I couldn’t tell where my tears ended and Aura’s cum began. All I knew was that my face was a mess, and I felt more degraded than ever. 

Not only was I just forced to service my Owner in front of the entire mansion staff -- I was forced to walk around with the evidence, too.

I held back sobs as I walked, trying not to let Aura get off even more on my misery. My throat hurt. It felt like her shaft was still inside me, still thrusting. Even worse, I felt myself instinctively bop my head as if I were still following orders. I was humiliated and destroyed, and some sick part of me loved it. That empty feeling… I couldn’t quite describe it. It was almost like a physical pain, though I couldn’t feel where exactly the pain was. And a masochistic desire I wanted to suppress forced me to go harder. The further my hand pressed into my womb, the more I questioned why I was doing this. Why I was hurting myself just because Aura told me to, and why I was beginning to enjoy it. In truth, it did make things easier -- Aura’s shaft, and her dumping her load down my throat, entirely quenched that feeling.

Though, I can’t say Aura forced me to do anything. She ordered me around; but I could have rebelled, I could have made another attempt to make my case. There wasn’t any case left to make, though, so I just went along with her orders.

Parts of me questioned why I apologized to this… to this… to Aura, in the first place, and questioned why I felt bad in the first place. And parts of me wanted to lean into it. A devil on my shoulder, urging me to just give in and accept my role. Wanting Aura to break my head so that I wouldn’t even need to think of resistance.

I wanted to resist, when she had me get on my knees, when she had me use my own hypnotic trigger, when she had me suck and swallow like some slut. I didn’t. I genuinely felt bad about yesterday, even if it didn’t excuse the way Aura treated me.

But more pressingly, I wanted to service her. It was almost like a primal urge; it felt natural. Natural to obey, natural to serve, natural to be an prized obedient piece of property.

I was no longer at war with Aura, or the law. I was at war with myself.

Then let’s try again, she said to me.

What was there to even try?

Every time I lifted my arm to instinctively wipe off cum or tears from my face, Aura stopped me. I felt like I needed to shower for a million years. Her fluids were hot, just like my waterworks, and the stickiness and smell was all I could sense.

Almost by instinct, my tongue reached to clean up some of her fluids. Why was I doing this? Why was I further indulging Aura?

My Mistress turned around, eyeing me trying to clean myself up. Instead of stopping me, she just smirked. I hated-loved that smirk.

“Here, let me get that for you.”

She lifted her finger and swiped some of the watery cum off my face.

Then she shoved her fingers down my throat, activating my gag reflex once more. “Suck,” she ordered.

I complied, taking in even more of her cum into my stomach. I felt sick from anxiety and sheer, raw humiliation.

“Good girl,” she said, pulling her fingers out. 

I flushed, answering, “thank you, Mistress.”

Why did I say that? Why did I want to be called a good girl, by Aura Kensington specifically? That wish was betraying everything I knew about myself. Everything I thought I knew.

~~

I thought I was going to be put through more humiliation, but instead Aura just sat me down on my bed. She pulled me into an embrace on the bed, and once again I broke down in sobs. I couldn’t tell if Aura’s hug was the catalyst in the way that being touched by her felt terrible or because I needed her touch right then.

“Shhh, there, there,” she spoke in an uncharacteristically soft voice. “I have you, plaything. Everything is going to be okay.”

It was strange to hear those words coming from someone who made me exist with her cum on my face. But her words were a slight comfort, nonetheless. Was this an effect of the mark as well? Did the mark psychologically or physiologically change me to be obedient and find comfort in the arms of the woman hurting me so much?

“You did so well for me this morning, Cassidy.” Aura using my actual name instead of an insult or degrading pet name felt reassuring. “I know this is an adjustment for you, but you obeyed me, and you felt fulfilled by it. And I sure felt good using your body as my toy.” She kissed my temple, one of the few spots not covered with tears or cum, and softly held my hand. “And I did appreciate your apology. Your want to make amends. Because I want to make you mine, but I want to make you enjoy being mine.”

I continued to sob, unable to say anything but another “thank you, Mistress”, barely audible. Aura pulled out a handkerchief. She wiped the tears from my eyes, but kept my face otherwise ruined.

Aura continued to pet me, keep me comfortable. She pulled out the blanket from under the bed - I hadn’t even felt like making my bed this morning - and wrapped us in it.

“Our work today isn’t done,” she said. Of course it’s not… “But let’s stay here like this, just for now. I want to be with my Soulmate. I can be with my fucktoy later.”

It was a strange sentiment. Aura had been preparing for this relationship her whole life, it seemed. She clearly had a lot of practice in caning and hypnosis. Distantly, I remembered the fact that she wanted a Soulmate desperately.

I remember saying to her that she was the worst Soulmate ever.

I grimaced at the reminder. Aura wasn’t treating me great, that was for sure. But the worst Soulmate ever?

Jury was still out on that one.

“Here.” Aura pulled out her phone, pressed through a couple tabs, and handed it to me. “Look through some of the classes this coming semester. You don’t have to decide now, but at least hearing what interests you will help.”

I stared at the phone listlessly, my sobbing having lightened up. “Help how, Mistress?” I asked in a quiet voice.

“Help me learn about you. Help me learn how to best train you, how to make the most of your abilities for our dynamic. Help build up that thing you call a brain,” she chuckled, poking my head gently. I closed my eyes. The insult mostly flew over my head. “You should have had all your gen eds satisfied by your Bachelor’s degree. If not, I’ll make sure none of the classes you take are worthless or meaningless. No philosophy of whatever classes.”

I nodded. “Philosophy isn’t up my alley.”

“Yes. I did see your transcript, that showed that nicely.” I looked away from my Soulmate as she casually tossed another insult my way. “Just find a few that interest you. We don’t have to pick today, again.”

I stared at the phone, now in my hands. Of course she got me to one of the best schools, which means not only I skipped over the admissions process -- wonder how much bribing that took -- but also there were too many categories to choose from.

I didn’t know where to start. The sensation of dried cum on my face became apparent again. Aura put a hand on my shoulder.

“After this, we should take care of the paperwork with the government. The deadline is upon us,” she continued. “I was planning to do so last night, but, well… y’know.”

I nodded gently. I sure didn’t need a reminder. Obviously, I gravitated towards the art classes. I’d probably qualify for the higher grade stuff, given my former BA. But I explored a little. None of it really made sense.

“Floral arrangement sounds nice,” I said in a dry voice, my throat completely charred from being used so roughly and all my crying. “I could get into sewing and do some fashion design classes.” Aura’s face lit up at that suggestion, but she didn’t say anything.
“Glassblowing, too. Surprised they have a class for that here.”

Aura raised an eyebrow. “They didn’t at your undergraduate school?”

I laughed at that. “No. It was a poorly funded state school. The only college I got into, in the end.” I knew there was a heavy chance she would insult me for that, but the insult didn’t come. Guess she only liked making me feel bad on her own terms.

“I see,” was all Aura responded with. “Floral arrangement, fashion. and glassblowing. Anything else catch your eye?”

I took another rudimentary look at the schedule. So many words. It wasn’t that I couldn’t read what was on the screen. My mind wasn’t registering it. “I’m not sure right now, Mistress.”

“Three choices can be enough for now,” Aura took back her phone and dusted off the screen. She tugged the blanket in, pulling me closer to her. Her body felt so warm. I almost sank into it.

A soft laugh left me. Aura didn’t question it and continued to gently pet my back. She wasn’t hypnotizing me. She wasn’t even trying to. But I just felt safe and surrounded in that moment.

“You are safe here, plaything,” she said, despite what had just happened an hour ago. “You’re safe with your Mistress.”

I wanted that to stay true forever.

I didn’t respond to that. I simply hummed and leaned my weight further into Aura. Nothing made sense. I guess I didn’t need anything to make sense right now.

I’m not sure how long we were there for. We kept up some light conversation, and slowly, my life started returning to my voice. Somehow, I was speaking naturally around her, exhausted and mentally drained as I was. But eventually Aura scooped me back up to my feet. She held me steady, carelessly throwing the blanket back on the bed. “Come on,” she said, “let’s take care of that paperwork.”

~~

If looking through college classes made no sense to me, I wasn’t sure cold government copywriting would. Vaguely, some of the legal language I could recognize, but even pretending to be a lawyer hurt.

Aura opened a few tabs, all different facets of what we had to do. She had them all bookmarked. Notably, her desktop was a mess, with files stacked on top of one another. Her desk wasn’t exactly neat, either, with three dried, empty cups of coffee to the corner.

“Let’s start by transferring your assets into my name. That should be the most straightforward. I have your wallet here.”

I stared blankly at the screen, trying to mentally recall what assets I exactly had.

Aura began to type, occasionally looking at me expectantly. Eventually, she raised a question. “What assets do you have to your name, plaything?”

I looked away. “About thirty dollars in my bank account, Mistress.”

Aura grabbed my hair and pulled my head back. “Thirty dollars? Three, zero?”

I nodded. “Yes, Mistress.” I remembered why. Her company paid its retail employees like absolute shit. And I couldn’t get full time hours even if I wanted them.

“Where did all your money even go? You worked for my company!”

Oh, here we go. I bit my lip, trying to make my response as even as possible. “I… I wasn’t paid the best.”

Aura’s grasp on my hair tightened. “Excuse me? Are you implying my company didn’t pay you enough?”

“I--” fuck. I didn’t want to get into another argument, even though I wanted to spit in her face and command her to pay her retail employees maybe a bit more. I inhaled, exhaled, trying to let the anger die in my blood. “I lived alone, Mistress. It was… pricey.”

The indignation in Aura’s eyes died as well. “I see. There isn’t much point to doing this, then, but government procedures are government procedures.”

I entered all my information as commanded. Obviously there was no need to hide things like my social security number or bank information, but I still hesitated when entering it. Aura urged me with a quick slap to my back -- nothing painful, just startling -- to burst me out of my fugue. So there. My whole $32.57 was now in Aura’s possession. Sarcastically I thought, wow, this will really change her life; maybe she’ll donate it, or something.

I tried to shut up that part of my brain. It wasn’t helping. Fighting back wasn’t helping. When I fought I either hurt myself or Aura.

And yet, the more and more forms we went through to register ourselves legally as a couple, I paused over and over. Why was I doing this? Aura would slap me like beckoning a horse to ride, but over time I just shut down more and more.

This isn’t right. This isn’t fair.

There has to be some kind of solution, some kind of middle ground.

This can’t be legal.

But it is.

And nothing I can do will change that fact.

Aura grabbed my hair when I hadn’t typed anything in for 30 seconds. “We don’t have all week, plaything,” she growled. “These forms are due tonight. Stop stalling so much.”

I winced, blinking back tears. “I-I’m sorry, Mistress.” I could lie and pretend all I want that I was perfectly fine and happy with this situation. Hell, even Aura knew I wasn’t, so there would be no point anyways. And yet, every lash, every insult, every slap when I wasn’t moving fast enough, it hurt. Physically, and emotionally.

She was right. I didn’t know much about Soulmates. I knew of the industry and the laws surrounding the concept - at least I thought I did - but I didn’t know anything about relationships, or love, companionship, trust. I didn’t have those things.

I might have, at one point in my life.

Oh, no. And now I was thinking about her.

Not Aura Kensington, not myself, her. The woman I thought would be my Soulmate. The woman who I thought I’d be together forever with until destiny decided otherwise.

Images flashed before my eyes as I forced myself to type. Waking up to find an Ownership mark on my partner, the love of my life, Alaura Grosz. I remember Alaura’s last words before she walked out the door, refusing to fight for us, for everything we had.

Why did destiny pull us apart so cruelly? Why did destiny decide I deserved to be owned by someone like Aura, instead?

I suppressed these thoughts as best as I could. But I guess Aura saw something different in my eyes.

“What are you thinking about?” she demanded, turning my face to meet hers.

“N-nothing,” I lied.

SLAP

The left side of my cheek burned hot, and for a second I could see white. “Lying to your Mistress again, I see,” she mused. “Do you want another punishment?”

Was there any hiding anything from this woman? “N-no, Mistress. I’m sorry.” I curled my fingers with each other, looking away from the screen. “Just… thinking about an old…” I winced as I said, “friend.”

“It sounds like you’re pretty hung up on this person.”

I closed my eyes. “No, Mistress, I’m -- I’m not, not really, at least. I just… thought about her.”

“And it made you upset, I take it?”

I pursed my lips. “Yes. We were… close.” Honestly, I didn’t want to say anything else. Aura didn’t need to know about it. She didn’t need to know one of the real reasons why I hated everything about Soulmates -- including being one.

Aura, apparently, thought differently.

“Her name,” she said bluntly as she typed.

“Huh?”

“What was her name?” she growled, hitting the enter key particularly hard.

“U-um, I, well…” I didn’t want to tell her. I didn’t want to tell her. But that wasn’t an option. Before Aura could double down on her order, I spoke, “Alaura Grosz.” Even speaking her name hurt. It had been five years since she left. I wondered if she ever even thought of me since then.

“Alaura Grosz,” Aura repeated. “She wasn’t just a friend, was she?”

I deflated. There really was no hiding anything from her. “How did you know?”

“You’re an open book to me, even if you don’t want to be,” Aura sneered. “Getting information from you is like reading a picture book made for third graders. You don’t keep secrets well. Which makes me glad I took your phone away, by the way.” A small fire of rage burnt in my heart; I tried to extinguish it. “Was she a partner?”

I hesitated, if anything trying to process her insults. “Yes, Mistress,” I admitted.

“But not a Soulmate.”

That should be obvious. She just wants to emotionally torment me over it. “No, Mistress.”

“Hmm.” Aura dropped the subject temporarily to wave her hand. “Give me your hand.”

“H-huh?”

She didn’t give me an opportunity to let me process the order. She grabbed my hand, and forcibly put my thumb on her fingerprint reader. “A-ah!” Her forceful grabs hurt my muscles, not to mention surprised me. Instinctively, I tried to resist, but Aura overpowered me.

“God,” Aura released me, “all I needed was your fingerprint for this damn form. Not everything I’m going to do will result in your crying and suffering.”

I retreated my hand, shaking off the pain, the bad touches. “You could have just said that, you didn’t need to grab me like that!”

Aura turned her head to me, and immediately I caught my mistake. “I-I’m sorry, Mistress!” I gasped. That bit of rage took over me for a minute, even if I wasn’t screaming and shouting and insulting my Owner. “I’m really trying, I — I didn’t mean--”

She didn’t let me finish. She swirled her chair around, grabbed a nearby cane, and hit my sitting thighs with it. I gasped in pain. One strike wasn’t enough for her. She struck me more, and more, until she felt satisfied.

“Next time, follow orders quicker, and don’t speak back to me.”

I sobbed out, “yes, Mistress.” Who knew doing government paperwork could be so painful?

Aura dropped the cane and turned around. “What happened with you and Alaura Grosz?”

Fuck. I was hoping she would forget this topic. Trying to regain my composure as quickly as possible, I responded. “She… she got her Soulmate Mark.”

“And… it wasn’t for you.”

I shook my head. Reliving that moment, that first sight, felt like my heart crushed all over again. “What kind of mark was it?”

Why do you need to know this? I almost asked, before physically feeling the cane against my thighs again. “An Ownership one. She was the Owner of… I can’t remember her name.”

Aura pursed her lips, and seemed to drop the topic, when in reality, she just was giving me that false sense of hope as she finished another form. “You sound like you still aren’t over her.”

“N-no!” I exclaimed. “I mean, no, Mistress, I am. I don’t want to see her again, I hope she’s happy, I’m over her. I’m…” I hated this. Forced vulnerability. I didn’t want to share this with anyone, let alone Aura Kensington. I tried my hardest to look tough and confident, and it never worked. 

“I’m not over the pain,” I admitted quietly.

Aura’s hands lifted from her keyboard, almost like an epiphany overcame her. She didn’t say anything for a while, her jaw still half-open, and she didn’t respond until I spoke up again.

“Why… are you asking?”

Aura didn’t immediately respond. My dumb mouth opened again, “are you jealous, Mistress?”

Okay. I definitely did not need to add that.

Aura turned to me. I expected her to look angry for questioning her, but her face was unreadable. Surprise, confusion, frustration, grief, all things that she could have been feeling, but I couldn’t know. I wasn’t in her head.

Her eyes averted from mine. “Yes,” she said quietly, wrapping her arms around herself. “Only a little.”

My eyes widened. Once again, when she said that, she looked raw. Human. Vulnerable. Aura obviously wasn’t the kind of person to reveal her emotions - other than anger and impatience - unless warranted or challenged to. She was admitting to being jealous.

Almost like… being insecure. Was she scared I was going to leave her? No. Aura Kensington didn’t know fear. At least, that’s what I believed the whole time I’ve known of her. Besides, she squashed my attempt to escape along with any future thoughts of trying the same. 

But the way she held her body, that wasn’t a pose of dominance, or of control.

It was anxiety, the kind I would get before a test, overwhelmed by studying for the bar, or… or when thinking of Alaura and how she coldly left me, or even worse, my parents. Aura averted her eyes, but I could still see the petrified way her eyes shook. Did she know she looked like that? Was she trying to look weak for me?

I didn’t know. For some reason, I had the urge to double down, to hurt her in this exact moment. That would have maybe made her let me go, or treat me differently.

But I didn’t.

I wanted to help. I wanted to help this woman who was hurting me and had hurt so many others before me.

“I…” I didn’t know what to say, honestly. I was the one who needed more comfort, reassurance, and freedom in this dynamic. Aura gave me those things sparingly. And yet…

“I’m… not going to leave you.” I don’t know if my words were true, but at least they were comforting.

Aura looked up to meet my eyes, trying to hide whatever she might have been feeling. She looked small, even in a suit and with a cane and bearing a mark saying she legally Owned me.

I nervously reached my arms out. What was I doing? Aura was getting a taste of the fear and uncertainty I was feeling. Isn’t that the least of what she deserves?

And yet, I grasped her shoulders, holding her still. Aura’s muscles slowly calmed down, the tension draining away like a sink.

“I’m your Soulmate,” I said. “I can’t leave you.” Neither of those statements were lies. Not without pause, I added, “I won’t.”

“Even if you had someone you loved? Someone who… didn’t hurt you?”

I didn’t know what to say. It would be nice to have a Soulmate who wouldn’t hurt me. But that wouldn’t be Aura. I didn’t know the answers. However, I could imagine what she was feeling in those wide, scared eyes.

“Yes,” I said. “I won’t leave you.” Saying it again sounded more real than the last time. Maybe it felt easier to say because, in a way, I was the one in control. I could absolutely double down and make her feel horrible and try to take control of the situation. No — try to take control of Aura. It was an option I had. But unlike some people, I wasn’t the kind of person to take control over vulnerable, apparently hurting people.

Maybe that’s why I had a Property mark.

Aura closed her eyes. She breathed in and out, trying to bring herself back to her usual Aura self. I didn’t know what I was looking at. I didn’t know who I was looking at. The Aura Kensington I knew would never look like this — as CEO of the worst industry ever, or as my Soulmate, or as my Owner.

“I won’t leave you,” I repeated again. I felt some guilt. After all, I still wasn’t sure if I were telling the truth. Because when she caned me earlier, the fleeting fantasy of escape did cross my mind.

With one long exhale, Aura opened her eyes, eyeing me down back into my submissive position.

“What did you see?” She asked, her pitch of voice returning to homeostasis.

“I-I…” I removed my hands from Aura. What kind of question was that? What did she think I saw? “Just… you looking upset, Mistress. You said you were jealous.”

“Oh,” Aura said simply, fixing her glasses. “Right. Yes. Well, there’s no need for me to be jealous. You are mine. You belong to me, and no one else.”

That’s the Aura I know. Whether I prefer this version or not.

Version… I couldn’t shake the image of Aura Kensington looking scared out of my head. 

“Yes, Mistress,” I responded before too long.

Aura cracked her neck in both ways. “Do you want to think about Alaura Grosz, if it’s hurting you so much?” she asked, her voice still rather choppy.

“I… no, Mistress. I don’t want to think about her. She isn’t important right now. She…” I hesitated once more. “She isn’t my Soulmate. You are.”

Aura seemed satisfied with that response. She exhaled in relief. “Then…”

Aura reached up, and touched my cheek gently with her thumb. For a second, I was confused about what was going on. Then, she swiped her finger down, and I fell into a deep, blissful abyss, my body collapsing into Aura’s.

~~

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed when I fell into trance, but I remembered a dark blue fog wrapping around me, and physically restricting me. Not just my body - but my mind too.

I felt a physical pang of loneliness in my heart. But every time I tried hard to remember what prompted it, all I could envision was Aura’s face. Aura’s face -- non-sadistic, smiling upon me, gracing me with soft touches and safe embraces, finding safety in the most dangerous places. For some reason, my heart fluttered thinking of her. It was the beginning of what love -- or, adoration -- might feel like. I looked sleepily into Aura’s eyes, calm yet dominant, waiting for me to step out of line again. I didn’t want to, now.

I faintly thought of Alaura Grosz. I wasn’t sure why. My mind didn’t linger on her so much so that I could barely make out her face in my memories. It was like I briefly touched the wings of a butterfly before it soared away, never to be seen again.

“There,” she said. “Let’s finish up this paperwork. We still have to declare you my dependent.”

I suppressed an annoyed sigh. “Yes, Mistress,” I responded through my disgruntled feelings.

We finished the forms -- every time I paused, Aura would slap my back, kicking my back into action. My back hurt, still bruised and aching from a few days ago, and yet she kept hitting it the harder I spaced out. “Wake up,” she’d say, “back to me. Don’t let your mind go anywhere else.”

Somberly, I’d answer, “yes, Mistress.” And then my mind would continue to shut down again, to dissociate from my current situation.

Eventually, we finished the form. I never thought paperwork could be physically painful, but this was physically and mentally taxing.

“Good girl,” Aura purred. She swiped off more cum from my face -- fuck, I almost forgot it was there -- and shoved her fingers in my mouth once again. She didn’t let go until I licked her fingers clean. I wanted to pause for as long as I could, to annoy her into giving up, but it was a moot effort. I licked the dried cum off her fingers. “A reward for you.”

Sure.

Until then, I had completely forgotten it was even there. Now I was awfully aware again, my tastebuds reacting accordingly.

“Stand up,” Aura ordered. “We have some more to get done today. We’re behind on our training.”

~~

Aura held my face still as she washed off her fluids from my face. Her hands worked expertly, holding my shaking head still as she cleared off every drop. She used some kind of wipe -- it felt like a makeup removing wipe, but I couldn’t be sure. 

Either way, I was glad to finally have it off of me. Weird to think about how I spent our most tender moment so far with my face covered in cum. I don’t think my face had ever felt cleaner, not even the times I did end up going to the spa or whatever. 

“There,” Aura spoke with finality, tossing out the three wipes she used. “That should be everything.”

“Thank you, Mistress,” I responded. Genuinely, I was grateful, even if she was the reason my face was hot and sticky and humiliated for so long.

We walked out of the bathroom back into my main room. I wasn’t quite sure where we were going, but soon enough, I got direction. “Stand against the wall,” Aura ordered, pointing her cane towards a barren wall.

I looked down as I scurried over, giving another affirmative.

“We’re going to go over poses today. This will be as quick and as painless as you make it.”

I could only guess what that meant.

“Stand with your hands by your sides, back straight, looking directly ahead.”

That was an easy enough command. I stood against the wall, my hands at my side, standing as straight as possible. I guess it wasn’t enough for Aura, because she grabbed the cane and hit my shoulders. I exclaimed in pain, and surprise, considering I’d done what was told.

“Straighter,” she growled. “Do you really want to greet your Mistress with shoulders all tensed up like those? It hurts your posture, in case you weren’t aware.”

I shook my head, whimpering. “N-no, Mistress.” I inhaled in the pain, straightening my back and lowering my shoulders more naturally.

“Good.” She tapped the cane to the ground and began walking around my body, looking at it from every angle. “Oh. I forgot one thing. Strip,” she ordered.

My face flushed red. “I--”

“Do I need to repeat myself, plaything?” She tapped the cane to the ground, threatening what she would do next.

I shook my head gently. Then, I took off my shirt and my pants, leaving me just in lingerie.

“Oh my god, are you stupid? Don’t answer that. Everything!”

I gasped in fear. My body scrambled to undo my bra and take off my panties, working faster than I could process the command. My body was getting used to following orders based on fears, like it had now known what would happen if it refused to comply. Even if I didn’t want to follow Aura’s orders, I had no choice. My body knew.

“There we go,” she purred. “Much better. This is pose 1. I’m giving you 7 poses, and you’ll be memorizing all of them. Got it?”

I didn’t break the pose, and instead gave a light breathed “yes, Mistress.” Truth be told, I wasn’t very confident I could remember 7 poses, but I wouldn’t admit that verbally.

“Let’s go into pose 2. This is the one you did yesterday morning. Do you remember what it was?”

I simply moved my arms behind my back, crossing one over the other. That was a simple enough variation that I could recall it. Hopefully I’d get through this scene as painlessly as possible, especially if this would become part of my daily routine.

Aura walked around me, eyeing me from every angle, and touching every inch she felt like. I winced when she grabbed my breasts and cunt, earning me another couple of strikes from the cane. At this point, I wasn’t sure what part of my body hadn’t been stricken in some way.

“Step forward.” I took one giant step forward from the wall. “Pose 3. Hands behind your head, plaything.”

“Yes, Mistress,” I exhaled unevenly, trying to recover from the recent blows. My hands lifted to the back of my head, almost holding it up. The pose made my breasts look far more perky than usual, and so Aura paid extra attention to them. She pinched my nipples, eliciting a shocked gasp from me as the pain overtook my body.

She pinched harder, and twisted. “Sensitive in this area, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” I hid my tears.

The cane struck my left breast as Aura held it still with her pinching. “Yes, what?”

“Yes, Mistress.” My tears were no longer a secret once more, and I let out a few sobs.

“Ah, there are those beautiful sobs I love from you,” she grinned sadistically, “I just love it when you sound like that. It’s like music.”

I indulged her. I wanted to stop myself from sobbing so hopelessly. And yet, I couldn’t. She knew the exact areas to strike — physically, and emotionally.

“Calm down, plaything,” Aura leaned in and gently stroked my hair. Somehow, that touch grounded me, bringing me back to the present. I couldn’t tell which was preferable to stay in — that airy sense of dissociation, or grounded to the present second with a Mistress whose arousal mostly came from my grief.

She stroked my hair for a while, her other hand playing with my chest, before she stepped away. We went back to the barked orders and threats of physical harm.

“Kneel,” she ordered, “hands on your thighs.”

I got into the position, assuming this was #4.

“This is position #5.”

“Huh? Then what’s the point of—“

The cane struck me before I had a chance to think about what I had just started to say. 

“This is position #5,” Aura repeated, her voice ten times as toxic. I clasped my hands on my thighs accordingly, not saying another word. Allowing her to look around and inspect me as such.

She kneeled down to me, looking me straight in my wide, shaking, watery eyes. Aura grabbed my head and softly touched it…

And then I felt the burning sting of her slap against my cheek. A couple teardrops fell down my face from the impact. “Don’t look so ungrateful,” she scolded, “I’m doing you a favor, teaching these poses to you, you dumb, dumb, idiot. Shouldn’t you be thanking me?”

I kneeled there wordlessly, trying to quickly regain my footing from being slapped. Aura grasped my chin and crushed my face in her hands.

“Well, you ditz?”

“T-t-thank you, Mistress,” I finally answered through stammers and tears.

“There you go,” she released my face, finally. “Get on all fours.”

My brain was so fried from everything. I already forgot most of the poses, truth be told, I couldn’t even focus on what we were doing. Aura wasn’t willing to make her wait. She grabbed the cane and slammed it against my back, repeatedly, until I lunged forward and landed on my hands. My wrists and knees struggled to hold up my whole weight. “This is position #4,” she chimed, “isn’t that nice of me? Making it easy for you to remember? I know your working knowledge isn’t the best.”

I looked down, glaring at the floor, seething through my waterworks.

“What?” Aura sang condescendingly. “You might not be the smartest person alive, but you sure might be the dumbest person alive!”

I didn’t respond. I couldn’t. She wasn’t going to stop insulting me, and I’d keep having to bear that cold feeling of a dagger going through my heart. I sobbed audibly. Aura clicked her tongue.

“What’s wrong? Did I hurt your feelings, plaything?”

“N-no,” I growled.

Aura grabbed my hair and pulled my face back up.

“You’re lying again, aren’t you?” she glared into my scrunched up face. “Honesty. Only. Pet.”

For a split second, I wanted to lash out again. To do a repeat of the night before. To scream and yell and insult her and fight back. Truth be told, it was hard not to indulge that urge. She already saw the fight returning in my eyes. Might as well--

No.

I remembered the way she looked when she believed I’d leave her.

My face softened, and I returned to what should be my new normal. “A little, Mistress,” I admitted in a quiet, soft voice.

“Aw. That’s good,” she grinned. “I worried you were getting used to this or something.”

She kneeled down again, “keep crying. I want to see those beautiful, beautiful tears.”

She didn’t have to ask me twice. The permission she gave was toxic and corrupted, but I accepted it anyways, breaking down in a fit of sobs and tears. I gave her what she wanted, no matter how much I wanted or didn’t want to resist. My arms and legs felt weak.

Aura stood up and walked around.

A minute later, I felt fire on my back, as the cane struck me again and again and again. Relentlessly, the strikes never ended, tearing my body apart. What little skin hadn’t already been bruised now matched the marks I got on day one. My weight collapsed, and Aura slammed the cane to the floor. “Get back up, toy! Back into position #4!”

I gasped for air as I tried to get back up. My entire body hurt. Aura slammed the cane into my back again. “Don’t make me order you again!”

Finally, I returned. The shaking didn’t stop. My body threatened to collapse again.

“Pop quiz. What’s missing?” she asked casually.

I eyed the floor. “I don’t… I don’t know, Mistress.”

The cane slammed my back again.

“‘Yes, Mistress’! God, can you keep any bit of information in those two brain cells of yours?!”

“Y-yes, Mistress.” Before I processed the insult, I gave her what she wanted. Once again, like a weakling.

“No, no you can’t. But I won’t press on that right now.”

There was a moment of silence between us, Aura giving me a moment to cry myself out and collect myself once more. 

“Are you fine now, plaything?” she asked quietly.

I nodded slowly. “Yes, Mistress.”

“Good.”

The cane.

I would never get used to the harsh way it struck me, the stinging and burning feeling it left in its tracks.

“Let’s break you again. Spread your legs and open your mouth.”

I hesitated. I had a feeling what she was going to do.

She raised the cane, and then I obediently opened my mouth, and spread my legs apart from each other. My mind instinctively chose between two degrading acts -- being a fleshlight, and being a punching bag.

“There. I wasn’t going to do anything to you.” Aura got up close, and grinded her crotch against my open mouth. Not putting anything in it, but not exactly leaving me untouched in the slightest. “Though, I might change my mind, you do look rather usable like this…” She continued the subtle threat of using my open hole again, before she retreated.

Aura walked around, giving my other end the same treatment. I could feel how hard she was. How wet I was.

I couldn’t believe how turned on I was by this. Was it a survival mechanism? Something about moving through the various positions, my errors being painfully corrected, and not being given leeway to fuck up was…

Hot.

My body felt it. My mind felt it. Why did I want this? Was it some survival mechanism to adapt to my new inescapable situation?

My arousal hadn’t passed over Aura. She ran her hand down my ass, briefly into my cunt, but only for a second.

“This is position #6. All fours, legs spread, with your mouth open. Got it?”

I was about to answer normally. But she wouldn’t want me to close my mouth for a single millisecond. I nodded.

“Good.” She moved away from my body. “Turn over. Lay down on the ground.”

Weakly, I followed the command, gasping out another affirmative. Every inch of my body hurt, and following the command almost felt like the lashes happened all over again. My head hurt; my mind hurt; my heart hurt. Finally, I laid on the ground face up. The cold floor felt like needles against my back. I looked up at Aura, my eyes half open, panting weakly. Everything hurt.

And I liked it. Some sick part of me wanted more. Whatever stinging, burning, aching, thudding sensation I felt, all I could think about was what it would be like to feel that tenfold.

“This is #7,” she said. Aura spread her legs and kneeled, taking a seat right on my bare chest. “Each morning, I will tell you which number to do, and with your eyes open or… closed.” Aura’s hand trailed up my chest, playing with my parts as she did, grinning down at my sadistically. “If I see you in the wrong position, or with your eyes open when I told you to have them closed, there will be consequences.”

I murmured something incomprehensible. I don’t even know what I was trying to say, anymore. All I knew was that I was very, very horny, and I was very, very unsure why or how. “Will… can you show me them again, Mistress?”

Aura grinned, her hand running up to my mouth and sliding her fingers in. Immediately I started choking on her digits again. “Of course… not. Pain will be your teacher. Your memory will learn soon enough.”

I couldn’t respond as Aura jammed her fingers in and out for a solid minute. Every thrust felt more violating than the last; every movement triggered my gag reflex and triggered my eyes to water again.

Finally, she retracted her fingers. “Close your eyes.”

I obeyed, Aura following me to pitch darkness. My body shook from arousal. I instinctively sucked back, intentionally activating my own gag reflex too. Out of curiosity, I wanted to tell myself.

“There you go, plaything,” Aura’s voice cooled down, speaking to me in a more even tone. Almost -- almost -- like we might have been equals in that second. I couldn’t feel anything but her weight on top of me; I couldn’t see anything and I could only hear her voice. “Keep your eyes closed. Keep that posture nice and tight. Don’t move a muscle.”

I heard some shuffling, Aura standing up to… I guess grab something? I heard a zipper undo, and for a minute I thought my body was going to be used like a fucktoy again. But no, instead I felt the soft yet violating bristles of a makeup brush against my skin. I flinched against the unfamiliar sensation, and Aura held my head still.

“You’re so stupid,” she cackled. “All I’m doing is your makeup. And you’re trying to get away like I’m going to do a repeat of this morning, but worse. Would you prefer that?”

“No, Mistress.” My voice was heavy, nervous. Even though this was objectively less painful, having my makeup done against my wishes -- against what I knew about myself and how I like to present me, myself, it felt painful and humiliating in a new kind of way.

“Good. Keep your head still. I might change my mind, y’know.”

I held my breath to keep my body as still as possible, my breathing shallow.

Aura’s brush strokes were expertful, like she had been professionally trained to do her own makeup, too. When she told me to open my eyes, to apply eye makeup, it was hard not to twitch and shiver. I knew she wasn’t going to deliberately injure my eyes -- I hoped -- but letting her be so close to me, right next to one of the most painful spots on my body, it felt like terror. And yet, I didn’t want her to stop. Of course, it was an unfamiliar and scary sensation, and nothing about my thirst for more extinguished that. My heart felt torn -- did I want this to end, or intensify?

She had picked all the pinkest hues, like she was trying to make me look like a doll or some kind of bimbo. I couldn’t resist. She didn’t ask me what color I wanted; all she said to me were orders to move or tilt my head. It felt like an eternity before she was done, and she had done a full look.

Aura put away the last brush. My eyes were still closed by her command. She pulled out one final item--

“Open your eyes.”

I obeyed. And suddenly, I was looking at myself in the mirror.

Words failed me.

The woman in the mirror didn’t look like Cassidy P. Smith. She looked like a princess, like some preppy girl who did cheer contests and flunked all her tests. (I wouldn’t say that last part out loud. I knew what Aura would respond with.) She looked almost alien; I didn’t even realize I was looking at myself in the mirror for a split second. Every shade that could be colored was colored pink or red. The lipstick in particular was the brightest red I’d ever seen, like a sun on a smokey sunset. It made me look like a slut. A Barbie doll. A bimbo.

It wasn’t me.

“Get used to this sight, princess,” Aura said, giving me a better look of the new me. “This is all you’ll see in the mirror, soon enough.”

A single tear appeared. Aura wiped it away before I could ruin her perfect winged eyeliner. “Aww, don’t cry, princess. After all, look at all the kind things I did for you.”

Aura pulled my body up, throwing the mirror to the side. She pulled my head in for a kiss. A rough kiss. A possessive kiss. She claimed me with her lips. My face quickly was consumed by her. She owned me. Aura Kensington owned every single part of Cassidy Smith. That kiss was the most possessive thing she had done that day.

Eventually, she broke it. I felt denied - sexually, and emotionally too. “Stand up,” she said. Weakly, I followed the command. I wanted to pat at my face, instinctively get the makeup off of me; sensory wise, it felt like complete hell. I knew what kind of treatment that would get me, though.

“What’s… next, Mistress?” I asked, my eyes still unable to look her way. It didn’t help that there was a vanity mirror behind her. One with a pink border, amusingly enough.

“Next, I have to take care of some emails.” Aura dusted herself off. “Get dressed again. Go take care of Milkshake’s evening routine. Don’t let her lick or kiss your makeup.”

The protective way she said don’t made my heart flutter for just a brief moment. Even if she wasn’t talking about me.

“Yes, Mistress.”

“Instructions are in the living room.” Aura led me out of the room, grabbing me by my bare ass. “You did so well for me today, plaything.”

She let go of me, and kissed me again. Gently. Aura wrapped her arms around me, and I stood there motionlessly. Even lifting my arms to attempt to return the favor hurt. And yet, all I wanted to do was cry and curl into a ball.

A sick part of me wanted to curl into a ball, against Aura, specifically, even after all the ways she hurt and mistreated me today.

And then she let me go, retreating to her room. I sighed, and slowly made my way down to the living room.

At least I’d get to see a cute cat, now.

~~

Milkshake’s evening routine was rather straightforward-- play with her, feed her, give her a treat, make sure she knows she’s loved. Aura had left me alone to do so, perhaps as a test to see if I’d try to escape again. The thought had crossed my mind -- I couldn’t lie about that. But I chose not to, if anything to avoid having my body beaten awfully again. 

And also because I told her that I wouldn’t leave, even if I wasn’t sure why I said that.

After the inspection pose training, things felt oddly domestic. I was tending to a house pet and Aura was tending to her business emails. She can’t get away from work, even when she’s on vacation for a major life event…

Not that I was getting used to anything. In fact, if I stopped moving, I would think about my old life. There wasn’t anything glamorous about it, but at least I wasn’t beaten, fucked, made to walk around with someone’s cum on my face, and ordered around and punished if I didn’t move quickly enough.

I wiped my tears whenever they started to turn up. For a bit I let myself sit on the couch and cry. Aura wasn’t there to beat me or get off on my tears. Milkshake jumped up on the couch, curled up on my lap, and fell asleep. Soon enough, my tears stopped, the cat acting like a reassuring weighted blanket.

When she pounced off of me, I got back up to my room, as directed by Aura earlier.

A sweet scent filled my body as I opened the door. It smelled like the best desserts I would have ever treated myself to. My eyes worked faster than the rest of my body, trying to find the source. It didn’t take long before I saw a tray of a dozen blueberry muffins just sitting on my desk.

I wasn’t opposed to getting free treats from my Mistress, especially considering the way she usually treated me. These were from her, right? There was a small sticky note attached to it with nothing but a cutesy drawn heart.

Definitely another stark contrast to the Aura I knew.

I wouldn’t complain though. No point looking a gift horse in the mouth, especially in the midst of the rest of my situation. I immediately took a bite of one, and it was gone within seconds.

“Holy shit,” I murmured, immediately taking another one. I obviously wouldn’t make myself sick downing 12 muffins, but I deserved a bit of indulgence.

A knock sounded through my door, interrupting my blissful fugue. “Yes?” I called out.

Aura Kensington opened the door, raising an eyebrow. She gave me a puzzled look, one of confusion and bewilderment. I had to wonder what she was so surprised about.

“O-oh,” I quickly stood up. “Do you… need me for something, Mistress?”

“No, I…” she shook her head. “I simply wanted to check on my Property. Make sure she is recovering well.”

“Yes, I am, Mistress!” Food was the way into my heart. My smile greeting her felt the most natural it had ever felt. “Thank you for the muffins. They’re so delicious.”

Aura quickly looked away, adjusting her tie. I cocked my head, wanting to ask more questions. I couldn’t tell what, but her demeanor once again seemed unlike her. Then again, what did I know?

“You’re welcome, plaything,” she murmured. “Let’s wipe off your makeup and get you into bed.”

I couldn’t tell what felt better— washing off makeup, or washing off bodily fluids.

By ‘get me into bed’, Aura meant, have me lie down on the mattress so she could chain me to the bedpost again. I hadn’t realized it was going to be a daily thing; I struggled out of instinct as per usual, but Aura just stared me down until my attempt to free myself stopped.

“I’ll leave a note for you in the morning,” she said. “Good night, plaything.”

I gave the cuff one more experimental push, and gave up. “Good night, Mistress.”

And then she closed the door and walked away. I looked at the door for a while, wondering if she would pop back in. Obviously, she wouldn’t. I closed my eyes and tried to drift to sleep, the day’s events -- good and bad -- replaying in my head on a loop.

A week ago, I would have been waking up for my ass-paying job as per usual.

Day one of being a Soulmate, I tried to escape and was brutally beaten and fucked mercilessly.

Day two, I foolishly insulted her in the worst way and spent the entire day stewing in raw guilt.

Day three… was probably the best, so far. It mostly sucked, and I was still used and toyed with, but wasn’t nearly as awful or painful as the last few days. There were moments of genuine vulnerability. Of seeing my Soulmate as a partner and not an evil corporation. All things considered, today was the best day thus far.

Once again, though: the bar wasn’t high.

I don’t think I’d be raising it anytime soon.