Chapter 39: Punishment, Pain & Pleasure

“I can’t believe my own daughter was out in the middle of the night acting like some streetwalker,” her dad bellowed.

Rose was sitting in the living room, more upset that her orgasmic glow was being ruined than the fact she was in trouble. Her dad paced back and forth while ranting on and on about her behavior. Rose found it amusing that he cared so much, considering that he often used her as eye candy for the business meetings he hosted in their condo. As long as it helped him close deals, he loved making her wear skimpy outfits to strut around in. He also didn’t mind the tougher holdouts getting a handful of her ass as she walked by.

“You’re grounded,” he said finally. “No TV, no cell phone, no nothing,” he added.

When he finished telling her how much of a slut she was, Rose stood and went to shower. She hoped William was okay. If her father wanted to treat her this way, she was going to make it a point to have a better session with William. She was going to bring him into their condo and let him fuck her on the bed he paid for. There wasn’t as much guilt as she thought there’d be for being with another man. Then again, Elliot had given his explicit permission to Rose that she could have sex as long as her heart belonged to him, and it most certainly did.

On top of being grounded, her period began two days later. All of the symptoms came in full force, and there was no Scarlarian remedy for them. No magical blood draining and a full sexual spa treatment, and definitely no being treated like a princess for the day. Instead, she curled up in bed for hours, having lost her tolerance for such cramps.

When she fell asleep at some point, the dream of the red-haired woman returned. She wasn’t in the wilderness with a baby this time but in a cozy home. Rose still didn’t recognize the place, but as the woman turned her head toward Rose’s point of view, she could’ve sworn it was her mother. The only problem with that thought was this woman moved around the house performing exceptional magic. With waves of her hands and fingers, chores rushed to complete themselves.

Rose jolted awake, and then something crashed to the floor as she opened her eyes. The lamp from her nightstand had fallen, though she didn’t know how. She sighed and got up to clean the mess, only to find the pieces of the lamp jumping back to the nightstand and reassembling themselves. Her hands and fingers were tingling with the same pleasant warmth that she remembered from Scarlaria. The sensation coursed through her body and faded away just as quick as it came on, also taking away her cramps. Her cycle was over in just a day.

She waved her hands around, trying to summon more magic, but nothing happened. The excitement that dared to creep in was instantly vanquished. It also filled Rose with loads of questions. Even in Scarlaria, she never had the power to move objects like that or to make her own period go away. The only magic she had learned was for changing clothes.

Later in the day, Rose sat with her tutor and learned about subjects that she now considered to be mundane. What she really wanted to do was get in touch with William to make sure he was okay, but she wasn’t allowed to use her phone. It was more of the same the next day and even the day after that. No matter how many days passed, Rose didn’t adjust to being here in this world.

A month later, she was finally able to use her phone again, and the first thing she did was answer the messages she had received from William. She had to explain why she couldn’t answer until now. The conversation then turned to their relationship. Even though Rose broke up with him, something inside of her wanted to keep William around. Eventually, he even alluded that he wanted to have benefits with her even if they weren’t officially dating.

Some nights later, Rose fell into another dream. The red-haired woman was carving various symbols into the ground and nearby trees. In the next moment, the woman seemed older and more worried. This time, she was carving the same symbols into stone. Her movements were rushed as the sounds of voices seemed to grow closer to her. When there was no time left, she grabbed the baby’s basket and hurried away into the darkness. Later, the woman was still sad and seemed almost hopeless. Rose could tell whoever was looking for the woman was very close now. She spoke loving words to the baby while gripping the dagger in her hand. With great pain and reluctance, she jabbed the blade into the basket and then turned it on herself. Just as Rose saw the handle break away into magic particles, she sprang awake.

An immense wave of sadness and depression gripped Rose as she lay there. It was the same sort of emotions she was sure the red-haired lady was feeling in her dream. Rose sat up and shook the feeling away, wondering if the lady was really her mother. Did she bring them here from Scarlaria using that dagger? Who were they escaping from, and why? The questions burned inside of her, yet the thought of raising the topic with her mom seemed almost perilous. Knowing her parents, they’d admit her for a psych evaluation.

“Flower, come to my office, please,” her dad said through the bedroom door.

“Yes, Father,” she said a few minutes later when she arrived in the office.

“I need you to do one more thing for me, and then you won’t be grounded anymore,” he said.

“What is it?”

“We’re meeting with a potential client. I need you to sit and look pretty. Do not speak or interrupt. This deal is important to our business.”

“Okay,” she nodded.

The meeting was at a nice restaurant that Rose had been to before. It was one of her father’s usual places to do business. This client was a man who owned a large company that her father’s business could potentially provide goods and services to. If Rose had been paying attention, she would’ve known what the company was called. Right now, all she could think about was getting back to her life in Scarlaria.

Her father pulled out a chair for her, and she sat. Soon, the man sat down, and her father introduced her. Rose smiled and nodded but said nothing. The three of them ordered their meals, and her father got straight to business. The meeting seemed to go well, at least as far as Rose could tell. Rose waited anxiously for the time she’d come into play. Her purpose for attending the meeting was to be pleasing to her dad’s business target, not to just eat dinner with them. Of course, that moment came shortly after dinner when their dessert was brought to the table. Rose’s father got up and excused himself, leaving her there with the man.