i'm already on my knees

“Come on then, let’s get you into bed.” She knew that the girl needed sleep, probably even more so now than she did before. 

“Thank you.” She said softly before gently moving the girl off of her lap. “Why don’t you rest for a little while?”

“It changes person to person.” She said softly. “You haven’t pissed me off so you’re safe.”

“You should know I’m not like this with everyone either.” She said softly. 

“No.” She said honestly. She knew it was best to simply be upfront and honest about it.

“See? It’s not so bad here.” She said gently. She knew that if the girl just behaved her life would be easier.

“I do.” She said softly while continuing to gently rub her back in soothing circles. 

“You can call me Annabelle in here.” She said softly while holding her a little closer to her body, hoping to keep her this relaxed. 

Annabelle smiled softly, she had always loved when people played with her hair so it wasn’t a surprise that Phaedra enjoyed it. “You’re a lot more relaxed now.” She whispered.

“It’s nice to meet you, Phaedra. I’m Julien.”

“Have you been here long?” She didn’t recognize him, but then there were many other slaves she hadn’t had interactions with. 

Feeling the girl relax she smiled softly and ended up running her fingers through her hair. “Good.” She whispered, she had no intentions of hurting the girl but also knew that she was capable of caught up in the moment.

“it’s the least impressive thing about my life, trust me.” jess flashed her a pretty smile. “what’s your name? i don’t think i’ve seen you around but…then again, i did change cells a few days ago.”

“Phaedra,” she answered, returning the smile. “I’ve only been here for... maybe two weeks? I must admit I’ve fully lost track of time. The days started blurring together.”

“Probably would’ve been unlikely… for someone who’s takes part in kidnapping to have that degree of decency.” Julien gave the girl a brief smile. “Thank you, you seem really nice.”

She sighed. “It’s... no, not likely. At least not on the whole.” She’d learned that some of them were kind and didn’t wish to harm them, but that didn’t always save them from those who did. “And that’s... kind of you to say,” she said, returning the smile. “I’m Phaedra.” 

Julien massaged his scalp. “Yeah, yeah… I’m fine.” He muttered trying to stand up. “Stupid punk… should mess with someone of their own size.”

She shook her head in sympathy. “They don’t really take size into account, unfortunately.” It was more about obedience, but sometimes she feared even that might not be enough if a guard or a master was having a bad day.