Rythica looked up at the large being before her, a challenge on her face. She brought up her four clawed fingers and, without breaking eye contact, dragged the sharp nails down the cold, metal walls. The only thing separating the two was the hole in the wall where the air was strangely solid and very shiny.

  The woman winced at the loud sound and glared down at the juvenile queen with a promise of retribution in her eyes. Rythica didn't waver, bringing up the remaining three of her hands next and letting all four hover near the wall, almost daring Julia to call her bluff.

  "Don't you-"

  SCREEEEECH.

  Rythica chirped a final taunt of triumph as the predator snapped, visibly reaching her breaking point and storming out of the room, making angry human sounds. She marched out of the room, fury burning on her expression and determination in her gait.

  "Ahhrgggg!! Damn Randell's warnings, damn this stupid enclosure, and most of all, damn whoever decided to place metal walls near a being with six limbs covered in sharp claws, and no impulse control. I'm going to punish that spoiled brat if it is the last thing I ever do!"

  The last three months had been a trying time for Rythica, getting to know this strange predator who also seemed to insist on taking care of her. Not that she understood what a month was, but it was a long time and that was the important part.

  The poor bug had been forced into terrible suffering; being trapped and covered in water when moving into the food place, being forced to wear weird second layers of uncomfortable skin, and suffering through the constant noises the humans made at her.

  But she understood it was her duty in life to get back at the brown-haired predator for daring to torture her so.

  Rythica had been forced to adapt, learning creative new ways to get her revenge. She couldn't actually reach her tormentor, and she always wore those hard skin things when trying to bathe her, making biting her impossible.

  Rythica chirped happily as the woman left the room, slamming the door, and resumed playing with her toys. It seemed like she would be getting out of a bath today, after all.

  She moved on to play with one of her newer toys, a little wooden box with holes on the top with various shapes. Rythica considered herself quite the exceptional master of this game. She picked up the first wooden shape, a half circle, and shoved it into the box through the correct hole on the top. The square hole, obviously. She continued mixing and matching shapes and holes, only struggling a few times to make them fit together. The bite marks on the sides of the wooden shapes sometimes made the fit awkward, but she persisted in overcoming this impossible challenge.

  So focused was she on her inevitable victory over the shapes, that the royal princess only barely noticed the predator of water return an hour later, an unnerving calmness in her gaze.

  The nanny had changed out of her usual uniform and was wearing a set of poorly-fit leather armor, likely swiped from the small estate guard house. In her hands she held a small cylindrical object, with lines of metal and bits of sapphire crisscrossing around it, indicating it was clearly enchanted.

  Not that Rythica recognized any of this, or would understand the context behind the outfit. What was armor? What was "enchanted"? Hearing the door slam closed, the Vex just looked up and saw the human standing there wearing another color of second skin.

  The Vex, having completely forgotten about their exchange earlier, chirped happily, content with her progress on her shape-mixing game. She looked back down, dismissing the woman from her thoughts.

  "Hey. Look at me," her caretaker commanded, voice low and menacing.

  Rythica, not understanding her, ignored her random sounds. She was almost done, the final shape could fit any of these holes!

  "Look at me," the woman roared.

  Startled, Rythica's head jerked up. She stared at the nanny, confusion evident on her face. She chirped hesitantly, clicking her mandibles in unease at an unexpected tone.

  The larger predator stepped up to the solid barrier of air and pointed down at Rythica. "See this?" she asked, making her usual nonsensical sounds. She lifted something for the girl to see. A bucket filled with soapy water. "As I told you earlier, bath time."

  Rythica didn't understand most of the sounds that the larger beings made. They made lots of sounds all the time. Sometimes at her, sometimes at each other. It was too confusing to keep track of. But there were a few specific sounds she had started to recognize. "Bath," was one of them.

  Rythica shot to her feet and hissed in outrage. If the woman didn't want to be clutching her ears in pain, she better get that bucket away from her. Rythica approached the wall, already clacking her mandibles in annoyance. She lifted her clawed hands again, ready to attack with the most effective move she had. It was only a few days prior when Rythica learned this trick, and it had proven super effective. So she didn't hesitate. The instant her claws touched the wall, the water bearer's face changed.

  The young Vex, fully assured that the woman was unable to enter the enclosure and reach her, was unprepared when Julia seemed to break her usual behavior and marched straight up to the main doorway. The smug grin on her face fell away. Rythica panicked and backed up, not expecting the sudden development. She frantically looked around for a place to hide but found nothing that would fit her.

  The humans had never entered the enclosure while she was still inside before this, and Rythica had no idea how to deal with the situation. The nanny opened the doors, moving slowly, purposefully, towards her charge.

  The Vex hissed, putting on a brave face. It seemed the large predator she had once feared was finally going to make its move and attack her directly. Rythica was terrified, she felt betrayed, and she wouldn't go down without a fight. The predators had been biding their time. They lured her into a false sense of security.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  It was a trap!

  She crouched low, spreading her arms out wide, making herself look bigger, and let loose her fiercest screech yet. She clicked her mandibles to intimidate the larger predator. She swung a few strikes in the direction of the human, trying to scare it off. Rythica inched backward, trying not to look weak while also trying to get as far away from her as possible.

  Julia continued to approach, undeterred. She moved with purpose, but not aggression. She didn't lash out, or move to strike. Instead, she kept a hold of the bucket in her off-hand, the small cylinder object in her main hand, slowly raising it to point at the Vex.

  Rythica was confused but didn't back down. She kept hissing and screeching, hoping to intimidate the woman into fleeing. She knew she couldn't win in a straight-up fight against such a large creature. She was barely taller than her knee! She lunged forward, her teeth bared and ready to snap down with all her might.

  Something cold and wet sprayed her in the face.

  Rythica recoiled. The spray was cold and unpleasant. It made her shudder in discomfort. She moved in for another attack, getting a solid claw strike on the woman's leg. But her claws failed to penetrate the second skin she was wearing. It was sturdy and her nails couldn't break through!

  Another spray of cold water struck her. Rythica backed up, trying to get away from the spray, but her back struck the metal wall. Cornered, she had no choice but to endure the assault. She shivered and hissed, but the water kept coming.

  Suddenly, the woman stopped. Rythica hissed and postured, but didn't move back in. She was wary now, eyeing the nanny and the strange cylinder thing in her hand.

  The two combatants stared at each other. The tension was heavy in the air as each one waited to see who would make the next move. After several seconds, the monster lowered the strange object, which was clearly the source of the water. She seemed to be waiting to see what Rythica would do. The Vex remained frozen in place, not trusting the woman who had fed her so many times, only to betray her by giving her baths in that tiny food room.

  The nanny sighed when she realized Rythica wasn't going to make the first move. "Now. I'm going to give you a bath. I've used warm water this time, so don't throw a fit or I'm going to keep spraying you." Her voice was firm and unyielding.

  Rythica hissed when she heard the dreaded word and eyed the bucket with loathing. The predator frowned when Rythica didn't stop hissing at her.

  "Alright then," she said, brandishing the water sprayer at the juvenile Vex, "have it your way then." And with that, she unleashed another spurt of water.

  Rythica screeched and tried to run away. She managed to avoid the first few blasts, but the larger being was prepared for the maneuver. She chased the small Vex down, unleashing another stream of water as she ran.

  Rythica managed to reach the other side of the room before she was cornered, but she was still unable to escape. The big monster was relentless, chasing the Vex around the room and unleashing a spray of water whenever she got the chance. Eventually, Rythica was exhausted and unable to avoid the water sprays any longer.

  She lowered the sprayer, waiting. When Rythica didn't immediately hiss, she nodded, approvingly. "Good girl. No hissing at me."

  The nanny pulled something out of her pocket, and the Vex perked up at it. It was a treat that the food bringer had given the girl a few times in the past. It was basically honeyed jerky, but the girl absolutely loved it.

  She held up the two objects, the treat in one hand and the sprayer in the other.

  "Are you going to be a good girl and take a bath?"

  A hiss echoed out, followed by a spurt of water, and then enraged mandible clacking.

  "Let's try this again. Bath?"

  Rythica made to hiss, but her eyes fell on the sprayer. She remained silent.

  "Good girl." The food bringer handed over the jerky.

  Rythica instantly threw the small meat stick into her mouth and began chewing noisily, a small smile on her face.

  The monster picked up the bucket again and held it out. "Are you going to keep being good?" Another treat was between her fingers. Rythica glanced between the two, uneasy. Conflict was written all over her face as the implications settled. Was she willing to let herself be, she shuddered, bathed, in exchange for tasty food?

  The choice overwhelmed her for a moment. She did not like water. At all. Even when the predator of water and annoying sounds filled her water bowl too high, she was unnerved. Her instincts cried out at the mere thought of being around so much water.

  She huffed and put her hands on her face, shaking her head. She smelled the treat again, and her resolve crumbled.

  She plopped to the ground and stuck out her claw in a grabbing motion at the snack. The fearsome woman smiled and handed it over.

  The woman got down on her knees next to Rythica and dunked the rag in the bucket to wet it.

  "Thank you, Rythica. You've been a very good girl today," she said and began scrubbing her down.

  The water was warmer than usual, so the sensation wasn't nearly as horrible as the sprayer, but the bug girl was still not happy with the new development. But she didn't move, even though she really wanted to. Rythica pouted but allowed the scrubbing to commence. Every few moments, a new snack would be dropped into her hands, and she took the offered bribe.

  Rythica had conflicted feelings about the experience as well, and not just because of the water. The human was very close to her. This was the first time she had ever been in the enclosure with her at the same time, and the girl felt exposed and vulnerable in ways she wasn't used to. The large predator could easily strike her down in a single blow if she chose to. And given how effective her own claw strikes had been, she would be completely helpless in the brief exchange.

  The Vex shuddered and whimpered, but allowed the nanny to proceed.

  The not-so-mean monster continued scrubbing the Vex, being mindful of the hard plates and chitin, while also making sure the softer parts of her body were thoroughly cleaned. She was gentle the entire time, moving slowly and softly, whispering calming reassurances.

  It wasn't a pleasant experience, but the treats made it bearable.

  When Julia was finished, she gave Rythica a final treat, and then set the rag down on the edge of the bucket and stood. Rythica looked up at her and chirped a tone Julia couldn't parse.

  Her heart panged at the sight of the girl, looking so innocent and fragile, and she couldn't help but think of her own children back home. They were so different, but at that moment, she could see a part of them in the little, alien creature before her.

  She wanted to reach out and give her a gentle pat on the head, but her gloves were soaked and she didn't want to make the situation worse by rubbing more water on her. She made a split-second decision and took off her protective glove. If Rythica attacked, she could probably remove a finger. But emotions made people do dumb things, and right now Julia's dumb human emotions wanted to comfort this child.

  She placed her bare hand on the top of her head and stroked it reassuringly. The Vex princess looked up at her, confused, before reaching up to touch Julia's hand. It was the first time they had ever touched without something in between.

  "I'm proud of you. You did very good, today," Julia whispered.

  Rythica clearly didn't understand the words, but she could understand the tone.

  Her chitin fingers felt cool against Julia's hand, and the sharp digits scraped her by accident but didn't break the skin. Julia smiled at her, and Rythica chirped.

  Julia pulled her hand away and slipped the glove back on. She draped a towel around the cute, little monster, and dried her off.

  Rythica's hair was starting to grow out, too. Julia made a mental note to look into getting a brush the next time around.

  The caretaker stepped out of the enclosure and closed the door, leaving Rythica alone. She was not a highly social creature and was easily overwhelmed when she didn't get her alone time. That was fine, Julia was patient. And today, today was a victory in her eyes.