This room was exactly what I expected from the whole building. Silky red cloths draped over almost every furnishing and surface, many works of art from statues to paintings and bowls of ripe fruit were placed next to a giant bed that was large enough for ten people. A ton of Hedera Tulipa, nicknamed creeping tulips, grew on the walls and across the ceiling causing the floor to be coated in a thin layer of fallen petals.

There were quite a lot of people in the room, specifically on the bed. Thirteen people, Six young men and women dressed in the same silky red robes as the collector surrounded her. The group ranged from heavily muscled to pleasantly plump and had a wide range of skin tones. Each one hugged or massaged her in some way, one appeared to be in charge of feeding fruit to everyone.

"Hop off now! Go on! All of you will wait outside until called upon."

I expected to hear sighs of relief or see silently happy eyes but they all appeared dejected, outright distraught even. Some stared daggers at me as they left the room, Henrietta bowed her head and followed the group outside. I heard the heavy doors clack shut and I was now alone with the vile woman. I wasn't going to wait, I needed to check something right now,

"Where are the kids? Your note said that they were safe."

"Little Rose, so nice to see you! I'm a woman of my word. In fact, the mongrels have been treated well, they've been given more food than they've ever seen and brand new clothes."

'Mongrels'. That told me all I needed to know about what she thought of the bladeless and their kin.

"I don't believe you, I want to see them first."

Her face contorted into an openly wicked grin that she never wore in public.

"Little Rose it seems that you don't quite understand how things work. Would you mind picking a number between four and fourteen? If you don't answer you'll regret it."

That evil expression made me contemplate my answer. I didn't know what I was selecting but surely a higher number was worse. It could be the number of lashes from a whip, the number of days tortured or the number of fingers severed.

"Four."

I said with some hesitation. Her smile widened,

"Henrietta! A4! On the double!"

"Wai– understood… Mistress."

The muffled voice responded from behind the door.

"Have you ever heard of the carrot and stick training method little Rose?"

I had. Punishment for failure and presents or praise for success, it was the favoured method of ensuring the loyalty of animals from the smallest shrew to the largest demi-Kraken.

"Yes."

"Fantastic, you are a smart one! If you serve the guild well, then the mongrels will live without want. If you step out of line then they'll pay the price for you."

She got up off of the bed and walked right up to me. My knife was strapped to my thigh as usual. Could this have been my chance? It was only us two in the room. She wouldn't expect me to be armed right? She knew that I didn't complete the rite, so she should think I'm harmless.

From somewhere far, far away I could barely hear the faintest wordless song, even a small amount of background noise could drown it out completely. It was so quiet that I couldn't even make out what it sounded like and I felt no urge to acknowledge it. I ignored the song as she was now standing tall directly in front of me.

I thought my reasoning was sound. I watched her carefully waiting for my moment to strike. She leaned in close to my ear and I saw her neck wide open and exposed. Now! My hand moved only an inch towards my concealed knife before my arm stopped fast and my wrist was being crushed by a vice grip.

My attention turned from her neck to her face. She had the eyes of a predator and they were firmly locked onto my hand. I panicked and threw a desperate punch at her head with my free hand but my whole body froze. No matter how much I willed it not a single muscle in me would twitch. She let go of my wrist but my body still wouldn't respond. Only my eyes were free to look around and blink.

She brushed her bedraggled blond hair behind her ear revealing a gold earring. It was a simple golden dagger hanging from her earlobe by a short chain. My heart practically stopped as I noticed where the impossibly quiet song was coming from. I was close enough to feel the warmth of her breath on my neck and still, the dagger's song was almost inaudible.

While I stared at the earring, I felt the light touch of fingers on my knee, slowly they ventured upwards tracing the outside of my thigh until they reached my knife. I would have yelled at her to leave it alone but my mouth ignored me. She worked her way to the clasp on my inner thigh and removed Alessia's dagger from me. It was dangled in front of my face and then tossed across the room like trash.

"How brazen."

Her voice was a low whisper that tickled my ear,

"Here's your first lesson. Don't ever look like you want to kill someone. Even as you are slitting their throat from ear to ear, wear a smile bright enough to melt their heart. It also helps to not have your arm so tense and hovering around your waist, you need to stay loose. I could loosen you up if you'd like."

I was at her mercy, I couldn't even respond.

"Serving the guild will keep the mongrels safe and fed. Serving me, however… will ensure that they would live in luxury as honoured guests. Don't you want that? You could give every one of them a life that they couldn't dream of. Even if they turn out to be bladeless filth they could live like lesser nobles. All it would cost you is your nights… and your purity. Something to consider when you ripen a bit more."

If I could move I would've bitten a chunk out of her neck, this humiliation burned at my core as I felt my rage mounting. If I could just move a little I'd make her pay for everything. Attacking the slums, treating Alessia's knife like trash, harassing me and whatever countless other crimes she must have committed.

She started to pull back, and with a last burst of willpower I attempted to finish my punch but all I could do was barely twitch my arm. The collector looked as though she'd seen a ghost, her predatorial eyes regarded my balled fist with renewed interest before she disengaged completely.

"My instincts are never wrong!"

She laughed while shaking her head,

"Now I want to know how far I can push you. You have until Henrietta arrives to take a small step and I'll forget the punishment."

I wrestled with my body but that twitch felt like a fluke. She was almost crying with laughter,

"Come on! Maybe you need some more incentive, shall I tell you what Henrietta's fetching? Four, right? You chose the age of the punished you know. Doesn't that just eat you up inside, are you cursing your caution right now."

Age. That was the reason for the strange choice of numbers, I just assumed that she didn't want me to pick a low number like one. Her taunts were extremely effective. I couldn't move for my sake but the thought of such a young child being harmed because of me bolstered my will. I didn't need to think about walking, I just needed to extend one leg and shift my body weight forward a little. Gravity would take care of the rest.

I wondered why I was able to move my fist and after a couple of tests, my knowledge and daily exercise unexpectedly proved their worth. The more focused and specific my thoughts were, the easier it was to force a movement with a burst of concentration.

Moving my body? Too much. Moving my leg? Too much. But what about muscle groups? Each exercise targeted different parts of my body and by now I was able to flex muscles that I never had conscious control of before. Gluteus maximus to raise my leg, quadriceps femoris muscles and the quadratus femoris to extend my knee. It didn't need to be pretty and she didn't say I needed to stay upright, it just had to barely work.

With jerking movements I was slowly able to start moving, it was awkward and it needed my full concentration but eventually, I was able to extend my leg a small amount. The shift in balance caused me to tumble diagonally forward and crash into the ground.

"Excellent! You should be proud, only truly exceptional people can resist me. Though it might help to offer you some perspective. I wouldn't have been able to stop our guild master for even a tiny moment. I hope this lesson on hierarchy has proven useful. Well, as promised you've earned your prize."

As if on cue Henrietta's muffled voice rang out.

"Mistress. I've arrived with the child."

I made it just in time. Relief washed over me like a cooling stream, it was the first time in a while that I felt like I'd accomplished something. I might have even been happy if the circumstances were different but I'd settle for relief.

"Henrietta, take the mongrel back and carry Little Rose here with you. Then return to me for your punishment."

"... Understood, Mistress."

Punishment? What was she talking about? Did I just pass the penalty onto someone else?

"Henrietta! Out of curiosity, for how long were you waiting behind the door?"

There was silence and just as I thought she wouldn't reply,

"Just before the wager, Mistress."