Kat, Full Novel

That was when she'd met John. A thief, he was. He'd noticed her stealing from the store and stopped her on her way out, giving her the worst panic attack of her life. At the time, anyway. She thought she'd been caught by a store employee, or an off duty police officer, but when John asked her if she was interested in getting more, it'd all flipped like a dime. Suddenly, he had her interest, and she was in the palm of his hands.

He'd taken her aside, off to an alleyway. Not the smartest thing, she knew, but times were desperate. He'd mentioned that he was planning to rob a house, steal some jewelry and dip. And she'd be paid beforehand for just keeping guard outside. An easy job, and the cash sounded nice. Four hundred dollars to just look both ways before crossing the street? Perfect.

She took the job. It'd been her first mistake of many. He'd chosen the house, a small one in a suburban area, a little upbeat and out a ways from the city. A nice place in a nice neighborhood. Apparently, the people were out of town, so it should've been an easy target, according to him. All Katherine had to do was sit in the car and wait for him to return. Easy as pie.

Only, it wasn't so easy. He'd made it in alright, but within minutes, police were on the scene. He'd apparently forgotten about the alarm. They were both swiftly arrested and tossed in jail. That was the first time Kat had ever been in a cell, but it certainly wouldn't be the last. Oh no. If only she'd known what was in store, she would've learned her lesson there. She would've stopped.

The judge she went before was Judge Wayne A. Gaddet the Honorable. He wasn't too old for a judge; she guessed he was in his late thirties at most. His short black hair had just a tinge of gray in it, but he was clean shaven and had strong features. The look in his eye when he looked upon Kat was one of pity, almost. Certainly a strange sadness.

"What," he'd asked, "is a young girl such as yourself doing in my court today? Why would you put yourself through something like this?"

She'd tried to explain her poverty, her fear, how John had roped her into a scheme. She confessed to it all, while he listened intently. And in the end, she'd gotten off with a fine and probation. Probation which, though painful, she served for six months.

Of course she learned nothing.

John had gotten it worse. He'd been sentenced to three years in prison, with the possibility of parole. She'd never seen him again. She didn't have time to.

Aria had been incredibly disappointed in her, and that'd hurt worse than the sentencing itself. Of course, she helped Katherine pay the fine, but still. With their already burdened finances, they couldn't take much more of that. And yet...

Within a few days, Katherine was arrested trying to pickpocket a man. It was swift this time, two days in jail and then back before judge Gaddet. Once more he had that sad, pitying look in his eye, one that seemed to strike her to her core and leave her feeling violated.

"This is your second time here. Did you learn nothing at first?" he asked. "Two hundred dollars, and a warning. This is your second strike. If I see you in here again on a theft charge, I may not have the power to save you again."

With that, she'd been sent on her way. Again, Aria had helped her pay the fine. But in the end, it'd meant nothing.

Her third charge was the worst of them all. Theft from a car, during which she'd been caught by an off duty police officer. After being promptly tackled, she'd appeared for the last time in judge Gaddet's court, where she learned that that was his own daughter's car.

She remembered when the courts had made their decision. The uncaring look on the judge's fat face. The court room's silence. Her own despair. The way the rain tapped on the roof of the court house. And for what? Petty theft.

She remembered Aria's face when the gavel came down. How the color drained from it. How her hands shook. The lonely tear that crept down her cheek and dripped to the carpet below. At the time, she'd wished she could react like that, but the shock of it all had her frozen, wallowing in her own fear like an insect caught within a hurricane. That was the last time she'd seen Aria.

And that was her first day as a slave.

Kat laid her head on her Mistress's chest, looking away. A small tear trickled down her cheek and onto her Mistress's pajamas. Mistress Alexa said nothing, wordlessly stroking Kat's hair and breathing softly. They sat in each other's company for a time, before Kat spoke again.

"My first Master. He bought me soon after that."

"Who was he, Kat?" Mistress Alexa asked. "Tell me, please."

"He..." Kat sniffled and blinked away a tear. "He was that man. The one I threw the platter at."

Mistress Alexa's hand paused for a moment, before continuing to pet her. Kat's fingers curled up around the blanket and a pang of shame heated her cheeks. "He would hit me when I did something bad. Even when I didn't. He would... do things. Bad things. Awful things."

She buried her face into the blanked and squeezed her eyes tight, stifling another tear. Voice muffled, she continued, "He would use me. When he got home, he would come find me, and if I hadn't finished my chores, he would... he would..."

Don't cry, she thought. Not now. Don't let go. But it was too late. The tears were here to stay. She sobbed into the blanket, clenching it in her fists. Mistress Alexa kept petting her, silent. Images of her Master floated through her head. His face, his evil eyes, that wicked smile he always had. She shivered.

Eventually, Mistress Alexa stopped and pulled Kat up to her. Kat let her do it, going limp. The fight in her was gone, exhausted. She let her Mistress pull her up and settled her into the crook of her arm. Mistress Alexa leaned in and planted a small kiss on her forehead, and Kat nuzzled into her neck.

Slowly the tears stopped, and Kat was able to regain some of herself. She sniffled and looked up to her Mistress, who looked down at her with concern in Her eyes. "That was him?"

She nodded. "Yes, Mistress."

Mistress Alexa turned away, seemingly lost in thought. "I see. Kat?"

"Yes Mistress?" she responded.

"If I had known what that man did to you, I would have never let him into our house. I mean it," Mistress Alexa said, shaking her head. "I'm... sorry, that you had to go through that."

Kat stared at her for a minute, and then laid her head back down. "Thank you Mistress."

"Thank you? For what?" Mistress Alexa asked, looking back down at Kat with furrowed eyebrows.

Kat smiled softly, blinking another tear from her eyes. "For caring."

Mistress Alexa squeezed her. "Of course I care, Kat."

"You don't have to, though."

"I want to."

Kat curled her fingers into her Mistress's sheets. "Because you're a good person."

"So are you, Kat. You deserved better than that. Than this."

A moment of silence passed over them. It seemed like her Mistress wanted to say something more, but was hesitating. She stroked Kat's back under the covers, quiet. Kat noticed, and paused.

"Mistress?"

"Yes Kat?" she said, turning down to look at her as Kat laid on her chest.

She hesitated now. Something was wrong, but she wasn't sure what. "It's... nothing, Mistress. Sorry."

"It's okay Kat," she said, planting a small kiss on her forehead. "It'll be okay."

"I know, Mistress."

Alexa, Chapter Eleven

"Cobb," she said as he poured her more coffee. "I have a meeting with Antwon in the near future, do I not?"

Cobb nodded, and stopped pouring just as the coffee was exactly half an inch from the brim of her mug. Always a perfectionist, she thought. "Indeed. This Friday, I believe."

Alexa sipped at her coffee and hummed. "Ooh, this is good Cobb."

"Thank you, Madam," he said with a grin. "Oh, and Kat would like to know if she may have a new book. Apparently, she's devoured her first one and hungers for a second. Quite a fiend, her."

Alexa chuckled. "Tell her I said sure, we'll get her something this weekend. But back to Antwon, Cobb," she said, a serious look befalling her face. "You know what I told you?"

"Yes, Madam," he said, placing the coffee pot back and wiping down the counter with a wet towel. "I couldn't forget something quite so astonishing."

"Right. Well, this Friday, I'm thinking we should give our friend Antwon a very, very special treatment, don't you think?" she asked, raising an eyebrow with a wily grin on her face.

Cobb looked over his shoulder and smiled hungrily. "I do agree, Madam. I think that would be most fitting."

Alexa took another sip of her coffee and set it down on the table. "Good. Now, where is Kat? I haven't seen her all day."

"She is out back, Madam. Her plants are starting to blossom quite well, and she takes some pride in them, if I may say. It's honestly been rather enjoyable to watch."

"You and that garden, Cobb. One day you'll become one of your precious plants, you know. I read it in a book one time. You'll grow roots and vines and become a tomato," she said, matter-of-factly, holding a finger up to illustrate her intelligence.

Cobb turned around and leaned on the counter. "And they say if you eat too much meat your brain becomes a little too fat. Shame you're such a carnivore."

She sipped her coffee and flipped him the bird. He only laughed it off and turned back around, starting to do some dishes. "She is quite an alright catch, Madam. And, I'll say, you seem much better now that she's returned."

"Yeah, well... I'm just glad she's back," Alexa said, staring into her coffee. Her reflection looked up at her with tired eyes, but smiled nonetheless. "Dunno if I could handle losing her."

"I'm not sure I could either, Madam," Cobb said. "You should spend time with her in the garden, if I may. I'm sure she would appreciate that."

Alexa smiled and nodded. "Yeah, that's not a bad idea. Good one, Cobb."

He shrugged. "My pleasure."

Alexa downed the last of her coffee and stood, heading for the door. The morning sunlight was bright, but pleasantly warm, she thought as she made her way around the house and into the garden. When she got there, stepping under a lattice arch overgrown with morning lilies, she found Kat trying to plant something from a smaller pot into a bigger one.

She cleared her throat so as to not spook Kat. Kat still flinched, but turned around and, upon seeing Alexa, smiled and said, "Good morning, Mistress."

"Good morning to you," she said, walking over to Kat. She stared down at Kat's little project. It looked like a little tree. "What is this?"

"A gooseberry bush, Mistress," Kat said, digging a small hole in the dirt of the larger pot.

"Ah, those," she said, smiling. "I like the way they hide in their little shells, but are so sweet once they come out."

Kat nodded, looking up. A small bead of sweat trickled down her forehead, and she wiped it on her sleeve. "They are really tasty."

Alexa bent down next to her. "I never took you for a gardener. I guess Cobb has been getting into your head more than I thought."

Kat paused, and sat back on her heels. "I... I just like the way they bloom. Come to life. I like bringing them to life and watching them grow, Mistress. It's... soothing."

She planted a hand on Kat's head and rustled her hair. "Now you know how I feel."

Kat stared up at her blankly, a confused look on her face. Alexa chuckled and shook her head, giving Kat a small kiss on her forehead. "Don't worry about it sweetie. I'm just glad to see you enjoying something."

Kat smiled again. "I... thank you, Mistress."

Alexa winked. "Anytime. Now, let me see what you're doing."

Friday came faster than she'd expected. It was as if Wednesday and Thursday had been completely skipped by reality. It was jarring, to say the least. She'd spend the past two days in meetings downtown, arguing with her executives over the stunt she was about to pull tonight. They weren't happy with her, but eventually they warmed up to it. After all, this was an honest business she was trying to run here, and honest businesses didn't deal with criminals, much less slave abusers.

So, she thought, there were no hang-ups on this. She never really liked Antwon anyway. He always had that air about him that said that he was up to something shady, something suspicious. The way he smiled made her think that he was trying to manipulate her. She'd seen manipulation before; there was plenty of it in the corporate world. So she could tell when someone was doing it to her.

The doorbell rang, and she could hear Cobb answering it. She sat in her dining room, dressed in a fine black suit, not really for any other reason than to make a show of it. She waited patiently, as Cobb told Antwon where she was, and he made his way into the dining room.

There, Alexa stood and welcomed him with a forced smile and an uncomfortably tight handshake. She offered him a seat, and he took it gladly. Then, she sat at the head of the table, placing her hands on the wood and crossing her legs.

"Well then, how have you been?" she asked.

He smiled at her. There it was. That manipulative, disgusting grin. She had to stifle a scowl. "Well, thank you. And you? How's that slave of yours been? Better, I would imagine."

"Yes, thank you. She is doing quite fine," Alexa said, gritting her teeth. "Does she know you? It seemed like she had something against you."

He rolled his eyes and clucked his tongue. "She used to be mine. Did you know that? I ought to have told you, but I had the feeling that the dinner party wasn't the best time."

Alexa's eyebrows rose. "Oh was she?"

He nodded, then pointed to the scar on his head. "See this? Gave me this one night when I got home from work. No reason, too. Just wanted to test me."

She squinted at him. "And here I thought you got that in prison."

"Did I?" he asked, scratching his chin. "I don't recall. Either way, my only point is that you ought to be wary of her. Keep her well disciplined and you won't have to worry. Just keep that in mind. She's manipulative and a liar. I personally couldn't take it. Had to sell her."

Disciplined, huh? Is that what he called it? She huffed. "Thank you for the notice. Now, onto business. After all, that is why we're here, is it not? Ah, but first, can I offer you coffee or tea?"

He nodded. "Tea sounds good. Thanks. What kind do you have?"

"Mint, chai, black, and green," she said.

"I'll take black, please," he said, looking over his shoulder. Cobb stood there in the doorway and gave a little bow.

"Cobb, be a dear and prepare something for our friend."

"Of course, Madam," he said before leaving and closing the door behind him.

"Now then," Alexa said, crossing her fingers together, "I wanted to bring something... unfortunate up."

He cocked his head. "Oh? And what's that?"

"Our company has decided to no longer participate in the merger," Alexa said professionally. She sat straight up, towering over him, and looking down at him with a hint of disdain. "I regret to say this, but my executives agree that it is best we do not participate in a business deal with a criminal."

"A crimin--" he started, mouth agape. Staring incredulously at her, he blinked and said, "All because of a bar fight?"

Alexa shook her head. "Typically, abusing a slave comes with the punishment of slavery. You know that. I know that. What I don't know is how you got out of it. But you're a slimy one, I'll give you that."

A look of rage fell on his face. "I, you, you can't speak to me like that! This is absurd! That slave of yours has gotten into your head. Listen," he said, taking a deep breath to calm down. "That girl is a pathological liar. She stole from me, she ran away from me, she hit me. What more proof could you want?"

"I already have my proof," Alexa said, thinking back to the long scar on Kat's back. "I have plenty of it."

He pushed away from the table and stood, looming over her now. "This is absolutely asinine. You're honestly going to believe a slave? One who has proven herself to be violent and erratic? Alexa, what has gotten into you? We're friends."

Alexa stood, towering over him once more. "Not anymore, I think. Cobb! I hope you've prepared something by now!"

Cobb stepped into the room, smiling amiably. "Of course, Madam. Sir? If you could follow me?"

Antwon looked at him, then at Alexa. "This, this is absurd. Absolutely absurd. You wouldn't do this Alexa, would you? To a friend?"

"Not to a friend, no," she said. "Cobb."

Cobb stepped over to him, and Antwon got in a defensive stance, kicking a leg back and putting up his fists. "Stop right there, bucko."

Cobb just laughed. "Sir, do you really think that would stop me?"

Antwon threw a fist at Cobb, but Cobb deftly backed away, landing gracefully on the balls of his feet. "A good throw, Sir," he said, grinning. "But allow me, if you will."

He danced forward and threw a punch of his own, swinging wide and landing a firm hit on Antwon's ribs. He doubled over on the dining table, before quickly pushing himself up and kicking at Cobb, who took it square in the thigh. He grunted.

Cobb sneered and lunged, landing another firm hit in Antwon's gut. Then, he landed a second, and a third. Antwon doubled over, but not before throwing a punch at Cobb that landed in his cheek. Cobb spun for a moment, before quickly regaining his balance and glaring at Antwon.

"You hit like a girl, Sir," he said.

"Hey!" Alexa exclaimed. "Not true. Watch."

As Antwon tried to push his guts back down his throat, Alexa swung a kick and knocked his legs out from beneath him. Antwon flopped down to the ground, and on the way down, Alexa gave his head a good, solid kick like a soccer ball. By the time he'd hit the ground, he was out cold. Cobb and Alexa stood over him, both breathing heavily.

"Madam? May I?"

"Please," she said, snarling.

Cobb bent down and picked Antwon up, his body limp, and slung him over his shoulder. Then, he started out of the room, and Alexa followed, her hair slightly frizzed. She got the door to the foyer for Cobb and stepped out of the dining room with him, heading for the front door. And that's when she noticed her.

Kat stood at the top of the railing, staring down, eyes wide and body shaking. She'd probably been curious about the racket and come to examine the problem for herself, but now, staring at her old Master's body, Alexa could see the terror in her eyes. She simply smiled up at her and said, "Sweetie, go to your room. I'll come find you after, alright?"

Kat nodded hastily and scurried away, vanishing down the hall. "Now then," Alexa said. Antwon groaned, starting to come too. "Out you go."

She pulled open the front door and a blast of cool evening wind rolled in over Cobb. He reached up and slung Antwon off of his shoulder and out onto the gravel driveway. Then, he wiped his hands free of any sort of perceived dirt, and turned away.

"The garbage has been taken out, Madam."

Alexa smiled at him, and then watched as Antwon struggled to get to his feet. "Antwon, I believe that our professional relationship is over. Goodbye."

And with that, she closed the door on him, leaving him in the cold.

In Kat's room, Alexa sat on her bed, stroking Kat's hair. Her slave was huddled up in bed, not quite asleep, but quiet all the same. She was cute, Alexa thought. So cute, so little. She smiled down at her sadly, thinking back to Antwon, Kat's story, all of it. How she ran, how skittish she was. And, with a heavy heart, she sighed.

"Kat," she said. "Did you know that I could free you?"

Kat perked up at that, lifting her head and looking up at Alexa. "Really, Mistress?"

Alexa nodded. "All it would take is some paperwork and a signature, and you're free. Technically you have to have been a slave for three years, but I think there's a way around that."