Personal Demons: New Chapter
Personal Demons
Chapter Three - Trying to Bond
Disclaimer: The idea of the rejuve universe belongs to Lurking Dragon - I’m just playing in the sandbox of the original author. If you’ve not read these stories yet, may I strongly recommend them. The original Melody stories - as well as stories written by other authors - can be found here: http://www.geocities.com/rejuve_universe/index2.html . You can also find a guide to the rejuve universe there. Happy reading!
Summary: As a serial killer known as The Cat, Miranda is responsible for the murders of more than ten people. One day, she simply confessed to the murders, out of the blue, and is now rejuved...
Warning(s): Strong violence; spanking, which may be seen as possibly abusive in later chapters
Author’s Note: Unless otherwise stated, all characters contained within this series do belong to me; it’s just the universe that doesn’t. The previous two chapters can be found on my livejournal: http://cat2000.livejournal.com/ . Also, you may find a few inconsistencies with how the original rejuve universe works; but I hope that it all makes sense and still works as part of the universe
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When Miranda woke up, she found that she had the cabbit placed in her arms. Obviously, either Chloe or Jared had slipped the toy in with her while she was sleeping. Brushing a lock of silver hair behind her ear, Miranda studied the small cabbit gravely while she waited for her parents to come in and wake her up. Her bottom was no longer sore - which was strange, since there was no sign of the telltale itching from the nanolotion used to heal a Penny’s bottom in preparation for a new day of spankings. A good hairbrush spanking should have had her still feeling sore by the next morning.
For a brief moment, Miranda considered throwing the cabbit out of her cot and throwing a tantrum. After all, that was only to be expected from a murderer-turned-six-year-old, wasn’t it? But for some reason, though she couldn’t reason things through like the adult she’d once been, Miranda still possessed some slight reasoning skill. Somehow, she’d managed to retain some of her old common sense.
Though she had no doubts that she’d be treated like a child - and act mostly like one, too. Still, her inability to speak meant that she couldn’t communicate this to her parents - nor would she particularly want to.
When she heard the telltale sound of someone approaching the door, Miranda sat up slightly, and watched her new Mommy as Chloe walked into the room - without Jared. Upon seeing that her little girl was awake, Chloe didn’t hesitate. Instead, she walked swiftly over to the cot, lifted her little girl out, and - seating herself - put Miranda across her knees.
Miranda started crying right from the first hard smack across the seat of her thin nightdress, which she had apparently been changed into while she was asleep. Though the smacks weren’t particularly hard yet, the sting was quickly building up. And on top of that, Chloe started scolding while she smacked.
“It hurts, doesn’t it, Miranda? Well, this is just what naughty little girls get when they break the law and do bad things to other people. By the time your cycle with us is finished, I can guarantee you won’t be wanting to do anything else other than stay out of trouble as much as you can.” She flipped up Miranda’s nightdress, and then leaned over the child’s body to pick up something.
Miranda cried out when something that wasn’t her Mommy’s hand cracked into her bottom. It was hard and firmly solid, and she started squirming immediately when the hard swats continued landing on her small bottom.
After a few moments, Chloe stopped the paddling. “Do you want me to call Daddy in here to hold your hands out of the way?” she asked.
Though she was crying hard, Miranda managed to shake her head; and she clasped her hands in front of her to keep from reaching back. After a good number of swats with the paddle, Chloe laid it to one side; but only so that she could finish up with her hand. By the time the spanking was over, Miranda was a very sore and sorry little girl, lying limp over her Mommy’s lap.
Chloe let her cry for a few moments, and then turned Miranda over so that she could cuddle her. “Do you want to have some breakfast now?” A slight nod against her chest was the only answer the child gave, and Chloe released her breath in a quiet sigh. “You’re going to have to start talking soon, Miranda.” She didn’t expect a reply, though, and stood up to carry the small child out of the room; but then stopped when she realised Miranda was trying to get her attention. “What is it, sweetie?”
Miranda pointed towards the cot, and Chloe carried her back over to pick up the cabbit. Miranda wrapped her arms around the animal and hugged it tight, rubbing her tearstained face against the soft fur.
Seeing that, Chloe couldn’t help wondering just what the child had experienced to gain more comfort from a toy than from physical contact with another person. Was that part of what had turned her adult self into such a monster? Chloe made a mental note to ask the relevant authorities if it might be worth getting a Rigellian counsellor to see the little girl. And since Rigellians were telepathic, Miranda’s refusal to talk wouldn’t cause a problem.
Chloe carried Miranda into the dining room and sat her down firmly on the chair, ignoring the slight sob which escaped the girl. Jared was already sitting at the table, and he raised his eyebrows when he saw that Miranda had her cabbit with her. “I don’t really think we should have toys at the table.”
“I decided to let her bring it down.” Chloe sat down next to Miranda as she spoke. She didn’t want to go into too much detail in front of their new daughter, but Jared simply nodded and started eating. Miranda frowned at her fork, and then picked it up carefully. “Are you all right, sweetie?” Chloe asked when she noticed that Miranda wasn’t eating straight away.
Miranda nodded slightly, and then started eating with one hand, while the other arm cuddled her cabbit close. She didn’t look at either of her parents as she ate, and she also sat very still, without even the slightest fidgeting that most children would have. She didn’t even seem to notice that her parents were watching her; but they soon turned their eyes towards each other; and Chloe saw her worry mirrored in her husband’s.
Could it be a side effect of the drugs she’d been given before being rejuved? But Chloe would have expected them to be told about that, at least. But if her behaviour didn’t come from drugs, was it another thing that came from her clearly-painful past?
“Miranda, how would you like to buy some clothes at the mall today?” Jared asked in a clear attempt to try and encourage the child to speak.
Miranda glanced up and shrugged, then resumed eating. After a few more mouthfuls, she set the cabbit on her lap, and proceeded to ‘feed’ the toy some of her food, a small smile playing around her lips and a slight gleam in her eyes.
“Sweetie, you know that we’re your parents now, don’t you?” Chloe gently took hold of Miranda’s chin and tipped it slightly so that they were looking into each other’s eyes. “You can tell us anything... and we won’t harm you. Well, not apart from the spankings we’re required to by law. Is there anything you can tell us? Or will you speak, at least?”
If Chloe hadn’t been watching Miranda’s face closely, she probably never would have seen them. Tears, which weren’t caused by physical pain. But there were only a few, and Miranda still didn’t say a word. She simply finished eating, and then waited to be told that she could get down from the table.
End of Chapter Three