I stood in front of the door, hand gripping the handles of my duffel bag tight.

This was somehow scarier than Damien's house-- there I just had to worry about death or horrible trauma or something, whereas here, I had to worry about falling in love, which felt way more dangerous.

I didn't know how I was going to explain this all to Regina and Stephanie either-- I should've at least tried to text and explain things after I left.

The door opened, and Regina looked out with an anxious expression, which quickly turned into narrowed eyes as she looked at me, and I shrunk back a little.

She sighed, and smiled a bit, holding out her open hand. "You're trembling."

I handed her the duffel bag, which she blinked at, and I realized maybe she had meant to take my hand, and became a bit more flustered, but she just laughed softly and turned around with my duffel bag, and said "Welcome back."

I followed her back inside, and heard two girls moaning from Mika's room-- well, I guess I knew what Stephanie and Mika were up to.

"Take a seat," said Regina as she walked into the kitchenette, and I sat down on the floor next to the couch, leaning my side against the couch as I watched her.

She came back with a turkey sandwich and a can of orange soda, and smiled down at me. "You're really trying to commit to this, huh?"

I hadn't even realized. It had just been a few days, and "sit on the floor" had become second nature.

I flushed. "Yeah, it's just... hard." I started eating my sandwich and drinking my soda, and she idly petted my head and shoulders until I had finished.

I just sat there, letting her pet me with my eyes half-closed, until she spoke up again. "What can I do that would make this easier for you, Phoebe?"

"I guess... if I didn't have a choice in this? You know, that's why I was thinking of going to the center early... it'd be worse, but at least I wouldn't be the one who was forcing myself further and further into this. I'd have no choice. You know?"

"Understandable. You have the deep desire to submit, but it's hard for you to accept that since society has told you it's not okay, and you don't even know if who you're submitting to will deserve your devotion." She scritched under my chin. "But I can hardly force you into anything, Princess-- you're a theoretically-free woman for the next eighty-seven days. If you tell me you want to leave, I'm going to let you leave."

I rested my cheek against her knee. "Yeah, I know. Sorry. You and Stephanie and Mika are all trying to help me, and I'm just..." I gestured vaguely. "A mess."

"I can tie you up right now, though, if that'd make things easier for the moment." Regina slowly ran her fingers through my hair

I looked up at her. My eyes were tearing up. "...Please tie me up. Let's just pretend I'm yours for a little while, okay?" I could barely get out the words, but I desperately needed to not have a choice for a little while.

"Shhh... okay, follow me..." Regina stood up and held out her hand, and I took it, and she helped me up, held my hand firmly as she lead me to her and Stephanie's room. She pointed to the bed. "Sit." With that command, she turned towards her closet and rummaged around in it.

I could escape again, but it certainly felt like she expected me not to. I found myself walking over to the bed and sitting on it. The absolute confidence she had kind of made it easier to submit to her.

Regina pulled out some rope and guided my arms crossed in front of me, and started to tie me up, tying my legs together too, and I let her position me however she wanted until I was tied up and could only really move my upper and lower body and neck, but more like a fish or something than a human, my hands were rendered utterly useless.

She gently pushed me down onto my side, and snuggled up behind me, her soft body pressing against my back as she held me close and kissed the back of my neck. "Is that better, Princess?"

I nodded slowly. "Thank you, Mistress...." I started crying a little.

"Shhh, let it all out... your Mistress isn't going to let you run away again... you're going to get trained into a good obedient pet, and we'll find some rich woman to own you who will treasure you just as much as I do...."

I was getting a little wet under my skirt, but it wasn't like I could even be touched easily between my legs with them being tied together, so I just relaxed back against her, still crying softly as she hugged and petted and murmured to me, but kind of blanking out. I couldn't do anything, so I didn't have to, and that was made it easier to relax in her arms and zone out, feeling the most safe I had since I had won the lottery.

I needed to be hers, needed her to take care of me... but if she could find someone else who would, I'd have to trust her to do that. "...Regina? I mean, Mistress?"

"What is it, my cute little pet?"

I shivered against her a little. My brain felt good and spaced out and happy, but I was pretty sure I had had a thought. "Um...."

"Go ahead, Princess...." Regina rubbed my stomach gently, and I instinctively wiggled my butt against her a little, drawing a soft laugh from her.

"Oh... um... I'm scared of hurting Mika. And I'm scared of being streamed in front of everyone, too."

"Mmm, well, the first one you'll have to work out with Mika... she was really pathetic when we got back, you know? A bit like you, just sobbing and begging to be owned and taken care of and promising anything and everything... reverting back to how she was when we got her out of the pound." Regina's voice didn't sound entirely happy about that, but it didn't seem like it was directed at me.

"...Do you really not like her?"

Regina lowered her voice to a whisper. "...I don't hate her. But who I loved was her back when she was a streamer, and it's painful to see this shallow echo of who she actually was sometimes."

I started crying. "...you're going to feel that way about me too, huh?"

"No... I don't think so... we probably won't see each other again, once you have your new Mistress to take care of you... but I always kind of suspected you'd become a pet. I don't think anyone who entered the pet lottery like that with little real debt has no desire to become a pet, either... you could've always done crimes or asked someone for money."

"Crimes would've made me more, not less likely, to become a pet-- I'm not good at them, so even a five percent failure rate would be more likely to get me made into a pet."

Regina laughed softly at that, tickling my stomach a little and making me squirm. "I guess that's true. You still had people you could've asked, though."

"I... I've been not saving Mika, so...."

Regina sighed and squeezed me close against her. "Is that what it was all about? Well, I'm sorry... but even if you had helped Mika escape, she'd just find herself under worse masters. She's been heavily conditioned not to make her own money. She took to that one really strongly, fortunately or unfortunately."

"I... won't be able to make money on my own, either, once I'm conditioned, if it takes... even if I really want to, I'll have no option but to rely on my Mistress...." The thought was just making me more fuzzy-headed and submissive. For once, it felt like I had no choice but to submit to Regina and the system I had given myself to on a discount, that there was no point in fighting, so I didn't even want to try. I closed my eyes, utterly relaxed. "Thank you, Regina...." I think my words were a little slurred from the relaxation.

"Mistress," corrected Regina softly.

"Mistress," I echoed. "...thank you, Mistress."

Regina loved me and wanted to take care of me and would find a good Mistress... I whimpered as she pulled back from behind me, and I opened my eyes a little after a moment, and then widened as I saw her in front of me with her phone out, taking a few pictures, then tapping some things into her phone. "There. Your picture has been uploaded to social media. Everyone's going to know you're destined to become a slave now."

I started sobbing, utterly overwhelmed and scared and hopeless and sort of relieved, and she laid back down in front of me and snuggled me up against her small but soft chest, held me close. "It'll be okay, Princess... you just have to accept you're no more than a pet now... you don't get to make any more decisions besides what your owner gives you..."

I nodded a little against her chest, and she petted me softly. "It'll be okay...." Her chest was heaving a little... was she crying too?

She usually tried to stay distant and amused, but maybe talking with me honestly about all these things, maybe crushing my last futile hopes of living a normal life, seemed to have her a little shaken up.

I pressed against her closer, wanting to comfort her too.

I didn't want to be a bad friend and make her sad.

I didn't want to be a bad pet and make her sad.