The deep fog that that the alarm pulled Kate from this morning wasn't so much a fog as the sensation of her mind being buried in layers of thick cotton that she had to claw herself from to reach the button with a slap that not only turned off the alarm but flipped it through the air and onto the floor.
Her limbs felt leaden and she didn't want to move at all, not because she felt ill, or even odd. It was simply that if she moved she was afraid she'd also lose the warm, safe, comfortable feeling she was wrapped in. That plush comforter was a cocoon on the inside as much as the out. The warmth permeated every inch of her. The door was unlocked and yet she was safe. The people she came here to meet were different from her, but not so alien and bizarre as she thought they'd be. Nothing she feared she'd find she'd actually found.
And there was Rose.
Rose Khyber was everything Kate thought she was even when comparing it to the vision of her that existed before Kate met her, back when fandom made her just an icon to be sought after and revered. She was beautiful, intelligent, wise, funny and a thousand other positives Kate had expected to find, but all those things taken together were a beautiful thing to actually be near. She smiled as Rose's words,
blushy and crushy
popped into her head.
Yeah, definitely fangirl crushing.
She'd barely admitted to herself that she'd had this fantasy of being the one to lead her back into civilization and maybe share in some of that. Her warm feeling soured just a touch when she realized that wouldn't have made her much better than the sycophants that even the perfectly contented Rose Khyber still didn't like much.
She was perfectly happy here and there was no going back, for her or any of them, and Kate had to admit they had reason to be happy. They had certainty in their lives and routines that other people would kill for. They had community. They had unity. They had peace. They had love for each other, passion even.
Then there was Brandon.
He was Rose's everything. Kate could see it. Anyone could see it. And she could see why. He was darling to her. He was deferential in his own way, but they both sort of knew he was in charge, and they were both content in that. And the way they kissed...it was like she was trying to become a part of him, or give him everything. They had love and balance in the end, and Kate felt a bit of envy at that.
I'll have to look over the shy ones first from now on.
And yet a little more envy at the thought of what their sex must be like. The thought made her stretch like a lazy cat as bits of barely remembered dreams surfaced in her consciousness to tease her. There wasn't a lot to remember beyond darkness and feeling good.
And voices. That was it, she realized. Rose was speaking to her, or maybe singing. Whatever it was, it was nice. Kate rationalized that it must have been her mind trying to put the euphoria of the interview and story of a lifetime into perspective. She had enough notes for an ongoing series and that was certainly reason enough to expect her mind to start playing with it all, even if she wasn't there to control, or even be aware of it.
Anyway, her ticket was punched. Once she got home and put the dozen legal pads together into something coherent, it'd just be a matter of picking the job she wanted while she did a couple of victory laps on the cable networks.
She looked out her window knowing that the first rays of dawn would be appearing soon and there was work to be done all around. She switched her computer on while absent-mindedly giving the room a quick clean, hoping to try again to use it to put the article together. This time, even from feet away, it felt like those needlepoint needles were piercing her eyes.
Maybe the refresh rate's messed up. Or maybe I just need an eye doctor.
She showered quickly, dressed, and finally stood before her mirror with her powder blue bonnet, placing it firmly on her head and beginning to tie it to herself without thought to her own thoughts:
My bonnet.
My bonnet is mine. My bonnet is comfortable. My bonnet is cute. My bonnet is a necessary part of life here. It is a necessary part of my life here. My bonnet helps guide me. My bonnet trains me and rewards me. My bonnet teaches me what is proper. My bonnet corrects me and teaches me correctness in all things. My bonnet teaches me my place. My bonnet teaches me the man's place.
Her eyelids fluttered back to open, leaving Kate unaware of the pause her fingers took on the loops of the bow at the moment it was tied. "Maybe they'll let me have it as a keepsake when I go," she muttered.
Liking how she looked in the mirror she looked at her clock and then out the window to see that there was no Vanessa trudging towards her and there wouldn't be for a bit yet, assuming that Vanessa kept to her schedule and Kate had no fanciful notion that she wouldn't.
Hah. Wonder if she'll pop a blood vessel if I of all people beat her to the milking today.
It would probably please her.
Correctness.
And it would show Brandon and Rose that I value what they do here and who they are.
Joy.
She smiled broadly as she left her little house in the field, finding that that even that thought amused her, too. She pressed on towards the small dairy barn and the two cows there that likely had no other purpose than to give here a mere taste of what they did every morning in the surrounding small towns they populated, but her little community here and now made use of the milk, so what she did for them was important.
Correctness.
When she drew nearer to the barn however, the sound of voices was unmistakable. She slowed her approach when she realized the sounds of those voices were in the midst of something far more primal than talking, though what talking they were doing made the blue chatter the wives were doing in the kitchen seem like a debate over whether or not using self-threading needles was 'fair' in sewing by comparison.
The voice was distinctly Brandon's."Suck this cock. C'mon...come on. Come suck it." It was commanding. It was demanding. It had the plaintive edge of a desperate need not being met and perhaps a hint of self-torment, as though he were as responsible for his own denial as anything else.
The purely prurient part of Kate responded with a force that would not be denied. Where Brandon was, Rose would be. She began to creep slowly into the building, not wanting to disrupt a thing. And, while she would never violate anyone that way in a million years, she at least admitted to herself that five minutes of Rose Khyber captured by her phone's camera would be worth a not-so-small fortune. Indeed, that truth just made her want to capture the sight with her own eyes all the more.
He snarled at Rose."Yeah, that's it. You're a good little bitch, aren't you?"
She replied, "Mmm-hmm," with her mouth obviously stuffed.
"Make me cum, bitch."
