Lily had told me it wasn’t far to Hanna’s room, but I guess that was subjective. To me it seemed impossible for two different rooms in the same house to be so far apart, but I guess growing up in a mansion changes your perspective somewhat. Nevertheless, I was good at following directions at least, and seemed to be almost there, when I heard a voice from behind me

“Ah, there you are dearie” I turned to see a supermodel walking towards me, she was stunningly beautiful, and everything she was wearing, from her dress, to her giant hat, to her four inch high-heels, was the same electric green as her sparkling eyes. Remembering Lily’s warning I quickly looked down at my shoes. 

Whatever you do, don’t look into any of my sister's eyes. Lily had told me, and don’t listen to anything they say

I wasn’t about to get caught unaware again, I turned to go only to feel an iron grip on my shoulder

“Now now…that’s a bit rude don’t you think? Not even going to introduce yourself? I ought to turn you into a maid, you’d learn a thing or two about respect then I think” I tried to pull away in vain, still keeping my eyes fixed to the floor, how could she be this strong? 

“P-please let me go” She ignored me completely

“But no…a maid is too good for a rude little miscreant like you, I've got a better idea…” she spun me around and grabbed me by the chin, forcing me to look up, I shut my eyes tight. 

“That’s right dear, eyes too heavy to keep open now, already so deep for me” I panicked and opened my eyes again, realizing to late that it was a trap, those bright green eyes had me, try as I might I couldn't tear my gaze away

If you do look, it’s not over yet, you know what’s coming now, just keep focused on your goal and you can fight it

Remembering Lily’s advice, I furrowed my brow and clenched my fists, gathering all my willpower, waiting for whatever came next, she just smiled at me. 

“Sleep”

I collapsed into her, spiraling into a world of bliss, she held me in her arms, one hand gently stroking my hair, pressing my face into her chest. I could hear her talking in a warm sweet voice but the meaning of her words escaped me entirely. After another few minutes of bliss, she pushed me away, I swayed on my feet, but she held me steady and snapped her fingers in front of my face.

Suddenly I was back again, fully aware and in control, she was already walking away from me.

“Well, that ought to make things more interesting, you can go back to whatever you were doing”

And with that she disappeared around a corner. Leaving me baffled. I ran a mental checklist. My name was Holly, I was Lily’s best friend, I was going to Hanna’s room…was anything off? I tried to do some serious self examination, nothing seemed out of the ordinary…but of course, that didn’t necessarily mean anything…The best thing would be for me to avoid any more encounters. I made it the rest of the way to Hanna’s bedroom, and knocked on the door.

“Come in”

I entered and found perhaps the most normal looking bedroom I had seen today. It was still huge compared to what I was used to, but it had all of the normal things your average bedroom was supposed to have, although quite a bit more expensive perhaps. In the corner a somewhat hipster looking girl sat in a beanbag chair with a notebook on her lap. The first thing I noticed about her was that her eyes seemed to be a perfectly normal brown.

“Uh…hello” I said awkwardly, she gave me a lazy smile and a wave “hey, you’re Holly, right? Lily said she wanted to stash you with me until she could talk to mom…”

“Yeah, is that cool?”

“Its cool, come sit down”

I did so tentatively, Lily seemed to think I could trust her but...well…

“So listen, every single one of Lily’s sisters has hypnotized me so far…are you…not gonna do that?” she blinked

“Oh, did Lily not tell you? I don’t have any powers” 

“Oh…really?”

“Yup, I’m the odd one out” she smiled, but it was easy to see that this wasn’t her favorite topic, I did my best to quickly change the subject

“So listen...Lily didn’t have time to explain all this to me, so do you think you could uh…fill me in?” she sighed and set aside her notebook.

“I guess I could do that…you got questions? Fire away.” I took a deep breath, and then stopped…what were my questions? I had so many…I stared at her for another minute before I finally just said

“Could you um…tell me about your family? Like, how many sisters do you even have?”

She grinned 

“There are five Somnus Sisters currently, Emily, Eve, Me, Lily, and Lilith”

“Wait…did you say Somnus sisters?” she nodded

“Its our family name”

“I thought it was Terrece…Is even Lily’s name fake?” it was another gut punch…another thing she had lied about

“Well sorta, I think that’s her Dad’s last name, she likes to use that when out in public to…distance herself, I guess” 

“Oh, that’s weird…”

“Well if you haven’t noticed, this family is pretty weird”

“Yeah, I got brainwashed into going to a tea party pretty much as soon as I got here…”

“Ah yes, poor lonely Emily…if you can bring yourself to forgive her I’d appreciate it. I didn't have time to play with her today, so she went and found someone else. Sorry about that”

“You play with her then? You let her hypnotize you?”

“No, we usually just have a normal non-hypnotic tea party, she must have liked you a lot to use her powers on you and make you go, did you compliment her dress? She really likes when people do that”

I hadn’t considered that her forcing me to attend the tea party had been a sign of affection...it was still pretty messed up though.

“Besides, if you think that’s bad there was this one time she made all of us into her dolls for like a week” 

“Really? How’d that happen?” she grinned, I got the feeling she didn’t get the chance to tell stories about her family very often

“The sneaky little princess waited until the end of the school year, finals week had us all wiped out. Mom was on a trip, and Lilith was living with her girlfriend, so it was just her, Eve, Lily and I, so like I said we were all exhausted from finals. First she went to Eve, and managed overpower her, then both of them combined managed to get Lily. Then all three of them came for me all at once, we didn’t stand a chance. She had us attending tea party’s and having sleepovers, made us all walk around wearing ridiculous outfits like that one” 

She pointed to the elaborate Princess dress I had forgotten I was wearing.

“And we were pretty much stuck like that until mom got home at the end of the week, she was not pleased, but she was more mad at us for letting it happen then at her for doing it, so she got off scot free” she laughed

“I’m uh…sorry to hear that” I replied, not quite getting the joke, she waved me off

“Oh, it wasn’t that bad, I mean at the time I was pissed, but looking back, it was probably the most relaxing week I’ve ever had, and all she really did was force us to be good big sisters for once…don't get me wrong, she's spoiled and acts like a brat, but she's sweet once you get to know her” I smiled then, it was kinda nice, in a weird mind control kinda way. 

“Still, she still can't quite control her powers properly, let alone grasp the uh…moral implications of her abilities, as for as she’s concerned, if everyone's having fun, it can’t be wrong…and she can to force everyone to have fun…” 

I snorted 

“Yeah well, I hope she doesn't end up like Eve” 

“Oh, you met her too huh? Let me guess, she made you clean her room?”

“Yeah…” 

“I’m not really gonna give any excuses for her, she’s just kinda lazy”

“But don’t you guys have like, butlers and maids and stuff?”

“Oh yeah, but Eve basically never leaves her room, and Mom is getting kinda fed up with that. She ordered all the house staff to stop doing things for her to try to force her out a bit more. But I guess she used you as a loophole to get around that” I shivered

“It…It wasn’t just that she made me do it…she made me…want to do it…like is was my idea all along” she nodded sympathetically 

“Yeah that’s her thing more or less, she and Lilith use what we call Subtle Hypnosis, which lets them basically Inception you. So if they want you to act like a maid, they’d give you maid-y thoughts, and make you want to be a maid without you ever realizing you’d been hypnotized.  Whereas Lily and Emily both use Overt Hypnosis, where they can basically just override your will and force you to do maid things. Then you have Mom, who can hit you with both, so if she wants you to be a maid…you're a maid. You think like a maid, you act like a maid, and for all you know, you have always been a maid, pretty scary stuff…” 

I was suddenly very nervous. 

“Hanna, I uh…I sorta ran into Lilith on her way here actually…well I think it was her” Hanna raised an eyebrow

“Tall? Wore all green? Silly hat?” I nodded “That’s her alright…did she get you?”

“I…think she did”

“Hmm…” she chewed her lip “It’s hard to say for sure what she might have done to you…I can think of a few ways to check the damage, how long did she have you?”

“I’m uh…not sure”

“Well it couldn't have been too long…there was only like fifteen minutes between Lily texting me and you showing up, so she can’t have gotten too deep” she gestured me toward her “C’mere, I wanna check something” I stood and approached

“What is it?” she gestured again for me to lower my head

“Lilith has a few go to options for this sorta thing, just wanna see if I can figure out exactly what she did to you” 

I lowered my head closer to her and waited, she lifted her hand slowly, and placed it on my head. I blinked 

“Uh…what are you…?”

She started rubbing the top of my head. And suddenly I felt…very calm…very happy…very safe, a smile spread across my face.

“Hmm yup, got it in one”

“Did you figure something out?” I asked hopefully, Hanna was so smart, and very trustworthy

“Yeah, do you feel anything strange?”

“Hmmmmm…” I thought about it as I lowered myself to the ground, and laid my head in her lap.

“No, everything feels normal…is it not normal?” she kept petting me

“Yeah she got you alright, you really don’t notice anything weird happening?”

“Nope” 

“Well that’s troubling…she shouldn't have had time to get you this bad…” she sighed

“But I guess not everyone has my resistance, maybe my judgment is skewed”

“Are you especially resistant?”

“Oh yeah, growing up without powers made me a good practice dummy, since I couldn’t really retaliate. So over time I’ve become pretty damn good at not getting hypnotized, even Mom has trouble bringing me down these days”

Wow, Hanna was so cool and strong, not like me, I was just so weak and easy, I had barely stood up to Lilith for even a second, and now I was doing weird stuff and I didn’t even know…

“So, what am I doing that’s weird?" 

“It’s probably better if you figure it out yourself…here lets try this, sit up” 

At once I pulled my head up and was sitting at attention. She picked up her pencil and waved it in front of me, I watched it closely.

“Now, I want you to pay very close attention to yourself, your movements, your actions, your thoughts, and try to identify the unusual behavior, ready?”

I nodded eagerly. She tossed the pencil behind me and I dove after it, crawling across the carpet on my hands and knees, when I got to it, I quickly picked it up in my mouth and proudly brought it back, dropping it carefully into her extended hand. She stared at me expectantly and suddenly I remembered I was supposed to analyze myself. I went over everything in my head...she threw the pencil, I got the pencil and brought it back...was that weird? I shrugged

“Everything seems normal to me”

“I see” she gave me a worried look, I started to feel a panic rising in my chest

“I-is it bad? Am I gonna…am I gonna be okay? I can’t-” she reached out a hand and started petting me again, at once my concerns were washed away, and in a moment I had my head in her lap again

“Don’t worry, Lily can fix it, you’ll be just fine, I know cause she’s fixed my brain more times than I can count” her reassurance made me feel warm and safe.

“I don’t wanna be mean but I’m so glad Lily didn’t turn out like uh…your other sisters” she laughed 

“Yeah, she’s different all right. She’s got a kind of…guilt complex going on”

“Guilt complex?”

“Yeah it's weird, on one hand you have Lilith who basically feels like it's her birthright to control people, but Lily’s pretty much the opposite, she’s sorta…ashamed of her power”

“But why?”

I briefly recalled when she had hypnotized me earlier, and the memory made me feel all warm and fuzzy…such safety, such peace, her power was wonderful. Hanna shrugged

“I think its a sex thing, its like her fetish or whatever, so she’s kinda ashamed of it…” she smirked when she saw my shocked expression 

“Don’t tell her I told you that, she’ll get mad” While I tried to process this information, she continued

“But I am really proud of her, despite all the pressure she’s been under the past year or so, it's been a while since she fell off the wagon, so to speak” 

“Wait, what do you mean? What wagon?” she raised an eyebrow

“What? Did you assume she never hypnotized anyone? She gives into temptation sometimes, sure she feels guilty about it afterwards, but it still happens” 

I was shocked all over again…I couldn’t imagine Lily ever abusing her power…but if I had that ability, would I be able to resist using it every now and then? Hanna started telling another story

“So there was this one time, back when she was still in high school with me. In her defense, she was having a hell of a week. Mom was riding her ass more than usual, she was getting hell from a shitty teacher-”

“I think I remember that year, Mr. Witterstone was the worst” 

“Yeah, so she’s pretty stressed out right? I see her walking down the hallway muttering to herself, and I go after her to try to help her calm down. But I think I just made it worse, so we’re walking along, and we pass the locker rooms, and we hear girls laughing from inside the changing rooms. And Lily just stops, and I swear looking at her, it was like a dam broke or something, she turns and heads straight into the locker room without saying a word to me. When she gets in she yells until she has everyone's attention, then she just says 

‘All of you are coming home with me’ 

and turns and walks out. Every single girl in the room follows her, just like that. Some of them aren’t even fully dressed. So she basically had a harem for like a week” 

I was staring up at her,  mouth agape. 

“I remember that story! The whole cheer team went missing, everyone was freaking out…then they all just reappeared one day, like it had all been a prank or something” she nodded

“Yeah, eventually her guilt complex kicked back in, and she sorta realized she had basically just kidnapped a bunch of girls and made them into sex slaves. She memory wiped them and sent them all home. she was miserable for months afterword, couldn’t get though a conversation without berating herself…and yeah it was a pretty fucked up thing to do, no matter how you look at it.” 

I choked a bit, trying to come to terms with the fact that my friend was capable of something like that…

“Back when she was younger she was pretty irresponsible with it, but she is trying to do better” I made up my mind about something. It had been sort of stewing in the back of my head for a while, but there really was no denying it…I had to talk to Lily

“I really need to talk to her about…this” Hanna sighed

“Honestly, why bother? When this is over, my mom is gonna make you forget everything that happened here.”

“Wait what?”

“Yeah, its pretty important that the family secret stays...well a secret, that’s why she told you not to leave” 

“What? But then, What Lily is doing is…”

“Trying to convince mom to do it now rather than later, it's pretty important she does it quickly. If mom gets called away for work, she could be gone for weeks. Then you’d be trapped here.”

“But what if I don’t want to forget about this?” 

“I’m not really sure that that’s an option…" she had stopped petting me, I pulled myself out of her lap and stood up

“I need to go talk to Lily, we have to figure out a way around this, I don’t wanna go back to her…lying to me all the time” Hanna nodded

“Alright, I’ll text Lily and tell her your gonna regroup back at her room…I’ll join you in a bit, I still got some homework to do” 

I prepared to leave, then I turned back and said

“Wait, were you gonna tell me what Lilith did to me?” she considered it

“I think…I’ll just let Lily tell you”

“Oh…okay” 

Maybe it was better just not to worry about it. I mean, If I couldn't even notice what was happening, could it really be that bad?

“Good luck” she called as I left the room, I was speed walking back to Lily's room. Around the first corner I nearly tripped over somebody

“Hello!”

I looked up at the ceiling to avoid eye contact with Emily, who seemed suspiciously like she had been waiting for me 

“Hi Emily, sorry I can’t talk right now”

Emily didn’t move, so I made to go around her, she stepped into my path, and I nearly tripped on her again. 

“Emily I’m sorry, but I really can’t play right now”

“Are you sure?”

She sounded like she was up to something, but I wasn’t gonna fall for the same trap again, I kept my eyes on the ceiling.

“My big sister said she talked with you, and that you were ready to play now” 

That worried me a bit, Hanna seemed to think Lilith had done something to me, but I couldn’t figure out what…maybe it would be best if I just walked away. But before I could I felt a hand on my stomach. She giggled

“This is gonna be so much fun!”

She started rubbing me, so obviously I got on the floor and laid down on my back, she gave me a belly rub for a while, giggling to herself, I wanted to ask her what was so funny, but I figured it would be useless to question her at this point. We stayed like that for a while, I was feeling a little sleepy, but happy. Then she got up and said “Stay” and quickly skittered away. I did as I was told, staring lazily at the ceiling. Some house staff wandered by, but nobody bothered me. When Emily returned I smiled. It felt so good to see her again. I love her, I will protect her no matter what. She put something warm and soft around my neck. I felt a tug, and she said

“Come on Holly, it’s time for a walk! Let's go to the backyard!”

And so she set off, and I followed behind her, padding across the carpet on my hands and knees. My dress made it a little awkward, but I was amazed I had never tried getting around like this before, it was so obviously easier and better. 

Before we could quite make it to the backyard though, a familiar, tall, green clad figure stepped out of a hallway

“Oh good you found her” 

Lilith smiled down at me, Emily was beaming. For some reason seeing Lilith made me uneasy, wasn't I supposed to be avoiding her? I scooted behind Emily a bit.

“Oh, poor thing, no need to be shy” 

She knelt and placed a hand on my head, at once my uneasiness slipped away. Of course I wasn’t trying to avoid Lilith, I loved her! I would do anything for her.

“Has she been good?”

“Oh yes, very good” 

“Excellent” she reached out a hand for the leash Emily was holding

“I’m going to need to borrow her for a bit-” I felt a yank on my neck and was pulled backward 

“NO” Emily shouted, she wrapped her arms around my head protectively

“I just got her! We were gonna go play! We haven’t had a chance to play yet!” her voice became more and more shrill as she continued 

“You said we could play! You said-”

“I know what I said” Lilith replied with barely contained irritation “But right now I need her to-”

“No!”

“Emily-”

“NO NO NO NO NO NO”

The conversation carried on in this vein for several minutes. Lilith was somehow even worse at negotiating with her than Lily was… Finally, she lost her patience. 

“You know what? Fine. Forget it, just…ugh…” she rubbed her temples “I can work with this...Just remember not to let Lily have her easily okay? if she finds you, do what we discussed before, remember?” Emily didn’t say anything, just nodded furiously. 

“If she doesn't find you, I’m gonna need Holly later. So when I come back you better give her up” 

Lilith turned to go, I breathed a sigh of relief, all the yelling had been making me anxious. But just before she left, Lilith stopped and turned around, a small smile on her face.

“One more thing Emily, I was wondering when you were going to get her dressed appropriately” Emily seemed confused

“Dressed appropriately? what does that mean?”

“Well, don’t you think she’s dressed…inappropriately?" She gestured vaguely in my direction 

“How is she supposed to be dressed?”

“Think about it Em, don’t you think it's difficult for her to get around like that? how do you normally dress a-”

“OOOOOH”

Emily grinned finally understanding something, I was still confused but she tugged me along and I followed
“Cmon Holly, if you play in that dress you’ll get it all dirty, let's get you ready…”