Page 87 of Savage

Fighting herself.

I braid her hair and tie it off, after which I begin applying the facial moisturizer to her. She sighs in contentment as I do that, closing her eyes so I can safely rub the cream in under her eyes.

“Thank you,” she murmurs, though I’m not entirely sure what she’s thanking me for.

“One more thing,” I say gently. I reach into my pocket and pull out a short necklace with a small gemstone amulet. I put it on her and tuck the necklace underneath the fabric of the sweater. “So you won’t forget who you belong to if we get separated.”

Stef shivers a little at that, reaching up to touch the necklace through the cloth. “I don’t think I’ll ever forget who I belong to,” she says softly, and she looks up to meet my eyes. She touches my cheek, tilting her head up like she wants a kiss but is waiting for permission.

I oblige her with a quick press of my lips against hers. She sighs happily, and I’m again hit by the wave of desire that comes from knowing she’s finally truly given herself to me. I alone dictate everything about her life.

I pull away and pat the top of her head. “All right. Let’s go so we can make the most of this day.”

She nods, getting up, and for a moment, she presses her body against mine. “Thank you,” she murmurs, resting her head against my shoulder before stepping back. “I like the clothing, Master. Thank you for getting them for me.”

I smile approvingly at her. We get our shoes and jackets, and I hail a cab to take us to the Van Geersdorf Gallery.

“Have you ever been to an art gallery?” I ask her as I buy our tickets.

She shakes her head. “I don’t know much about art,” she admits, ducking her head. “I’m not… I’m not really like… cultured, or anything.”

“Neither is anyone in my family. They only pretend to be.”

Stef looks curiously at me, but she doesn’t ask any questions.

I grab the brochure for the special exhibit. “But it doesn’t matter. I came here for a specific exhibit.” I lead us to the back of the first floor, where a wall is decorated with giant pixel artwork. I think it’s meant to be a specific character, although I don’t know enough about video games to be sure.

Stef recognizes it though. “Wait. What is this?”

I point to the nearby sign. “It’s an exhibit on video games. The description said something about emerging artforms and ludonarrative something or other.”

Her smile lights up her face. “You brought me to a video game exhibit?” she says, as though to make sure she heard me correctly. “Even though you’re going to be bored out of your mind?”

“I won’t be bored,” I assure her. Even if I don’t care about video games, I can observe Stef’s excitement and derive enjoyment from that alone.

We head inside, and Stef pauses in front of a screen playing a game from the early 80s, just two sticks bouncing a rectangle back and forth between them.

“It’s so cool how far the tech has come,” Stef says. “Although if this is what I’d started with, I probably wouldn’t have kept wanting to play.”

“What was your first game?” I ask curiously. “Not anything this old.”

“No. I started on a third gen console. My dad had bought one for himself, and my parents didn’t want to upgrade to a more modern one. But it was still fun even without the most modern graphics. I spent hours trying to find every secret in some of the games.” Stef smiles sadly. “I saved up my allowance to buy a new console when I was a teenager, but traded it later for…” The small smile drops, and she focuses her gaze on the floor instead of looking at me.

“For drugs,” I finish for her. I hate the thought of Stef giving away something that gave her joy in favor of something that destroyed her body. I want to tell her that was a stupid decision, that she should have valued herself more, but she doesn’t need to hear that right now.

She nods, biting her bottom lip. She gives me a wary glance, as though expecting a critical response from me, but I stay quiet and walk on to another screen. This one has a keyboard and mouse underneath it, inviting us to play.

The WASD keys are highlighted and have arrows stuck on them. I use those to move the character around, but I don’t really understand what I’m doing. “Nothing’s happening,” I say after some scenery has changed on the screen.

“I think this is one of those experimental indie games,” Stef says. “The point is the experience. You just walk around and take in the sights and the sounds.”

“Ah. So, it’s pointless like all the indie movies are.”

She gives me an exasperated look, but there’s a smile on her lips. “It’s for enjoyment, sir,” she says after casting a glance around the mostly empty room. “It’s just… there. Like people listening to classical music. Is there really a point to any of it?”

“Classical music is the only decent form of music,” I inform her. She bites her lip like she wants to argue with me. After a few seconds, I smile at her. “But I do enjoy the occasional rock album.”

Stef laughs, shaking her head. “Classic rock, or do you listen to anything contemporary?”

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