"Well, judging by the tone of your voice, this is going to be a bit of a bummer for you. Since the Empire took over, slavery is legal," he said.

A horrified cry of "What!?" stuck in my throat. I leaned on the console and for a blessed moment I was too shocked to feel anything. Wolfe kept speaking, and I tried to listen. The words distracted me from the cold anger that was building in me. I couldn't have spoken anyway, the anger had muted me. He asked me if I could pass for a slave owner, talked of how nobles walked about with slaves on their arm like it was nothing. Because it was allowed.

[i]How[b] dare [/b]they.[/i]

I could feel myself trembling, shaking with rage, my first balled in my lap. 

"And of course it's nothing like... our games. My games, on the other hand, the kind of games I'm used to... You honestly have no idea. Nothing wrong with that, though." Wolfe's flirtatious tone was lost on me. I sat in utter silence for a a few seconds. I stood. I didn't know where I was going. I just felt the need to move.

"I stand corrected," I heard myself say quietly. "We can go with your plan, then. It's a fine idea," I said, with only a small tremor in my voice. How [i]could[/i] they?

[i]Breath. Don't give in to it. Not again. Let it pass.[/i]

The distance between the console and the lift was only a few steps, but it seemed much farther. The anger was peeling back, and the painful sadness at I mentally recoiled from the memory. I found myself rubbing the tattoo on the back of my hand. 

Wolfe was leaning on the wall just to the left of the lift, looking pleased with himself. He was still wearing the blindfold. 

"You can stop wearing that, you know," I said softly, then I stepped unto the lift.