Days passed.

Lily had taken shelter in the guest room. Each time Magnolia managed to peak into the room, it was pitch black. Their noise cancelling headphones, usually used as a sensory deprivation toy, were glued to their ears. When she tried to turn on the lights, Lily went and hid under the bed sheets. They could barely talk, but they did manage to get out a flood of croaky apologies and begs for forgiveness. Hell, even cracking the door a little bit to let the light in made them flinch as if she were about to hit them. Any sort of sensory input, no matter how subtle, soft, or pleasant, sent Lily into an anxious frenzy.

Their Mistress was never great in these situations. So she let them be.

She left meals outside of the guest room and told them to eat. The first few meals, the food had been touched but not actually eaten. When she took on her role and more sternly ordered them to eat, they only managed to nibble a little. They texted her with a simple "I'm sorry, Mistress", and she didn't force the issue. It was usually a coin toss whether Lily would eat at all. Who knew coin tosses would haunt both of them so much.

What the fuck had happened to them?

Yes, Magnolia knew of their trauma history and how it might affect any medical tests they'd need now. Yes, Magnolia understood what each test was, what it involved, and what sensations might occur. She might not have understood all of it, but she knew.

Lily was... Lily wasn't easily shaken by things like this. Not usually, anyways.

Had they simply reached their breaking point?

She supposed it wouldn't be completely unreasonable. If Lily's Lynch syndrome diagnosis was stressful for Magnolia, she only knew a fraction of the distress Lily was going through. Terrifying diagnoses threw wrenches in people's lives. That's what they were so notorious for. And oh dear god did they live up to that reputation. It was nothing Magnolia could possibly be prepared for, let alone Lily themself.

Invasive tests. Tests that forced them to relive their trauma. Fear, anxiety, and dread to their highest degree. In a way, Magnolia had never considered how difficult this all was for them.

Protocol training was once again off the table. Not that it was Magnolia's biggest concern. It was only a way to get them ready for the D/s pageant, and Magnolia had already given up on that. It stung, yes. She staked her pride on this. It was a focus point for both of them in realigning their dynamic. But it wasn't the end of the world, and it certainly wasn't something she'd sacrifice Lily's well-being over. Besides, they had lost so much time to grief and processing that they weren't going to pass the first round, even if they wanted to.

If anything, she felt bad for Lily. They were beating themself up more than her. Which wasn't fair, because Lily was hers, and they shouldn't be hurting her property.

All Magnolia wanted was something out of them. Anything. She didn't really care. Lily could insult her -- not that they would -- and she'd be elated just to see them well enough to do so. (Right before beating them senseless as a consequence.) Eventually, she got a text out of the blue. Lily had texted her out of nowhere during work, a cryptic thing.

it feels like i've. been set ablaze, Mistress

Magnolia lifted an eyebrow. Obviously, the house wasn't on actual fire; so Lily was most likely referring to their deteriorating mental state.

Tell me more, plaything.

They didn't reply. Perhaps they had gone to sleep again. Perhaps they had merely felt bad. Perhaps they didn't know what to say. Magnolia sighed, put it out of her mind, and got back to work. In a minimized window was a series of tabs on how to support submissives going through trauma. Magnolia liked to think she knew all the BDSM manuals cover-to-cover, but she supposed there was no harm in reviewing the basics of the basics.

The last time this happened was to a far, far less serious extent. Sure, Lily being unable to be touched after running into their molester was... inconvenient and worrying, for lack of better words. But this Lily couldn't even function. They were barely the same person; merely a shell of the submissive Magnolia had bought, cherished, trained, loved --

Thinking about the past brought up a question -- no, a revelation that Magnolia would have never considered.

Was that actually Lily?

Kassandra did get scared occasionally, but not to the extent Lily did. If it was Chain, he would have attacked the nurses, all the equipment, and then Magnolia, while cackling like a maniac. Given the situation, it would be far from a surprise for Lily's psyche to fracture once more.

Shit. Shit shit shit shit. How did she not see that? And to boot, she had no idea how to approach it. Fuck! Fuck! Why was she so fucking useless?! This wasn't right, none of this made sense!

When Magnolia realized she was about to pointlessly rage at nothing, she stopped herself. Chain and Kassandra both existed long before Magnolia and Lily met. She had the general gist of how they formed, but if Lily had a new part, it was for completely new circumstances.

As much power as Magnolia had over them, she was useless here. Any sort of internet search only pulled up surface-level information or mundane advice such as "try yoga", "breathe deeply", "touch grass"... she despised admitting it, but she was at a complete loss. Another forceful hit to her pride.

Surely she knew a doctor who she could force an NDA on and help Lily, or a therapist she could pay into silence to pull them out, anyone, fuck, anyone.

Aiden - M/s conference

Magnolia stopped scrolling through her contacts. Aiden, the trans dominant she met at the kink event, who was involved in the D/s pageant. She didn’t know how well he knew of matters concerning plurality or mental health or genetic cancer. But he was someone, and she got the feeling she didn’t know anyone much more reliable in this situation.

One dominant called another. Magnolia always felt texts asking for permission to call were a waste of everyone’s time. If Aiden couldn’t pick up, she could just leave a voice mail, and one of them could text as a follow up if need be.

Ring ring ring

Ring ring ring

Ring ring ring

Ring ring ring

For a while, it seemed Aiden wasn't going to pick up. The more it rang, the antsier she got, the more she was tempted to just hang up.

But just before she did -- "Magnolia? Is everything alright?"

"Hello, Aiden," Magnolia replied. "Yes, everything's… well, I was hoping to ask your... advice on something, as a dominant. Is it a good time for you?"

"Oh! Of course. Yes, give me one moment, I'll move myself to a quiet space."

"Of course. Thank you very much for making time for me, Aiden."

She heard some shuffling in the background, and Magnolia took the opportunity to readjust herself and have a sip of water. Her hands shook. Before long, Aiden answered the call for real that time.

"So what's going on? How can I help?"

"It's about Lily," Magnolia replied, figuring out the best way to broach the topic. "Things have been... rough as of late, due to various factors out of our control, and our dynamic has been suffering for it. More importantly, they have."

Aiden hummed, "I'm sorry to do that. Would you be willing to tell me more? As much as you feel comfortable with, of course."

Magnolia took a quiet inhale, gathering her thoughts, and beginning her spiel. "They..."

A part of Magnolia didn't want to share. It would be without Lily's permission. But she gulped down that hesitation in full. This was a crisis, and it wasn't like Lily could veto Magnolia's decisions. Lily knew Magnolia had that power and (she hoped they knew that) Lily could trust her with that power. And if they didn't, she'd make them.

She guessed this was the reminder she was given.

Aiden didn't need to know everything. Besides, he already knew because of Indigo's loud fucking mouth. But Magnolia had regaled him with a retelling of the past... however long since Lily's diagnosis. She kept needing to back up to explain their dissociative identity disorder, their trauma, their family history... each bit made her feel a little more guilty each time.

But she trudged on. Did this make her a bad person? A bad partner? Maybe. But she acted within the confines of their relationship agreement.

Finally, after about 15 minutes of sheer exposition, Aiden sighed with empathy. "I'm so sorry both of you are going through that. I had no idea. How are you holding up?"

Her? She was surprised to be asked about herself at all, especially after doing something usually terrible to do in relationships. She only took a fraction of a second before replying – "I... I'm alright. Thank you for asking. I'm more concerned about Lily."

"I understand," Aiden replied. "Just make sure you carve time out for yourself. You can't help Lily if you yourself are in crisis too, after all. Especially as a dominant."

"I... thank you very much," Magnolia replied, thrown off a little. The way he was speaking made her think he knew more about this sort of situation than he was letting on, but she could ask more questions later on. Not that it was particularly her business. "What do you suppose I should do?"

Aiden hummed, thinking on that. "I'm not too aware of your relationship, so I can only speak from my experience, from helping Ruby in crises during a 24/7 relationship."

"That's fine," Magnolia nodded, "whatever you have helps."

Aiden made some more vague sounds of contemplation. It took a hot minute before he continued, "Well, I really don't recommend you continue protocol training, this sort of overhaul of your dynamic. It's unfortunate that Lily's diagnosis came so soon after you started training, but it's the right thing to do." Magnolia stifled a sigh; she knew that was the answer, but it still hurt.

"It's not like Lily is the only one like that, though. No sub would be able to be properly trained under that sort of strain - on both the dominant and the submissive. Otherwise, they'll associate training with that grief, and it'll only get worse during both punishments and rewards."

Magnolia suppressed an cough. "I suppose that makes sense. The most important thing is that I'm there for Lily right now, is it?"

"Well..." Aiden murmured as he tried to figure out the words. "That's true, yeah, but more so you should keep your current dynamic in tact. Perhaps go back to the basics. What would you have done in the past?"

How distantly in the past? Last time something like this happened, Magnolia decided the best course of action was abandoning Lily for not being able to be touched. It was a moment she was not proud of. She wasn't inclined to repeat that past.

But...

Perhaps she'd gotten so tolerant of Lily's disobedience. Even if it was under mental strain, she had given them too much leeway. The night they ran away should have been the night where she beat them relentlessly. Being told off by them should have been met with swift punishment, a series of slaps to their cheeks perhaps. When Lily fought back about Magnolia pausing their training, she should have kept them strapped to a fucking machine attached to a gallon of fake cum. So many opportunities to truly crack down and remind them that no matter how much hell they were going through, they had to obey her. The lack of leeway gave Lily the opportunity to fall apart further and further as her hold on them softened.

Even when she tried to train Lily, they missed the rituals quite often. They weren't ready because they lost sight of the basics. The basics of the reason for existing.

To obey.

The core of their relationship relied on Lily's obedience. Without it, they both fell apart.

"Thank you, Aiden," Magnolia said, "I know what to do now. I'm very grateful to you for sharing your insights."

Aiden's smile was audible over the phone. "But of course! That's what companions are for. Lifestyle Doms gotta stick together. Call me anytime."

"Of course." Now resolved, Magnolia's shoulders softened and her posture fixed in the chair. "It is a shame I won't be able to attempt the D/s pageant. I suppose it would be prudent to at least see if we can go as attendees."

"Why not? You can still attempt it," Aiden said casually. "Worse that happens is that you don't pass and try again next year. It's not the end of the world, or... apologies for being blunt, but not a problem nearly as heavy as Lily's."

Magnolia scoffed lightly; not nearly loudly enough to have the phone pick it up. There was no need to be rude to Aiden. She could save that pent up passive aggression for her subordinates at work and/or Lily. "It feels as though there's no point if I know we are going to lose. Does it not feel more worthwhile to take care of Lily?"

"Sure it does. But you never know until you try. I can't promise you'll make it past any of the rounds, let alone win. But if you don't, you can learn from yourself, and try again. There's no rush. It’s not as if losing means your dynamic is dysfunctional, too. Me and Ruby lost a bunch of times.”

Magnolia blinked. “You… have?”

“Oh, yes,” Aiden replied with a giggle. “Only one year we made it to the semi-finals. The rest, we didn’t pass the first round.”

She ... never considered that. When thinking about it, that made no sense of her. If she lost, she could always train Lily harder and enter again. It provided a consistent goal if they lost, a moving goal post of sorts, and it would ensure she always had some new way to mold Lily's mind.

And that was only considering how it worked within their dynamic; letting go of the pressure to pass the first round (let alone win) would also Lily the rest they so clearly needed.

Magnolia had been so blinded by making their dynamic fit around the tournament and around Lily's diagnosis; she completely missed how she could fit those things within the pre-defined constraints. They didn't need a renovation of their relationship, new rules to their dynamic. The instability of change only made the situation worse.

"My head feels a lot more clear. It sounds to me you've been in a similar situation, but it’s not my place to pry. I'm eternally grateful to you for sharing your insight."

Aiden laughed lightly. "Don't mention it. Things get hard for us dominants, too. It'd be wrong of me to keep it to myself, especially when I see someone like me in need."

Magnolia knew what she had to do next.

When Magnolia hung up the call, a fire burned in her chest. Whether or not she could help Lily, or whether or not intervening in Lily’s mental health as a dominant was counterproductive, none of that changed the central fact of their relationship.

Magnolia owned them, completely and entirely. It didn’t matter if her orders would make Lily better her worse. They were orders.

And orders were meant to be followed.

There was good reason for Magnolia to embrace playing the villain, if it would force Lily to shape up. They could worry about medical tests and how to go about them later. This was a crisis, and Magnolia needed to act with the authority she had.

Lily wasn't eating, wasn't drinking water, wasn't sleeping great, and was in a perpetual state of distress. The longer she waited, the more damage it would do -- not just on Lily's mind, but on their body.

Their body was a temple to her. Her temple. She wouldn't allow them to desecrate it.

Was she the villain? Maybe. Maybe she lost her humanity long ago, at the auction, even before she laid eyes upon them at that market. But the fact remained. She owned Lily. If Lily was broken, she needed to fix them.

Magnolia cracked the door open. Lily was curled into a ball, wincing at the soft light. At least they weren't asleep or crying. Lily was about as stable as she was going to get them. Perfect. She sauntered over to Lily despite their increasing shaking and anxiety, a new resolve in her steps. She was in control. She owned them. She had all the power over them.

That's why Magnolia was the only one who could do this.

Their Mistress had to prepare first, though. She placed the TV table on the ground in between her and Lily.

On top of it, an unscented candle. Lily felt as though they were ablaze? Magnolia would remind them what fire truly felt like.

Lily shifted a fraction.

“Freeze,” Magnolia said, preventing them from retrating any further back.

They were locked in place, that was for certain. Lily wasn't going to escape. The only reason they could twitch was because they would take drastic action otherwise. Gods, was Magnolia glad she put that trigger in them. Not only did they need it, Magnolia needed it more.

Looking through her pockets, she fished out a matchbox. Magnolia struck it once, twice, three times before the fire lit. The faint smell of smoke filled the room; luckily for Lily, she took out the fire alarm batteries. Unsafe, sure, but necessary this time. She knew this was sensory hell for Lily, but Lily wasn't going to get better by continuing to hide in darkness and silence.

Magnolia lit the candle, illuminating the two of them, enveloping them in a comfortable warmth together.

After putting out the match, Magnolia reached over Lily's temples, ignoring their shaking their head. With a swift motion, Magnolia removed the noise cancelling headphones. Now they could hear her even if they didn't want to.

Lily began to hyperventilate. The fear in their eyes lingered despite the trigger. Lily's mind may have been crumpling, but they were never going to be immune from Magnolia's control. In the future, she could wire the headphones to attach to a mic she'd carry. If she knew this was going to happen, she would have. That was a lesson for her and her alone.

Magnolia grabbed their hands. Lily shifted imperceptibly; no doubt they would be running along and hiding in the quietest corner if they could. The fact they could even move by a fraction was a testament in and of itself.

Their fast blinks slowed down. Their breathing became less shallow and far less erratic. Good. It was working.

"When I release you, you are going to sit still. I don't care how scared you are. I still own you. You're mine, forever. If you assumed you had a choice in how I fix you, in how I do anything to you, you were foolish to do so. And to reinforce that, I brought a little help."

Lily cocked their head, then their eyes widened in a different kind of horror when they saw the plastic cane she flashed to them. Magnolia grinned. Lily was reacting exactly how she expected, like the person they were before.

Lily didn't reply with words, though. Obviously. Magnolia had no idea what would happen next, but--

Snapping her fingers, she uttered, "release."

When Lily came to, they immediately shifted to run away, their face contorting in fear with their hands covered on their ears. But... when they saw Magnolia's annoyed expression, they immediately stilled, despite how much their body shifted and shook anxiously.

"That's better," Magnolia purred, "at the very least, you caught yourself before you could disobey me. Very smart of you, for once."

Lily's face calmed down, the fear on their face dissipating just a bit. Normal people wouldn’t take insults as forms of comfort, but Lily was abnormal, and they both knew.

How could Magnolia have even thought of comforting Lily like a normal person? Obviously that wouldn’t work. Thank god she snapped herself out of it.

"You don't have to speak. Just nod for yes and shake for no. I'll assume the honorific is added at the end."

Lily looked down and nodded slightly. Magnolia sighed and tapped the plastic rod lightly under their chin. Lily froze up, but Magnolia didn't need them to move. She just lifted their chin up, not waiting for permission.

"Eyes. On. Mine. Understood?"

Something in Lily clearly shifted. She could have sworn a bit of life had come back to their face, a neuron activating behind their eyes.

Just as something clicked for Lily, something clicked equally as sharply for Magnolia. She was overthinking all of this. Why was she so worried about how she could help Lily? She realized she wanted to save them. But there was no way to fix their messed up genetics; at least, no ethical way; and it would be unfair to both of them to believe that having Magnolia in their life would eventually cure Lily's PTSD. Magnolia wasn't omnipotent. She wasn't all-powerful nor all-knowing. But there was something she had: the unstoppable power to shape Lily's world.

For whatever reason, she hadn't seen that. But now she did, and she wouldn't let that power out of her sight again. As Lily's eyes wavered, but ultimately followed hers, Magnolia continued.

"Good. You still remember who owns you. Who you submit to, always, no matter what." She caressed their cheek, softly at first, before gripping it tightly by their chin. Ah, seeing the enraptured look on their face... "I've been too lenient on you, plaything. So tonight, I'll be punishing you quite severely." Lily's eyes widened in horror. "Thank me for giving you a head's up; it's far more than I should be doing for you."

It took almost too long for Lily to speak, and yet--

"Th...thank you, Mistress," Lily croaked out.

Those were the first words they uttered. And oh, they were so beautiful. Magnolia's heart fluttered lightly.

"Good to see you still hold space in your tiny brain for obedience. But before we get to your much, much needed punishment, we have something to address."

Lily cocked their hair, their lips softly gaping in confusion.

"There's someone new in that mushy brain of yours, isn't there?"

Lily's eyes widened. Magnolia was right on the money. But of course she was.

"Bring them out."

"I..."

Lily was going to hesitate. Magnolia wasn't going to allow them to. She held their left hand steady and brought the small cane down on it. Lily screamed in pain. Clearly, they'd gotten too used to resisting orders and disobeying their Mistress. They were like a dog. They needed to be trained. Anything less than what they'd need was unacceptable, and would only make them fall apart.

"Lily, when did I give you permission to disobey me?"

"N-never, but--"

Magnolia shook her head. Another excuse. The more they gave her excuses and resisted, the more painful it would be. She whacked their arm with the cane again, leaving an even redder welt. "Never. You're correct. There's no gray areas to obedience and disobedience. You either obey me, or you don't. Or what? Do you think you can overpower me?"

Lily deflated, their eyes lidding down, looking at the fire flickering. Magnolia could almost see the calculations working behind their neuron-less eyes, like a rusty malfunctioning calculator. She loved seeing that look of hopelessness, of despair on their face... but now wasn't the time. She could indulge in that desire later.

"Of course you do. Perhaps I'll need to add onto your planned punishment. You truly think it doesn't matter if you're punished? Oh, you've sorely forgotten how bad punishments from me can get. If you didn't, this wouldn't even be a conversation. You would have simply obeyed me instantly. Your apathy will be corrected, because the only thing that matters to you are my orders and your obedience."

The warm light continued to flare.

They could only hear both of their heartbeats and both of their breathing patterns, out of sync noticeably.

A few beats after she finished, Lily's mouth opened again.

"It doesn't matter."

Her heart stopped. What the fuck did Lily just say to her?! "Excuse m--" Magnolia was about to beat them until they were unconscious again, then to start over. But upon looking through the dim lighting...

It wasn't Lily, not anymore.

The look on their face changed completely. Fear became apathy. Dread became as inconsequential as a spec of dust. Anxiety and scanxiety became complete resignation. No, resignation was something you could choose. This one looked incapable of making thoughtful choices at all.

Now she could start the real work.

"State your name," Magnolia ordered.

Considering Kassandra and Chain, she expected resistance of any sort. Perhaps a physical or emotional assault from whoever was in front. But no. She replied without a beat, in a monotone, "Hyacinthe."

"Hyacinthe. I understand. Now, tell me: why are you in my property's head?"

Hyacinthe slowly blinked. "I'm unsure what you mean. Or why that matters."

Magnolia held a hand to her forehead. "Do you want to do this the hard way, Hyacinthe? All of Lily's parts are equally mine, too. Meaning I can do whatever I wish to do to you. I could carve my name into your back, make you spend a whole night getting caned mercilessly, and fuck you until my taste is all you know. Is that what you want? Because I can, and will, do that to you, if you continue to aggravate me."

It was a bluff. She wouldn't do that to a new alter. Not only would it not get her anywhere, but it would devastate Lily more.

But...

"Okay," was all Hyacinthe said.

Magnolia gripped Hyacinthe tighter, trying to elicit anything from her. "What the fuck do you mean okay?!"

"Go ahead," she shrugged. "It won't change anything anyways."

The entire time Hyacinthe spoke, her eyes were lidded, her voice didn't shift in tone, and her words didn't crack once. She was truly an iron wall. In a way, it was beautiful. She didn't allow imperfections by shutting out the world and shutting off her emotions. But Magnolia didn't want perfection. She wanted a stone to sand off over time, to smooth it out, to mold it to her perfection.

Magnolia wanted to go in further on her; hell, she wanted to immobilize their lump of emotionless rock and beat her until she did care. But for now, she needed information.

"From now on, you aren't allowed to say 'it doesn't matter' or any other nihilistic statements. All of Lily's parts are mine, which means you need to obey me too. If you truly don't care, then that won't be a problem, right?"

"Not at all, Mistress," Hyacinthe replied.

She didn't expect the honorific to be added. But that would make this easier.

"Tell me why you exist. Or, back up. When did you start existing?"

Hyacinthe looked up in contemplation; a subtle motion that was more expression than anything else she'd given her. "I believe the day you ceased Lily's training."

That would make sense. Lily fell apart that moment, and Magnolia allowed them to. She should have grabbed hold of them, firmly get the clay of their being back in place. But things weren't hopeless. Magnolia could still get her lovely, loyal Lily back.

The foundation of their dynamic was for Magnolia to fall back on, too.

"I understand. Explain your nihilistic attitude, next."

That was the most concerning thing Hyacinthe brought to the table. If Lily stopped caring, then they'd stop caring about their orders, about obedience, about their Mistress, even. It wasn't a pleasant thought, and it was something Magnolia wanted to prevent at all costs. But her concern didn't stop at the two of them. Lily's unwillingness to eat, drink, or take care of themself was a wake up call for her.

"It's easy to not care. To not put stock in the future. In what may or may not come. We live on a planet flying through space; we are ants to other planets and dust to the galaxy--"

"Cut the philosophical bullshit," Magnolia snapped. "Just continue telling me about your nihilism."

"Very well. When you begin to not care about the future, you realize just how free you are. You're free from fear, from despair. If something happens to Lily, it won't matter. And if Lily happens to live a wonderful life, it won't matter either. Isn't that what you taught them? To surrender? That their decisions and struggles won't matter, because they ultimately have no choice?"

Magnolia folded her arms, leaning back. "What are you getting at?"

If we don't care about getting cancer, we won't live in fear. We won't spend each and every day suffering from misery. We can let go of our inhibitions because it doesn't matter. The less you care, the less you'll be hurt. The less we care, the less we'll be upset when our messed up genetics kick in."

"Right," Magnolia sighed. "But see, that's where you're completely and utterly wrong on every level. Your point of view, your immutable philosophy, is flawed."

"It is not," Hyacinthe proclaimed, but Magnolia already stood up.

“Very well. Let’s put your nonsensical theory to the test, then.” She grabbed the candle and held Hyacinthe's head still. Fire rose just as Magnolia's temper did, and she wanted to test that philosophy. If nothing mattered, she would be unable to break free from pain.

Excitement would free Hyacinthe from the depths of nihilism.

As the fire crackled, Magnolia stared Hyacinthe straight in the eyes. Waiting. Staring into her empty soul. Too much time passed. Surely she'd leave a burn on Lily's skin. Which was unfair to them; it wasn't their fault. Eventually, Hyacinthe's instincts kicked in and she jerked her head from the candle.

"Does that make you care a bit more, per chance?"

Hyacinthe shook her head. "No."

"Even though you got hurt."

"Yes. That's correct."

"If you cared, you wouldn't have stayed still long enough to get that mark," Magnolia remarked, lightly flicking at her burnt skin. "Or do you not feel pain, either?"

"I feel pain," Hyacinthe began, "but even though my skin is hurt, my soul is not. Neither is Lily's."

"They only feel that way because of you!" Magnolia shouted. It was mildly embarrassing to be constantly one-upped by her ironclad philosophy and her impenetrable emotional wall. "If you didn't invade their mind, they wouldn't be... they wouldn't be in this place!"

"Do you truly think that?"

"Yes!"

That was a lie. She didn't. She was getting overly emotional, a stark contrast to Hyacinthe. Hyacinthe didn't reply, and that only made Magnolia even angrier.

"Fine. I’ll destroy you like I did Chain, and we can end this conversation," Magnolia growled, grabbing Hyacinthe's shoulders and squeezing them tight. "If you think nothing matters, it won't matter to you anyways, won't it?"

What she said next wasn't anything Magnolia could have possibly predicted, and it sent a chill down her spine.

"Do you think Chain is gone?"

"Yes!" Magnolia hissed. "Of course he is! I hypnotized him and forbade him from coming back out! He's locked in there!"

He should be.

Hyacinthe shook her head, continuing in the same monotone. "No. You merely sealed him. Locks rust. Duct tape loosens. Gags go loose. Chains break."

That was... a concerning notion. Lily hadn't mentioned anything about this. But considering how Chain came about last time...

"Chain is not gone. He is still within this body."

No... no, no. Why? Memories she wished she could forget rushed back to her head. Chain running away, taking Lily's body in tow. Being missing for days on end. Worrying Magnolia to the point she didn't eat or sleep. Him getting arrested, bringing Lily's sacred body into a filthy prison cell, and the only thing Magnolia could do to save Lily was to get rid of Chain.

Except, she didn't. If one of Lily's parts was saying so, it was most likely true.

"I know you are planning to get rid of me too."

"But of course," Magnolia retorted.

"The result will be the same. You can stomp a garden, burn it to the ground, pour acid, pesticides, chemicals from the depths of hell on it. And yet it will rise again. And again. And again. We don’t choose to be strong. We are like a dandelion in the concrete. We are forced into a painful situation, and yet, we have no choice but to continue living. To survive a life we didn’t decide on.”

Hyacinthe's voice didn't shift in tone. It didn't fluctuate. Magnolia read her face, all the small text on it, and it was just that.

"Besides, how do you think Lily will respond?" Hyacinthe exhaled lightly. "Unable to block out any of their pain? All that would happen is their emotions would continue to spiral. Not just today, this week, even this year. They'll continue to spiral, and continue, and continue. As they already have. I help them more than you, right now. But go ahead. Seal me however you wish. I won't put up a fight."

She didn't care if Magnolia murdered her.

And Magnolia wasn't going to. But what was she going to do? If Lily came back out, they'd just go back to hiding, or go to more drastic measures. And she was right -- even if she did kill Hyacinthe, what would it actually accomplish? Lily would be inconsolable; their mind would fracture even more; and they would fall apart in her hands even more.

"So you won't, then. In that case, this body is exhausted," Hyacinthe commented. "If that is all, you should--"

Magnolia wrapped her arms around Hyacinthe. She didn't flinch, but her words were cut off. The light wind from the speed and ferocity with which Magnolia grabbed Hyacinth snuffed out the candle, leaving them in the darkness with the subtle smell of smoke and ash. She wasn't sure if Hyacinthe registered her embrace, and frankly, it didn't matter. With their souls so close to each other, Magnolia bore her heart.

"I need Lily back," she said quietly, "in their entirety. All of them. Kassandra, you, Chain, and Lily. I know you're scared, Lily. I know. And I won't lie to you and tell you everything is going to be rainbows and sunshine. It won't. But I still need you. I can't live without you."

Magnolia was grateful for the cloak of darkness, so none of Lily would be able to see her eyes tear up. A couple teardrops fell onto Hyacinthe's shoulder.

"Don't block me out, Lily. Even if the world is terrifying, even if your disorder makes the future beyond uncertain, face it with me together."

Hyacinthe's body felt lighter.

"That's an order. Come out. Live for me, even if it's painful and terrifying. Bring yourself out of this fog you've locked yourself in. It's safe, but it's not your home. I'm ordering you to come back to me."

A sigh came from their body, falling like mush in her hands.

"Please."

Too much time passed. Magnolia cried more than she had in decades. A part of her wanted to pull away so Lily wouldn't see her in such a state, but she stayed. She was asking Lily to do something terrifying. So Magnolia would, as well.

"Mis...tress?"

Magnolia tightened her grip. "I'm right here, plaything."

Shaky arms wrapped around Magnolia in return. In the voice Magnolia knew so well, in the shake tone she'd come to love, it uttered-

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry I made you cry, Mistress. Please... please don't cry over me, Mistress."

Magnolia sighed in relief. She didn't even realize she was holding her breath. They sat there, just hugging each other, in the warmth of the corner of the room, in its safe cloak of darkness.

They were here. They were hers.

Unfortunately, if she let the nice moment sit for too much longer, she wasn't going to get to part two of her plan.

Magnolia brought them back. Now, she had to remind them of why their place was under her boots.

Lily murmured softly, leaning into her touch. But her work wasn't done. If she wanted this moment to stick with them, she needed to make it stick. Magnolia grasped a handful of Lily's head and pulled their head up. A couple stray tears dropped below their face. They struggled for a moment, but oh no. She wasn't going to allow that.

"I told you, Lily, that this was coming. If you didn't want it, you should have never disobeyed me."

"I... I didn't mean--"

Magnolia shook her head, then pulled theirs close to her ears. She wasn't going to hear any of their excuses.

She whispered - "My lovely, loyal Lily" - and they dropped into her lap, all life draining from their corpse.

Don't worry, Magnolia thought as she propped Lily up to their feet, I'll keep you safe.

Safe, but not out of harm's way.

My harm, this time.

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

Magnolia knew that she'd be using the contraption when she bought it years ago. Of course, she always planned to use it on Lily, but they'd become so pliant and obedient that there was never a good reason to. Not that Magnolia needed a reason. She could have strapped Lily to the intense fucking machine for missing a spec of dust, or for a mistake Magnolia made, or just because she wanted to see their adorable faces.

But she couldn't simply turn down the opportunity now that she had it, after hyping up such a severe punishment. With Lily still entranced, she strapped their ankles and wrists in place, keeping them spread and vulnerable as she inserted its dildo. She loved hearing Lily shriek for help that wouldn't come – out of instinct of course – but it was also quite lovely to imagine thoughts rampaging through their empty skull without any hope of making them known.

Screams of pleasure surely would be in there.

Magnolia grabbed the custom made cock gag, meant to resemble her own shaft, and shoved it down Lily's throat. She locked it in the back with ease, gently putting the key in her pocket. The last piece of the puzzle...

The headphones she'd ripped off of Lily got to be repurposed again.

But not yet. Lily needed to hear her, after all.

Magnolia raised her fingers, and made the sharpest snap she could do. Lily's eyelids slowly rose, before their eyes popped out of their head in terror seeing the predicament they were now in.

"Good morning, my sweet disobedient plaything," she purred, lightly stroking their chin. If Magnolia looked closely enough, she could probably see static behind those dilated pupils of theirs. All the same, she looked for fear—not the kind she instilled in them willingly, but the kind of fear that kept them locked away for days on end, unable to escape any darkness.

The second she noticed something was off, she'd call the whole thing done. Not just for Lily's sake, but because her decisions were final. But there was no trace of that. She wasn't a psychologist, nor did she want to be, but she could make some guesses as to why. As long as they were scared only in the horny way, it was all fine.

"Don't worry," Magnolia cooed, leaning down and licking up Lily's tears. "I gave you sustenance before putting you here. You'll be able to take it. You have no choice, after all."

Lily tried to protest, shaking their head, their voice muffed by the cock gag. If they were truly against this, they'd have safeworded. Non-verbally, of course. But they haven't. They know this is coming, and why.

With the presses of a few buttons, the fucking machine started up. It didn't even waste time easing into Lily, unaware of their struggles, and Magnolia wasn't about to use the lightest setting on them. Already Lily looked close, so close... their eyes resigned to their fate, any ounce of resistance melting out of them. And every 30 seconds--

splurt

"Mmmf?!" Lily was as shocked as she expected, with good reason. The tank of fake cum lube attached to the fucking machine just released its first round. They let out an indecent moan silenced by the gag; but their torment was far from over, as the machine picked right back up where it left off. She'd fill it with enough to last three hours, and she knew for a fact by that point all the cum lube would be stuffed inside Lily or on the floor.

"Perhaps in between orgasms, you'll reflect on your disobedience, and burn any thoughts of disobeying again. See you in three hours, plaything."

Lily looked at Magnolia with that adorably fearful expression, as another shot of fake cum filled their insides, continuing to ravage them. The noise cancelling headphones came around their head, making the pleasure all that more palpable. They thrashed and struggled against their restraints, panting heavily as orgasm overcame them. It was fine; their Mistress allowed them that indulgence, of course.

But she could see something more; a glimmer of hope, of meaning in their terrified, orgasmic face.

"Oh, one more thing."

Lily's eyes wavered. Her plaything was a moron, but even they knew what was coming. Perhaps she'd gotten too predictable. Maybe she'd change that in the distant future. But not now. She wanted to stick with what Lily knew.

"Fill."

If Lily was stronger, they almost certainly would have broken out of their restraints – no. Lily was strong enough for that. Magnolia just made sure to put enough reinforcements over them; surely, the stress of the past few days had only drained whatever strength they could muster up. It hadn't been 10 seconds, but they'd be fine for the rest of the suggestion. Surely.

Magnolia kept that sight with her, as she walked out to observe from a distance. She never even thought of turning her head away.

Ah, how beautiful her plaything was — mind, body, and soul.

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

When Magnolia had come back into her sex dungeon, Lily was passed out, drool and saliva dripping from the corners of their lips. The voluminous amount of fake cum pumped into them had come right out, forming a small pond under them. The fucking machine continued to spasm into them during thrusts, clearly intent on pumping them full of even more lube, but it just sputtered out residual cum and air.

Magnolia looked into Lily's eyes, lidded with bliss and ecstasy gone overboard. With a few swift motions, she turned off the fucking machine and removed it from Lily's insides, the rest of the cum lube coming out with it. Thank gods Magnolia wore her casual shoes that only costed four figures as opposed to five.

Now safe to, Magnolia undid the straps. Lily's limbs fell motionless one by one, and with each one, they became a bit more lucid, a bit more aware of their surroundings.

"Mmms...?"

Ah, right. "Yes, yes. I'm moving as fast as I want to, plaything."

If Lily thought it was the most prudent thing... well, Magnolia didn't have to indulge them, but she decided to anyways. She grabbed the key from her pocket, undid the lock, and the gag fell out onto the floor. Lily coughed, choked, gasped for air, as Magnolia used the outside of her hand to wipe off the drool.

"You can get up, no?"

"Y...yes, Mistress." She knew Lily was forcing that answer, but they wanted to be so good for her. They got onto shaky legs, almost ready to fall already.

Magnolia knew Lily wasn't going to be able to walk. Hell, they probably couldn't even feel their legs. So she did what any above average dominant would and leaned their weight against her, making them steady as she walked them back to the Mistress's bedroom.

One step after another. One foot in front of the other. A ritual, a protocol in its own sense.

They eventually made it back to their bedroom, a place that was a sanctuary for both of them at that point. By the time they did, they both collapsed onto the bed.

Exhaustion wore them down instantly. At the very least, she planned enough in advance to have all the aftercare essentials at the ready – clean sheets, fluffed pillows, multiple bottles of water, and a pint of ice cream.

Lily was taken care of. And she was grateful she could do that.

But...

The emotional weight began to crash onto Magnolia. Again, she was wandering in what felt like uncharted territory. Even if she brought Lily through the fog of their crisis, there were so many unanswered questions. Was Hyacinthe going to numb Lily's mind again? Would they have the same reaction after another unpleasant test? If Chain was alive and well, why? And why hadn't he caused problems? And what was truly, sincerely, going on in Lily's head?

That was only questioning the state of their system. What tests would Lily need in the future? Would they be able to catch cancer if it showed up early enough? What if they didn’t? And – the most quiet question of all – how long did they truly have left together?

One question, though, weighed heavier than the rest: did she do the right thing? Was she really helpful for Lily?

Magnolia turned the thought in her head over and over as Lily snuggled up to her. It was certainly unconventional for dominants to ask, and especially in Lily and Magnolia's case.

"Lily, would you..." she started; now that she did, it would be even more uncomfortable to stop now. "Would you please – tell me, am I a good Dominant? Whether you enjoy being my property? Whether you enjoy yourself, if you love life with me?"

Lily lifted up their body with their hands to look at Magnolia. She... she really just said that, huh? Magnolia looked away, trying to play it off cool, and then...

"Of course, Mistress!" Lily exclaimed with more enthusiasm than they probably knew. Without waiting or asking permission, Lily grabbed Magnolia's hands and held them close to their chest. "I... I love being your property, Mistress. You're the only Dominant I can ever imagine being under. N-not just because of how well you know me... but because I know you love me! And I love you too, Mistress! Even... even if there are hard times... every moment with you is precious. I love my life with you. I wouldn't change it for anything. Even..."

Lily went quiet, faltering a bit. As they stumbled to find the words, they continued on. "If... if I had the chance to fix my genetics... but it would mean I wouldn't be able to live with you anymore – if I could trade one for the other -- I never, ever would. I love you, Mistress, and I want to be by your side until the very end!"

Magnolia was... at a loss for words. Truly. She never expected Lily to go on such a vivacious monologue about how much they loved her. Especially not after all the hell they'd been through. She expected a simple yes or no answer, but what Lily gave her...

Tears sprang in her eyes. Lily once again took the initiative and placed their lips on hers. She allowed them to. It was a small show of insubordination, sure – but she would never punish them for being enthusiastic about their love for Mistress.

Magnolia wrapped her arms around Lily and laid both of them down, covering them in blankets as the night claimed them both again.

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

Lily didn't need the chain attached to their belt to keep them close to Mistress. They would have stayed close to her anyways. Magnolia bought all the tickets on a ferry ride so they would be able to just be alone, watching the ocean pass them, the sun rising in the distance, the cool chill brushing their faces.

She snagged all the tickets for the 5:30am ferry, too. Not that she needed a deal, but the tickets were much cheaper. Even Lily showed some reluctance at getting up at that hour. Not that they complained, though, and when Magnolia looked them dead in the eye, they forced the biggest, most enthusiastic smile.

She had her obedient flower back. They had all the time in the world. On the ferry, time slowed to a crawl.

Faulty genetics be damned. They'll have their beautiful frozen moments in time.

And yet, even as she savored this moment, a lingering worry tugged at the back of the Mistress's mind.

Chain is not gone. He is still within this body.

And neither was Hyacinthe.

Magnolia breathed in the fresh ocean air, feeling more refreshed than ever. Lily followed her, naturally. She put that thought out of her mind. What mattered most was the here and now. If Chain came back, she was sure the both of them could handle it. Lily was strong enough in recent days.

She looked down at Lily, who was innocently leaning against her, as they fell into a light sleep.

They were safe. She was safe. She'd keep them both safe forever.