Katherine raised her eyes as Penny spoke, warning her that her agreement did not necessarily mean everything was tied up neatly with a bow. No, she still had to sign the contract. She had agreed in a rush and as a reward, the threat of the police was removed. It had sent such a wave of relief through the young woman that she was sagging uncouthly in her chair.<br/><br/><em>“Bring the papers to the desk.”</em><br/><br/>Cool words, a direct order. The first order of many, once she signed. Katie knew it despite the fact things were not yet complete. Her back straightened and she lifted the contract back to her lap, arranging the stack neatly as Penny continued, fingering a lovely pen. There was a deep meaning to the ink, as told by Penny. Deepening the meaning of the contract and the way Katie's life was about to change. It was irrevocable. The ink indelible much like a tattoo would be on her flesh.<br/><br/>The pen was lifted towards her on the word 'immortality' and Katie swallowed, lifting her eyes to Penelope's.<br/><br/>Rising from the seat, Katie took the short few steps forward, her little flats barely clicked on the black marble. She took the pen from the offered hand. It was substantial, weighty in her fingers. The feeling of permanence in the solid shaft of the pen as she lowered her eyes from Penny and moved to the desk beside the woman. She laid down the contract on the solid desk, the curve of her hip a mere inch or so from Penny.<br/><br/>She could smell the woman's perfume. A hint of it on the air. She did not look over at Dan again, he had sat down to observe in silence for the moment. This was Penelope's show. She was in charge and calling the shots ...<em>orders</em>...<br/><br/>It wasn't completed yet, though. They could change their minds if she hesitated. Katie felt a thrill of nervous excitement as she flipped through the pages again. All of the way to the back where she found the signature lines. There was her name in strong, straight type at the right side of the page.<br/><br/><br/>______________________________________<br/><div class="floatright">________________________________________<br/>Katherine O'Rourke<br/>pet</div>Penelope Harper-Dasse<br/>Mistress<br/><br/><br/>______________________________________<br/>Daniel Dasse<br/>Master<br/><br/>"Oh wow..." she breathed as she opened the pen and laid the trembling tip to the page. The moment the pressure was there, the pen stopped quivering. The weight of her hand as she bent over the desk to sign, stilling the tremor. Katie took it as a sign and took a deep breath as she finally scrawled her name across her line. Signing her life away for the duration of a year. At the end of the last 'E' the pen lifted and began to tremble again.<br/><br/>Katie stood up straight looking down at the drying ink of her signature, her wide blue eyes blinking in surprise. In less than fifteen minutes from start to finish, her life had changed completely. It was an enormous realisation to deal with. Her chest heaved a little as she took deep breaths to relax herself as she laid the pen down on the contract between their lines and her own. She couldn't move. She could only stare down at that word. 'Pet'<br/><br/>"Pet..." she whispered and found that she couldn't find any volume. Her head turned to look at Penny, a nervous look in her eyes as she softly cleared her tight throat.