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I try to ignore it, instead waiting for my racing heart to slow. It’s thumping in my chest, a feeling that I’ve never had from kissing another. And certainly, a feeling that I never expected a human to be able to give me.
What is with this woman? I can’t help but feel as if she tricked me somehow. She read my intentions and turned them on their side before I even knew what she was doing. Is she really that clever?
But on the other hand, it’s hard to imagine that she outsmarted me. All that ridiculous talk of ‘gods’ suggests a childish and naive mind.
What kind of intelligent creature would believe such nonsense? What kind of stupid creature could come up with such a manipulative technique by design? It had to be entirely coincidental, that she pushed the right buttons in the right combination to accidentally stumble into my unexpected reaction.
The adrenaline in my veins is beginning to slow, my body coming back to normal. Now that I’m a bit more composed, I resolve to forget the whole thing.
She’s clearly a bit daft, and no conspiring mastermind. Whatever happened between us was a strange fluke of some kind. Mysterious, but unlikely to repeat itself.
There’s absolutely no way that I was manipulated by a human dense enough to believe in the fairytale of gods. It just can’t be.
She needs to learn her place, plain and simple. I’m willing to accept some of the blame for this. I allowed her to make me uncertain, and that sort of weak authority is why she’s getting out from under my thumb so easily.
I have to get myself together and command her like the leader that I am. When I act like her boss, which I am, she’ll treat me like one. I can hardly blame her for stepping out of her role when I haven’t effectively taught her what it is.
I’m too frustrated to address the problem tonight, and I know it won’t help to try again if I’m just going to continue to do sloppy work. It will be better to wait and start fresh tomorrow, once I’ve had some time to get in the right frame of mind.
For now, I’ll put her back in the dungeon. She shouldn’t be roaming the house, free. As if she were my equal!
My mind made up, I leave my room to find her. She’s returned to the doorway that looks into the living room, looking at all the destruction I have wrought with quiet shock.
Something about the look on her face irks me, making me feel as though I’m being judged. Considering it’s coming from an irritating human, I’m extremely displeased. At least it strengthens my resolve to return her to the dungeon and get her out of my hair.
She’s beginning to feel like a bug I’m not allowed to squash. Having to share my house with her is proving to be torture. I’ll have to make a considerable effort to curb this behavior tomorrow before the situation becomes untenable.
“Back to the dungeon, slave,” I growl. She turns to look at me, and her forehead wrinkles. Her hazel eyes crinkle at the edges, thinking.
“Can’t I stay, now that I’m here? I’m not going to run or fight you, obviously.”
I scoff at the idea that she could fight me. I’m not at all shy about showing her what a ridiculous suggestion that is.
She purses her lips, a brief look of annoyance flashing across her face. But she holds it in, continuing as if she didn’t notice my reaction.
“I know that you brought me here to breed me. You need children, so let’s just do it. Can’t we drop the other stuff, the chains, and the dungeon and all that, and I promise to play nice?”
I stare at her, momentarily caught off guard by how straight forward this woman is. But I’m not about to let her mess with my head again, the way that she did with that kiss earlier. I quickly brush off my reaction, grabbing her by the arm to drag her downstairs once more.
She doesn’t complain, though she does continue to make her case. It’s not begging, as much as it is firmness. She repeats that she has no intention of running away and that she’s willing to cooperate.
Unfortunately for her, I don’t care about that. In fact, her cooperation is a bit of a turn off, if I’m being quite honest.
“Aren’t you scared at all?” I finally demand, annoyed that she seems so indifferent to it all. “All of this is against your will, and you just don’t care?”
“Everything has happened the way that it has for a purpose. If my purpose is to bear you children, I will. I trust The Mother.”
I scowl, shoving her into the cage and slamming the metal door shut. Who the hell is this mother that she keeps going on about? This woman is so strange it’s starting to weird me out, a position that never occurs.
I’m starting to worry that she might be a bit feeble-minded, and possibly not good stock for breeding. Maybe I can take her back to the king and get another, warn him that she seems to be defective. If I wasn’t so afraid of the King’s fury, I might. To do so would be to insult his gift, and I don’t dare.
“Can’t you at least take the chains off?” she asks. Her voice is soft and though she doesn’t beg, there’s a hint of genuine earnestness. Having the chains off isn’t something she’s mentioning just to annoy or boss me – she’s quite bothered by them.
I’m surprised that the idea doesn’t thrill me more. Knowing that the chains are getting through to her should delight me, but instead I just feel a weird pang in my chest.
I fling open the door, dropping to one knee long enough to unfasten all her chains. When I am done, I look up and meet her gaze.
Our eyes lock for a moment. In her gaze is something even softer than her voice, a tenderness that seems to thank me for my help.
