Free to Feel [Temporarily (??) Discontinued]

Chapter 16

Catherine squatted down in front of the female slave as she unlocked the shackles on her feet, literally feeling the burning stare on the back of her head. She didn't really care about that, she didn't care that frees weren't actually supposed to be below their slaves, and yet it hurt her to see how stiff this woman was near her, as if she expected to be hit at any moment now. Right... She was no Heather. She was still to learn that her days of punishment were over.

The other red-headed slave seemed a little more relaxed as his shackles were slowly taken off. He exchanged a wordless glance with his sister, and Cat would give her arm just to know what they were thinking about. She sighed and pulled out the chain that had been forced around the ankles of the slave in front of her. Immediately she gasped and dropped the chain, staring at it in bewilderment. What was that thing made of?! Gold?! How the hell was it so heavy?! And they - these poor things, they had to constantly carry a weight that was at least three times heavier! No wonder all of them were this muscular.

She shook her head and stood up, watching as the redhead held her cuffed hands out in front of her, being hesitant since she was clearly unsure that this was what she was supposed to be. Catherine paused and frowned a little bit, fiddling with the key. She knew that these chains were a mark of Working Slaves, but she didn't know how many of them she could remove. She was well aware that taking them all off would just be stupid, since all slaves were bound to carry some indication of their position. But would a single chain cuff be enough for that or did she have to leave their wrists cuffed together? That sounded like an absolutely horrible idea, the poor things were clearly struggling to wear those ridiculously heavy chains.

Cat glanced at Heather and saw him equally confused and looking at her for a piece of advice. She huffed and rubbed her forehead. She had never been interested in Working Slaves enough to look it up, and she doubted that these two knew the answer to that question. She would have to Google it as soon as she was home.

"Right." She cleared her throat, trying to remember the last time she had to sound so controlling and so powerful. Both redheads looked at her with their totally identical eyes, making her feel a little queasy. This was not going to be easy, but at least they weren't too scared to look at her. This meant that they weren't too far gone yet, didn't it? "Put the chains in the trunk of the car and sit down in the backseat."

The female gave a short nod and obediently picked her and her brother's ankle chains up and carried them to the back of the car, waiting for Catherine to open the trunk before dumping the chains in there. The noise was almost deafening, and yet the slave only nervously glanced at her new owner and back at the trunk. What? Cat tilted her head.

"Go sit down with your brother and buckle the safety belt." She shook her head dismissively and smiled at her, trying to speak as calmly and as friendly as it was possible. "Also..."

A thought raced through her head. She was no medical expert, and she wasn't sure if an epileptic seizure could be caused by looking out of the window as flashing lights and vibrant colours, but she did not want to risk it.

"Do you think it's safe for you?" She asked carefully. "I mean, I won't go too fast, so there won't be many flashing lights, but-but maybe it'll be better for you to not look out or-"

"I... I'll be fine." The slave replied hesitantly and tilted her head, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Thank you, but... Um... Yeah, I-I'll be okay. I've been transported by cars before... Ma'am?"

Catherine sucked in a deep breath and then shook her head sternly. No. She was done with it. Done with being superior. The sooner she made it clear for the siblings, the better.

"Don't call me that." She requested politely and shrugged. "My name is Catherine or Cat for short. Please don't call me anything else."

The slave took a small step back and then gave a quiet short nod that was anything other than timid. Cat exhaled and nodded at the car, where the two guys were already sitting. The redhead bowed her head and hurried off to sit at the back seat with her brother, buckling the safety belt and resting her cuffed hands on her lap, whereas Catherine walked to the front of her car. She opened Heather's door and chuckled at the puzzled expression on his face. Well, she couldn't go back on her words now, could she?