Cindy sat alone at a booth in the very back of the coffee shop, trying not to draw too much attention to herself. While she took great pride in serving her Mistress, that didn’t mean she was in the habit of wearing her slave clothes out in public. Mistress allowed her to keep a few pairs of street clothes on hand for such occasions, but due to her unexpected flight from the apartment, she was now in the uncomfortable position of wearing a skimpy blouse and collar in what was a decidedly public environment. She’d thought of taking the collar off, at the very least, but Mistress had ordered her to wear it always, so even if she’d wanted to, she couldn’t.

That was the least of her concerns, though. Cindy’s whole world had been turned upside down in less than a day, and she was still reeling. Her Mistress, her best friend, the one she loved, was trapped, and she didn’t have the faintest idea what she could do about it. Ariella had been her whole world ever since they first met. Cindy had never even considered the possibility of losing her.

What do I do, Mistress? Tell me what to do, please. How do I help you? Cindy pled silently. Lex was undoubtedly playing some sort of cruel game at that very moment, taking her misguided ‘revenge’ on the woman who had given them both purpose. Cindy had never had any friends to speak of, always drifting through life without anywhere to call home. Her family had never been close, so as soon as she graduated high school, she was left to fend for herself. She’d briefly pursued a degree in psychology, and did quite well in class, but her shy demeanor left her isolated from most of her peers.

And then Ariella, her wonderful Mistress, had come into Cindy’s life. Long before anything had been done to her mind, she’d been irresistibly drawn to the professional domme. And yes, Ariella often manipulated her thoughts, of course, but there was much more to it than that. Even when her mind was free from hypnotic influence, Cindy knew it was her duty to serve the woman she loved. She would never forget the day when her dreams came true and Ariella had seen fit to offer her a permanent place at her side.

And now, all of that was gone. But despairing over the reality of the situation would do little to help remedy it. So Cindy set to work, trying to create a mental list of her options and priorities.

Her top priority was obviously to get her Mistress away from Lex as quickly as possible. But how? Cindy didn’t know of much she could do on her own. Running in and ordering Ariella to come with her would only result in a shouting match of conflicting orders directed at her Mistress, and that wouldn’t accomplish anything. It might even make things worse.

If she could figure out how to fix Mistress’s power, though…

Cindy had no idea how Ariella’s power worked. It had just been something they both accepted as right for her to have, befitting her natural dominance. Still, there must be some reason why it had suddenly turned on her. And if the power had been inverted, it stood to reason it was possible to reverse the process somehow. It was a long shot, but where else was she to start?

Investigating the cause would take time, though, and Cindy had little of that. She was now effectively just a homeless girl sitting in a coffee shop, wearing an outfit that made everyone look at her with judging eyes. She had work to do, and there was no use delaying.

I’m coming, Mistress. I’ll save you, whatever it takes.

Ariella felt nice. She swayed gently from side to side, enjoying the everpresent warmth which enveloped her. She was calm, relaxed, and very focused. Focused on… something. A voice? Yes, a voice. Whose voice? That didn’t matter. She was focused on it, and that was what mattered. She vaguely recalled feeling something… something bad? Yes, she had been feeling something bad before. But that didn’t matter. She was calm, relaxed, and focused now. She enjoyed feeling this way. It was so easy to relax and focus on the voice.

The voice spoke. What was it saying? It didn’t matter. The voice was the truth. Ariella simply responded to it without thinking about what it was saying.

“……. … … …. ..?”

Yes, she could hear the voice.

“.., ….. …, … … ….. … …….. …?”

Yes, she was blank and obedient now.

“… …’.. .. …….. . …, …..?”

Yes, she would do whatever the voice said.

“……. …. ….., …… … … …’. …. … ……. .. …… .. ……. .. ……. … … … …’. … .. ……….. …. …….”

Yes, she would not attempt to escape the voice’s control. She would not try to disobey it. She would not attempt to contact anyone.

“…., …’.. …… .. …. ….. ……… …….. . … …”

Yes, she would return to this state instantly whenever she was told to.

“….. …. … .. …’.. ….. .. .. .. …. ….., … ….. .. .. .. …..”

Yes, she would think of the voice as her Queen, and refer to it as such.

“.., …. …… .. .. .or now. Wake up, slave.”

Yes, she would wake up.

Awareness began to return to Ariella’s mind. The warm calm started to fade, and that bad feeling started to come back. What was that? It felt… like fear. Ariella was terrified. Terrified of what? Of losing the warm calm? No, that didn’t seem right. She was afraid of her Queen! Yes, that was it. Wait, her Queen? Why would she be terrified of a Queen? Lex. She was terrified of Lex. She was terrified of her Que- no, of Lex, because she could control her. And that was bad because she didn’t like Ariella. Yes, that was right. That made sense.

Ariella realized she was still staring into her captor’s eyes. The same power that once let her rule now brought her to her knees. She tried to pull her eyes away, or to stop groveling, but it was no use. She had to stay in her current position until she was told to move. That was a simple, undeniable fact. It was unthinkable to do anything else.

“Ghhuuhh, what… what did you do to me?” Ariella groaned, shaking the fog from her mind.

Lex grinned, then started giggling uncontrollably.

“Oh, this is just the best! We are going to have so much fun together! You can’t even imagine how often I’ve dreamed of being able to finally show you what an utter monster you are. You’re my bitch now! Say it! You’re my bitch now!”

“I’m your bitch now,” Ariella said automatically, then she registered the command. She hadn’t even tried to resist. She wouldn’t try to resist. She would have hung her head in shame, had it not been firmly frozen in place.

“Ha! That’s right, bitch. Now slap yourself in the face.”

Ariella obeyed, then winced in pain.

“Now… play with your tits and moan like a slut!”

She wouldn’t resist. There was no point. She was at her Quee- no, Lex’s mercy, and there was no use even contemplating escape. The idea of refusing her Queen’s orders was forbidden, and every time she tried to think about doing so the thought slipped away from her. Despair filled her mind as pleasure filled her body, and she moaned.

“Ok, ok, stop. Now kiss me, like you mean it.”

Ariella finally stood, leaning in to give her Queen a passionate kiss without betraying a hint of the turmoil inside her. Her body was on autopilot. Ariella was just a passenger until her captor decided to allow her some autonomy.

“Mmfgh, sthp.”

She pulled away, watching Lex’s eyes with rapt attention, her body traitorously waiting to be told her next form of punishment. As much as Ariella hated to admit it, Lex did look like a Queen. Her usual fiery stubbornness had been sublimated into a commanding presence that Ariella had tried to beat out of her. Her imposing stare demanded obedience even more than the wicked smile that refused to leave her face. Maybe Lex really was a Queen. Maybe she really should be in charge.

No, don’t think that! Ariella sternly reminded herself that her mind was being fucked with, and that she needed to focus on keeping her mental fortitude intact until… Until when? Escaping of her own accord was unthinkable. Cindy wasn’t going to be able to free her. She was doomed.

“Now, tell me that you’re a helpless bitch who should be punished for being a selfish monster.”

“Yes, Queen. I’m a helpless bitch and I want to be humiliated and punished for being such a worthless excuse for a person,” Ariella droned. Her mind certainly seemed to be taking some creative liberties when obeying Lex’s command. Did she really think so little of herself?

“I don’t like your tone. Act like you mean it,” Lex sneered.

Ariella’s posture and expression shifted without her, transforming her appearance from that of a paralyzed drone into a giddy and eager plaything.

“Oh, yes, my Queen! Please degrade and humiliate me! I’m a cruel monster who deserves to be shown her place, after being so awful to you!” The words came pouring out against her will. She focused her attention on keeping her inner rage smoldering, determined to prevent the Que- to prevent Lex’s control from reaching too far into her true thoughts.

It’s not true. She’s making you say that. She’s not your Queen. She’s an arrogant slave who belongs at your feet. She can control your actions, but not your thoughts. Don’t let her beat you.

Lex took a step closer, looking up and down her new plaything’s body. Now that they were practically eye-to-eye, Ariella could see behind her facade of excitement and power to a seething anger that seemed ready to burst forth at any moment.

“Strip for me, slave. You don’t deserve to wear the clothes of a Mistress. Not after all you’ve done.”

Ariella’s body obeyed, unzipping her flowing silk dress and delicately pulling it down a body which felt increasingly like it wasn’t her own.

Lex continued, “Maybe I should make you go to all your ‘clients’ naked and collared. Make you degrade yourself in front of all the people who used to respect you. Doesn’t that sound fucking delightful?”

The rage had begun to shine through, her domineering tone shifting to one of pure hatred and disgust. Ariella’s resolve wavered. Just how far her captor was preparing to take her torment. Was her former slave really capable of such cruelty?

Who am I kidding? This is Lex we’re talking about. “Maybe I should take away everything and everyone you cared about, torture you day in and day out, force you to act like everything is okay as you’re reduced to a pathetic shell of yourself. Oh, I know, that sounds so horrible. So cruel. Does that sound fucking familiar?” Lex spat in Ariella’s face.

Ariella felt a pang of shame. Yes, she had done all of that. But it wasn’t as though she had completely stolen Lex’s life from her. She had allowed her to continue her career, even go out with friends when she was in a charitable mood. Though her slave had gotten less enthusiastic about going out in public as time had gone on.

Ariella’s new Queen suddenly reached out and pinched her nipples hard. She wanted to cry out in pain, but her mouth wouldn’t listen. The plastic smile on her face masked the pain.

“Maybe I should force you to hurt the people you love! How about I make you abandon the person you love most in the world? Like, hmm, I don’t know, your little sister?” What? “And I wouldn’t care that she relied on you for support when her mental health took a turn for the worse. Oh, no! I would make you abandon her without the slightest bit of explanation, and to top it all off, I’d lock down your phone and shackle your mind so you couldn’t even talk to her. I wouldn’t give a shit as you spent every day wondering if she was alright, if she was eating, if she was taking care of herself, if my leaving had broken her. So how does that fucking sound to you?” Lex was screaming now, choking slightly as she tried to hold back tears.

Ariella reeled, and not just from the pain of her nipples which felt like they were bleeding by now. She hadn’t known about that. She hadn’t even realized Lex had a sister. Surely she would have mentioned it, if it was so important?

But… Lex hadn’t been allowed to engage with her life. Small moments began to occur to Ariella. Times she caught her slave staring longingly at her phone, which she’d interpreted as wanting freedom. Times she’d caught her sobbing silently in the night, which she’d interpreted as fishing for sympathy. Ariella hadn’t connected the dots. She hadn’t realized that there was more to her plaything’s anger besides stubbornness.

Despite the control’s restraints, Ariella’s eyes began to water. If she had known, if she had noticed… she would have done something. Surely she would have, right? Right?

Ariella never had been good at lying to herself.

Lex finally released her nipples, and instead shoved Ariella’s unresisting form to the ground. Her entire body flashed with pain as it, locked rigidly in place, hit the hardwood floor.

“What’s wrong, bitch? Feeling regret now, as though you deserve pity? Realizing you didn’t give a shit about anything but your own fucked up pleasure? Well, now, guess who’s in charge? I’m your Queen. I own you, as I well should after what you did, and don’t you dare forget it. You’re going to help me get my life back, but not just that. You’re going to live through the same hell you put me through. It’s what a piece of shit like you deserves.”

Ariella couldn’t hold back the tears any longer. Her Que- Lex - no, her Queen was right. What had she done? She deserved to suffer for it. What was the point in trying to keep her will intact? Hot tears rolled down her cheeks and onto the floor, a fake smile on the fake face of a fake Mistress.

Lex loomed over Ariella, eyes burning with cold fury.

“That’s right. Cry, bitch. Get it allll out, before I erase that pathetic thing you call a mind.”

Ariella felt numb.

“Nothing to say? Oh, that’s right, you can’t. I wouldn’t know how that feels. Well, if you’re not going to contribute to our conversation, then I see no reason why you need to be awake.

“Look into my eyes, slave, and get ready for your new life.”

Ariella looked, welcoming the escape from what she’d done.