Jewel Ascending Ch. 15

"Then don't"

Jewel looked up to see Dr. Patricia Agonia. When did she get here Jewel wondered?

Jewel and Donna both glanced to each other from where they were sitting. The hypnotherapist had apparently not read the social cues and left them alone to their grief.

"Don't what?" Jewel finally asked.

"Don't turn it off. Don't risk a massive stroke and death. Just...don't." She said calmly.

"So I should end up enslaved? Like you?" Jewel's irritation at the interruption of her emotional turmoil evident in her voice.

"No...just take the controller, lock it away, and never use it. Never give it another program or goal."

Both Jewel and Donna looked dumbfounded at the idea.

"And that would work?" Donna finally asked.

"Yes...I think so...It's worth a chance." Patricia Agonia answered. "These controllers have the unique encryptions for each of our nanobots. The nanobots will only follow the programs they're given."

"The nanobots are permanent. The program needs an object for you to focus upon. Change the object of your obedience from Horace to someone else. Devote yourself to your husband." Dr. Agonia indicated Donna.

Donna and Jewel looked at each other as Donna looked at the controller now in the palm of her hand.

"I...um...are you sure?" Donna asked Jewel. Worry evident in her tone.

Jewel wiped the tears that threatened from her eyes and merely nodded yes.

"Just...take mine too. Lock it away and never use it." Patricia held out her own controller to Donna.

**

Before adjusting the final settings on Jewel's mind and before locking away Patricia Agonia's nanobot control application Jewel had Donna do one other thing; one very important thing that Jewel had wanted for the longest time...answers.

As Donna was locking the controllers away in Jewel's walk in jewelry safe in her master suite it occurred to Countess Jewel Veronica Delacroix that she had the opportunity to ask questions and receive honest answers.

Dr. Patricia Agonia, Hypnotherapist, was obligated to tell the truth by compulsion of her nanobot enslavement. Sitting in Jewel's salon, Patricia across from her, Jewel finally asked the question that had been bothering her for the longest time since her arranged marriage was consummated.

"Did you use hypnotherapy to control my thoughts?"

Patricia looked quizzically at Lady Delacroix.

"No."

"You have to tell me the truth, I command it." Jewel huffed in disbelief.

Dr. Agonia nodded politely.

"I cannot control your thoughts with hypnotherapy. Even the use of the drug 'docility' cannot alter your thoughts. With sustained therapy and hypnotic treatment you can be conditioned to accept your situation and your role but unlike these nanobots my methods still leave you as you."

Jewel couldn't accept that explanation.

"That has to be a lie," Jewel accused, despite knowing the nanobots would not allow Patricia to lie "I tried over and over to escape and always failed."

"Yes. You're desire for freedom was never in question and even over 6 years of sustained therapy you never gave up."

Jewel stopped to consider.

"But I did give up" She admitted "Just before Jean Claude died, the day of the race, I...quit...I gave up...I knew after all this time there was no escape."

Dr. Agonia merely nodded in understanding as she often did during routine therapy sessions.

"You may have decided to quit in a moment of despair, but after 6 years I know from your past that that would only be a temporary situation. You are naturally resilient Lady Delacroix; you would eventually have recovered and continued to struggle for freedom."

"Then why did I fail? Every time ended in failure, every escape attempt, act of disobedience..."

"Therapy was used to condition you over time to reward you for behavior that your husband found acceptable and to cause hesitation for behavior your husband found unacceptable."

"Like what? What did you do to me?"

"The first sessions were to condition you to accept that you were married, even though you didn't approve of the marriage. Additional sessions gave reward stimulus for desired behavior. You became accustomed to satisfying your husband sexually even though you never felt pleasure form it. There were also subliminal tics and tells that were used to indicate when you were considering wholly inappropriate behavior such as considering escape or actually about to escape."

Jewel was perplexed. "How?"

"You were taught to tap your toe if you were about to run away or execute an escape plan. You were also taught to bite your lip if you were planning or considering an escape."

"I remember that I had a nervous habit of biting my lip sometimes. I thought it was just some annoying tic I picked up" Jewel mused "you are saying I was basically telling everyone in advance that I was planning to run."

"That's exactly right. They were nervous tics I subliminally implanted during hypnosis."

"Then what was it that made me black out completely? When Jean Claude forced me to blow him in front of my dad I know he did or said something to me."

Patricia nodded. "Yes. There was...basically think of it like an override switch, a command word to cause you to fully submit. It was to be used only under extreme circumstances or need. I know Jean Claude used it to humiliate you in front of your father that way."

Jewel could feel her anger well inside her, to only fade away almost as quickly as it appeared. That brought out another question.

"Is this why I don't get angry...like the anger tat I should be feeling right now?" Jewel hissed though her question lacked the force behind it to be truly impactful.

"Yes. You are to be the image of beauty and domestic tranquility, as your husband desired, submissive and subservient to him in all things. It's also why you never really argued with him or challenged him personally. He didn't want the domestic drama and used hypnotherapy to encourage you to never bother."

Jewel suddenly knew that to be true. She hardly ever bothered to fight with her husband as she somehow instinctively knew it to be futile. Hearing that it was due to her hypnotic conditioning didn't satisfy her in the least.

Jewel remembered reading her medical record and what her new doctor told her. It all made sense now.

The drugs; sleeping pills, mood stabilizers, and anti-depressants; all highly addictive and used sparingly hadn't been necessary since her return from the boarding school and their use had been discontinued.

Maintaining her sleep schedule as well as the effects of activity and exercise, coupled with therapy had ultimately been enough to treat her depression and train her into becoming more than just a male-bride. She had become a wife.

Lady Delacroix was wondering why she was so...compliant and accommodating to her new husband. Now she knew why. She had been drugged and the hypnosis had been used to modify her behavior, control her, and make her compliant and cooperative.

All that time she had thought it was to help her deal with the stress...she had been a fool!

Jewel smiled politely and prettily as Dr. Patricia Agonia, the woman she had thought of as her friendly helpful therapist, a trusted confidant had been the architect of her conditioning and obedience every bit as much as Leanne had been.

It's time for your hypnosis session, Patricia would say. Jewel would relax as she always looked forward to it.

And how she could never remember what they discussed during hypnosis but how she was always more relaxed afterwards. It had always been her favorite part of therapy.

And with the grace, poise and self control that were the result of years of conditioning and training, Jewel stood to leave, ending the discussion on the topic.

**

Jewel and Donna paused for a moment before they were to enter the Grand Ballroom of the Royal Palace.

Jewel discreetly adjusted the Green with Gold edged Ribband that hung from her left shoulder around her right hip one last time. The Delacroix Family Diadem pinned above her left breast while the Ulrich Family Diadem was pinned just below.

The Ribband had been delivered by royal messenger the day before. Reading the decree from the queen had surprised both Donna and Jewel completely. Recognition for bravery had been unexpected.

Her white silk floor length ball gown was complementary to the black gown worn by Donna. Both women wore Tiara's. Jewel wore an emerald tiara to match her Ribband while Donna wore diamond to contrast with her gown.

The Master of ceremonies announced their arrival as they entered, Jewel holding onto Donnas' arm as they proceeded into hall and the white tie affair of royal court. The crowded room filled with the nobility of Allegoria, all wearing their noble regalia.

At 5 foot 9 inches tall Jewel was still amazed when she was able to look most all of the noble women of Allegoria in the eyes. Jewel had heard that the average height of the noble women was 5 foot 8 inches. They all tended to be supermodel tall and thin and built. Her life experience had born that out. Even wearing 4 inch heels didn't help her height when all the women she met would also wear high heels to formal affairs.

No doubt being descendents from the deserters of Frederick the Greats "Great Men" who fled to and then conquered Allegoria was the logical conclusion explaining their stature.

Standing at 6'1" in heels would normally seem tall until she stood next to the noble men of Allegoria. Jewel's dead husband had been 6'8". Her father was 6'6". Even her younger brother James was 6'4". Jewel never really understood why "Jules" at 5'9" got the short end of the stick. He ended up the exact same height as his younger sister and his mother.

Therefore it must have been just her imagination that her peers had always seemed to have literally looked down their noses at her. Many had never wanted her here and only suffered her presence due to the wealth and influence of her dead husband. It would be better to say that they simply looked down at Jewel figuratively.

But as she entered the grand hall of the royal palace she was struck by the sudden deferential mood directed her way. It was strange, unexpected, and left her feeling on edge.

Female nobles had initially disliked her as they thought she would try to seduce their husbands. They viewed her simply as a rival and a seductress. Now that she was married to a woman they viewed her more compassionately and with attitudes nearing friendship.

But the husbands who originally viewed her as a cross dressed homosexual now viewed her as a possible seducer of their wives. Female bisexuality was a preferred and encouraged trait among the nobles. A feminized male bride was still viewed as a woman. The script had been flipped.

It was open knowledge now among the nobles the threat of enslavement they had faced and that Lady Jewel Delacroix was the reason they were not enslaved. That she had used her own nanobot controller to devote herself to her new female husband brought further admiration and respect.

Looks of approval were something unfamiliar and new to her, but there was no mistaking the look of respect on the faces and in the eyes of her noble peers as she and Donna walked regally down the center of the grand hall, her noble peers on either side of her parting as they made their way to the throne of the Queen of Allegoria.

To get respect you had to earn it. There are no short cuts, no handouts or charity.

With great deeds came respect. It was something you could not take, only give and receive.

Donna was by her side. At 5'10", she only wore 3 inch heels so they could be the same height and stand and see each other eye to eye. Jewel held Donnas' arm as Donna escorted her to the Queen and gazed adoringly at her female husband.

No one knew what the future would hold, but Jewel was so happy to be able to face that future with Donna by her side.

The knighting ceremony was fairly straightforward. In recognition for her bravery in uncovering and thwarting a plot against the crown and as Heir to Ulrich the Fierce, she would also now be know in her own right as Dame Jewel Veronica.

There was also an additional surprise. The consensus was that her actions did indeed save each and every noble lord and lady. It had been years since a noble title had been elevated but in recognition for her service to the entirety of the royal court, Jewel would no longer be known as Countess. She would henceforth be titled as Princess.

Princess Dame Jewel Veronica Delacroix of the House of Delacroix and Ulrich.

Jewel and Donna had already been informed that there was a royal tithe that attends an elevation in station of this magnitude. 80 billion was a hefty sum. Her father, John, had made certain of the amount with the tithes division of the Department of Income, Revenue, and Taxes.

She and Donna had discussed at length and in private what that meant; that the crown only thought Jewel had 800 billion in assets and all those "other investments' Jean Claude had kept were strictly off the books and in off shore accounts to hide his true wealth. It would seem that Jewel and Donna would not become the world's ninth trillionaires anytime this year after all...but next year however...

Jewel at first didn't understand that the opportunity to be elevated to Princess was an offer she could not refuse. Once again John and Donna had to explain it carefully. Her refusal of elevation to princess and to tithe would have been seen as an insult. She would have been ostracized from all of noble society and quite likely stripped of all her assets and wealth.

While her father had been blunt in his explanation of her duties and responsibilities of her wealth and being wealthy, it still reeked to her of a simple money grab by the crown.

Allegoria had been founded with a noble class giving stability to a country and all the nobles were considered equals despite their title. Even the Queen (or King when there was one) was simply thought of a first among equals.

With her ascendancy to Princess she would simply be the first among all the nobles to be considered for the crown upon the death of the current queen; quite a price to pay to be the first to be refused the throne after the death of the current ruler.

The only other surprise from the noble court was her boon. Jewel and Donna knew this was part of the ceremony and they had discussed it earlier and knew exactly what to ask.

Jewel used her respect and boon from the Queen to get Jocelyn and Jennifer pardons for their participation in Jewel's escape attempt to the Embassy of the United States years ago.

It was a complete surprise to everyone and the Nobles of Allegoria were split over whether this was a sign of foolishness to ask for so little or a sign of strength that she felt as if she doesn't have to ask for more.

As the formal ceremonies gave way to celebration Jewel and Donna cut quite the swath, dancing and celebrating the night away.

And there were other victories.

One month later, leveraging her newfound respect Jewel was also finally able to achieve some success in her quest to eliminate arranged marriages. The 'Full Disclosure' resolution passed parliament easily and after much deliberation in the House of Lords, and a slight scaling back of the original bill, the bill passed into law.

Sadly, this meant that while arranged marriages were still legal, they would only be legal if all parties knew of the arrangement ahead of time and both potential spouses consented. The House of Lords made one change to the law; it was only legal upon the subjects of the crown and not the lords of the realm.

Donna was there to console Jewel.

"It's not quite the win I was hoping for." Jewel observed.

"Many good people come here who expect justice. They are often disappointed when they don't find it." Donna consoled.

"I don't understand how they could deny the reality that these young men face. That I faced."

"They're not denying it. But change happens slowly. If it didn't, then by the next election the pendulum would swing back the other way. Your husband knew this when he made his move and extended existing laws to cover men as well as women. It made it seem both respectful of traditions and progressive policy. Otherwise it would never have been allowed."

"But the nobles can still take anyone they want." Jewel complained. The law as passed would still not have saved her from her original arranged marriage had it existed back then.

"Give it time. Keep advocating for change. Your quest is noble and it's worth it."

Jewel smiled at Donnas' support and endorsement. She decided she would fight for this for as long as she lived.

Lastly Jewel and Donna were now deeply embedded in the administration of the Elite Queens Guards. They now sat on the board of oversight for the task force that was organized to take stock of the situation and develop counters to the nanobot threat and official policy to manage it.

The risk of slavery via nanobots isn't going away any time soon. The tech is there and others know it. The genie is out of the bottle. The cat is out of the bag. Enslavement is a possibility and all the nobles unanimously agreed that the tech must be kept in their hands...to prevent its misuse...

Jewel felt that there was more than a little "wink-wink nudge-nudge" in their attitudes to the nanobots and their potential. Officially the government would still use them, under carefully controlled conditions and restrictions to cure otherwise incurable diseases and neurological disorders. It was what might happen behind the scenes that kept Jewel from sleeping well some nights.

But the one thing Jewel seemed to notice that Donna insisted was only in her mind was how Allegoria appeared to be embracing a more female dominated government. Lady Wanda Oldsworth had been a strong critic of Dr. Horace Jarod Inon and it did not go unnoticed by their noble peers. Wanda's influence had also grown thanks to Jewel's actions.

To her it now seemed that the Society for the Restoration of the Matriarchy held sway. With their faction in favor the Allegorian Queen found that her rule was more secure and her decrees found less opposition. She was more firmly entrenched and able to rule with greater authority...and impunity.

There was even open discussion for limiting male enfranchisement in political affairs.

Did we find all of Jean Claude's plots and expose them? Jewel wondered. Did exposing and foiling his coup instead enable and embolden his enemies?

There is no way of truly knowing Jewel realized. It's never that simple. There are plots within plots.

**

It is only after the deepest darkness that the greatest joy can come.

After the excitement faded, and as Jewel recovered from her wounds and as life moved on Jewel and Donna finally decided to take a vacation. African Safaris were once again in vogue as management of wild animals had allowed for the recovery of many threatened species. A photo safari across several of the most prominent wildlife parks in Africa, and an escape from their duties, temporarily, brought them a well deserved rest.

While the others were taking photographs of the wildlife and the scenery, Jewel was most focused and happy to take photos of her family.

They took their newest employee, Brandi. Brandi was very happy to have her contract with the NSSA&M bought out. She was looking forward to the end of her term of service and already planning how to return to her normal life as Randy when it officially ended.

Jewel and Donna also considered purchasing Olivia's contract. Unfortunately Olivia was now programmed to serve as a whore and cum slut and she eagerly sought to serve in every way possible. Her programming into a slut and cum whore was irreversible. She would likely spend the rest of her days as a happy hooker. She would remain in the NSSA&M's service.