"How are the nails coming, runt?" I asked, not caring enough to tilt my head around my phone and look.

"Very nicely, Mistress!" came the chipper reply. I could hear the falseness in her voice, but I let it go. As long as she was acting the part and doing her job, I was happy.

"Glad to hear it. Maybe you'll even get breakfast in the morning."

A week had passed since I'd first captured Nora, and her transition to the life of a slave had not been as smooth as I'd imagined. She'd had moments of resistance nearly every day since then, and though I always broke her of them, it seemed like she was always ready to rebel the following day. I had thought it cute at first, but it was starting to get tiresome.

"Stacy's coming over tomorrow," I said, letting the comment hang in the air. I felt Nora freeze for a moment before resuming her duties.

"Y-yes, Mistress," she replied.

"She's very eager to get her hands on you again."

Nora worked in silence for a long while, undoubtedly trying to figure out how to word a plea for mercy from my manic friend.

"Mistress?" she finally asked.

"Yes, pet?"

"I... um, I-I've been a good girl recently, right? I do as I'm told?"

I cocked an eyebrow, lowering my phone to my chest. Nora stood on my right foot, having painted all but my pinky nail a bright red. "You've been adequate. I don't know if I'd say you've been good."

She looked wounded, the little actress. "Mistress, I think of nothing but your happiness at all times! I'm the best possible girl I could be!"

I barked out a laugh, and she stumbled to keep her balance. "Who are you trying to fool here, me or yourself?" When she didn't reply, I continued. "Not ten hours ago I was spanking your behind for your stupid little escape attempt. Do you think good girls make escape attempts?"

"Mistress... Mistress please please don't let Stacy play with me! She's... she's the worst, please! Please, I'll do anything!" Nora whined.

"You know, she said she wants to test the theory that oxygen deprivation kills brain cells. She said she's just gonna hold her thumb over your face for like ten, fifteen minutes, then when you wake up we'll see if you're any dumber." I giggled down at her. "Can you imagine you, but dumber? You'd be, like, super retarded. Super pathetic."

Desperation rising, Nora threw herself to her hands and knees, kissing my skin beneath her. "Mistress please! I love you! You're the only Mistress for me, I'll never run away again! I'll never be a bad girl again, I swear! Please don't let her torture me, please!"

I almost turned my camera on and recorded her little pleas, they so perfectly summed up how far she'd fallen. I controlled everything about her, and even though she resisted, I think she only did so because she knew that I had the power to do anything I wanted with her. Staying quiet and grinning, I let her humiliate herself for another two minutes before raising a finger to silence her.

"I might be persuaded to talk Stacy out of tormenting you," I said. "If you do something for me."

"Anything! Anything at all, please! Name it!"

"Agree to give up your voice."

She frowned, watching my expression for some hint of a joke. "W... what?"

"From now until you die, all you'll do is bark. Or meow, or squeak, I don't really care as long as it's animal noises. You'll never speak another real, human word as long as you live." I let my phone slide down to the bed as I folded my arms across my breasts. "If you agree to that, I'll protect you from Stacy. You'll be completely safe from her for as long as you can obey the rule."

"M-Mistress-"

"Oh, and you get ten words of argument. So that's one right there." I smirked down at her. "So what's it gonna be, pup?"

Nora stared at me in bewilderment, obviously feeling one of the last strands of control she had over her life slipping between her fingers. "You... can't do this..." she whined.

I held up my hand, fingers outstretched. "That's five. Five more words, and then the next one better be a bark or I won't even supervise the time Stacy spends with you."

Eyes wide with panic and desperation, little Nora summoned up every ounce of emotion she could muster, letting it all out in a single utterance: "Please!"

I looked down at the woman who, in a syllable, had bared her soul to me. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and her miniscule body was shaking so hard I thought she might just fall off my foot were it not for her fingers digging hard into my skin. I stared right back at her, my smug grin not wavering for a second. "Four more."

In a very literal sense, she looked crushed. She reminded me of a swatted fly, stuck to a wall by its own guts and twitching its last, knowing it's about to die, and the only thing it can do is stare at its murderer and wait for the darkness to claim it. Nora was not a woman anymore. She wasn't a human being, she was a doll. A toy for my whims, and it had only taken a week of training to get her to this point.

Through red, puffy eyes she stared at me, her lips curled in a snarl that would have looked menacing were she not so pathetically small. "I hate you, cunt," she hissed as venomously as she could muster.

I had her. I knew I had her, and I was going to savor the moment for everything it was worth. "Oh yeah?" I asked, barely able to keep a giggle out of my voice. I was wild with sadistic delight. "And what, exactly... are you gonna do about it?"

Her face twitched with rage. I could practically see the slew of bile waiting just on the tip of her tongue, wanting so desperately to come out. The weak little bitch had so much she wanted to say, but instead, all that came out of her mouth was:

"Arf."

I cackled. In that moment, it was the single funniest thing she could have said. She just stayed there, kneeling on all fours on my ankle while I had a fit of laughter, occasionally pointing down at her and mockingly repeating her utterance.

When I'd collected myself to the point that I could speak, I applauded her effort, smiling broadly down at her. "Good job little puppy!" I said, my voice thick with condescension. "Well done! You barked! Now be a good girl and bark for your owner again."

She looked wounded, but I suppose it was easier for her to swallow her dignity after taking the first bite. "Woof," she said sullenly.

I giggled again, followed by more applause. "Brilliant. Absolutely lovely, little girl." I lifted her to my chest, stroking her back. She squirmed and resisted, but it didn't matter to me one bit. "All right, I'll keep my end of the promise. Stacy won't hurt you for as long as you never say another human word. Think you can do that, pup?" When she stayed silent, I flicked her ass. "I said, can you do that?"

"Bark!" she said, wincing in pain at the blow to her already-tender rear. I raised her up and planted a kiss on her back, then brought her over to her cage once again.

"You know, I finally think you're a good girl," I told her as I latched the door, sealing her inside. "And that's what you really wanted, wasn't it?"

Nora retreated to her bed, a little pile of wood shavings she'd nestled into the past few nights, making a comfy padded area for herself. "Bow-w," she replied.

"I thought so. Good night, little dog-girl. Sleep tight." I climbed into bed and flicked the light off, plunging the room into darkness as I settled in and got ready for the wonderful, cheery day to come tomorrow.