The final flurry of students funnelled out of Hexbourne Academy’s front entrance, setting off for the nearby station to take the last train of the day. Mostly moving in couples or small groups, they wove between numerous teachers who had come to wave them off, with a few pupils lingering to chat with each other and their professors - particularly the graduating class, taking one last opportunity to say goodbye.

Emerald threaded through the throng, her arm around Freya’s shoulders, their luggage floating behind them. The formidable witch looked like she’d wilted, her posture slumped, her eyes downcast. She hadn’t cried since they’d returned to the school to collect their belongings - at least not as far as Emerald had seen - but she’d hardly spoken a word, her misery palpable. Emerald hadn’t left her side for more than a minute, cuddling and comforting her as much as she could, and they’d remained almost joined at the hip as they moved amidst the other departing students, the brunette embracing the blonde protectively.

It was unusual, Emerald taking the lead and being the decision-maker of the two of them. But she knew Freya was depending on her to step up and take care of her, although Freya hadn’t actually said that aloud. Normally she was the one looking after Emerald, treating her with the utmost care, as she would any of her most precious possessions. In this exceptional case, Emerald was determined to return the favour - to keep the promise she’d made in the glade.

Hannah, Jay and Juniper were clustered together a little way ahead of them, forming an advance guard to drive others out of the couple’s path. Bless their hearts, they’d seen Freya’s disconsolate face, asked no questions, and resolved to help their friend to reach the train with as few impediments as possible. Emerald didn’t know what they thought of her girlfriend’s emotional state - maybe they just assumed she was upset about leaving her school and her friends.

Clearing their former classmates out of the way was easy enough, but the trio had less luck with teachers, whose authority still held sway over them even after graduation. As such, it wasn’t long before Emerald and her shellshocked partner found themselves face to face with their least favourite of Hexbourne’s faculty.

“Is everything alright, Miss Travers?” Professor Finn asked with a palpably insincere tone. “I would’ve thought your recent achievements would have you in a good mood!”

Freya’s mouth opened and closed without making a sound, a look of mild panic crossing her face as she struggled to find her words - or to control her emotions. Giving her a squeeze, Emerald quickly spoke instead. “She’s just sad to be leaving, sir. The school’s been her home for such a long time - she’s just finding it hard to say goodbye. I’m sure she’s not the only one.” She gave Finn a smile as false as his concern.

The teacher nodded, his eyes sharpening as they flicked over to Emerald. She swallowed. He’d never missed an opportunity to quietly demean her over the last seven years, and was sure to take this last chance to do so. But if that took his attention off Freya, then so be it.

“Well, then she’s lucky to have your support, Miss Kane,” he said with a snide smile. “It must be so reassuring for her, having you to help her. With all your... many talents.”

She tried to keep a civil tone as she simply replied, “Yes, it must be.”

There were murmurs around them. Emerald noticed, in her peripheral vision, that several students had slowed to watch the tense dialogue between her and her most hated professor. Some were outgoing students like herself, while the others appeared to be seventh-years who would graduate in twelve months’ time. The audience was no larger than a dozen sorcerers, but that was plenty.

Emerald had much experience of onlookers laughing as Finn used her as a test dummy in his classes, or as Livi and her friends harassed her. But this time, no-one seemed to be particularly enjoying her discomfort. Their faces, and their hushed words, didn’t appear as amused as she was used to. Hannah, Juniper and Jay had also halted, aiming hostile expressions at the Professor’s back.

Perhaps the crowd’s apparent unease was out of loyalty to Freya, their top witch, who looked more and more troubled the longer they stood before Finn. Or perhaps... it was loyalty to Emerald. After all, she was one of the school’s top witches now, too. Was it possible that she’d become popular...? No, that notion was too absurd. But perhaps she’d gained enough notoriety, enough respect, that her peers were more inclined to sympathise with her rather than Finn.

He spoke again. “I must say, your results were exceptional, Miss Kane,” he remarked, his tone thick with sarcasm. “I was quite impressed. I’m not sure we’ve ever had any one of your, ah...” He feigned a cough. “Your skill level... achieve such remarkable results. I’m sure you’re very proud.”

He stepped closer, lowering his voice a fraction (nowhere near enough to avoid being overheard by their audience - which, Emerald was sure, was exactly as he’d planned.) “Take care not to... overestimate yourself, though,” he advised, his snakelike eyes glinting with cruelty. “We wouldn’t want you getting any ideas that might put you in a risky situation - ideas about being able to handle the same dangers as a real witch.”

Emerald’s eyes widened as several of the onlookers gasped in shock. In all the time she’d known him, Finn had kept his derogatory comments subtle, to avoid accusations of misconduct. No-one could quite believe he’d more or less insult her outright - he may as well have called her a charmless. To go so far... her coming first in magical knowledge must have really pissed him off.

And that was the whole point, she realised, gazing at Finn as if she was seeing him for the first time. That was why he behaved the way he did. That was why Livi behaved the way she did. Because they couldn’t tolerate the mere fact of Emerald’s existence - a child of a magical family, attending a school of magic, without a single spark of sorcery inside her. And seeing her achieve so much - seeing her stand before the entire school as the most knowledgeable witch among them, with the credentials to prove it - had tipped Livi over the edge into madness, and was clearly aggravating Finn in the same way.

They were repulsed by her. They were angry at her. But, she understood at last, it was nothing to do with her. It was their problem. Their prejudice. They hated her because she didn’t have their power, and because she succeeded in spite of that. They were confused by her, suffering all their slights and coming out of it stronger, like tempered steel, rather than shattering like glass as they’d expected. Perhaps they even feared her, feeling threatened that someone like her could live in their world.

Emerald had let Livi, Finn, and those like them convince her she was weak. But they were the weak ones. And they always had been.

This epiphany went through her like an electric surge. It felt like the magic Cedar had channelled into her, but she knew it wasn’t.

And that was OK, she realised, a smile spreading across her face. She didn’t need magic for this.

Giving Freya another reassuring squeeze, Emerald let go of her for the first time in many minutes and stepped forwards to face Finn directly. She met his gaze unwaveringly, took a deep breath, and spoke clearly enough for their audience to hear her.

“Professor Finn, I just wanted to say... I’m sorry.”

He blinked, nonplussed. “You are?”

“I am,” she continued, her tone perfectly polite and matter of fact. “I’m so sorry. I have a lot of sympathy for you. It must be galling for you to know that, not only are many of the girls you teach more talented and knowledgeable magicians than you’ll ever be... but a lot of us have bigger dicks than you, too.”

There was a squawk of laughter from nearby. Finn’s jaw dropped, his face turning bright red. He spluttered incoherently, choking on his rage and humiliation.

But Emerald had already turned away, catching sight of the onlookers, who all wore matching expressions of amazement and mirth. Several were literally pointing and laughing at Finn. A couple were actually applauding. Hannah, Jay and Juniper were shaking their heads in astonishment, grinning wildly. Juniper even gave Emerald a thumbs-up.

She faced Freya, and to her quiet joy, there was a ghost of a smile on her face. Reaching out, she took her hand, and moved in close enough to whisper, “Let’s go, sweetie.”

As the outraged Professor still struggled to find his words, Emerald led her lover past him, leaving him behind them for good.

***

Emerald made her way through each carriage, walking the length of the train back to the seats she and Freya had claimed. If anyone asked why she’d traversed such a great distance, she would’ve replied that she’d been to the toilet - but actually, she’d been looking for an empty compartment to dump three tiny suitcases that looked like they belonged in a doll’s house.

Livi’s plan to dispose of evidence had been a sound one, which Emerald had no qualms about stealing. Wearing glamours conjured by Freya to disguise themselves as two of their three foes at a time, the couple had smuggled their luggage out of their dorm rooms in miniature form, opting not to flush them as Livi, Jemma and Georgia had planned to do to theirs. It seemed a better idea to deposit them in one of the carriages, so that when the three wicked witches’ disappearances was discovered, it’d at least appear that they’d boarded the train, with their belongings shrunk for easy transportation.

Having dropped off the incriminating packages, Emerald strode back along the corridors to her cabin, keeping her ears out for any mention of the missing trio. Most compartment doors were wide open, so she caught plenty of snatches of conversation from her former classmates. She heard quite a few discussing Emerald herself, lauding her for her glorious takedown of Professor Finn, which brought a small satisfied smirk to her face. But no-one spoke of Livi or her lackeys. None of their names reached Emerald’s ears. No-one seemed to have noticed they were gone.

To be fair, for the past few months barely anyone had noticed they were there. They’d become as invisible as Emerald once was. By the sounds of it, that was part of Livi’s plan - avoid attracting attention, lower her enemies’ guards, and then strike them when they least expected. Emerald knew Livi would be furious if she realised that, as a by-product of her plan, her own vanishment would go unnoticed.

Her step faltered a little as it flashed through her mind that Livi was also unaware of her disappearance. Right now, her nemesis was nestled in Cedar’s cavity, submerged in her mindspace, as the tree literally took root within their body and mind. And there she would remain, unless the capricious coniferous decided to release her - and that didn’t sound likely, from what they’d told Emerald.

A shiver went through the brunette witch as something occurred to her. There might be times in the future when she thought of her ex-schoolmates, and asked, “Where are they now?” When it came to Livi, she knew the answer - and it would remain the same whenever she asked it. The deposed queen bitch of Hexbourne Academy was trapped forever within the tree, untouched by time, uncomprehending of her plight.

It could’ve been me, she reminded herself, grinding the crumb of guilt beneath an imagined heel as she kept walking.

Reaching the cabin she and Freya had chosen, she was relieved to find that her girlfriend was still its only occupant. This was not apparent from the outside - thanks to Freya’s illusionary magic, anyone who looked through the glass doors would see six students sitting inside, deep in conversation, to deter anyone else from entering. The trick seemed to have had the desired effect.

Sliding the door shut behind her, Emerald sat down by the window opposite her girlfriend, her heart sinking at the sight of her sombre expression. The brief, slight brightening of Freya’s mood had apparently passed, and she’d sunk back into melancholy.

“Job done,” Emerald told her in a low voice. “And I didn’t hear anyone asking about them. I don’t think anyone knows they’re gone.”

Freya gave a tiny nod, staring out of the window at the passing Australian countryside. Not expecting her to speak unprompted again, Emerald tried to think of something to say to get a conversation going, and hopefully cheer her up. She hadn’t quite managed to come up with anything when Freya took her by surprise and spoke.

“Don’t feel bad about it,” she said quietly, her head still angled towards the scenery outside, but her eyes flicking back to lock onto Emerald’s. “What you did to them.”

Emerald swallowed. “I don’t,” she said, and mostly meant it. “They brought it on themselves.”

“Too fucking right.” Freya’s voice was brittle with anger. “What they did to us... What they were going to do to us...” She closed her eyes, as if doing so would contain the incandescent rage inside her. “It’s unbelievable. They deserved what they got.”

“Absolutely,” Emerald nodded, her jaw set resolutely.

Freya briefly met her eyes once more, then looked out at the blur of trees and fields outside again. They lapsed into silence, Emerald’s fingers fidgeting in her lap, Freya as silent and still as a statue.

It felt like hours before the blonde sorceress mumbled, “I don’t know how you can even look at me.”

Emerald inhaled deeply, staring sadly at her girlfriend. “Freya...”

“No, I know what you’re gonna say.” Freya gazed down at her own knees, reaching up to brush out strands of hair from behind her ear. “It wasn’t me. I was enthralled, Livi was controlling me, it was her astral form inhabiting my body... I didn’t do anything.”

“Well, exactly, yeah...”

“Except it was me,” Freya whispered, her voice barely audible with her head still bowed. “From your point of view, it was me attacking you. Abusing you. Making you say you l-loved me, and being so - so horrible to you about it. Sending you to the Dark Woods...” She shook her head despairingly, her eyes scrunching shut, a tear squeezing out and dropping onto her skirt. “To you, I did all that. I hurt you. I tried to get rid of you. I broke your heart. How can you even stand to be around me...?”

Emerald’s heart, healed though it was, ached at her partner’s words. After everything Freya had been through - the enthralment, the humiliation, the pain she’d been forced to inflict - her biggest worry was that her girlfriend wouldn’t want to be around her?

Well, if that was her fear, she could alleviate it straight away. “Because I know it wasn’t you,” she insisted. “I mean, I didn’t at the time, obviously - Livi was, was very convincing - but I know the truth now. Cedar helped me put it together.” (Earlier, while retrieving Livi and her lackeys’ luggage, Emerald had explained her miraculous return, and her bizarre alliance with the tree spirit, which had provoked enough astonishment from Freya to briefly break through her anguish.)

“I know that,” Freya replied, meeting her girlfriend’s eyes again with a beseeching expression, as if imploring Emerald to understand. “But you saw me do it. You felt me do it. I mean...” A strangled, desperate laugh burst out of her throat, her eyes glimmering with tears. “How could I ever enthral you again? Why would you let me? When you remember me doing all that to you -?”

“Except I don’t,” Emerald interrupted. “I don’t remember it.”

Freya gave her a bewildered look. “Wh-what d’you mean?”

“Cedar’s last gift.” Emerald smiled wryly. “They really are a giving tree after all. Their joke, not mine. But look, I didn’t realise until later, but they... they changed my memories. Of what happened, earlier. I mean, I still remember the facts - I remember that Livi enthralled you, and possessed you, and tormented me in your body. And I remember what I thought, and how I felt.”

She took another deep breath, smiling reassuringly at her perplexed partner. “But when I think back, when I remember it, when I picture what happened... I don’t see you. I see Livi. Just Livi. Every image of you, in my memory of what happened - they’ve all been replaced by her. It’s like, Cedar peeled you away, the disguise Livi was wearing, to show the truth.”

Freya gaped at her. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.” Emerald reached out and took Freya’s hand, feeling it shake between her palms. “So when I look at you, I don’t see the girl who hurt me. The girl who betrayed me. The girl who threw me away like trash. Because you didn’t do any of that. You didn’t. And you couldn’t.”

Freya’s lip trembled, tears rolling down her cheeks. “But I did,” she whimpered softly. “I remember it. I’m, I’m so -”

“You have nothing to be sorry about,” Emerald said emphatically. “If I’m not allowed to feel guilty about what I did to them - of my own volition - then you’re definitely not allowed to feel guilty about what you did to me, against your will. I know that’s easy to say. I know it hurts,” she continued, and now she could feel herself getting emotional too. “I know you feel awful right now. And I wish I could make it better for you - make it easier for you, like Cedar did for me. But I promise, it will get better. And I also promise, I’m not going anywhere. You haven’t lost me from this, and you’re not going to.”

Freya stared at her with misty eyes. Emerald really hoped she was taking in her words. She understood how hard it must be for Freya to accept her own innocence. But she hoped that as long as she kept reiterating her total lack of blame, anger or fear towards her, eventually Freya might forgive herself.

Perhaps her parting gift would help. “I got you something,” she said, releasing Freya’s hand and turning to unzip her suitcase. Fishing around inside for a minute, she pulled out a small, soft, caramel-coloured teddy bear, which she held out. Emerald was well aware of her girlfriend’s predilection for soft toys - Freya’s bed at home was piled high with teddy bears of varying sizes, and she had two small ones in her dorm room at the school.

Looking a little stunned, Freya accepted the stuffed toy, sitting it in her lap and staring down at it. “Thank you,” she mumbled. “This is - this is so sweet, Em...”

“That’s not even the whole present.” Reaching up to her own head, Emerald took hold of a strand of hair between finger and thumb, wincing a little as she yanked it free of her scalp. She then passed it over to Freya, who accepted it with a mystified expression. “You don’t have to do it right now,” Emerald told her. “But I just thought, for the next couple of days, this could close the distance between us. You can do voodoo magic, and then play with it however you like, and know that I’ll be feeling it.” She gave her a small, salacious smirk. “You can tickle me, and poke me... spank me, and tease me... or you could just kiss me and cuddle me. And I can go to sleep in your arms at night.”

Freya opened her mouth as if to speak, but seemed too choked up. Instead, she gave her new teddy bear a tight squeeze, cuddling it close and burying her sodden face in its fluffy head. Although no voodoo spells had yet been cast, Emerald felt warmth wrap around her as if she actually was being embraced.

“So you still want to do things like that?” Freya asked at length. “Have me use voodoo on you, and enthral you, and put runes on you? You still want me to control you?”

“Goddess, yes,” Emerald assured her. “I want all of that. Today hasn’t ruined it for me. Livi didn’t destroy what we have - she couldn’t. I won’t let her. This is who we are, and what we want. I want to keep going. That is - if you wanna keep going...?”

She held her breath, waiting for Freya’s reply. In that instant, she realised that being a spellbound slave wasn’t the most important thing to her. She would give it up, if Freya wasn’t comfortable with it any more. She’d do anything for her.

Still, it was a relief when she replied, “I do. I do.” Freya took a deep breath. “Today was a nightmare - but the last six months were a dream.” She smiled wistfully. “They’ve been the happiest... the happiest I’ve ever had. I do wanna carry on with it. I want to keep being your Mistress.”

Emerald beamed, even as Freya hesitantly continued, “But maybe... I shouldn’t have all the power, all the time. Maybe once in a while... I mean, I know how being enthralled feels. I’ve felt it myself, so I know why you like it so much. And I... I kinda like the thought of submitting, sometimes, to someone I trust. Namely you. So maybe, occasionally, you could switch, and be my Mistress... if you’re up for that...”

Emerald considered this. She’d never really considered the possibility of switching - she loved being a slave too much. In fact, before today she wouldn’t have thought there was a dominant bone in her body, or a submissive one in Freya’s. But it had been an enlightening day in many ways, and Emerald felt sure she could channel her newfound confidence into a role of authority over her owner, if the occasion arose.

Yes, she decided - she could switch. But only at Freya’s command. Even by dominating her, Emerald would still be serving and obeying her like the property she was.

“Of course,” she told her Mistress. “If and when you want that, I’ll be more than happy to do it.”

Freya gave her a tearful smile. “Thank you so much,” she whispered. “I... I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

Emerald shrugged. “You earned it. You earned me. You came to defend me, all those months ago. You’ve proved how you feel about me again and again. And I hope I’ve proved how I feel about you.”

Slipping off her seat, she knelt on the cabin floor before Freya, reaching out to grasp her left hand with both of hers again. “You’re my Mistress,” she declared ardently, smiling up at her in adoration. “You’re my owner. You’re my soulmate. I said it earlier, and I’ll say it again now, to the real you. I love you, Freya. I love you with everything I have, and everything I am.”

Freya gawped down at her for a long moment, her eyes gleaming with yet more tears, clutching her new teddy against her chest. Finally, she buried the bear in the crook of her neck and reached down with her now-freed right hand to cradle Emerald’s face.

“I love you too,” she wept. “I love you... more than I thought I could ever love anyone, or anything. I love you with my whole heart and soul.”

Emerald was crying now too, tears cascading down her cheeks like the flowing streams in the forbidden forest, at the sound of the words she’d longed to hear Freya say for months. But her broad, beaming grin never faltered. Nor did her upwards gaze at her girlfriend, or her voice as she eventually spoke again.

“Then keep me. Keep me forever, please, Mistress. Keep me as your property. Control me, as your sex slave. Use me as your fleshlight... and treasure me, as your precious Emerald.”

Freya gulped back a shuddering sob, a smile spreading across her own face. “When you put it like that,” she finally managed to reply, “how can I refuse?”

Still fondling Emerald’s face, still allowing her to clutch her other hand, Freya clambered down from her own chair and wrapped her beloved in her arms. They sat there for several long minutes, hugging tightly, soaking each other’s shoulders with their tears.

Finally, Emerald mumbled in Freya’s ear, “Now, didn’t you have a parting gift for me, Mistress?”

Freya snorted, wiping her face with her girlfriend’s dark brown mane. “Thought you’d never ask.”

They both leaned back, out of the embrace, only to lean in again and kiss tenderly for several long seconds. They both needed that, Emerald sensed. Freya’s lips were so soft and wet and warm against her own, she didn’t want to break contact with them.

But they were both keen to get to the gift-giving, so finally they drew back, smiling fondly at each other. Emerald climbed back up onto her seat, while Freya remained on the floor, waving her ring hand at the compartment’s exit. With a flash of cyan light, the door was sealed shut. Now, not only would anyone looking inside see a whole gaggle of girls rather than just two, they wouldn’t be able to enter and discover the true state of affairs. The couple would remain undisturbed.

Lifting her skirt, Emerald pulled down the pair of panties she’d finally been able to put on upon returning from the forest, letting them drop to her ankles. Shifting onto her knees, Freya moved between her legs and leaned towards her crotch, pausing only to grin up at her girlfriend.

“I love you, my precious property. And I’m keeping you forever.”

Emerald barely had time to return the ecstatic smile before her Mistress swallowed her cock to the hilt, beginning to eagerly bob up and down. A moan broke free from her mouth, and she sank back in her chair, her legs spread wide, one arm lying limply beside her as she reached down with the other to cradle the back of Freya’s head.

Soon enough, Emerald felt her thoughts begin to fray and fragment, her mind growing fuzzier and fluffier. Just like the rune she’d previously been given that was triggered when she humped her pillow, the gift rune’s effects simulated an enthralment hex, sending her back into vacant oblivion for at least a couple of hours. She giggled and squirmed helplessly beneath her owner’s ministrations, unable and unwilling to stop her from sucking her mind out through her cock.

Mistress had told her she would cum her brains out - but by the time her powerless property spurted in her mouth, she had no brains left to cum out. Emerald lay sprawled in her seat, a blank, blissful smile on her face, too deep in mind-numbing euphoria to notice her own orgasm - as usual.

She’d pretty much already given up thinking anyway, by the time the last traces of her consciousness were drawn out of her tip. She was just awash with joy, contentment and love, safe in the knowledge that her Mistress loved her as much as she loved her Mistress.

And that was the greatest magic of all.

***

“Pathetic,” Livi smirked, looming over her favourite target with one hand outstretched. “All that knowledge, all that power... and yet you’re totally defenceless before me. You can’t match me, and you know it - don’t you?”

“Yes,” came a muffled whimper from below.

“Yes, what?” she snapped.

“Y-yes, Mistress!”

“That’s right,” she continued unrelentingly, circling around the huddled form on the floor. “All that time, you thought you were so smart and strong... and then along I come, and you just crumble. You collapse into this feeble little mess. I can do anything to you,” she purred, punctuating the word by tipping the candelabra in her hand and letting a sizzling droplet fall onto exposed flesh below. Her victim yelped as they felt the wax run across their bare back.

Livi shivered with delight at her prostrating prey’s reaction, and tilted the candle again. “I can do whatever... I... want...” With each word, she sent another drop of wax tumbling onto them, relishing their moans. “And you don’t even put up a fight. Because you know you’ll lose. Because you’re weak, and I’m strong.”

“Yes, Mistress,” the subjugated sorcerer sobbed.

“Say it.”

“I - I’m weak, and you’re strong.”

“You’re stupid, and I’m brilliant.”

“I’m stupid, and you’re brilliant...”

“You’re nothing, and I’m everything.”

“I’m n-nothing, and you’re... everything.”

Livi grinned at the husky tone their voice took on, the heavy breathing she could hear, the little gasps and pants between their plaintive repetitions.

“Ugh, you’re enjoying this?” she said with feigned revulsion, prodding their thigh with the tip of her boot. “Freak. Say you’re a freak.”

“I’m a freak,” they wept.

“You’re a weird little pervert.”

“I’m a, a weird little pervert.”

“You get off on your own weakness.”

“I get off on my - on my own weakness...”

Livi laughed derisively, even as she let her hand drift between her legs. She loved it when her targets got turned on by her torment. It just gave her more ammunition. The fact that she got off on it too was neither here nor there.

“Being pathetic and powerless turns you on,” she cackled, caressing her cunt.

“Being pathetic and powerless turns me ooonnnn...”

“Being bullied makes you wet.”

“Being bullied m-makes me wet...”

“You love being defeated and dominated.”

“I love being defeated and dominated.”

She laughed again, harshly. “What kind of witch wants to be defeated? What kind of sorcerer not only lets themself get overpowered, humbled and humiliated... but craves it? You don’t deserve your power. Say it.”

“I - I don’t deserve my power!”

“You’re not worthy of your magic.”

“I’m not w-worthy of my magic...”

“You’re a worthless little whore.”

“I’m, I’m a worthless little whore...”

“Thaaat’s right,” Livi sighed, as she gave herself a particularly pleasant rub, her other hand now fondling her chest. “You should never have come to this school. Only the best should be here - sorcerers with the most power, and the strongest will. You’ve taken a spot that should’ve gone to someone more deserving. But you’re going to make it up to us, you understand? You’re going to be our servant. Our test dummy. Our punchbag.” She leaned down and hissed at the humiliated student, “Our fucktoy.”

“Y-yes, Mistress.”

“What are you, bitch?”

“Your servant... Your test dummy... Your punchbag... Your fucktoy...” They swallowed. “Your bitch.”

Livi grinned triumphantly. “Well done, dumbass! Absolutely correct. Bonus credit, in fact, for that last addition. But you won’t be as effective if you’re this pent-up - my peers and I, your superiors, need our bitch to be fully focused on helping us achieve our academic goals. So you’d better get some of that out of your system.”

Moving behind them, she stuck her booted foot between their legs. “Here, you sick little slut. Some stress relief for you, before you give us our stress relief. Remember not to cum until I say you can.”

“Y-yes, Mistress,” they mewled, their hips already beginning to gyrate, dragging themself up and down the shiny black leather. “Thaank you, Mistressss...”

Livi smiled widely, deliriously happy. She’d never felt so powerful than she did right now, watching her powerless, pitiful plaything polish her boot with their cunt, as she stood, naked but for her bulky boots, and masturbated over them, one hand groping her tits while the other curled fingers inside her. She couldn’t think of anything better than this.

It was a dream come true.

Below the bully, her similarly-nude slave was bowing down to their new Mistress, their palms and forehead pressed into the floor, their knees tucked beneath their torso, desperately humping her foot, unable to contain their noises of ardour even as their mortified tears soaked the stone floor. They’d never felt so small, so weak, so powerless.

It was a dream come true.

And it was the entire reason they’d wanted Livi, rather than Emerald. That sweet girl might’ve found the necessary savage streak to dispatch her foes, but it wasn’t who she really was. She could never have inflicted this on her captor - but Livi could, and would, and was, right now. And would continue to, for as long as they had her in their clutches.

Part of their mind was already conceiving of more scenarios the two of them could play out. They couldn’t wait to put their ideas into practice. This particular scene had been everything they’d hoped it’d be. The feeling of the wax burning their avatar’s skin had driven them wild, and the shoe-humping was deliciously degrading. If it had a real cunt, it’d be gushing a brook across the forest floor.

As it was, the cedar tree stood as static and silent as ever, giving no sign of the euphoria it was experiencing deep within Livi’s mindspace. But the many roots it had coiled around her catatonic body were rippling against her skin, touching and titillating her, adding to the arousal she was already getting out of dominating them. Every little helped, after all. The hornier she got, the meaner she was - and the more fun they had.

Of course, if Livi knew that her power was only an illusion - that she was trapped in a tree trunk, irresistibly imprisoned in its grasp - she wouldn’t be nearly as cooperative. But that was unlikely to happen unless they allowed it, as they did with Emerald. If Livi ever noticed any inconsistencies in the events and settings she found herself in, and started to come to her senses, the being Emerald had called ‘Cedar’ would simply sink her deeper into her own subconscious, until she again lost the ability to distinguish dreams from reality.

So far, she’d shown no awareness of anything amiss at all. She hadn’t registered anything odd about them both being naked in the corridors of Hexbourne Academy, darkened and deserted though they may be. She hadn’t wondered how they’d got there, when this scene started with them already in the shadowy hallway. She hadn’t noticed the candelabra vanishing from the hand that was now playing with her boobs like stress balls. She was perfectly oblivious to her predicament, and so thought of nothing but inflicting cruelty upon Cedar.

They had sensed that Livi would like to be on the other side - to be the helpless submissive. Perhaps they’d indulge her at some point - switch things up and dominate her... if she did a good job dominating them. They wouldn’t rule it out. The two of them would be spending eternity together, after all... Although Cedar was such a sub, there was no harm switching their dynamic up a bit, from time to time. For now though, they were perfectly happy with things the way they were - as was Livi, not knowing any better.

“That’s enough, perv,” the witch snapped, and Cedar let out another plaintive whine as her foot pulled out from between their illusionary legs. “Aw Goddess, look at the mess you made. Clean that up,” she ordered, planting the boot on the floor right below their face.

“Yes, Mistress,” they gasped, and began to gratefully, ravenously lick their own sap off her shoe.

Everyone had their happy ending. That cute couple got to carry on with their lives together, with their bully bound forever in Cedar’s hungry, thirsty roots. Livi got to stay exactly who she was before her fall from grace - she got to be the unmatched magician she’d always believed herself to be, taking out all her frustrations and inner insecurities on her constant companion to sustain her superior self-image. And the tree spirit got to be treated just the way it’d always wanted - like a helpless, depraved, submissive little sapling, utterly unable to resist an endless deluge of domination and degradation from their permanent prisoner.

Mortal lives were fleeting, and Cedar had no idea what the future would hold for Emerald and Freya, although they wished them the best. But the tree and their trapped tormenter would remain unchanged for the rest of time, until the Dark Woods finally fell to ash, some day far, far from now.

Or, to put it another way... they lived happily ever after.