Lily never thought they’d yearn for the day where they could be woken up by a blaring alarm clock. Every day they’d go to sleep, a sense of longing in their heart, wishing that they’d be woken up at 5:30 am again. Sure, they technically could just set the alarm for that time of their own volition. But it felt… wrong. For one thing, it was significantly hotter to be forced into such a grueling routine. And, it felt more freeing to have no options. If Lily was given options, they’d have to choose. They’d have to use their brain to figure out the best possible outcome to any dilemma. It was, quite frankly, exhausting in a way Lily never enjoyed.

Magnolia took that burden away from them whenever she made decisions for them.

So they still got a bit sad whenever they woke up any later without a set of routines to follow. Mornings just felt so… nothing now. Like what else were they supposed to do? Aside from making breakfast, setting the table, and eating, but even those things were so… anti-climactic! Like, what was the point of mornings now?

Even going to sleep was a little saddening, like each night was the last night of a sleepover before their friend left. Or like each night was an event they were so excited for and they were sad it was over. That was particularly applicable after their high protocol event the night before.

So when the alarm unexpectedly rang at 5:30 am, Lily woke to a feeling of confusion, dread, and excitement.

“H…huh?” Lily groaned, rubbing their head to ease the ringing. The alarm was going off… but why? Magnolia had turned it off since they weren’t doing their rituals anymore. Maybe she forgot to turn it off for one day? No, it had been a few weeks, and Lily hadn’t heard that alarm in so long they almost forgot the sound.

So… what were they supposed to do?

Lily wasn’t quite sure, but they had a feeling going back to sleep would be the wrong call. Besides, they weren’t optimistic about being able to go back to sleep, the way the alarm echoed in their ears. Besides, it might be nice to get an early start to the day.

The cogs in their mind finally began to turn, and made way for a replaying of the events of the night before. Lily paused in their tracks, their heart sinking into their stomach. The night had ended decently enough after Indigo — ugh, Lily wishes they could just forget about her — and her posse was kicked out. Even though the hosts and Mistress had consoled them and reassured them their reaction was very warranted, Lily still…

They still couldn’t shake the feeling they failed. Failed their Mistress, failed their friends, and failed themself.

Lily shook their head. No. Magnolia was not mad. She did not blame them. If she did not blame them, they had no reason to blame themself. It would be going against their Mistress’ wishes to do so. Lily tried to tell themself that, and though the guilt felt etched into their bones, their desire to obey was much, much stronger.

They couldn’t go back to sleep and they didn’t want to stew in their misery. And… even though their Mistress wasn’t training them, that didn’t mean they couldn’t do their ritual simply because they felt like it.

Right?

And that way, it didn’t matter what they got wrong or right. Somehow, that realization made them exhale in relief. Of course, it would be good for their overachieving brain cell for them to get everything right.

But they couldn’t do that right now. And that was okay. With a renewed sense of service and determination, they began working on tablesetting, starting up breakfast, and making sure the dining area was nice and tidy.

They weren’t on autopilot. They weren’t operating under fear, or a set of norms, or even a schedule. On a usual day of theirs, they’d be panicking that they were forgetting something. But this felt… right. Serene, calm, quiet in a way they hadn’t quite understood or even registered. For the first time, they were able to actually breathe while doing their ritual.

Their mind wandered gently, like a cloud on a clear sky, as they swept, cooked, cleaned, and set. Perhaps this wasn’t actually what Mistress wanted them to do, and they were failing the test she may have set for them? But that possibility felt so far off, they hardly noticed it.

Almost on cue, when breakfast was set and Lily was about to sit down, their Mistress walked out. Bleary eyed and still visibly tired, she was still oh so beautiful.

Suddenly, the weight of their impulsive ritual following fell on Lily. But before they had a moment to let it sink in, their Mistress’ warm, pleasant smile made those worries fade away.

“Ah, Lily,” she said, stifling a yawn, “good. You passed my test.”

“I-I did?” Lily blinked. “Wait, this was a test?”

“Yes, and yes,” their Mistress cooed, walking up to pet their head.

“I- thank you Mistress, but um…” Lily looked at the table. They definitely didn’t set everything right, at least not to the sky-high standards their Mistress had set at the beginning of their training. “I-I made a lot of mistakes. S-so I’m sorry! I’ll accept any punishment, o-or scolding, or–”

Lily trailed off. They expected their Mistress to do so, or silence their concerns. But she stood there with a sympathetic look on her face. They didn’t break eye contact. Lily could sense something was up, but…

“Yes, you’re right, you didn’t do things entirely correct… at least, in the standards I set at the start. So, sit down, let’s talk over food.”

Lily wasn’t sure if they enjoyed Mistress’s more casual speech, not to mention any variation of ‘we need to talk’ sent anxiety through their whole nervous system… but they needed to play it safe. If Mistress was considering training them again, and they desperately wanted that, then…

“Yes, Mistress.” Lily sat down.

“Good plaything,” she affirmed. “Good news for you: I’m going to continue your training.”

Lily’s face brightened up. “Y-you are, Mistress?”

Magnolia smiled, Lily’s excitement contagious. “Yes. But… we’re going to back up and revise some things. Before you panic, let me finish.

“I went too fast, and you failed.” Lily’s heart sank, but they swallowed and continued to listen. “But you didn’t fail because you are a bad submissive; you’re a wonderful submissive, Lily. But I know your brain is a little slow, big words are hard, especially big sentences! And, well, my influence can only do so much.”

“O-oh, I see, Mistress.” A wave of emotions surged through Lily, and all they could emote was a soft smile from the insults. “I… I think that makes sense.”

“Aw, look, you can learn!” Lily giggled at the comment, before Magnolia coughed and continued. “The way you convinced me was how you did yesterday. I was so proud and oh so pleased.”

“Y-yesterday? Mistress, but… I failed,” Lily’s face fell. “I had to bow out, and – and I embarrassed you, and–”

“Quiet, plaything. I wasn’t done, and you should know that if I say something, it’s doctrine to you. So don’t reject my celebration of you, understood?” She didn’t wait for a ‘yes Mistress’, and simply continued. “You didn’t embarrass me. In fact, after you left, most people complimented you, and commended me for training you so well. Of course, Indigo and her lackeys were so out of control that they all thanked us for driving them away,” Magnolia laughed, clearly happy recalling the memory. If inflicting pain on Lily was her #1 joy, spite for her enemies was her #2.

“Your decision to safeword showed that you knew your limits and didn’t push yourself to the point of being an ineffective submissive. You pushed yourself, yes, but you also knew when your sense of submission would start falling apart. So yes. I think you’re ready to continue. Again, with some… modifications.”

Lily didn’t notice themself tearing up. Nor did they notice their hand instinctively go up to wipe away their tears. But Magnolia was faster, and gently lifted her finger against the edge of their eyelid. She then licked it off her finger. All of Lily’s tears were a dessert for her. Somehow, that realization made Lily feel whole.

“I- I can’t wait, Mistress,” Lily smiled softly.

“Me neither. You will be perfect, Lily. You will.” Magnolia allowed that moment, that sensation, to sit for a bit, before segueing to the main point. “Anyhow. Here, for you, plaything.”

She revealed something she’d been holding onto since she joined them at breakfast. Lily didn’t even notice she was holding anything. The package looked like it had a book – was it some kind of self-help book for anxious submissives? Magnolia handed it to Lily, who’d bowed their head and graciously accepted it. Using the tips of their fingers and fingernails gently, they opened the package. Sure enough, a book sat inside the wrapping paper. A journal, specifically.

Curious, but cautious, Lily picked up the book and looked through the first few pages. It looked custom-made, somehow? The first few pages were actually inserts of sheet protectors. Inside, pages with meticulously described instructions.

The journal was… mostly blank. But the soft floral illustrations and elegant gold leaf made Lily believe this wasn’t any old notebook. Sure enough, about halfway in, the blank pages switched to a series of guided prompts — a set of “what I did wrong”, “what I’ll do better”, “what was challenging about today’s ritual”, “why I love my Mistress”, and then a set of ritual-specific notes… the journal was quite sizable, too, so the silent implication was that Lily would spend lots and lots of time in between its pages.

They almost closed the notebook, but then something caught their eyes on the inside front cover—

A set of rules, which their Mistress began explaining just as they were about to read them. “I want you to spend at least fifteen minutes a day writing. Actually, to clarify so you don’t get confused- that’s an order. You can spend more, of course, unless of course you’re in the middle of a ritual, or you’re tending to me, or you have some other kind of responsibility.”

“So… minimum fifteen? And uh, of course, not to be done when I’m — when I’m supposed to do something else?”

“Yes. Good to see you catching on quickly, plaything,” Magnolia spoke with a satisfied grin. “And of course, know well that I’ll have access to it. Just like I have access to all your thoughts and secrets, you know?”

Lily flushed a bright scarlet. “O-of course, Mistress.”

Good to know… so I don’t write anything angry, and… well… Wait, why would I even write something angry? Lily wanted to dismiss that question as a foolish one, but they two had more arguments in the past few months than the past five years. Lily shook their head lightly.

“Of course, I won’t go looking through your thoughts every second of every day — but if I feel like taking a peek at my plaything’s head on a random Tuesday… well, I’ll just hope I won’t have caught you on a bad day,” Magnolia chuckled.

Lily held the journal close to their chest. “O-of course, Mistress.”

”Happy to have started this on a day where you’re particularly lucid, plaything,” Magnolia teased. “Continuing: I’m also going to check in with you more frequently. I’ve assumed you to be pliant enough to share with me when you are struggling, but I guess you’re nowadays more like a cat than a dog? You prefer to hide your pain from me, even to your detriment.” Lily… supposed? They never thought of themself that way; if anything, they always hated how they wore their heart on their sleeve. Maybe that was the reason for the change? Leave it up to Mistress to understand Lily better than themself.

“Oh, I love that confused, stupid look on your face, Lily — but I’m not done, so pay attention, understood?”

Lily was brought out of their internal monologue into the light. “Ah - I’m so sorry, Mistress!”

“Much better, but one small correction,” Magnolia cooed, “You see, when I correct you, say thank you. When I praise you, say thank you. You don’t need to apologize if you haven’t disappointed or disobeyed me. You are allowed to ask clarifying questions, and to ask ‘why?’ Forget how I told you that you were forbidden from doing so; those are no longer my orders. Since I know your poor brain cells overheat trying to remember all the instructions. Understood?”

“Yes, Mistress.” Lily couldn’t say their brain wasn’t overheating having all this dropped on them first thing.

Lily hadn’t even realized they hadn’t touched their food until they looked up and saw Mistress almost done with her food. Not wanting to let the food go cold, they nibbled at their breakfast as Magnolia continued. “I’ll check in with you every now and then. And though you know better than to lie to me, you’ve had a couple lapses in the past couple months, so I want to remind you that I will know when you’re lying. I know your body language well enough to know when you’re being dishonest. And if you think you’ll be punished for telling me the truth, well… just imagine the punishment for lying being tenfold as horrendous. Do you understand what I mean, plaything?”

Lily nodded frantically. “Y-yes, Mistress! And I’m sorry I’ve been lying, I’m—”

Magnolia just put a finger to Lily’s lips; Lily shut up at a record speed. “Don’t apologize. You’ll have plenty of time to be rehabilitated. Besides, who knows? If I’m feeling generous, perhaps I’ll even reward you for telling the truth. Depends how I feel. But whether or not you are praised for telling me the truth, you can rest assured you will be punished for lying.”

She didn’t even give Lily a moment to acknowledge her demands; Mistress just continued to the next point. It seemed that Magnolia had plenty to go over with Lily. Lily was only hoping they could take it all in and not forget anything.

“Plaything. What do you think is the point of protocol training?”

Lily blinked. It took a moment for them to realize they’d been asked something, but their Mistress’s question had to be answered, of course. They gathered themself, stammered for a bit, and made an educated guess. “Um… to show obedience?”

Magnolia shook her head. “They’re a good opportunity for it, but there are far better opportunities to do so. Protocols are expected. You wouldn’t praise an employee for clocking in on time, would you?”

“Uh…” To be fair, Lily didn’t know. They never had employees, so that metaphor was far more relevant to their Mistress. “I-I guess so, Mistress. Then, um… uhh…”

A long moment of silence hung between them, Lily trying to rub their two brain cells together hard enough to generate a better answer. Magnolia simply looked at them with bemusement, head in her hands, wistfulness in her eyes. “Don’t worry, plaything. I don’t want you to give yourself a headache. Protocols are there as your rock. Your bottom line. Your expectations for yourself.”

Lily tried to process that. “Um… I’m afraid I don’t understand, Mistress.”

“Don’t worry; that stupid look on your face is enough to satisfy me regardless. Right now, nothing makes sense. You’re confused. I’m confused. And to do any kind of service properly, you need to be grounded. Protocols give you that. When nothing makes sense, you will have your protocols. You will be confused and in the middle of a hurricane, and at a loss for what to do — and then you turn to your protocols. Those are what you do. Your answer to the chaos in your life. Not just in this moment, but next year, and the year after, and forever. And soon enough, you’ll do them enough times that it simply becomes a part of you. You won’t be able to wake up properly without doing your morning rituals. And if you try to sleep before your evening rituals, it simply feels wrong. Does that make sense?”

Yes. That made a lot more sense. The reminder of the chaos they were going through hurt, along with the knowledge that it led to their protocol training falling apart. But they’d proven themself. And Lily was determined to keep proving themself.

After yapping for what felt like hours, and after Lily finished their food, Magnolia finished her speech. “So that’s that, plaything. There are inserts for your old rituals in there, but know they’ll be replaced as I adjust the ritual. And now I must go to work, sadly.”

Lily smiled lightly. “I’ll welcome you back, Mistress. I can’t… I can’t wait.”

“So eager and ready to serve. That’s the plaything I know. Oh, before I leave…”

Magnolia got up, walked behind Lily, pressed their shoulders down to signal they should stay in the chair. Her lips to their ear, she set Lily’s world ablaze with three simple words—

“Fill. Fill. Fill.”

Lily didn’t have time to see their Mistress off. Setting off the trigger made them choke on the imaginary tendrils fucking their throat and adjust their body to the tendrils fucking their pussy until it bled, ghostcum fertilizing them, making their mind a blank slate for a mere few seconds. And then it happened again. And again.

The last thing Lily saw before losing themself to the pleasure was their Mistress blowing them a kiss and skipping out of the house, sheer bliss thinking about how much control she had over one human’s mind.

~~~

Lily almost fell unconscious once the trigger was done destroying their body. It didn’t matter that they were on the hardwood floor; the adrenaline crash made sleeping there feasible. Regardless, Lily wasn’t one to enjoy midday naps, so they stumbled to their feet and tried to figure out what to do with their time. They supposed they could tidy up a bit, but the house was already immaculate, and Lily didn’t enjoy redoing chores needlessly.

They supposed it wouldn’t hurt to get started on the journal. After all, it was a new ritual, something Lily had been praying for, not to mention a way to prove themself to Mistress. Something they’d been wanting, craving, needing to do for longer than it actually has been.

Time felt so slow to them these days. Seconds turned to minutes, minutes to hours, hours to days, days to weeks.

They sat back down at the table, picking up the fountain pen that surely cost at least three figures. The first few pages were their rituals, written out clearly, in almost excessive details. Lily reread them. The morning ritual, the evening ritual and–

The “Welcome Home, Mistress” ritual? Lily narrowed their eyes in confusion. Unless they were losing time again – not entirely improbable – they didn’t think they learned such a ritual. And upon reading it closer, they confirmed they definitely didn’t learn it. Using the fountain pen as a pointer to guide them, they murmured the ritual.

“When Mistress gets home (she will always provide advance notice), Lily has to stop what they’re doing, kneel in front of her, kiss both of her boots on the tip, and lower their head to the floor. They have to say - ‘I am at your service, your beck and call; I only live to obey Mistress and follow her direction. How may I serve you in this moment, Mistress?’ If Mistress’s request is immediate, they must do that at the moment. Lily must be allowed to look up.”

It didn’t seem too difficult. Besides, Magnolia would be gone for most of the day, giving them plenty of time to practice. Especially the mantra; if Lily was worried about anything, it was remembering the exact wording. The fact it was worded as a quote meant Magnolia would most likely not accept diversions or mistakes. And Lily was most certainly not in the mood to mess up their new ritual, not for the first time, not ever.

Bringing the journal with them, Lily made themself to the front door. Kneel. Lower head. And mantra.

“I am your service, I only live– no,” Lily murmured, looking at the mantra again. They read it again, and again, and again, and then tried again, and again, and again. Over and over, they got something wrong, fixed something else, rinsed, washed, and repeated. And yet, Lily continued. They had to. Motivation burned within them. Their memory might have been nearly nonfunctional, but they had to overcome it.

This was an order from Mistress.

There was no other option.

When repeating it verbally led them to a wall, Lily decided to change up their tactics. They pulled out the journal and, still on their knees, wrote the mantra. Then wrote it again. Wrote it as they spoke it. Wrote and spoke. Spoke and wrote.

They filled nearly two pages. Then three. Finally, Lily’s mind conjured up – maybe Mistress wouldn’t be pleased if this was how they spent the pages of their journal? Would she care? If she did, would they be punished? Lily shook their head. They were almost certainly – no, definitely – overthinking this. And yet, that fear, that need to please, that need to obey deterred them.

They got back to speaking the mantra. All they did the whole day was practice, practice, practice. Until their throat was sore. Until their knees hurt from kneeling for so long.

They had to be perfect.

Perfect for Mistress.

~~~

Lily looked at the clock, waiting with baited breath. They gripped their wrist nervously – they were doing that a lot, weren’t they? It was probably bad for them. Their whole day had been spent practicing. Once the clock hit five minutes before 6pm, they made their way to the door, got in the position, and waited.

They didn’t know how long they waited. But their eyes were glued to the ground. Their ears listening for Mistress’s footsteps. Lily feared that if they looked up, it would be seconds before their Mistress got home, and they would get punished, and then they’d be a failure, and then they’d probably die like they deser–

Just before Lily could spiral even more than they already were, the long awaited footsteps sounded. Lily fixed their posture, making it perfect on every inch.

A pause. Then the door opened. Ah, her perfume smelled so good… and her boots were so clean. She must have expected them to prepare for the mantra. They swore they heard her sigh in pleasure.

Lily kissed the left boot. Then the right.

Then, the moment of truth.

“I am at your service, your beck and call,” Lily started, enunciating each syllable, and continued. “I only live to obey Mistress and…”

Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit. Lily stammered, trying to find the words, it was right there, on the tip of their tongue, like a scratch they couldn’t reach –

The boot stomped onto their hand. Lily screamed sharply, gritting through their teeth in pain.

“A good start, plaything,” she murmured, “try again.”

Her boot dug deeper into Lily’s hand. She was careful not to break anything. Lily knew she wouldn’t; after all, Lily couldn’t serve her properly with a broken hand.

“I am at your service, your beck and call; I live only to obey Mistress and… follow her direction.”

Thank god. They were almost done. Who knew memorizing three sentences could be so exhausting? Well, Lily knew their IQ was nothing to brag about.

“How may I please you today, Mistress?”

Lily realized their mistake as soon as they finished. Magnolia took her boot off their hand. Lily’s stomach sunk. Did they fail? Were they going to be–

Lily’s fears were cut short as the next place Mistress stepped on was their skull. They wept and choked from the pain, pain that felt oh so sweet, so reassuring.

“Again,” Magnolia ordered.

They obeyed.

The mantra came out clearer.

“I am at your service, your beck and call; I live only to obey Mistress and follow her direction. How may I… serve you in this moment? Mistress?”

“So close,” Magnolia gritted through her teeth, digging her shoe deeper. “I know this many words must be so, so hard for your tiny brain to hold. But you can. You must. Again.”

Lily didn’t need to be told twice.

Finally, they got it right.

“I am at your service, your beck and call; I live only to obey Mistress and follow her direction. How may I serve you in this moment, Mistress?”

Magnolia finally removed her boot from their head. Lily sighed in relief. “There you go. I expect you to improve your memory on that, but otherwise, an admirable job. Once again, you passed the test. Good to know you were looking through my gift,” she purred, filling Lily with butterflies, ecstasy, and a reminder of the joy of service.

They lifted their head, giving Mistress a wide, dopey, broken smile. “Th-thank you, Mistress.”

Magnolia’s face twisted in frustration.

Lily’s heart sank.

They realized what they did wrong.

Oh, no.

That was the one thing they weren’t worried about. Lily was about to put their face back down to the floor, but Magnolia used the tip of her boot to keep their face towards her.

“What’s this? You thought you didn’t need my permission to look up? How foolish of you, slave.”

“N-no, Mistress! I’m sorry, Mis–”

“Shut up, plaything. I know what I saw. I saw your disobedience for the mistake it was.”

Lily’s face twisted in fear, Magnolia’s eyes burning into their soul.

“Don’t you worry,” she said with a sickly sweet tone. One that made Lily know, for sure, as certain as they could be, that they fucked up. And they were about to be punished severely.

“I’ll fix you, my lovely, loyal Lily.”

And just like that, Lily’s protests died in their throat. Lily’s mind shut off like a lightbulb that had burned itself out. The fire in their soul snuffed out.

And they fell into trance, distantly hearing themself apologize to Mistress.

~~~

The last thing Lily remembered was begging for mercy after they just had to fuck up the last piece of the ritual. Classic Lily. And now they were chained to the bed, Mistress towering over them, them wearing naught but an open hoodie. The cold air licked their skin, making them shiver – or maybe they shivered from fear. She held something in her hands, and Lily tried to squint and see, but—

Lily was too late. The item— a sensory hood? – was forced over their face. The blindfold shut out any visual knowledge of what was happening, but they could still hear the ticking clock, their own labored breathing, their intense frightful heartbeat. They could still feel the cold air, the bed they so desperately wanted to sink into. And they could still talk. Not that they would, even if they wished so badly to shower Mistress with apologies and begs for mercy. They didn’t need another reason to get punished.

How long was it? They had no idea. However long they thought it was, it was most likely longer. Even overestimating the time passed often gave them wrong estimates.

“What’s your mantra?” Magnolia asked. They could hear the sound of wood slapping against her palm. The cane, surely. Lily instinctively tried to shrink into a ball, to protect themself against the abuse they were surely going to face. But the chains…

“Which… which one, Mistress?” It was a reasonable question. Lily didn’t want to give the wrong answer. But asking was the wrong choice. The cane slammed into their stomach, tip first, making whatever breath Lily was holding vanish instantly.

“You know the answer.” Magnolia’s irritation was clearer than a cloudless night. “What’s. Your. Mantra?”

She was right. Lily knew. They were stupid for thinking, even for a second, that they needed clarification. So they started.”

“I am at your service, your beck and call; I live only to obey Mistress–”

They faltered in their words as they felt something clasp over their ears. All noise faded away as if it never existed in the first place. They heard a crack of static, and then Mistress’s voice in every direction, every decibel, every tune.

“Keep going.” The threat was clear through the headphones, and through the tip of the cane as it sank deeper into Lily’s abdomen.

“-- and follow her direction. How may I serve you in this moment, Mistress?”

The ways Lily could serve her weren’t plentiful, to say the least.

And then a single word, a word that filled their head, their consciousness, took even that thought away.

“Fill.”

Lily didn’t think their mind could break anymore than it had, especially not since Mistress had given them the trigger. Although very, very distant, Lily knew what to expect, even as their body thrashed in the chains, as they screamed and begged and sobbed. They couldn’t use their arms to protect their stomach and they couldn’t close their legs by even an inch. But they knew. Three seconds in, the tendrils would stop destroying their insides and another kind of torment would start.

One.

Two.

Three.

…

Lily continued thrashing, weeping louder, begging more viciously. It was three seconds, right? It was. It had to be. The shock of the first phase lasting longer, much longer, than usual overrode their critical thinking. By the point they realized something was wrong, the trigger would have ended.

“Confused, are you? I suppose I can’t blame you and your feeble mind this time,” Magnolia chuckled, still speaking to Lily through the headphones. They couldn’t even hear their own screaming. “I put something in your brain that makes time run slower. Dilated, if you will.”

“Wh-wha…” Lily tried to ask for clarification, but they were stopped by the phase finally shifting, their entire being suffused with fluids. They had no idea how long it had been.

“You’ll still be able to hear me in my usual voice, naturally,” Magnolia continued, and Lily could hear the sadistic smirk in her voice. “But call this efficiency. I can punish you more and more, and time moves as slowly as your mind. If you truly need to know, though, it’s been a full minute. Perhaps I should make it slower?” Lily shook their head vigorously in protest, but their Mistress just laughed in some kind of sick joy as the trigger slowed, only growing more intense, so intense that Lily didn’t even know what to think, how to think. “Ah, seeing you cry is so beautiful. I should really do this more often, but we’ll cross that bridge later. For now, we have your retraining to get through.”

“N-” Lily was about to protest, but then choked as they felt something go into their mouth. Lily recognized the shape, the size, and the wrinkles as their Mistress’s shaft, but it wasn’t nearly as warm, nor did they taste any of the succulent cum that they craved so desperately. It wasn’t her. They weren’t suddenly stuffed with her member; not in that moment, at least. Lily tried to beg for mercy, but couldn’t get past the gag, and the clasp seemed to be locked tight.

No sight, no sound, and now no way to talk. With each sense taken from Lily, they convulsed from the trigger even harder. At some point in the past, Lily knew that they weren’t actually getting relentlessly bred. Lily knew it was just an illusion. But now it was so real. It lasted so long. They questioned their own sense of reality. They didn’t even know if they could trust themself to tell falsehood from truth with any semblance of accuracy.

The depth of that realization stayed with them as the cum formed, slowly, so slowly, into a new life. Lily knew to expect how long it would take for their body to be theirs again. Vacant again. Correct again. But that feeble stability was shattered as the seconds turned to dozens of seconds turned to minutes. They sobbed. They wept. They prayed that Mistress would find mercy within her; that she would forgive them and release them of that suffering. But she wouldn’t.

They knew she wouldn’t.

The trigger continued for far too long. Even though it had been used once, once too many times, Lily felt as if their Mistress had been shouting that one horrific, innocuous word at them so loudly, over and over, across an entire century.

And just as it ended, just as Lily had grown accustomed to being empty once more, Magnolia wasted no millisecond extra.

The static of the headphones cracked. Their stomach dropped in terror.

F

I

L

L

Once again, Lily thrashed, the real unreal tentacles and tendrils pounding into their body once more.

Past that devastation, Lily felt one uncharacteristically soft touch.

Their Mistress dragged the tips of her third and tiny finger across their stomach, and suddenly, another trigger yet unknown to Lily tripped up. The sensation of their Mistress’s fingers vanished. In fact, all sensations vanished. The only thing they felt was the pounding in their cunt, followed by being overfilled with cum, followed by their body being stolen, used as an incubator, followed by the horrifically empty feeling, a feeling that wrecked them emotionally and physically.

And the fact they could only feel those sensations made them all the more excruciating.

Despite that – no, because of that – their Mistress saw an opportunity to torment Lily. To make their blunder one they’d never forget. To make their mistake one they’d associate with pain, terror, abuse. “You stopped saying your mantra,” their Mistress commented through the headphones. “Why? It’s not like I ordered you to stop. You seem to be forgetting the most vital lesson of all – the lesson that I own you, you follow me, you obey me, above everything else.”

Lily tried to protest her criticisms. But everything was muffled by the gag. Whether they apologized, pleaded for mercy, or just gave an affirmative and went back to repeating their mantra… it didn’t matter. Their voice was muffled all the same, even if their voice was ready to obey.

As their body thrashed around, they tilted their head to try to wrangle out of the sensory hood. That made the realization they’d been spilling tears all that much more devastating.

The trigger came again. Again. Over. And. Over. Before Lily was done with the first usage, the first phase even. The thrusts blurred together with the cum and the invasion and the emptiness. It blurred into a sickening mixture from their worst nightmares.

It almost felt samey. And then, almost on cue, their Mistress ruined that newfound sense of normalcy. Another shaft entered them violently, one they felt exponentially more intensely than the others. It eclipsed every tendril. Every tentacle. Every massive hyper-sized dick. Their Mistress’s cock felt more real, more beautifully devastating than everything else.

Except, something was wrong.

“I won’t be done with you,” Magnolia huffed, her voice low. Her cock was lodged deep in Lily, adding to the chaos, muddling their mind with pleasure and pain and a feeling of near-combustion. She was stuck, stuck deep in Lily. Even if she wanted to decouple from Lily’s body, not even their Mistress could.

Was this what being knotted felt like?

She couldn’t exit - all she could do… all she wanted to do… was thrust deeper. They felt themself splitting in half. Their Mistress hitting depths they didn’t even know they had. Their Mistress overpowering every other massive object or genitalia fucking them to near-death. Their Mistress, oh, their Mistress.

Lily had no idea what was going on. But a tiny part of them, in between brutal breedings and theft of their body inside and out, knew that this was hell.

~~~

When their Mistress took the sensory hood off of Lily, after unlocking its many clasps, they became starkly aware of how they must have looked.

With their hearing, sight, and sense of touch restored, they could feel the full extent of the damage. Their eyes were sore from crying, dried tears coating their temples with a thin film. Their throat was completely sore from screaming, repeating their mantra, or gasping in agony. Their voice was a mere croak when it came out.

Magnolia must have anticipated it. She was ready with a warm, moist towel to wipe up the dross on their face. Their Mistress didn’t need the towel for Lily to know they were safe now. To know they were punished, and thus were forgiven.

Her warm touch was enough. She gave tacit permission for Lily to just lay there silent, motionless, to process all that just happened.

They sobbed. They wept. And somehow, this was the happiest they’ve been in a long time.

~~~

It was almost on cue. Lily hated the fact they expected these messages, but they were coming so often. At the very least, the anonymous number would text after bedtime, when Magnolia couldn’t see.

The phone buzzed. A text message, definitely. Lily’s heart sank, and they were too tired to deal with this bullshit, but they grabbed the phone, and opened it.

Their worst fears were confirmed.

> UNKNOWN: Magnolia doesn’t want you. She’d never truly want to own someone like you. If you were being honest with yourself, you’d know that.

The way she typed… well, it sent shivers down Lily’s spine, for sure. But it also spoke with some level of… knowledge. She knew Magnolia, of course. And she had an idea of Lily’s relationship with Magnolia, and perhaps of their recent transgressions?

Who could it be?

As they thought back over the past few weeks – reluctantly, knowing they had to think more about it in the coming days, with their coming tests, one face popped into their mind. And Lily’s eyes went wide with horror.

Indigo.

There was no mistaking it. Indigo had been antagonizing Lily since they met. And the dinner showed that she knew Magnolia; and it wasn’t a stretch to say they disliked each other. It was Indigo. Indigo was the one sending such hateful words their way.

Right?

Lily tried to temper their anger. They could figure it out later. Lily glanced over to Magnolia, who was fast asleep - thank god.

Who knew how Mistress would respond. But Lily could keep this secret… right?

Ugh. They didn’t know! Nothing made sense. But before their Mistress could wake up, Lily turned their phone on silent, and curled up next to their Mistress. Magnolia, in her sleep, put her arms around Lily and clutched them tight to her.

Right. This was safe. Lily was safe, here.

Magnolia wanted them. And she wanted to own them. Mental and physical issues and all. Even if their body wanted them dead, their beloved Mistress didn’t. So they’d live.

That’s what Lily kept telling themself as they fell asleep, fighting off an unpleasant sensation in their gut.