Chain knew it wouldn’t be long before he woke up again. He didn’t think he’d be coming to an hour or so after Magnolia tried to put him away again. At least he wasn’t tied up anymore. Kind of a stupid decision on her part, but Chain supposed Magnolia was no stranger to bad choices.

Still, he felt off.

The first thing Chain felt was heat. Raw, sheer heat. Not all over his body, though. It was only…

It took a split second for him to put it together. Chain looked down at his crotch and its volcanic, abnormally horny heart, and grinned. Oh, this was fucked up fucked up. He had to respect Magnolia for that, at the very least. But the extreme arousal and inability to keep his hands away from his crotch – unashamedly – weren’t the only things different about him.

Those were just the most obvious things.

Just as he was about to start bitching and moaning and wishing he had a dick instead of a pussy, his hand grabbed onto a thick, long shaft. It shocked him so much he didn’t even have a moment to stifle his loud moan. “Wh-what the…?”

Luckily Chain was left there in boxers, so it wasn’t hard to throw them off and see what the fuck was happening. It sprang out from the underwear as he threw it off, tossing it to the corner. He was only more confused, though that didn’t stop him from stroking it firmly. Attached to the realistic dildo, and under a transparent layer of faux skin, were a series of those EKG stickers (Chain didn’t know the name for them, nor did he care). And attached to those were chords that went underneath the thin harness, into Lily’s parts. And attached to the harness was a vial containing semirealistic cum lube.

“L-lady knows what she’s doing, I s’pose,” he groaned in pleasure. And fuck he was grateful for it. Not that he ever got a chance to try, but jacking off with a vagina sounded like such a snoozefest. And he couldn’t stop fucking grinning like an idiot for it. He was doubled over on the bed, almost at the edge, before he realized something was missing.

Pornography.

He grumbled as he looked up. Luckily it seemed Magnolia planned for that, too. Loaded on the open laptop in front of him were all the most basic ass porn sites – the Hub, Brazzers, shit like that. Which were exactly what he wanted. He didn’t want to waste time with all that porn with plot shit. Not right now, anyways.

Chain knew, rationally, that he never gave a shit about porn or jacking it. Not to this extent, anyways. He knew Magnolia implanted it in his brain. But it felt so natural, so–

“What the fuck?” Chain exclaimed. “The internet’s not working! What the fuck is wrong with this laptop?!”

Just as he was about to angrily slam the laptop in an attempt to get it working, or break it against the wall of rage, a familiar voice stopped him.

“Because I turned off the Wi-Fi, mutt.”

Magnolia strode into the room, like she owned the place, a smug ass grin on her face. Chain wanted to slug it off as soon as they locked eyes. And he was about to. He overpowered her before, it wouldn’t be hard to overpower her now.

“Well, turn it back on, bitch in command!” he growled, his hand still firmly on his nerve-connected cock. Annoyingly, Magnolia’s grin only widened. “Why’d you even put this laptop here if ya weren’t gonna let a guy use it!”

“So demanding,” Magnolia replied with a yawn. “How disrespectful can you be? Why don’t you try asking again, using your good boy words.”

Something snapped in Chain. Before he even knew what he was doing, he removed his hand from his shaft, bent into a kneeling position, and uttered two words that made him want to wash his mouth with bleach—

“Yes, queen.”

Magnolia’s lip curled yet further upwards, and if that wasn’t mortifying enough for Chain, so were what he said next. “Please, queen, put the Wi-Fi on.”

The heat flushed through his system, but not in a horny way – he burned with sheer, bright embarrassment. Indignation. Hatred, visceral hatred so much stronger than anything he could have imagined. This lady was playing him like a fucking fiddle, and that… that was wrong.

“And why do you want me to do that, doggy? Dogs don’t need Wi-Fi.”

Finally, Chain realized he could talk normally again. And he wasn’t about to hold that anger back. “What the fuck did you do to me, you psychopath?! What, making Lily your fucked up puppyplay dog wasn’t enough, so you’re coming after me too? You sick bitch!”

Once again, Magnolia met his fury with a smile. “Clearly, you weren’t looking on as hard as you boasted of, Chain. Lily is my faithful plaything, a slave I can rely on. Not a puppy in desperate need of training. Unlike you.” Magnolia leaned over the bed, imposing over Chain in both height and presence. “You see, I realized when we spoke, you were right. You won’t sit down and be quiet like a good dog. So I’m going to make you a good dog. After all, it’s quite a lot harder to be the bastard you loved being so much in this state of mind, hmm?”

“What the hell is the difference?!”

“Simple semantics, I must admit,” Magnolia shrugged.

“Fuck you and your love of semantics!” an incensed Chain retorted.

“Now, now. That’s no way a good boy should talk to its owner.”

Once again, Chain’s words were twisted and violated, hordes of insults coming out all mangled to resemble something like obedience. And at the same time, his body moved to a bowing-kneeling position. “Of course, queen. I’m sorry for my rudeness.”

“Better. Now, my good dog—” Another surge of unwanted obedience surged through Chain— “tell me why in the world a dog like you would need Wi-Fi?”

“So… so I can watch p-pornography, queen.” The least he could do was cut out the fucking ‘queen’ shit; he bowed to no one, ignoring how he was doing so in that moment.

Magnolia’s annoying smirk widened. “At least you’re honest about your depraved wants, puppy.” Chain was about to bark back another insult, another explicative, another show of resistance. But… where exactly was that going to get him? He was walking around in circles, coming back to the same violent impulse and the same humiliation ritual.

“Well, I suppose I can do that,” Magnolia sighed in feigned resignation, standing up. A flutter of hope, along with pent up gooner behavior, rose up slowly in Chain. “I just want to ask one thing from you. And I’m not going to use your new obedience trigger. You have to do this of your own free will, if you want to goon like a stupid frat bro so much.”

“F...f…” He had to hold himself back. He’d lost the battle and the war. She’d implanted a trigger in him, just like he suspected, and Chain had no idea how to get it out. No, scratch that – she most likely implanted multipletriggers. There was no other explanation for his drastic change in character. Even if he got Magnolia to leave him be, how would he know that he was actually safe, in the long run?

Chain had got cocky, let his guard down, and paid the price for it. If he knew things would turn up like this, he never would have challenged Magnolia. He was eating his words.

Because Magnolia, she… she won.

“...Fine,” Chain spat. “What… do you need me to do?”

Magnolia chuckled. “Get on all fours and lick my heels clean.”

Chain’s eyes widened, his face twisting in disgust. “N-no! Absolutely fucking not! Are you out of your fucking mind, lady?!”

Magnolia shrugged. “Suit yourself. I’m sure your limited imagination will be enough to help get you off. Though perhaps not? Looking at you five years later, I can see you’re not too sharp either, Chain. It’s a tad embarrassing that I lost to you. But I won’t do so, ever again.”

“Y-yes you will!” Chain retorted, only eliciting a condescending laugh from Magnolia. “You’ll fucking regret this!”

“I can say the same to you,” Magnolia laughed. Right before leaving Chain to goon endlessly to absolutely nothing, Magnolia rubbed salt in his wounded ego by taking the laptop from him. “Since I s’pose you won’t be needing this. I’ll check on you in an hour or two, mutt.”

She left.

The sound of the door closing left Chain feeling hollow.

And he was left with a sex drive that had gone into overdrive and absolutely no outlet for it. Furiously, he just jacked off. To the bits of smut that graced his computer screen. And also to the—

No—

To the way Magnolia spoke to him, was able to order him around just as easily as he did Lily.

It was mortifying, yes. Somehow, that made it all the better as jerk-off material.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Chain had no idea how long it had been, but he had not stopped stroking himself. Each time he got close to any sort of climax, it died down almost instantaneously. All he needed was a hot woman to look at and fantasize about debasing. It was almost like his pleasure was being stolen from him, held by a thinning string that never seemed to snap.

He’d long lost track of time when Magnolia walked in. He scowled up towards her. Meanwhile, her smile had only grown since leaving him there.

“Having fun, mutt?”

“Fuck you,” Chain growled.

“You’d like to do that, now wouldn’t you?” Magnolia grabbed the desk chair and rolled it over to the bed in front of Chain. “That’s unfortunate for you. It’ll be eons before I allow you to even think of touching me.”

He didn’t have a good retort. Chain’s head was entirely stuffed with cotton. Even spitting out that explicative took effort. His whole body was on fire, he could barely think, his mind growing slower and slower each second as his body overheated like a computer that needed to be replaced.

“If...” He almost wasn’t controlling what he was saying. He should stop himself. But deep down, he knew there was one way to clear his mind and at least temporarily release him from this spell. “If I lick your fucking heels... then you’ll...”

“Give you the laptop and turn the Wi-Fi back on, yes. And you’ll be free to look at whatever pornography you want, you disgusting gooner.”

“Disgusting gooner?! You made me this way!” It was true, but she didn’t need to say it! “You completely fucked up my brain! You forced me into this! And now you’re insulting me over your decisions?! I knew you were stupid, but I guess I didn’t know how empty your head actually is!”

“You really think I had to force your mind to do anything? Please.” She crossed one leg over the other, heels reflecting the ceiling light. “I barely had to lift a finger. Hell, Lily showed more resistance than you did. You were just like a house of cards on a windy day. A brick tower waiting to collapse. I didn’t have to try, Chain. You weren’t a sex-crazed freak before, sure. But you were quite eager to become one.”

Chain bit his lips, glaring daggers at Magnolia. He wanted to accuse her of lying. And he almost did. But... wasn’t she telling the truth? The effect was too strong, too overpowering, like it was eating his body from the inside. His firm belief that he couldn’t be hypnotized hadn’t just been shaken, it had been dismantled entirely. He was hypnotized and he was acting out this sick lady’s wishes.

And he couldn’t do anything about it.

With his body and mind wanting to rebel against him, Chain moved to the floor and slowly crawled over to the heels. Magnolia’s grin widened more and more. Chain wanted to punch her, knock some teeth out, kick her in the crotch, tie her up and mess with her brain—

But he was held back by a feeling deeper than rage: lust.

“F...fine... I’m going to... regret this.”

And then, defeated, with not a shred of dignity left, he got to work. She clearly hadn’t worn new shoes for the occasion, so they weren’t squeaky clean, but thank the lords she had not brought them outside. How the fuck was Chain even supposed to do this...?

“A little stuck, are we, puppy? Simply lick every atom until not a spot is untouched. I assumed a good boy like you would understand even that much.”

The trigger hit again, and Chain obliged happily. He sure wasn’t happy about the artificial feelings implanted within him and brought out on a whim, but he couldn’t be angry as much as he tried. The artificial sweetener cleared out the fury that was so natural to him.

He did as told, licking every bit, every crevice, everywhere from the tip of the sole to the edge of the heel. One down. Maybe she’d be satisfied now...

“You’re halfway done,” she noted condescendingly, “and it only took you a billion years.”

Of course not. Chain felt stupid for even thinking so. With a glare that could kill a small animal, Chain lowered his head back down as Magnolia put the other foot in front. The same process had not gotten any less humiliating, nor had the burn from embarrassment. Magnolia must have been able to sense it, though. After all, she was the one who only grinned sadistically over her conquered property. Chain’s stomach did a series of flip flops, his head feeling light. Who knew one could feel dizzy despite being planted firmly on the ground?

He was almost done. Almost... done. Then he could forget all about it and lose himself to the pleasure he so craved. He swore he’d never let himself get played like this again. Hell, even the fact he didn’t stop was humbling – and he hated it.

With a final lick of her heels, Chain looked up with… well, he wanted to show animosity clear as day, but he must have more so looked like a sad puppy at the end of a long walk in the cold. Magnolia smirked down at him, allowing the moment to linger for as long as she wanted. And Chain couldn’t do shit about it.

“Hm,” she hummed, looking at her cleaned heels, “Adequate. I suppose. Very well, mutt.” With a confident grin, she flung the laptop onto the bed. Chain’s heart skipped a beat, worried the bitch might have broken it. It landed cleanly and didn’t break – thank god. Chain would have gone insane if he did as Magnolia said without his coveted prize at the end.

Chain got on his feet and all but ran over. Magnolia’s cackling echoed in his ears. “Oh, look at you! So excited, so desperate just to get yourself off. Well, who am I to talk you out of it?”

She turned around, ready to leave. Chain didn’t even turn around as he demanded, “aren’t you going to watch? Since you’re so damn eager to humiliate me?”

“Oh, no, not at all. I’d rather not witness my mutt debase himself.” The fire of anger flared up in Chain, but not as brightly as his primal need to jack it. “Perhaps if you become a good Hound, then maybe, just maybe, I’ll indulge you in the future.”

And she didn’t wait for him to argue back. She didn’t wait for him to bark another insult at her. She just left, hardly looking behind her.

Chain looked at the Wi-Fi symbol, waiting, waiting, waiting for it to signal it was online again. And as soon as it did, he got to work.

And put his body to work, too.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

“Ha… ha… hah…”

Whether it had been an hour, two hours, or twelve hours, Chain had no idea. An entire week could have passed and he would have been none the wiser. His hands were sore and every muscle from temple to toe ached. The lube vial depleted god knew how long ago. The room would have resembled a crime scene had the cum on the walls be replaced with blood. He finally collapsed from exhaustion. Fatigue wasn’t a state Chain was well acquainted with, nor was it one he particularly enjoyed.

And if it hadn’t hit him, he probably would have gone on longer. But that, plus the abrupt sound of a door opening and a groan of disgust, jolted him out of his fog of pleasure.

“I knew I turned you into this,” Magnolia said, scrunching her nose, “but I never would have guessed you’d take to my control so deeply. God, it reeks in here. You’re truly just such a disgusting mutt.”

“Wh...why did you do this to me…” Chain murmured, lacking the energy to even ask it with the inflections of a question.

Magnolia chuckled, walking up to her exhausted puppy slowly, with careful, deliberate steps. “Why? I figured that was obvious. It’s far harder to resist me like this, isn’t it?”

“What… what the fuck is wrong with you?”

Magnolia didn’t directly answer. “If locking you away didn’t work, then it’s unbecoming to even try again. But I’m an accomplished business lady, and you’re nothing more than a bitch in heat. I’m used to pivoting and thinking on my feet. Regardless, none of it makes you any more in a position to argue against me.”

Chain yelped as he felt Magnolia’s arms wrap around his torso. Weakened and exhausted, Chain couldn’t protest as Magnolia slumped onto the bed with him in tow.

“What the fuck is it now?!” Chain hissed, immediately struggling to free himself from Magnolia’s deceptively strong arms. “Leave me the fuck alone! You already fucked me up and made me a fucking depraved gooner! What else could you possibly want?!”

“Be quiet, puppy. You have no right to make demands after all the torment you put my playthings through,” Magnolia chided.

Something within Chain resonated, perked up, expressed concerns from which the source Chain couldn’t decipher.

Playthings, plural...?

Wait. No. That wasn’t important. “You fucking b—”

Magnolia clasped a hand on Chain’s mouth, grasping tightly and giggling condescendingly. “Ah, I see my dog training will take much more time than planned. Well, whatever. I’m a patient lady. Or... I can be. Either way, what you want has stopped mattering, so the best you can do is simply accept it.”

“I don’t... need... any of this weak ass shit,” he spat back.

Magnolia simply laughed, “oh, it seems my words go in one ear and out the other. Perhaps your brain is just too small so it’s easy to pass.” She just pulled him tighter to him. “Besides, what owner doesn’t enjoy cuddling their puppy after a long day?”

When Chain had enough energy to break free, he’d do so easily. And get this damn body out of this bitch’s control. Unfortunately, he didn’t know how long that would take.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

“Why do I even have to clean?” Chain hissed, angrily swiping the mop from Magnolia’s clutches. “I’m not your fucking maid. Shouldn’t you bring Lily out to deal with this BS?”

Magnolia simply responded by pushing the bucket of soap water his way. “Lily didn’t make this mess, did they? You did. Learn some responsibility. I can assure you they’re far ahead of you in that endeavor, at least.”

“Fuck you.”

“Again, it is ages too soon to demand that from me,” Magnolia yawned.

“You know what I meant.”

“Lily isn’t coming back until you’re done. And you’re not going away either. So it’s in your best interest to do what I ask of you. Surely even a dimwitted mutt like you can understand that.”

Chain averted his gaze, continuing a slew of explicatives and curses in his head. His quiet head. When she said he couldn’t leave until she allowed it, he quickly realized she wasn’t joking. The more times he realized she was right, she had bested him, the more he wanted to scream in boiling rage. And yet, he couldn’t. He couldn’t even scream internally, as if he’d been muzzled and neutered inside and out.

His head was no longer a front row seat to commentate on the carnival he ate popcorn while watching. He had become the caged animal brought out for entertainment and nothing else.

And here he was, cleaning his literal cage, at the demands of his jailor. All because he let his guard down for a fraction of a second. Because he challenged her. Chain had no one to blame except himself, and that was the worst part.

“What if I’m in danger and — and need Kassandra or some shit?” Chain rebutted, still mopping the floor of the mess he made. “And you’re not there?! You want to cage me, at least make sure I’m safe!”

Magnolia’s face darkened. “Stop cleaning for a moment, my good boy.”

Once again, he heeded to her command. Chain turned to Magnolia.

She moved like lightning, and the slap across his face hit like thunder. It almost knocked him off his feet.

“Now listen here,” she seethed, grabbing his shirt roughly and lifting his weight up. “I am not the one who took Lily’s body hostage and ran off with no survival plan. I am not the one who got Lily’s body arrested and needed to get bailed out. I am not the one who revels in their suffering; quite the opposite, in fact. I am not the one who deceived not just myself, but Lily, simply to extend your indulgence in our lives like you’re watching a messy reality TV show. And at our darkest moment, too! Do you go to cancer hospitals for live entertainment, too? Or do you prefer watching horrifically sad docuseries like slapstick comedies? You truly think you are the right person to keep Lily safe? You?”

Chain grunted, struggling and slipping out of Magnolia’s grasp. But he didn’t get a moment to fight back before Magnolia roundhouse kicked him (something that froze Chain in shock for long enough for the kick to hit), taking all the motivation out from his pathetic legs as he collapsed to the ground.

“Don’t answer that, dog. I know everything that’ll come out of your mouth is laced with falsehoods and stupidity. Now. Clean the room. Or do you want me to block every porn site in existence? Don’t think I don’t know the most obscure ones. Not that a dumb mutt like you would be creative enough to think of them.”

Chain had enough of being debased. Unfortunately, the more he fought back, the worse his humiliation got. So… the only option, really, was to obey.

He despised it. And perhaps against his best judgement, he was too stupid to give up the fight.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

“Mmf...” The first thing Lily noticed upon coming to was their massive headache. Their head felt like it was about to split wide open. Not to mention the rest of their body ached like nothing they’d ever felt before. Exhaustion was too kind of a word for the kind of fatigue that overcame their body. Instantly, they wanted to just go back to sleep.

Wait... to sleep? When did they fall asleep?

Weren’t they just waking up and enduring Magnolia’s new flavor of antics, trying to push the bubble of anger down? Time surely had passed, though; a quick glance through the windowsills showed just that. The sun had just finished setting.

“Oh, there’s my silly plaything,” the familiar coo of their Mistress sang out, lightly kissing them on the back of their head. Lily giggled lightly, that moment of domestic bliss threatening to drag them back into slumber. That should be fine, so why did they feel so uneasy...?

“W-wait... I... huh?” Their mind began to put the pieces together. Time passing without notice, a splitting headache, and no recollection of what had just happened. “Ah... Did, um, did Kassandra come out, Mistress? I-I hope she didn’t cause too much of a fuss.”

“No, she didn’t come out,” Magnolia replied almost a bit too casually. Her hands held Lily firmly in place. She most likely sensed Lily’s apprehension, apprehension that turned into shock and betrayal when she added, “I brought Chain out.”

“...What?” Lily’s sleepy, obedient tone had disappeared. In it set a tone Magnolia seldom hear them speak in. “You... why would you do that?” Magnolia chuckled and pulled them closer, only incensing Lily further. “I-I thought you got rid of him! You told me you did! So why would you—”

A firm hand clasped over Lily’s mouth, silencing their objections. Even so, Lily’s muffled voice continued in its angry ramblings, leading Magnolia to only further grip their jaw shut. “Since when were you allowed to question me? Your poor brain cells really can’t hold onto at least that?”

Despite the insult — a partially justified one — Lily struggled and tried to bite back. Unfortunately, Magnolia wasn’t ready to let go of them, nor was she ready to give them a chance to argue their case.

“Besides, I highly doubt that would happen.” Lily’s face twisted in confusion, so Magnolia elaborated. “After all, if he ever hurts my property, he’ll be lucky to even think of indulging himself ever again. Isn’t that right, puppy?”

Lily’s eyes widened. A sense of agreement – begrudging agreement – flowed through their body. Along with a wave of primal heat. Was that… was that Chain?

Finally, Magnolia let Lily’s mouth go. They hadn’t even realized they were holding their breath until they took a large inhale. Of course Magnolia found their momentary suffering charming. Her laugh would have been music to their ears any other day, but Lily couldn’t get rid of the building anxiety in their stomach.

Finally gathering their breath, and enough of their thoughts, Lily opened their mouth to reply. And their thoughts were cut off again, in somehow one of the most annoying possible ways—

“What the hell, Magnolia?!” Kassandra’s deeper register came crashing out of Lily’s soft lips. Infuriatingly, for Kassandra at least, Magnolia’s face didn’t flinch at all.

Come on, Lily sighed internally, Am I going to get any time with Mistress...? It’s bad enough Chain took up all of today with Mistress! Now Kassandra wants her time, too?

“You forgot what happened five years ago? Do you want that to happen again? You have all the tools and knowledge to prevent it from happening, and you won’t? You want to just play with fire with Lily’s life?!”

“How cruel of you, Kassandra,” Magnolia responded with… was that boredom in her voice?! “Underestimating me so. Tell me, then – do you think Chain will cause any problems the way he is now?”

“Yes! Obviously! Fucking hell,” Kassandra growled. She stood up from the bed, beginning to pace around the room angrily, clutching her head to soothe the massive migraine splitting her skull open. “Aren’t you supposed to keep Lily safe?!”

“Of course. And that’s exactly what I’m doing.”

“No, it’s n—”

“Tell me, Kassandra. Would you prefer not knowing what he’s thinking and planning, assuming he’s just gone? Or do you want to know where he is, knowing he’s being kept in check and you – and I – have a close eye on him?”

“I…” Kassandra balled her hands into fists, her whole body shaking. Anger, confusion, and fear flooded her brain, only intensifying her fatigue and headache. “I’d rather… not see him again. I thought you dealt with him. Why did you keep this from me? From Lily?!”

Magnolia narrowed her eyes. She’d tried to keep her glance sympathetic, but Kassandra’s accusations struck a nerve. “Because I didn’t know, Kassandra! I figured you were smart enough to put that together!”

“Fuck you!” Kassandra exclaimed. “Don’t patronize me, bitch!” Magnolia’s face darkened, but Kassandra continued. “Face it – you made a shitty decision and don’t want to admit that. You’re full of terrible decisions! Intentionally bringing Chain out is a worse decision than Lily selling themself to that fucking auction! And you wonder why I don’t trust you. It’s so obvious, you’re just abnormally dense for someone who—”

Kassandra was too engaged in her slew of insults to notice Magnolia stand up and shove her against the wall. She coughed, unbecoming shock and horror pulsing in her shaking eyes. Whatever she was going to say next died in her throat, as all that came out was incomprehensible wordless babble.

“I don’t need to have you pinned up like this, Kassandra, for me to make my point. You have absolutely no right nor standing to insult me so. No matter how different you may be from my lovely, obedient Lily, you are still residing rent free in their body. A body I own, I need not remind you.”

“F...f… no. Not yours,” was all Kassandra could muster to say. Even the hatred in her voice had dissipated, making that one word sound like a pathetic whine. “I’m… I’m Lily’s...”

“Protector? Purport yourself however you wish. I don’t care how. I know Lily inside and out. Well enough to know you, too, Kassandra.”

“N-no,” Kassandra struggled weakly. “You don’t… know shit...”

“Yes, I do,” Magnolia seethed. “I think I know why you’re so defensive. I think, deep down, you recognize I’ve down a far better job of protecting Lily than you have.” Kassandra’s eyes widened, a spark of fury flashing in them. Magnolia continued, rolling over whatever protests Kassandra would have had.

“Have I not kept Lily off the streets, safe and healthy, free from harm or hardship? What do you think would happen if Lily got their diagnosis without my stellar health insurance and access to the world’s best doctors? The reason I am asserting control over the mutt I’ve claimed as mine is because I saw him as a threat that could very well hurt Lily again. You know he can’t hurt them like this. You simply don’t wish to admit it. And you’re pissed because I just steamrolled over your entire perceived purpose. I’d advise you not attack me out of feeling bad about your own inadequacy. You may be strong, but not enough so to truly fight your destiny.”

Kassandra’s jaw stayed agape, but she couldn’t form an argument. The moment of fear had gone, and the anger had returned with a vengeance. But even then, she couldn’t move. She couldn’t fight back. Magnolia stepped back, and Kassandra dropped to her knees immediately.

What she said hurt more than any insult or blow she’d thrown Lily’s way. Kassandra would never let her hear it, but she knew deep down.

Magnolia was right. And that acknowledgement made her spirit shatter.

Kassandra was jolted out of her miserable reverie when Magnolia gently petted her head. “Don’t… touch me…” she murmured, but even she didn’t believe her own tone. Nor did Magnolia. Her heart soothed a little with the physical affection, something hadn’t gotten since… ever. She hadn’t let herself. She was too exhausted to process that fleeting thought, or why comfort from this lady of all people brought Kassandra comfort she never wanted, so she just let it pass through her subconscious.

And what was more terrifying than the realization Magnolia was right, was a deeper truth:

If she took Chain under her control independent of Lily, she could have very well done the same to Kassandra at any point. Nothing was stopping her. Lily sure wouldn’t.

And she still could.

So was Kassandra… going to be next?

No. No, she couldn’t let that happen. She wouldn’t. At least, that’s what she thought...

Kassandra eventually got enough of herself to pull back, heaving lightly. Magnolia pulled her hand back. Unsteady on her feet, Kassandra got up and balanced herself on the wall. “I… I need some fresh air.”

Magnolia narrowed her eyes, but Kassandra couldn’t make herself look at her anymore. “Very well. You may use the garden in the back, if you so wish. Or the greenhouse.”

Kassandra shook her head. “I need a walk.”

“Both are large enough to do laps around. Or… ah, I see. Are you going to try and escape? I never would have guessed you’d be able to so confidently make a plan in such a short time.”

“Wh…” Kassandra shook her head. Of course Magnolia could figure out that’s what she was planning. Not that Kassandra was being subtle. Not that Lily would let her run too far. Nor Chain, apparently. Even if she could stay out front forever, Magnolia had probably implanted a tracker somewhere under Lily’s skin. Or in the collar Kassandra couldn’t get off, even with her usual herculean strength.

Magnolia chuckled lowly. “You don’t need to worry about being next on my list. I have far more… pressing matters. Besides, I can only train one of you at a time.”

Kassandra shut her eyes. “You’re… really planning on bringing me under your control, too, aren’t you? It doesn’t matter what I want, you’re just going to do with me what you wish anyways. Isn’t that right?”

Magnolia shrugged, the same cocky smile on her face. “So many assumptions. I never said any of that.”

“You’re not denying it.”

“Because the future is uncertain. Lily has taught me that lesson well. But I’ll leave you with this, even if you may not wish to hear it from me.”

Magnolia put her hands firmly on Kassandra’s shoulders. She still had to steady herself against the wall, even more so now. Regardless, she was forced to listen to whatever the bitch in charge had to say.

“You don’t need to keep your walls up. You don’t need to force Lily to stand behind them, either. Put down your sword and shield, Kassandra. You have no reason to hold them any longer. It’s exhausting you. It’s exhausting Lily, too, I can only imagine. I know it’ll take you time to let it sink in, and you most likely don’t believe me, but you’re safe. No matter what I put Lily through, it will never be with the goal of sincerely hurting them. The same goes for the rest of you.”

Once again, Kassandra felt uneasy about being included in that assumption. But all she could do was nod slowly, head turned to the floor.

“There, there,” Magnolia cooed, lightly pushing Kassandra against her and allowing her to lean her weight on her. Her spirit must not be as easily shattered as Kassandra’s. Then again, she had let stress get to her more than she wanted to admit, too. “Please bring Lily back out, though. I was looking forward to decompressing with them.”

“...Mm.” With an uneasy feeling and a boatload of hesitation, Kassandra hummed in agreement. That anxiety stayed inside her, stayed in Lily’s subconscious even after she allowed them to take the front again. So did her defeated demeanor. When Lily came to, they were still completely exhausted – even more so after another switch.

Lily groaned in pain, putting a hand to their head. A migraine from a forced switch was bad enough when one alter forced their way forward, but two of them? So closely, back to back? Lily could hardly keep their eyes open. Even the hum of the fan aggravated their headache.

“Here, plaything.” Magnolia gently led them back to the bed. When Lily was back on the comfortable mattress, they were still curled up in pain, their face twisted with agony.

“I know this is a silly question. But, how are you feeling?”

“...It hurts, Mistress,” Lily murmured. It was a question from Mistress; and so, they had to be honest. “And… I feel like I’ve been sobbing for an hour. Have I…?”

Magnolia gently rubbed Lily’s head, placing a light kiss on it. It didn’t make the physical pain go away, but the chaos of uneasiness and uncertainty swirling in them quieted a bit. Or at least it got more distant. “You must be dehydrated. I will get you some water and a heating pad, then. Do not worry if you fall asleep.”

Lily opened their mouth to protest. Only… they couldn’t. Rejecting Mistress’s kindness was just as bad as disobeying her or disputing her word as truth. “Thank you, Mistress,” they said in a weak voice.

It didn’t take long for them to fall into a fitful sleep. And yet, keeping them above the surface of deep rest were their burning questions.

Was this really a good idea?

Would Mistress really be able to put Chain fully under her control?

And was she truly planning to do it to the rest of them? To Kassandra and Hyacinthe?

Even trying to guess the answers to any of those questions made everything hurt more. Besides, Lily didn’t truly need to know about their Mistress’s plans for them. Her thoughts were her own, and Lily didn’t need to know every single one. They shouldn’t, in fact.

And yet, under the surface, Lily stirred uncomfortably at the thought. So did Kassandra. So did Chain.

At least they had that in common with each other.