1. Dazed + Collar

 

    Carly stumbled through the halls of the decrepit mansion. Why was she here? She couldn’t remember why she would be wandering around someplace so spooky. In fact, Carly couldn’t remember a lot of things. Her head felt so fuzzy. Like it had been stuffed with cotton. Or something soft like cotton. Like cotton candy. She loved cotton candy. It was so sweet the way it melted on your tongue. Carly licked her lips and wished she had some cotton candy.
    Maybe there was cotton candy in the kitchen. Maybe not cotton candy, but something sweet to eat. A big mansion like this should have a big kitchen.
    Carly came to a stop, her eyes blinking slowly. Why was she in a mansion? How had she gotten here? It was so hard to remember.
    “Hello?” Here voice echoed down the dim hallway and she hoped someone might hear and help her. Then she clapped a hand over her mouth. What if she had broken in? Surely they’d arrest her for trespassing. Only Carly wasn’t the kind of person who would break into mansions. Was she?
    Carly couldn’t remember breaking any laws before, but she was hard pressed to remember anything beyond ten seconds ago. She’d been walking down the hallway towards… somewhere. A kitchen? That didn’t make sense.
    She turned around and stared down the hallway, hoping for some clue of where she’d come from and where she was going. But it was the same spooky dark hallway she’d just been looking at. Nearly identical, as if it was all the same paintings and sconces and dust-covered dressers repeating endlessly.
    Carly’s eyes fluttered as the hallway seemed to spin before her eyes, twisting and bending like a snake. She shook her head, trying to come to her senses. Her head still felt so full, hard to think, but at least when she opened her eyes the hallway had stopped spinning. Relieved of her vertigo, Carly kept walking forwards. Where had she been going? She couldn’t remember, but surely when she reached it she’d recognize it. Her sore feet told her she’d been walking for a while now and the hallway must end somewhere. She’d just keep walking until she found whatever it was she’d been searching for.
    She kept stumbling forward, taking in the mansion and forgetting it just as quickly. Had she gone into that room before? She couldn’t remember. It was a pretty room, but nothing drew her attention. How long had she been in the room for? Carly couldn’t say, but she wouldn’t get anywhere standing around. So she tried the hallway, her eyes dull and her movements sluggish as she kept walking.
    Carly felt so tired. Maybe there was a bed somewhere. Then she could sleep for a thousand years. But this wasn’t her house. Was it? Carly wondered if the lavish mansion was hers. Everything looked so pretty and shiny everywhere she looked. At least it wasn’t some creepy mansion with dark hallways.
    This was a nice mansion. A warm, inviting mansion. She didn’t mind walking through it, although she didn’t know where she was going. Wouldn’t someone tell her where to go?
    Carly’s heart ached at the thought. That’s what she needed. Her brain was so mushy and useless. She needed someone to tell her what to do. What to think. That would make everything so much better. Oh if only she could find someone, anyone, to take control for her. Maybe somewhere further in the mansion she’d find someone smart, and pretty or handsome and maybe sexy. A sexy person to give them orders. And Carly could do what they said and be so happy here in the mansion. Just doing what she was told and making others happy. It sounded like a dream.
    Carly stumbled and snapped awake. Had she fallen asleep while walking? Where was she walking to? Her brain couldn’t think properly, all stuffed up with sleep still. Carly shook her head trying to wake up more, and felt something soft and luxurious around her neck.
    Surprised, she reached up and found a leather collar around her neck. Just touching it sent shivers of pleasure down her spine. It felt like love. Like she treasured this collar. How could she have ever forgotten such a lovely collar? And a collar meant she was owned.
    Carly remembered her dream. Or make like she fell back into the dream. Everything blurred before her as she swam in the warm, lovely feeling of being owned. She didn’t need to think, not when the collar meant there was an owner to think for her. She only had to find them and do everything they commanded.
    “Owner?” she called dreamily, slowly walking down the hallway with a glazed expression of love. “Where are you, owner? I’m ready to obey. Please command me. I need you.”
    The dazed girl strolled deeper into the mansion, stroking her collar and certain that her Owner would find her soon. Then her life would be perfect.