Free Slave by Sherri Hayes

the zoo had been a good idea. I knew it the minute we got to the lions. For the first time since I’d known her, I saw the lines of Brianna’s face relax.
    I was quite pleased with my choice of activity as we walked into the reptile house, my hand on her lower back guiding her. She was even moving around a little without me having to give her instructions to do so.
    A gust of warm air hit us as we stepped inside the temperature-controlled building. I was quite neutral when it came to snakes. They weren’t my favorite creatures by any means, but I did find them interesting to look at from behind a glass wall.
    Two steps inside and I felt Brianna’s muscles stiffen beneath my hand. Looking down, I noticed she’d lost all color in her face. Moving to stand in front of her, I tried to get her to look at me, to focus but she wouldn’t. Instead she crossed her arms, tightly hugging her torso, while her breathing became increasingly shallow.
    An older couple walked around us with stares of obvious curiosity at the scene. I couldn’t care less. All I knew was that we needed to leave this place. I had no idea what was going on exactly, but something changed the minute we’d entered this building. My only hope was that leaving would correct the problem.
    Putting my arm firmly around her waist and pulling her to my side, I practically carried her back out the door. Looking around, I spotted a bench across the way and headed for it.
    Thankfully, it was still early enough in the season that there weren’t crowds of people. That didn’t mean we weren’t attracting attention. Several people, including one zoo worker, paused in their progress to assess the situation. I couldn’t spare them much attention, however.
    As we both sat down on the bench, she continued to curl into herself and was now engaged in a sort of rocking motion. She was mumbling, but I couldn’t make out the words.
    Wherever she was, it wasn’t here. I needed her to calm down and focus.
    Drawing on the little experience I had with her so far and what had worked before, I reached out and tried to get her to look at me. My efforts, however, didn’t glean me the desired effect. Instead, her head stayed down but was now buried in my chest. The only advantage I gained was that I could now understand what she was saying.
    “Please. Please, Master, please.”
    I glanced over at the building we’d just left, closed my eyes, and wrapped my arms around her. It was the first time she’d called me ‘Master’ since we’d entered the zoo. Obviously, the reptile house had triggered a memory or something for her. What in the world had this beautiful creature gone through?
    She needed to know she was now safe, but I had no idea how to accomplish that, given that a simple trip to the zoo could do this to her. All I knew was that I couldn’t take her anywhere like this. Even making it to the parking lot would be a challenge.
    So we sat, my arms around her and her head against me. Occasionally I’d hear another please, Master leave her lips, and I would respond with a quiet Shh, Brianna .
    It took a while, but finally her breathing became normal again, and her muscles began to relax.
    When I thought it was safe, I put some space between us and brought her chin up, forcing her to look at me. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her face covered with salty streaks left by her many tears.
    Bringing my other hand up, I used my thumbs to wipe away the physical evidence of her breakdown. Suddenly her eyes got huge, and I could tell she was once again frightened. Her eyes shot downward quickly, and I saw her lips begin to part. With no doubt as to what was coming and not wanting to hear her insane apologies, my thumb moved to cover her mouth, and her lips instantly closed.
    “My instruction from earlier has not changed, Brianna. You are not to utter those words for the remainder of the day, do you understand?”
    She nodded.
    “Good.”
    Taking a look around, I noticed we were pretty