Kat

Kat, Chapter Twelve

 Kat's knees were resting upon the plush crimson carpet of her Mistress's study. A fire crackled in the fireplace, filling the deafening silence in the room. Under normal circumstances, it would've been cozy, almost familiar to Kat at this point. But now, the air was thick with anticipation.

Finally, Mistress Alexa cleared her throat and looked down at Kat. "Okay. Let's talk," she said.

Kat's eyes stayed glued to the carpet. "Talk?"

"Yes, talk. What happened yesterday?" she asked, crossing her legs and looking into the fire for a moment, as if for answers. Then, she turned back to Kat and continued, "Why did you disobey me? And I want the truth, Kat."

Kat pursed her lips and squirmed as a number of thoughts floated through her head. Because you own a person. Because you're not a good person. Because I hate being your slave. But none of them seemed right. Especially that last one, for some reason, it just felt wrong. But Kat knew it to be true, she just knew it, even though they all felt like lies.

Eventually, she slouched and sunk down, confessing, "Because I wanted to see what you would do, Mistress."

Mistress Alexa didn't speak, leaving Kat with the echoes of her words. Kat fidgeted nervously, before continuing, "I'm sorry Mistress. It was inappropriate of me."

"Yes, yes it was," her Mistress said.

Kat thought back to her conversation with Cobb, and for a moment, remained quiet. Then, looking at her hands, she said, "I disrespected you."

"Yes, you did," she said, eyebrows raised. "I'm surprised at your awareness. Why, though, Kat? You had to have known you'd get in trouble."

Something swelled within Kat. Something sad, something heavy. "I... wanted you to hit me, Mistress," she said, looking away. "I... thought you would."

Mistress Alexa coughed. "What? Did you want to be hurt, Kat?"

Kat looked up at her, a sad look of surprise on her face, a frown on her lips. "No Mistress! I... no, I didn't want to be hurt. But I knew it would happen. It always happens," she said, slouching back down. "It always happens."

Now it was Kat's turn to stare into the fire, as if for answers. But within the orange gold glow of the flickering flames, she found nothing but wood turning to ash. Then, she turned back to her Mistress, and looked up at her, almost expectantly.

Her Mistress opened her mouth to speak, but only sighed and sat back in her chair, closing her eyes for a moment. "Kat, sweetie," she said, gently, "I would never hit you, especially not out of anger."

Kat shook her head. "Lies, Mistress. You tell me ot to lie. Why would you lie to me?" she muttered.

Mistress Alexa chuckled sadly. "Kat, I promise you - and I keep my promises - but I promise you that I will never, ever, strike you out of anger. I may spank you, but I will never abuse you."

"How... how could I know?" Kat asked.

"Well," her Mistress said, "That's where trust comes in, Kat. I'm not that kind of person. Those kinds of people belong in the courts. Kat, do you know what the punishment for abusing a domestic slave is?"

Kat shook her head.

"It's a lifetime of indentured servitude." She leaned on her fist. "And those people have it coming. All slaves deserve some modicum of basic human dignity."

"Human," Kat said with a bitter laugh.

"You don't think I see you as human?" Mistress Alexa asked, eyebrows furrowed. "I see you as human, Kat. A human I own, but a human nonetheless. A human with emotions, and feelings, and hopes, and dreams. Just like me."