Lily had no idea where Mistress had gone that morning; all they knew was that they needed to have dinner ready for when she'd get back. Except when Mistress got back home, the new recipe they had specially prepared was going cold because she instantly dragged them into the bedroom. Soon they were too bound, literally and metaphorically.

Typically, when Lily was physically dragged away from whatever they were doing, Mistress needed to take her anger out on them. Usually this ended with Lily in some kind of terrifying predicament or screaming in pain for hours to wake up to fresh marks the following day. So when their Mistress began tying them up with exceptionally soft rope, they couldn't help but let their surprise show.

"You think too much, plaything," Magnolia murmured as she continued to tie. Truthfully, it didn't feel like Lily was being tied; they could surely break out of the rope if they shuffled enough. But Mistress wanted them tied, and they did what Mistress wanted. It wasn't that deep. All they had to do was whatever she wanted.

Easy enough. She was even moving them without asking; they really had to just sit there and take it.

"Mistress, this rope is really soft," Lily giggled at how it tickled them softly. "If... is it okay to ask a question?"

"Just one," Magnolia snipped.

The tone made Lily freeze, but it would be worse to not say anything now. "Where did you get it?"

"An event I went to with Aiden and some of his Dominant friends," she replied, not slowing down her ties. "I haven't refreshed my toy closets in quite some time, have I now? The vendor apparently hand-knit it from soft rope. It's purely decorative; so you won't be immobilized or lifted with it."

Huh, that explained why it was so soft. Would have been nice to be immobilized with it, but Mistress knew best. "Thank you for answering, Mistress."

"And thank you for shutting up now."

Lily was grateful they were turned away from Magnolia as they let a soft smile crawl upon their lips. Their eyelids fluttered and their breath slowed. It was almost like being wrapped in a weighted blanket. It was... safe. Cozy. Comfortable. They would have fallen asleep easily in it. In fact, their mind began to drift gently. As if they were being entranced, sent into hypnosis by Magnolia's hands alone. And while the rope didn't completely immobilize them, it was snug, and it felt better to be in it than out. Besides, they wouldn't want to ruin their Mistress's hard work!

And then something... very, very unexpected happened.

Lily felt Kassandra. They didn't hear her, and she wasn't necessarily making herself known. But... curious. If Kassandra ever came out during intimacy, she almost instantly disappeared. Or rolled her eyes. Or didn't make herself known, didn't linger for too long... but here she was just staring. Not giving them the thousand yard stare, either -- she was just... observing.

... do you want something, Kass--

"Earth to my plaything?"

"H-huh?!" Lily gasped in surprise. "Oh... oh, sorry Mistress! I didn't mean to drift off like that!"

Magnolia merely chuckled, "oh, don't you worry. I didn't take it like that. You love this rope quite a bit, don't you?"

"Yes, Mistress! It's so cozy," Lily hummed happily.

"Then I suppose you're fine if I decide to scratch you up a bit."

"Not at all, Mistress!"

"That's good, because I don't actually care what you think."

Lily didn't have a chance to reply before Magnolia began making her mark into Lily's back with sharp, perfectly manicured nails. They moaned in pleasure and arched their back, wordlessly begging for more. Kassandra must have taken that as her cue to leave, because Lily no longer felt her presence. A bit worrying, but... Lily was with Mistress; they could handle it later. A particularly deep scratch carved into their back, causing them to yelp out. It didn't take too long for them to get lost in the pleasure once more.

Lily kept the rope wrapped around them well after the scene. Chunks of it were bundled up for Lily to relish in the softness of it. Magnolia let them, seeing how much it became a comfort item of sorts for them. Internally, she probably likened them to an orange cat tangling itself in yarn. There was no reason not to, especially during aftercare. Lily wasn't smart enough to make knots themself, and they weren't clumsy enough to somehow end up caught in its webs on accident. Both of them knew that well.

When Lily least expected it, Magnolia spoke up--

"Seems we had a visitor tonight, didn't we?"

Lily froze in fear. How did she... no, they didn't need to know why. If Mistress wanted them to know, she'd have told them. Besides, they knew themself well enough to know that they were an easy book to read. Especially for Mistress. "Y...yes, Mistress. I'm sorry. I don't know why."

Magnolia merely chuckled in return, pulling them close to her. "There's no need to apologize, plaything. I had a feeling. The look in your eyes was, how do I say it... a different flavor of brainless. A subtle change, but a noticeable one for someone who makes their feelings rather well-known."

"Ehehe..." Lily chuckled nervously. "I suppose that would give it away, Mistress."

"You know, she does know she can come out."

"Uh, w-well, she probably does--"

Magnolia took a more direct approach, "you know you can come out if you so wish, Kassandra, right?"

Silence hung in the air; external silence. You... do know that, right, Kassandra?

The answer came quickly enough. Of course I know that I can come out if I want to! I just don't want to come out, dumbass!

Ah... they supposed that made sense. "She... says she's fine for now," Lily relayed.

"In much less eloquent words, I'm guessing. Ah well, the offer stands," Magnolia shrugged as she tugged Lily

Shut up, Kassandra hissed to no one in particular. She left both of them even more confused than they initially were. Whatever she wanted, she wasn't letting it be known then and there. Classic Kassandra. At least some things didn't change; in the chaos of the past few months, Lily came to appreciate the stability that immutable parts of their life provided. Little did Lily suspect, the cogs in their shared brain inched quietly.

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

Despite how much Lily was looking forward to seeing Pierre, filling him in on everything and anything that transpired, Kassandra saw her opportunity for outside advice and seized the front. C'mon, Lily sighed, you could have at least asked first...

Nope. This couldn't wait. The other day awakened something in Kassandra; something foreign, new, and uncomfortably alien to her. And she needed the insight of someone who wasn't Lily's owner, or Lily five years after being thoroughly brainwashed by their owner. Untrusting of anyone else, Kassandra zeroed in on the one person who -- A. knew she existed, and B. was at least relatively trustworthy. Besides, Pierre was open (for lack of a better word); surely it would be one of the least outlandish things he'd heard.

Nonchalantly while riding the subway, she sent a quick message alerting him she'd be out. He just responded with a thumbs up emoji he had custom made to resemble Machamp's hand. Classic.

Except... despite how forcefully she'd taken the opportunity, she had no fucking idea what to say in person. Pierre just patiently waited for her to get to the point, but even Lily was getting annoyed watching her meandering, beating around the bush, whatever one wanted to call it.

"...I feel like last time we had this conversation, Lily told me you inherited a genetic cancer disorder from hell," Pierre said longsufferingly after about an hour of trying to guess whatever Kassandra was trying to say. "Listen, nothing you can tell me is going to surprise me. Your whole situation with Magnolia is only like, the fifth most insane pairing I've heard about." ...the fifth? Like, there are four others that are weirder than our whole auction situation? "But this is stressing me out and it's clearly not helping you either, so... can you just tell me?"

Kassandra couldn't say she enjoyed being rushed, especially with something as bizarre as this, but she supposed it was a fair request. Swallowing her pride and bracing for the inevitable embarrassment, she uttered, "well, the problem is, I want her to do it, to... to me, too. But not in a weird way."

"Okay, so... why don't you just ask her?" Pierre shrugged, as if it was that simple! It is that simple, Kassandra! "I don't think she'd say no, and I doubt she'd use the opportunity to make unwanted advances on you. So..."

"Not sure why you're placing so much trust in her," Kassandra murmured.

"I'm not, but why aren't you? You clearly want this, and she doesn't have a reason to reject you. At least, not one I can think of."

"But - but it's wrong!" Kassandra sputtered. Pierre suddenly had a wide, shit-eating grin on his face, which only made Kassandra more incensed. "What is even funny about this?!"

"S-sorry," Pierre snorted, "You just sound really cute trying to fight this off."

You really do, Kassandra...

Kassandra groaned loudly and clutched her bright tomato-colored head in her hands -- "Both of you need to shut your goshdamned mouths about this!"

...gosh...damned?

"Oh, so Lily agrees with me." Pierre shrugged. "I think you need to process this. It's a big realization and what I can do is limited, y'know?"

"You could tie me up instead, since I know you're not going to assault me," Kassandra responded dryly. Her head hurt so much she didn't even register what she was saying until she was done. Fuck fuck fuck fuck. She tried to backtrack as quickly and efficiently as she could-- "I-I mean, if you think it's not such a big deal! Huh!? Isn't that weird?! Don't you feel silly now?!"

Pierre hummed, "not really. I mean, if you really wanted me to, I would."

What Kassandra had to say to that was... nothing. She didn't know what to say, even. This conversation was becoming more and more ridiculous by the second, and if anything, she regretted opening this Pandora's box even more so now. "Wh...wha..."

"Somehow, I feel like that's not what you'd like." Pierre was right, though Kassandra couldn't quite say exactly which she'd prefer. "There's something deeper than 'it's weird', isn't there? And until you figure it out, even doing this whole thing wouldn't feel worth it."

That... was right. In reality, it would probably only make Kassandra feel significantly worse.

"In the meantime, mind if me and Lily play some games?" he began nonchalantly bringing out his software for them to duke it out right there in the diner. "Think it might be good for you to let all of this marinate. Let it settle. Aight?"

"...Yeah," Kassandra murmured, taking the out she'd been so graciously given. Which was good, so she could internally scream into an endless abyss.

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

So... just to confirm: you don't want to ask Mistress to tie you up because it's 'wrong'? Lily needed to shut up and give Kassandra some goddamn quiet on the train ride back. That's pretty mean of you. Well, what did they want from her?! For her to just accept the death of a core part of her identity lying down, for her to throw her dignity and pride into the nearest body of water, to put herself on Lily's level?

Her remarks were cutting, but Lily wasn't shaken nor particularly hurt by them. Or if they were, they figured out how to conceal it well enough from Kassandra. I just don't get it, Kass. I don't think you're concerned about your identity dying or something that dramatic. Are you sure you're not... scared?

At the insinuation that she was scared, Kassandra's breath hitched in her throat. Their internal arguing continued with Kassandra listing all the reasons she wasn't scared, that was bullshit, and she was tougher than that, she just didn't want to fucking be tied up by Lily's captor! Even suggesting she was scared was offensive; didn't Lily know who she was?!

Nothing you've said has made me think you're not scared, Lily calmly retorted. A part of Kassandra felt that if Lily and Kass existed in the same space, the threat of physical harm (even minor) would have sufficiently scared Lily.

When the fuck did Lily get so ballsy, anyways? Well... she supposed that made sense. The myriad of BS Lily had to go through would have hardened anyone up, toughened the squishiest marshmallow of a human to an impenetrable wall. And while the change in resilience was refreshing, Kassandra wished they could have gotten there another way.

Despite her protests, she was happy Lily had come so far.

That's nice and all and I appreciate it, but you should really sort this out, Lily said casually. Like what happens if you come out again? You think Mistress is just gonna look past you peeking again? At some point she's gonna order me to step aside so she can talk to you, and I will, because I'll do whatever she tells me to even if it forces you to explain all this before you're ready.

...fuck. That was a good point.

Honestly? Lily's tone turned mischievous, sounds like kind of a skill issue.

Okay, they've been spending far too much time around gamers.

Still, though... point taken. Kassandra could at least think about it.

Ugh... where the hell has my life gone...

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

Kassandra wrote furiously in the journal about absolutely nothing. For five pages, at least. It had only been a couple months since they were given it and they were already reaching the end of its pages; Kassandra's rage journaling was surely contributing to that.

After a fuckton of meandering, and piling on the swear words after fucking saying 'gosh damned' -- seriously, what the fuck was wrong with her -- Kassandra came to a multitude of realizations, none of them pleasant.

She was scared. She didn't want to ask Magnolia for this humiliating request, sure, but she was more scared of what she was learning about herself. What she could learn.

Kassandra suddenly was confronted face-to-face with her toughest foe: herself. Specifically, the ideas that:

Magnolia was someone she could -- should talk to -- to tap into her knowledge on the subject. That was the least scary concept. It was factual, objective, correct. The other two realizations she struggled to look at were that love -- however the hell this constituted 'love' -- was safe. Magnolia's love was safe. She hadn't betrayed them; she hadn't used any opportunity to take advantage of Lily. And perhaps the worst fact was that Kassandra...

She might look cute requesting such a thing. And if she was optimistic enough, maybe she could even consider being appreciated...?

Her head spun. Lily had gone quiet; probably was a good thing. They didn't need to see their protector spiral into doom, putting herself in a corner of vulnerability. No matter how much Lily supported this absurd idea of hers.

The fear didn't even make sense.

Kassandra knew she was being irrational about all of this; and that was the worst part. She knew. She knew and yet she continued to spiral into this non-issue.

What's most scary to you, Kassandra?

There they were. Kassandra sighed and murmured aloud, "fuck, I don't know, man."

I guess that's fair. Let me ask a different question... What's the absolute worst that can happen?

Kassandra wanted to scoff. Where would she even begin? The absolute worst? What if she disappeared, lost a grip on the body, then Lily was out front, and they were defenseless? And Kassandra couldn't help them because she put them in that situation in the first place? What if something unexpected happened -- a burglar, as a random example -- and Kassandra couldn't fight back because she'd be tied up.

Lily went quiet for a long moment. Kassandra was about to continue her spiraling until they added -- You're... scared. Seriously? This again? Not of telling Magnolia any of this, or any getting your wish. But you're worried because you can't protect me. You feel like you'd fail... right?

Hearing all of that from Lily -- well, more sensing it from Lily -- had Kassandra's breath catch in her throat. She was scared she'd fail. She was scared Lily would end up in danger and be unable to do anything to help. It didn't make sense why she'd want any of this.

Except... it did. Because a part of her, deep down, wanted that release. Wanted to feel what it would be like without that responsibility. The protector wanted to be protected.

"And you should get that," Lily said aloud quietly. "You deserve it. You deserve a break. We all do. But you especially... you've been on 24/7 for how long... I don't know what will happen, but I know Mistress will protect us. And if she can't... then we can get out of it. Together."

"...Together," Kassandra murmured. "Fuck it. Fuck... all of this stupid ass shit."

You don't need to swear as much, Lily said, a bit more amusement in their voice, I'll drop the gosh-damned thing. For now.

...'For now'?!

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

Magnolia had a couple ways to identify Kass whenever she'd come out and write something in the journal by the bed. First off, her and Lily's handwriting were very, very different. Kassandra also wrote harder, which left indents on the following pages. Second, the pages couldn't be easily torn out, so if she found something was up with it, she'd no doubt scour through the trash -- or make Lily do so -- to find whatever Kassandra wrote.

It wasn't like Kassandra needed to hide anything, either. She already had access to the journal. She already committed when she wrote her thoughts into the booklet; nah, actually, she committed the second she decided to speak about it.

To name it.

Kassandra Hawkins wanted to be tied up. The mere thought of that was more terrifying than anything else she'd realized in the past 24 hours. With hesitant strokes, she wrote:

"please tie me up and don't do anything else."

Welp, that was it. Kassandra was going to go find a shovel to bury herself alive. By that, she meant locking herself in the 'Dark Room' until her embarrassment faded (so, permanently.)

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

The room Lily had hid in for god knew how long, refusing to accept any sensory input, had been converted a couple weeks after their episode. Magnolia didn't feel comfortable using it for anything else other than some sort of weird sanctuary. As long as Lily never locked themself away in there again, it would stay theirs to hide in when the going got far too tough.

And everything was just... too much for Kassandra. She didn't understand any of this. Any of this! Did she and Lily have some weird bleed-over? Did Magnolia do something to influence Kassandra? Was Kassandra going absolutely insane? She had no idea and she didn't know which of those possibilities was the worst.

And yet, Kassandra still tried to escape from her spiral. She hid under the blankets, awaiting when Magnolia would appear and sign her death sentence.

You're so dramatic, Lily sighed internally. They knew Kassandra didn't want to hear it, but their cutting remarks didn't stop. You're acting like wanting to be tied up by Mistress is the end of the world. Do you really think that of what I do, too?

No... no, she didn't. Kassandra didn't think of Lily any differently - she just worried that she'd... she'd lost herself.

Eventually, the knock came. “Kassandra?” Lily's Owner called out. “You're in there, aren't you?”

It took a hot minute for Kassandra to reply. “Yeah.”

“I'm coming in.”

Kassandra wrapped the blanket tighter around herself to create some kind of illusion of safety. Better than nothing. “Sure.”

The door clicked open and Magnolia strode in. For a long time, neither of them said anything, simply making uncomfortable eye contact. Kassandra was wrapped up like a burrito — you look really cute like that, Lily giggled, and god damn it they needed to stop calling Kassandra cute - and Magnolia just stood there stock still with the same unreadable look on her face.

“You seem to have already done my job for me,” she murmured, gesturing at how Kassandra had tied herself up. Fuck fuck fuck — she threw the blankets off of her in a frenzy, flushing a bright red as Magnolia simply giggled under her breath at Kassandra. “I never said you had to undo yourself like that. Regardless, let's talk, shall we?”

“...sure,” Kassandra murmured, curling back into a ball. Magnolia sat on the bed next to her. Closer to Kassandra than she ever wanted, than she ever knew she'd be...

“Am I correct in assuming that's why you came out the other night? Care to elaborate what inspired you to pop in?”

“Shut u—”

“Without insulting me, ideally.” Magnolia raised an eyebrow as she crossed her arms. “Unless you want me to reject your request? It’s impolite to verbally attack someone as you ask something of them, even if I know you have your reasons for doing so past embarrassment.”

A fair request. Even Kassandra didn't know why she was about to insult Magnolia. It wasn't like she'd done anything to her. Not yet, anyways.

“I... I don't know,” Kassandra murmured. “I just don't know...”

“That's fine,” Magnolia shrugged, keeping her tone casual. “Just tell me whatever comes to mind.”

What came to mind were, of course, more ways to deflect. Kassandra bit her tongue, holding those back. She opened her mouth, started with a bunch of filler words, and then stopped, unable to finish a complete sentence. Gods, this was more embarrassing than she ever could have predicted.

"Take your time," Magnolia said, her voice soft, reassuring somehow. She wasn't going to make fun of Kassandra. At least... that's what it seemed like.

Soft.

Reassuring.

"Soft," Kassandra murmured the first coherent thoughts that came to mind. "And reassuring."

Magnolia nodded. Thank god she understood. "Is that what the rope made you feel?"

"Ye...yeah," Kassandra murmured, her face flushed. She hadn’t even fully registered that she said that aloud.

"That makes sense." Magnolia shuffled a bit, pulling something she'd snuck into the dim room -- the exact rope that sparked this whole mess. Kassandra could almost feel her eyes dilate, and hoped it would be cloaked in the darkness of the room. “Here. Gather a closer look. Perhaps that will help.”

Kassandra couldn’t bring herself to reply directly, but her fascination with the role was so visceral that it was obvious to anyone with eyes. There must have been some bleed over from Lily, because she already had some idea of how to properly wrap it around herself. Or… start to, at least.

“I’ve never felt anything like this,” Kassandra murmured.

“Right? I haven’t seen rope this soft before. Apparently it was done with yarn and some sort of medieval tool. I had a feeling Lily would like it. Seems I was more than correct,” Magnolia chuckled. Kassandra felt herself burn up and had to suppress the urge to slug that smug grin off of Magnolia’s face. 

Suddenly, the reality — and bizarre nature — of the situation began to dawn on Kassandra. She grabbed the nearest pillow and stuffed her face into it.

“What the hell is wrong with me,” Kassandra murmured, rubbing her fingers against her temples.

“Nothing?” Magnolia raised an eyebrow, genuinely confused. “Well… aside from your tendency to insult people before they do anything insult-worthy.”

Of course she couldn’t hold herself back from delivering a lighthearted jab at Kassandra, and though she knew Magnolia was technically right, she hated to hear it. Kassandra groaned and shook her head, all but screaming into the pillow.

“I do appreciate how kindly you asked, though. I can’t remember the last time you said ‘please’ to me. That said, this is an unusual request you’re making – unusual for you, at least – and I do want to discuss it face to face.”

“W-we don’t need to do that,” Kassandra murmured, her voice almost lowering to a whisper at that point. “You just need to tie me up, right?!”

“Well, I don’t know for sure. That’s why we talk.”

Fuck it. Nope. Nope nope nope nope nope. This is too much, Lily, you take it from here for, uh, forever, alright?

Nothing; no response came, though she could sense Lily’s presence as brightly as ever. Suddenly Kassandra realized why, and she was fuming. You… you…! Come the fuck out, motherfucker!

“I know it’s embarrassing…” Magnolia reached her arm, cautiously, around Kassandra’s waist. That was clearly the wrong move because Kassandra instantly jumped to her feet and then skipped a few steps back. Magnolia sighed and put her hand down, watching as Kassandra's breath slowed. Clearly this was going to take a metric fuckton of effort and negotiation, and sure, Kassandra understood why Magnolia wanted to talk about any of this, but - but…

“Either way, I know it's embarrassing. It must be so especially for you. And confusing. But think about it, Kassandra. Which would you prefer: to be hopelessly embarrassed for a couple minutes; to get hurt, emotionally or physically, if I unknowingly do something against your wishes; or to throw away this apparent newfound dream of yours simply because you're apparently too anxious to have a dialogue on it?”

“I...” Obviously, the second option would be the worst of them all. It would shake Kassandra's confidence to the core; not just as a human being, but as a protector. As Lily's protector. What use was she if *she* was the one who got hurt?

Hesitantly, she sat back down on the bed, avoiding eye contact like the plague. She despised admitting it, but Magnolia was right. Obviously, Kassandra wanted the third option to be the easiest; but now that Pandora's box had been opened, there was no way she was going to put the lid back on it.

No turning back. No going home, back to her little corner in the cozy crevices of Lily's mind.

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

“So let us review, before we start.” Kassandra all but resented Magnolia — well, she always did, but even more so with how many goddamn times she asked Kassandra to go over their plan as Kassandra stood around in her plain gray bra and panties. She didn't go over things with Lily that much; not when she bought Lily, nor during the years upon years of their fucked up relationship. “I'm just going to tie you up — loosely, with this soft rope — and you're going to count each knot I do. It's going to be loose enough for you to wriggle out of with enough force, but tight enough for you to feel. Am I understanding correctly on all counts?”

“For the fiftieth time, yes,” Kassandra groaned. This hadn't gotten any less embarrassing or had her question her morals any less than when this idea first popped into her head.

“I'm asking this many times to keep you safe, Kassandra. The least you could do is refrain from insulting me until this scene is over.” 'Scene'... Kassandra had no idea why, but she hadn't fully registered it as a scene until Magnolia had said the word. They were really doing this, huh? She never realized how real this felt. Nor how surreal, for that matter.

“Sorry,” was all Kassandra could murmur. “Or, sorry... sorry, Mis... M...” She couldn't finish the word, feeling herself getting queasy.

Magnolia chuckled lightly. “Oh? I didn't expect you to even grace the topic of titles. But don't bother. I expected nothing of the sort from you.”

Oh. That was a lot easier, then. But… “Then... why make Lily…?”

“Lily is different from you, no? So my expectations of them are different from you, Kassandra. I figured you’d be the one telling me that, of all things.”

“You don’t have to rub it in.”

“Very well.” Magnolia clutched onto the rope. “Ready?”

“Y…yeah.” Kassandra braced herself for the worst. Was Magnolia going to stay within their agreement? Or was the reason she asked so many times to get Kassandra to lower her guard? Was Kassandra going to be able to truly get out of the situation? Well, whatever. She agreed to this, and even if she backed out – of which she was given many opportunities to do so – it would haunt her. And make her feel like a fucking coward. “What… what am I supposed to do?”

“Hmm,” Magnolia hummed, rubbing a hand on her chin and narrowing her eyes. You’re telling me she asked me for my permission ten billion times, but she didn’t think this far ahead…? All the while, Kassandra’s anxiety kept spiking to new highs with each heartbeat, especially as she heard the shuffle of rope behind her. “I suppose you’ll just sit on the bed. Are you fine if I move your limbs, or will you get annoyed at me each time if I ask you to move them?”

Kassandra would. That was the worst part. Which was worse, constantly having to nod her head and say yes this is fine all of this is fine what do you mean? Or allowing Magnolia to freely touch her. That permission, that surrender, was a terrifying concept to envision.

Surrender…

The concept of it in general sent a shiver down Kassandra’s spine as she lowered herself onto the bed, anxiety overflowing in every bone of her body.

“Are you alright?” Magnolia asked, sensing the discomfort.

“Y… yeah. I think.”

“Take your time. We have all evening. I turned off my phone and doorbell so there’ll be no interruptions.”

“Awfully considerate of you,” Kassandra murmured. “I… I suppose it’s fine for you to move my limbs. Just warn me. And — and no touching past my elbows or knees, got it?!”

“Of course. I’m going to start, then, I suppose,” Magnolia replied, sitting down behind Kassandra on the bed. She bristled hard, having to physically keep herself in place and shove the myriad of (extremely valid) questions she was asking herself down. The fact she couldn’t see Magnolia was yet another source of fear and uncertainty.

Kassandra didn’t have to do this. She didn’t have to. And yet, it would have felt worse to stop it. It would have made her feel weak and even more submissive and powerless than she felt actually going through with this bizarre series of events. Was she scared? Not necessarily. Did she trust Magnolia? Well, at this point she felt her mistrust was unfounded. Was Kassandra worried that she couldn’t protect herself, or Lily? Both of them knew that to be false, as did Magnolia. So what were her hangups…?

Whatever her hangups were, Magnolia picked up on them.

“You know you don’t have to do this, right?” Kassandra jumped a little. She wasn’t making her hesitations that well known, was she…? “We can just as easily stop now, or any time, and you can simply tell me if you wish to do this in the future. I won't see it as a failure, and I certainly won't hold it against either you or Lily.”

That wasn't the problem... The issue was, Kassandra would see it as a problem. 

“I-I know,” Kassandra murmured, her voice growing ever quieter. Somehow, the more Magnolia had to reassure her, the angrier Kassandra got; and the angrier Kassandra got, the less she felt as though she had the capacity to fight back.

“If I may, Kassandra,” Magnolia started, not having moved away from her in the slightest, “I think I know why you're so... pent up like this.”

“A-and why's that?” Kassandra narrowed her eyes, hoping the forced contempt could reach Magnolia behind her.

“Well... if you're tied up too much, you lose power. Surely you see that at least, right?”

“Duh,” Kassandra rolled her eyes, “What do you think I am, stupid?”

“No; that title firmly goes to Lily, I can say without hesitation.” Ugh, did she have to insult Lily at every opportunity? Kassandra didn’t want that question answered. “That said... hm.”

Kassandra was about to demand an explanation for whatever the hell 'hm' could mean; then, Magnolia reached her hands around Kassandra and pulled her tight. “W-what the fuck!?” Kassandra's fight or flight instincts kicked in and began to wriggle out of Magnolia's arms. Easily enough, she did so, despite how tightly Magnolia was grabbing her; panting to herself and questioning her life choices even more so, she whipped around to look at Magnolia with potent rage in her eyes. “The hell, Mags?! Was all that stuff about caring about my comfort and shit a lie, too?!”

“See? You got out of my grasp easily enough,” Magnolia chuckled with that infuriating laugh Kassandra had grown to hate oh so so so so much. She did all that just for Kassandra to remember that she could get herself out of anything? No shit she was angry about that! “I wanted to make that point to you. You wouldn’t have listened if I merely told you, now would you?”

Kassandra sighed longsufferingly. “F…fuck. Yeah, I guess point taken.”

The more she fought back, jokingly or not, the longer this would take. And Kassandra wanted to say she was most excited to get this over with… but the truth was she was more excited to start.

“Glad you understand. Are you ready?”

“Y…yeah,” Kassandra murmured. Magnolia inhaled sharply, lightly grabbing Kassandra’s arm and lifting it up. Her limb tensed up, fist clenched, and Magnolia took that as a sign to pause… it took a moment, but Kassandra exhaled and made herself relax. She answered the question before it could be asked – “I’m fine, okay?! This is fine!”

Magnolia chuckled softly. “If you say so.” She folded the chord in half, making a loop, and wrapping both sides around one of Kassandra’s arms. “I’ll tie a simple knot first. Don’t count this.”

Don’t tell me what to do! I’m not Lily, so I’m not your property! …was what Kassandra wanted to scream at Magnolia. But she couldn’t get it out and all she could get out was “okay” as a small squeak. Sure enough, Magnolia continued, crossing the rope back over her arm and… well, Kassandra didn’t know what she did, but sure enough the knot was tied securely across her forearm.

“Does that feel good?”

“It… it does,” Kassandra murmured. It really, really did. She couldn’t believe she was answering that way. What was it about the softer rope that enamored her so much? Rationalizing it wasn’t going to solve her insatiable urge, but she couldn’t help but be curious.

“Good playth–” The pet name was cut short as Kassandra’s head whipped around to give her a warning glare. “Apologies,” Magnolia cleared her throat. “Rather hard when you both look… well, the same.”

“Yeah, yeah, let me know if you ever find a shapeshifting potion, let me know. It’s much more of a nuisance for me than you.”

Magnolia nodded. “I believe that. Either way, my apologies for the slip up.”

“It’s… fine. But make that mistake again and this whole thing is off, o-okay?”

“I understand,” Magnolia replied, though there was a hint of… something in her voice. Kassandra didn’t like it, but she let it go. “Since that was a test, I’m undoing it now.”

You could at least ask for permission first… Kassandra shook her head. Let bygones be bygones. “Okay.”

The knot undid itself easily with only a simple tug from Magnolia. “H-huh,” Kassandra couldn’t help but verbalize. “That wasn’t as tight as I thought it was going to be.”

“Yes. I could get into the science of rope safety and how to prevent nerve damage and maintain circulation, but I figure that would only annoy you further.”

Kassandra scoffed a bit. “Tell me later?”

“Certainly. Now, I’m going to begin tying around your midsection,” Magnolia mused as she pulled up a sizable portion of the rope, certainly enough to fit over the system’s body a few times. “Whenever I finish a loop around, or tie a knot, you’re going to count. Just as we negotiated. Understand?”

“I get it,” Kassandra said. Her voice perked up; perhaps upon seeing how much her pride was crushed under her aching heart’s boot, she relinquished any shame or embarrassment.

…hey, where’s Lily? She suddenly thought to herself. Are they okay?!

I’m fine, Lily’s voice resonated in her. Just want you and Mistress to enjoy each other's company.

Ughhhh. Ugh ugh ugh. Kassandra wanted to be angry but… she supposed she was the same, not wanting to invade Lily’s time with their Mistress. It was more so because she wanted no part in their… ‘recreational activities’, and she certainly didn’t want to watch them get it on. She exhaled slowly, trying to let go of her instinctual annoyance.

Before Kassandra could psychoanalyze herself even more, she gasped lightly upon the rope coming around her midsection. From the back she felt Magnolia cross them over, readying to make another loop around her. And then she stopped.

When Kassandra turned around in confusion, Magnolia spoke – “I’m waiting on you, Kassandra.”

“Ah, right. S-sorry, this is all… new… to me. Uh, one?” Why the fuck did she make it sound like a question? She knew their brain was a bit dull, but she could at least count to one. At least, she thought so.

“Good. Shall I keep going?”

“Y-you don’t have to keep asking, Magnolia,” Kassandra stammered, trying to get back a bit of the spunk she wanted to believe she embodied.

A pause. “What’s the stoplight?” Magnolia suddenly asked out of nowhere.

Kassandra furrowed her eyebrows. “What the hell does that – oh, right. Um… green?”

“...Are you sure?” Magnolia asked, narrowing her eyes.

“Seriously,” Kassandra’s voice lowered, “stop asking, just do it, this is humiliating enough already…”

Magnolia didn’t respond with words. Instead, she dropped the rope and began to untie it, a disappointed sigh escaping her lungs.

“W-what are you doing?!” Kassandra screamed, clutching the rope and holding it against herself.

“Didn’t I tell you, Kassandra? It’s impolite to verbally attack someone as you ask something of them. Besides, I am asking for your safety, so I don’t do something you hate.” She’d stop taking off the rope, giving Kassandra a hot minute to take everything in. Her heart sank. “I figure you’d understand why. I’ve been with Lily for five years. You hardly speak to me, let alone as an equal, so hearing you suddenly come out with this bizarrely out of character request… well, it’s surprising, to say the least. You have no experience with such things. If I hurt you, Kassandra, I hurt my property as well.” 

Did she have to rub it in like that…? 

“I don’t know what you’re thinking or feeling, Kassandra. I ask for your permission because not doing so would go against everything I stand for as a Dominant.”

Kassandra opened her mouth, and then closed it again. She didn’t need to add fuel to the fire by confirming that Magnolia actually had morals.

“So, unless you can one day learn to keep your kneejerk reaction insults in check, or unless you apologize and consider this a final strike, I’ll stop. And I won’t hold it against you – or Lily, for that matter. I’d rather stop ahead of time on a sour note before going too far and hurting you.”

Magnolia ended her monologue, but she didn’t continue untying what little rope she had on Kassandra. Kassandra swallowed her pride and answered, the words feeling like coarse sand on her tongue– “I’m sorry, Magnolia.”

“I don’t take offense, to be clear. I know this is simply you. But if you do want to continue… hm.”

“If I want to continue… what?”

Magnolia took another few beats to think to herself. And then – “Why don’t you not talk unless you need to, anymore?”

Kassandra’s blood boiled. What?

“If you know not to talk, you won’t have a chance to insult me or verbally attack me once more. You talk when you count, or when I ask you a question. And if I ask you a question all you have to do is give me a simple hand gesture. Simple enough, right?”

“I…” Kassandra got lost in her thoughts. She already felt as though her brain was melting out of her ears. And now she scrambled to reform it. “I… guess that would be easier. You’re not— you’re not going to gag me or anything like that, r-right?!”

“I wouldn’t even if you asked me to,” Magnolia commented smoothly, finally no longer attempting to undo the tie she’d done.

Kassandra rolled her eyes. “‘Cuz I insulted you too many times, right?”

“Hardly,” Magnolia scoffed, “because we didn't agree upon it, Kassandra. You must be really excited coming into this new world, no? That excitement can lead to getting in over our heads. And well, with the endorphins kink gives you... you can make rash decisions. It's simply safety.”

But... if you're so concerned about safety, why did you buy Lily? Kassandra shook her head; bringing that up right now wouldn't help anyone. Besides, it all worked out for the best, rocky start aside... right?

“Shall we continue? Don't speak unless you're spoken to, or unless you're counting a knot. Understood?”

Kassandra nodded hesitantly. She opened her mouth to reply, and then caught herself.

Magnolia chuckled, bringing the rope back around her. Kassandra exhaled slowly, trying to keep her nerves in check. Somehow the fact she wasn't allowed to talk made sitting still that much easier... maybe this is what appealed to Lily about all this. 

Without any options, there was less chance to fuck up.

Less chances to lash out and unwillingly ruin things. 

All she had to do was look straight ahead. She didn't even have to move an inch. 

That surrender...

Kassandra felt herself understand more and more. The tie came back around her torso and crossed over her back (“two”), again (“three”), and again (“four”), before Magnolia spoke up again.

“Do you mind if I cross it over your neck? Around the back of it, of course. Don’t want to strangle you, after all.”

“Go ahead,” Kassandra said. Normally she’d say something like ‘go nuts’ or ‘I don’t give a shit’ or ‘you’re going to do it anyways, aren’t you?’ But she was too relaxed to get angry at Magnolia. The rope came around her neck (“five,” Kassandra said in a quivering voice, before giving Magnolia a thumbs up to continue, a green light of sorts.) “You’ve done this a lot before, ri– ah, shit, sorry–”

Magnolia laughed. “I’ll give you that one.” What the hell does that mean? “No, this is all improvised.”

Kassandra’s eyes widened, but she stopped herself from replying.

“When you tie enough people up enough times, you know how rope works. You learn to listen to it. You learn what spots to avoid if you’re a Dominant who cares anyway at all about their subjects. You and Lily having the same body does help, I must say.” Kassandra wasn’t particularly fond of being called a ‘subject’ indirectly, but… it made sense. She nodded, and didn’t reply. 

Magnolia began to lift down the rope, and then paused. “Would you mind if I bring the rope between your chest? Without touching anything, of course.”

“Ah, I, uh…” Kassandra stammered. She was allowed to say no. Magnolia didn’t have to remind her. She was. And she was bracing herself for all of that talk of safety and care and ethical standards of dominance to have been for show and for her to take Kassandra for herself.

But more than that, she was scared. At the core of it all, Kassandra was terrified of that possibility.

Magnolia allowed Kassandra that inner dialogue. It wasn’t external, of course. But she felt Lily reassure her. An internal hug of sorts. “Yes, that’s fine,” Kassandra answered.

“Very well. I’ll be careful.”

Magnolia cautiously, without getting her hands on Kassandra’s chest by accident, brought both ends of the rope between her chest. Kassandra’s breath hitched. Her lungs took shallow breaths, waiting in anticipation, as if navigating through a particularly tight one-way street.

But eventually, she finished and brought the rope across Kassandra’s back. “Six,” she counted quietly, blushing a bright red.

“Was that alright?”

Kassandra nodded.

“And are you okay to continue?”

She gave a thumbs up.

“Good. Would you want me to bring it around your arms? Not tight enough to be restrictive, but firm enough for you to feel it.”

“Th…yeah,” Kassandra nodded. “As long as I can escape easily.”

“Of course.” Magnolia gingerly grabbed Kassandra’s arms and pulled them around her back. The feeling of surrender intensified. She was scared, fuck, and she hated to admit how utterly terrified she was.

The rope came around both of her arms, first in a figure eight shape, and then full across. With the vast difference in circumference and each tie really being two ties, the counts stacked up quickly. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. Twenty. Twenty one…

“May I tie your arms against your back?”

Kassandra nodded.

Within an instant, her arms were tied against the rest of her body, leaving her upper half completely defenseless.

And despite how scared she was, how much she had to still her tongue…

Kassandra loved it.

Twenty two, twenty three, twenty four… each tie made it harder to escape. And yet, each tie made her feel safe.

Kassandra knew she could weasel out of the rope if she even tried a little. But why would she ever want to? She was comfortable, so comfortable in a way that felt foreign to her. The last time she felt this relaxed, this cozy, was… never, actually. She spent all of her existence fighting, sleeping with one eye open, making sure nothing hurt Lily, and beating herself up when she failed in the one thing she was good for. 

“Kassandra?”

“Hmm?” Kassandra hummed, barely registering Magnolia’s voice.

“Count.”

“Ah… um…” The gears in Kassandra’s brain had begun to slow down, and the order halted that process for a bit. God, struggling to count? Maybe Lily is just… bleeding over. “Twenty… five?”

“Good,” Magnolia nodded. Then her tone turned soft, the hint of dominance she’d been weaving in throughout dissipating a tad. “Hmm. You really do enjoy that rope, don’t you?”

Kassandra nodded drowsily.

“I have to admit, I’m probably as surprised as you are. I thought you hated me,” she chuckled.

Kassandra couldn’t even retort and claim she absolutely hated Magnolia. Not only was she too tired to do so, but perhaps more importantly, it wasn’t true. Kassandra doubted she’d ever have strong romantic feelings for Magnolia, and she’d certainly never feel what Lily did for her.

That was fine. Right?

“I guess not,” Kassandra yawned, succumbing to the clutches of sleep, the temptation of a hopefully restful night. Magnolia continued to pet her head softly. Her hair wasn’t hers, it was Lily’s, but it felt right. Everything felt okay. “G’night…”

As Kassandra fell into her slumber, the last word she uttered, inaudible to everyone, including Kassandra herself—

“…Mistress.”

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

When Kassandra woke up, she was shockingly well-rested. It was a unique feeling, considering she was a very light sleeper – can’t be too on guard. She was tempted to close her eyes and just fall back asleep, and was about to do so, when she noticed something wrong upon her trying to shift positions.

Her eyes shot open, and she pushed herself up. Her arms and legs were untied, making it easy to adjust her position. But the rest of the harness was still tied around her stomach, around the back of her neck, and between her chest. Had she been knocked out…?! Were they safe? Oh fuck, she knew this was a terrible idea, why did she even entertain this?! Now she and Lily were going to–

“Ah, Kassandra,” a fatigued sigh spoke up beside her. She scrambled around and saw Magnolia sitting besides her, sitting up propped up by pillows. The bags under her eyes had become noticeable, and she was reading something on a tablet while the bound up protector tried to gather her surroundings. “A fine morning to you. Did you have a pleasant sleep?”

“I-I… what did you do to me?!”

Magnolia sighed and put aside her tablet. She made direct eye contact with Kassandra, who could suddenly physically feel how exhausted Magnolia was. “Nothing, after you fell asleep. Aside from untying your arms and legs. I figure it would make you panic even more than you are now.”

“...You sound tired,” Kassandra narrowed her eyes, her body tensing up. “What, were you enjoying yourself, watching me like this?”

Magnolia rolled her eyes. “Didn’t you promise not to insult me at least until after this was over?” Kassandra flushed, but she couldn’t offer a good retort. “I merely stayed up to ensure you were okay. It would be dangerous to leave you tied up while I’d be incapacitated, too.”

“Then you didn’t have to untie my arms and legs, didn’t you?” At that point, Kassandra knew she was being combative for the sake of being combative; and yet, the fiery spirit refused to back down even in the face of her own absurdity.

But infuriatingly, Magnolia’s frown cracked into a smile and she chuckled condescendingly at Kassandra’s artificial anger. “You know, Kassandra, you seem weirdly offended by my doing so, and by my staying up to ensure your safety. Did you wish to stay tied up while you slept? We could have arranged for that.”

“I…I…” Kassandra looked down, genuinely unsure of what to say. She stayed up through the night just on the off chance, the fraction of a percent, that Kassandra would get hurt in the ropes. And to further minimize that already miniscule possibility, she untied her arms and legs.

Was Magnolia… trustworthy?

Kassandra had always operated under the assumption – “no, obviously not, what the fuck, she literally bought a human being at auction”. But the lengths she went to for something she didn’t even get anything out of, just to make sure Kassandra was truly and absolutely okay…

“I’m sorry,” Kassandra murmured.

“Force of habit, I take it?”

“...yeah,” Kassandra murmured.

“I see. Well, I thoroughly enjoyed this, rest assured,” Magnolia said lightly. “And you…?”

Kassandra raised an eyebrow. “And I… what?”

“Enjoyed yourself? Did it meet your expectations? Satiate that visceral curiosity you suddenly got?” Ah. Right. Kassandra didn’t know why Magnolia had to ask. 

Wasn’t that obvious, after all? Then again… it probably wasn’t. Like she said, she wasn’t a mind reader. “I did,” Kassandra said softly. “Think we can… do it again…?”

Magnolia chuckled, petting her hair. Kassandra flinched, but eased into the touch. “Whenever you wish, Kassandra.”

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

“Again, I remind you, you don’t have to save to buy… anything. I can simply buy things you wish for. I figured that much would be obvious?”

“Oh, trust me, it’s beyond obvious,” Kassandra murmured as she finished another knot in the chord. “I just want to earn money from this myself, alright? Not all of us can be won over by providing for us one hundred percent. It’s completely transactional.”

When Kassandra had brought up her next spontaneous out-of-character idea, Magnolia wasn’t fazed. Kassandra had to admit that was kind of annoying, but who was she to try to get Magnolia to be fazed? Magnolia couldn’t remember for the life of her the vendor who sold her the rope. Nor could Aiden when Lily asked. Kassandra had a feeling she wouldn’t be the only one who’d feel some soft rope and have a shocking personal revelation, a new sudden craving to fill. It would take a while for Kassandra to finalize the formula to make a copycat of the rope, let alone add her own improvements.

And even if it didn’t sell… well, it was something to do with her hands. Watching Lily’s dominant-enforced art practices from a distance may have inspired her a bit. Lily could see themself enjoying the medieval rope-making tool as well – a lucet, it’s apparently called – and upon realizing they could end up tied in their own rope, they were overjoyed. So was Kassandra. She just endeavors not to let it show.

Magnolia raised her hands up defensively as Kassandra continued to knit the rope besides her. Her tying only sped up the more Magnolia teased her, the more her heartbeat went up. “Fair, fair,” she chuckled. “I suppose the freedom that comes from financial independence is addictive. I’d know.”

“Mhmm,” Kassandra hummed in agreement as the TV played… whatever home renovation show Magnolia had on repeat. Kassandra couldn’t tell any of them apart, and she wasn’t sure Magnolia could either. Occasionally, she’d scrunch up the rope together, savoring the softness of it all.

Both of them sat apart on the couch, but it was closer than Kassandra had remembered. But she didn’t feel the need to break loose from any physical or emotional bondage. Kassandra couldn’t remember the last time she felt this calm – calm for her, that was. Perhaps she could consider putting down the pitchforks and torches occasionally.

Experiment success? Lily giggled.

Kassandra rolled her eyes, trying to hide her soft smile. Yeah, yeah. Experiment success.