Page 21 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 2

The door opened and Devin walked in. He stood above her for a moment, looking down on her with his hands on his hips, then walked across the room and sat in the chair by the window. Anna stared at the ceiling. Heat flooded her body, and she wanted to jump up and hit him with a chair. But she closed her eyes and the heat drained away. It wouldn’t do any good to attack him. He’d subdued Wilhelm with only his words and sent him away forever. The torture had lasted all night.

He won. He always won. And fighting just made the pain worse and last longer.

The sound of Devin clearing his throat caused Anna to stir, and she slowly sat up with a loud, mewling cry. She couldn’t speak; she’d lost her voice from screaming in the dungeon and it hadn’t yet returned.

He pointed to the floor in front of him. She rolled out of bed and stumbled across the floor to collapse on her knees in front of him.

“This is no longer a safe place, Anna. This is merely your room. You will call me Master at all times when you are in the Manor. When I enter the room, you will get on your knees like all the other girls. Do you understand?”

She nodded.

“Speak, slave.”

She closed her eyes and winced as she forced air over her vocal cords. “Yes, Master.” It was barely a whisper, but he seemed satisfied.

“If I have to discipline you again, there will be three doses of the nerve juice.”

“Yes, Master.” She shuddered at the thought.

“We will try your ‘new life’ once again. You will begin dancing again as soon as you are able. You will eat properly. You will dance well. You will take care of yourself. If you don’t, I will discipline you.”

“Why do you want me to dance?”

“Because if you don’t, you’re useless.”

Anna flinched. He was so harsh. He wasn’t even trying to be nice anymore. She supposed without the threat of Wilhelm confronting him, there was no need to pretend anymore.

He leaned forward and yanked her Elder-Mistress necklace off her neck. She gasped in pain as it tore into her neck. “I have half a mind to give you a ruby to wear. Act up again and I will.”

“Yes, Master.”

He produced a solid gold bracelet and put it on her wrist. “This is locked. You may not remove it.” It was thick and heavy and fitted to her wrist.

“Yes, Master.”

“Ian will take you to your new apartment when you’re ready to leave. I don’t want to pay the ridiculous rent I was paying for that other place. This one is much cheaper and closer to the studio, so I can get rid of your car as well. I will pay your rent. You have money in your bank account that you can use to pay for everything else. I removed your credit cards from your wallet. You only need money for food and dance clothes. If I decide I want to take you anywhere, I will have Ian take you shopping.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Ian will pick you up on Fridays to bring you here.” Devin grinned. “Zach told me he saw you on Friday. He’s looking forward to spending time with you again.”

Anna’s heart dropped into her stomach, but she kept her face impassive. “Yes, Master.”

He stood. “I believe that is all. Let Ian know when you’re ready to leave. Maggie will bring some clothes for you to wear home.” He stepped around Anna and walked out the door.

Anna slumped forward and buried her face in her hands. Why did she always give in to hope? It never lasted, and things always became so much worse after it was torn away from her.

No more. Never again. The bitter lessons she had learned taught her that hope was a deceptive façade, capable of bringing nothing but heartbreak, or even more sinister consequences. From now on, she would be unwaveringly obedient to Devin. Her only goal would be to please him, disregarding any other desires or dreams that she had once held her heart.

Thursday evening, Anna walked to the ballet studio from her new apartment. It was a tiny studio, but she didn’t need more than that. It had a kitchen, a bathroom, and a closet. She had her TV to keep her dreams away, her mattress to sleep and have sex on, her coffee table and couch. If Wilhelm thought her previous place was hideous...

But she would never see him again. Devin made sure of that. Ian told her that they would never dare come back against Devin’s will. Devin would destroy them with a word.

“How did he get so powerful?” she had asked Ian as they drove to her new apartment.

Ian looked at her sadly. “The Spring Rituals. He takes your power and makes it his own.”

She was the cause of her own demise. She sighed. It didn’t matter now. The only thing that mattered was keeping her Master happy. And at that moment, that meant dutifully attending her dance class.

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