17th October, 30 days until the banquet.

“Why are you here anyways?” Chloe sat up in bed, wrapping the blankets around herself in a futile attempt to hide her body from the other woman. “Don’t you have some important job to be doing?”

“I work for my family, remember- and my sister is family. Besides, it’s the weekend.” Candace’s presence here bothered Chloe, but Candace didn’t seem bothered at all. “You know, I could ask you the same thing- why are you here?”

“Unlike you, I don’t get to control where I go.” It was really hard for Chloe to talk with Candace straight to her face, and not just because of her inability to address equals, but also because of that look in her eyes. “I wonder whose fault that is.”

“Point taken, that is my doing. But I would hardly use the word fault, seeing that it was intentional.” Weirdly, Candace was smiling at her. Her eyes somehow remained soft while she spoke, and it sapped Chloe’s energy to look at them. “But you did get to choose to leave me, didn’t you?”

“And it was the best decision of my life by far.” Chloe wasn’t usually so angry, but talking to Candace like this drew it out of her, especially knowing that her new master condoned this anger of hers. She encouraged Chloe to “let her have it.”

“You really think so?” But what bothered Chloe was how seemingly indifferent Candace was towards the change. “How come?”

“Because she treats me way better than you ever have.” Chloe was going to crack that armor of hers if it was the last thing she did. “I sleep in a real bed, she feeds me actual food, and… and-”

She skidded to a halt in her tracks, struggling to actually unbury any other point to add to her list in Claudia’s favor.

“So you have better food and better sleeping conditions, sure. But do you really think you’ve earned those things?”

“ Earned? ” Chloe scoffed, insulted to her core to think that she should have to earn basic human decency from anyone. “Who are you to try and tell me I should have to earn anything? Since when was that your place to decide?”

“I was your master, Sophia.” Finally, a crack in Candace’s amor. “And when I was your master it was my place to decide what you deserved to be given and what you should have to earn. I will not apologize for that.”

“There it is, you’re a maniac. Shame on me for thinking you had it in you to feel bad about what you did to me- let alone apologize.”

“But I did apologize, Sophia. I should have been honest with you and made it clear that I wasn’t doing it just to punish you, but because I wanted you for myself, and I do feel bad for that.”

“Right. Whatever-” Chloe blushed, hating just how much that apology really meant to her. “What’s your point?”

“My point is-” And Candace took a few moments to build up the strength to say this. “Do you actually like how my sister treats you better than how I did… or did you do this just to hurt me?”

Chloe’s deep hazel eyes locked with Candace’s soft gaze. “…What?”

“If you ran away because you wanted to hurt me, please- just say it.” Candace’s voice was weak from the moment the air left her lungs. “If all you want is to get me out of your life because you hate me so much- just say it.”

“I’m not the bad guy here.”

“No, you’re not. That’s the point. You have the right to be upset at me… but I know you, Sophia. This isn’t like you.”

“What… what isn’t?”

“This. Whatever this is, this isn’t like you.”

“And how would you know what I’m like, Candace?”

“Because I’ve seen happy Sophia before, and this isn’t her.” Candace’s eyes were somehow both soft and firm at once, like two conflicting colors somehow working alongside each other. “Yes, I was hard on you, but not everything I did was out of malice. I made you earn what I gave you, but when you did rise to the challenge I gave you what you deserved, and I was happy doing it. When things were good, you were happy too.”

“So this is why you’re here- to talk to me?”

“Why else would I be here?”

“Because you love your sister?”

“I do love my sister… but not in the same way that I loved you, Sophia.”

“That’s the problem, Candace!!” The bridled rage slipping out of her forced Chloe to her feet. “I don’t believe you!!”

Chloe threw the covers to the floor, exposing herself. She didn’t mind being seen like she was, she didn’t care that she was naked, only that she was unprotected. And she wanted Candace to understand that she was unprotected, to understand how she felt.

“You say that you love me- but I don’t believe you. I can’t believe you. You may know me, but I don’t know you. The one thing that I thought I knew- that everything was my own fault for humiliating you in the world championship, and that it was my place to be punished for what I did to you- was a lie. And I was a fool for falling for it in the first place, just like I was a fool for falling for you. You don’t love me, and I won’t let you convince me otherwise. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. ”

Candace’s gaze nervously made its way to the floor, heartbroken to know that her feelings were entirely justified. “Is that your answer then- you just want to hurt me?”

“That’s not what I said.”

“You’re right, it was wrong to pretend like it was your fault. But all I’m hearing is how fiercely you want to punish me in return- and that’s okay. If that’s what you want, I just want you to be honest with yourself about it.”

“But that’s not-”

“Then what other answer is there, Sophia?”

“It’s… it’s better here-”

“Do you really think my sister loves you any more than I did?” Candace finally stood up from bed, standing in front of the other woman like they were equals. “Well- do you?”

“Do you remember all of the things you did to me?” Chloe gasped, shaking her head in desperation. “You forced me to get a tubal ligation against my will, don’t you remember?!”

“Sophia, please-”

“You had me spayed!!”

“You weren’t spayed!!” Candace’s voice shook as she said it. “You weren’t spayed…”

“What… but the surgery-”

“I got cold feet… okay?” Candace shook her head, heart pounding inside of her. “You changed my mind Sophia… the way you talked so passionately about wanting the chance to have your own kids someday… I couldn’t take that away from you.”

“Then… then why trick me into thinking you did?”

“Because I didn’t want to seem weak.” Candace frowned, sighing and letting it out. “I needed you to believe that I was strong, and that you couldn’t just get your way by wielding a knife against me… but when you did… a part of me broke. That’s when I knew I loved you.”

“This isn’t fair.” Chloe’s eyes turned hot with anger as Candace stared straight into them. “This isn’t fair and you know it-”

“Life isn’t fair, Sophia. I know that better than most, and if there’s anyone in the world who should know it better than I do- it should be you.”

Chloe shouted angrily, lunging towards the other woman. Her hands smacked into Candace’s chest, shoving her backwards with as much force as she could manage.

And Candace just let her. She was oddly at peace with this- Chloe’s rage. Chloe’s hatred. It made sense, it was warranted, it just wasn’t an honest hatred. It was a reluctant one.

She could see something in her, that woman she knew so well- that girl she knew better than anyone. This wasn’t Sophia- not really. This was something else.

St. Clair was stronger than her rival, no doubt about it- but she let the other girl push her around. Chloe backed her into the wall, her hands trembling with anger as she clasped Candace by both wrists, slamming the backs of her hands into the wall beside her head.

“Go on then.” Candace smirked, looking her straight in the face with those cold yet caring oceans in her eyes. “Whatever you want to do to me, do it.”

“Why?” Chloe growled angrily, staring straight into her eyes. “Why aren’t you fighting back?”

“Because maybe this is another one of my mind games- Or maybe I just don’t want to hurt you.” Candace wet her dry nervous lips. “I want you to feel better. So just this once if you want to beat, rape, or humiliate me like I did to you- I’ll let you. If you think it will really make you feel better, I’ll let you.”

“You’ll let me, really?” Chloe’s grip loosened around Candace’s wrists, weakening. “You’d really let yourself be beaten or raped- just to appease me?”

“A week ago, when I came to see my sister… did you hear me scream?”

Chloe’s angry glare transformed into a look of worry. “I heard screams, but I couldn’t tell whose they were from hearing them.”

“Last Saturday, Claudia took me upstairs and raped me in the bath. It left me limping or in bed for most of the week, and it’s still sore.” Candace’s expression remained blank, her eyes locked onto Chloe’s, wanting her to feel the words she was saying. “The previous week… Tallulah brought me to the opening night of her new project and humiliated me against my will in front of her students and staff- when all I wanted was to spend a weekend away with her.”

“Y-yeah…” Chloe tried to remain stern, even as she quickly let go of Candace’s wrists. “Your point being?”

“You said you don’t know me, so I’m telling you who I am. You asked if I had some important job I needed to be doing- and I do. This is it.”

“What is?” Chloe frowned, unable to step away. “What’s your job?”

“To make my family happy.”

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Right. Back to getting out of this hellhole.

No way in hell was Chloe sticking around until this party. She was getting out of here- and she had a plan to do it too. There was just one thing she needed first.

Step one- Avoid everyone else in the house.

Step two- Getting into places.

Step three- Getting into Claudia’s office.

Step four- Getting into the vestibule.

Step five- Nell.

Those were the puzzles she needed to solve. Chloe quickly began to go down a mental checklist of her housemates and their locations.

Claudia is busy with her sister. Josephine is sulking in the guest room. Zenna is upstairs with Lilian right now. And Nell is preoccupied with Autumn in the kitchen right now-

They were like silly predictable NPC’s living their virtually nonexistent lives in the background while Chloe played the actual game- breaking into the enforcer’s office and taking their keys in order to get into the vestibule. She made one quick peek into the nearby broom closet to make sure no one was nearby to hear her, and sure enough, it was empty.

Perfect.

She quickly rounded the corner and stepped towards the door, opening it up and quietly heading inside- empty as it ever had been. That didn’t mean she wasn’t being careful, obviously. When escaping from Candace’s house the other week, things were going too perfectly right up until they weren’t, and sure enough.

They’re not here. She stared at the empty space where Nell usually kept their keys, sure that she’d done enough spying on them to know that they generally don’t carry their keys on them- So where are they?

She gritted her teeth as she looked down into the drawer. She didn’t even need to touch the handle, it was already open. Somebody else already had the keys.

God damn it. Chloe sighed loudly, stepping back out into the rest of the house in utter confusion. So maybe there were variables she hadn’t accounted for, no big deal. She just needed to do more reconnaissance. But reconnaissance on who?

Nell didn’t have the keys, that’s what made this hunt fun, someone else did. The handle was warm- okay, not literally. But Nell was still preoccupied with Autumn, so whoever had the keys must have retrieved them since then, but before Chloe could get a chance to.

It was amazingly strange for Chloe to think about, because it was almost like it was her who had thefted the keys straight from Nell’s desk- but the only people Chloe could think of who were smart enough to do so were herself… and Candace.

But Candace doesn’t need the keys. She stood near the center of the ballroom, glancing up at the large portrait of Claudia’s sister, biting her tongue at just how pretty the picture really was.

Okay fine, maybe Candace has the keys- she would have to. There’s nobody else who could pull this off… but why would she want to steal the keys… and how would she do it?

She took a closer look at her surroundings, biting her lip as she strained her brain. Maybe she came down the dumbwaiter and snagged them before I could… maybe she’s trying to sabotage me again.

Chloe stood in the middle of the hall, dressed in an unbeffitingly slutty uniform for such an intelligent woman as she puzzled it over, thinking to herself up until the moment she heard footsteps coming her way.

Shit- Chloe swerved, ducking out of the way and into the nearby water closet to hide, fearing that it may very well be Nell coming back to their office. And she certainly didn’t want to be blamed for the missing keys, even if she had been planning on stealing them.

“Oh!!! Hey Chloe~” Darcey smiled, waving at her as she stepped into the water closet with the other slave. “What are you doing in here???”

Right, Darcey. She was always the odd one of the bunch, nearly impossible for even Chloe to track down just due to how stupidly unpredictable she was in her low intelligence.

She looked just as ragged as always- with her messy head of bimbo blonde hair, dyed that way to help her look the part. She had brown eyes rather than blue, changing eye color was a feat one could only accomplish with colored contacts. Her nose was thin and kind of flat, her cheeks had red patches of skin, and she was missing part of her left eyebrow- she wore an eyebrow piercing to hide that fact, even if it didn’t work very well.

A scarecrow. She looked like a raggedy scarecrow- if quite a bit less child friendly than her big screen counterpart.

She wore the same uniform Chloe did- mostly. Chloe’s fishnet evening gloves went all the way up to and past her elbows, and Darcey, well- she didn’t have a pair of those at all. She had the same corset, the same leggings, the same garterbelt, the same skirt, and the same chain connecting her nipple clamps together- but additionally, she did have a pair of small chains connecting either of her nipple clamps to her collar- but that was hidden behind her little scarf, something Chloe’s uniform lacked.

“Are you, umm… okay???” Darcey blushed, giving Chloe a nervous smile, trying to hide the crooked tooth that poked through her top gum. “I-I’m sorry to hear about your… previous master, y’know???”

Chloe just shook her head, brushing it off. “Yeah, sorry. Thank you… I thought I heard Nell coming so-”

“So you ducked inside of the water closet to make it look like you weren’t up to no good, because if they saw you just standing there you’d probably get in trouble!!!” Darcey giggled, giving Chloe a wink. “Don’t worry, I get you!!!”

“I-” Chloe blinked comically with confusion. “How did you-”

“Because I do it all the time, you know???” Darcey smiled, her red cheeks still quite pink. “It’s not easy to avoid Nell, but I make it work anyways!!! It’s always work and no play with them- but there’s only so much cleaning I can do before I’m finished for the day, and then I just get bored!!!” Darcey’s hands crossed on the other side of her hips, holding her arms behind her back. “I have to either come up with more things to do, or find places Nell won’t find me and… well… make some fun of my own~!!!”

“Wait, you mean your weird all over the place movement patterns, that’s on purpose?” Chloe was almost impressed, who knew such a smart plan could form in that nonexistent brain of hers. “You’re purposefully avoiding Nell?”

“Well yeah, duh!!! J-just don’t tell them, okay?” Darcey fiddled with her feet, gazing down at the floor in nervous embarrassment. “I mean… you’ve been doing the same thing and I haven’t said anything- you know?”

“You-” Chloe blushed, realizing that if Darcey could have her figured out, her plan might not have been quite as smart as she thought it was. “You noticed?”

“You sneak around like you’re playing Tomb Raider, it’s not that hard to notice.” Darcey giggled under her breath. “You move like the PS1 Lara Croft model~”

Chloe giggled back. “You play video games?”

“I wish!!!” Darcey snorted, shaking her head. “Mistress won’t even let me near a controller, she says I’ll break it…”

“That’s so rude of her!!”

“N-no, she’s right…” Darcey sighed, frowning. “I’ve never been very smart. I was kind of a stupid deadweight until Miss Claudia made a drone out of me…”

Chloe’s pointed ears almost perked up at that. “A drone?”

“That’s what she calls it, I don’t really know what it means-” Darcey blushed, quickly backpedalling. “I mean I do know what it means, but the context muddles it up too much for me. Words were never really my strong suit- not that I had a strong suit.”

“Right…” Chloe smiled, slightly put off by the strange conversation they’d ended up having. “Well, if you’ll excuse me. I do have to get back to my work…”

“Of course.” Darcey smiled, making sure to turn and always have her back facing away from Chloe as she stepped past. “B-before you go, actually- can I ask you something personal?”

Chloe sighed, rolling her eyes at the girl before nodding. “Sure, go ahead.”

“Your number being 0000 has always been really weird to me… can I ask where you got it?”

“Where’d I get it?” Chloe blushed, her eyes slowly drifting up to the ceiling above them, standing beneath Claudia’s bedroom. “My first owner gave it to me-”

“D-do you mind if I ask who that is?”

“I… would rather not say-”

“Do you mind if I… guess?”

Chloe snorted at that, rolling her eyes. “Sure~” She didn’t want Darcey to know, but there was no way she could possibly guess it, she wasn’t all that smart after all-

“It’s Miss Claudia’s sister, isn’t it?” She smiled proudly as she spoke. “It’s Candace~”

Chloe’s face quickly grew deep red as she blushed, staring nervously into Darcey’s eyes… before turning around and quickly facing away from her, unable to look at the other woman.

I’m fucked. Chloe swallowed nervously, unsure of how to even… talk with Darcey after that. Is it really that obvious, because if it is- I’m fucked.

She could not stand to be associated with Candace St. Clair for the rest of her life, she could not continue knowing that the girls all thought of her as Candace’s slave- that’s not what she wanted. That’s not who she was.

Chloe really wished she had the keys into the vestibule right now- not to escape, but just to get away from the other girl… Just because she knew that Claudia was still hiding Poppy from her.

“I- I need to go. I’m sorry-”

Because she really needed Poppy right now…

She quickly stepped away from Darcey, making a beeline to the vestibule door in the hopes that maybe whoever had the keys had left the door unlocked- but they hadn’t.

“Chloe… are- are you okay?” Darcey quietly followed after her, unsure of what to do. “Y-you’re not trying to escape are you?”

“God- why won’t you just leave me alone?” Chloe snapped at her, pressing her forehead to the door. “Why won’t Candace leave me the fuck alone?”

“Chloe-”

“Go away, Darcey.” Chloe growled under her breath, turning around to snap at the other girl. “Take a hint, I don’t want-”

“You want into Miss Claudia’s office…” Darcey stood just a few feet away from Chloe, holding a ring of keys in hand. “Don’t you?”

Chloe just stared at them, sitting in her hands. “How did you?”

“Miss Claudia thinks that because I’m a stupid idiot moron I can’t be trusted with any more than scrubbing the floors, washing clothes, and wiping down windows…” Darcey frowned, clutching the keyring to her chest, her eyes heavy with some kind of inner turmoil. “I wish I was smart enough to appease them, I really do… b-because I’m certainly too ugly to be of any value to anyone…”

Chloe frowned, biting her lip. “Darcey-”

“Please don’t tell anyone about this…” Darcey’s eyes began to water, a small stream of tears beginning to leak from her. “M-Miss Claudia never wanted me to begin with… a-and if she ever finds out that I’ve been going into her office to clean and organize her workspace, she’ll… she’ll-”

“She’ll what, Darcey?”

“She’ll kill me!!!” Darcey was having a full blown meltdown at this point. “That’s what happens to girls like me, broken dolls with production errors, girls who are too ugly in the body and too stupid in the brain to be desirable to anyone… we get thrown away!!!”

“I’m sorry…” Chloe swallowed nervously, quickly stepping towards the other girl to try and comfort her. “Does anyone know that you feel like this?”

“You can’t tell a soul.” Darcey desperately shook her head, her tears flinging in every which way. “If the masters caught me complaining, I’d be a goner… I was in the facility for a year and a half before they gave me a chance, b-because of how ugly and stupid I am… Miss Claudia only values me for my obedience, a-and if she heard me doing something like this, she’d-”

Smack . Chloe wasn’t sure why she did it, but a firm slap to the face usually helped her snap out of things like this. “You’re not stupid, Darcey!!!”

She stumbled back a few feet, clutching her cheek with her hand. She stared up at Chloe in disbelief, so caught off guard that she was no longer really even crying. “Wh-what did you say?”

“I said you’re not stupid.” Chloe sighed, pulling her in for a brief hug before standing arm’s reach apart from her. “Look- I’m not the person to talk about looks with, but even I can tell that you’re not stupid.”

“You think so?”

“I know so, Darcey.” Chloe smiled, her heart thumping in her chest. “You’ve broken into Claudia’s office how many times and she still doesn’t know?”

The compliments were starting to make Darcey giggle. “I was Miss Josephine’s very very first slave… I’ve been with them for four years now, and it’s been pretty regular…”

“And what about avoiding Nell, right?” Chloe went on. “Even I wasn’t able to tell that that was when you were doing, I just thought you-”

Darcey frowned. “Were mindlessly wandering around like a brainless idiot?”

“Well… yeah.” Chloe frowned back. “But I’m sorry about that.”

“I- I don’t blame you~”

“But yeah… you are smart, Darcey.” Chloe blushed, lowering her head in shame. “And yes, you’re right… I did belong to Candace…”

“I knew it!!!”

“See what I mean?” Chloe continued, trying to ease Darcey’s fears. “You’re not an idiot, Darcey… you’re not… a brainless scarecrow… you have value.”

“I guess I didn’t really think of it like that… Gosh- I’m so sorry for dumping this on you, Chloe… I just… didn’t know who to talk to…”

“It’s okay… I promise.” Chloe swallowed nervously, taking a deep breath. “I do need to ask you something, though-”

Darcey was right back to her normally bubbly self. “Sure!!! Go ahead!!!”

“You’ve been in Claudia’s office. Have you by chance seen any stuffed animals… maybe a little black and white dog?”

“None that I can remember, I’m afraid.”

“Right… damn it…” Chloe frowned, a little bit heartbroken to hear it- but she trusted Darcey’s intelligence enough to believe that she had gotten a thorough enough look. “I just… don’t know where else she’d be-”

“Well if she’s a stuffed dog, that’s obvious- right???”

“I don’t know… is it?”

“Yeah!!! She probably ended up in Lilian’s room then!!!”

“In Lilian’s room?” Chloe’s eyes went wide, slapping herself in the forehead for not thinking about it any sooner. “Of course…”

“Y-yeah???” Darcey giggled. “She’s five!!! It only makes sense!!!”

“Thank you thank you thank you thank you!!!” Chloe gave her a big hug before turning away from her, beginning to rush up the stairs. “I don’t know what would’ve happened without your help-”

“W-wait!!!” Darcey caught her by the wrist, stopping her in her tracks. “I-if you’re going up there anyways… Can I ask a favor of you?”

Chloe stopped, giving her a smile. “Yeah… sure~”

“I- I’m required to clean the guest room, but… my Mistress is up there and she’s… smoking.” Darcey frowned, ashamed to have to ask for Chloe’s help. “If I don’t do my job, I’ll get in trouble… b-but when I woke up in Mistress’ bed this morning, she was already smoking… and I-” Darcey sighed, hanging her head in shame. “I don’t want to disappoint my Mistress but… I can’t have another asthma attack again…”

“You want me to go up there and clean for you?”

“Y-yes, please…”

“Right… I think I can do that.”

“Y-yeah?”

“Yeah. You can count on me.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

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“Miss Josephine?” Chloe gently knocked on the door before stepping inside, instantly met with the smell of whatever it was the other woman was smoking, quickly closing the door to keep the smoke from getting out. “Darcey asked me to-”

“Oh Darcey…” Both voices seemed to have a strange mechanical echo, as if being played back to them through a speaker. “I’ve put her through so much pain for so long.”

Chloe just frowned, staring at the other woman. “Miss, I-”

Miss, I-

It didn’t take long for Chloe to figure out exactly where the sound was coming from either, and it made her instantly very terrified to realize it. “You’ve been listening…”

Josephine nodded, gently deactivating the speaker on her bracelet, cutting the feed to the microphone built into Chloe’s collar. “I was just…”

“No need to explain… You’re one of our master’s, you have the right.” Chloe didn’t like it, but she accepted it. “How much did you hear, Miss?”

Josephine frowned. “Pretty much all of it.”

“Please…” Chloe started into pleading with the other woman. “Please don’t punish Darcey for this-”

“And to think that for so long she’s been killing herself having to put up with me… and my noxious disgusting fumes… god, I’m the real idiot…” Josephine had a heart in there like Chloe hadn’t seen from either of her own masters so far. “All because I couldn’t get up off my ass and learn to clean after myself…”

Chloe approached nervously, trying to remain calm. “Miss Josephine?”

“I just thought she’d like to go to a good home, you know?” Josephine continued to spiral, outright ignoring Chloe as she came closer. “But some home this really is… I didn’t want her to just get put down like they were planning, b-but… I didn’t want to be the one to kill her… especially not with her asthma… but still I went and smoked up the room while she was in bed with me. Like- am I the one with no brain here??? Am I the one who should go???”

“Miss Josephine!!” Chloe shouted, quickly snapping the other woman back to attention. “Darcey just wanted me to come clean up in here for her-”

“No.” Claudia’s wife adamantly shook her head, trying to shoo Chloe away. “No. I can clean up after myself, I have to… please- go tell her I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to hurt her, a-and I-” Josephine blushed, braving the effort it took to look Chloe in the eyes as she spoke. “I think she’s really pretty, and- if she doesn’t want to work cleaning duty anymore… she doesn’t have to.”

Chloe was instantly taken aback by everything the woman was asking of her. “Josephine, please.. Calm down-”

“Just go, okay?” Josie snapped her fingers and pointed to the door. “Th-that’s an order… o-or whatever-”

“I…” Chloe smiled, bowing for the other woman. “Yes, Ma’am… is there anything else I can do to help you?”

“No… I’ll be okay.” Josephine nodded, giving her a nervous smile. “Thank you.”

“Yes, Ma’am. Anytime~”

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“She-” Darcey blushed, curling up in bed as she relaxed, taking it all in. “She really said that?”

Chloe nodded, giving her an eager smile. “Every word of it, yeah.”

“And I really don’t have to be on cleaning duty anymore?”

“Not if you don’t want to, no.”

“Chloe, I-” Darcey nervously wiped the tears from her eyes with her blankets. “I- I know this is probably really selfish of me to ask, b-but… would you take over cleaning the house for me?”

“If that’s what you want.” Chloe sighed, agreeing. “Then sure, at least for a little bit.”

“J-just for tomorrow, I mean!!!”

Chloe giggled at her from the other bed. “Come on, I already said sure~”

“I don’t know what to say~!!!” Darcey beamed happily, leaping out of bed and climbing in with Chloe, wrapping her arms around the girl. “Thank you so much~!!!”

Chloe blushed, rolling her eyes at the other slave. “D-don’t mention it!! All I did was- Mmmph~?? ”

Chloe’s breaths were instantly brought to silence by a pair of lips pressing themselves to hers, desperately whispering into Darcey’s mouth as they kissed.

“Thank you, Chloe… this really means a lot to me.” Darcey pulled away, smiling as she stared into the other girl’s deep hazel eyes. “I- if you don’t mind… I… I think I have an idea you might like~”

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“So… let me get this straight, you two~”

Thump. Claudia brought the tip of her cane down onto the floor, as hard as she could, staring at the girls.

“You both want to just… set aside work for the rest of the night- to play with me?”

“To be played with by you, Miss~!!!” Darcey beamed eagerly, already on her knees for the mistress of the house. “Please???”

Chloe was also on her knees, though her gaze was mostly drawn to the silent woman standing near the door, as Candace tried to stay out of whatever was going on.

Claudia noticed this, using her cane to grab Chloe by the chin and turn her gaze. “And you want this too- do you, Chloe?”

“Yes, Ma’am.” Chloe answered without hesitation, shooting quick glances over to Candace in the corner- who was not happy with this. “I’m prepared to behave this time as well, your wish is my command, I promise.”

Candace just rolled her eyes, turning to head out of the room. “I’ll go volunteer to help out wherever I can then-”

“Actually, Candace.” Claudia stopped her before she could go too far. “I think you should stay for this~”

“Stay for what, Clauds?”

“Take a seat and watch, dear.” Claudia gave her an evil grin. “That’s an order~”

Both Chloe and Darcey began to giggle at that, watching Candace’s unhappy frown as she forced herself to shut the door and take a seat at Josephine’s vanity.

“Silence.”

Thump. Claudia smacked the ground in front of them with her cane, drawing the slaves back to attention in an instant. Chloe was receptive to Claudia’s demands, but Darcey… she seemed downright hypnotized.

Both Candace and Chloe were taken by surprise watching Darcey lower her head to the floor in front of her, addressing Claudia in what could only be described as the most agreeable tone imaginable.

“Yes, Ma’am. My apologies for the inappropriate behavior, I should know better than to enjoy myself at a superior’s expense, it is my place to respect and serve, not giggle and mock those above me, I’m sorry.”

Chloe’s heart was… thumping as she listened to Darcey speak in a way Darcey had never spoken before, taken into some strange trance by the thump of Claudia’s cane- her own hazel eyes drawn to it like a moth to a flame, staring into its almost glowing red eyes.

“Claudia…” Candace nervously spoke up. “What was that-”

Thump. Even Candace flinched at that one, watching her sister point it straight at her.

“When I say silence, I demand silence. That includes you, Candace.” Claudia hissed under her breath, sliding her foot towards Darcey’s face and watching as the girl began to place kisses on her superior’s bare skin. “While I’m sure that my sister appreciates your apology- you’re to consider Candace an equal for now- until I say otherwise.”

“Yes, Ma’am. Anything and everything you say.” Darcey took a moment from kissing the top of Claudia’s toes to accept a handful of pats on the back of her head, before returning to it. “Thank you for correcting me, Ms. Mariam.”

“Good little drone~” Claudia snickered at the poor little drone. “And you, Chloe.”

“H-huh?” Chloe shook her head, finding herself staring into those strange serpentine eyes on the head of Claudia’s cane, quickly blushing and readjusting herself. “Yes, Mistress?”

“Repeat after me~” Claudia twirled her cane in her left hand. “I will do exactly as Miss Mariam tells me without complaint or hesitation.”

Thump.

“I-” Chloe swallowed nervously, too scared to look up at Claudia’s face as she spoke, her eyes fixed to the floor where they belonged. “I will do exactly as Miss Mariam tells me without complaint or hesitation.”

“Good slave.” Claudia grinned evilly. “Again.”

Thump.

“I will do exactly as Miss Mariam tells me without complaint or hesitation.”

“Again.”

Thump.

“I will do exactly as Miss Mariam tells me without complaint or hesitation.”

“One more time~?”

Thump.

“I will do exactly as Miss Mariam tells me without complaint or hesitation.”

“I lied- one more time~?”

Thump.

“I will do exactly as Miss Mariam tells me without complaint or hesitation.”

“Very very good~” Claudia cooed at her, reaching forward and scratching the top of her head with the mouth of her cane. “That wasn’t too bad, now was it?”

“N-no, Miss…” Chloe shook her head, strangely terrified at the sensation she was feeling. “Thank you, Ma’am…”

“You took out those new piercings I gave you.” Claudia gazed down at Chloe’s bottom lip in disappointment. “Why?”

“B-because I thought they would get in the way of serving you with my mouth, Ma’am.” Chloe bowed her head. “My apologies, Master.”

“For now you are forgiven, but remember-” Claudia smiled, turning her head and staring into her sister’s eyes as she hissed the words out of her lips. “Drones don’t make decisions because drones do not think for themselves- understood?”

“Yes, Master.” Chloe bowed her head again, signalling her understanding and compliance. “I understand.”

“Say it.” She retracted her cane from the girl’s scalp. “Drones do not think. I will not think. Drones have no brain. I have no brain.”

Thump.

“Drones do not think. I will not think.” These words came to Chloe seemingly much easier than the last round of words did. “Drones have no brain. I have no brain.”

Claudia’s evil eyes glowed as she grinned. “That’s it, keep going.”

Thump.

“Drones do not think. I will not think. Drones have no brain. I have no brain.”

Thump.

“Drones do not think. I will not think. Drones have no brain. I have no brain.”

Thump.

“Drones do not think. I will not think. Drones have no brain. I have no brain.”

Thump.

“Drones do not think. I will not think. Drones have no brain. I have no brain.”

Thu-

“Claudia, stop!!!” Candace leapt from her seat, desperately curling her fists into her hair, horrified to be watching this happen to the woman she loved. “Sophia!!!”

“I said silence, did I not?” Claudia hissed angrily at her. “You’re going to ruin-”

“Candace?” Chloe seemed to have some sort of headache as she looked up and over at Candace, hearing that name breaking her out of whatever fear induced trance she was experiencing before she fell too deep into it. “M-Miss Mariam… C-Claudia?”

Claudia just curled her hand into a fist around the head of her cane out of anger, staring at her sister as Candace slowly sat herself back down in her seat, nervously silencing herself.

“Whatever…” Claudia slid her foot towards Chloe, indicating for the slave to worship her master like Darcey had. The other women could still hear the other girl nervously mumble the very same words Chloe had been mumbling between kisses she placed atop Claudia’s other foot. “Snap out of it you stupid bimbo.”

Darcey’s eyes went wide as she realized what was happening, feeling Claudia thump her cane directly onto the top of her head, forcing out a whispered murmur and a hushed- “Yes, Miss Mariam… Sorry Miss Mariam…”

If anything, it was almost clear that the reason Darcey thought so little of her intelligence… was because she was trained to believe that she was stupid.

And Josephine still somehow blamed herself for that…

“Alright, you two.” Claudia sneered at them, snapping her fingers. “I wanna see one of you tackle the other to the ground in a flurry of kisses and hands~”

Chloe shuffled nervously, taking a round of quick glances back and forth between the other girls before being suddenly tackled to the ground by Darcey.

“Yes, Miss Mariam~!!!” Darcey giggled, wrapping her hands around the chain at Chloe’s nipples and using it to drag her upwards for a quick kiss before violently slamming the other girl back to the floor.

“Mmmph!!” Chloe felt the other girl grab her by both wrists, taking some sort of early lead over her. “Get off~!!”

She pressed her knee to Darcey’s stomach, forcing her off of her and sending her tumbling away, vulnerable for Chloe to climb onto her instead. “Got you~”

Darcey whimpered and whined, struggling between Chloe’s grasp as the redhead pressed her knee to her crotch, squeezing Darcey’s vulva beneath her weight and leaning down for a kiss, stealing one away from the other slave’s lips.

At Claudia’s behest, the two of them continued to wrestle for a few more minutes, all for the entertainment of their master and her sister.

“What do you think, Candy?” Claudia smirked, licking her lips as the scene went on. “Does it make you want to join them?”

“For the sex, sure. But I think I’ll pass on the whole submission thing.” Candace snorted at Claudia’s question, rolling her eyes. “I’d be happy to join… but only in place of you~”

“In place of me?” Claudia’s eyes narrowed into a glare. “You really think you could top me?”

“Claudia.” Candace sighed, trying to make sure the other girls didn’t hear. “If this is a dick measuring competition- I’ve already won.”

“But that’s not what this is, dear. This is about who’s on top~”

“What are you talking about?”

“There’s a hierarchy to things, sweetheart!!” Claudia gestured towards the two slaves wrestling on the floor. “Even at the bottom, the slaves will fight it out to see who’s above who- and that’s when one of them will be submissive to the other.”

“But they won’t, though?” Candace couldn’t help but feel some strange disconnect in the way her sister saw things and the way she saw things. “It’s not a ladder. Sure some people are above others, but it’s not like everyone will either be above or below everyone else. That’s not how it works.”

“If that’s not how it works, then how does it work, Candace?”

“There are tiers in place, Claudia. You’re not better than me.”

“And what makes you think you’re better than me then~”

“Eugh.” Candace threw up her hands, shaking her head in defeat. “You’re impossible.”

“There’s always a bigger fish, Candace.” Claudia smiled, finally standing up from bed, wearing little else than her sage green night robe. “Figure out how big you really are, and then come talk to me about finding your place in the hierarchy.”

“And what do you expect me to do in the meantime?”

“There’s a wireless vibrator in the drawers of my wife's vanity. Feel free to enjoy yourself while you watch~”

“I thought you wanted me to join in?”

“Not until you accept where you belong, no~”

It was pretty clear by now to all who were watching that Chloe was easily coming out on top of Darcey in the end. Claudia carefully lowered herself to one knee behind Chloe, grabbing her by the wrists and watching her slave go limp in her grasp.

“Case and point, Candace. Chloe here comes out on top of Darcey.” Claudia smirked, her evil eyes glowing with delight as she stared back towards her sister. “And who knows… She did pretty thoroughly humiliate you- maybe she should be on top of you as well~”

Candace was almost offended by that. “Don’t even-”

“What about you, Chloe… think you’d like that?”

Chloe, for her part, was just beaming with delight at the look on Candace’s face. Maybe she very well would like being on top of Candace, or maybe it was the brat within her, but for whatever reason- she answered. “Yeah. Definitely.”

Candace’s armor broke just a little bit more there, her expression half defeated, and half purely sad. “Play with your new fuckdoll and leave me out of this, Claudia.”

“Suit yourself~” Claudia snickered, wrenching Chloe’s arms behind her back and forcing her face to the floor in front of her. “Let’s break my new dog in some more, hm?”

“Nnnnghh…” Chloe took a deep breath and loosened up, letting Claudia manhandle her that much easier. She took a quick glance behind her, and the moment she saw Candace getting up to leave before anything more extreme happened was when she lost interest in putting up any sort of fight. “Yes, Ma’am…”

“Darcey.” Claudia gripped Chloe tight by the back of the head. “Hold up your skirt so that Chloe can suck your cunt.”

“Yes, Miss Mariam.” Darcey didn’t waste a moment, within just a few seconds her hips were within a foot from Chloe’s face, her hands curled around the hem of her translucent skirt as she held it out of the way. “How’s this, Ma’am?”

“Excellent.” Claudia grinned, licking her lips as she drove Chloe’s face into the other girl’s cunt with one hand. “Just like that~”

Chloe gasped, taking a deep breath in anticipation as she allowed her mouth to be pressed to Darcey’s genitals, face red with nervous excitement.

She had done this before, but this felt distinctly different. It was actually kind of nice.

Her usual fears washed away as she opened her mouth, taking in the salty taste of Darcey’s vulva against her tongue as she pressed herself inside of it. Chloe was pretty good with her mouth after all, and for once- she actually didn’t hate the woman she was being forced to tongue. If there was anyone in this house that Chloe was most okay with eating out, it was her.

Chloe didn’t much mind the feeling of embarrassment washing over her cheeks as she pleasured the slightly older woman, even if she was being forced into it. The sound of Darcey’s helpless moans singing into her ears were genuinely nice for a change, and that just helped push her further. Maybe she would like being on top after all~

“Mmph?!” Chloe’s eyes shot open in surprise, moaning loudly into Darcey’s cunt as she felt something sliding into hers. Her face went from pink to blazing red as a pair of fingers spread her labia, holding them apart and stretching them as Chloe continued to mouth the other slave’s vagina, feeling the grasp on the back of her head slowly recede.

“Good girl, keep going.” She felt a fierce flick against her clitoris, sending a small shiver up her spine and a moan through her lips as Claudia fingered her.

“Ahhh~!!” Chloe’s moans seemed to be helping Darcey, if only just a little bit, as she began to arch her back and ride the other girl’s face, closing in on an orgasm thanks to Chloe’s quick work with her mouth. Within just a minute or two, Darcey had ridden herself stupid, climaxing with Chloe’s tongue still firmly pressed inside of her. It was almost quite pathetic how little of a challenge Darcey had been- but it was worth it if it meant Chloe wasn’t the one being raped just yet.

“Nnngh!!!” Chloe felt herself yanked from Darcey’s body and flipped over, slammed into the floor on her back as her master assumed a much similar position to the one that her slave just had, slipping her tongue inside of Chloe’s wet vagina.

Chloe knew better than to fight it by now, Claudia’s fingers curled into her thighs, squeezing a fierce moan out of her as she worked her way inside of Chloe’s cunt. Darcey was pathetic, and Chloe wasn’t the biggest fan of that, but Claudia wanted pathetic- so there was no point in keeping that from her.

Chloe let out a loud nervous whine, letting herself give into the pleasure and ride against Claudia’s mouth. Her master used her hands to hold Chloe’s thighs steady, preventing her from bouncing to fast on her tongue. But Chloe leaned into that, grinded as fast and as hard as her master would let her, moaning through her breath as she came.

“That’s it~” Claudia pulled her mouth from Chloe’s cunt, staring into the humiliated look on Chloe’s face as the girl bounced it out on her own fingers, quickly pressing them inside of herself to fill the void left by her master’s tongue- much like she was now embracing Claudia’s power over her, however unearned, to fill the void left by Candace.

Chloe moaned loudly, rolling her head backwards in a mixture of disgust and pride- she wished Candace had been here to witness that, because maybe then she would have gotten the picture.

Chloe didn’t need Candace- she could find pleasure all on her own~