I caught up to her and was about two feet behind her as she led me to one of the rooms that I'll be sleeping in tonight. "This is your room for tonight, here are your keys, give them back to me as soon as the guests leave. The sooner you go back to that rotten shed, the better. I don't want your scent to linger in this house for too long." She said with a look of disgust of her face.
I know that I smell bad, but whose fault is it huh? How I wish I could say that to her face. My thoughts are interuptted by perfectly manicured fingers snapping in front of my face. "Excuse me, whatever you're thinking about is not as important as the person in front of You. So, pay attention!" We go into to the room that I'll be sleeping in for the night and I see two folded outfits placed at the edge of my single bed. " I'm sure that the Alpha has spoken to you about today's events, so this is what you're going to wear today until you have to go to sleep". Her finger pointing at the helpers blue uniform and black leather low heel shoes.
I'm glad that heels aren't too long, imagine having to serve guests all day long and possibly into the late evening, in high heels. I thank the one above for the hidden blessing.
"You are allowed to shower for at least thirty minutes today, make sure that you clean yourself properly. Shave your legs and armpits, make yourself look presentable, and that means that you should do something about that... that... Bush on your head. Straighten it and tie it into a bun. None of that nonsense". I frown in confusion. She wants me to straighten my hair? The one thing that I am proud of having. No. I'm not doing it, I spent years growing it out to be like this, I won't let them take this too.
"I beg your pardon Luna, I can't d-do that. I can't straighten my hair. N-not my hair. No" I'm surprised I even voiced that out. I raise my head as a new found confidence overtakes me. But that moment is only brief, the look on her face promises trouble. She looks at me, her eyes glaring at me, angered by what I just said. "Now you listen here, girly, you will straighten your hair or I will shave it off and you won't like it. You have 2 options. Choose wisely..."
She smirks at my horror-stricken face, having found another one of my weaknesses to add on the list of things to take away whenever she pleases.
What felt like long excruitiating hours, were actually seconds, as I stare at her in disbelief and shock at what she just said. "Tick tock young lady, we don't have all day. Will I be shaving that Bush on your head or will you straighten it?" Frightened by her words, I nod my head, " y-yes Luna, I will Straighten it. Please don't shave m-my hair, pl-please". The one thing that made me feel proud of my African roots. She is taking it from me and there isn't anything that I can do about it.
"Good. Defy me again and I will make sure that you will wake up looking like a hairless pussy. Prepare yourself, you have 30 minutes. Come downstairs once your done. I'll tell you what to do from there". She walks out of the room, leaving me feeling powerless and small. I grab the stuff on the bed and proceed to the bathroom.
*Fast forward to after her shower*
I am standing before the small mirror on the wall that's situated above the faucet. I look very beautiful, "that's because you are beautiful, how I wish you would gain confidence in yourself and see how much potential you have in bringing change in this world. I can't wait for the day that you rise up, I have a feeling that it'll happen soon..." Ashanti, my wolf whispered in my mind.
"I'm glad that one of us seems to think that I am capable of doing all of that, but how am I supposed to do that, where do I start?, this pack has taken all that I could be proud of, and now I am conditioned into losing the one thing that made me feel closer to my African roots and ancestors. And what do you mean by it'll happen soon?" I ask Ashanti as I use my fingers to de-tangle my afro.
"You'll find out soon enough. But for now, you need to lift your head up, gather confidence and don't let them break You, just hold on for a little while longer" The words spoken by my wolf made me feel hopeful and somehow helped me reach a decision.
The Luna wants me to straighten my hair as a way of reminding me that she has power over me, I am not going to allow that. I've given these people way too much power to dictate my life. I am done doing that. Starting with my hair.
I grab the clippers placed in front of me and plug them into the socket. My hands are shaking, dreading and regretting my decision before acting on it. But it has to be done, it's now or never.
I take a deep breath and press the button on the side. The small machine in my hand starts buzzing, startling me a little. I look at myself for a short while. Trying to memorize how I looked like with my hair in its natural state before cutting it off. I close my eyes and slowly draw in some air and slowly releasing. I then open my eyes with determination to see this through as my left hand grabs a portion of my hair and my right hand, holding the clippers, starts shaving. I continue shaving my head until there isn't any hair left.