The Curse of Matriarchy Manor

The door creaked open, but Ariel didn't care. The feeling was too good. She grabbed her dates head and pushed it forward. He brushed her hand aside and went at his own pace again. The disruption was enough to jar her back to reality and the reality was there was another man standing beside them.

"Shit." Ariel said and recoiled back, ending the oral session prematurely. "Brett, who the hell is this?"

"Relax A, it's my roommate."

Ariel pushed Brett away and pulled up her pants. She stood up to feel more in control.

"And why is he in here?"

Brett brushed her hair behind her ear.

"I thought we can both enjoy you."

"What?"

"Come on, you just met me, now you can meet him."

The roommate wasn't a bad looking guy. In fact, he was quite attractive. But the whole approach to the scenario was extremely off putting. Whatever horniness Ariel had; it was long gone now.

"I'm leaving Brett."

Brett grabbed her arm.

"Fine, then we can do it the hard way."

Before he could get another hand on her, Ariel connected with a swift kick straight to his nuts. Brett dropped like a sac of potatoes and Ariel made a run for it. The roommate was quick and grabbed her, causing her to fall. Even with all the horror stories she had heard about online dating, she never thought that she would be stupid enough to have her own tale to tell.

The roommate towered over her and ripped her shirt off. The thing about scary stories is that they are supposed to put the fear in people. And as much as she thought it was rare, Ariel knew to be prepared. So, she waited until the man was close enough before the pepper spray came out. Spraying him right in the eyes, Ariel then gave him an equally devastating kick to the private area before grabbing her shirt and taking off, free for the time being.

On the street, Ariel flagged down the first person she saw and got inside the vehicle of an older woman. As the car rolled away, the two predators stood at their door having almost caught their prey for the day.

***

After getting settled, David explored the rest of the house and found nothing but empty old rooms. There were no trap doors or hidden passageways, as far as David could tell. But after his experience in his sister's room, he wasn't sure there weren't many more secrets.

The one thing he couldn't get out of his head was the stunning beauty of the crown. It must have been worth millions with the number of jewels on it. Unlike a normal reaction of wanting to sell it, all David craved was to feast his eyes on its beauty again. Selling it would rob him of that pleasure. Of course, that is if it did indeed exist. He still wasn't sure if that was a dream or real.

The door slammed shut, bringing David's attention back to reality. He felt a gust of wind through the room which knocked his phone off the table and onto the floor. David got on his hands and knees to retrieve it as his sister entered the room. He looked up and was absolutely gobsmacked with her beauty. Her long silky auburn hair resting and framing her cute little nose and dimpled cheeks. She knew how to show just enough of her body to draw in the male interest but not enough that their interest would wane.

Uncharacteristically, Ariel hugged David tightly. After a moment, his brotherly instincts kicked in and he saw that his sister was in an unpleasant state.

"Ariel, what happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Ariel said.

It was pride getting in the way. Ariel had always been a resourceful girl and to admit something went wrong was admitting that she had miscalculated and needed help. There was one thing Ariel had never done and that was ask for help. Occasionally, she'd accept it if offered, but she never asked. And David didn't want to rock the emotional boat.

"I'm here if you need me." David said.

"Thanks, David." Ariel said in a tone he was not familiar with. There was sincerity from a girl who was always sarcastic or rude. "I'd love to check out their mall."

David looked at his sister and saw her familiar smile return. There was a hint of lingering internal turmoil, but that was her burden to deal with unless she wanted help. For now, all David could do was cheer her up.

"I think we can make that trip." David said.

***

With the finishing touches done on her next campaign, Nina happily hit save and sat back to bask in her work. With the opportunity to pitch her own marketing campaign, she was ready to prove just how effective she could be at her job. The product was aimed at women, so it made sense that she was the one to get first crack at it. The board was going to be impressed with her insight and reasoning behind everything from the ads to the product's packaging.

Nina's gloat session was interrupted by a knock at the door before Trevor walked in with his usual careless swagger. He owned the place, so why would he care about people's personal space? He sat down in the chair across from her desk and swung his leg onto his lap, adopting his power position.

"Can I help you, sir?"

"Quite a nice office you got here. Noah really gave you the set up when he was here."

"I earned it, thank you very much." Nina corrected him.

"Debatable."

"Excuse me."

Trevor's eyes furrowed. Nina had to walk on eggshells if she wanted to keep her job let alone her position.

"Look Nina, we enjoy your input and definitely your presence, but I just don't think you're contributing enough to warrant your current position."

"You've only given me one campaign opportunity and I've got it here. It's ready. I can pitch it to your right now."

"That won't be necessary, Brandon has already taken that over and given me a brief overview of his idea."

The betrayal stung. She had asked Brandon for advice and he had apparently just been using her to get his own ideas.

"So, what then, I'm fired? Or let me guess, you want me to pose for Chad's stupid marketing campaign."

"Don't be ridiculous. Although you're welcome to do that if you want, I'm sure he'd appreciate it." Trevor said. "We're a professional company here Nina. I'm simply demoting you to my secretary. Noah seemed to think you were the greatest secretary ever so it's time to get back to your strengths."

Nina was speechless as Trevor stood up and pulled out his phone.

"Oh, and lose the conservative clothes. You're not doing yourself any favors hiding your best assets."

And with that, Trevor left. Nina sat and stewed about her predicament. Part of her wanted to quit and find opportunities elsewhere, but it was a competitive job market, especially in her city. There was no way she'd be able to get into another prestigious marketing firm and work her way up again without sucking a few cocks. Her only reasonable option was to take the temporary hit and then prove she could go toe to toe with anyone, including Chad.

The unfortunate reality settled in of doing grunt administrative work again. Full make-up, high heels, tight clothing and being ordered around like a little office slave. She didn't miss it and she dreaded going back. But that was going to be her life for now.

The one thing she did take away was that everyone played dirty even those who she thought were her friends. One way or another, the time would come when it would be them getting humiliated.

***

Long before the first store or second store or even third store, David noticed something wasn't quite right. Trips to the mall with his sister were rare and even though she had a bad experience recently, it normally wouldn't change his behavior. Yet for reasons he could not work out, he was treating his little sister like a celebrity. Opening her car door, carrying her purse, and then buying her clothes for her. All of his actions were unprecedented and something he could never be seen doing in public if he wanted to keep up his player image. In fact, he tried to turn the charm on with several women but carrying his little sister's clothes in multiple shopping bags proved to be the ultimate turn off.

From store to store they went, and Ariel got everything and anything she remotely liked. From her cheery attitude, it was barely noticeable that just hours prior she was almost trapped in a very compromising position. The thing that puzzled David the most was that Ariel never commented on his behavior. But he couldn't blame her. If he was spoiling her, why would she question it?

After several woman's clothing and accessories stores, Ariel wanted to try on something a little more risqué. She told David to wait at the entrance as she pranced around and browsed several items. David stared at his sister and felt a strange connection of admiration. The same type of admiration he forced himself not to have with the many women he strung along for one-night stands. It was that type of thinking that led to vulnerability.

But like the many other things he was doing during the shopping trip, he couldn't help himself. Ariel was a beautiful girl, and he could see why. Her body moved with confidence and swagger, swinging her hips side to side hypnotically. She didn't have a huge ass, but she had a toned one, and through her skin-tight yoga pants, you could see the outline of her thong. Up top, she was never one to flaunt her cleavage, only showing the top of it to hide the mystery of the large melons that lay beneath.

And then her face. Symmetrically perfect and just enough makeup to highlight her bright blue eyes and plump lips. If David was being honest, she was the perfect girl. Although he was examining her body like he would for any of his dates, the conclusion was different. Her beauty did not make him want to fuck her. It made him want to serve her in any capacity possible. Carrying her bags and paying for her clothes was just one of the many ways he would do that.

"David?"

David snapped out of his trance watching his sister. He turned to see his former best friend, Nina. After high school, Nina moved away to college and stayed in touch with David. But life took over and because they had never actually made time to see each other, the friendship just kind of faded. Upon seeing Nina, David was in awe of her beauty.

"Nina, so good to see you." David said.

He went in for a hug, but realized it was practically impossible with the all the bags he was carrying.

"She must be a lucky girl." Nina said. "I have to say I'm surprised you settled down. I thought you'd be playing the field for a while."

"I still am." David said. He blushed slightly. "These are actually for Ariel. She had a rough day today, so I thought I'd take her shopping."

"Oh. Well, her and I both."

"What happened with you?"

"Well, I basically got demoted because I'm a woman."

"That's outrageous. Someone like you should be running the country."

Nina blushed. "That's a first. Since when did you become so femme power?"

David realized what he had said. Over-complimenting was one of the worst things to do when trying to get a woman. Not that he was trying to get with Nina, but he did always have a crush on her. When they were in high school, in order to preserve their friendship, they had a made a pact not to sleep together under any circumstances. Despite the growing sexual tension between them throughout their teens, they had stayed true to their word. But that was a long time ago.

"Just saying. You were always a smart cookie. I'm just surprised you haven't thought of a way around it."

Challenging her nullified the compliment. He already looked like a wimp with bags in his hands, he didn't need to sound like one too. Nina checked her watch.

"I need to get going. It was good seeing you, David. If you need a tour guide for the city, let me know."

Nina carefully hugged him and walked away.

"Nina."

She turned back around.

"Did you want to grab a bite to eat?" David asked.

She smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

"Just a bite to eat?"

"Maybe a few bites."

Nina smiled. "Text me the details."

David nodded. Even with all the pink bags, he still had it. Despite all the women he slept with, there was only one he desired. And it wasn't because he hadn't conquered her yet, it was because of their friendship. The reason David had become a womanizer was because the one girl he wanted; he couldn't have. It was Nina who suggested the friendship pact and David, not wanting to imply any feelings for her, accepted. Since then, he had always wondered what it would have been like if he just told her the truth. Now maybe he'd get the chance.

***

David opened his eyes and found himself in the main room of his new house. Except something seemed odd. Everything looked the same, except the carpet on the stairs which was now gold. David walked up the stairs. And he kept walking. The stairs never seemed to end, one step after another. Looking up, he wasn't quite sure where they even led. But he persisted, climbing each step one after the other.

Finally, he got to the top, but there was now a long hallway with the familiar bedroom double doors all the way at the other end. The only obvious thing to do was to reach the doors. David walked and walked for what felt like hours. And yet the doors never seemed closer. It was then that he noticed the various paintings and statues lining the hallway. They all depicted an incredibly beautiful woman made even more attractive by her style of clothing and accessories. She wore what could only be described as modern Victorian with a corset hidden under a red cocktail dress. Her hair was done up with a small crown on top while her makeup was more on the side of a girl going clubbing than historical royalty.

The pictures and statues left David in complete awe of her power. Now she was a strong dominant woman that he would happily serve. That line of thinking clashed with David's own personal feelings towards women, and he momentarily snapped back to his senses. Not wanting to be mesmerized again, he put his head down and ran towards the end.

David pushed through the doors and instead of a bedroom, it was a throne room. Sitting on the throne in the same outfit as the woman from the pictures was Ariel. Her face was stern and annoyed.

"Bow before your Queen."

David felt his body sink to the ground as he knelt in front of his little sister. She arose from her seat and walked graciously over to him. With one foot forward, David's lower gaze could only see the perfectly tanned and pedicured feet in front of him.

"Kiss your Queen's feet."

The feet were perfect and beautiful, highlighted by the matching red nails. Was he really going to kiss his sister's feet? And why was she dressed like a Queen? The internal struggle about complying with the request or not sent David's heart racing. He closed his eyes and then arose from his bedsheets in a sweat. He had never had sexual dreams about his sister, but this was far from just a sex dream. It all felt so real. He turned to the other side of the bed and saw a smiling old woman wearing the same outfit as the woman form the paintings. The old lady, who looked to be over a hundred, smiled creepily and put her finger to her mouth.

"Shhh."

David screamed and sat up in his bed sweating. He looked around and saw nothing out of the ordinary. It was just a dream, but it certainly felt real. He lay back down and stared up at the ceiling. The woman's face was stuck in his mind until... until he thought of Ariel. Her face soothed his nerves as his body calmed down. He had no idea what his dream meant, especially with the domineering Ariel, but things were starting to get weird. His feelings for Ariel, his random blackouts, his strange dreams. Something wasn't right. Maybe it was time to revisit that room again.

***

The shopping trip was just what the doctor ordered. Ariel felt fresh and free in her new outfit from head to toe. She had no idea why David had paid for everything or why he carried all her bags, but she wasn't going to complain. For some reason, he had been exceptionally nice since they moved in together. Even putting up no fight over the master bedroom was a big surprise. Why couldn't all men be that accommodating?

Ariel joined her new friends who were already huddled in a group. Once she entered the circle, the chatter died down.

"What's going on?" Ariel asked.

The group remained silent in an awkward pause.

"Hello." Ariel said.

Zoey grabbed Ariel's arm and hauled her away from the group.

"What the hell Zoe."

When they were far enough, Zoey released her.

"You got a lot of nerve, you slut." Zoey said.

"Excuse me."

"Sleeping with Brett and Connor. You knew I had a thing for Connor."

"Zoey, I didn't do anything. They tried to..."

Zoey put her hand up and walked back to the group. Ariel didn't know what hurt more, the fact that someone she thought was her friend wouldn't believe her or the fact that in one day her entire reputation was seemingly ruined by two douche bags. Ariel held back her angry tears and left.

Back at home, Ariel slammed her bedroom door shut, knocking a book off the bookshelf. She ran to her bed and buried her head into her pillow so she could scream. Why were men such animals? If anything, they should be punished for what they had tried to do. Instead, she was now essentially blacklisted from a decent social life. All because she wouldn't let them take advantage of her. She turned and stared at the ceiling with red eyes. Maybe she should have. If she knew this was the outcome, maybe it was worth it to let them have their way with her for one night. At least then she'd still have friends.

A bang startled Ariel. Followed by another bang. She looked over at the bookshelf and saw the row of books falling to the ground. She jumped out of her bed and walked over to the books, which had somehow fallen perfectly in a circle around the initial book.

She picked it up and read the title. 'Queens: How To Rule Your Man and Everyone Else'

Intrigued by the title, Ariel sat down on the sofa and opened the book. It was old, but she was curious. With all that happened today, she could use an escape from her world.

She read the first words. "Your life's about to change..."

***

"Come on, you were the reason they kicked us out. I just wanted a drink." Nina said.

David laughed at the memory. It was a break from reality to finally catch up with Nina and reminisce about the past. There were so many good memories from high school that David had forgotten some of them until he reconnected with Nina.

The two sipped smoothies, as they walked the boardwalk. It was always a tradition to get smoothies on a Friday after seeing a movie and they thought it would be fun and appropriate to revisit.

"So how come you never settled down." Nina said.

"Never really found the right person." David said.

"Really? Out of the ten?"

David smiled.

"Twenty?" Nina said.

David shrugged sarcastically.

"You man-whore."

"Oh, come on, it can't be higher than yours."

"Actually, I had a serious relationship for a few years. Really cuts down the extracurriculars with other men."

"I bet." David laughed with Nina.

"So, what kind of girl are you looking for?"

"Preferably one with an Uber account." David said.

He wasn't about to pour his heart out to Nina. As much as he wanted to describe her, he knew how that would come off. Desperate. If he wanted to get serious with her at some point, he needed to be patient. Nina went on her phone and then turned the screen to David.

"Guess I got that covered." Nina said with a smile.

It was her smile that had always drawn him in. And now she was playing along with his games. Should he go for it? It couldn't hurt. Being apart for so long, the consequence was losing a friend he had already lost. David checked his watch.

"Did you want to go back to my place?"

"I thought you'd never ask."