The Gilded Cage

Lucy had been in her cage for a few years now, the pretty, decorative pet of the girl who owned her. For a while she had fought to keep her humanity and her dignity, but over time and with some very convincing training methods, she had been broken. She would sit in her cage until her mistress showed her off to her guests or came to pay her some attention. On cue she would then strut and flaunt herself, talking nonsense to impress the mistress when she was commanded to ‘sing’.

The one thing Lucy had never been able to work out was why her Mistress didn’t seem to understand anything she said. From Lucy’s perspective she could understand perfectly what was being said to her, her Mistress would often leave either the TV or the radio on for her when she would be away for a number of hours. She understood everything that was said on there as she couldn’t see any difference in the way she spoke compared to them.

It wasn’t just her Mistress who failed to understand, no-one seemed to know what she was saying to them when she tried to communicate. No matter who she spoke to they were either ignoring her, or simply didn’t understand what she was saying to them. It was as though she was speaking an entirely different language. The Mistress was always kind to her, but it was humiliating to be spoken to like a puppy or a hamster whenever she was paid attention to.

When she had first been bought from the pet shop she had pleaded and begged to be released crying desperately to be given back her freedom. Sometimes she would shout to the girl trying to get her attention or rattle the cage door trying to work the latch free, but whenever she became too noisy or became too angry with her plight, she was only ever met with a cloth being draped over her cage as her Mistress spoke in a cooing kind of way to her until she quietened down.

It had been three years now and she was well trained, well looked after and well loved.

Her Mistress’ name was Ceri. She was short, petite, with cropped light brown hair and pretty hazel eyes. She was always delicate when handling Lucy and had never even shown any real anger other than to give her a telling off when Lucy had attempted a few escapes. A little pat on the nose, or a smack on her rear with a finger-tip was all she used to discipline her. After her 'punishment' Ceri would simply place her back in the cage with a warm smile and drape the cloth back over it.

Ceri was a bit of a tomboy in her styles. She liked to wear boot-cut jeans and long sleeved shirts, sketchers and hoodies. Other than that she enjoyed being typically girly in her habits, still enjoying make up and girl's nights in. She’d had her little pet for around three years now, originally bought for her as an 18th birthday present by her mother. She always thought her incredibly cute and enjoyed hearing her little chirping when she encouraged her to speak or sing.

Sometimes, with enough encouragement, she could get her pet to do little dances for her and her friends to enjoy and in return, she would give her extra special treats like time out of the cage to explore her bedroom floor or bring her little bits of food from her plate at dinner time.

She always thought it was incredibly cute when she would let the little girl loose to run about her bedroom. She giggled seeing how the little girl would gaze about wide-eyed at her new perspective, climbing over books, CD's and loose clothes Ceri had left lying about the room. One time she was scrabbling up a pair of crumpled jeans, they had been left in a pile from where Ceri had slipped them off and simply stepped out of them. She’d left her socks in the bottoms of the legs and as Lucy had climbed the jeans she had over-balance at the top, tipping into the jeans themselves.

There were a series of flustered squeaks as Lucy struggled about trying to get free of the musky, smelly prison she had found herself in. When Ceri leaned over the top of her jeans from her bed to investigate, she couldn’t help but erupt into giggles watching her little pet struggle to free herself from her old sock. She placed a hand sheepishly over her mouth and blushed, embarrassed to find the situation so funny. She lifted the jeans away letting the sock and her little girl slide out of the jeans leg and onto the floor.

“Awww, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t really laugh, poor little Lucy!” Ceri said trying to stifle her giggling as she leaned down and removed the sock from the girl.

Lucy was deeply embarrassed and a little horrified about where she had found herself. She tumbled out of the end of the sock as her Mistress lifted it away and landed with a soft thump on the carpet, hearing her owner’s voice floating down to her amidst amused laughter. Ceri reached down to stroke her finger down her pet’s back, but as she stroked the back of Lucy's hair she spun round lashing out with her little hand to slap Ceri’s finger away.

Ceri withdrew her hand quickly as though she expected to be bitten. She was a little shocked at the sudden outburst, but once she had realised Lucy had only pawed at her she reached back down and wrapped her fingers around the small girl’s body. Lucy struggled for a moment unwilling to be manhandled in such a way, but as she looked up she could see her Mistress wasn’t happy.

Even though she was cross, Ceri had always had a hard time being firm with her little girl but she also knew any outbursts were supposed to be dealt with properly. With this in mind she did her best to look angry and held her firmly in her grip, bringing her up to her chest.

“NO! Bad Lucy!” She said sternly, a finger pointing at her right in front of her face as she spoke, making the little girl flinch away form it. She then patted the tip of her index finger firmly on top of the girl’s head.

Lucy didn’t know what was worse, the humiliating disciplinary or the fact that whenever she received a ‘telling off’ she seemed to genuinely feel bad for upsetting her owner. Ceri walked her back to her cage, her grip had loosened now she had given Lucy her punishment and she returned to a more casual demeanour. Half cupping her hand to her stomach she held the small girl against her body in case she might fall, Lucy simply instinctively lay against Ceri’s tummy letting the warmth of the large delicate hand that shielded her comfort her.

The cage was hung around 4 feet off the ground and was made of polished brass so that it had a shine like gold, the perfect little gilded cage for her delicate canary. Inside the cage was a small two-storey shelter a little like a hamster home that was stuffed with strips of fabric for bedding and placed around the cage were various ladders and ledges and a rubber ball. These were supposed to keep the small girl amused when her owner was too busy to let her out or to play with her.

After hearing the familiar sound of the cage door Lucy once again found herself in the warm grip of the soft hand that cradled her. She was lifted away from Ceri's body as though she was sat in a seat, the hand supporting her with the thumb loosely around her front to make sure she didn't slip. She was gently lifted into the cage and set down on its base. The finger that had previously punished her stroked gently along the back of her hair before the hand retreated back out of the cage and the door swung shut.

With her small girl safely shut away Ceri began to get ready for the evening ahead. She had plans to see a girl she had been dating for a short time now but tonight was going to be the first time she had invited her back home. She couldn't wait to get her back here, she had told her all about her little pet, promising to show her the small girl when she came over. Picking up her mobile phone Ceri went to leave her room and paused a second, turning back to the hanging cage.

“I'm going out for a little while, but i'll leave the TV or the radio on for you so you're not lonely” She said with a small smile

"Which one do you want? Do you want the TV?” She asked, pronouncing it slowly and pointing as though teaching her pet the words for the first time, though in reality she went through this process every time she asked.

“Or the radio?” She continued, pointing now to the radio on her desk.

Lucy stood against the bars, her hands clasping them as she took a deep breath and called out “The TV Please.” Ceri gave a small chuckle at the little chirp that came from the cage and smiled

“Ok sweetie, you can have the radio.” she said, believing the little chirps meant she had made her choice when she had heard the name of the thing she wanted.

She walked across the room listening to the excited chirps coming from the cage.

“Hey! Noo! I wanted the TV! Hey! Why don't you listen to me?” Lucy cried out, getting flustered and jumping up and down a little trying to get her attention as she watched Ceri cross to her bedside and click the radio on.

“Okay, okay, calm down Lucy!” Ceri said giggling “Awww, you're so cute when you get all excited.” She said moving up to the cage once more and pushing a finger through the side to tickle Lucy's stomach, causing her to squirm and back away from the bars.

Ceri's phone began to ring and she turned her attention away from Lucy to answer it, holding it to her ear with her shoulder as she picked up an open fronted hoodie and slipped it over one arm.

“Oh hi Em... Yeah, I'm just on my way out now actually... Ok... Ok, see you soon.”

With no further thought of Lucy she headed for her door, heading out and closing it behind her. The small girl let out a defeated sigh and slumped to the floor, she hoped she wouldn't be on her own for too long. She hated listening to this station.