“We need to talk, Chloe.”

For the first time in months, I woke up in an actual bed. Candace’s bed.

I could remember every moment of last night perfectly. Waking up after my surgery, making a fool of myself in the car, and having the worst breakdown of my entire life. Yet once it was all over, Candace embraced me. She forgave me. I felt a feeling of ease in my chest knowing that she had finally forgiven me.

But I knew that it was all going to come crashing down in the morning.

“In just two weeks you’ve gone from trying to rip my heart out from my body, to begging for permission to sleep in my bed.”

Candace wasted no time. She had things to say and she was going to say them.

“What am I supposed to think, Chloe?” Candace paced back and forth across the parlor, barely stopping to look at me when she spoke.

“I want to believe that you’ve learned your lesson. I want to believe that you’re ready for the next step. I want to believe that you’re ready to submit to me.” The sound of Candace’s heels clicking against the floor echoed through the halls of the otherwise empty house. “But for all I know, you’re just trying to trick me again. Maybe you’re genuinely ready for the next step, but maybe you’re just trying to get close to me so that you can try to kill me again.”

She had a point. Not even I knew the truth about how I was feeling.

From day one I had been filled with anger and disgust and sadness, but I felt something towards Candace now, there was a part of me that wanted to be by her side for the rest of my life, and that part of me was getting bigger by the day.

Even if I did know how I felt however, I wasn’t able to respond. Candace had promptly removed the straightjacket that I’d been forced to sleep in, and instead shackled me to the large center table in the parlor so that I could watch her pace. My mouth muzzled like it was meant to be.

“Chloe…” Candace turned to face me, settling into the largest chair in the parlor, the seat she usually relaxed in. But she was anything but relaxed right now, her entire body tensed. Her face hidden was behind her hand, clearly trying to conceal whatever emotions she was feeling right now.

“We need to talk.” As quickly as she had sat down, she rose back to her feet, her high heels clicking loudly as she walked over to me, tipping my head forward so that she could remove my muzzle, letting it fall into my lap.

She placed one finger beneath my chin, lifting my flustered face up to look at her, giving me a gentle smile. “And we need to talk openly.”

“Candace…” I bit my lip, quickly averting my gaze from her, not wanting her to see the shame in my eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“No. I don’t want to hear that right now.” Candace sat back down in her seat, glaring at me.

Candace was clearly waiting for me to say something, but I couldn’t manage to find the words to respond with. Last night was one of the worst nights of my life, and I couldn’t have been more ashamed of myself. I couldn’t speak, but I could nod.

“This conversation isn’t going to work unless you speak, Chloe.” My silence clearly frustrated her. Here she was trying to have an open conversation with me, treating me like an actual human for possibly the first time ever. “You’re not going to get in trouble for saying something you’re not supposed to, okay?”

“You promise?” My voice was shaky and terrified, not fully sure if I could trust what she was saying.

“I promise.”

“I don’t know how I feel Candace…” I bit my lip nervously, struggling not to fall apart where I sat. “I’m hurt… I feel violated… I feel terrified… and I feel alone…”

“I know you do… and some of that’s on purpose, but…” Candace sighed. It was clearly a big topic to start off with, but she was glad that I spoke. “I’ve done us both a great disservice by keeping you at arm's length like I have.”

“How do you mean?”

“I mean I’ve done all these things to make you hate me, and it all worked…” She once again hid her gaze from view, not wanting to meet my eyes with hers. “When I don’t really want you to hate me.”

This was evidently a very difficult conversation for Candace to have, even harder than it was for me, because she knew that everything that she was feeling was her own fault.

“I’m not going to sidestep what I want anymore, Chloe. You belong to me and you are going to do as I tell you, and there really isn’t anything you can do about it.” She paused, trying not to let her voice crack. “But at the same time, I want to be more open with you… because I want us to be closer.”

I swallowed nervously, looking up into her eyes and nodding. “What happens now?”

“I thought hiding things up my sleeve was the best way to keep you contained… But I now realize that that was a mistake.” She paused, thinking it over. “I’m going to tell you how my security system works.”

It was a little bit shocking to hear her say, she had always kept as much information as she could secreted away from me. “Wait, what? why?”

“My hope is that if you know exactly what you’re up against… You’ll realize how futile it is to try and escape.”

“Okay…”

“Where to start…” She stopped, taking a deep breath. “Okay-”

“That collar is capable of doing a lot more than just electrocuting you. First of all, I can hear everything that happens around you, there’s a microphone built into the band. Second, the collar has needles discreetly built into it to inject sedatives into your neck when I need them to. Thirdly…” She tapped her foot, trying to find the words she wanted to say. “It can explode, at the press of a button.”

“Yeah, and?” None of this was surprising for me to hear. “This is all stuff you would do, I’m not really surprised-”

“Well would you be surprised if I told you there’s a basement?” Candace interrupted.

I paused, caught completely off guard by the idea. “Yes…”

There’s a basement???

“Let’s go take a walk.”

Candace made me stay put while she went to grab something from her bedroom, returning with the very same leash she led me around the house on during my first day, attaching it to my collar and giving it a firm tug, before giving me a light flick on my septum ring.

“I trust that you won’t try to pull anything, or you’ll make your master quite upset.”

“I won’t, I promise.” I swallowed nervously, trying my best to smile at her.

“Do as I say, and you won’t get punished alright?” Candace released the chains from my wrists, then lifted my chin with one hand, looking me straight in the eyes. “Now follow me.”

I can do this. I can do as I’m told. I nervously followed behind Candace, trying not to let my leash pull taut. Don’t fuck this up. Don’t upset her. Just do what she says and don’t disobey.

“Relax, Chloe.” Candace could tell how tense I was getting, giving me a nice firm tug on my collar. “I have you right here, just to be safe.”

Candace led me by the neck to the lounge, I quickly realized that the reason she was telling me to relax was also to try and get herself to calm down, she was clearly just as on edge as I was. I couldn’t imagine what sort of mental gymnastics she had to perform to come to the decision of telling me all of these things. The things she was about to show me were the very things she counted on to keep me from trying to escape, or even worse, attacking her again.

Candace headed straight for the corner of the room, towards the one painting that I wasn’t allowed to touch, but strangely enough, my collar wasn’t going off like it usually did when I got too close to it.

“Who is she?” I stopped, admiring the woman in the painting. I had always wondered who it was that made the painting so important to her.

“My mother.” Candace paused, unable to look at the painting for very long. “She passed away several years ago.”

“She looks beautiful.” I wrapped my hands around the chain dangling from my neck, looking up at Candace. “Is that why I’m not allowed to touch it?”

“Not exactly.” She smiled, pulling on the chain playfully. “Watch this.”

My beautiful blonde captor slowly began running her fingers over the top of the picture frame, before stopping and seemingly reaching behind the painting itself. There was a small click, and then suddenly the whole wall seemed to swivel in place a bit, just enough to get a grip on it and pull it out fully, which Candace promptly did.

“The stairway to the basement is hidden behind a secret door, which would be why you’re not allowed to touch the painting… In addition to it being my most valuable possession.” Candace smirked, a faint blush on her cheeks. “Aside from you, of course~”

My blush was not so faint. It shouldn’t have been so embarrassing to hear, especially considering that I was standing in the lounge completely naked.

“Come on, we’re going downstairs~” Candace pulled me to her with the leash, sending me down into the basement ahead of her, the lights turning on by themselves as we walked down.

“Now usually I wake you up at a very specific time, but I woke you up early today, so Malcolm probably isn’t awake yet.”

“Malcolm?” I stepped onto the carpeted floor of the basement, landing in a large entertainment room, with Candace following shortly behind me. “What does Malcolm being awake have to do with anything?”

“Because Malcolm lives here.” Candace stepped past me, making sure the door back up to the ground floor was locked behind us before heading into the next room. “Let’s go look at his office before he starts his work, shall we?”

“Malcolm lives here?” I followed Candace into the next room, my leash forcing me to stay at her hip.

“He lives and works here.” Candace showed me into a room filled with monitors, very clearly a surveillance room for the entire house. “Another little secret I’ve been keeping from you~”

“What does he do?” I glanced wide-eyed at each of the monitors, realizing how stupid my question sounded. “I thought he was your personal assistant?”

“He was my personal assistant.” Candace slid the chair out from the desk, taking a seat in it and tugging on my leash. “But once I got you, I needed somebody to keep an eye on you~”

“You mean he watches me from in the basement?” It should have been obvious to me, but not knowing that the basement existed was enough to keep me from the realization.

“From every room in the house~” Candace yanked on my leash, forcing me into her lap as she showed me the setup of the surveillance system. “I’m showing you this to scare you away from doing something that will get you in trouble.”

“From every single room?” I take note of every single monitor, clinging onto the quickly fleeting hope that there was any way out of my captivity.

“Your cell, foyer, parlor, hallway, kitchen, dining room, wardrobe room, hallway, Thea and Sophia’s room~” Candace stopped to snicker at me, reminding me about how she stole my name and gave it to one of her cats. “Cat’s bathroom, gaming room, gaming bathroom, hallway, porch, closet, master bathroom… and thanks to your stunt two weeks ago, I had to install a camera in my bedroom.”

“Is that why he didn’t see it happen?” I swallowed nervously, looking up at Candace from her lap.

“Yes…” Candace rolled her eyes, gesturing towards all of the different rooms. “But that’s not the case anymore… we can see you from everywhere~”

I glance over each of the cameras one more time. “Is there a camera in the guest bedroom… attached to the foyer?”

“That’s not a room you’re allowed into, so no.” Candace smiled, still gently tugging at my leash.

“Are you going to show me what’s in there too?” I bit my lip, feeling Candace slip a couple of her fingers under my collar.

“Unfortunately not~” Candace pulled on my collar, admiring the naked girl in her lap. “I’m afraid that’s going to have to stay a secret for another day.”

“I thought you wanted to be more open with me?” I bit my lip, looking up at her in confusion.

“I am being more open with you, I’m showing you all of this aren’t I?” Candace shook her head, gesturing to the cameras again. “The guest bedroom isn’t another dirty little secret I promise… It’s pleasant surprise for another day~”

“A pleasant surprise?” I grip the chain in both hands, not trying to take it away from Candace, but still trying to use it for support. “What kind of pleasant surprise?”

“Well… Since the point is to discourage you from exhibiting any disobedience towards me…” Candace grinned eagerly, slipping her fingers back out from under my collar. “If you’re good and learn to behave, that will eventually be your room~”

“You really think you have the chops to decorate a bedroom for me?” I scoff, giggling to myself.

“Quiet you~” Candace flicked me on my nose. “I have your precious Calliope in my garage already, don’t I?”

“You know the name of my car?” I wriggled my nose, looking up at her with a look of concern on my face.

“I know the petname your ex-boyfriend used to call you, don’t look surprised.” Candace smiled, glancing over towards the door into the room and pausing, going very quiet.

“Good morning, Candace~”

Malcolm’s awake.

“Good morning, Malcolm!!”

Malcolm yawned, stepping into the room. “You’re up early, huh?”

“I had something I needed to attend to this morning~” Candace giggled, pressing the tip of her index finger into my nose, the swivel chair still facing away from her assistant.

Malcolm leaned against the doorway, a mug of what looked like coffee but smelled like hot chocolate in his hand. “That being?”

Candace gave me an evil grin, before spinning the chair around to face Malcolm, leaving me no time to hide my body before it was exposed to her personal assistant. If this was a cartoon, he would have dropped his mug onto the floor in shock.

“Good morning, Malcolm…” I blushed, waving at him.

“Ah, ah, ah!!” Candace quickly scolded me. “Ma’ams and Sirs only, show respect.”

I bit my lip nervously, quickly amending my greeting. “Good morning, Sir.”

“Good morning, Chloe~” He brought his mug to his lips, looking over my completely naked body.

I blushed, trying to hide my tits behind my arms and crossing my legs. “He’s already seen you naked, Chloe.” Candace evidently didn’t like seeing me trying to hide my naked body, if only because it meant that she couldn’t see my tits herself.

“Don’t worry honey, I’m not into girls~” Malcolm winked at me, giving me a friendly smile. “So what’s the meaning of this, Can?”

“I thought I’d change my tactics… I’m showing Chloe the types of defenses I have in place." Candace smiled at him, wrapping her arm around my waist and gently holding me. “To try and teach her how futile it is to try and escape… in the hopes that she’ll realize that she needs to give up~”

“And how’s that going for you?” Malcolm’s grin was just as smug as Candace’s.

“I think she’s beginning to get it~” Candace smiled at me, running her fingers along my hip. “Aren’t you, Chloe?”

“Yes, Ma’am…” I bite my lip, casting my gaze down to the floor in shame.

She was right, I really was beginning to think that escaping from here was literally impossible, but strangely enough, there was some comfort in that. Maybe I really should just give up, it would make things a whole lot easier for me, and maybe my life would get a lot better from there.

We came back upstairs after a while, with Candace closing the secret door behind us. I stepped away from the painting, looking it over again. In retrospect, Candace’s mother looked a lot like her, with her platinum blonde hair and strange red eyes.

“Why are your eyes red, Candace?” I couldn’t stop the words from leaving my mouth, but almost instantly regretted saying it after I had done so.

“First of all, only one of my eyes is red.” She pointed at her left eye before moving on to pointing at her right eye. “My right eye is actually blue.”

I crossed my arms, waiting for her to answer my question.

“Like I said last night, I inherited albinism from my mother.” Candace admired the painting of her mom, smiling happily. “But just one of my eyes ended up with the red tint.”

“And that boy in the painting with her-” I stepped towards her, pointing out the young boy in the woman’s arms. I wasn’t sure who he was, but he also had that same red tint in his left eye that Candace and her mother had. “Who is he?”

Candace paused, trying to find the words to answer with. “He’s… not somebody I really want to talk about right now…”

I paused, unsure if I should press the issue any further. “Don’t want to open up about that either?”

“No, not really…” Candace sighed. “Come on.”

Candace led me to the gaming room, stopping outside the door and pressing her finger to her bracelet, waiting for the door to swing open on its own. “Inside, sweetie.”

I stepped inside, waiting for Candace to follow me in before I could sit down on the couch.

“As you can see, I can open, close, lock, and unlock each and every door from my bracelet~” Candace gestured for me to sit, getting quite annoyed at me when I sat down in the wrong spot. “You are a slave. Sit on the floor, like a slave.” She scoffed at me. “It’s not difficult.”

“It is for me!!” I shouted back at her, before quickly recoiling away, standing up from the couch and setting myself down on the floor. “It’s difficult for me…”

Candace took a deep breath, gently letting out slack in my leash. “You’re not in trouble, Chloe. I told you that you wouldn’t get in trouble as long as you do as I say, and I meant it.”

“I know how to be your maid, but…” My face turned red, and I wasn’t sure if it did so out of anger or out of embarrassment. “I don’t know how to be your slave.”

“You were never trained to be such…” Candace sighed, giving me a gentle tug on my leash to pull me to her feet. “Another shortcoming on my part… for keeping you at arm’s length like I have, and never teaching you.”

Candace clearly expected this open conversation to be less one-sided, but I was struggling to find anything that I wanted to say to her. Any complaint I could make was ultimately going to be shut down, because Candace was going to get what she wanted.

“What did you expect to accomplish from having this conversation…” I curled up, pulling my knees to my chest, not wanting to look at her. “Some sort of demented bonding exercise?”

“There was something different about you after you woke up from your surgery.” Unlike me however, Candace had words to say, and she knew how to say them. “Now I know that you weren’t in your right mind, but I’m sure that what I saw from you came from somewhere.”

I paused, shuddering at the memories from the previous night, remembering everything that I said to her. “I had been drugged-”

“You flirted with me in the car. You begged to sleep in my bed. You called me Master… You trusted me.” Candace began wrapping my leash around her hand, situating me on the floor in front of the couch, right next to her foot. “Even if you were drugged, there’s something there, Chloe.”

“Whatever you saw, it’s not real!!” I turned to face her, crying out in anger. I knew she was right, but I didn’t want her to be.

“There’s something between us, Chloe. But you have this shield you put up. You and I both know it’s there, and you’re hiding behind it.” Candace lifted one foot, kicking me in the forehead gently, making a point of batting at my thick skull. “Last night you got that shield torn away from you, and you let yourself go… if you would just drop your shield and give in to those desires, there would be something more between us than just master and maid.”

“But I-” I swallowed nervously. She’s right… why is she always right… why can’t I do this…

“I can’t read your thoughts Chloe… I know there’s something more going on in that head of yours that I don’t get to see. That’s why I want to have this conversation.” Candace took her foot and slid her big toe under my collar, pulling me back to her.

“I order you to drop those shields you’re hiding behind and speak your mind to me… tell me what you want, what you’re thinking, what you’re feel-”

“You’re right.” I cut her off before she could finish, looking up at her, tears welling up in the corners of my eyes. “I hate that you’re always right.”

She smiled eagerly. “And what else do you hate?”

“I hate you…” I reached up, my cheeks pink as I wiped the tears away.

“And do you think that hating me is going to get you anywhere?” Candace’s voice was calm and peaceful as she spoke. “It’s not going to.”

“I know it’s not, I just-” I shook my head. “I don’t know what else to think.”

“Only you know what you think, Chloe.” She tugged on the leash. “Now out with it…”

“I…” I bit my lip, thoroughly ashamed of what I was about to say. “I’m in love with you… Candace.”

“Continue~” Candace smiled, nodding for me to keep talking.

“You… You’re a monster, a-and I hate what you’ve done to me… I started at just doing as I was told to keep myself from getting hurt, but now I- I do what I’m told to make you happy” I hung my head in shame, looking down at the ground. “I can’t stop thinking about you… a-and it’s disgusting!! You did this to me!!! You’ve fucked with my head, and now all I can think about is you!!”

“That’s not such a bad thing, now is it?” Candace hummed to herself, the words coming out of my mouth being like music to her ears.

“I feel like it should be, but I don’t know anymore.” I took a deep breath, ashamed that even Candace’s humming made me happy. “You don’t have to worry about me attacking you again… Because-”

“Because of what, exactly?” Candace lifted my head up with her foot, forcing me to look in her eyes as I talked.

“Because I could have killed you last time and I didn’t-” I choked on my words, gazing up into her beautiful mismatched eyes. “I couldn’t… because I love you… because you’ve broken me…”
“Submission. What you’re feeling is called submission.” Candace was blushing, a happy smile painted onto her glossy lips. “You’ve grown submissive.”

You’ve lost your edge, Chloe. She’s right. Tell her she’s right.

“You’re right.” I paused, my words caught on the lump in my throat. “You’re right, and I know you’re right…”

“When you first got here, you were a stubborn little punk rock asshole… but you’ve grown submissive~” Candace gloated, basking in the feeling of being right. “Have you ever been submissive before?”

“No.” I shook my head, thinking back to my last relationship. “The opposite, actually.”

“You would do good to admit it to yourself.” Candace gently reached down, running her fingers through my orange hair. “You do as you’re told because my happiness is your happiness. You yield to my authority because that’s what feels right. You obey my orders because that’s what submissives do. There isn’t anything wrong or unnatural about that… There’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

I tilted my head, leaning directly into her hand, wordlessly pressing my forehead against her palm.

“You’re submissive to me.” Candace rewarded my nuzzles by gently petting my head. “Which is what we both want, isn’t it?”

“Yes-” My cheeks glowed bright red, still ashamed to be admitting it. “I know that it’s hopeless. I know that there’s no escape. This is just…”

“The hardest thing you’ll ever have to do.” Candace finished my sentiment for me. “You’re like me. You never give up…Even when you know it’s impossible.”

I shook my head, tears welling up in my eyes again. “Never…”

“Sophia Cavalier would never give up… but Chloe will.” Candace’s hand pulled away from my head, trailing down to my collar and firmly grabbing a hold of it. “You’re going to give up… because I’m telling you to give up~”

“Yes, Ma’am.” I bit my lip, tears beginning to stream down my cheeks. “I give up.”

“Good girl.” Candace lifted my chin up to look at her, watching her as she pulled a small metal device out of her pocket, squeezing it in her hand.

Click!

I stared up at the device, astonished to realize what it was for. I may not have ever owned a dog, but I knew exactly what that sound was and what it was used for. Clicker training.

“I- I’m not a dog…”

“You are whatever I say you are.” Candace slowly let go of my collar, shaking her head at me. “If I say that you’re a dog… Then you’re a dog~”

I bit my lip, my face turning pink in embarrassment. “But why the clicker?”

“I’m changing my approach, remember?” Candace twirled the clicker in her hand by its wrist strap. “No more keeping you at arm’s length, no more negative reinforcement… We’re going to try positive reinforcement~”

“Positive reinforcement?” I paused, missing the feeling of her hand on my head. “How?”

“Simple. I’m going to give you orders, and if you fulfill them to my satisfaction, in addition to getting to hear this lovely little clicker go off… you’ll get a little buzz~”

“A buzz?” I furled my eyebrows, looking up at her in disbelief.

“Like so~” Candace cut off any train of thought I might have had by pressing the button again, and as she did so, the collar around my neck began to vibrate.

Damn it, you’re good~

“Unfortunately, that will be all the fun we have time for right now. We seem to have gotten sidetracked.” Candace crossed her legs. “Back to the topic at hand.”

“What were we talking about?” I nervously bit my lip, my train of thought getting lost with the vibrating collar.

“Your submission. How you belong to me, why trying to escape is futile, and what will happen to us both if you don’t learn your place…” Candace paused, trying to keep herself calm. “Since we’re talking openly… I think it’s important for you to know that my father doesn’t like you.”

“Your father?” I hadn’t thought about Candace’s father, she never usually mentioned him. Evidently there was a reason for that.

“My father hates you, Chloe. He has disapproved of my decision to claim you since even before I went through with it.” Candace scoffed. “You aren’t like Liz, you didn’t come to me through the facility… You’ve had all of the physical modifications that a facility girl has had, but you haven’t been trained.”

Lucky me.

“If this doesn’t start working out soon… I will have no choice but to send you to the facility.” Candace’s face turned stern, not wanting to entertain the thought of it. “My father will give me no choice but to send you to the facility.”

“What’s the facility?” My heart began to ache, not wanting to think of the kinds of things that might happen to me there. “Is that bad? What will happen to me there?”

“You will be trained, taught how to be a proper slave.” Candace was choking on her words, there was clearly something she wasn’t telling me.

“What’s wrong with that? What will they do to me?” I could barely keep myself from climbing into her lap, settling on grabbing a hold of her leg, looking up at her from the floor below.

“Like I said, you’ve had all of the physical modifications that any other facility girl would have.” She reached down, grabbing a hold of the tag on my ear. “You have your tag, you have electric implants in your arms, you even have a tracking chip embedded in your ass~”

“But what, Candace?!” I shouted. “You said you were going to tell me everything-”

“If you go to the facility, you’ll have to have your brands burned over!!!”

I froze. My brands? It never occurred to me that Candace would ever want to have my brands replaced or covered.

She branded me with her initials, as a sign of her ownership.

“...Why would my brands be a problem?” The thought of having my brands burned over was enough to quickly bring me to tears.

And I could see that it was enough to bring Candace to tears as well, tears rolling down her cheeks harder than I’d ever seen them.

“Because if I have to send you to the facility, you won’t be coming back to me…”

No…

“I won’t have a choice. I’ve fucked this all up from the beginning.” She struggled to choke back her tears. “If I can’t get my father to approve of us… you’ll get taken to the facility, trained, and sold off to someone else…”

I bit my lip, my throat bubbling with rage. “Isn’t there some other way… can’t you come up with an alternative-”

“That is the alternative, Chloe…” Candace wiped the tears from her eyes, slowly settling down.

I wasn’t even sure that I wanted an answer to the question I was about to ask. “Alternative to what?”

“Doing what they did to my mother.” Candace reached down, wiping the tears from my eyes as well. “Having you euthanized…”

I climbed into her arms, unable to sit still anymore. Leaving my place on the floor and joining Candace on the couch was an act of disobedience, but it was one she was willing to let slide. Allowing me to sit in her lap, holding onto me as tight as she could. “I can’t let that happen to you, Chloe.” She stroked my hair, letting my cry into her shoulder like I had the previous night. “I’d be happier knowing that you belonged to someone else… instead of knowing that I was the reason you were put down.”

“But I belong to you!!!”

It was humiliating saying it out loud, but it was true. No matter what I said, I belonged to Candace Amelia Saint Clair, and there was no one in the world I’d rather submit to.

Admit it, Chloe. You know you want this.

“I know I haven’t been perfect…”

Why can’t you just give in? Why can’t I just give in?

“B-but I’m trying my best…”

Stop lying to yourself. Stop lying to her.

“I- I’ve been troublesome-”

You know what she wants to hear. Tell her what she wants to hear.

“But, I…”

Submit to her.

“This is my fault, not yours. I need to do better… And I’m going to do better.” I pried myself from her chest, working up the strength to look her in the eyes. “I’ve been stupid. Stubborn. Arrogant. Selfish. Disobedient. Mean. Violent. Rude. Disrespectful. Immature. Disruptive. Unruly. Hostile. Defiant. I’ve done everything wrong.”

Candace quickly composed herself, looking me in the eyes and nodding.

“That changes now.” I held my breath, ready to finally prove myself ready for whatever Candace has planned for me. “Let me be your handmaiden.”

“My handmaiden?” Candace paused, thinking it over. “Do you believe that you deserve such a title?”

“No, I don’t.” I bowed my head, looking down at her lap. “But I would like the chance to earn it, please.”

“You’ve told me so many times that you were going to do better.” Candace stood up, staring down at me from in front of the large wall monitor. “What’s different this time?”

“I’m not doing it for me this time.” Following her lead, I removed myself from the couch, kneeling at her feet. “I’m doing this for you.”

“And what are you going to do for me?” Candace extended her right leg forward, placing it in front of me expectantly.

“Everything. Everything I do from now on, it will all be for you.” I took Candace’s foot in my hand, gently kissing her soft skin. “I will submit to you.”

“Do you think that will be enough?” Candace crossed her hands behind her back, looking down at me from above.

“No. My submission is worthless without your hand to guide me.” I reached up, holding out a hand for hers. “I’m nothing before you.”

“Very well…” She extended her hand, letting me take a hold of it. “I will train you to become my handmaiden.”

“Thank you, Candace.” I gently placed a soft kiss on the back of her hand, bowing my head in submission. “Master.”

“It would seem that we’ve come to an agreement, then.” Candace pulled her hand away, holding both hands behind her back. “Our open conversation has concluded.”

“Of course~” Candace couldn’t tell, but she had succeeded in scaring me away from disobeying, just not in the way that she expected. “What now, Miss?”

“Cast your gaze downwards unless directed, speak only when spoken to, and be sure to address me with respect at all times.” Candace smiled eagerly, ready to give her slave another chance. “Once you’ve gotten the basics down, we will move on to your first proper lesson~”

“Yes Ma’am… Thank you~” I smiled happily, gazing down at the floor.

“Good girl.” Candace smiled, pulling the clicker from her pocket.

Click!