The good news was Clara had no classes she had to wake up for. The additional good news was that her Mistresses didn’t seem to have anything planned for her that morning. The additional, additional good news was that Clara must have gotten on Diana’s good side at this point, along with Jasmine’s.

The bad news was that Clara was hungover. Very, very, VERY hungover. As soon as she opened her eyes, she felt the massive pounding in her head, her ears ringing and seeing stars in the air. Yep. She’d had too much to drink. And today, she was facing the consequences for it.

Was there really any harm in staying in bed all day? Was it really so bad to just roll around in bed, begging whatever god existed to let Clara sleep for just a little more, to feel just a little better physically...

No. First, Clara needed water. She wasn’t going to be able to get back to bed until she had some. Unfortunately, as big as the mansion was, it wasn’t entirely possible to somehow move the kitchen to the floor Clara was on. She’d just have to walk.

Fumbling out of bed and putting on what could be considered day clothes, Clara moved out of the room and headed downstairs, down the long hallway and down the many flights of stairs. (Clara could have sworn she’d lost some weight at this point — she probably had, and she knew Jasmine would be subtly happy about that.)

Making her way to the kitchen, Clara set her eyes on one of the many gorgeous glasses and took one. She moved it to the refrigerator, setting it to dispense some ice cold water.

“Nya?” Clara suddenly heard a meow — or at least, she thought it was a meow. From the corner of her eye, she spotted another girl with all-black attire, black cat ears and a tail that was most certainly black. It was a human girl, certainly, but she definitely was acting like a cat.

Clara wasn’t sure how to feel about it. “Um... can I help you?”

“Oh, sorry,” the girl stood up straight, stepping away from Clara as she sighed. “I do that a lot. Sometimes I don’t even realize I’m meowing instead of talking.”

Clara didn’t have the right headspace to deal with this. Her head was too pounding and this girl’s voice felt like a fork going through a garbage disposal. “Right... well, I should go back to sleep.”

“Hey, uh, wait.” To Clara’s dismay, the girl stopped her. Clara’s eyes must have only been half open, and she was barely paying attention to what the girl was saying. “You’re the new girl, aren’t you? The princess one?”

“Glad to know that’s my reputation,” Clara groaned. “Been here for a few weeks now, but sure, yeah, new, whatever. Why?”

What the girl said next made Clara finally pay attention, and finally stand in place to listen. “My name is Lisa. I’m a ‘plaything’ here. I know a way to get out of here. I think you may be able to help.”

“Like... to leave the building? The door’s right there—“

Lisa clicked her tongue frustratedly, sulking. “No! I mean, to escape. To get out of here. To leave — you know, the thing you probably want to do by now, right?”

Clara blinked. What a stupid idea. Even Clara couldn’t come up with something so stupid. But maybe there was merit to it? Maybe there was some way to get away scot-free after having these rich bitches pay off all of Clara’s college loans?

“Look, I know that face you’re making at me,” the cat girl groaned. “I don’t like it. Please, just play along with me? I can’t do it alone. I know you want to get out of here as much as me, right?”

“I... I don’t know,” Clara responded honestly. After her last few experiences with Jasmine and Diana, she’d begun to view them as really human, and not just billionaires with a joint sex harem.

Clara crossed her arms, figuring out what to inquire about first. “Okay... how do you intend to pull this off, then?”

“Here’s how we do it. We break into their room, grab our contracts, burn them so they can’t sue us, and then we leave with nothing on our backs.”

Clara blinked. She waited for more, but more never came. “That’s... that’s it?” She clarified.

“Yeah, that’s it.”

“And if we get caught?” Clara asked.

“...I dunno.” Lisa shrugged.

A moment of silence hung above the two, as they both waited for Clara to say exactly what she was thinking.

“That’s insane. I’m not doing it, and you shouldn’t either.”

Clara said after Lisa finished explaining her very short plan that she clearly didn’t think out. Lisa sputtered and tried to think of some sort of excuse for Clara to want to help her.

“Come on!” Lisa begged. Clara bitterly thought to herself, ‘come on is not a great technique for convincing people.’ “If we pull it off together, we’ll both be free! Don’t you want that?”

“I’m not talking about this. I’m hung over. I just want some water and to go back to sleep.” Clara tried to push her way past Lisa, but Lisa continued to block her path. It was clear that Lisa was not going to let Clara go until she was satisfied.

“Do you even know what they do to you? They’re taking away all your smarts, right? You can’t want that!”

Clara shrugged. Thinking was too hard. “I don’t want to talk about it right now. Massive headache.”

“Well, do you know what they’re doing to me?” Lisa asked, and Clara paused. What were those two doing to any of the other girls in the mansion, even? “Have you even thought about that? Do you even care?”

Clara clicked her tongue, sighing. A part of her did indeed feel bad for this girl — it was clear that Lisa might have had a worse time there, especially since she was presumably there for longer. But Clara still wasn’t convinced — though, Lisa’s guilt tripping was definitely pushing her in the right (or wrong) direction.

“They torture me. Everyday. They make me wear these stupid cat ears and tail. And I can’t take them off because they’ve washed my mind so thoroughly that I can’t even think about it! Ugh!” Lisa threw her arms up, beginning to pace around a blankly staring Clara.

“...I don’t think this is a good idea.” Clara reaffirmed, and then she sighed. She really did feel bad for Lisa after she pulled on Clara’s heart strings so much. “But, fine. I’ll help you. But I better get something in return for it. First off: Do you have an idea of where we go?”

“Uh... the police? A motel? If we steal enough money, then we should be solid.” Lisa shrugged again. Clara was getting sick of this girl. If anything, she was acting more stupid than Clara was last night.

“Fine. But if we get caught, you better tell them this was your idea,” Clara said threateningly. “I am not facing their wrath because of your bad plan.”

“Good! Then it’s a deal.” Lisa grabbed Clara’s arm to drag her away, and Clara flinched. “Let’s go, then.”

“Wait— right now? Why?”

“Jasmine’s at work right now, and Diana is a deep sleeper and it’s still early for her. It’s the perfect time. Now or never, Clara.”

Clara sighed again. No other, better choices presented itself, so she had to comply — once again.

* * *

“Come on, Lisa, why don’t you just hurry up?” Clara whispered to Lisa, who easily broke into Jasmine and Diana’s room — the door was surprisingly unlocked, and Lisa, being the black cat she was, easily slid through the door without letting too much light through.

“I’m almost there,” Lisa whispered back in a hushed tone. “I just need to find the contracts, and... here they are!”

Lisa tip-toed out of the room, slowly closing the door behind her. She seemed triumphant, but Clara was silently praying with all her heart that Diana did not hear — and that there were no cameras at all.

“Got them,” Lisa held up the contracts for both herself and Clara. “Let’s go.”

“Again. If we get caught. I am not taking the blame for this,” Clara reminded as the two walked down the hall, careful not to disturb anyone — maid, plaything, or Mistress of the mansion.

“Whatever, whatever. We already talked about it.”

The hallways seemed longer than usual. Maybe that was Clara’s lingering hangover — though the rush of escaping, the thrill of disobeying orders and making a runaway was distracting her from the pounding in her head. Whenever she’d remember it, though, she couldn’t help but slow down to grab her head. (Only to be coaxed by Lisa to ‘hurry it up’ — and Lisa was clearly good at running.)

The lights shined brightly, too. Clara could still see stars in her eyes.

“We have to hurry,” Lisa urged. “Diana might be waking up at any second, and I... kind of left a mess.”

Clara rolled her eyes. Lisa was not the best at this, was she?

“Hey,” a voice stopped them, and Lisa and Clara halted in their footsteps. The voice was another female, but luckily it wasn’t Jasmine or Diana — rather, it was another girl, much like them, in a silver latex catsuit with a black and white latex dress over it. “You guys are running away... aren’t you?”

Clara’s heart sank again. Where did this girl come from?

“We are, Felicity,” Lisa answered. “I’m not taking this hell for one more moment.”

Clara was about to ask, before Lisa turned to her and added, “she’s one of us, don’t worry.”

“Ah...” Clara got a closer look at the girl. She was a little more plump, like Clara, but Clara could see her muscles through her catsuit; she was a little defined in some areas. She must be the type who enjoys working out, Clara figured; hence, she was also probably the type who could kick Clara’s ass in a heartbeat.

“I’m with you.”

“Huh?”

Felicity held something up — her contract as well! The real, actual thing! How did they not catch each other earlier?

“I’m ready to go, too. I can fight back, if you need me to.”

Clara didn’t doubt that in the slightest.

Lisa smirked, motioning her hand for Felicity to follow. “That makes half of us. Maybe if they see we’ve left, they’ll reassess their life’s priorities.”

Felicity chuckled a bit, and the three continued their descent down the mansion, heading towards the back door.

“I need to stop by my room.” Felicity suddenly said as they approached the second floor hallway. “I have a pendant I’ve kept from my... my previous life. I’d like to take it with me, if possible.”

“Sure thing.” Lisa agreed. “We have time.”

They arrived at Felicity’s room, and Clara and Lisa hung out while Felicity slid in to grab the pendant. Clara looked at Lisa quizzically.

“...what?”

“You’re the one who said we have limited time,” Clara reminded. “Are you sure this is a good idea? To kill more time just for...”

“Hey, we need to look out for each other. Keepsakes mean a lot, you know.” Lisa said seriously. “Besides, I trust Felicity — don’t you?”

Clara paused. “I—“

“You shouldn’t have.” Another, much worse voice suddenly spoke from Felicity’s room. Clara instantly recognized that voice, and almost had a panic attack right then and there as she saw Jasmine walk out behind Felicity.

“I— oh crap.” Lisa gave an awkward smile as the blood drained from both her and Clara’s faces.

“Very well done, Drone #0452. I’m very pleased you managed to catch them,” Jasmine cooed to Felicity — at least, Clara thought it was Felicity from the gas mask and drone helmet she was now wearing.

“I have found the intruders and successfully completed the operation.” Felicity — no, Drone #0452 said in her now-robotic voice.

“Go back to your room. You’ll get your reward later.” Jasmine ordered, and Felicity mindlessly complied. Now, Clara and Lisa were off in a face-off with Jasmine. Without their presumed bodyguard.

Clara gulped. She was truly in a big mess. How could she be so stupid as to trust a girl she just met? Why did she even attempt this? Clara felt like she was asking herself ‘how could I be so stupid’ a lot these days.

“So,” Jasmine started, trying to keep her voice level, though her clear irritation — her downright fury — was showing like daylight. “You two tried to escape.”

Clara didn’t respond.

“Before I rightfully punish you and beat your asses,” Jasmine started, crossing her arms and staring down at Lisa and Clara. “Who’s idea was this?”

Clara was about to respond — that question was easy. Obviously, it was Lisa who dragged her into this! Lisa was going to get in trouble, and Clara would get more off the hook. At least, that’s what she thought.

“It was—“

Just as Clara started up, Lisa interrupted her. “It was all her, Jasmine!” She shouted with a point to Clara’s direction. Clara instantly felt fury rising up in her as she turned to Lisa with bewilderment — how dare she!

“What the hell?” Clara shouted back. “No it wasn’t, you—“

“Don’t listen to her!” Lisa pleaded. “It was all her idea! Tell her, you—“

“Enough!” If Jasmine wasn’t already frustrated enough with their attempt to flee, she was more than furious with their needless bickering. “Since one of you is clearly lying, and neither of you are willing to come clean, I’m going to drag you downstairs and beat this idea of escaping out of your mind. Understood?”

Clara bit her lip. This wasn’t fair! Lisa lied to her, like a sneaky bitch! And yet, all Clara could respond with was “yes, Mistress”.

Even as Lisa snarled back disobediently, “go fuck yourself.”

“Excuse me?” Jasmine turned around from escorting them down the hall, bewildered by Lisa’s most recent quip.

“I said fuck you, bitch!” Lisa yelled as if her first insult wasn’t enough. “Keeping us locked here like your property — all you’re doing is taking advantage of poor girls who want nothing other than to live normally!”

Jasmine waited, almost letting Lisa go on with her rant. “Any other very smart comments?” Jasmine offered sarcastically.

“Yeah. Your suit is tacky and really brings out your age,” Lisa snarled.

“Hmm. Your comment has been acknowledged,” Jasmine still kept her voice calm, almost robotic-like. “And I guess what I have to say to that is...”

Suddenly, Jasmine’s hand lunged out towards Lisa’s neck and got a tight, choking grip on her. Lisa yelped out in surprise, though Clara wasn’t sure why she was surprised with such a reaction.

“You’re going to regret ever opening your dumb, stupid mouth in front of me.”

* * *

In a way, Lisa was right. All Jasmine and Diana were doing was using their wealth to take control of weaker, smaller, poorer girls and make them their property. It wasn’t fair in any way, how Clara was roped into this mansion and their harem just because she couldn’t pay hundreds upon thousands of dollars in college debt. Because her rent was astronomical, and because she occasionally had to choose between food and getting to work.

And yet, it was the life Clara chose. It was Clara’s choice to sign the contract binding her to Jasmine and Diana. It was Clara’s choice to move in with them. And Clara assumed that Lisa was in pretty much the same situation. So why did Lisa fight back, if she knew all what was gonna happen was she was just going to get punished harder than she already was?

Not that Clara had much sympathy for her — not after she backstabbed Clara like that. Same with Felicity. Was there anyone Clara could trust here? Kye, maybe. But that was it — and even then, she didn’t know Kye too well.

Clara, of course, was only having these thoughts as she was being stripped down to her bare ass and strapped down to a spare, uncomfortable mattress by Jasmine. Lisa was on a different mattress next to her. Clara tried to get a glare in towards Lisa — Lisa noticed and just rolled her eyes to ignore Clara.

“So,” Jasmine started as soon as the two girls were secure on their mattresses. “Where should I start? What part of your body can handle the most pain?”

Clara’s breathing grew heavy when she saw Jasmine twirl around to another side of the room, looking through her belongings to find something worth beating the two with. Her heart sank in her chest when she saw Jasmine pull out a few toys of the trade — namely, a cat o’nine tails with dragon’s tongues at the end of each tail, a giant wooden paddle with the word “owned” on it, and a long black and purple cane.

“J-Jasmine, please—“ Jasmine turned to Clara as she started stammering out, the fire in her eyes hard to turn away from. “I mean, Mistress, please don’t do this. I didn’t mean to, I didn’t know what to do, I’m so sorry...”

“Oh? You’re begging me to stop already? But I haven’t even started.” Jasmine tutted her tongue at Clara as she moved back around to Clara’s ass. With a sharp motion, Clara immediately felt the harsh sting of the wooden paddle on her ass. She let out a cry of pain — not one Jasmine was satisfied with though, as she delivered another few slaps in succession, in the same place. Clara cried out harder and harder every time, begging and pleading — but unclear what for. Reprieve. Or more?

“I shouldn’t be focusing on you first, my dumb, ditzy princess,” Jasmine cooed. “I should be focusing on the sneaky cat who decided to openly disrespect me to my face after daring to try to leave.”

Clara was given a moment of reprieve as Jasmine turned her attention to Lisa, grazing the catgirl’s ass with the cat o’nine tails with thick, leather dragon’s tongues.

“Lisa, dear,” she started, stroking the clean ass with the flogger. “Why did you want to hurt me so much? What did I ever do to you?”

“Fuck you, bitch.” Lisa still had some fight in her, and for that, she was rightfully punished with a long whip from the flogger. Clara could almost hear the crack in the whip, shortly followed after by Lisa’s loud groan of pain.

“Let’s try that again,” Jasmine said, grabbing a fistful of Lisa’s hair and pulling her upwards, then shoving her face down into the mattress and pulling her back up. “Why did you try to leave?”

“Because I hate living here,” Lisa snarled.

“And why’s that?”

“Because you make me lose more and more of myself each day! I’m a completely different person now... heck, I don’t even feel like a person, I just feel like a small, weak cat!”

Jasmine hummed in faux understanding. “And you think I care about how you feel?”

“You know what? You probably don’t, you psycho.” For that, Lisa got another two sharp flogs — one for each of her asscheeks.

“Why does it make you feel bad, though? To be a cat girl. To be a cute kitty. To just be my house pet. Why is that so bad? I keep you fed, I give you an ample amount of freedom, for a plaything. I can buy you almost anything you want. Besides, you chose this life. Why did you sign that contract if you were just going to try to break it?”

“Because I can’t predict the future, duh.” Lisa rolled her eyes, her facial expression suddenly changing into a pained one as she was flogged again, three times in one place.

“Maybe you should have thought a bit, then. Or maybe you’re becoming like Clara here, unable to think for herself, just a dumb, silly princess doll. What if I did that to you too? Drained your free will and intelligence all away? How would you like that?”

“Fuck you!” Another flog — this time, followed by a meow.

“See? You want to be a kitty. That’s all you want. If you had any ambitions or dreams before, they’re gone now. You don’t need free will or intelligence.”

Jasmine put the toys down on Clara’s back like she was a piece of furniture, before grabbing Lisa’s hair again and pulling it around. Almost instantaneously, Lisa seemed to go into a hypnotic trance, falling deeper and deeper into Jasmine’s touch. When Jasmine added her trigger phrase, “take a cat nap,” Lisa fell into a deep trance.

“You don’t want to insult me. Or run away. Or be anything but my nice, docile, sweet, playful kitty. That’s what you want from life. That’s all you want from life, and it’s all you’ll ever want from now on. Just stay there, in kitty-space. Just be a good kitty. Meow for me.”

Lisa meowed lightly in the trance, purring slightly. Clara couldn’t believe how suggestible she became in trance — was that what Clara was like down under?

Jasmine grabbed the cane off of Clara’s back, and began hitting Lisa with it. With every hit on her ass, back, or shoulders, Lisa let out a louder, more content and playful trancey meow. Clara watched on in horror for some time, eventually not being able to watch anymore as Jasmine caned Lisa’s back red with long, slick welts.

“Up you come,” with a snap of her fingers, Jasmine awoke Lisa, who came to with sleepy eyes and a discontented face.

“Anymore insults in you?” Jasmine asked with a grin.

Lisa didn’t say anything other than her wincing and groaning in pain.

“Good kitty,” Jasmine sighed. “Now, what should I do for the dull princess...”

Clara froze as Jasmine went back over to her. “I think the pink suits you,” she said, grabbing the flogger and beginning to flog Clara’s ass. It was light enough to not sting as much as the wood, but it still hurt quite a bit and colored Clara’s ass, legs and back various shades of pink and light red.

“P-please,” Clara begged, choking out. “I’m so sorry. I won’t do it again, Mistress. I... I’m so so sorry!”

“Good princess,” Jasmine said, with another flog. “I know you are. But you still did it, so you think this punishment makes sense, right?”

“I-I... yes...” Clara felt the tears welling up in her eyes with another flog.

“Good,” Jasmine said. She put the toy back down and went around to Clara’s tear-streaked face. Just before Clara could apologize again, Jasmine put her under with her own hypnosis trigger.

Clara didn’t have the best clarity while under trance, but she did feel her brain being rewired. If she wasn’t so enthusiastic about obedience before, she could feel her mind being altered to feel more obedient, more subservient — and more horny and ditzy when she would follow orders.

Obedience is pleasure...

Obedience is pleasure...

Obedience is pleasure...

As Clara came out from trance with a snap from Jasmine’s fingers, she felt her brain changed — and a new mantra burned into her mind. Obedience was pleasure... was it? Was that always how Clara thought? In her haziness, it sure felt that way...

When Clara came back out from down under, she noticed that Lisa was already gone — or well, she was leaving, considering the way Clara could hear her footsteps. Jasmine stood in front of Clara, a significantly less angry look on her face now. How long was she down under for?

“Do you still plan on leaving anytime soon?”

“No, Mistress.” Clara responded obediently — after all, obedience was pleasure.

Jasmine nodded, and began undoing the clasps chaining Clara to the bed. Before Clara could stand up for real and go back to her room to cry, Jasmine stopped her with a surprising sentence.

“I know it wasn’t you who suggested leaving,” Jasmine started. “I know Lisa dragged you into this.”

“Wh... what? Really?” Clara blinked.

“Yes.” Jasmine nodded, a serious look on her face — but a much calmer one. “This isn’t the first time Lisa has tried this.”

“It’s... not?”

“Not in the slightest. She’s been here for about a year. I think this was her fifth attempt.” Jasmine sarcastically added with a laugh, “maybe if she tries again, she can finish her ‘I failed to escape from my Mistress’ dungeon’ punch card.”

Clara certainly didn’t laugh at that. She was more preoccupied with how dry her eyes were, or how much her ass stung. Was she hit even more while in trance?

“You didn’t want to leave,” Jasmine said.

Clara didn’t respond. Was that really the case? Deep down, Clara knew Jasmine was right. All things considered, she was more and more comfortable here with every passing day — not that this didn’t set her back a few notches. She was getting more comfortable with how Jasmine and Diana were being nice to her. She wondered, though — was this how they treated all of the girls?

“You’re so deep into being a princess... that you couldn’t even fight back or insult me. You just laid down there and accepted you punishment gracefully, like a princess.”

Clara looked down, sinking her face into the mattress.

“You should make eye contact with your Mistress when you speak,” Jasmine snapped. “Take that as another lesson from this.”

Clara looked up, and added, “I wasn’t really sure about leaving.”

Jasmine snickered, cooing down at Clara. “Good princesses don’t leave. I know you sure don’t want to. You just want to sit here and be my obedient, docile princess. Obedience is pleasure, after all.”

Clara let out a small smile. That was an odd reaction to her. Why was she smiling? She wasn’t necessarily happy, but being praised for accepting the punishment, for accepting trance and the mantra... it felt nice. Jasmine was being so nice to her right now.

“But I still need you to face repercussions for what you did,” Jasmine said, killing the mood. Clara’s interest was highly piqued when Jasmine added, “how would you feel about taking on brainwashing as a new responsibility, as punishment?”