“You’re going to have to talk to her at some point.”

Fay made herself known after I quietly closed the door to Cassidy’s room. I held my breath as I tiptoed back to my own room. I needed something to focus on, anything— I said I’d be taking the week off from work, but I guess it couldn’t hurt to check my work emails. Seemed more useful than trying to train a submissive who hates me.

Milkshake was curled at my feet, sleeping and snoring gently. That sound was the only thing keeping me sane right now. The best part of her wasn’t her fluff or cute meows or friendliness — those things were fantastic too, though — it was the way she just knew. She knew when something was wrong, and brought me out of my own head. Out of my grief, or sadness, or frustration.

“I’ll talk to her when I feel like it,” I murmured, marking spam as read one after another. “I don’t feel like getting insulted right now.”

The weirdest thing about being plural was how it physically felt. When Fay leaned against a wall condescendingly in headspace, it felt like she was massaging my left rib. I wished I could’ve ignore her.

“Maybe you went too hard.”

“Uh huh, you think so?” My voice dripped with sarcastic, poisonous venom.

“In your first day, you beat her body mercilessly—“

“She tried to escape!”

Fay kept talking as I kept typing, trying to ignore her. “Then you hypnotized her and used her body like a fleshlight.”

I smiled. Fay said that like it was a bad thing — and I guess it could be. To me, though, it was my favorite memory of Cassidy thus far. That night was so hot. I could already feel my blood temperature rising just thinking about it. It was hot for me and it was hot because I knew Cassidy wanted it. She just needed to be convinced that she wanted it. Give in to her heart’s desires. Why did she have to be so closed off, like the most isolated introvert ever?

“It might have helped to start things how you started them yesterday morning. Y’know. Laying the groundwork. Getting to know her. Not jumping straight to insults or rough play.”

I stopped typing whatever meaningless email I was responding to. “You can’t blame me for getting excited. I’ve wanted a Soulmate all my life. It’s what I dreamed of every day. I’ve spent every day daydreaming of having a submissive and treating them the way I did.”

“And you can’t blame her for being scared.”

I scoffed, pressing send on the email. I don’t even know what I wrote. If it was problematic, I could just blame it on my secretary.

“You wanted a Soulmate more than anything. She didn’t want a Soulmate to begin with. Your needs are in conflict. That’s why Chelsea came out yesterday, and took over this morning when you wanted to try to make amends.”

I closed my laptop, leaned over, and clasped my hair with my hands. “And she shouldn’t have.”

Speak of the devil.

“Why?” Chelsea spat. “She said some pretty hurtful things to you. We’re her Owner. That bitch doesn’t get to speak to us that way.”

“I don’t want her to know yet,” I responded. “Cassidy isn’t smart, but she definitely caught onto something—“

“I was protecting you! I was protecting us! And you know that.”

And you ended up hurting the situation more.

“I heard that.”

I didn’t care. From my desk, I pulled out the mirror, looking at my chest for the nth time this morning alone.

The key tattooed on my chest, previously ornate and elegant, had reverted to some commoner’s apartment key. The text had shifted to a more stale font. “Owner of Cassidy Smith” didn’t seem as real in what felt like fucking Comic Sans.

My heart ached.

I didn’t know what to do.

And all this time, Cassidy just thought of me as some ruthless monster who only wanted to hurt her. I wanted to hurt her, yes, but it was deeper than that.

She needs me. I need her.

All thoughts I would keep to myself.

I clasped my hand on my other hand, squeezing it tight. I felt time revert back to… back to years I never wanted to return to. 

The shadow of Citrus — the youngest part in the system, in age and in mental development — crept over me. I doubled over, feeling helpless, small, powerless, the exact way I never wanted to feel again. Memories started to creep into my head, and to my chagrin, I felt tears forming myself.

“How do I fix this?” I croaked out.

Before anyone could answer, a knock on my door pulled me out of my fugue, out of my regression, like a rescue line.

I gathered myself, my voice, my posture. Don’t let anyone see. “Who is it?” I called out firmly.

A pause. “It’s Cassidy. Your… Soulmate.” Her voice sounded weak and wounded, too. Can’t say I felt much sympathy for her.

I didn’t respond, that shadow continuing to hold me, so Cassidy continued. “I understand if you don’t want to talk to me. But I’m sorry about what I said yesterday. I really am. It… was wrong and stupid and hurtful.”

I stayed silent, holding my body still. I didn’t know how to reply, if I wanted to at all.

“I — I know you probably won’t forgive me right away. I hope you… take as much time as you need. As you want, Mistress.”

Fay chimed in. “Go talk to her,” she urged.

I still paused, some kind of Soulmate imposter syndrome taking over me.

Cassidy spoke the next words with finality. “I’m… I’m ready to try, Mistress. To try to be your… Property. I’m still scared. I still don’t understand what’s going on or what to do or how to do it, but… I want to… I want to… to be the Property you need me to be.”

I got up from my desk. 

“Anyways. I hope you have a good—“

Cassidy froze and fell silent when I opened the door. The first thing I noticed was her mark. So hers changed, too.

Cassidy averted her eyes for a second, before correcting herself to look at me. “Did you mean that?” I asked.

Cassidy took a moment to pause, standing in awe of my presence, and nodded. “Yes, Mistress.” Her voice was strained, fatigued, as if she’d cried the rest of her tears out right before talking to me.

I exhaled through my nose, a slow, delicate breath. “Then we have work to do, but… let’s try again, plaything.”

My arms grabbed Cassidy’s body and pulled her into a tight embrace. I didn’t want to let her go. My heart still hurt from her words, but just like she wanted to be the Property I needed, I wanted to be the Domme I needed.

Even if it took a bit more time than I’d like.

I’d sure need time to get to trust her again. It was strange for me to put my whole trust in her in the first place on day one.

“I went too hard,” I admitted verbally. I should have kept it in headspace, but I kept talking. “Too hard, and too fast. I got excited. You’re still my Property, and I still Own you, and you still must obey my commands… but I will pace myself a little… more evenly.”

Cassidy hugged me tightly. “I’d like that, Mistress. I, um…”

I cocked my head into Cassidy’s temple. “Hmm?”

She shook her head. “N-never mind, Mistress. It wasn’t important.”

I didn’t press the issue. We just stayed there like that for a while. Looking, and feeling, like an actual pair. I looked down to see if our Soulmate marks had changed back. They hadn’t. Slightly disappointed, I let Cassidy go. “Go downstairs and wait for breakfast. Go feed Milkshake too, a maid should know where her food is.”

Cassidy nodded. Her nod was almost a polite bow, one I’d expect from a servant. “Yes, Mistress.”

Hearing the honorific naturally felt different from when I forced it. Sadism was a core of my Domme personality. So in a way, I liked it, when it was forced. When I forced the honorific out of her lips, out of her scared and crying consciousness. But hearing Cassidy just call me Mistress as fact, fully aware and willing, it didn’t feel bad. Just different.

I had other opportunities to test her limits, though. I retreated to my room for just a moment to catch my breath. Milkshake had moved to sit on my desk chair. She looked up at me, meowed, and continued to stay there.

“Guess I’m not getting any work done,” I sighed, kneeling down to pet her.

~~

About half an hour passed before I decided to go down and join Cassidy. Her apology was welcome — and well, it was warranted — but it didn’t magically fix things between us. I had to wonder if she still, deep down, thought that I was a terrible Soulmate, thought of me as a monster. Her words seemed sincere. And yet, I had trouble believing her.

Cassidy stood by the table. She hadn’t touched her food, or even sat down — apparently remembering my command. My food also stayed untouched on the other side of the table. Luckily, it didn’t look like I’d waited long enough for it to become lukewarm or cold.

“Good morning, plaything.” Cassidy was adorably startled by my presence, as if she’d forgotten I’d even been coming. “I see you haven’t eaten anything yet.”

“Um, yes, Mistress Aura,” Cassidy said, twiddling with her thumbs. “I… didn’t want to start without waiting for you.”

I smiled contently. She really was trying to make amends, so much that she even let herself salivate in front of a bowl of delicious food for half an hour for me. “Very well. You may sit.” She sighed in relief, finally taking my permission to collapse in the chair.

I began eating, staring at Cassidy when I saw her still stay still. “What are you waiting for, plaything?”

“U-um, your permission, Mistress.”

“Ah. I see,” I sighed. “You don’t have to wait for my permission for everything, plaything. But I suppose if you need it, then you may eat, yes.”

“T-then, how am I supposed to—”

Cassidy’s hands clasped over her mouth; her question was clearly an instinctive one, one speaking from confusion. But the rest of her words died in her throat when she saw the way I stared at her. I didn’t even catch the indignation in my eyes before it caught me. “S-sorry, Mistress,” she murmured, before finally beginning to eat.

Cassidy’s plate was cleaned off sooner than mine was; she must have been hungry. And exhausted. Then again, so was I. Hmm… there must be a way for me to train her here…

I had to admit; I’d been thrown off my Dominant streak by our argument from last night. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to dominate Cassidy, or that I wasn’t thinking about it right then. There was just this mental roadblock, something stopping me from truly bringing out her potential. From truly using her for my purposes.

“Be… sure to watch how you eat,” I stated. I wanted to kick myself for how uncertain I sounded. “You wouldn’t want to embarrass me by eating like some slob.”

“I-I, uh—” Cassidy deflated, shrinking up against my command. Oh, now that was a fun reaction…

I built off of it. “Oh, it’s too much for your Mistress to ask you to act with some grace? Now that you’re in a different class, plaything, I expect you to act accordingly.” Telling people what to do was fun — that’s what I loved about being a CEO — and telling cute submissives what to do felt especially powerful. Especially when they were legally tied to me.

Cassidy pouted a little, but tried to hide it. She didn’t hide it well enough from me. I gave her a chance to reply, to dare to fight back, but instead she just said, “yes, Mistress,” in that defeated voice.

That was preferable. I didn’t want to get into another fight. Laying off for a bit would probably help. Easing her back into her new role. Which would be challenging.

It didn’t help that I wasn’t exactly… the easiest person to be around. Or, the easiest people to be around. She was probably still thrown off by my switch to Chelsea. Cassidy didn’t look into my eyes for a while, picking off the last bits of food on her plate.

“How did you enjoy the food yesterday?” Small talk was the work of the devil, but it was better than insulting her again or using her body immediately.

“It was very good, Mistress,” Cassidy responded, her voice still tired and fatigued. Her shoulders slack, her eyes only half-open, and the smile on her face imperceptible.

“It’s good to hear,” I replied, “the chefs here are quite talented. I’m sure, in time, you’ll pick up things from them.”

Cassidy cocked her head. She didn’t understand. I continued. “Although my chefs and maids will be doing most of the work, you’ll be expected to learn at least the basics. Your life will be in service to me, after all.”

Cassidy hummed, a hum I could think of as annoyed or disgusted with the idea. I was prepared to press the issue, to challenge her tone, to remind her of her new role… but there were better ways to do that.

“What are your hopes?”

She looked up, confused. “What hopes, Mistress?”

I scoffed. “Hopes for us. For our dynamic. For the way you want to be Owned. And no, ‘I don’t want to be Owned’ isn’t an answer I will take.”

Cassidy shrunk. Oh, yes, a part of her definitely wanted to give that answer. I wouldn’t let her. I wouldn’t let her even think of fighting back again, let alone escaping.

“I don’t know, Mistress,” she admitted. “Everything is happening so quickly.”

I exhaled, and placed one of my hands on hers. “It is. Keep talking.”

“I… I never wanted to be with anyone. I never wanted to serve anyone. But here I am now. I feel like I’m taking a test in a language I’ve never spoken on a subject I know nothing about.” Her eyes looked downcast. “I know that isn’t what you want to hear. But I’m really trying. I’m sorry.”

I nodded. “It isn’t. Keep trying. I want to hear one thing, one goal you have for us. If not for us, for me, and if not for me, for yourself.”

Cassidy averted her eyes. “I… I want to understand what this means.”

“To find meaning in our dynamic,” I echoed. “In your new role.”

“Yes, Mistress.” I could tell the honorific was more strained this time.

“Do you want to learn how to be a better submissive?”

“I… I want to learn to be comfortable with being a submissive, I guess.”

I hummed in agreement. “That’s a start, I suppose. Through your training, I’m sure that goal will become more clear. I’m sure you’ll find many more hopes and dreams for us. Because I have my aspirations, but…” I sighed. “But I need to know you first.”

Cassidy looked away. Her mouth opened, and then it closed. “I’m sorry, Mistress. That’s all I can think of. You seem to know me pretty well, anyways.”

“Hmm.” I nodded. “I see. We’ll work on this in your devotion and obedience training. The first three on that list I gave you, and finding confidence in your position. Doesn’t seem like you have much of that, in general.”

“That’s because—“ Once again, she stopped herself, deflated, and relented. “I suppose that’s true, Mistress.”

I smiled. “Of course it is. Your Mistress is always right, plaything. Always.”

Most of the time.

Cassidy didn’t respond to that, but I knew what she was thinking. Time for a slight change of pace.

I finished my food quickly, and then stood up. “Stand.”

“Yes, Mistress.” Cassidy stood up, keeping her back straight and her shoulders tensed up.

I patted my hands to her shoulders, and she relaxed them. “We had a setback yesterday, but we’re going to get back on track. You have a daily routine, now. What is it?”

Cassidy inhaled, holding her breath, preparing for the punishment when she inevitably got something wrong. “I… put on makeup and get into position, you, um, inspect me, then tell me to get dressed — um, yesterday, you picked out my clothes, b-but I don’t know if you’ll do that again… and… um… next, I…”

I sighed, letting a laugh leave my lips. “Then you ask me if I want any favors, plaything. And then you do them for me. Was that part too complicated.”

Cassidy flushed at the insult, but continued. “Y-yes. Of course. Then I take care of Milkshake’s food. And then, um… I have classes, you mentioned?”

“Correct. Do you remember what kind?”

She furrowed her eyebrows. “You were… going to enroll me back in college…” She closed her eyes tight, frustrated at herself for not remembering more. Oh well, I guess I couldn’t expect her last few brain cells to work that hard.

“Yes. You’ll major in Psychology with a minor in Soulmate Studies. Then you can take whatever electives you want, so long as they don’t infringe on your service to me. Since you already have a Bachelor’s degree…” I had to physically hold back the ‘somehow’ — I didn’t need to lay on the insults so hard, “you should have some freedom with the school with that. Of course, I’ll have the final say on what you do or don’t do. Do you understand?”

Cassidy nodded. “Yes, Mistress.” Her voice still held sadness, but a hint of determination peeked through. So she was ready to get back on track like I was. Good.

“I’ll get you a catalogue later. Oh, and, if you do meet anyone… be careful what you share. Understand?”

“I—“ Cassidy stopped herself and nodded. “Yes, Mistress.”

A part of her still wanted to fight back. I could see it. But she was trying to suppress it. She was trying to train herself, too. Cassidy wasn’t smart enough to truly hide the sadness and grieving for her old life in her eyes. But she was trying.

“Makeup and posing were obviously forgone for now. But what’s the next step?”

“…asking you if you want any favors?”

“Good girl. Go on.”

Cassidy paused, afraid of what would come her way. Regardless, she knew better than to blatantly disobey, at this point. “Do… you want any favors, Mistress?”

“Yes, I would. Get down on your knees.”

Cassidy paused. She began to kneel, but too slowly. The hesitation came back, the willingness to try to fight against her situation. I grabbed her head and pushed her down faster. “Don’t make me ask you twice, idiot.”

My Soulmate bit her lip. “Right.”

“‘Right’—“

“I meant, yes, Mistress,” she corrected herself. Soon, she was on her knees, her palms holding her upper body up. “What… now?”

“I want you to service me,” I started.

“How?”

I smirked. “In a rush, aren’t you? Down here, obviously.”

I undid my belt and lowered it along with my pencil skirt. Today I wore cute light blue panties, with fabric thin enough to show my bulge. My shaft needed some coaxing to stand firm, coaxing I’d force Cassidy to give. I grabbed a chair and swung it around, sitting down in it.

“Pull my panties down and service me, now,” I ordered.

Cassidy’s hands nervously went up to my waist. Her body was shaking like a leaf. It was cute, especially now that she wasn’t spitting insults in my face, or bemoaning needlessly about her new life. “Y-yes, Mistress,” she stammered. Seeing her fear, the way her eyes already began to well up, already made my crotch feel warm. Cassidy’s fingers latched on to my panties and pulled them down. My cock sprang out, ready to be pleasured by someone other than my own hand or a hookup.

Ready to be pleasured by my life partner.

My Property.

Cassidy’s jaw dropped slighter. She knew what to do, and yet, she still hesitated. “Do you want me to get the cane to make you go faster, plaything?”

“N-no, Mistress.”

“Good. My hand will work just fine if you continue to displease me. Go on?”

Her willpower was like a tide — receding and pushing waves, depending on how I treated her. It was like a dance. I needed to know her tides, her emotional state, so that I could control her properly at any time.

Finally, Cassidy placed her hands on my lower thighs. Fuck, why did that feel so good? Her mouth was inches away from my shaft, and I could feel her unsteady breaths on it.

“Now, plaything,” I spoke as firmly as possible. Cassidy closed her eyes, and placed one gentle kiss on my tip. I exhaled. “Good start, my dumb fleshlight. Keep going.”

She pulled back, staring at my shaft as if it were hypnotizing her itself. I reached down and touched it, stroking it gently. Enough to keep me aroused, not enough to escalate my arousal. “Surely you want to, plaything. You want to service your Mistress. Haven’t we been over this?”

“We… um…” Cassidy’s breathing grew heavy, her eyes tearing up once more from her humiliation. Her resistance. Once again, I reveled in it. I wanted to see her cry; no, I wanted to see her cry while I was deep in her throat.

I gave my member one final stroke, before I moved my hand to Cassidy’s head and grasped her hair. “Do you want me to make this easier for you?”

Cassidy just nodded.

“Then do me a favor. Put your hand over your womb for me.”

“Huh? W-why?”

“Don’t question me!” I grasped her hair harder as I shouted. “Just do as you’re told!”

I calmed myself, but it seems that level of force was sufficient. Cassidy straightened her upper body enough to expose that area. She put her hand on it. Immediately, her body shifted, even with the slightest amount of pressure.

“W—what… what’s…”

I smirked. “You think I’d take that out the second we stepped out of the shower? No. I’m going to plant your head with so many triggers, your mind will be my garden. I’m going to break your mind. So why would I take away one of the two triggers I gave you just the other day?”

Cassidy whimpered. “It… why does it feel so…”

“No more questions,” I spoke, “press your hand down harder.”

She followed the command. The physical pain of being completely empty followed. A single tear rolled down her cheek as her body shook. “P-please… I… I can’t…”

“We are here because of you. I am doing this to make service easier for you. You don’t want to be in pain, do you?”

Cassidy shook her head, more tears falling down. Oh, fuck. I felt pre forming just seeing her wail in pain. “Then press harder.”

“I-I…” Cassidy couldn’t do anything but follow the command. She heaved and panted and choked out a myriad of sobs.

“Will you service me now, you dumb fucktoy?”

Cassidy still resisted. But she couldn’t suppress that deep, dark, empty feeling. She relented, opened her mouth, and took me in. My cock twitched against her mouth. I wasn’t even a third of the way in and already Cassidy’s gag reflex kicked in. This was going to be fun.

“Keep pressing, plaything,” I ordered, “the only way you’re going to get rid of that painful, awful feeling, is if you comply.”

Cassidy took me in just a bit deeper, bopping her head once. It wasn’t enough.

I grabbed the back of her head and slammed myself into her throat.

The muffled, painful cry she let out felt like a symphony. I let out an audible, indecent moan as she continued to choke and sob against me. “This will feel good, plaything,” I told her through my breathy inhales, “it will feel good when I fill you up, and get rid of that feeling.”

Cassidy’s hand stayed pressed against herself. I didn’t know why, honestly. She knew it was causing her pain. And yet, maybe her two brain cells put together that it would make sucking me off feel that much better. Getting rid of that empty feeling would help her see the joy of service.

I used her head like a fleshlight, moving it up and down roughly as my hips continued their work. All the while, Cassidy sobbed. Eventually, she began doing her part too. Her head moved for her, taking me in even deeper — even as her gag reflex kicked in. She used her tongue to wrap around my tip, licking the precum off of it.

I arched my back, my head threw back. Fucking her throat mercilessly felt good enough already. But paired with the trigger I gave her working in perfection, to hearing her choke and sob against me, to seeing herself willingly torture herself to better serve me…

My body couldn’t take it. With one long, deep thrust, I came into her mouth, filling her mouth slowly with fluid, hot cum. She choked again, her face dropping, the humiliation overcoming her. I kept thrusting, making her take every single drop into her throat.

Through my climax, an idea popped up. Another scintillatingly hot idea. I pulled myself out mid orgasm. Cassidy’s mouth was about to open to spit everything out, but I wouldn’t let her. I clasped my hand over her mouth as I continued my orgasm.

Soon enough, she was entirely filled with cum, satisfying that feeling I instilled in her. And her face was covered in my fluids — in me — to match. I almost felt myself have another small one as I saw some of it slide off her face. She continued to sob as my climax ended, her body shivering.

My hand stayed firmly on her mouth.

“Swallow,” I ordered.

Cassidy didn’t immediately, letting my cum float around in her mouth. She wanted me to release her. I wouldn’t.

Cassidy swallowed slowly. I took my hand off of her and she collapsed, gasping for air.

“Don’t you see, plaything?” I sighed in satisfaction, petting her head softly. “If you obey my orders. you won’t feel pain. You’ll feel joy, fulfillment, in service.”

She didn’t respond, continuing to catch her breath. Her body was shuddering, still gasping for air. I knew that body language. I knew that Cassidy didn’t hate the way I treated her, even if she acted like it. Some part of her wanted it, and wanted more. I took another moment myself, before I cleaned myself and lifted my panties and skirt. “Get up.”

I stood, and Cassidy soon followed. It looked like she was about to collapse.

To prevent that, I grasped her, and held her in my arms.

Cassidy continued to sob into me. She embraced me back. Was her crying of sorrow, or of joy, or of sheer confusion? I couldn’t tell. But either way, I loved to see it.

We stood there for a while, only hearing our own heartbeat. I released her.

Cassidy lifted her arm—

I grabbed it.

“You won’t be wiping that off until I give you permission,” I said, making her deflate. “Consider this another mark of ownership for you.”

My hand grasped onto hers, allowing Cassidy’s weight to fall on me. “Alright,” I said softly, “let’s go to your room.”

Cassidy clearly didn’t love walking around with my cum on her face. I loved it, though.

We still had work to do between the two of us, and I still had to work myself to find a good rhythm. That would come in time. I wanted to use her and I wanted her to want me to use her, too.