I sat on the edge of the bed with the ball containing my miniature Malva in my hands, just turning it slowly and staring at her.  The motion had woken her up by now, and once she'd pounded on the plastic for a while and screamed herself hoarse, she'd slumped down and tucked her knees under her chin, her smoldering eyes doing their best to burn through me.

Chloe sat beside me, arm curled around my back and fingers slowly stroking my shoulder.  "I don't understand, though," I hesitantly began.  "Aren't the two of you friends?  Why did we do this to her?"

Chloe chuckled softly and leaned a bit closer, and I sighed happily to feel the warmth of her skin against mine.  Her chin rested on my shoulder and I could tell she was delighting in watching the tiny girl in my hands.  "She really is a beautiful little creature, isn't she?"

I smiled faintly and gave a little nod.  She somehow seemed even more beautiful now that she was so small and vulnerable.  "But..."

"Yes, Lucy," she continued, patting my thigh.  "I adore Malva, it's true, but she was going to prove a challenge to restrain.  She needed to be controlled, and I thought you would do well and perhaps even enjoy being the one to control her."

I slowly broke into a sort of funny grin, staring at the tiny thing in the palm of my hand.  I thought of all the things she'd done to me, all the things she said, and I grinned a bit more.  "I control her..."

"Oh yes, Lucy," she nearly purred, stroking my thigh a bit more firmly.  I shuddered faintly under her touch.  "She's only just been captured, so she may still resist you to a point, but she will surely obey you in the end.  Your power over her is absolute."

I realized that my breath was coming quicker.  I felt my chest rising and falling, felt Chloe's hands roaming along my body and I was so keenly aware of every detail, every sound and scent and sensation around me.  I was hot and hungry for... something.

"I think I want to play with her," I whispered, but as I reached for the button that I thought would release my new pet, Chloe reached out and snatched the ball from my hand.

"Plenty of time for that, darling," Chloe uttered with a grin, and I found her smile reassuring despite the fact that I was visibly pouting in my disappointment.  "First, you absolutely need a bath.  I want to take you out, but we can't have you in public all sticky and messy."

I still frowned, but it was admittedly a halfhearted effort.  Chloe was going to take me out with her, and there was no disguising my excitement about that fact.  She beckoned to me with a little wave of her hand, and instantly I hopped up and followed her to the luxurious bathroom.

The tub might have had more in common with a swimming pool than a bath, but either way I'd never seen anything like it.  Even though I'd been roaming about in my underwear all morning, I still wasn't overly secure about stripping totally bare in front of others, but knowing that I was going to get to hop into that magnificent bath certainly helped a bit.

I noticed Chloe slipping away through the door and quickly turned.  "Wait, where are you going?" I asked before really thinking that it might actually make more sense for me to be left alone to bathe.

"Shauna always helps me in the tub," she replied, pausing briefly and half turning back to look at me.  "I was going to let you use her."

I blinked a few times, considering that while reaching up and fidgeting with my long, somewhat matted dark hair for a little while.  "Oh!  Well, ahm... that sounds nice, I guess, Just, what if Mal stayed with me instead?  Would that be okay?"

She furrowed her brow for the briefest of moments, but then the bright smile Chloe gave me was enough to melt me to a puddle.  "Of course it would, dear," she replied, walking back to me and offering me Malva's ball.  "Just remember, she's only just been captured, so she may still have to learn respect.  Whatever happens, you are her trainer.  Don't be afraid to train her."

I nodded eagerly, far too excited to be getting my new toy back to really care all that much about anything else.  Chloe took a moment and patted me on the head.  "Have fun, pet," she spoke, then left and shut the door behind her.

I was all too ready to hit the button and let her out.  I tossed the ball a few feet in front of me, and before it hit the ground, the thing had popped open and released Malva, full sized, onto the tile before me.

"Nrrrrrrgh," she groaned, smashing the heels of her hands against her temples.  "Enough with the lights."

I stood there over her, just grinning and breathing, watching her slowly pull herself together.  It didn't take her long to notice me and figure out where we were, and after she rubbed her eyes I found myself withering under her baleful stare.  "Right.  The runt," she growled.

My blood froze in my veins.  I took a step back and slowly shook my head.  This wasn't how it worked, was it?  How could she still talk to me like that?

"No!"  I snapped in a moment of desperate resolution.  "No, bad girl!"

She blinked a few times, tilting her head and seeming quite perplexed by what I was saying.  Still, yelling at her had somewhat restored my confidence.  "We're going to take a bath, Mal. Now, get up."

My mouth was dry, and I thought I'd bite clean through my lip as I watched her and waited for a reaction.  She did as I asked, though, and slowly dragged herself to her feet, giving an exasperated sigh and a roll of her eyes as she did so.

I nodded once, then turned my back on her.  I told myself it was to make the next task easier for her, but I don't think I was really quite ready to look her in the eye as she did what I was about to ask her.

"Undress me," I commanded, though the little squeak in my voice might have undermined the authoritative tone I intended to have.

I heard her shuffling towards me, and even though I'd given the order, it still startled me to feel pop the clasp of my bra.  "Have you had a suntan in your life, runt?" she casually asked as she pulled the straps over my shoulders and off, then tossed the garment aside.

I took a sharp breath, feeling out the anger growing in my gut.  I worked really hard to be pretty.  I scraped and saved for nice outfits and had my hair styled every few weeks and watched what I ate so carefully.  Where did she get off criticizing me?

Her thumbs hooked under the sides of my panties and shoved them down around my ankles.  "I bet you've never been touched.  No wonder you squirmed like such a <i>slut</i> under my finger."

"Shut up!" I screamed, whirling around to face her.  My breasts, whose smallish size I was keenly aware of at the moment, heaved with my indignation as I sucked air past my teeth.  Malva was still crouched before me, and now she stared up with wide and unblinking eyes.

I struggled to find words I wanted to say, and I probably stammered a little as I said them.  "You do <i>not</i> talk to me like that.  Never!  Not at all."

She blinked a few times, and then further infuriated me with a rather dismissive shrug.

"That's it!" I shrieked.  "No more talking.  You're not allowed to talk, Malva.  Do you hear me?  Don't you dare say a single word!”

She narrowed her eyes, but remained silent.  I took a deep breath and looked her over, crouching before me.  She was still smug as could be, but she was quiet.

Obedient.

“If you need to communicate,” I started, breathing slowly and trying to keep myself steady.  “You… you can bark.  Bark like a dog.”

Her brow furrowed and her teeth clenched as she started to rise from the ground, but I found myself reaching out and resting my hand on her head, gently but firmly keeping her lowered before me.  It was a reaction, and it happened so quickly I almost wasn’t prepared for it myself.  She wasn’t completely prepared either, and ended up dropping to her knees as I threw her off balance.

I liked that.  An exhilarating rush of heat coursed through me, and my fingers and toes tingled a bit as I took another long, shaky breath.

“No, Mal.  Stay down, and go ahead and bark for me so I know you understand.”

Her eyes burned with a hatred whole and pure and unadulterated for me, but again she obeyed.

“Ouaf, ouaf.” she growled from between clenched teeth, and I could feel myself breaking into another of those weird, giddy grins.  Still she despised me, but she did what I said.  I was in control.

“Good girl,” I purred.  Talking down to her like this felt so good, so totally right.  “We’re going to take a bath now.  <i>Crawl</i> over there and start the water, and try not to make it too hot.  I know you like the heat.”

She did it.  I sighed contentedly as I watched her crawl, and moments later I was dipping my toes into a steaming hot bath.  I slipped in carefully, exhaling as my body sunk into the water, and once I was settled I turned back to Malva.  She’d been watching me, and while her disgust was still evident, it seemed to have softened somewhat.

“Grab the sponge, Mal,” I casually demanded.  “You need to get in and wash my back.”

I watched her for a moment and enjoyed her momentary surprise, but once I saw her start moving towards me, I decided to just close my eyes and wait.  I felt the water slosh a bit as she entered, and I let out a low groan as I felt her hands on my body, the sudsy sponge sliding across my back and shoulders.  She stayed properly silent while she worked, and without prompting continued to gently, almost sweetly wash my neck.  I leaned back and groaned in total, blissful delight as she sponged my breasts.

“Oh, Mal, you’re learning so quickly.  Doesn’t it feel good to make me happy?”

She continued to gently scrub my body, but when she didn’t reply I allowed myself to open my eyes and give her a pointed glance.  She paused for a moment met my gaze, and though there wasn’t a single trace of anything but dutiful obedience, she seemed too preoccupied to actively hate me in that moment at least.  “Ouaf,” she replied, and I nodded my approval while reaching out and pushing her back a bit.

“Legs,” I simply stated, and lifted one of mine from the water and resting my heel on her shoulder.  It was incredibly fulfilling to subjugate her like this, and I sighed happily once again as she began to caress my calf and thigh with her sponge.  I let her do her work, slowly sliding my leg back as she skillfully soaped it up, giving her the chance to wash my foot.

Once again, I was further delighted.  I shivered a little to feel the rough sponge slide across my heel and sole, then brush back over the top of my foot.  Chloe seemed to take particular pleasure in having others beneath her feet or otherwise servicing them, and I was starting to appreciate the idea as well.  I wondered if this was what she felt when she did these things while I pulled my leg back and gently pressed the undersides of my toes to Malva’s soft lips.

“Kiss it,” I commanded, and again my body was awash with that exquisite, erotic heat.  My eyes fluttered as she did just that, gently pressing her mouth to my toes.  I’d never experienced anything like this, but I wasn’t going to let it be a brief experience either.  “Yeah,” I sighed, loving the sight of her pressing her mouth to my foot.  “Keep kissing.  Use your tongue.”

She did.  Oh my god, she nuzzled my sole, kissing from heel to toes, swirling her tongue amongst my digits.  My head rolled to the side and I let out a low moan, my body tensing a little and relaxing again, but when my eyes opened I gasped and pulled back my legs, curling defensively under the water in my shock.

Chloe was standing in the doorway, her eyes dancing with delight.  She seemed a split second from breaking into laughter, but all she did was give her broad smile and a little nod of approval, and with that I took a breath and relaxed.  She crossed through the room and reached towards me, laying one hand on my cheek and afterwards giving me a large, plush towel with the other.