To Love and To Leave

31: One and the Same

The atmosphere felt thick with tension as Steph and Cam entered the bathroom. Cam in particular felt tense about knowing what she supposedly had to do. How could she make Steph fall in love with her? She hated the woman and the very last thing she wanted was to be appealing to her. A visible shudder shook at her.

"Go ahead and strip you clothes, sweet," Steph ordered. "I'll start the bath."

Cam didn't want a bath, but she didn't think she could make demands with Steph that she did with Rick. Sighing, she began to peel off her leggings and sweater. Then finally her undies, because she had never been given a bra. Her eyes slowly drifted towards Steph. She was completely naked and felt entirely vulnerable.

Now that the water was flooding into the ceramic clawfoot, Steph stood back up and turned to face her. Cam's hands instantly went to cover her breasts. It didn't matter that they were small; she felt the need to hide and protect them anyway.

"Oh," the vampire cooed pitifully. She approached her prey with slow, exaggerated steps. That smile spread across her teeth. "Do not hide from me. My sweet."

Cam shivered as Steph pried her hands away from her chest. She felt like vomiting. Smiling wider, Steph's gaze raked slowly up and down her figure. What if she tried to assault Cam right here?! Oh, God, no. She didn't know if she could defend herself anymore.

"You know, I never thought society did fat girls any justice." Steph casually released her grip on Cam's arms. "They've been scrutinizing women of your...flavor for centuries. And I've there have been a few select places in a few select generations where the round, soft body was celebrated but I, of course, wasn't alive to see them."

There was no room in Cam's mind to feel insulted by being crammed into the fat category. She was trying hard enough to deal with being naked and alone with this creature.

Shaking her head, Steph took her hand and led her towards the tub. She said, "I don't have to live in an era of robust appreciation in order for me to appreciate you. Now, get into the clawfoot, my sweet."

Cam obliged. The water felt to be practically boiling as she slid in, making her wince. Her body adjusted swiftly. Steph crouched behind her and helped douse her hair and lather the parts of her body above water. All Cam could do was sit. She'd never felt so helpless—not even when she'd been bound to that table.

> : <

This went on for weeks. Cam could count them now with crafts Rick supplied her with to pass the time. When she wasn't refining her drawing skills or meeting more of the coven or being forced to kill helpless victims to feed herself, she was almost always alone with Steph.

Her captor had become more aggressive. Cam chose to become victim to everything and her only defense was that this would be one step closer to freedom. Now that she was doing things she'd never in her life thought she'd do, she had to trust Rick. He'd known all this time. He told her from the beginning she would come to trust him and he was right. Rick was the sole sliver of light in her increasingly darkening life.

But she didn't allow Steph to notice this internal decay. She could let her see, or the whole plan would be lost. This had to be believable. If she was going to become Steph's victim, she had to believe herself that a reward would become of it.

The strange chanting didn't end. Cam noticed they nearly sung it sometimes at coven gatherings.

Werewolves are monsters. They prowl the woods at night and eat our young. Werewolves are monsters. They sneak into our homes and take our guts to wrung. Werewolves are monsters. They eat, molest and kill. Our defense is our tongue.