Noticing Cornelia addressing her Rosemary listened as she was given instructions on cleaning up. "Yes Mistress," she replied as she went upstairs. It wasnt hard to find the Master Bedroom and the adjoining bathroom. Here there was finally some sign of being lived in. There were two sinks built into the counter. On the side closest to the door were bottles and jars of makeup for someone with a lighter complexion even that Rosemary. It also held some bold reds and darker colors for eyeliner and lipstick and the like, even a black and dark purple. On the side closest to the shower were different brands with a lot more piled around than on the nearer side, the concealer and foundation for someone with a much darker skin tone, but whereas the one with the pale complexion, she guessed Cornelia had favored the darker colors for her lips and eyes the further one was a veritable rainbow of colors as though someone had thrown up a rave in the containers. This was apparently the ex that had been mentioned. Interesting that all the house seemed to have been stripped of color or reminders but this remained.
Feeling uncomfortable looking at the other woman's makeup, something that Rosemary knew little about in the first place and used even less of herself she stepped over to the sink and washed the dried juices from her hand, in the mirror she could see a towel rack behind her. One set of towels emblazoned with the word "Mistress" the other with the word "slave". Those made her grin as she stepped over to the shower and got in, turning the water on nice and hot she began to shower, the hot water making the whip marks sting for a bit before it turned soothing and she felt her juices begin to sluice off her body.
Cornelia felt sluggish walking around her home, it took her a moment to realize why. She hadn't eaten much for lunch and now skipped dinner, forgetting it in the heat of the moment. She sighed, rubbing her temples as she was reminded how often she managed to forget to take care of herself these days. Based on the timeline, she'd probably done the same to Rosemary, who really needed her stamina if she was to avoid getting sick after a day like this. She sighed, cutting up some sweet potatoes and throwing them in the oven with some chicken. This would be the first thing Rosemary ate that she'd made... and the fact that it was something like this cut at her stomach. She brought the tray out of the oven almost as soon as she'd set it in, deciding she could do better. She smeared the pieces of chicken breast in cream cheese, wrapping them in bacon and painting the outside with a mix of honey and sriracha. She cut up a few other root vegetables and added them with the sweet potatoes, beets, normal potatoes and some celeriac. Dousing them with vegetable oil, salt and assorted herbs she managed to make a meal that she at least wasn't ashamed of. She set a timer, hearing Rosemary exit the shower and going to replace the woman in the bathroom. "Take out the food if the timer rings and I'm not done." She ordered as she moved to pass the woman in the hallway.
Rosemary took a luxuriant shower, letting the hot water cascade down her skin, as she soaped up her body she felt the new welts on her skin, she knew they would fade away within a day or so, except for the one on her stomach that had started to bleed a bit, she didnt think there would be a scar, or much of one from it but she knew it would take longer to heal. As her hands and the water ran down her body it became easier to see smaller scars that pocked her body in places, including the longer, puckered ones one her back, her hands couldnt soap up the whole of her back but every time they touched one of those scars her hands hesitated, halted and a short, almost painful breath was inhaled.
Closing her eyes she tried to shake that time off of her as she hugged herself and leaned against the tile wall, breathing deeply and trying to recover as old memories tried to rise to the surface. She was relieved that the play at the club had not triggered anything, but it further served to prove what she believed, that it was not the BDSM that had been the problem in her last relationship but the way her former Master had carried it out. Shaking herself once more she quickly turned off the water and stepped out of the shower.
Reaching over to the towel rack Rosemary was about to take the towels marked slave off when her hand hesitated. She was not Cornelia's slave, she really didnt have a place in this house, besides there was a certain lack of hygiene, at least that she felt from using someone elses towels, plus...thinking about it now, looking at the towels, knowing they were someone elses, made her feel the same way the different makeups on the counter made her feel. She...well honestly she almost felt like an intruder.
Moving her hand over she instead picked up some blank white towels and wrapped her hair up in one and the other around her body as she padded out of the bathroom, the bedroom was still empty, though she noticed for the first time some fairy statues on a nightstand on one side of the bed, they were bright and colorful and cute and didnt seem like Cornelia at all. Shuffling her feet Rosemary quickly left the bedroom and met Cornelia in the hallway. Upon being commanded to watch the oven she quickly responded. "Yes," But the Mistress became caught in her throat. This woman wasnt her Mistress, not yet and...and the small reminders of another woman....Clearing her throat Rosemary said quietly. "Yes Miss Kruger." And hurried down the stairs before anything else could be said.
Cornelia caught a glimpse of the look in the woman's eye. Was she suddenly regretting her decision? It wasn't lost on her that the woman hadn't said Mistress like the rest of the night, but she wasn't sure why. She got an idea why it might be when she entered the bedroom, seeing the fairies still turning the nightstand into a little meeting place around a toadstool. The tall woman hesitated, sitting down on the bed next to the ceramics and examining them for the first time in a while. A thin layer of dust coated each one, reminding her just how long the mystical woman had been gone. She felt her hand shake when it took the handle of the nightstand drawer and opened it. The drawer was mostly empty, a few choice toys that were nice near the bed, a few books, a framed picture placed facedown that Cornelia knew she couldn't look at without bawling and some Kleenex. She was reminded that the woman had the sniffles right before leaving, Cornelia was overwhelmed by a rush of memories of taking care of her submissive when she was sick. Her ex hadn't been cut out for the local weather and never wore enough clothes. A hand found Cornelia's eyes, trying to keep the tears from forming there but failing. Her hand shook, as though her body tried to reject what she was about to do. One at a time, the fairies were placed into the drawer, every clink of fairy against fairy making Cornelia's heart skip a beat as she worried she's knock off one of the ridiculously thin glass wings or fingers the little things possessed. The table was rendered empty save for the alarm clock matching the one on the other side except purple instead of black.
Cornelia allowed any sign of tears be washed away by hot water. Her breathing steadied in the comforting warmth, the mask coming back up and the memories buried. 'I don't want to be your rebound' The words so strongly spoken by the girl echoed in Cornelia's head. She wasn't sure what exactly it meant, 'rebound', she... she wanted to move on but she couldn't. But she wasn't trying to replace her with Rosemary, at least she didn't think she was. She still hoped she could make it work, that somehow she'd find the woman crawling back to her and all would be forgiven. But it seemed increasingly unlikely. She wasn't sure if she was deceiving Rosemary, but she didn't feel great about doing it which was usually a bad sign. She let the steam out of the bathroom to clear the fog from her glasses, taking a moment to look herself over in the mirror. Her lack of makeup since a moment ago was evident but if Rosemary didn't like her like this then she wasn't worth Cornelia's time. There was no evidence of tears, her mask was strong, she just had to stay that way.
Wrapping a towel around her head and going into her soft robe she returned barefoot to her living room in time to take out the food, coat it in lemon juice and serve it up. "I hope you aren't a picky eater." She sat at the table, going to pour herself a glass of wine but deciding water was better. With everything set up at the dark wood table for six, Cornelia in the center on one side. She finally looked at Rosemary straight in the eye, powerful but genuine eyes, welcoming even. "How do you feel?" her words seemed to carry a weight to them, an honest invitation, though a pedestrian answer might make her mad.
Rosemary sat down on the couch in the living room, confident she would be able to hear the timer on the oven go off from here. It was weird that a house this big would feel well...emptier than her apartment. True there was not much in the small apartment but thats because Rosemary's job had called her to different parts of the country at a moments notice, but it still seemed lived in. Her hobbies littered the table, she had a good entertainment system with lots of movies and one room in the two bedroom apartment had been converted into her own library/study. Here...it seemed like Cornelia did everything possible to avoid the place.
Then there was the matter of the mysterious ex. Rosemary couldnt fault Cornelia for having been in a previous relationship, or even for having mementos of something that still was apparently somewhat recent still around the house, but if she was looking for a new sub...well it was discouraging. She began wringing her hands in worry, wondering if this might have been a mistake, she...she couldnt take another disappointment, she wouldnt go into another relationship that left her feeling broken and worthless. She was surprised when she felt tears slide down her cheeks. Why was she crying? Sure she enjoyed Cornelia's company, but she didnt know this woman, not enough for this.
