When I was growing up, we always kept the shutters closed.

My mother said if anyone saw me, the slavers would take me away. The outside world was cold and merciless and she would tell me little of it.

She never named me. I never asked her why, it was just normal that I didn't have a name. She was my mother and I was her daughter-- what else needed to be elaborated on? I never talked to anyone else.

After all, I wasn't allowed outside. Technically, I wasn't even supposed to peek outside through the shutters, but I often did, when she had gone out shopping.

It was one of my main entertainments, to look down on the fantastic people outside and wonder what their lives were like. My second was the little library in our house. Mother taught me the most basic basics of reading, and I slowly devoured every book in the library, having to figure out a lot of words just through context when mother didn't know them.

I learned a little about slavery-- from the books, it really didn't seem so bad, but I was fairly sure I shouldn't tell mother this. 

The jewelry and fancy dresses and painting and sculptures slowly disappeared from our house one by one, as grew up.

One day, mother brought me back a collar like hers, although it was just a bit misshappen, not looking like the clean uniform collars her and all the other animalfolk passing by on the street had-- but I was proud to have this piece of jewelry that made me look like an adult, like her. I put it on and smiled up at her proudly, and she slapped my face. She usually never hit me.

Her face was full of rage as she looked down on me. "Remember this: this collar is never something to be proud of. It is a sign that our people are slaves. A binding of our magic."

As I got older, I slowly began to teach myself magic, memorizing all the sigils in the reference book, starting with the simple ones... no one teaches anyone magic like that, but I didn't know that. My mother was nervous about these experiments, but also proud, and I never know if I showed her a little magic I had been working on if she'd tell me not to take so many risks, or be proud of my accomplishments.

She loved me. When I asked if I could go outside, go shopping with her, she responded, no, never, the outside was dangerous, they'd catch me-- she said she'd chain me up if I tried. She'd endure all that danger for me. I always suspected it was less dangerous than she said.

As I got older and turned into a woman, she became increasingly paranoid and restrictive, and started actually carrying out her threat of chaining me up sometimes. I learned magic for how to break out of the chain, but I never used it, because she'd know.

One day, though, she went out shopping and didn't come back. This happened now and then... she'd stay out overnight, or for a few days, sometimes telling me, and sometimes not.

But after a couple days, I broke my chain. After a couple weeks, I had eaten all the food we had. I tried to save some for her, eating less and less as time went on, but finally, my stomach growling, I ate even that.

I was told never to go outside, but not having food hurt more and more-- I was 'starving', my books told me. It would eventually kill me.

I searched my books on magic, but I didn't find any magic that could let me live without food.

I searched among the jewelry, and took a hairpiece made of silver and bright sparkling stones, and took it outside, wincing at the intense light.

"I'm going shopping," I informed a nearby slave that I had seen walk by our house a hundred times, often with her little sister. I had envied them. Her little sister must be even younger than she looked, not having a collar yet and all-- nor ears and tail, either. My books had explained that sometimes those things were slow to develop.

"Oh?" She looked over me, a little confused, glancing down at my clothing, collar, and the brooch I was holding up to her.

"Yes, I'm going to sell this and buy some food. Have you seen my mother, by the way?"

Her look at me only became stranger. "Who's your owner?"

"Despite my collar," I said proudly, "I'm not a slave."

She glanced around worriedly, and seeing that no one seemed focused, pulled me aside. "You shouldn't say things like that. What's your mother's name?"

"...I don't know, I just call her 'mother'." Yes, names did seem to be an important thing in books. "What's your name?"

"Matricia. Yours?"

"...mother never gave me a name." She stared at me for a long moment, and then finally a look of comprehension came across her face.

"Okay, the one you call 'mother' is probably your owner... ah, don't say I told her that."

"I don't know where she went. I hope she's okay." My stomach growled. "However, if I don't eat food, I'll eventually die. So I'm going shopping."

Matricia went over to a nearby baker and bought a small loaf of bread, which she handed to me. "If you try to go shopping like you are now, you'll just get in trouble. I'm going to ask my Mistress if I can take you to the judge, they should be able to reunite you with your mother, I hope."

She took me by the hand and walked over to a nearby house, and opened the door. "Mistress? I found a girl who lost her Mistress, and isn't very well trained, so I worry about just leaving her on her own. May I take her to the judge?" Her little sister -- apparently named Mistress -- came out, looked me over, and nodded. "I'll go with you, her collar doesn't look regulation... I don't want them to jump to conclusions and get you in trouble."

Matricia smiled gratefully and nodded at her Mistress, and I blinked, remembering that sometimes owners were called "Mistress" or "Master".

"Oh! She's your owner!" I nodded to myself. Matricia squeezed my hand gently. "Yes. Well, in a technical sense her mother is, but I belong to her."

"Don't talk legality with a girl who barely understands how to talk."

"On the contrary-- I understand all sorts of words, I've read half our library."

Matricia's Mistress giggled. "Yes, yes, of course."

We walked to the judge's place, but it was a long walk... I had only ever walked inside. My legs complained and I panted and eventually they slowed down a little for me, giving me looks I had never seen from my mother, and I honestly wasn't sure how to categorize.

Finally, we came to a house that looked much like all the others, as far as I could tell, and Matricia told me I could rest on the ground while we waited for the judge, so I flopped down and stared up at the sky. My eyes had gotten mostly used to the light by now.

After a little while, an older man came out, and looked down at me. "Can you come inside and answer some questions for me?"

I got back up to my feet, and nodded confidently. "Mother says I'm quite well educated." I turned to Matricia and Mistress, watching them leave, and wasn't sure quite what to say... I had watched them so long... maybe I'd see them again. Matricia gave me a smile and a little wave of her hand, and I smiled and waved back happily. It was so nice to get to talk to people again, I had been lonely without mother.

I followed the judge inside, and he asked me a barrage of questions, which I answered as best I could so he could help me find Mother. Finally, he looked my collar over, tapped it. "Yeah, that's a fake. Flagrant violation of the slavery act. Punishment of death."

"...what?"

"Oh, not for you," said the judge. "For your mother, if we ever find her. It sounds like you didn't even know you were breaking the law." He petted my head, and it felt nice. "We'll put you up for auction."

"But," I said. "I'm not a slave."

His eyes narrowed. "Your mother was breaking the law by keeping you from being a slave... probably not acting as a slave herself, either, it sounds like. If you insist you're not a slave, I'll have no choice but to execute you for breaking the law."

I shrunk back. "Sorry. That's just what mother said. I don't want to be executed, that's a kind of killing, right?"

He looked at me for a long moment, and then relaxed, and petted my head again. "It's not your fault your mother raised you wrong, okay? I'll just put you up for auction. What's your name?"

"I don't have a name."

"What an irresponsible mother..." I frowned, but didn't want to argue with the man who had been threatening to kill me, which I didn't like... but also he kept petting me, which I liked. I didn't know how to respond to either of these things, really. "Okay. Well, it'll be a point of novelty. Your owner will probably want to change it anyway. You have any skills?"

"I'm excellent at reading and magic. I can clean and prepare food. But my stamina is poor due to living inside for my entire life, compared to Matricia and her Mistress. And I don't know how to go shopping. Other than that, I'm not sure."

"...magic?" He straightened up a little. "...okay, we're going to have to have you collared with a real collar as soon as possible."

I looked down, ears slumping. "Sorry, did I do something bad?"

He shook his head, scratching behind my ear in a way that felt strange but very nice. "It's not your fault. And I'll make a lot of money off my cut of your sale, I imagine... I think you're probably a good girl at heart, you're being very obedient, you just lack the training." He smiled at me, and I smiled back. "Everyone's going to ask a lot of questions if you wear those clothes and have that brooch you've been holding... I'll take those and give you some clothes that won't cause as many questions."

"Okay!" I was used to going along with whatever mother said, and now I just had to listen to him. It seemed straightforwards enough. "When can I go back home? I want to be there if mother gets back... ah. I need to shop for some food, too."

"I don't think your mother is getting back anytime soon... how about I get you some more food, we switch you out of those clothes, and get you a nice new collar, and then figure out where to go from there?"

"Okay." I started stripping, and he looked over to me, blinking. I bit my lip. "Sorry, am I doing something wrong again?"

He smiled, looking over my body. "No, I think you'll be fine."

I went up naked on the stage for the auction, except for my collar, looking at the crowd curiously. The judge explained how I had lead a very sheltered life, and was only trained in cleaning, cooking, reading, and magic. How I was innocent and obedient.

People said higher and higher numbers, and it took a little while for me to realize they were bidding.

One man outbid all the others, and loudly proclaimed how he was going to cut off my limbs and keep me as a sex toy, and I stiffened up, only the judge's firm hand on my shoulder keeping me from running.

Another man spoke up, saying that would be a waste, and smiled at me softly, outbidding him. After a few small increases in bids, the first man gave the second one a dirty look, and the judge took me over to the second man, taking some money from him and they both touched my collar and the judge said that this man was my Master now.

"Can I wear clothes again now? Everyone else is wearing clothes." Master looked into my eyes with interest, seeming more interested in my mind than my body, unlike a lot of people there. "You just want to fit in?"

"Yes, I understand fitting in is best. I think I almost got in trouble because I didn't fit in, if Matricia and her Mistress and the judge hadn't all helped me."

"And you would've been in trouble again if that man had bought you... slaves with their limbs cut off don't tend to live very long, and the process is incredibly painful and bewildering." I shuddered, and he drew me in close for a hug.

"It's okay. You're going to be mine now, and I'll just train you to be an obedient slave, and you'll learn from me how to train slaves. How does that sound?"

I considered this. "That sounds okay. Mother... is probably dead, right? You'll kept me fed and clothed?"

"Yes, you can safely consider her dead at this point. She would've come back for you if she wasn't, right?"

I started crying a little, I had known she was probably not coming back for me, one way or another. She wouldn't leave me to starve.

Master hugged me a bit closer and stroked my back. "And I'll take care of you now... well, I didn't bring any clothes with me... but once we get home, I'll get you some clothes, okay? Is walking through the city naked too much for you?"

"Walking through the city might be too much for me-- I don't have much stamina, probably due to my sedentary lifestyle, and walking outside in bare feet is hard. But wanting clothes is to just to fit in, it's a nice day out. Fitting in means being safe, right?"

He laughed. "Well, I'll train you in stamina, too. But I'll get you some sandals, and we'll take our time... make a tour of it, okay?"

"Okay!" He walked me through the city, and I stared at everyone and everything, and apparently I stood out, because lots of people were staring at me, too... very few people were walking around naked, it turned out, all of them animalfolk with collars, almost all of them on leashes, and most had an entirely different attitude than I did, or focused on the person leading them or covering up their body as best they could or staring at the ground in shame.

"Ah, am I supposed to be ashamed for not having clothing?"

"No, you're fine just the way you are. I'll train you in everything you need to know. It's seldom you find a grown young woman this pure and malleable."

I looked up at him, tail wagging. "Those are good things, right?" There was something about him that made him even easier to trust and like than the judge or Matricia or her Mistress, and he was going to basically be my new mother, right? My mother always said being a slave was supposed to be bad, but my books said otherwise, and I hadn't seen anything bad about being with him so far.

"Yes, very good things." He continued to take me on a leisurely tour of the city, and everything was so new and exciting that as soon as we got back and he showed me to his bed, I lay down in it and started to drift off without even taking my sandals off, before he said, "Take your sandals off, Sasha."

I blinked and looked up at him. "You're my Master, I'm your Sasha? I didn't know that was the term."

He laughed. "No, you're my slave, Sasha is your name... well, you are my Sasha, though." He stroked my head as I took off my sandals and flopped down on the bed. "Now get some rest, Sasha. We'll talk more tomorrow."

I drifted to sleep in his bed, feeling the safest I had since I realized mother wasn't returning... no, maybe the safest I had ever felt, somehow....