at least as a child.

Lilian was her parents’ princess, and she lived like one to prove it.

The room was painted bright green, filled with all sorts of shiny decorations and glowing ornaments. Her toys were littered across the floor, clothes flung every which way, and stuffed animals covered about every other surface there was to cover.

But there was one thing that Lilian’s bedroom was missing- her.

“Where’s Lilian?” Chloe glanced around the room, trying to see if she was hiding somewhere inside, but she wasn’t. “Is she in the restroom?”

“Lilian is with aunt right now.” Zenna sighed, tugging Chloe inside and shutting the door behind her to gain themselves some privacy. “Like I was trying to tell Mistress just now, Candace asked to take care of Lilian for the afternoon.”

“So that’s what you were trying to say?” Chloe was still analyzing the room, noticing little features and dust corners that she hadn’t noticed at first. She didn’t really care what Candace was up to right now, she was too busy looking for something. “I can pass that on for you if you’d like?”

“Sure.” Zenna got down on her knees, beginning to start picking the girl’s toys up off of the floor. “Would you mind helping me clean up?”

“Clean up?” Chloe blushed, staring over the other cute girl now asking her to stay and help. “I mean I’m not really-”

“I want to talk to you.” Zenna turned, looking up at Chloe from the floor. “If that’s okay?”

“You want to talk to me?” Normally Chloe would be flattered, but not so much at the moment. “What for?”

Zenna giggled at that. “Because we’re meant to share a bed and I hardly know you, that’s what for.”

“Oh, um… Sure~” Chloe was nothing if not a hopeless lesbian, and Zenna seemed to have a fierce underside hidden in her. “And yeah, I can help.”

“I’ve heard a lot of mixed opinions on you.” Zenna continued placing toys in the chest where they belonged as she spoke. “Who are you?”

“Who am I?” Chloe kind of just chuckled at that. “I’m Chloe… that’s all there is to it.”

Chloe stepped further into the room, pretending to help clean up as a front while she searched Lilian’s stuffed animal pile for a certain little dog.

“I- I don’t mean to be the bitch here… I promise.” Zenna’s nervous voice shook as she pawed through the other stuffed animals littered through the bedroom, going along with what Chloe was doing. “But ever since you got here… I don’t know… It seems like things keep changing wildly. First it’s this, then it’s that, then suddenly Darcey and Autumn switched roles, and Josephine says it’s because of you.”

“Well yeah… but all I did was help them through their problems, that’s all-”

“I- I’m scared.” Zenna came out with it, on her knees in the middle of the room, and when Chloe turned to look at her- there she was, right in Zenna’s lap. Poppy. “I’m scared of you, Chloe…”

Chloe’s heart was thumping. She didn’t care what Zenna was saying to her just now, her sights were locked in on one thing. “Give me that-”

Zenna blinked in confusion, staring down at the little dog in her lap for a moment before squeezing it to her own chest. “I can’t… this is Lilian’s.”

“No.” Chloe snapped, a fire building inside of her. “That’s mine.”

Zenna’s face flushed with a look of worry, slowly scooting away from the other woman. “Chloe…”

“Give it to me and I won’t have to hurt you for it.” Chloe’s breath drew thin, hot with anger, the sounds around her slowly drowning out entirely. “Now, Zenna. Or I’ll-”

“Or you’ll what, Cavalier?”

Burning hot rage singed Chloe’s ears as that name, that voice, rang in her brain from the doorway. Candace. It just had to be Candace.

“You’re about to find out or what if you don’t shut your mouth, second place.”

“Oh so that’s how you want to play this?” Candace scoffed back, rolling her eyes at the other woman’s sheer stupidity. “What are you gonna do, squeak until I die of laughter?”

Chloe snarled, snapping her head towards Candace, spitting ire straight in her direction. “Watch it-”

“No you watch it.” Candace slowly got down on her knees, letting Lilian wiggle around her and back into her bedroom, sniffling quietly. “This isn’t appropriate…”

Seeing Lilian there beside her aunt made Chloe’s stomach tingle, very much hit with a wave of guilt for making a scene in front of the young lady of the house. Candace was right, this wasn’t appropriate of her.

“Lily, sweetie-” Zenna quickly got up, making her way over to the girl and wrapping her arms around her. “Here, this should help~”

Lilian practically attached herself to Zenna, taking Poppy from her nanny’s hands, the anger within Chloe swelling up at that making her that much more disappointed in herself.

Chloe was calming down, albeit a few moments too late, seeing Lilian squeeze the little thing for support like she used to. Chloe was ashamed of herself. She made the girl cry, or was at least beginning to, all for a stuffed dog?

“I don’t like her, Nanny…” Lilian whispered to Zenna, staring straight into Chloe’s eyes as she mumbled, her childhood inexperience showing in how she acted. “C-can you make her go away?”

“Of course, sweetie.” Zenna smiled, comforting the girl. “Of course I can.”

I need to go… Chloe shuffled nervously, stuck between a rock and a hard place. On one end was Candace standing in the way of the door, on the other end was the cowardly lion quickly showing herself not to be quite as cowardly as Chloe had thought she was. “Zenna, I’m sorry… that was out of line for me to do.”

“Yeah, it was.” She should have expected this. Darcey wasn’t brainless and Autumn wasn’t heartless, she shouldn’t have expected Zenna to be so cowardly. “You heard Lilian, it’s time for you to leave.”

Chloe didn’t really need to hear much more than that, she was already feeling guilty enough to know that it was definitely appropriate for her to leave. But before she could say anything more or doing anything else, she was suddenly red in the face with much more than a blush.

The glow of the menacing scarlet light hitting her eyes registered before any pain ever did, and she recognized that light anywhere. That was the light of a slave’s collar going off, sending a violent surge of electric current through their body.

But this was hardly a warning light- the warning light blinked, this was the solid flash of a deadly shock already in motion. The collar glowed as it was going off not to warn the slave of an incoming attack, but to alert everyone around them not to touch while the electrocution was active.

It’s not my collar that’s going off.

It was painful to watch, seeing her drop to her knees, writhing in pain. It was clearly much much stronger than anything Josie had the guts to shock someone with, and Zenna was suffering through all of it.

And the worst part was that it didn’t stop when she was on her knees. Chloe knew how slow time moved while she was being sedated, and it was hard to just stand there and not do anything while Zenna was put through a whole minute of pain, knowing that it was that much more agonizing to the one with the ring around their neck.

Lilian was bawling, trying to squirm out of her aunt’s arms as Candace deactivated the controller, turning off the shock. An accident, it was an accident, at least partially. Chloe was disgusted to see Zenna painfully shaking herself back to attention enough to let Lilian climb into her lap again, now ten times as distraught as she already was.

“Nanny!!!” Lilian called out to the woman through her sobs, climbing on top of her, Poppy in her arms. “I- I- I- I wanted to h-hurt the other lady, n-not you…”

“There there…” Zenna didn’t even seem angry, just sad to see Lilian crying. “It’s not your fault… I’m here…”

Chloe stepped backwards, pressing herself into the wall. She didn’t mean for this to happen, but it was all her fault. Lilian didn’t know better, it wasn’t her fault that Zenna accidentally got hurt, because Chloe knew now that the shock had been meant for her.

It just wasn’t her controller strapped to Lilian’s wrist.

Oh god… that was supposed to be me…

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have taught her how to use it without explaining it more.” Candace knelt next to Zenna, trying to apologize on her niece’s behalf. “I don’t know what your name or your number is either, but I’m sorry.”

“It’s Zenna. I’m number #0005, Zenna MacNair. I belong to your sister...” She smiled, introducing herself politely and calmly despite all that had just happened. “And don’t apologize, really. It’s my burden to bear, as long as Lilian’s alright, I’m alright.”

“It’s a learning experience for her, I guess-” Candace sighed, glad to see that the other girl was okay after that. “I don’t think she realized it was just your collar and not Sophia’s.”

“Sophia’s?” Zenna slowly put the names together, glancing down at Lilian and the stuffed dog in her arms. “Wait, Sophia Cavalier? The Stolen Cosmos player, that’s really her?”

Chloe blushed, ashamed to even think of glowing in positive attention now of all times. She was trying to distance herself from that identity, not embrace it. “I’m sorry… It’s a long story-”

“And you, I mean- I know you’re Candace St. Clair, I knew from all the magazines and the painting and from your sister. I was a big fan for a while, I’ve just been too nervous to introduce myself, but her?” Zenna snuggled Lilian into her lap, gently wiping the tears from the little girl’s eyes as she made conversation. “I mean I knew of her, but I never knew what she looked like…”

“You mean you recognize me, but not her?” Candace giggled, rolling her eyes as her cheeks turned pink, flattered by all of the attention that she was now getting.

“I’ve been with my Master for two years now, Ma’am. I wouldn’t have even gotten the chance to watch her play- why, was she big?” Zenna blushed, shooting a quick glance across the room towards Chloe, and then back down towards her little charge. “And if she’s Sophia Cavalier, why is she here?”

“S-Sophia?” That was Lilian’s voice, finally calmed down from crying, now holding the little stuffed dog out towards Zenna. “This says Sophia on it?”

“It does, doesn’t it?” Zenna smiled, cooing at Lilian for reading the name stitched into Poppy’s ear. “Very good, Lilian~”

“Is… is she Sophia?” Lilian hid in Zenna’s arms, looking up at Chloe as she asked her aunt Candace. “Is this her puppy?”

“I don’t know… is that her puppy?” Candace smiled, now looking towards Chloe for an answer. “Are you Sophia Cavalier?”

Chloe swallowed her anger, staring her rival down in the most respectful way she could, unable to lash out anymore thanks to all of the guilt bubbling up inside of her. “Yes…”

Candace wasn’t satisfied with just that. “Yes, what?”

“Yes.” Chloe said, her eyes fixed at the floor as she spoke, her head lowered just lightly to show submission. “I’m Sophia Cavalier… and that’s my puppy…”

“I… I’m sorry…” Lilian frowned, holding the stuffed dog out for Zenna to take. “Can you give her puppy back to her, Nanny?”

“You want me to give it to her?” Zenna was shocked. “Lilian, I don’t think that you should-”

“Give it back to her, Nanny.” Lilian frowned, not asking, but telling. “Mommy says I’m better than slaves, so you have to do what I say.”

From the sounds of it, Zenna was the only grown up here who wasn’t surprised by that. “Yes, Young Mistress. Nanny’s going to do what you say, okay?”

“Okay!! Thank you, Nanny!!” Lilian giggled now, happy to be safe with her babysitter again. “Good kitty~!!”

“Here.” The cowardly lion took the stuffed animal from Lilian’s hands, following the orders of a five year old, and delivering it to Chloe instead. “If the Young Mistress wants you to have it, you’re allowed to have it.”

“Thank you…” Chloe’s face turned red, wrapping her arms around Poppy without a moment’s hesitation, squeezing it to her chest. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry… this means so much to me, thank you.”

Zenna smiled, sighing under her breath as she began to return to her normal self. “Don’t thank me. Thank her~”

Chloe just giggled at that, nodding her head. “Thank you, Young Mistress~”

“You’re welcome…” Lilian replied, still nervous about being around Chloe. “Nanny, I’m still scared…”

“I know, Lilian. But you did a really nice thing~” Zenna stood beside Chloe, not allowing her much room at all to move. “Do you want Chloe to leave now?”

“Yes please…” Lilian nodded, tugging on Zenna’s skirt. “Can you hurt her for me, Nanny?”

Zenna frowned, noticing the scared look in Chloe’s eyes quickly getting bigger. “Lilian…”

“I have the remote control, you have to do what I say…” Lilian stomped her feet, on the fringes of throwing a temper tantrum now, much like Chloe had done. “You have to, Nanny- or else I have to hurt you for being bad, remember?”

“I remember~” Zenna sighed, deciding it was in her best interest to do what the girl said, lest she suffer yet another electrocution at her hands. “And Nanny’s going to be good and do as you say now, promise.”

Lilian giggled excitedly. “Good Kitty~!!”

Chloe didn’t know what Lilian meant by hurting someone, but she knew she wasn’t excited when she watched the other slave crack her knuckles. “Zenna…”

“I’m sorry, Chloe.” Zenna gave her a reluctantly smug grin. “I’m just doing as I’m told.”

✶ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✶ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✶

Okay, so maybe she deserves a mouthful of knuckles after that, that was her fault.

“You two are going to sit here in this cell together while I have a talk with your master.” Josephine crossed her arms, standing behind Nell as she let the enforcer do the work of wrangling them into the cell for her. “Thank you, Nell. You can shut the door now.”

“With pleasure.” Nell was actually little more than just extra muscle, unable to do any punishing without express permission from either Claudia or Josephine, sort of like yet another servant hired to keep the actual slaves in line. “I’ll keep an eye on your slaves, make sure that your daughter is alright.”

“Thank you, Nell.” Josephine smiled. “And if you spot Candace, can you send her upstairs- I want her away from Lilian too.”

The door subsequently clicked closed, both of the free adults left, and Chloe was left alone again in a cell… with Zenna.

“I’m sorry about getting angry and trying to demand things from you, Zenna-” Chloe for once was not afraid to talk to an equal, especially if it meant apologizing. “I don’t know what’s gotten into me lately, but you’re right to be scared of me… because I’m a little bit scared of me too.”

“Do not fuck with me, Sophia Cavalier- or whatever your name is.” Zenna snapped back, her arms crossed at her chest. “Lilian is the only light I have left in my life, and if you can’t control yourself around her, then keep away.”

Chloe expected Zenna to be more than what she seemed, but she had almost fallen into the rhythm of expecting her to be the one that ended up solving whatever Zenna’s problem was… but instead she became the problem.

“I can put up with a lot of things.” Zenna went on, her face flushed as she spoke. “I don’t care that I got electrocuted. I don’t care if my Master punishes me. I don’t even care that you tried to push me around. But I will not put up with you terrorizing my little girl’s life, not on my watch.”

She was a bit of a coward on the surface, but all slaves were in the end, that was normal. Chloe was missing the signals, even when everything pointed to this.

Zenna wasn’t a weak little scaredy cat, she was a ferociously monstrous and terrifyingly brave lion. Sure, she was scared, but bravery was action in the face of fear, not the absence of fear. Zenna was fierce and protective of the things that mattered most to her, and what mattered to her was Lilian.

“I want to have a daughter of my own one day, but that’s not going to happen if I can’t protect Lilian like I’m meant to.” Zenna sighed nervously, leaning back against the wall of the cell. “That’s what this is, protecting her.”

“You want to have a daughter of your own…” Chloe sighed, she knew exactly how Zenna was feeling when she said that. “But I was there the other night, when Lilian came to find you… she calls you her mom.”

“Lilian is as much my daughter as she is Claudia or Josephine’s.” Zenna said it, and she meant it. “My masters will never say as such because I’m a slave, but I’ve been the one taking care of Lilian since she just barely turned three. Day in and day out, every day of my life for the last two years has been devoted to her and her alone, and I’m not ashamed of that. I may not have been involved with her conception or birth, but Lilian loves me the most and if that doesn’t make me her mother I don’t know what does.”

“Are you allowed to say things like that?” Chloe was impressed. “Aren’t you worried about what Claudia would do if she heard you?”

“Do you really need to ask that? Of course I’m scared. I’m supposed to be scared.” Zenna responded, trying to be kind. “But it still needs to be said, and I’m not saying it out of disrespect. I’m nothing if not loyal, but my loyalty is to Lilian first, the Master second, and the Mistress third.”

“I don’t get it-”

“Of course you don’t get it, even I can tell that there’s a lot you still need to learn about being a slave.”

“That’s not the part I don’t get, Zenna.” God did Chloe hate cats, even the human ones. “You are loyal, and you do love Lilian, I just don’t understand how. How can you be like this? How can you be so loyal? How can you slave away every day of your life for a child that gets to treat you like her mother treats you?”

“Because that’s what I am, I’m a slave- I slave. I don’t know what world you’re living in, but in this one, a slave does as told and doesn’t fantasize or dream about things they can’t be or have. It’s just like I tell Lilian, I get what I get and I don’t throw a fit. Surely your parents taught you the same thing growing up.”

“They didn’t, actually…” That one stung Chloe, right in the heart. “The only thing my parents taught me is that when your life isn’t worth living, you get a new one. When the people around you don’t do anything but make your life miserable, you find new people… and when you don’t have the power to do it yourself, there’s supposed to be people to help do it for you…”

There was a long painful pause as both women sat in agonizing silence, a sense of shame washing over them both. Chloe knew that no one was coming to help her, no one was even looking for her, and that hurt. There wasn’t going to be child protective services to take Chloe away from this like they had as a child, and there wasn’t going to be a way out of this for Lilian either.

“I know she’s just a child, and maybe she is your child in a way, but she hurt you.”

“It was just an accident.”

“No it wasn’t. She wouldn’t have the controller to your collar if someone didn’t give it to her. If Candace hadn’t taught her how to use it-”

“If Miss St. Clair hadn’t taught her how to use it and been there to help show her it would have been a lot worse.”

“But how can you sit there and let Lilian keep it?”

“I was going to try and talk her down from it, but Master made the decision to give the controller to Lilian after she caught me spending the night in bed with her. She thinks that if I’m going to do things like that, Lilian should be able to protect herself from me. So that’s what’s going to happen, I have no control over it.”

“You could just take it from her!!” Chloe shouted, almost pleading with the other woman to think about her own safety. “She is a child, she couldn’t stop you if you tried taking it from her. You could have it and you could make a break for it. Why didn’t you just take it from her and leave?”

“Because I don’t want to leave!”

Chloe stopped, stunned. The gears in her head getting caught all over again. It was the only way it made sense to her, but she didn’t understand how Zenna could feel that way, and it was getting Chloe stuck in an infinite loop. “You don’t?”

“No!” Zenna scoffed, her hand now clenched over the head of her own collar. “I love Lilian and I want to see her grow up!”

“But Claudia-”

“I love my master, Chloe. I’m a good girl. I do as I’m told and my master treats me right. She’s not hurting me, she’s protecting me. I only get punished when I do something I’m not supposed to, it might not be just from a moral standpoint, but it’s fair.”

“It’s fair? You really think this is fair?”

“Yes! I do! I’ve policed this plutocracy long enough to know that yes, this is fair!”

Chloe opened her mouth to speak again, before shutting the hell up. Zenna was about a decade older than she was, Claudia’s age. She knew nothing compared to what Zenna did, especially about how the world really worked.

“I’m not a prisoner here. This is where I belong. I am absolutely enthralled with my master, and I’m not ashamed of that. Claudia isn’t a monster. She’s a person, a bad person, but a person. She has her flaws and she has her struggles but she has all sorts of wonderful things about her and I wouldn’t miss them for the world, not again.”

“Again?” Chloe blushed, squeezing that stuffed dog of hers to her chest. “Claudia is a married woman, what do you mean again?”

“I love Claudia. I’ve always wanted to be with Claudia. We were best friends growing up~” Zenna smiled happily, her face lighting up as she thought about it. “It was my fault. Her and I were inseparable, but I had to go and ruin it all for myself.”

Chloe didn’t like where this was going. “Your fault? How is it your fault?”

“It was twenty years ago and I’m still paying for it.” Zenna’s mood quickly soured, hanging her head in disappointment. “She did one thing to me, one thing, and I made it my mission to make her life as miserable as possible for as long as possible. All because I couldn’t just… accept it and move on.”

“…Accept it and move on?” Chloe’s eyes wet with tears, her lips quivering slightly. “What did she do to you?”

“She rejected me… She humiliated me in front of the whole school, made me look like a loser…” Zenna sighed, rolling her eyes at how silly it was now. “But it wasn’t even her choice. I was the one who treated her unfairly for it. I was the one who wanted revenge.”

Chloe didn’t even open her mouth to speak that time, this was feeling familiar enough to her now that she really had no place to judge, just to listen and hear her out.

“We were best friends for so long. But I was so scared that she was going to reject me again that I threw it all away. I was the girl at school who shoved her in the hallways. I was the one who made fun of her for being a cripple. I was her bully.” Zenna grinded her fangs together, angry at herself being so stupid. “But I’ve changed. I’m sorry for doing all those things to her, and she knows it. She knows how much I regret letting what we had die… I want to make things right with her.”

“But… you’re still here against your will-”

“Am I?” Zenna chuckled lightly, taking a deep breath. “Have you ever even asked that- or did you just assume?”

“I guess I just assumed. I thought it was… implied…” Chloe’s eyes went wide, her face now flushed with embarrassment. “Are you not here against your will?”

“No.” Zenna shook her head, smiling proudly about that. “Darcey and Autumn, yes. But not me…”

“How?” Chloe’s mind was racing a mile a minute now, shredding her gears to dust. “How did this happen?”

“I’m a class C, just like you… I let her send me to the facility because I knew what that meant. Because if it meant that we’d finally get to be together, I’d do anything for her.”

“But this is slavery… why slavery?”

“Because she didn’t want me. It was the only way she’d let me back into her life, if I chose to be her drone…”

“How does making you her drone solve the problems she had with you, though?”

“Well I don’t know… if you chose to leave them then you probably hate your last owner for whatever it was they did to you…” Zenna giggled. “Would you not relish the opportunity to give them a taste of their own medicine? Would you not give them another chance if it was the other way around?”

“I mean I guess I would…” Chloe frowned, now looking down into her lap, staring into Poppy’s little eyes. “All this time I thought you were me, but… you’re Candace, aren’t you?”

“Candace?” Zenna swallowed nervously. “Claudia’s sister Candace?”

“Yes. Candace St. Clair, Candace… my Master, Candace.” She swallowed her anger and her shame all in one gulp, clutching Poppy to her chest. “And if you’re Candace, that means Claudia… is me.”

Zenna frowned. “You’re losing me here…”

“But I don’t want to be Claudia. I’m not allowed to be, I-”

“Alright alright. That’s enough of that.” The two girls turned towards the dumbwaiter, hearing their master’s voice as the door opened. “Lilian’s with her mother , and I would like a word with you both upstairs.”

Chloe glanced up at her, heart swelling with fear seeing the controller to her own collar now strapped to Claudia’s wrist. “You were listening…”

“Upstairs, girls.” Claudia completely shrugged her off, ordering her into the elevator. “Now.”

✶ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✶ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✶

“We need to have a very serious talk about how things are going to work from now on.” Claudia led them both upstairs, where amazingly- Darcey, Autumn, Josephine, and Candace were already waiting for them. “And before you ask, yes. We all did hear that just now.”

Chloe swallowed nervously, looking over at Candace quietly sulking over at the vanity, undoubtedly spurred on by hearing all that Chloe and Zenna had to say to each other.

“I have never seen all of my slaves in such chaotic disarray as this last week, and after hearing everything that these two had to say, I should be punishing every single one of you for how you’ve been behaving.” Claudia sat at the foot of her bed, directly next to her wife, who placed just one hand on Claudia’s thigh. “But I know that this is a really stressful time, and there have been many many changes in the last month, and I’m afraid there’s more to come.”

“Sit down, girls. I want you all to hear this.” Josephine smiled weakly, waiting for Zenna and Chloe to kneel on the floor next to Darcey and Autumn. “It’s about Lilian.”

Candace was just kind of here for the ride, honestly. This didn’t have much to do with her except for the fact that it was her sister, and by extension, her family. But the slaves were present, they were here to listen.

“This party means a lot to me, girls.” Claudia took over from there. “You might not know it, but this party is for my mother, Lilith. There’s only about three weeks until her birthday, and it’s going to be her last birthday.”

Lilith is dying. Claudia’s mother is dying. Chloe hardly knew the woman, but she felt for her master, even if she didn’t understand what it was like to lose a parent.

“I’m going to be fine, but Lilian is little still. We avoided the topic with Bella, but this is her grandmother.” Claudia sighed, smiling as she let Josie take her by the hand. “This entire slave empire is my mother’s legacy. But as much as it pains me to say it, we have not done enough to teach Lilian right from wrong or person from slave.”

“I haven’t done enough.” Josephine cut in, barely able to keep her voice from cracking. “And I’m sorry to have to admit it, but I don’t know how to fix it.”

The two of them were dancing around it, but it was obvious by the way that they squeezed each other’s hands and gazed into each other’s eyes that these two women really did love each other, and even though this was probably the hardest decision they’ve had to make, it was clear what they were trying to say before Claudia even had to say it. “Josephine and I are separating.”

All three of their loyal slaves were clearly heartbroken by this, some more than others. But Chloe could see that the pain in Zenna’s eyes was the worst out of all of them.

“Now this isn’t to say that we’re getting a divorce, we’re not.” Josephine did her best to try and assure them all. “Give us these few short weeks to figure things out, girls. We’re trying. We need this time.”

“But… if things aren’t figured out in time for this party-” Claudia tried her best not to make eye contact with anyone, especially the woman in the mirror behind her sister. “We’ll make a decision then, for Lilian’s sake.”

Josephine smiled sadly, concurring with what her wife had to say. “Now I’m sure you girls have questions-”

“What happens to Lilian, Ma’am?” Zenna was the one getting hit the most by this, put on the verge of panic. “You can’t both have custody of Lilian, she’s going into kindergarten next year, she needs one home, not two…”

“We’ve already thought of that, slave.” Claudia was the one to address her, being Zenna’s master. “And I heard what you said, I know how you think of our daughter, but you’re just going to have to accept this. You know better than anyone how Lilian is with me, and I need to get my future heiress ready for public life.”

“She’s our daughter, Zenna. Not yours.” Josephine frowned, speaking softer than Claudia would choose to. “You need to accept that this is in Lilian’s best interest.”

“It’s for your own good as well as hers, and it’s of your own doing, Zenna. We’re weaning her off of you.” Claudia came in with her stronger tone. “If it comes to this, Lilian will be staying with Josephine.”

“It’s the only way for me to make things right.” Josephine sighed, accepting what was probably eventually going to come to pass. “I’m going to learn to be a proper mother, and I am going to take care of Lilian.”

“Then I want to come with you!” Zenna protested, now beginning to cry. “Please- I’m begging you…”

Thump.

“No.” Claudia told her off, smacking her cane onto the floor to quiet the panicked kitten. “It will hurt, but you girls will have to live with being separated, all of you. Darcey and Autumn belong to Josie, they’ll help her take care of Lilian.”

“And me?” Zenna sobbed, looking up at her with terrified eyes. “I don’t get to see Lilian anymore?”

“You will get to see Lilian when I get to see Lilian, Zenna. You’re my slave, you belong to me, your loyalty should be to me, not to her.”

“We can talk this out later. But right now we need focus, we need obedience, and we need each of you to be on your best behavior from here until then.” Josephine stood up, putting herself between the two. “We need you girls to have faith in us, please… We’re trying to make the best decision for all of us.”

“And that’s why we’re giving you all one get out of jail free card. Things are terrible, we know, but from now until the party we need to get shit together.” Claudia was practically shouting at this point. “This is not an excuse or an invitation for any of you to misbehave, but starting from here, we’re letting you each get away with one singular infraction, because I can’t have any of you dying between now and then.”

Claudia sighed, breathing heavily as she finished speaking. Chloe could see in her face that she was beyond angry right now, but she kept that hidden just beneath the surface, right where only the observant could see it. She was staring into that mirror of hers for just a second too long, her heart heavy with guilt as she looked at that version of herself in the chrome, and not even looking into her sister’s eyes were going to change that reflection.

“There’s a catch, obviously.” Candace stood up from behind the girls, standing in the way between Claudia and the mirror. “This was my idea, and it was something that our father used to do with me when I was a kid to get me to go to church. If you want out of punishment, you have to make a confession.”

“A confession?” Chloe didn’t feel the need to say a single fucking word until after Candace had, but she wasn’t going to let any of her ideas stand without scrutinizing them. “What kind of confession?”

“A confession of your sins and misdeeds.” Candace went on, elaborating. “You won’t literally be taken to church, but you’re going to be expected to put the effort in if you want to be forgiven.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Mind giving us an example of what you mean?”

“There’s no need.” Claudia cut in, waving her sister back down. “Because I think for her own sake, Zenna should be expected to give hers now.”

“You want me to confess more?” Zenna sniffled, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Master?”

“If you would like to wake up tomorrow, yes.” Claudia pointed her cane towards Zenna. “I think you ought to use yours now.”

“Come on, girls. Darcey, Autumn.” Josephine stood up, motioning for her slaves to follow her out. “We don’t all need to be here for this.”

“Goodnight, Josie dear.”

“Goodnight honey~”

Josephine left, eager to get away from her wife after all of that, taking her slaves with her. Candace too decided it was her place to get up and leave, not even giving Chloe a passing glance. “I’ll look after Lilian. My mom was a nanny, I think it only fitting-”

“Good idea.” Chloe giggled, not about to let Candace leave with her dignity unscathed. “Go be more like your mom, okay?”

Oh she did not just say that, did she? To Candace? Did Chloe really think Candace wasn't going to say something back? No, of course she didn't. She was counting on it.

Candace took a deep breath, almost snarling at the slave's insolence under her breath before turning around and staring her down, now red in her extremely pale face, looking like she was about to breathe fire like a dragon would- this girl was not happy. She was pissed to hear her former slave, Sophia Cavalier of all people, trying to edge her on- an even more pissed that it was working. She was beyond upset with Chloe after everything she said about her to Zenna in that cell, and she was not about to let her get away with thinking that she could somehow in any way be above her. That girl needed her ego stomped back into the dirt right where it belonged.

And she was just the woman to do it, too.

“I’m a piece of shit, I get it, but you’re not a classy woman and you’re never going to be a classy woman- and not even because you’re a slave. My mother was a slave through and through and she’s still classier than you could ever hope to be in your entire life, oh and better yet, unlike me you’re never not going to be somebody’s slave, even if you so desperately want to turn the tables on me somehow. I know you’re hurt, but I’m not in the mood to field far flung insults from a mutt’s mouth.”

Candace was absolutely done putting up with this sort of behavior from Chloe, she had sat through enough of it, and she was not having it today.

“Yes, my mother was a slave, and I am endlessly appreciative of what she did for me in spite of that- especially for bringing me into this ugly world you live in. And If I could punish the one who killed her, I would, so mention my mother to me one more time and you’re not going to see me follow in her footsteps, which includes not getting to see me serve in a cute little uniform at the party like I know you so desperately want to when you lash out for attention like you are, so watch your cunt-smelling cumsock of a mouth before you get into a fight that you know you can’t win, you punkass dumpster fire show dog wannabe.”

She slammed the door shut behind her with as much force as she could muster, not even giving the other girl a moment to respond. Chloe was left in awe, her heart aching at her words. She wasn’t even hurt by Candace’s words, if anything- she wanted that woman. She wanted that woman more than she ever had.

“Chloe…” Claudia had to snap her out of her own head from behind. “I think you ought to return to the cell for now, okay?”

“Are you sure, Ma’am?” Chloe blushed, hanging her head in shame as she squeezed Poppy in her arms. “I can stay and help you have fun with Zenna?”

“I’m sure, slave.” Claudia didn’t actually seem very much happier with Chloe than her sister was. “Besides, there’s not going to be any fun to be had here with Zenna, now go.”

Thump. Claudia struck the ground with her cane, and Chloe was nothing if not receptive to its influence over her, scurrying her way to the dumbwaiter as fast as she could.

“Yes, Master… I’m sorry…”

“Goodnight, slave. I will talk this out with you in the morning.”