Fortune Favors the Daring

Simone gently touched her shoulder, "Are you ready to be one of my girls now?"

It took all her strength, but Krista turned to look at Simone. She had undressed and entered the shower to be near her. Her hand was still on the shoulder, and her eyes communicated a sense of acceptance. There was an embrace in her look that accentuated the one gentle touch of her hand.

"Can I have some time to feel better before I say yes?"

"Of course Krista. I always give new girls a few days to make the adjustment. Not only does the testing leave them a bit tired and drained, but the idea takes time to settle in to your mind."

"Thank you Simone." Krista stepped forward to cling to Simone, wrapping her arms around her and finding a sense of support and strength in holding her. They stood there, just holding each other for unmarked minutes as the water continued to flow over and around them; enveloping them in a sheer curtain of water. The only sound was the echoes of splashes and the muted sound of the other's breath.

Finally Simone reached out to turn the water off and lead Krista over to a bench piled with towels to dry her. "When you are dressed, I'll take you back to the front hall and we'll have a car ready for you. You have the choice of staying at home and we can call you when you are needed, or moving in here. The choice is yours. Take a few days to think about it and then decide."

The strength from this older woman filled her with a new understanding of herself. She was once again real, not masked and hidden. She was making her choices, no longer following the whims of others. Her life was different now, and the prospects of what lie ahead far outweighed whatever she might be giving up. In a few days she would call Simone with the decision she knew she would be making. Dressing in silence, Krista watched Simone walk naked out of the shower room and off to some other part of the mansion. Her pride in her body, her self, was inspiring and quieting at the same time.

A few moments later, the two of them stood at the front doors, waiting to send Krista home again. No words were exchanged, but Krista reached out to clasp Simone's hand. A touch for reassurance perhaps, or just to be certain that this was real and not a dream. That one point of human contact, a touch unlike the others during the testing, the unspoken conversation that she had hoped to have at the end of it all.

As the car pulled up to the steps, Simone walked Krista down the steps, and opened the door for her. "I'm very pleased you withstood the testing. I can see great things in you." Passing an envelope inside, she closed the door and motioned for the driver to pull out. Krista waited until the house had vanished behind her before she opened it, Inside she found a silver mask brooch, encrusted with diamonds; and a large stack of $100 bills. She affixed the brooch to her lapel and stuffed the bills, uncounted, into her jacket pocket. She rode back in silence, finding the trip back to be infinitely foreign to the voyage out, returning to a world in which she no longer belonged.