"I understand," she said quietly. "Thank you." She lowered her head in a small nod, hoping that he would interpret it as gratitude. In truth, all she could feel was relief and fear.

"What do you want me to call you?" she asked after a moment's hesitation. "Your Majesty is too formal for... what we are now." Her voice trembled slightly at the end of her sentence, but she forced herself not to show any more emotion than necessary.

Elena considered this for a moment before finally speaking. "All right... I will call you 'Master' from now on." She hoped that this would be acceptable to him, even if it still made her feel uncomfortable to say the word aloud.

For now though, she focused on keeping herself together and doing whatever he asked of her. As long as he didn't hurt her physically or emotionally too badly, she might survive this nightmare after all.