“Like this, my Lady?”

“Yes, Cassandra, like that. Sit straight, your back against the chair. Your hands on your lap, yes.”

“And I must look straight forward?”

“Correct. Be sure to stay seated unless I tell you otherwise. Ready to begin?”

“Yes, my Lady.”

Cassandra Alena’s day began before the Sun rose, no matter the season or weather. In the home of her Lady and employer, the honored fashion reviewer Simone Detwurst, Cassandra held the position of maid and woman-of-the-house. Those two hats seemed the same, but it really depended on the time of day. In the morning, Cassandra was more the “maid”; in the afternoon, she was the “woman” to her Lady; in the evening, both roles mixed depending on what needed to be done.

Waking up in her small bed, Cassandra took a few moments to stretch before going to the shared restroom and got her own toilette ready. Getting a small bit of blush on her pale cheeks was a tantamount step to adding in her visual appeal. After that, putting her long black hair in a tight bun and smoothing her day’s uniform—she cycled between two of them, generously provided for by her Lady—completed her routines before she got dressed.

Looking herself over in the mirror, Cassandra gave her reflection a smile. Lady Simone urged Cassandra to, as she put it, “Face each day with a smile”. This meant different things for a highborn woman like Simone and an elevated commoner like Cassandra. However, the sense of duty, commitment, and dedication to their chosen tasks required the same type of confidence to confront them.

Cassandra’s smile shrank a little as she tried to remember what tasks she was supposed to do today. She knew some daily chores; prepare meals, clean the home, clean clothes, prepare beds, these were all things she had done for almost her entire service to Lady Simone. Every so often, there would be unexpected chores: guests for meals with the Lady, for example, or a shipment of materials that needed to be unpacked and left for Lady Simone to examine. These additional tasks gave Cassandra’s work extra spice and unique moments.

Not remembering what she was supposed to do did not give Cassandra any feelings beyond worry and concern. She forced herself to smile at her reflection again, another boost of confidence. Maybe later today, she would remember what she had been supposed to do and get it done without suffering her Lady’s disapproval.

“Focus on what I am saying, Cassandra. Can you hear me?”

“Yes, my Lady.”

“You do not need say you are listening, Cassandra. In fact, please do not speak until we complete this test, unless I ask you to. A simple hum will be fine otherwise, understand?”

“Mm.”

“Very good. Keep staring ahead for now. I need to get something.”

“Mm.”

By the middle of the morning, Cassandra had given her Lady her breakfast and fixed the house’s beds. The glimmering of sunlight through the windows of Lady Simone’s small yet opulent house had revealed her next task; cleaning all the dust that had accumulated in the house’s rooms. Grabbing a broom and dustpan took only a minute.

With each sweep, Cassandra felt a flicker of satisfaction in her muscles. Long, repetitive tasks like this were sometimes annoying or tedious, but today she felt happy to do it. It gave her more time to think about what she had been told to do and not yet done. That had still not come back to her yet, a lingering cloud of uncertainty staying inside her head. Cassandra managed to keep that cloud away from her frontmost thoughts as she swept room after room clean.

After sweeping came dusting. The myriad stationary objects in the house all managed to gather dust on their corners, tops, bottoms, and sides. Many of them did not require more than a quick wipe of a rag and some makeshift cleaning solution Lady Simone had recommended Cassandra purchase. The apothecary in town had a good connection with Simone, further prompting Cassandra to go along with this idea. It helped that the solution she used worked very well and left a lingering sweet aroma for a short time after its use.

One set of objects that required Cassandra’s deeper concentration were the portraits of Lady Simone and her immediate family. Being a surveyor and curator of fashion meant there were lots of pictures of dresses, gowns, robes, and similar feminine clothes currently popular among the regency. Upper-class society changed its views over time, forcing people like Simone to adapt and change along with the times. Cassandra admired the portraits but truly preferred to live with two sets of clothes: her maid uniforms, and the “personal” clothes she had been allowed to take from her home when she had first been employed.

As Cassandra moved her rags carefully along the edges of the portrait frames, she recognized one special object in one portrait. The object was a stopwatch in that portrait. It had a bronze sheen that gave it extra pop against Lady Simone’s darker dress. The artist appeared to have added a polish to the object in the picture to give it that pop. Cassandra’s mind was unable to pull out the memories of when she had last seen that stopwatch, but she knew it was something her Lady carried around almost everywhere she went. It seemed like a treasured heirloom, so the artist did a good job in enhancing the detail of that object.

Cassandra blinked a few times, confusion slowly forming on her face. I know that watch, I surely do. But from where, or when? She worked as she thought this, her muscles working on memory while she tried, and failed, to get an answer to her questions.

When Cassandra had finished cleaning the portrait’s frame, it looked capable of standing alongside the stopwatch for comparison by a critical eye. Satisfied with her efforts, Cassandra moved on to the next picture in line. As she started to clean that portrait’s frame, she felt a twitching sensation in her legs. She slowed down, wondering where this feeling was coming from, only to blush as she felt it migrate up her thighs and towards—

Heavens!

Cassandra stepped away from the portraits and put two fingers to her lower neck. She felt the rapid beating of her pulse beneath her skin. She was aroused, unexpectedly and extremely so. This feeling was putting strange thoughts in her head, and she could not block them out.

“Look at this, Cassandra. Tell me what it is.”

“It is a stopwatch on a chain, My Lady. You carry it in your coat pocket when we take the carriage.”

“Correct, Cassandra. Now, tell me where the stopwatch is right now?”

“It is a bit in front of my face, My Lady.”

“And where am I? Tell me.”

“You are standing behind the chair, My Lady.”

“Are you discomforted by the watch being here, or me standing behind you like this?”

“No, My Lady.”

“Then keep your eyes on the watch. Look closely as I begin to swing it before your eyes. Do not talk unless you feel you need to.”

“Mm.”

“Very good. Just remember to keep your back straight. Watch the stopwatch with your eyes. Let them move along with its swings.”

“My Lady? I—Never mind.”

“What is it, Cassandra?”

“W-What is the point of all this? I need to finish sewing your dress from the party last night.”

“Last night was then. I want you to be here right now, Cassandra. Follow the swinging watch, please.”

“Forgive me, My Lady. I will watch the, um, the watch.”

Cassandra did not realize she had moved to another room before she stopped to think about what she was feeling. She was now in the kitchen of the house. Pots and cooking utensils that had been left to dry were still waiting to be put away. They could have, probably should have, been put away sooner. Was that what she was going to do before she had stopped to think?

Looking behind herself, Cassandra saw the open doorway leading from the outer hallway to the kitchen. She had walked down a flight of steps to reach the kitchen, but she did not remember doing so. She wondered what was going on, her heart beating faster in concern for her safety and well-being.

Cassandra’s nostrils twitched, smelling a lingering aroma from last night’s dinner of vegetable stew. Or maybe her mind had conjured it since the things left to dry had been used for that meal. She walked over to the sink and, for lack of a better thing to do, began putting the items away. As she found places for the first few items, she felt her thoughts slide back into an eased state. Comfortable in doing chores she knew about, Cassandra felt much calmer when she had put all the items away in their right places.

It's not enough. Cassandra did not feel fully at peace with herself or her role to her Lady. Something else can be done. She walked out of the kitchen to look for something else to do, to earn her Lady’s admiration. Her mind retreated back from mostly conscious thinking as her eyes looked for a new task for her to complete.

“Back and forth. Keep watching, even as you feel your eyes start to grow heavy.”

“Mm… mm!”

“I saw that twitch, Cassandra. I did not tell you to stop following my stopwatch with your eyes, yet I am telling you to close your eyes. Strange, yes?”

“M-Mm.”

“Well then, thank you for following my instructions and jerking yourself back awake. But now, I want you to notice how tense your body is right now. You just forced yourself to sit as straight as a tree trunk. Your muscles must be held tight, correct?”

“Mm. Mm… Mm-hmm.”

“Yes, that’s right, your entire body is so tense because you are following my instructions. Well, I want you to keep that tenseness as I count down from the number five. Keep looking at the watch as well, don’t forget that.”

“Mm. Mm! Mm-mm?”

“Like that, yes! Very good! You look so focused right now; I knew you could do it! Follow the watch, Cassandra, and listen to me count down from five.”

Five dresses belonging to Lady Simone were hanging outside the house, mounted via wooden clothespins on a series of strings tied between adjacent trees. Laundry day had been earlier in the week, so Cassandra was confused why these clothes had not already been placed in her Lady’s closet. Still, with the sunlight shinning on them, the dresses appeared ready to be collected.

Cassandra picked the first dress off the line, feeling its smooth fabrics in her fingers as she folded it with practiced skill. She walked back into the house and walked upstairs, going to her Lady’s large “storage room” and placing the dress onto one of many, many hangers mounted inside the closet.

Four left. Cassandra kept that number in her head as she walked back downstairs and outside. The earlier emotions she had felt were still building, growing stronger. She could not stop them from coming anymore, and she grew concerned about stopping them. As she thought these things, her body picked up another dress, folded it, and carried it back upstairs to hang it and smooth out any obvious wrinkles.

Three. She repeated what she had done before, to the same effect. Nothing had changed, for better or worse.

Just two now.

“Two. So close, straining with all your focus as you follow my watch and sit perfectly still.”

“Mm! Hah! Mm-mm-mm!”

“Let the tension go even higher, until…”

“Mm. Mm? Mmaah?! My La--?!”

“One. Release. Let all the tension go out of you as you exhale. Get it all out of your head, your lips, your arms, your chest, down to the tips of your fingers and toes; all of it flowing onto the chair, down to the floor.”

“Aaaaaaahhh…”

“Close your eyes, Cassandra. Listen to my words, even as you let the tension all go. I am guiding you into relaxation. This is your reward for doing such a good job for me.”

“Aaah. Maaah. Maaahaah.”

“No, don’t talk. Listen. I will put the watch away, but I will need you again in a minute; until then, you may relax.”

“Haaaaahhh…”

Cassandra’s eyelids fluttered as she rode out another wave of pleasure.

She still felt tense. Tightened, squeezed by these improper feelings. She did not know how to get rid of them on her own.

An answer came to her in a flash. Lady Simone can help me. I can trust her with this.

She walked out into the upstairs hallway, dazedly looking to the left and then the right. It took her several seconds’ thinking to remember where her Lady usually was at this time of the day. Once she remembered it, she marched over there and gently knocked on the slightly open door to the room. A short, “Enter,” from the voice of Lady Simone came from inside, clearing the way for Cassandra to go in.

Lady Simone sat in front of a desk, the components for a written letter before her on the desk. She wore a simpler black dress with white frills and heeled black shoes, contrasting with her sun-kissed skin. She had turned back to look at Cassandra in the time it took the maid to come inside.

“My Lady,” Cassandra tried to say as normally as she could while shaking inside, “I have reached my limit.”

“Cassandra. Tell me if you can hear me.”

“… hear… you.”

“Come back up for me, Cassandra. Only a bit, though. You must speak clearly for this next part to work. Come up, up, like a model ascending a staircase.”

“Mm… Yes, My Lady.”

“Very good, Cassandra. Are you ready to talk properly?”

“Yes, My Lady.”

“Keep your eyes closed, now. I have some questions to ask you about your stress during work.”

“Mm.”

“Good. Cassandra, when do you reach your limit? You have used that word around me before now. How do you feel at that point when you can’t take any more problems for the day?”

“Tired. Afraid. Cannot do anything more. Distracted.”

“Tell me more. Be detailed.”

“I am tired of my work. I am afraid of making a mistake. My body distracts me.”

“Hmm. If your body distracts your mind, then how do you know when you have reached this “limit”?”

“I… I…”

“Cassandra. Listen to your Lady. Repeat those words.”

“Listen to… my Lady.”

“I am your Lady. You can tell me what you want to say.”

“I feel… I feel hot, My Lady. In my head. All over my body. So much to think about. To do.”

“Aha. I understand. How did I not see this sooner?”

“My Lady?”

“Hush, Cassandra. You need to break past these limits of yours. That will be the next stage of my plan.”

Lady Simone gave Cassandra a confused look. “Why have you reached your limit?” she asks her maid.

Cassandra breathed faster just by being in Simone’s presence, drawn to her every word and action. “I have worked hard all day, my Lady,” Cassandra quickly explained. “But I still feel bad with myself!”

“Bad? How? Where?” If Simone knew what was going on, she did not show it.

“Down here.” Cassandra patted her tummy, still possessing enough sense of moral standing to not go lower where the “bad” feeling really is. “And up here.” She placed the same hand on her forehead to show her headache. “It’s been getting worse all day. Whatever I complete is not enough for me.”

“What you just told me seems like enough. I trust you to not be lying to me about this.” Simone leaned back in her chair, taking in Cassandra’s appearance and demeanor. She suddenly smiled at Cassandra, confusing the maid even further. “Yes, this is clearly a real problem. You do not deserve such stress. Take your break, Cassandra.”

“My break? What do—Oh!” Cassandra stopped speaking mid-sentence as the feelings she was holding back ratcheted up several degrees in an instant. “M-My Lady, I-I feel…!”

Simone stood up from her chair; at the same time, Cassandra fell to her knees and spread her legs to cool the raging heat between them. Her hand snapped to the left, the right, and finally down beneath her skirt to rub her aching genitalia.

Cassandra squeezed her eyes shut. “Hah! Huh!” she moaned as she rubbed her already slick folds through wet fabrics. “My God, I… I’m sorry, my Lady! Don’t look at me!”

“Where else should I look?” Simone sounded calm, very calm. “You are clearly stressed out, and that does not help you or me.”

“You…! M-My Lady, I cannot…” Cassandra opened her eyes wide to look at her smiling employer, Lady Simone. Her Lady was happy to see her like this. That propelled her further down into lust, reminding her of feelings society said was inappropriate. “Simone!” she moaned, using her mistress’s true name instead of her title. “Lady Simone! Please help me!”

“How?” Simone leaned forward, her eyes sharply glinting as she spoke quickly. “How can I help you?”

“I need you to… to…!” She bit her lips and groaned, the words getting closer as her pleasure rose higher. “Need to… Guh! Uh, uh, uh!” She thrust her hips against her hand, gasping for air as she tried to cross that insurmountable barrier in her mind. “Ugh! I can’t stop! I can’t stop, I need you, I need you to--!”

“Break, Cassandra,” Simone commanded.

“—ooohaaaaaaagh! Break, break, BREAK, YES! HAAH, GOD! BREAK ME!”

One last sharp thrust of her hips, her fingers rubbing straight along her clitoris, finally pushed her over the top. The command to “break” repeated from her lips and inside her head as a church bell echoed across the town. Her mental walls shattered as she rode a great wave of pleasure rising from her core up to head and down to her feet. All her pent-up emotions and worries mixed with the satisfaction of all the jobs she had completed that day, creating an odd concoction that had her blood transmute into liquid fire.

Cassandra could not breathe beyond tiny whimpers and gasps, her juices trickling out of her pussy in a steady flow. The wave overflowed the sand beneath it. Her hand, undergarments, and the floor beneath her body all became covered, soaked, as she kept thrusting and riding her earned orgasm. She saw nothing though her eyes were wide, pupils rolled back; her mouth hung open as she continued to repeat Lady Simone’s command as a dutiful servant should.

Inevitably, the well ran dry. Cassandra knelt, numbed by what she had done. Her hand was wet, still pressing against her vagina’s lips and giving her sporadic twitches of pleasure. She regained coherence and saw Lady Simone looking down at her disheveled state. Lady Simone was still smiling.

“That was very depraved Cassandra.” The Lady of the house slowly put a hand to Cassandra’s sweat-soaked head and rubbed aside the hair blocking her face. “Your limits are strong indeed to be kept back for so long.”

Cassandra panted for air, forming words one at a time. “Lady… Simone… I…” she began, and then fell silent as Simone rubbed her clean thumb across Cassandra’s dirty skin.

“Do not worry about this, Cassandra,” Simone told her maid. “Brush the bad thoughts away.”

Cassandra blinked, inhaled, and then slumped forward into her Lady’s arms.

“I have one last instruction for you, Cassandra. A way to bring you back to how you feel right now. A good feeling. You would like that, yes?”

“Yes. I want it. I want… a good feeling.”

“Very well, then. Keep this good feeling in your mind, Cassandra. I am going to tie it to certain words that you will hear me, and only me, say. Is that clear?”

“… Clear… My Lady…”

“The words will be “Brush the bad thoughts away.” Again, “Brush the bad thoughts away”. When you hear my voice, only my voice, say, “Brush the bad thoughts away”, you will remember this relaxed, calm, good feeling. What are the words, Cassandra?”

“Brush the bad thoughts away… My Lady.”

“Mm. Still so obedient. I am proud of you, Cassandra, for letting this happen.”

“Thank you, my Lady.”

“No. Not just “My Lady”. Who am I?”

“… Simone. Lady Simone.”

“Yes. And what do you do when Lady Simone speaks?”

“I listen and obey.”

“And who am I?”

“… Lady Simone.”

“Then what do you do when I speak?”

“I… I listen and obey.”

“Tell me who you obey.”

“I obey Lady Simone.”

“Who am I?”

“You are Lady Simone.

“Do you obey me?”

“Yes, Lady Simone.”

“Repeat back what I say to you now. You do what I tell you to do.”

“I do what you tell me to do.”

“You want to do this.”

“I want to do this.”

“You want to obey me.”

“I want to obey you.”

“Break, Cassandra.”

“Bre—aah… oh… yes, Lady Simone!”

“Stop repeating my words exactly, Cassandra. Just respond to them as you pleasure yourself, understand?”

“Y-Yes!”

“Good. Obeying me is something you enjoy doing.”

“I enjoy… obeying you!”

“Rub yourself harder for me. You can obey me without hypnosis.”

“Without … hypnosis…”

“You want to obey me without hypnosis.”

“I… want… obey!”

“Yes, that’s right. Listen to my words and obey them.”

“Lis… ten… Huuuh! Obey! Listen and obey!”

“Relax. Stop your pursuit of pleasure. I want you to lean back now, against the chair.”

“Mm… lean…”

“Very good. Close your eyes.”

“Close… eyes…”

“Now drift down into your good feelings. Keep my voice clear in your head, keep obeying me, as you go deeper.”

“Drift… mmm…”

“You will not remember this conversation today, tomorrow, or any time unless I tell you otherwise. But your inner mind will remember everything I have instructed of you. Do you understand?”

“Mmhmm…”

“When you wake up tomorrow, your body and inner mind will carry out my instructions. You will obey me because you want to do so. Do you understand?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Very good. Rest like this for a bit, and then I will wake you up. I am eager to see how long you will last for me tomorrow.”

“Mmmmm…”