Impropriety Ch. 01

Rose took a deep breath, knelt down, and waited.

It was an important part of her daily routine: Once the house was cleaned and dinner was prepared, Rose was to clear her mind and focus on her programming until Mistress returned home. Perched on her little mat in the corner of the kitchen remaining absolutely still, Rose stared at her reflection in the mirror placed before her--a way to remind herself of her place and purpose, Mistress had once explained. A petite brunette girl stared back, one dressed in a simple black and white maid's uniform devoid of excessive frills or lace. She wore minimal makeup and no jewelry save for a thin black choker around her neck, a gift from Mistress that was Rose's most prized possession. Her glassy, blank eyes offered no indication of what was going through the mind behind them:

A properly behaved girl exists to please her Mistress.

A properly behaved girl performs her duties without complaint.

A properly behaved girl speaks as little as possible and only when necessary.

A properly behaved girl maintains her poise, grace, manners, and composure at all times.

Depending on how quickly she completed the day's tasks, Rose could stay kneeling and repeating her mantras for anywhere from minutes to hours. The boredom and uncertainty used to bother her more, back before Mistress' conditioning had fully taken effect. Now, though, Rose's permanent state of near-trance made it easy to lose herself in the repetition and let her perception of time fade into the background. Mistress wanted her here, and that was enough. Even as her knees and shoulders began to ache from remaining perfectly postured for so long, Rose understood the dull pain was part of her submission and did not move. Her mantras were far more important.

A properly behaved girl exists to please her Mistress.

A properly behaved girl performs her duties without complaint.

A properly behaved girl speaks as little as possible and only when necessary.

A properly behaved girl maintains her poise, grace, manners, and composure at all times.

And when Rose heard the front door finally open and her stomach fluttered with excitement, she knew it was all worth it. Mistress was home. As deep under as she was, Rose still had to actively prevent herself from smiling as she heard her Mistress' footsteps coming closer. Outbursts of love and joy were outbursts nonetheless and therefore improper. Besides, Mistress already knew how much Rose loved her--She Herself had greatly amplified Rose's existing adoration over many hypnotic sessions.

But while Rose outwardly remained stoic, internally she still desperately hoped for a show of affection from Mistress. Any little touch or kind word from Her could be enough to brighten the maid's mood for days, to the point where she practically measured her weeks in terms of when she received affection. Mistress' footsteps clicked across the hardwood floor of the kitchen until they were right behind Rose, and then they stopped. The maid's lips opened slightly to release a tiny gasp of anticipation.

"Rose."

The maid broke eye contact with her reflection to look down at the floor demurely. She didn't respond, as properly behaved girls spoke as little as possible and only when necessary.

Mistress paused for a moment, no doubt surveying Rose's work, then snapped Her fingers. "Come."

Standing up and pivoting in one fluid motion, Rose followed dutifully. Mistress looked lovely as ever, Her straight black hair in a French braid and Her warm, honey skin contrasting beautifully with Her dark blue blouse and pencil skirt. Rose's gaze lingered on Her light brown almond eyes and deep red lips in the brief moments when She turned Her head. But despite her fixation, the maid still remained poised and proper, her back straight and her footsteps steady as she followed Mistress into the living room.

Mistress sat down in Her large black leather recliner and patted Her lap. "Sit."

Rose's eyes went wide with excitement, and she briskly walked over to slide onto Mistress' lap. Another smile and beckoning motion from Her signaled Rose was allowed to snuggle in close, so she wrapped her arms around Mistress' torso and rested her head on Her shoulder.

This was a special occasion. Physical comfort had been far more common when Rose had first begun; she'd needed it much more back when she was still struggling to get used to her conditioning and submission. But as the maid had grown more accustomed to both, moments of dedicated affection had gone from necessary care to a rare reward.

"Do you know how nice it feels," Mistress began, her voice a low purr as she ran her fingers across Rose's scalp. The maid shivered in delight at each and every touch. "To come home knowing everything will be taken care of? Knowing I can rely on my wonderfully behaved girl?"

Rose nearly squealed and burst with pride at the compliments, but managed to tone her response down to a little bit of squirming and an adoring glance up at her Mistress. The intense pleasure she felt wasn't physical--Mistress kept a very tight leash on that--but rather emotional, like rushing euphoria and a deep sense of contentment mixed together. Rose's conditioning made her extremely emotionally sensitive when it came to comments on her service and submission. And who wouldn't feel delighted upon hearing they were fulfilling the very purpose of their existence?

Mistress offered several more kisses and squeezes as She described her day to Rose in quiet tones, the maid blushing and swooning and trying to maintain her composure all the while. The maid distantly realized there was probably some reason behind the sudden intense affection, but she was so enraptured that Mistress' next words caught her entirely off guard.

"I'm getting a new submissive."

Rose tensed. Had she done something wrong? Was she not good enough?

As if sensing those concerns, Mistress began stroking Rose's hair again and cooing softly. "Shh, shh, my girl. I'm not replacing you; you're doing a wonderful job as is." She tapped her maid on the nose. "Such a good job, in fact, that my new submissive isn't even going to be a maid. The two of you will have entirely different roles and will both be valued equally."

The reassurance didn't do much to soothe Rose's nerves, but she couldn't really articulate how she felt while Mistress was touching her--each stroke of Her fingers derailed those trains of thought before they could fully form. Having no real idea of what else to say, Rose stuck to her default.

"Yes, Mistress."

Mistress knew what She was doing. Maybe it would be nice having someone else in the house; Rose did tend to get a little lonely when Mistress was gone for long stretches. Maybe the two submissives could be friends. The thought didn't totally calm Rose down, but it helped.

"I know you can find change distressing, little maid," Mistress whispered in her ear, Her hand rubbing Rose's back. "So let's make sure you're nice and calm, hmm? Eyes on me."

Mistress raised her index finger in front of Rose's face, and the maid lifted her head eagerly to look at it. This was one of their common inductions, a quick and easy shortcut to put Rose deep under.

"Good. Now watch as it goes left to right, right to left..."

Rose poured every ounce of focus she had into the simple task of tracking the finger's movements, her head swiveling as it moved back and forth.

"Feel it pulling you from side to side, up and down..." Mistress also started moving her finger closer and further away from Rose's face, the girl's eyes crossing slightly as she attempted to watch it at all times. Already she felt the tingly waves of trance pouring over her, spreading from the top of her head down to the tips of her toes.

"...up and down, down, down, until finally you..." Mistress moved her finger right up to Rose's face, then tapped her on the forehead. "Drop."

The maid went limp, her eyes half lidded and her mouth slack. With the world far away and her mind empty, Rose was free to bask in the pleasure of being absolutely controlled and absolutely safe. She was so warm, so comfortable, so content and in love...

***

The morning she was to meet her new fellow submissive, Rose was practically bursting with nervous excitement. Mistress had told her little about the woman, and Rose's social skills were particularly rusty after spending so long in service. And so it was all she could do to keep her hands from wringing her apron as she stood quietly in the back of the entrance hall.

"She's here," Mistress stated calmly as She strode into the room. "Go ahead."

Rose nodded, then took a deep breath and went to open the front door.

And then all of her conflicted feelings were swept away by a torrent of confusion.

"Sup?"

In the years since Rose had entered into service, Mistress had drilled the importance of proper manner, dress, and poise into every part of her being over and over. Her mental and physical habits were rewritten to suit those high standards. So when Mistress had announced She was getting a new submissive, Rose had assumed whoever it was would either be extremely proper or at least have great potential.

The woman before her fit in neither of those categories.

She was narrow and much taller than Rose, even slouched over as she was with her hands in her pockets. Her dirty blonde hair was in a messy bun while her tee, sneakers and jeans were all scuffed, torn, or faded. Most horrifying of all, she seemed to be trying to hide her collar underneath her flannel--a leather collar with a buckle that was much thicker and wider than Rose's little choker.

The woman looked Rose over. "Shit Eleanor, you really do have a subby maid. I honestly thought you might have been joking when you said that."

"Alex..." Mistress chided. The blonde rolled her eyes.

"Hey. I'm Alex." She gave Rose a crooked half-smile.

Rose blinked, dumbfounded. Her mind felt like it was shorting out; all she could do was stare up at the woman with wide eyes. Did...did she just swear? And fail to use Mistress' title? How could...why did...it simply wasn't...

"Umm." Alex leaned forward to peer at Rose before glancing at Mistress. "Is she...?"

"She's fine." Mistress snapped Her fingers and Rose automatically turned toward Her. "Introduce yourself, then show our guest in." She spoke slowly, clearly enunciating each and every word.

The command helped Rose push her bafflement aside and focus on obedience. She turned back to Alex and dipped into a curtsy.

"Hello, Miss Alex. My name is Rose; I am the property and servant of Mistress. May I take your luggage?"

"Wow. Um...right. Go for it." Alex held out her suitcase to Rose, who took it and started for the guest room.

"To the master bedroom, Rose," Mistress corrected her. The maid shifted course and tried to focus on her task instead of the ugly thoughts coursing through her mind.

I sleep in my little closet in a cot, yet Alex gets to share a room with Mistress?

I'm disciplined for each and every breach of conduct, yet Alex openly violates it with no punishment?

Why is her collar so much bigger than mine?

The nagging doubts and frustrations were nearly as loud and repetitive as her mantras as she brought the suitcase in and then returned to the front hall. When she arrived, Mistress was in the middle of an explanation.

"...not have any duties of your own for the time being, though I do expect you to follow the rules of the house. Rose will happily explain them to you. Bring any questions or concerns you have to her before you come to me. Understood?"

Alex nodded. "Uh-huh. No problem."

"Good. And now for the tour..."

The day took on a far more normal shape after that, with Rose tending to her regular duties while Mistress and Alex spent time together. It was only late in the afternoon when Rose was restocking towels that she noticed anything unusual.

SMACK!

Rose flinched at the familiar sound of flesh cracking against flesh. Curious and a little bit wary, she stuffed the towels into the closet, immediately felt guilty, corrected and straightened them, and then crept toward the source of the noise.

SMACK!

A yelp followed the second crack, which seemed to originate from the master bedroom. It was definitely Alex's voice--too low to be Mistress' soprano. Feeling just a little naughty but unable to think of how it broke any rules, Rose pressed her ear against the door of the master bedroom to listen closer.

"...not using my proper title, swearing..."

"What?" Alex whined between deep breaths. "You never cared about swearing before! You're being so unfair!"

SMACK!

Alex cried out again, the sound fading into a moan.

"Well maybe seeing you next to Rose--" Mistress' voice was interrupted by the sound of passionate kissing for several seconds, "reminded me what a poorly behaved little slut you are."

Much to Rose's horrified surprise, Alex giggled at that.

"Or maybe you're just a total bitch."

Rose gasped in sync with the next

SMACK!

"Ow! N-no swearing, fine! Whatever!"

SMACK!

"Aaah! Ah, okay, okay, I'm sorry!"

Mistress cooed, though with far more venom than she ever used with Rose. "Aww. You're sorry? You really mean it?"

"Mhm," Alex whimpered.

SMACK!

"AAAH!"

Rose covered her mouth, which had been wide open for the past minute.

"Liar. You just want to get away with your little smug quips." There was the sound of rustling fabric and bedsheets. "A little bratty whore's mouth like yours will never stop running unless it's full."

Rose ran away, trembling with shock and lust. She could hardly believe it. The way Alex had talked and acted--unthinkable! Unacceptable! And yet what really stuck in her mind as she ran into her little closet and curled up on her cot wasn't anything Alex said or did.

It was how turned on Mistress had sounded.

**

The next week did not go well.

The first day Mistress left them alone got off to a good start--Alex slipped out early in the morning and surprised Rose with some croissants and espressos.

"I hope you like it--it seemed, um, fancy enough." Alex scratched the back of her head and shifted in place. "Figured since we're gonna be getting to know each other I might as well start things off on the right foot."

Rose smiled and gave a curtsy.

Alex tried asking Rose about herself as they ate their breakfast, so Rose had to inform her that properly behaved girls spoke as little as possible and only when necessary. Best to teach her early and often, Rose figured, given how much assistance the new sub clearly needed.

Mostly undeterred, Alex spent most of the day shadowing Rose, who continued to inform the new submissive of each and every rule she broke.

"A properly behaved girl does not slouch."

"A properly behaved girl does not keep her hands in her pockets."

"A properly behaved girl does not wear a scowl on her face."

"A properly behaved girl does not mutter under her breath."

Over the course of the day, Alex seemed to grow more and more irritable and less and less interested in what Rose had to say. It was almost as if she didn't care about learning the rules or applying the corrections Rose gave her.

This came to a head late in the afternoon when Alex started opening random doors and poking around.

"A properly behaved girl doesn't enter Mistress' office without permission," Rose informed her.

Alex let out another massive sigh (something Rose had told her was improper already), then cocked her head to the side and studied the maid carefully for a moment. Her next words were spoken cautiously, almost as if she was testing them out:

"Mistress said I could."

Rose blinked. Something didn't seem quite right, but...she was nothing if not obedient to her Mistress. "Oh. Okay."

Alex shook her head and giggled to herself as she entered the office. "Holy fuck, she really did a number on you."

Rose frowned at the sound of Alex pulling open drawers and tossing papers around, but she couldn't go in and clean up--she didn't have permission.

Of course, when Mistress came home later She was not pleased. She explained to Rose that she'd been tricked, then retreated to the master bedroom with Alex for what sounded like another session of punishment-turned-passionate-sex. And once again, it made Rose feel a little jealous, a little aroused, and very conflicted and confused. She decided to ground herself in her mantras, losing herself in semi-trance while distant howls of pain and pleasure washed over her.

The next few days fell into a similar pattern. Alex would make an initial effort to spend time with and learn from Rose, then quickly grow tired of the constant corrections and drift away to cause chaos elsewhere. Rose found herself with no time to kneel and reflect before Mistress came home--she'd be too busy rushing about to clean some mess or prevent some catastrophe. Alex would use as many dishes as possible to make a simple meal, open all the windows just before it rained, or find the most inconvenient thing possible to knock over and spill.

Worst of all, Mistress would be so busy disciplining Alex when She came home for her various misbehaviors that She'd barely have time to acknowledge Rose's existence. Despite trusting Mistress and knowing she wasn't entitled to Her attention, the maid grew more jealous and frustrated as time went on. In desperation, she became stricter as well--it was her responsibility to teach Alex the rules, after all, and she intended to fulfill it. Obeying without complaint and pleasing her Mistress was the purpose of a properly behaved girl.

But it ended up forming a vicious cycle--Alex misbehaved and got more attention, Rose became more frustrated and strict, Alex acted out in response, and so on. By the end of the week, they'd already reached a breaking point.

Rose was explaining how a properly behaved girl does not use a soup spoon for coffee when Alex finally snapped.

"FINE! WHATEVER! I know I can't be 'properly behaved' like you, okay? Not all of us have been fucking lobotomized into being perfect little maids! Just...please at least let me have my coffee in peace."

Rose pursed her lips. "You're not supposed to swear."

Alex stormed out of the room, nearly knocking her chair over. Rose sighed and finished her own coffee. At least Alex would be busy sulking in her room; less of a chance for her to break something that way.

"Hey."

Rose turned, surprised to find Alex waiting in the doorway. Her voice was dead calm, and a wolfish grin was slowly spreading across her face.

"I found something interesting in Eleanor's office." The blonde held up a spiral notebook with a red cover. Rose gasped, eyes growing wide once she recognized it.

Within its pages, Mistress had recorded every layer of Rose's hypnotic conditioning--all the triggers, modifications, and compulsions She'd added over the years.

"A lot of juicy stuff in here! Let's see..." Alex opened to a random page and began to read. "'...After a number of fraught sessions, I was able to strengthen Rose's emotional reactions to praise and criticism. I'll have to be a lot more intentional with my words now, but the results are more than worth it--she's now going above and beyond my commands in hopes of receiving a kind word.' I knew she had you wrapped around her finger, but...wow."

Rose blushed and looked away.

"You know she made you dumber, right? Like, way, waaaaay dumber. Here: 'Dedicated several weeks of sessions to limiting focus and cognition.' No wonder you only think about good behavior--you're literally too stupid to think about anything else."