Dave was pacing through his living room, thinking about what happened earlier with Beth. He could tell that the girl was in an extremely fragile state and was trying to figure out what to do about it. On the one hand he didn't want to push her over brink. He wanted a slave, not a doll. On the other hand he didn't want to go easy on her, because then he would be encouraging both of his slaves to feign weakness and act disobediently.
He realized that the girl needed a break, an opportunity and help to recover her spirits a little. At the same time he needed to maintain a routine so that she will get used to her new circumstances, and in time learn to accept them. Now how can he giver her that break without them knowing why he did it?
As Dave contemplated further he realized that all he needed to do was frame it as a reward for volunteering. After their initiation he gave them food. After they volunteered it was only natural that he give them something better, but what should it be?
Yesterday he gave them a cold shower, so this time a warm one.
He's been keeping them completely naked in a cold basement so he should let them wear some clothes.
He didn't give them anything more to sit and lie on than the naked floor, so he should give them a mattress.
He's been working them hard, so a massage. It would also give him another opportunity to touch every corner of their bodies, but in a friendlier way. It will help to maintain his complete access and control while at the same time making them feel more at ease.
He's been feeding them the same cold sandwiches every day, so a hot meal.
The real problem was the clothes. He didn't want to give them anything that they could use against him or themselves, but he wanted it to be something that won't get in his way when he came to have his way with them. At first he thought of leather underwear with zippers. It would be easy to remove in any situation and could be locked in place, allowing him total control over them. Then he remembered that he was trying to get them to feel more relaxed, and in any case he wanted them to be able to use the potty alone.
He considered regular underwear or bikinis, but even though he'd enjoy it he felt that he needed something that would somewhat restore their illusion of safety and privacy, and even though some clothes were better than no clothes, more clothes would be more effective. Besides, the basement was cold and letting them feel warmth would be helpful.
He considered robes, but those would have belts and he didn't want to give them any opportunity to hurt either him or themselves. He wanted to live with his slaves for a long time and benefit from many years of their service.
Then he thought of a t-shirt and skirt. The shirt wouldn't be possible to remove completely while they were chained, but after considering it he felt that it would be alright. He could always reach under them, the girls would look cute, and he felt that there was something alluring about having them serve him while still being fully dressed, or pulling up their shirt to fully expose their front while their shoulders and arms remained covered.
After the question of the clothing was settled he contemplated the food, and quickly decided on a full burger meal with fries, salad, and soft drinks.
Happy with his decisions, he went out to shop for the clothes.
Amber watched as Dave brought in a folding table, then 3 padded folding chairs, a tablecloth, a large foam mattress, and finally down a few bags. She could smell meat and fries. Opened the table, set the tablecloth, and set the chairs around the table, one on each side.
"What is he up to this time?", she thought in suspicion.
"Good afternoon, girls. You've served your master very well last night and this morning, what with both of you volunteering, so now we're going to celebrate, starting with a nice hot shower".
Dave's smile seemed a little strained. He unchained Amber from the wall and led her to the shower where he cuffed her hands to the the handhold in the wall and removed the collar. Dave turned on the water, hot this time, and washed Amber's hair. After rinsing it off he washed the rest of her body with soap, starting with her face. When he reached her breasts he first scrubbed them, covering them with soap, then cup them from the bottom and bounced them up or down a few times. Amber braced herself for more, but instead he stopped and quickly scrubbed the rest of her down and rinsed her off.
Once Dave finished he walked away, leaving Amber alone to enjoy the hot stream of water washing over her. "Is this his plan? To take everything away, then get me to like him by giving a tiny bit back?" She wondered. "There's no way he's going to fool me like that".
A few minutes later Dave returned to dry her off, but after putting her collar back on and releasing her hands, instead of taking her back to her chain he took her to the mattress that he had placed in the middle of the room.
"Lie down on your belly", Dave said.
Amber laid down on the mattress. "Here it comes", she thought.
Dave kneeled alongside her and began massaging her neck and shoulders. "What the heck!" Amber mentally exclaimed.
Dave spoke quietly. "I know you've made a big effort and went through a lot for me. It's only right that you should be well taken care of for you service".
Dave was in no way a skilled masseuse, but nevertheless with her muscles loose from the steam of the hot shower his squeezes and caresses did have some effect, though it would have been far more effective if Amber weren't tightening her muscles in response to receiving an unwelcome touch.
Dave massaged her entire body, moving slowly from her shoulders, to her back, her bottom, her thighs, legs, her feet, and toes. As he his hands worked her over Amber closed her eyes and tried to distract herself by thinking about being somewhere else. She tried to delude herself into thinking that she was just receiving a normal massage in the spa, and without noticing she released her tightly kneaded muscles.
Dave finished. His hands, arms, and back were tired from the hard physical work, but although it was slight he could feel the change in Amber. He could only hope it would have a similar effect on Beth. He left Amber lying on the mattress and went to bring one of the bags.
"Get dressed", he commanded.
Amber sat up and opened the bag. She saw clothes inside and pulled them out. She examined them and discovered that there were two shirts and two skirt. She put on one set. With her body covered, and after the treatment she received, she almost felt human again.
"What do you say?"
"Thank you, master" Amber quickly replied. There was no need for her to receive any reminder about the nature of their relationship. He had already deeply engraved in her the knowledge that he was her abuser and she his victim, and his clumsy attempts at mind games held no sway over her. She had to survive until she could be rescued, but in order to survive she had to play along. That was all there was to it.
Dave was pleased. He led Amber back to her place and chained her to the wall.
Amber watched carefully as Dave took Beth to the shower. He let her stand in the hot water for a few minutes before he began washing her down. After he finished rinsing her he let her stand in the hot water for a few minutes more, then took her to the mattress and massaged her methodically from head to toe.
Amber compared Dave's treatment of her to his treatment of Beth. With Amber, Dave played a little with her breasts. With Beth he didn't play with them at all, just focused on the washing. He only let Amber enjoy the hot water alone after the shower, but with Beth he let her do so both before and after washing her. He spent a great deal of time kneading Amber's bottom, but with Beth he hardly touched her there and instead massaged her arms and hands, which he didn't do at all with Amber.
"He's trying to get Beth to get better", Amber realized the reason for the preferential treatment Beth was receiving, "and he probably doesn't want us to realize it. It's just that wouldn't be so fun for him to torture someone who's already half dead and doesn't react".
Once Dave finished giving Beth a massage he had her put on the skirt and shirt. Then he went to bring Amber and took both of the girls to the table, seating them one on each side with himself a the head. He took the food and drinks out of the bags and placed them on the table.
"Enjoy your meal. You've earned it with your hard work and good service to your master".
Dave looked at them expectantly.
"Thank you, master" Amber said. At this moment she didn't fear that he would use the button, but she didn't want him to know that she knew what he was up to, so she continued to play along. She didn't know if the information would be useful to her, but she'd take whatever tiny advantage she could get, just in case.
Dave focused his eyes on Beth, and after a moment she softly whispered "Thank you, master" as well.
Dave took a burger, unwrapped it, and began eating. Amber and Beth followed suit a moment later. After more than a day with a meager diet of tuna and egg sandwiches the smell of meat was nearly irresistible to them.
As they ate Beth seemed to become a little more animated, and Amber realized that Dave's plan was working. Somehow he managed to get Beth to feel better while still violating her privacy with his hands.
When they all finished eating and drinking Dave chained them to their wall again. Then he brought over the mattress.
"As a further reward for your good service, you can rest on this mattress for today. I'll need you in good condition later, so make sure to rest well".
As usual, Amber and Beth said nothing back. Dave collected the leftovers and trash from the meal and went upstairs, leaving the table and chairs behind. The girls sat together on the mattress, backs to the wall, shoulders touching.
"How do you feel now?" Amber asked Beth.
"Why is he suddenly being nice?" Beth avoided the question. It wasn't something that she wanted to talk about. She already expressed all that she needed through her tears. Nothing really changed since then, except that she had recovered a small portion of her energy and had a little time to digest what happened and for the vivid memory to ever so slightly fade around the edges.
Amber considered her answer. She didn't want to bluntly state the disturbing truth, but she also didn't want to lie, hide the truth, or make Dave look good.
"It's about the carrot and stick. He's trying to train us like dogs. When he gets what he wants from us he gives us something. When we don't do what he wants he punishes both of us. He thinks that way we'll either keep each other in line or that we'll do our best to protect each other, and either way it would mean obeying him. Since we both just 'volunteered'" Amber said with a grimace while marking air quotes "to do what he wanted he gave us what he considers to be a big reward. He thinks this stuff will make us more inclined to volunteer again".
Beth shuddered. There was nothing in the world that was worth what Dave was doing to them.
"Plus maybe he thinks he's pushing us too far too quickly, so he's trying to give us a moment to catch our breath". Amber hoped she wasn't being too direct. She didn't want to make Beth feel weak for breaking down earlier, and also didn't want to encourage Beth towards self-destruction. If Beth realized that becoming unresponsive could cause Dave to lay off of her she might just decide to give up on herself, and that could be much more difficult to recover from later. Also, Dave could respond unpredictably, whether by escalating the torment he put them through or even killing Beth and replacing her with someone else, or any number of things she couldn't think of. There was no way to know.
"What if it's working?" Beth whispered.
"It's not. We're doing what we need to survive until the police come to rescue us. That's all". Amber tried to convey a strong sense of conviction with her words.
"I'm scared of what will happen when we go home. I don't know how my parents will react". Beth whispered.
"Your parents love you, right?". Beth nodded. "Then it will be okay".
"Thank you for what you tried to do for me. I hope that when we get out of here we can still be friends".
Amber took Beth's hand.
"Of course. I would like that". Amber said. She wasn't sure if it was true. Perhaps seeing each other outside would just bring both of them pain, but that was what the girl needed to hear right now.
They sat together in quiet companionship, occasionally exchanging a few words, until Dave came back.
