*Picture of Rose above*

Rose and Henry walked out of the Pet Shop and immediately, Rose shielded her eyes from the harsh light. It was her first time in two weeks that she had seen actual light. She breathed in deeply, not only because the collar was tight on her throat, but also because she had been smelling in the grunginess of the Pet Shop. Her eyes darted around, taking in the outside before she would be locked away again.

Henry put his sunglasses on and moved his suit closer to his body, wrapping the left side of the suit under the right side, protecting as much as he could. He turned his head away from the sun. But despite the precautions, the sun didn't seem to faze him as badly as other vampires. The older the vampire, the less the sun affects them.

Rose's collar was making it hard for her to breathe; with each passing breath, she felt the collar tightening around her neck, like a snake choking its prey.

Henry walked to a parked black luxury car. He opened the passenger door and motioned for Rose to get in. She only hesitated for a second before she obeyed, not fully understanding why he was allowing her to sit in a seat. Grabbing the seatbelt, Henry leaned down and buckled her in, earning a flinch and causing Rose to shut her eyes. She jumped when her door was closed. Slowly opening one eye, she watched as Henry got into the driver's seat. He pressed a button and the car roared to life, earning yet another flinch from Rose.

Henry had let go of the leash and the handle fell to the floor of the car. Rose dared not touch the leash, even if it was to move it on the seat. If she were to touch it, she feared she would be beaten.

Henry removed his sunglasses, folded its hinges, and tucked them into his pocket as he spoke, "Sorry that I was rude back there." When silence encased them, he finally looked over at Rose. The surface of her neck was turning red due to the tight collar. He listened to her hard breathing that she was trying to sustain. She was slowly breathing in and out through her nose.

He reached for her collar; she flinched and closed her eyes, expecting him to hit her. Her hands started to tremble at the thought of being beat.

"It's ok, I'm not going to hurt you," his voice was calm and soothing. His fingers slowly grasped the collar. She opened her eyes as he loosened the strap, allowing her to breathe properly.

He pulled his hands away and sat back while looking at her. Rose slowly lifted her eyes to meet his. She looked at him questionably. Why didn't he hit me? she thought as she glanced back down, not wanting to stare at him for too long.

"I didn't hit you because you didn't do anything wrong. And even if you did, I still wouldn't hit you," he said simply, as if reading minds was normal.

Did he just- she lifted her eyes to him again, shocked.

"Yes, I did. My power is to enter into a person's mind," Henry said as he looked at her, she looked back down as they made eye contact.

Silence fell between the two, a strange awkward silence.

"Can you even talk?" he asked as he looked at her, realizing that she hadn't said anything at all.

Yes, Master, she thought as she glanced at him again, this time she didn't avert her eyes when they made eye contact.

"Then why don't you?" he asked.

"Because up until now you haven't given me permission to, Master." Her voice was timid, and a little shaky.

"Is that a rule that your old Master had?" Henry asked.

"And the Shopkeeper," she added and looked down, avoiding eye contact again. She twiddled her fingers together, rubbing her thumb over a blue bruise on her hand.

"Mmhh," he said staring off into space, thinking.

Silence fell over them again and he used that cue to begin to drive, leaving the Pet Shop and returning to his house.

***

The car finally arrived at the house. They drove over a paved driveway that went straight, then formed a circle at the end. It was circling a fountain. The path led to a mansion. It had dark grey walls and dark brown beams; other things like windows were outlined in dark brown. The house was two stories but looked as tall as three. Dark grey concrete tiles made up the entirety of the roof. A garage with dark brown doors was on the very left of the house and behind that was a glass dome.

Henry pressed a button and a huge door at the side of the house began to slide up. Pulling into the garage, he pressed more buttons and the door slid down again. The car was turned off and he reached over to undo Rose's seatbelt. She jerked faintly, but didn't fight against him; fighting always made it worse. Henry stepped out and walked around to her car, opening the door and motioning for her to get out. Rose slid out of the car and stood to the side. Henry grabbed her leash and began to walk inside.

They walked through a door that led into a modern kitchen. Rose's eyes glanced up and she saw an island with barstools pushed under it. Her eyes twinkled, reflecting the bright granite countertops and perfectly clean appliances. A lonely dark brown dinner table was on the opposite side of the room. As she looked around the kitchen, she only hoped she would be lucky enough to be able to eat in it some time, whether it be on the floor or while she stood, she didn't care.

Walking out of the kitchen Rose finally allowed herself to raise her head and look at the house. Where the outside was more on the dark, mysterious side, the inside was more on the light, relaxing, kind side.

The floors and stairs were a light marble. Black couches, a chair, a small cocktail table, as well as a giant flat-screen TV were to the left, creating a spacious living room. To the right was a half curved marble staircase. The stairs led up to the bedrooms, which created a giant loft-like design. In between the kitchen and the stairwell was a dark brown door.

Rose stared in awe at the house as she tried desperately to memorize every detail, just in case she was returned. At least, she would have the beautiful image in her head. Without warning, Henry stopped walking and Rose practically had to jump back in order to avoid being too close to him. His hands reached out to her collar again and she tightly clenched her eyes shut. She was expecting him to hit her, smack her, beat her, yell at her for being such a bad pet. However, he didn't do any of those things, instead, he undid the collar and pulled it away from her neck. Her eyes tensely opened as she risked to spare him a glance.

"You don't have to wear the collar." He tossed the blue items on the couch. He started to walk upstairs. Confusion washed over Rose as she replayed his words, it almost sounded, at least she thought it sounded like he was angry or disgusted. But she didn't know if it was directed at her or the collar.

No, he has to be mad at me. I must have done something wrong. Rose thought as she began to prepare to be hit.

"This is your room," Henry said as he opened the dark brown door. He walked in a few feet with Rose following behind him. She froze and her eyes widened at the sight – she hadn't expected a beautiful room with windows, furniture, and a bed.

The walls were an offwhite color that caused the dark brown furniture to seem darker than it was. There was a queen-size bed against the wall next to the bathroom. The sheets were a solid light grey. Rose had only seen these things in her old master's house. The thought that it was all hers was overwhelming.

Rose's eyes teared up. She had never known the comfort of a bed; only a hard floor and a kick from her old master to wake her. The only thing she could call hers was her collar and leash, even then she had no control over that.

"Th-this is all mine?" she asked still in disbelief, forgetting that she hadn't been given permission to speak. He didn't seem to mind though. He didn't even notice.

"Yes. If there's something you don't like, tell me, and I'll change it, ok?" Henry asked her.

She nodded her head.

He started to walk around, showing Rose where everything was. After the small tour, they stepped out and proceeded to the room next to hers. "This is my room," Henry said as he knocked on the door with his knuckle. "Then all these other rooms are guest bedrooms." She looked at all the dark brown doors.

They made their way back to the kitchen, but instead of going into it, he turned down the hallway next to it. Henry opened a set of glass doors to reveal a beautiful garden. It had trees, bushes, and flowers, including roses. All of the flowers were full of life and Rose couldn't believe that so many colors existed. In the middle of the room was a small waterfall that fell out from a giant rock and into a small pond. It had large stones encircling it. There was a glass dome that surrounded the entire room, dimming but not blocking out the light. Rays of the sun fell on the water, making it sparkle. The ground was gravel and made paths around the garden.

Henry spared a glance at Rose and finally saw her dull eyes twinkle. However, after a second, she noticed him looking at her and within a second the small amount of amazement drained from her and she stared at her feet. He had to suppress a sigh before he turned around and walked away, Rose following a foot or so behind him.

Henry finally stopped when he reached the couch. His fingers began to undo the buttons to the jacket before he loosened the tie. Laying the clothing on the couch, he unbuttoned the first two buttons on his shirt. He untucked his shirt from his pants, letting it fall naturally around him. The seemingly strict persona that he had floated off of him, leaving a relaxed version behind.

Rose looked around, realizing that she hadn't seen another Pet. Usually, the Master always had one or two other pets. It was rare to not have more since that meant the Master would have to clean and cook.

Her thoughts shattered when he spoke, "You don't have to wear your collar unless we go out; you may speak whenever you want to; you can also call me Henry when we aren't in public; and if you want, you can go into the garden or read books." He pointed to a closed-door that Rose guessed was the library. She nodded her head in agreement. "Well, I'm hungry," he said as he walked to the kitchen with Rose trailing a few feet behind him. "Do you want anything?" he asked as he looked in the fridge and cabinets.

"No, Master," Rose said as she looked down. He was shocked to hear her voice again. It was only the third time she had spoken.

"I don't believe you, you are basically skin and bones," Henry said as he moved to another cabinet.

She looked down at herself and felt her ribs. He was right. "What am I allowed to have, Master?" She peered into the cabinet that Henry was looking in.

Henry decided to let go of the fact that she was still calling him Master, rather he focused on one of many things he knew she needed. "Whatever you like once you get adjusted to food. Until then it would be best if you stuck to soups."

"Yes, Master."

Henry finally managed to find an unopened can of broth. Grabbing a pot, he placed it on the stove and poured the soup into it before igniting the fire. Turning around, he looked at Rose standing there, her gaze cast to the ground.

"You can sit if you want." He knew her malnourished body was weakening by the second. Obediently, Rose began to sit down on the floor. "In a chair," he added. She scrambled to her feet quicker than Henry thought she was capable of moving. Her eyes darted to the seat and then back at Henry, trying to determine if it was a test or not. "It's ok."

Rose, almost reluctantly, sat down on the barstool. Her muscles tensed in anticipation of him hitting her and yelling at her that no Pet was good enough to sit on furniture.

But nothing happened.

"What were you fed before?" he randomly asked.

"Whatever my old Master didn't eat, Master."

Henry's jaw clenched and he had to bite his tongue and tense every muscle in his body in order not to react. The last thing he wanted to do was to scare her more than she already was. In order to keep his anger in check, he had to turn around and wait for the soup to warm.

***

Once the food was made, he laid it down on the table in front of Rose along with a glass of water. The same was for him.

Rose looked at the soup; she knew that vampires ate some human food, but most of them just fed off their Pets. Human food was only for a different taste for the vampires, but Henry seemed to have a lot of it.

Henry picked up his spoon and began to eat his soup. Small pieces of chicken had been added to the broth, enough so the pair wouldn't go hungry but not enough to cause Rose to become sick.

Rose stared at the bowl and the weirdly shaped metal thing next to it. Slowly, she looked up at Henry and saw that he was eating exactly what she was eating.

Why is he eating what I am?! I'm not supposed to eat what Master eats!

"Rose," Henry said. Her attention snapped to him. "You can eat." He glanced at her untouched soup. Her eyes frantically looked at the soup and then the spoon. Now it wasn't the matter that they were eating the same thing, rather that he had just given her an order and she didn't know how to follow it. Before she resulted in picking up the bowl and drinking the soup, Henry spoke again, "You don't know how to use a spoon, do you?"

"N-no, Master," her voice was shaking.

"It's ok." He immediately dropped his utensil and stood next to her. "Give me your hand." She instantly did so, but instead of him pulling her out of the chair like she thought he would, he picked up her spoon and positioned it in her hand. Gently, he dipped it into the soup and removed his hand.

Mimicking what Henry had done, she brought the utensil to her lips and awkwardly slurped it. Without realizing it, her eyes widened and her face softened. She had never tasted anything so good before. After multiple more awkward tries, she was finally able to hold the spoon naturally, allowing her to eat quicker.

When she finished, Henry grabbed her dishes and placed them into the dishwasher. Turning back around, he noticed how tired she was and almost felt sorry for keeping her up. But, she needed to eat.

They walked upstairs and into Rose's room.

"I know you're tired but you need to take a shower.

She nodded and he walked out of the room, leaving Rose to ponder what a shower was. A few seconds later, he returned with a pile of clothes and walked into the bathroom. Rose followed. He placed the clothes on the counter and turned around.

"Do you know how to work a shower?" He figured that if she didn't know how to hold a spoon, she didn't know how to take a shower.

"No, Master." She stared at her feet.

"It's ok." He motioned for her to follow him over to the shower.

After taking a minute or two to describe everything to Rose, he turned on the water and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Hesitantly, Rose took off her oversized, dirty, smelly clothes and walked into the shower, flinching as the warm water hit her skin. Immediately, the water running into the drain turned brown. Her hands slowly raised to the tall showerhead, allowing the warm soothing water to run over her skin. She had never had the privilege of being allowed any form of comfort, one of which was showering.

Right as she began to relax, fear struck her. She didn't know how long she was allowed to shower. Would she get in trouble if she stayed in there too long? What would happen? Frantically moving the valve, the water finally shut off and Rose stumbled out of the shower and quickly changed into the new clothes that he had given her.

Finally settling down in the middle of the room, she didn't know what to do. He hadn't told her that she could leave the room. He hadn't told her anything to do after the shower.

After a few tense seconds, a soft knock resonated throughout the room.

"Can I come in?" Henry asked.

"Y-yes, Master." She didn't understand why he was asking for her permission, but she couldn't deny him.

Henry walked into the room and couldn't help his eyebrows raising as he looked at her. She was still soaking wet and he watched as goosebumps rose on her skin. He walked into the bathroom and came back out with a towel. Gently draping it over her, he earned a soft whimper from her.

"I-I'm sorry, Master."

Now his eyebrows knitted together. "For what?"

"For taking too long in the shower, Master."

"You were only in there for fifteen minutes." Rose stayed silent as she continued to shake, whether it was in fear or because she was cold, he couldn't tell. "You can take a shower whenever you like and for how long you like."

Her eyes met his for a second. "Thank you, Master." Now, her voice was quiet, exhaustion finally sweeping over her body.

"Do you need anything else?" he asked.

She violently shook her head. "No, Master."

"Ok, if you need anything, even if it's in the middle of the night, you can come and get me."

She nodded.

He turned around and began to walk out of the room.

"Master?" Rose called timidly. She hadn't meant to say anything! It had slipped out!

"Yes?" Henry replied as he turned to look at Rose.

"M-may I open the window?" Rose stuttered.

"Yeah," Henry said as he nodded. Rose slightly bowed her head, thanking him. "Do you need help with it?"

"No, Master. Thank you, Master."

Henry went out of her room, closing her door behind him. Rose wrapped the towel closer to her and made her way to the window. She laid her hands on the bottom of the frame and grunted as she used all of her strength to lift it. Her muscles tensed and grew sore, but once it was up, she breathed out a sigh of relief. There was a screen, keeping bugs and other things from coming in. She faintly smiled as she felt the fresh, cool air on her face.

Looking down at the clothes he had given her, her eyebrows furrowed together. A pair of black oversized sweatpants hung off her hips as her feet were on top of the bottom of the pants. The red shirt went to her thighs.

Pulling the towel closer to her, she climbed into her bed and brought the comforter up to her shoulders. She didn't care anymore if she would be punished for sleeping in the bed, too tired to care. He had said it was hers but had never given her explicit permission to go to sleep in it.

It has to be made out of clouds, she thought to herself as she laid there. She clutched the comforter tightly as if this were a dream and holding it was the only thing that would keep her here.

She closed her eyes and slowly fell asleep, letting the darkness consume her.

Thank you all for reading it.

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