Chapter Six

RoseAndThorns: Okay, so apparently they have some kind of prank war going on and now I'm part of it

Jewelee: Like what?

RoseAndThorns: Like okay, it started with me irritating Lila

RoseAndThorns: And she told Faith to put some ice down my pants and she did

Jewelee: Lila's the small one? The one that looks like a kid?

RoseAndThorns: Right. I got her back though, I froze all of Faith's bras

Jewelee: lol

Jewelee: What are you, 12?

RoseAndThorns: Shut up

RoseAndThorns: It was fitting revenge

Jewelee: So what happened? You said it's a war

RoseAndThorns: It got a little physical

RoseAndThorns: Faith is a lot stronger than she looks

RoseAndThorns: We ended up wrestling in the living room

RoseAndThorns: I escaped her hold 'cuz double-jointed

Jewelee: lol

RoseAndThorns: She wasn't ready for that

RoseAndThorns: So now I have to be on the lookout

Jewelee: Sounds like fun?

Jewelee: I hope you win

RoseAndThorns: I'm no pushover

RoseAndThorns: I'll win

"Bree! Come on! We're heading out to dinner."

Out to dinner. That was odd, they almost never went out. Other than shopping or a quick walk, they almost never went out to eat. Someone would either order pizza or would run through a drive-thru and bring it home. Sabrina had gone on several short trips, but no real "outing".

RoseAndThorns: Gotta go

She slipped her phone in her back pocket and headed out to the living room. "Where are we going?"

The three of them were standing by the front door, Kinsley at the back nearest the door, Lila to the left with a huge grin on her face, and Faith to the right with her arms crossed over her chest and a scowl. "We're going out to the Burger Shack, the one with unlimited fries."

"Oh I like that place, I haven't eaten there forever." Sabrina studiously ignored Faith's glare - it was obvious she was still upset about her bras, though they would be long-returned to room temperature by now. "Let's go."

"We just have one problem." Faith's foot was tapping on the ground as she spoke.

"You put Faith's bra in the freezer?" Kinsley asked in that way that wasn't really a question, but the way a parent asks a child to confess.

"Sure did." Sabrina grinned. "She tossed ice down my pants. Turnabout is fair play."

Lila only grinned wider, bouncing from foot to foot with sudden energy. Sabrina didn't feel so sure anymore.

"Are you sorry?" Faith demanded.

"Are you sorry for putting ice down my pants?"

"You were being a brat. I was correcting your behavior. I don't need to apologize for that. I tried to discuss this with you earlier today, but you walked away."

"You tried to pin me to the ground! Of course I walked away, I'm not going to fight you."

"Faith is within her rights to discipline you, Bree." Kinsley's tone was serious, but her words seemed absurd.

"What!? Discipline me for what? I just said I don't like tits on a guy! And how is tossing ice down my underpants within her rights?"

Kinsley shook her head, sighing. "Look. We have a pecking order here. I'm at the top, you're at the bottom. Lila and Faith are above you." Sabrina blinked as her normally friendly host laid out this previously unmentioned set of rules. "If either of them decide you need to be punished, then you will be. How's your job hunt going?"

Sabrina had been cut off before she could object to the mention of punishment. She blushed, looking down. "I haven't gotten a single callback. Yet. I was-"

"Did you ask Faith to take you out? Or to bring you more applications?"

"I was going to... "

"You were going to continue to enjoy our hospitality as long as you could?"

Guilt washed over Sabrina. She had been doing her best to help out around the house, to be a productive member of the group, but the fact was she hadn't been actively looking. All of the applications that Faith had brought to her had been filled out, Sabrina had given them back to Faith to turn in... but she hadn't followed up after that. She had been planning on doing just that for well over a week, but there was always something to do, something to watch, something to play with the other housemates.

"It's not like that... I was going to ask Faith to take me to some places to apply in person, pound the pavement, you know... I just... "

"You just haven't." Kinsley folded her arms as well. "Look, you're one of us now, right? You're not just crashing here at this point, you live here."

"I do?" It hadn't even been a month. "You mean, you want me to stay?" Lila looked overjoyed, Kinsley looked very happy, but Faith looked irritated at best. Does she not want me to be here?

"Absolutely! Very yes!" Lila's grin was ear-to-ear as she swayed back and forth, her eyes shining. "Don't you want to?"

It didn't take much thought for Sabrina, a smile crept across her face - the past two weeks had been the least stressful, most enjoyable time in quite a long time. They accepted her here, they joked with her, they played games together and talked about their lives and experiences until well into the night. She felt like, for the first time in her life, she fit in. The guilt was still there, gnawing at her, but she could promise to try harder.

"I mean, of course I do... the past couple of weeks have been the best. I'm so thankful for you, for your hospitality."

"So you're staying?" Faith's scowl softened, one corner of her lips upturned.

"Yes, thank you!"

Faith stepped forward and placed her hands gently on Sabrina's shoulders. "Then there's one thing you need to do. You have to be punished for freezing my bras."

"You're serious? What are you going to do?"

Kinsley nodded, still standing by the door. "Nothing much, Bree. This is your first punishment."

"If you don't count the ice!" Lila giggled, wrapping herself around Kinsley's arm, her eyes never leaving Sabrina's.

"You're going to go change your clothes," Faith explained calmly. "Go grab the dress that's in your closet, and the white tights from the dresser."

"There's no dress in- "

"Go, Bree." Faith stepped back, her arms crossed again and a smug smile on her face.

▲ ▲ ▲

The image that looked out at her from the mirror on the back of the door was not the one that she expected. The dress was simple, loose hanging, and de-emphasized her bust. The hem of the skirt fell just to her knees, the white tights underneath combining to make her look much younger than she was ready to admit.

"I'm twenty-six." Her reflection didn't seem to believe her. She ran a hand over her hair that had grown far beyond too-long, even that prickly softness of too-long was gone and it was beginning to feel fluffy. "And I'm shaving this when we get back."

She looked herself up and down again, the soft pink of the dress covered in small red flowers. Drawing a deep breath, she focused on the fact that they had accepted her, that she was a part of the house now. This small indignity would be worth it, they were her friends. Two weeks of being around them essentially twenty-four hours a day had solidified that bond, and for the first time since she could remember, she felt hopeful for the future.

Faith beamed, her irritation gone as Sabrina returned to the living room. "Oh you look darling! I told you it would fit." The last comment was aimed at Lila, who simply stuck her tongue out at Faith.

"So why do you want me to look younger?"

"We just need to get you used to the hierarchy." Kinsley stepped forward, wrapping an arm around Sabrina's shoulders and pulling her close, towering over her. "And you seem to think you're more mature than Lila, don't you?" Against her will, Sabrina's cheeks responded, burning red and revealing her true thoughts. "Well you're starting at the bottom, sugar."

"How do I climb up? You said Faith came after Lila, so it's not a time thing."

"That's for you to figure out, my dear. Now come on, I'm hungry."

"You look really, really cute Bree!" Lila took Sabrina's hand in both of hers and tugged her toward the door.

Dinner wasn't so bad, other than the waitress referring to Sabrina as "the little sister". She had tried to correct the woman but had earned a swift kick in the leg from Faith underneath the table as a warning. The food was good, the company was good, and everything was very normal excepting the interactions with the staff... and having to hold Kinsley's hand in the parking lot.

She was very glad to be back to the old house on Sortwell, to the swinging shingle and the creaking floorboards. The moment they were through the door, she headed straight back for her room. It didn't feel like Emmie's room now, not just some place she was squatting in, they had accepted her into their bizarre little commune. Still, she couldn't wait to get changed.

Faith called after her before she had gotten halfway down the hall. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go change, get out of this dress."

"Oh no you don't. You're in that dress because you froze my bras."

Sabrina whirled, placing her fists on her hips. "I froze your bras because you put ice down my pants!"

"Which we've already established that I'm allowed to do. But you're not allowed to put my freaking bras in the freezer! So get back here, we're going to play some games."

"I will, right after I change." Sabrina turned and walked away, headed for her room and ignoring Faith.

"Kinsley!" Faith called for the tallest of the three. "I need a hand."

Shaking her head and rolling her eyes, Sabrina closed the door to her room behind her and began pulling the dress over her head. "This is ridiculous." She wasn't prepared for her bedroom door opening behind her, Kinsley's tall form filling the doorway. "What the fuck!? I'm changing!"

"And you were told not to." Kinsley's face was stone and her hands were unyielding marble as she grabbed Sabrina by the waist, her arms still tangled up in the half-removed dress. Without warning, a strong strike shot pain throughout Sabrina's bottom. She cried out, trying to get back to her feet. A hand on her shoulder blade held her to the bed, as Kinsley's other hand delivered a second hit, and a third.

"Ow! Stop! You can't do this!"

"I can. Or you can leave. It's that simple."

A chill rushed through Sabrina as she felt the hands withdraw, though the pain still lingered. She turned around and pulled her dress down, looking up at Kinsley, and seeing Faith standing in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest once more and a smug smirk on her lips. There was no smirk upon Kinsley's, no trace of jest or humor. The tallest of the dolls could have been made of ice.

"You can't be serious. You invite me to stay and in the same day you give me an ultimatum? That's some garbage and you know it. Am I welcome here or aren't I?"

"Of course you're welcome here," Faith chimed in. "You just have to follow the rules."

"But the rules were just don't make Lila cry and be kind to each other! This isn't kind."

"Those are the rules for guests." Kinsley took a step forward and placed a finger under Sabrina's chin, guiding her eyes upward. "You're a part of the Dollhouse now. You're a doll. You fit in so perfectly, we love you so much, but you have to show respect to those above you in the house."

"Who is above me?"

"Right now? Everyone. You're at the bottom, sugar. But do as you're told and you'll be just fine." Kinsley caressed Sabrina's cheek as she spoke, the gentle stroke a stark contrast to the sharp strike that she still felt in the flesh of her posterior.

Sabrina's mind reeled as she considered the ramifications of this change. The three of them were generally nice, but the fact of the matter was that Kinsley had just hit her and she looked more than prepared to do it again. She weighed the thought of returning to the street, of going back to her landlord and begging for a chance to pay him back. Of heading to a shelter and hoping that they would be kind to her, in spite of her obvious queerness - but she knew there was no hope there.

Not in the south.

"What are the rules?" She pursed her lips and looked down, her chin slipping from Kinsley's fingers.

"If you're told to do something by someone above you, you do it. Do your chores and do what you can to help the Dollhouse. The stuff I said about taking care of each other still stands, that's what we're all about. And we love you - or we wouldn't have accepted you here. We would have helped you get back on your feet and sent you on your way, the same way we have so many people before you."

Faith's expression softened as Kinsley spoke, her posture relaxed and a smile spread across her face. "We're hoping that maybe you'll help us help the next person."

Sabrina's confusion melted away as she looked up at her smiling friends. They were oddballs, but they loved her and she knew it. She nodded. "Okay. But how do I get so I'm not on the bottom?"

"We'll work on that." Kinsley ran a hand over Sabrina's hair, smiling warmly. "Don't worry."