Karenina

She tried not to fidget when Benjamin looked at her, trying not to show her nervousness. She wanted to know what the strange mark on her side meant, but she was also afraid to find out. Whatever it showed, she doubted it was a good one.

"A mark, you say?" he asked.

She nodded and whispered, "Yes."

"I want to see the mark. If I may, little girl?"

She could not help it. She blushed with embarrassment. "Uh... well, it's on my left..."

Had she been wearing her school uniform or her casual clothes, she would have easily lifted her shirt to reveal the gray mark. But she was...