Chapter 3: A Thorough Cleaning

Lavandula opened the door to the hab and silently gilded in, being as quiet as possible as to not wake the sleeping girl on the couch. She quietly hummed as she walked up to the door that Victoria had tried to open that was locked and she watched as the door slid open, revealing a combination bedroom and office. Lavandula sat at the desk and pulled several things out of her body: her datapad, a clipboard, a stack of paper, and a thin metal collar. From within her, a soft purple light glowed, growing brighter and dimmer as she hummed. She closed her chest up and looked at the items that she had put on the desk. She stuck a vine in a small water fountain that sat on the corner of the desk and then started to look over the paperwork. She had stopped and had the appropriate flowers grafted on to be able to administer Class G xenodrugs to Victoria. She picked up her datapad and checked on the status of the other nine sophonts that were rescued from the station. Health wise, they were all in mostly good health, malnourishment being the most common issue. Lavandula noticed that out of the ten of them, Victoria was the only one that had an active wardship.

Turning her attention to the paperwork, she grabbed the clipboard and examined the contract that was on it. Victoria might not be signing it just yet, but it was done, as long as nothing changed in the short term. The contract was a standard domestication contract, similar to the hundreds of others that the clerks filed on any given day. There was nothing special about this contract, as the standard contract covered almost all situations. Lavandula sighed, and checked her datapad, this time looking at the readings from the cuff that Victoria wore. The readings looked consistent with every other reading that the cuff had taken. The stack of paper was nothing more than all of the files that the Compact had on Victoria. Sure, she had digital copies, but nothing beat having copies on paper. She left the stack of paper in the corner of her desk, and turned her attention to the collar. It was a very ornate piece for what it looked like at first glance. The collar had vines woven throughout the metal band, little purple flowers dotting the vines. Everything about the collar would point at Lavandula as Victoria’s owner once it was secured around her neck. Centered in the front of the collar was a leashing ring. As much as Lavandula wanted to see the collar around Victoria’s neck, it would have to wait. Other things had to come first: her realizing that she was going to be domesticated, the contract signing, and then finally, as her last act as a free woman, closing her owners collar around her neck. It was going to be a few days and, while Lavandula wanted to rush it along, she would take it slow for her charges sake. First things first: Victoria needed a bath…

Lavandula walked out of her office and looked toward the sleeping girl. She looked so peaceful laying there, but it was time for a bath. She carefully approached the sleeping figure on the couch. “Victoria?”

“Ungh.” Was the only response from the sleeping girl as she turned over and buried her face in a pillow. The sleep deficit that she was ruining was quite high. Lavandula could imagine how poorly the girl must have slept on the station, not knowing if they were going to be located and captured or if the station was going to be boarded.

“Victoria…” Lavandula said quietly. “We need to get you in the bath… It’s been a while since you’ve had one. I’m going to go get it started while you wake up.” Lavandula slipped away and headed toward the bathroom in the hab.

“Ungh.” Was the only sound that Victoria made as Lavandula entered the bathroom. The Hab’s AI turned the lights on as she entered, something she was just so used to that a light would have to not turn on before she realized something wasn’t right. She started the water let the massive tub begin to fill up. As the water slowly started to fill the tub, Lavandula pulled a bottle from high above the tub down and looked at it. This was a bottle of Class E infused bubble bath. She added some to the water, giving it a very slight pink color and a very slight floral scent.

“Hab, Please stop the tub from filling at the three quarter mark, and keep the water a constant temperature, please” Lavandula said.

“Yes, Ma’am” a disembodied voice resonated from everywhere and nowhere all at the same time. Satisfied that the bath would fill to the point that she wanted it to and not any higher, she left the bathroom. It was time to collect Victoria. When she got out into the common area of the hab, the girl was still sleeping, having rolled over and was now facing up instead of being buried into the couch.

“Victoria…” Lavandula sang, figuring a gentle wake up would be better than startling the poor girl awake. “Let’s wake up and get in the bath, my little flower…”

Victoria, for her part, stretched and looked at Lavandula. “A bath?” She mumbled, her voice doing that sleepy cute thing that Terrans did.”I suppose I should have one, It’s been a while, I think…”

“It has…” Lavandula confirmed. “It’s been about two weeks.” Victoria glanced up at the Affini.

“Two…” Victoria said, her voice sounding dejected. “Two weeks?” Two weeks wasn’t the longest that she had gone without a shower. “If it’s been two weeks, how long has it been since I’ve had my meds?”

“That’s a different story. While you have been out, I’ve been administering a very low dose of a Class E xenodrugs and I got the flowers grafted to be able to give you your Class G regimen.”

“I know what the Class G xenodrugs are, what are Class E’s?” Victoria asked, sliding off the couch and onto her feet. She followed Lavandula toward the bathroom. “I’ve only done a bit of research on the various classes of Xenodrugs, but not much…”

Once in the bathroom, the pair stopped and Victoria looked at the bathtub, now filled slightly with bubbles and little jets of water keeping the water moving. Vines quickly went to work, tapping Victoria’s elbows, which she impulsively raised, and then tapping her knees, which allowed the removal of the pants that she was wearing. Her panties were next, and once those were removed, Lavandula finally spoke. “Very good at following vine commands, little one.” She cooed. “Would you like me to pick you up and put you in the tub or would you like to try to climb in on your own?”

Victoria looked at the tub. It had higher sides than any tub she had ever gotten into. It reminded her of the above ground pool that she had played in as a child. The pool at least had a ladder to help facilitate entry and exit. “Um… Can you help?”

“Sure thing, little one.” Lavandula said, moving her vines around. “I’m going to pick you up and slowly put you in the water, ok?” Victoria nodded. She was startled at how comfortable and calm she felt in Lavandula’s vines once she had been picked up. She didn’t want to be sat back on the floor. The feeling was over nearly as quickly has it had begun as Lavandula slowly and gently lowered Victoria into the water. Victoria could feel the tension and stress leaving her body. After five years on the run, she was safe. “To answer the question you posed before I asked if I could pick you up; Class E’s are relaxing agents. They are designed to calm you down. The bubble bath is infused with Class E’s.”

“Explains why I feel so calm…” Victoria said. “I don’t want to do anything except for sit in here and soak…”

“Well, I at least want you to wash your hair and body.” Lavandula said, her vines reaching for shampoo, conditioner and body wash, along with a pastel purple louffa. She sat these items down where Victoria could reach them. “None of these are infused with anything, but if you wanted, I could get stuff that’s infused with pretty much any Xenodrug with the exception of a few.”

“I’m too relaxed…” Victoria mumbled and Lavandula reached a vine around the girls torso so that she could keep her head above water. It wouldn't do to have Victoria drown during her first bath…

“If you’re that relaxed,” Lavandula chuckled, “Would you be opposed to me washing washing you?”

“Mmhm” Victoria mumbled.

“I’m not going to use anything that is infused, the bubble bath might just be enough…” Lavandula said, scooping water up with some of her vines. “Close your eyes and hold your breath for a second, Victoria.” Lavandula said, waiting until Victoria and drone as instructed. After the girls head was wet, Lavandula put some shampoo on the girls head and started to use several vines to massage the shampoo into the girls hair, making sure that it went all the way down to the scalp.

The feelings of having someone wash her hair were pure bliss for Victoria. She had never had her hair washed by someone else with as much care and attention as Lavandula was providing. Perhaps this is what she had been needing after all. There was a girl on Proxmia 20 who she bunked with that would occasionally help her wash her hair, but as water was a limited resource, full fledged showers or baths were very uncommon.

“Close your eyes and hold your breath for me again, petal…” Victoria did so, and several scoops of water were put over her head to rinse the shampoo out. The whole massaging processes started again, this time with conditioner. “If you think this feels good, just wait until you decide you want to try some of the infused stuff…” Lavandula left the girls head alone and applied body wash to the louffa She started cleaning the girl, who, upon taps on her arms and legs would bring them out of the water so that they could be cleaned. While she was cleaning Victoria’s body, she was making a mental map of the locations of all of the scars on the girls body. After Victoria’s body had been washed, it was time to rinse the conditioner out of the girls hair. “One last time, close your eyes and hold your breath for me.” Victoria did so and a few vine scoops full of water cascaded over the girls head. “Arighty, let’s get you out of the tub, dried off, and dressed and then you and I should probably have a bit of a chitchat. I’m also going to give you a bit of a counteragent to the extremely high does of E’s that you’re on, and then we will have our chat.” A vine with a white flower on it slipped up to Victoria’s right arm and gave a quick poke, injecting the counteragent. “Are you ok with me helping you out of the tub?”

“I’d be ok with that…” Victoria mumbled. Lavandula reached into the water and lifted Victoria out, standing her up, but keeping vines on her to make sure she didn’t fall to the floor. Grabbing a lavender colored towel, she dried the girl off and paid special attention to her hair.

“What would you like to wear?” Lavandula asked, wondering if the girl had any preference in what she wore. Lavandula wasn’t sure that Victoria would even be able to focus on anything with how relaxed she was at this exact moment.

“Umm…” Victoria said, her voice coming back to the way it normally sounded. “I haven’t gotten a choice due to regulations…. Why don’t you pick for me?”

“Anything I want?” Lavandula asked. “Do you want to walk or do you want me to carry you to your room?”

“Anything you want…” Victoria confirmed. “I’d rather walk, but I don’t know if my legs will hold me right now…” Lavandula scooped Victoria up and held her close. This was something that Lavandula had been picturing ever since she had read the girls file some four years before. Victoria relaxed as she was brought close to Lavandula’s core. She had never held a sophont so close before and the feeling was basically intoxicating to her. She had also been preparing for this day for quite some time. Entering Victoria’s room, the lights came on and Lavandula gently sat Victoria on the bed as a pair of vines reached out and extracted a matching bra and panty set from a drawer. Helping Victoria to her feet again, she tapped the girls left leg, the girl raised it high enough that Lavandula was able to slide the panties on, and then she repeated the process with the right leg. Once the panties were situated, Lavandula smiled.

“I can’t believe how well you respond to gesture training already.” Lavandula said.

“It’s not like it’s hard, Ma’am.” Victoria chuckled. Vines tapped the girls elbows and her arms extended and the bra was slipped up her arms, vines holding the straps in place and another pair of vines doing the hooks on the back of the bra.

“Can you stand on your own, or do I need to support you?” Lavandula asked, one set of vines reaching into a cabinet and another set poised to catch the Terran if she fell. Victoria stood, hands out to grab onto vines if necessary. Victoria stood there, arms at her sides as Lavandula turned around with a white dress that had a fitted bodice and a skirt that reminded Victoria of a tulip that was still not open. The back of the bodice featured lacing that she was sure, once tightened, she would have a hard time removing. Vines reached up and tapped Victoria’s arms and they both went into the air as the dress was lowered over her body. “Can you spin around for me so I can do up the laces?”

“Is there a gesture for that?” Victoria asked, feeling Lavandula start to tug the laces tighter. Once that was done, Lavadula tapped Victoria on one shoulder and pulled the vine across the girls body. Victoria properly interpreted the gesture and turned to face Lavandula.

“Good girl…” Lavandula cooed. “You seem to be well trained already…” Her vines were rummaging around in a low drawer on the wall. A few moments later, a vine appeared holding a pair of white sneakers. Two different vines tapped Victoria on the shoulders and the girl sat. A pair of socks was brought into view, they were white, with lace around the top. They reminded Victoria of the socks that her younger sister, wore growing up; ones that Victoria wished that she could wear. A vine tapped her left leg and she lifted her foot into the air, watching as the sock was placed on her outstretched foot. A few seconds later a white shoe with a very low heel was placed on her foot and buckled. The process repeated with the other leg and Victoria was finally dressed. “Ler’s go out to the living room and have a little bit of a chat. I know that you were looking up Section 57 of the treaty, and then you were looking up advantages of being domesticated. Would you like to walk, or would you like me to carry you?”

“I’d like to walk…” Victoria said, smiling as the dress swished around her legs. “You know, I’ve never actually worn a dress. They weren’t practical on Proxmia 20. Mainly because the only other girl there and I were the only girls. We didn’t want to give any of the boys there any ideas…” Lavandula offered a vine for Victoria to take to help her stand and wasn’t surprised when her vine wasn’t let go of. She led Victoria into the living room and helped her up on the couch. Victoria fidgeted with a pillow that was on the couch, cuddling it against her like it wears a stuffed animal. She looked like she was afraid that Lavandula was going to yell at her.

“Am I in trouble?” Victoria asked quietly.

“By the Everbloom, no…” Lavandula said, “But we do need to talk about your future…” Lavandula turned toward Victoria, all six of her glowing purple eyes looking at the scared little Terran. “I’ve been searching for you for years. Based on your past history, you would have been selected for domestication. Section 57 is simply a guarantee of your wellbeing within the Compact. You will be taken care of. Like I said before, I will take care of you, better than anyone has ever taken care of you before.”

“But,” Victoria said, her voice wavering. She never really had anyone take care of her before. “Why? No one else has ever bothered. Why would you?”

“Every sophont is worth it,” Lavandula said, a vine stroking Victoria’s hair. “It’s part of what drives us as a species.”

“Will I ever be free again?” Victoria asked, glancing up at Lavandula, her eyes starting to tear up. A vine reached up to wipe a tear that escaped as it was rolling down her cheek.

“Well, I have never heard of a floret that has wished to be independent after experiencing the bliss that is the life of a pet…” Lavandula said. “Doesn’t mean it’s not happened, just that I’ve never heard of it… Can I ask you a question?”

“Yes, ma’am…” Victoria said.

“What are you scared of?” The question wasn’t accusatory, it was one of curiosity. Victoria stopped and thought about the question. There were so many answers to that question; and only so much time to try to even begin to explain it.

“You’ll laugh if I tell you…” Victoria said quietly. “There’s a lot to it…”

“I promise that I won’t laugh.” Lavandula said, her vines twitching slightly. “If you want I can give you something to help with the anxiety and even, if you wanted, something to help you tell the truth.”

“I…” Victoria’s voice was barely above a whisper. “I’d just like to be held as I tell you.”

“Come over here…” Lavandula said, watching as the girl crawled over and climbed up into her lap. Vines enveloped the girl in such a way that she could still move, but she felt the security of the being that she was beginning to come to terms with being her Affini. “Comfy?”

“Yes, Ma’am.” Victoria said, a very contented sigh escaping her lips. “Before I tell you what I’m scared of, are my only two real options to either voluntarily be domesticated or for it to be forced? Basically, the easy way or the hard way?”

“Yes, little one,” Lavandula’s voice came out as a sing-song, which Victoria felt with every fiber of her being. It just felt… Right. “Your past is really what has led to that. Things will be much better for you if you voluntarily surrender; you will get a bit of leeway to add things to your domestication contract, if it comes down to this being one hundred percent against your will, then all bets are off and you have no say so once that happens.”

“I’m…” Victoria’s voice cracked and tears started to pour from her eyes. “I surrender. I’m tried of having to do all of it by myself.”

“That will make things easier, little flower,” Lavandula said, gently stroking Victoria’s hair while simultaneously wiping tears from the girls face. “Now tell me, what are you scared of?”

“Being abandoned…” Victoria gave the vine that she held on to a squeeze, much like one would do to a stuffed animal. “Everyone else in my life has abandoned me when I really needed them. I…” She paused to try to calm her self. “I can’t handle being abandoned again.”

“I can assure you that as a pet, you will never be abandoned.” Lavandula said, still stroking Victoira’s long blonde hair. “I will either be right by your side, or not far away. Once we get your implant all sorted, I will always be with you, watching over you. I want to see you be the best possible version of yourself.” The stroking of the hair was starting to put Victoria to sleep.

“If you’re my owner,” Came the mumbled voice of the girl that was curled up in Lavandula’s lap. “Should I call you Mistress?”