Maid checked the large grandfather clock in the corner of the pantry, and saw that it was five minutes to three in the afternoon. Her presence would soon be expected. She promptly returned to complete her assigned task, cutting various cakes into neat slices and arranging them on a tray. As she worked, her whole body hummed with the pleasure and satisfaction that could only come from knowing that she was doing exactly what she was supposed to be doing. Maid was a maid. Her job, her role, was her entire being. She knew no other purpose.

Mistress had made it so.

As brainwashed as she was, Maid knew that, once, she must have had a different life. Though she remembered nothing of it, she knew that she must have been someone else before Mistress had remolded her, like an alchemist working lead into gold. Maid could only be grateful for it.  Now, she lived in Mistress’s manor house, on her vast country estate, and devoted her life to pleasurable servitude. What could be better?

There was no time for her to lose herself in ruminations, however. Maid needed to attend to her mistress in the parlor. Today was a very important day, and appearances had to be maintained.

Lady Constance Leblanc had come for tea.

Her visit demanded the highest level of courtesy and etiquette. Not because she was, in any sense, a friend to Mistress - quite the opposite. The two of them were famed rivals and, as was inevitably the case between nobles of similar rank, each constantly plotted to subjugate the other. Both Mistress and Lady Leblanc had, for years now, been laying plans of impressive complexity, though neither had yet triumphed in their labyrinthine game of cat and mouse.

Maid had no doubt that Mistress would win out. She was Mistress. Anything else was unthinkable.

Still, it was strange that Lady Leblanc had chosen to step into the lion’s den. Accepting the invitation of a dominant of Mistress’s prowess was decidedly reckless. It was some kind of mind game, perhaps, or a feat to be lauded before others - provided she could walk away with her mind intact. No matter what, Maid was determined to remain on guard, even if she hadn’t noticed anything untoward when she had shown Lady Leblanc inside and brought tea for her and Mistress.

Once Maid had finished arranging a selection of cakes on a suitable serving tray, she lifted it in her gloved hands and started heading towards the parlor. She would arrive exactly when expected, neither early nor late. As she walked through the halls of Mistress’s manor, she passed several other servants, all women and all just as hypnotized as her. Maid was under no illusions; Mistress was at the heart of her world, but the reverse was far from true. She was but one in a whole household of submissives. Still, she never felt jealous of the others. Mistress always made each of them feel special, when their turn came to share her bed. Maid didn’t need a reason to love Mistress - her devotion was inherent and absolutely - but it certainly was something she loved about her.

And anyway, it would have been absurd to resent the sun’s warmth simply because it shone on everyone else too.

Before she knocked politely and opened the door to the parlor, Maid took a moment to check over her own appearance. As always, her hair was in a neat, unassuming ponytail, and she was wearing a modest, traditional maid’s uniform, each frill and fold exactly as it was supposed to be. Her face wore the same blank, serene expression as all of Mistress’s servants. She was perfect - all the better to represent her owner.

The moment she stepped across the threshold, her composure shattered just as surely as the precious china she was carrying when it slipped out of her hands.

Normally, Mistress’s parlor was a picture of elegance and decorum, but now it was completely defiled by something unthinkable. Maid struggled to make sense of what she was seeing. Mistress was on her knees. Maid had never seen her like that before. Her fine skirts were crumpled underneath her, and her immaculate makeup was marred by drool and sweat.

And she was sucking Lady Leblanc’s cock.

Mistress was slowly, rhythmically bobbing her head up and down on Lady Leblanc’s shaft as her hated rival lounged back on one of her couches, legs spread, an unmistakable smirk of victory on her aristocratic face. Her lips were parted slightly to allow her faint moans of pleasure to be heard, each in rhythm with the way Mistress was diligently worshiping - yes, worshiping - her body. Lady Leblanc wasn’t at all perturbed or startled by Maid’s entrance; once she heard Maid drop the tray, she simply turned her head towards the servant, letting her know with her gaze that she understood exactly what Maid was seeing.

“My, my.” Lady Leblanc’s arched, lightly-accented voice was as precise and clipped as ever. “What a mess you have made.”

“H…” Maid could not believe what she was witness to. Nothing in all of her training had taught her how to behave in a situation like this, and the way her heart throbbed with horror threatened to drown out her own thoughts. “How?”

Lady Leblanc took her time answering. With a single, light touch, she guided Mistress’s lips away from her cock and neatly lowered her dress to cover herself. The way Mistress swayed when Lady Leblanc handled her, as if she was nothing more than a weak flame in the wind, was yet another thing that made Maid’s stomach churn. That visceral revulsion only grew when Mistress dreamily turned to face her faithful servant.

Her eyes. That was the worst part of all.

Maid had seen Mistress in moments of both anger and kindness. She had seen her early in the morning and late at night; while she had been struck with fever, and while she had been hunting for fresh entertainment. At all of those times, Mistress’s eyes had never been anything but sharp. They shone with an inner, brilliant intelligence, and reflected her self-assured dominance. No longer. Now, her eyes were huge and unfocused, with a distinct slackness in the muscles around them that made her look more like a sleepwalker than anything else. Maid couldn’t tell if Mistress knew she was there at all, although the ghost of a familiar, affectionate smile played across her face.

“It’s funny,” Lady Leblanc mused, as she watched Maid squirm, paralyzed. “You know, for my previous effort, I mesmerized the lead violinist of your mistress’s favorite orchestra, and had her weave purpose-crafted hypnotic melodies into her music for a private performance. She noticed it at once. Truly, I wondered if I might never outwit her.” Her smile widened. “But sometimes, it’s the simplest things that can catch a woman of her prowess off her guard.”

The noblewoman reached into one of the sleeves of her extravagant dress, and retrieved a tiny, empty glass bottle.

“A few drops,” Lady Leblanc explained, “in the tea you kindly brought for us.”

Maid wanted to throw up.

“And since then,” she added, “we’ve been having a very, very agreeable talk about some new… priorities.”

That was as much as Maid could bear. This was a nightmare come to life. Mistress was her owner and her goddess. Her guiding star. This had to be some kind of cruel joke.

“Mistress!” Maid cried out. She threw herself to her knees next to her mistress, crumpling her perfectly-ironed frock without a second thought. “Mistress, please! You… please, I beg you, say something!”

Her horror only grew as her mistress failed to respond. She was lost in some kind of vile haze. Desperation drove Maid to do something unthinkable: she put her hands on Mistress’s shoulders and started to shake her, gently at first, but more and more violently as the woman she loved and adored proved unresponsive. She simply swayed a little as she was shaken, a trail of liquid drooling from the corner of her parted lips.

Lady Leblanc’s cruel laughter filled the room. “I can assure you, my dear, my work is far more thorough than that.”

Maid rose unsteadily to her feet. Her ears were ringing with a horrible, high-pitched screech that she knew was coming from inside her own head. Her world was being upended, and she felt lost. Her instinct to fight or flee was screaming at her, but the problem was that she knew how to do neither. Months, or perhaps years, of hypnosis and brainwashing had robbed her of those abilities. Mistress didn’t need her to flee, and the last thing she wanted was for her to fight. Her role was to submit and obey. Obedience was her sanctuary.

But what was she supposed to do now? She couldn’t submit to this. Never to this.

Against her own conditioning, Maid forced herself to stand, ball her hands into fists, and face Lady Leblanc head-on.

“S-stop this!” Maid demanded. It was almost painful for her to keep herself from addressing the hated noblewoman with a title.

Lady Leblanc just kept smirking. “Stop? I’m not doing a thing.”

Tears were forming in the corners of Maid’s eyes, as hard as she tried to suppress them. She wanted to seem brave, but bravery was no longer part of her. “Let Mistress go!”

“’Mistress’?” Lady Leblanc rolled the word around in her mouth. “I wonder how long you’ll go on calling her that for.”

Desperation growing, Maid once again threw herself down to her mistress’s side. “Mistress! W-wake up! You have to wake up, you have to… you…”

“Oh, very well.” Lady Leblanc waved a dismissive hand. She’d had her fill of Maid’s distress. She gestured for Maid to move back, and once she had, she reached down to snap her fingers a few times, sharply, in front of Mistress’s face. “Lady Northshire? It seems your servant wishes to speak with you.”

“H-hm?”

Mistress’s ears seemed to perk up as Lady Leblanc addressed her, and when her rival snapped her fingers, she shuddered and her eyes were slowly drawn to focus on her hand. Maid should have been pleased to see Mistress returning to her senses, but that feeling was easily overpowered by how monstrous it was to see Lady Leblanc controlling her like a puppet.

“Ah,” Mistress yawned. “Forgive me… I must… I must have…”

Her voice was dreamy and full of sleepiness. It wasn’t right. That wasn’t how Maid’s mistress was supposed to sound.

“It’s quite alright.” Lady Leblanc offered a hand to help Mistress to her feet. She accepted it with a grateful, oblivious smile. “You seemed very tired.”

“Yes.” Mistress drew herself up to her full height. For a brief moment, she was as beautiful and majestic as always - but then she swayed unsteadily again, soiling the moment. “Yes we… we talked about that, didn’t we, Lady Leblanc? I… I think.”

“That’s right, Lady Northshire.” Lady Leblanc rested a hand on Mistress’s shoulder. The gesture was almost comforting, but Maid could only see her long, sharp, possessive fingernails. “But I’m sure I can help. With our new understanding, I’m happy to lift some of the burden from your shoulders.”

“No!” Maid exploded shrilly. Mistress looked at her in astonishment, and Maid found it almost impossible not to wither before her. Her own nails were kept short and neat, but they were still threatening to draw blood from her palms with how tight her fists were. The urge to punish herself for her own impudence was overwhelming - but she couldn’t. Mistress needed her.

“What’s the matter?” Mistress asked, facing her. Her voice was gentle, as it ever was when she was addressing her servants, but there was a hard edge to it. She did not like unseemly behavior.

Maid was captivated, for a moment, by the stain dribbling from Mistress’s mouth. It wasn’t saliva, as she had thought. It was Lady Leblanc’s precum.

She had no choice but to try her hardest, no matter what.

“Mistress,” Maid began, stepping forward to cling to her owner’s hand - the hand she’d felt so many times, stroking tenderly through her hair. All the same, it was a breach of protocol, and the disapproving look Mistress flashed her hurt. “I beg you, listen to me. Lady Leblanc, she’s… she’s drugged you! She’s influencing you. Please, you mustn’t listen to her.”

Maid had been expecting Lady Leblanc to intervene somehow. She knew it would be a battle, but she’d been hoping that, if it was just her and Mistress, she’d be able to get through to her. No, not hoping, exactly - she just couldn’t think otherwise. Mistress was perfect. It was as simple as that. But when Lady Leblanc just sat back, quietly, and watched the drama unfold with a self-satisfied smile, the nauseous knot in her stomach pulled even tighter.

“Maid, listen.” Mistress’s voice was still spacey, but she was able to muster a little sternness. “I trust your intentions, but I’m afraid you’re confused. And I won’t tolerate you speaking so rudely of my guest.”

The room started spinning around Maid. As ever, she felt a magnetic pull to submit to Mistress’s words, but they were at war with everything she knew.

“I can understand your concern,” Mistress continued, her voice turning kinder. Her kindness felt so warm, even though it was all wrong. “The Lady Leblanc and I have been at odds in the past, it’s true. But no longer.”

“Mistress, no…” Maid whimpered, trembling.

“We had a very productive conversation, you see. It was very… very…” Mistress trailed off, and for a few moments her brow furrowed and her eyes turned foggy again. Then, it passed, and she seemed not to notice it had happened at all. “As it transpires, we have interests in common. Lady Leblanc helped me understand just how weak I am.” She said that so lightly it was like a needle, piercing Maid’s heart. “It’s far more sensible for me to agree to an alliance. My new partner has all kinds of things to teach me. She’s terribly generous.”

The smiles the two of them exchanged, Mistress’s guileless and happy, Lady Leblanc’s insincere and gloating, were sickening.

“It’s going to be wonderful,” Mistress concluded. “But it does mean that I expected my household to treat her with as much respect as they do my own person. Is that understood, Maid?”

Maid’s eyes were burning with tears. Her head and her heart were both splitting in two. “I-I can’t!” she shrieked.

“You…” Mistress seemed stunned. Maid wasn’t sure if she was about to scold her or hug her, but had no chance to do either before Lady Leblanc stepped forwards, a look of intense interest on her face.

“My, you are an interesting one!” she said to Maid. “You know, I’ve always been impressed with how you do it, Lady Northshire. All your servants here are like perfect little dolls. But clearly, there’s a limit. I wonder; is it her loyalty to you that’s making her disobey? Or her hatred of me? Is it a product of your mind control, or a part of her old personality resurfacing?”

“How dare you?” Maid protested. Once Lady Leblanc said that, it was easier to oppose her. Easier to hate her. Maid wasn’t exactly sure what she was talking about - what older personality? - but she would not tolerate the suggestion that there was any fault with Mistress’s conditioning.

Lady Leblanc, though, simply ignored her. “Ah, I’m so curious!” she exclaimed. Her eyes were gleaming and predatory, and they filled Maid with fear. “And now I can find out for myself! I’m going to have such fun taking you apart, little maid. Piece by piece, thought by thought. It’ll only hurt a little.”

Then, a miracle happened.

Mistress stepped in to save her.

“Lady Leblanc,” she tutted, in a warning tone. “I’m grateful, but you’re overstepping. Maid is my property. Mine - no-one else’s. I’d like her to treat you with the respect afforded by your station and our new arrangement, but that doesn’t mean you can take liberties.”

Cruel pangs of hope started to grow in Maid’s heart. Mistress was still in there. She was still fighting. She wasn’t going to let this awful woman walk all over her. Maid should have known. No-one was stronger than Mistress.

Her hopes were dashed almost as quickly as they had blossomed.

“Of course.” Lady Leblanc offered a respectful, apologetic nod to her host, but Maid could see the vicious, crocodile’s smile on her face. “Do forgive me. I’m simply in an excitable mood. And anyway, I couldn’t possibly have hypnotized her. You were just telling me about that, weren’t you?”

“I… was I?” Uncertainly crept back into Mistress’s demeanor. She seemed so confused; so lost. “That doesn’t seem… why would I… my secrets?”

“Because you trust me, of course,” Lady Leblanc drawled. “Allies like us - we have to share secrets, don’t we? My dear Lady Northshire, I’m sure you’ll come to love unburdening yourself into my confidence.”

“N-no…” Mistress shook her from side to side, like she was trying to shake off a cloud of invisible horseflies. “I don’t think that’s right. What did you…”

“It’s a drug, Mistress!” Maid cried out desperately. She needed her owner to trust her, just this once. “Please, you have to fight it!”

“No, no,” objected Lady Leblanc. Her aristocratic voice was dripping with poison. “No more fighting.”

Maid was helpless to stop her from reaching out and touching Mistress’s face.

As soon as her delicate, manicured fingertips made contact with the other woman’s skin, Mistress went completely still. Then, as Lady Leblanc started moving, stroking, the extent of her terrifying power over Mistress was made clear. Mistress started swaying once more, in time with the movement of Lady Leblanc’s hand, and she rubbed her face into her long-hated enemy’s hand like she was a needy kitten. A single touch had reduced her to nothing more than a helpless, tame pet.

Maid’s blood turned cold. She should have known better than to get her hopes up. She knew perfectly well what a skilled mind-controller could do with just a little time in the head of a defenseless subject. But she couldn’t help it. Mistress was her world.

Now, her world was crumbling.

“Yes, that’s right, that’s right,” Lady Leblanc soothed. Her voice was soft and seductive, and she handled Mistress with the utmost care and gentleness. She didn’t want to break her new toy. “No more fighting. No more thinking. Nice and calm. Doesn’t that feel good?”

“Y… yes…” Mistress sighed.

“That’s right. Of course. Of course, you trust me.” Lady Leblanc kept soothing her, the corners of her lips drawing upwards as her smirk widened. “Good girl.”

Hearing her reward Mistress with that mocking, infantilizing phrase was yet another twist of the knife, but the worst part of it was how very pleased with it Mistress looked. She sounded completely relaxed; completely at-ease. Like she didn’t have a care in the world. Maid had never heard her sound like that before. No matter how much her servants tried - or succeeded - to please her, a part of her head was always locked in furious calculations regarding the games and contests of power that were endemic to her social rank. Now, all that was gone, replaced with so much absent, fuzzy pleasure.

It was chilling.

Maid felt helpless to intervene. That was part of what made it so unbearable. She wanted so very badly to do something; to cry for help, or to strike Lady Leblanc. But she couldn’t. Just standing there and looking her defiantly in the face, took all the resolve she had. Maid was, at her heart, a passive, obedient creature. That was how Mistress had sculpted her to be. For the first time she could remember, it felt like a curse instead of a blessing.

“Now,” Lady Leblanc mused, once she was satisfied that Mistress was back in a helpless, entranced state, “as we were discussing, I remember you telling me all about how you control your servants here. I remember you telling me about… this.”

She slipped her hand down the front of Mistress’s blouse and lifted out her necklace, placing it carefully above her outer laying of clothing before letting it fall. It was a gold chain, and hanging from it was a huge, red, glorious ruby pendant.

Maid whimpered.

To her, it wasn’t just a necklace.

It was a soul.

In one, small corner of her mind, she didn’t believe that. Reasoning it through, she knew it didn’t make any sense. It was impossible for someone’s soul to be trapped within a gemstone. But her own reasoning didn’t matter very much, compared to Mistress’s potent, artful hypnosis. As such, the belief that her soul was in the pendant was anchored in her as firmly as her belief that the sun would rise each morning. That vibrant, blood-red ruby served as an anchor for Mistress’s control; a reminder, if it were ever necessary, that her servants were totally in her power. One gentle touch was all it took to bring them to the point of mindless, submissive oblivion.

And now Lady Leblanc was the one holding it.

“So, all I have to do is this, correct?” Lady Leblanc asked, as she stroked the ruby between her thumb and forefinger. “And she’s all mine.”

Maid took a deep breath, and tried to brace herself to resist what was about to hit her. However, she needn’t have bothered.

She felt nothing.

As Maid breathed a sigh of relief, Lady Leblanc frowned and tilted her head. “What is this?” she asked. “Why won’t she fall for me?”

“It only works for me,” Mistress answered, softly and absently. “Only me. Only I can use it.”

Now, it was Maid’s turn to smirk. As always, she could count on Mistress. Mistress had taken precautions. Even if she’d been drugged, there was no way Lady Leblanc could take over her household or her servants. Maybe if Maid fetched the others, they could fight back. Maybe-

“Ah, naturally.” Lady Leblanc’s voice, totally calm and unperturbed, interrupted her train of thought. “Very sensible. Fortunately, I can count on you to help me, Lady Northshire.”

Maid’s blood turned cold.

Lady Leblanc moved around to stand behind Mistress, and reached her arms over her shoulder. With the gentle eagerness of a lover, she ran her hands down the sleeves of Mistress’s blouse until she reached her wrists, and then, with the lightest possible touch, she guided Mistress’s hands upwards.

The spectacle was monstrous. Maid was transfixed by the sight of Lady Leblanc manipulating Mistress’s arms like a puppet, as Mistress just stood there, passive, with a dull, bland smile on her face. She barely looked like the same woman as the commanding, charismatic noblewoman Maid adored serving. Now, she looked small. She and Lady Leblanc were roughly the same height, but when they were standing like this, with Mistress slumped and swaying, her rival seemed to loom over her.

“Nice and delicate, that’s what you said,” Lady Leblanc murmured to her victim. “Like… so?”

With Lady Leblanc guiding her hands, Mistress lifted her fingertips and brushed them delicately across the surface of her gleaming ruby.

The moment they made contact, Maid felt something stroke her soul.

She gasped as, in a single moment, all the strength and fight went out of her. This was deeper than mere training. It was irresistible. She wanted to try and fight, for own sake and for Mistress’s. But she knew she couldn’t. Not against this. That ruby owned her, and Mistress owned the ruby.

And now, Lady Leblanc owned Mistress.

“There, there, that’s better,” Lady Leblanc purred, as she kept guiding Mistress’s hands, slowly, rhythmically, up and down along the facets of her ruby. “Oh, this is fun! I’ll have to get you to remove that pesky safeguard you just told me about. Or… perhaps not. Perhaps it’s hardly necessary.”

Whimpering, Maid slumped to her knees. She couldn’t endure this. Mistress had never used the ruby on her for more than a single touch, unless she had her lying down and ready for trance. Trying to keep its influence at bay, even a little, was like fighting for air with her head underwater. The weight of the compulsion sat heavy on her shoulders. She could feel her thoughts being sucked out of her head and drained away, into the ruby that was enveloped in Lady Leblanc’s clinging, possessive hands.

“Perfect!” Lady Leblanc giggled. “Yes. On your knees. That’s your proper place, isn’t it, little maid?”

Maid was helpless to keep herself from nodding. Her mind had been ripped open. She was defenseless.

“I think you can do better,” the victorious noblewoman continued. “Lady Northshire has trained you well, after all. Kneel properly.”

Like a clockwork doll, Maid obeyed. She couldn’t do otherwise, not with the way Mistress was touching the ruby. And besides, the movements came easy to her; Mistress had been very exacting when she’d taught Maid how to show deference and submission. Maid raised herself up onto her knees and placed the skirts of her maid outfit around herself in a neat arrangement and then lowered herself again, her buttocks resting on her ankles, her back straight, and her hands on her knees, palms upturned.

She looked perfect. She knew she did.

Lady Leblanc laughed again. “What a good girl!” she exclaimed.  “It does amuse me, seeing you like this. Like a perfect little prize pony at a show. It’s truly remarkable, what she does with you.” She indicated towards Mistress. “I don’t have the patience for it, myself. And now, I won’t need it! I can just use hers.”

As an idle, cruel expression of her new power, she let one of Mistress’s arms fall back to her side, and, with her now-free hand, started groping one of her tits. She was being rough, almost violently so, but Mistress didn’t react at all. She just went on smiling.

“Y-you… you…” Maid couldn’t bear to see it. Her heart was breaking. Without permission, she could not rise from her kneeling pose, but she still managed to open her mouth and protest. Her voice was thick and slow, but full of conviction. “You c-can’t. Let… her… go.”

Lady Leblanc tilted her head. “Or what?”

Maid’s head was swimming from the effort it took to maintain even a facade of resistance. “I… I…” There was nothing to say, of course. But Maid couldn’t go on letting Mistress be defiled. “I’ll… stop… you.”

Lady Leblanc laughed at her feeble expression of defiance, but to Maid’s surprise, she stopped violating Mistress’s body and fixed Maid with a look of great interest. “My goodness! This loyalty of yours is almost touching. And so… so ironic. Don’t you know what this woman did to you?” She stroked the side of Mistress’s face, and then pulled her hand away from the ruby, just a little. “You know, it’s really no kinder than what I’m doing to her.”

“That isn’t true!” Maid insisted, as best she could. She shook her head. She couldn’t accept that. Not ever. “She… she saved me. I’m nothing without her. I was nothing before her.” Maid rested a hand above her heart, tears welling up in her eyes. “Each day, I’m grateful to her for taking her into my service. I adore Mistress, and I would serve her to the ends of the Earth!”

“Truly, truly marvelous,” Lady Leblanc breathed. Her eyes were shining. “You really don’t remember a thing, do you?”

Maid went very still. What was she talking about?

“I knew Lady Northshire was good, make no mistake,” the lady continued. “But this? It’s almost miraculous. To go into a person’s mind and rip them out of themself so cleanly, so completely… it must have taken months. I’m sure not even you know how long, do you?”

Hairs were starting to stand up on the back of Maid’s neck.

“But nothing is ever that clean,” Lady Leblanc. “Nothing short of a lobotomy, anyway. But your mind is perfectly intact. Which means traces must remain, and the rest, well… the rest is merely repressed, and lurking beneath the surface.” She smiled a wolfish grin. “Let’s see what happens when we bring it back.”

“No…” Maid pleaded. Her instinct for danger was screaming at her. She still didn’t know what Lady Leblanc was talking about, but she sensed, somehow, that it was something awful. Something monstrous. Something taboo. It was something unforgivable, in Mistress’s eyes. Maid couldn’t betray her like that. But she wasn’t going to be able to stop herself.

“I’m sure it’ll work more effectively in your voice,” Lady Leblanc said, turning her head towards Mistress. She placed both of the entranced woman’s hands back on the hypnotic ruby, and then put her lips close enough to her ear that when she spoke, her tongue was almost touching Mistress’s skin. “Tell her to remember, if you please.”

Maid was shaking her head, but nonetheless, Mistress looked down at her and said, with a blank smile on her face: “Maid, remember everything for me.”

There was an explosion inside Maid’s head. At least, that was what it felt like. A great sense of pressure welled up within her, so painfully and so forcefully she thought her head was about to split open. It was accompanied by a deafening ringing noise that was coming from both inside her and all around her. It was as if she was standing inside of a church bell. Some memories were trying to force their way into her head and others were trying to force their way out, and she couldn’t tell which were which. There was no relief, even as she eventually adjusted to the agonizing sensation, and was left with two different lives crammed into a single skull.

She remembered now.

“Ah, I know those eyes,” Lady Leblanc marveled. “How are you feeling, Lady Croft?”

Maid - Lady Croft - whoever she was - looked up with freshly opened eyes. She remembered both of the women standing over her. Lady Leblanc, and Lady Northshire.

She remembered standing with them as equals.

She had once been one of the elite, like them. She had moved in high society and lived in opulence, in mansions filled with dozens of servants. She had commanded great wealth and power, her security and the loyalty of her followers all but assured by the hypnotic control she wielded over them.

Until she had lost it all.

Or rather, until Lady Northshire had taken it from her.

She remembered it happening bit by bit, with words, rhythms and mantras established across a multitude of seemingly-innocent conversations at balls and soirees. It had been so skillful and so subtle that she hadn’t suspected a thing, or known what to make of her new feelings for Lady Northshire. She’d felt drawn to her like a moth to a flame and, in the end, she’d been able to offer little resistance when the time came for Lady Northshire to seal her fate.

Lady Northshire was the woman who had ruined her - had taken her away from riches and power and turned her into a servant girl; part of her private collection of former ladies, to be shown off as a threat or an amusement to those she pleased. It was complete, abject humiliation.

Maid - Lady Croft -  remembered now.

But she also remembered Mistress.

Mistress, who had so sweetly stroked her hair whenever they had shared a bed. Mistress, who had been so gentle and kind with her, whenever she had taught her something of how to serve. Mistress, who had gifted her a sense of comfort and purpose she had never known before, with all her riches.

Mistress, who, even now, she struggled not to think of as Mistress.

“Well?” Lady Leblanc prompted expectantly.

The hypnotic pull of the ruby still held sway over Maid - Lady Croft - and so she felt compelled to answer. But what was she supposed to say? How was she feeling? Even if she’d known herself, it would surely have been impossible to put into words. A few moments wasn’t even approaching enough time for her to process the enormity of what had just been revealed.

“I… I…” she spluttered, uncertain and unwilling. “She… h-how?”

“You poor thing,” Lady Leblanc cooed, faux-sympathy dripping from her lips. “Your head must be a mess right now. I wonder, is that precious loyalty of yours still intact? Do you still want to save your mistress? Or are you craving revenge, instead?”

She was. The girl who had spent months calling herself ‘Maid’ couldn’t help but yearn for retribution. The humiliation she’d experienced was unimaginable. She, a woman of high birth, had been forced to scurry and kneel and clean like a mere servant. It was only natural that, now, she relished the opportunity to see Mistress experience the same.

But then, why did it taste so bitter in her mouth?

And why couldn’t she stop thinking of her as ‘Mistress’?

“I suppose it doesn’t really matter,” Lady Leblanc wondered aloud. “It’s like I’m going to let either of you go, after all. No, I have much more delicious plans in mind.”

Maid was no longer listening. She was just staring up at Mistress. She wanted… what?

If only she could turn back time. If only she could take herself back to two nights before, when she’d been kneeling beside Mistress as she sat in her comfortable armchair, next to the fire, reading a novel she was fond of. Every time she’d turned the page, she’d reached down to comb her fingers through Maid’s hair.

It was the happiest she’d ever been.

“Ah, you’ll make a lovely pair!” Lady Leblanc announced. “Lady Northshire, kneel beside your servant.”

“Mmn?” Mistress murmured. Her bleary, glazed eyes reflected confusion, and a faint sense of outrage.

“Remember,” Lady Leblanc soothed, stroking her face, “we’re allies now. You want your servants to treat me with just as much respect as they do you. Isn’t that what you said? Don’t you think you ought to provide instruction by example?”

In her drugged, compromised state, Mistress seemed to accept that. She stepped forwards, away from Lady Leblanc, and next to Maid, turned to face the other noblewoman, and sank steadily to her knees. Her form was perfect, as she arranged her skirts around herself in a perfect picture of subservience. To Maid, it was like seeing a queen kneel; heartbreaking and awe-inspiring both. As she knelt, Mistress took her hand away from her ruby pendant, but it didn’t matter. Maid was long past being able to conceive of any rebellion. She had already given up on trying to think of herself as ‘Lady Croft’. What would be the point?

“Good,” Lady Leblanc purred. “You know how to serve, it seems. That’ll be useful. I’m sure your maid knows well enough to correct any mistakes you might happen to make.”

Maid whimpered. The idea that she could offer instruction to Mistress was confusing. It made her feel equal parts superior and blasphemous. She couldn’t stand looking at Mistress, even, but nor could she stand to look away. Even kneeling, all of her majestic beauty was intact, even if her dignity was marred by the stains Lady Leblanc had left on her face. There was a kind of cruel, blissful ignorance to the expression on her face that made Maid’s heart throb and ache.

“We’ll have to find you a more appropriate outfit, too,” Lady Leblanc added, as she reached down to stroke both of their heads. Her touch was not kind. “You have one lying around, I’m sure. After we finish here, you’ll have to give me a tour of your estate, Lady Northshire. I’ll need to introduce the rest of your servants to our new arrangement, and you’ll have to prepare the master bedroom.”

Mistress nodded dully and agreeable as Lady Leblanc outlined the destruction of her prestige and social standing. It didn’t mean a word to her. She was lost in the drug-induced, hypnotic haze of submission. Maid knew it well.

“But first,” Lady Leblanc continued, “I simply can’t resist the opportunity to enjoy both of you, together.”

She lifted up the skirts of her dress until her cock was exposed again, still every bit as hard as when Maid had first entered the parlor. It was still slick with both Mistress’s saliva and Lady Leblanc’s precum. She stroked her long, thick, feminine shaft in her hand, holding it in the air above the heads of both of her new servants.

“Worship,” she commanded.

Without any hint of hesitation, Mistress stretched up and planted her lips on the tip of Lady Leblanc’s cock. It was clear from the way she started kissing and sucking on it that she was inexperienced in the submissive role, but thanks to Lady Leblanc’s machinations, she was perfectly eager. Maid watched her for a moment, speechless. How could her Mistress, her rival, her undoing, have fallen to this level? It made no sense. Maid’s world had been upended. Serving Mistress had been her world, after her first world had been wiped clean from her mind. What did that mean now?

What was there to take comfort in besides the faint warmth she could feel from the other woman kneeling close at her side?

Resigning herself to her fate, Maid allowed her submissive urges to take over. Mimicking Mistress, she put her lips under the head of Lady Leblanc’s cock and used her well-practiced tongue to start pleasuring her. As Lady Leblanc moaned, her voice thick with the gratification of victory, Maid’s lips met Mistress’s in a mocking imitation of a kiss.

At least like this, they would still be together.