I groaned, my body feeling heavy as I moved a hand to wipe against my eyes. I was comfortable, perhaps more comfortable than I had ever been. A weighted duvet held me snuggly against the soft sheets as I held a squishy object close to my chest with my other arm. I sighed contently and nuzzled further into the bed, wishing to stay like this forever. Regretfully, forever lasted exactly 3 seconds as I shot up against the backboard, eyes wide.

 

To my right, an Affini looked at me with fond eyes; one of her vines stifled a laugh as the others held a familiar android girl close who lay asleep. The Affini made no move toward me and didn’t try to communicate; instead, she sat there with a gentle smile, almost motherly, as she continued to pet the android in her lap. I’d like to say I took this opportunity to take in my surroundings, figure out where I was and plan the next best course of action. That’s what I’d like to say. Instead, I lost myself in her eyes. My breathing slowed and fell into an unseen rhythm as my initial burst of panic was slowly cast aside in favour of feelings of safety.

 

I couldn’t tell you how long we sat like that; it both felt like an eternity and in the same stretch, mere seconds. I suspect it might have genuinely lasted forever if not for the creature’s movement breaking my enthrallment. I darted my eyes to the opposite side of the room and sank back into the bed, pulling the covers close so they blocked the creature from my sight.

 

“Your face is adorable when you space out,” Sya said teasingly.

 

I attempted to let out a snarky rebuke but as I opened my mouth, I instead gave a half grumble. Realising this I quickly faked a cough and opted to remain silent.

 

“Darling~. Won’t you look at me?”

 

I couldn’t. I knew that if I looked in her direction the small ember of resistance I was harbouring would extinguish itself. This was all wrong. I was Zeitha Rebuille; Terran genius, master of her fate and overall hard-ass. But here I was, in an unknown room and behaving like some romcom high school girl fawning over her first crush! Whatever the error they had done to me had worked.

 

Wait?

 

My thoughts were interrupted as the covers surrounding me were gently tugged away. I held on to them for dear life, but no amount of force I mustered proved enough. The covers were removed and folded at the end of the bed, leaving me exposed and vulnerable. I wanted to move, but my body wasn’t responding; I settled with keeping my eyes closed, confident the lack of vision would keep me safe. I was wrong.

 

Vines encased my body and placed me into a sitting position as another smaller vine took my chin and held me firmly in place, tilting my head upwards. The temptation to peek was overwhelming. Just one peek, it couldn’t hurt, right? Yeah! I’d sneak one peak and then quickly close my eyes after I reassured myself that there was not a big, teasing and beautiful plant looking down at me. I squinted, only slightly, only enough to make out shapes just beyond my eyelashes, but it was enough. My vision swam with tones of blue, yellow and pink and I could feel my mind falling away.

 

“That’s all it took? Darling, I’m almost disappointed.”

 

The creature pulled out an object of some description, but honestly, I don’t recall what it was; all I remember was being held in that position, the swirling of the colours and a very intense feeling to obey.

 

“Cereus, hi! I think I might have messed up.”

 

“Why’s that?”

 

“It’s been less than 5 minutes.”

 

'Laughs.' "I think I might know what's happened, one moment." “Hun! Her obedience parameters are set to just below their maximum settings!"

 

“Oh my! Can you change that?”

 

“One moment.” “Okay, I've adjusted the settings to closely resemble just before her capture, minus the destructive tendencies of course. If you use the reset command you should be able to tame her all over again.”

 

“Should?”

 

“I can’t remove the effect of your biorhythm. If she melts again, I wouldn't be surprised.”

 

“I’ll try to keep it to a minimum.”

 

“Darling~ Sleep for me.”

 

“Darling, what do you see?”

 

“An abomination,” I scowled.

 

Vines held me standing firmly in place, as I was forced to examine my new body reflected in the nearby mirror. Sure, the girl looking back was beautiful; the small nose, large eyes and olive skin tones that matched Ratio's were nice. The little markings across the surface of the skin, eluding to the mechanical nature of the body were captivating. Yes, I liked the fact that she stood at 5 feet and 7 inches and I absolutely didn't stare at the 36D breasts. I suppose I should mention that the girl's lips were rosy red, her eyelashes long and her hair, 3 and a half feet was styled into twin tails with accompanying bangs. Did I mention she had retractable fox ears, a tail that broke into 9 parts and heterochromatic eyes of red and blue? I'll be honest, I liked the body. I liked it a lot. But this wasn't me, this was a machine that I had been stuffed inside, for one of a better term, and no amount of time would see me feeling comfortable in it.

 

“Do you know what I see?” Sya said.

 

“I couldn’t give two error.”

 

The vines restraining me tightened ever so slightly.

 

“Darling, we’ve talked about this. I don’t want you using-“

 

“I don’t care what you want you error parasite.”

 

That was a mistake. In less than a second, I had been completely encased; my body bound tightly as I was turned away from the mirror and rotated to stare my keeper directly in her eyes. I struggled frantically, hoping to break free or at the very least show that I was still defiant. The more I struggled, the tighter the vines wrapped around me, resulting in me having to give up. In this contest of strength, I was under no illusion who would win.

 

“Darling. I will not have you interrupt me again. Am I understood?” Each word was slow and exaggerated; her mouth curving into a half snarl as she looked down on me the way you might expect a predator would after finding a new fleshy toy.

 

The vines around my mouth loosened, giving me just enough room to verbalise a response. I opened my mouth and then closed it, considering what I should say. On the one hand, the correct response here was clearly yes and would probably reward me in some twisted fashion. On the other side, error this plant.

 

“Error. You.”

 

A single smaller vine slid into my mouth and rested at the beginning of my throat. I attempted to bite down but my jaw remained firmly in place along with the rest of my body; only my eyes were afforded free movement. The two of us stayed in this position glaring at each other. I suspect the Affini thought I would break after I was restrained and humiliated, but she failed to realise this only fuelled my anger towards her. Time passed and my anger flared, peaked and then crashed. I was at her mercy and I knew it. I relented, breaking eye contact and darting my eyes downwards and to the left to signify my defeat. The vine in my mouth was removed and a separate vine came up to meet my head where it rested.

 

“Was that so difficult?” Sya taunted.

 

My mouth remained firmly shut; I refused to meet her gaze.

 

“When I ask you a question, I expect you to answer. Now tell me, was that so difficult?”

 

“No,” I grumbled.

 

“No what?”

 

“No Miss.”

 

The vine on my head rewarded me with soft pets as the creature let out a satisfied noise; her mouth returning to the pleasant smile she often wore.

 

“Good girl Zyty~.”

 

I closed my eyes and hoped this would be over soon; I’d rather be staring at my body and listening to falsehoods than have to endure this for even a single second longer. As it was, I ended up getting both. Lucky me!

 

I was repositioned onto the creature’s lap and cuddled with vines as my hands were bound to my sides. Upon realising I was facing the mirror I darted my eyes away but a single vine appeared in front of me, pointing back towards the mirror. And well. I did as I was instructed. Look! You would have done the same thing if you were in my position. The point is, I was looking at the mirror, I was being petted and I felt very, very small. Oh! I should also probably mention that my hair was bright red with accents of black. The red signified I was embarrassed and the black signified I was feeling obedient, and yes, noticing the black strands did cause them to develop further. Honestly, the Affini are just the error worse. I’m getting off-topic.

 

“Now that you’re all lovely and docile, should we continue?”

 

It wasn’t really a question, if anything I felt I was being baited to answer judging by the mischievous gleam in the Affini’s eyes. Instead, I did what any rational person would do and opted to remain silent. Apparently, this was the right decision, because the petting intensified and her smile grew; much to my delight.

 

“What’s your name darling?”

 

I moved to look up at the creature and then, realising the vine was still pointing towards the mirror, gave up.

 

“Do we have to do this again?” I protested.

 

“Yes, darling.”

 

“Zeitha Everfell.”

 

“Is that all?”

 

“No Miss. Zeitha Everfell, sister to Ratio Everfell and Second Floret Pinnate.”

 

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I received a pulse that indicated Ratio was happy. This happiness ping was matched with another head pat to show my owner was proud of me.

 

“Who am I?”

 

“Sya Everfell, Fourth Bloom.” I stopped and then, knowing I’d be encouraged into it anyway quickly added; “My Mistress, Owner and Guardian.” Another head pat.

 

“And what are you?”

 

I began squirming. I knew it was futile, I knew I would have to say the words, but twice in one day was too much. I looked up pleadingly hoping that this uncharacteristic change would take Sya off guard and I’d get a free pass, but no, if anything I had made my situation worse as her predatory grin was back in full force. Realising I would have to say it I buried my face into her vines and mumbled;

 

“ur rable t.”

 

“I didn’t catch that darling.”

 

“YOUR ADORABLE PET!” I screamed and quickly buried my face again.

 

“Good Girl!”

 

I wanted to error die.

 

“Zyty, look at the mirror please.”

 

I did as I was instructed. Now my hair was red, black and pink. The pink showed I was flustered which honestly, not really needed, that was clearly present on my face. It still humiliated me further though, so I guess it was having its intended effect.

 

“Do you know what I see? I see a young lady who has been hurt one too many times, who has closed off her heart and put-up barriers so she may never experience that pain again." I grimaced but remained silent. "I also see a very intelligent soul who cherishes her friends dearly, who is kind, has a unique sense of humour and above all else, wants... no, needs to be accepted and cared for; to be proven wrong and shown that not everyone is out to get her and that she is loved."

 

“You’re wrong.” The resolve in my words surprised me and upon realising Sya was waiting, I continued. “I put up barriers because people are insufferable; I certainly don’t wish to be cared for and love is a wasted emotion.”

 

“Darling, you’re in denial. You’re confused and scared and that’s ok. I will do everything I need so you can bloom into the best person you can be.”

 

“It won’t work. It doesn’t matter how long I’m stuck with you, you won’t change me.”

 

“10 days.”

 

“What?”

 

“In 10 days, I’ll have you begging to be my pet, in mind, body and soul. Then finally, you’ll have accepted that you truly do wish to be cherished and cared for.”

 

“You know drugging me doesn’t count. Superficial needs are still superficial.”

 

“Let’s make it a competition then. I promise that I won’t drug you unless the situation requires it. I’ll write up a quick contract and you can review it. Of course, you can always say no if you're not up for the challenge.”

 

I know a bait when I see one, but this was too good of an opportunity to give up. In fact! It might be the only chance I got.

 

“If I win?”

 

“I’ll give you your independence back, well, as much as I can give at least.”

 

“And if I lose?”

 

“Then you’ll be mine, not just on paper, but in your entirety and more than anything, you’ll be happy.”

 

“Write the contract.”

 

In the end, we agreed on the following points;

 

• Drugs would not be used unless I proved a risk to myself or I explicitly asked for them.
• I would not be forced through unfair means (which includes robotic error) to tick any of the 7 submission categories.
• Once a category has been ticked it cannot be unticked.
• The test attaining to a category must be announced with clear failure criteria and once a test is announced, neither it, nor the category can be changed until I fail it.
• The 7 submission categories are as follows;
  1. Lust ☐
  2. Gluttony ☐
  3. Greed ☐
  4. Sloth ☐
  5. Wrath ☐
  6. Envy ☐
  7. Pride ☐
• If upon the end of the 10^th day all 7 categories have not been ticked, Zeitha Everfell, will be granted independence
• In any other condition, this agreement would be considered null and void.

 

I was so confident that I’d win, that we agreed the contract would take place starting tomorrow.