Vox Dominus Pt. 20

Chapter 20

Seb refreshed the web search, even as he knew there wasn't much point. Once again, his laptop screen was filled with business blogs and a handful of online profiles, none of which suggested anything amiss with Elise Jaeger or her many investments. Four weeks since her conversion, it appeared his newest slave was playing her role perfectly.

For now, anyway.

Miki shifted in the chair next to him, and Seb quickly closed the tab before she could spy it. Fortunately, she was just grabbing her water bottle from the coffee table, and seemed too engrossed in her own screen to notice that her friend was cyber-stalking a business magnate instead of reading Sketch Night submissions. Seb felt a little guilty for letting his assigned task slide, but no matter how hard he tried to focus on the scripts in his inbox, his mind kept wandering to the elegant terror he had barely managed to collar, and what she might get up to without his supervision.

Maybe the last few weeks had made him a little paranoid.

Then again, he had good reason to be nervous. His battle with Elise had sketched out some of the limits of his powers, but there was still a lot about the Vox he didn't know. He still wasn't sure, for example, how long his subjects would remain under his sway. It could be that creating a slave was a like flipping a switch, or it could be more like a pressure gauge he had to constantly monitor. Either way, Elise was a very important, very dangerous test subject. Rather than keeping her conscious of her enslavement like Chelsea and Sophia, Seb had elected to hide knowledge of the Vox deep in the fallen matriarch's mind, along with several strict triggers and protocols. The subconscious Elise—the one Seb spoke to on the phone from time to time—was still very much under his influence, but as far as her waking mind was concerned, her visit to Diepner had turned up nothing remarkable. Well, save for a newfound respect for Chelsea's autonomy and taste in men, especially one young specimen in particular, whose intelligence and charm more than compensated for his lack of lineage, and who reminded Elise so much of her younger self.

That last bit had been Chelsea's idea. And, to her credit, Elise's new programming seemed to be holding strong. So long as Seb was careful, he could nudge her into certain decisions and trust her own consciousness to rationalize it after the fact, both to herself and any curious onlookers. At the time, this had seemed like the ideal arrangement: as nice as it would've been to have a once-proud aristocrat bowing and whimpering at his feet, he couldn't afford the collateral chaos that would come from yanking Elise out of her expected routines. Just battling one Jaeger had almost undone him; there was no way he could afford the scrutiny and scorn of their entire organization.

So Seb and his slaves had agreed to take it slow: make what changes they could safely afford, and save the more sweeping reforms for when the Vox's strengths and weakness were better understood. At first, this had come as a relief. Freed from the constant moral quandaries and mind games, Seb was able to enjoy school life as he used to, with the added benefit of having two adorable, obedient sex slaves eager to explore their new roles under him.

But now November was almost over, and here he was: wasting his time scouring the web for signs of disaster, unable to scratch the persistent itch that told him this hard-fought peace couldn't last.

If only he could Vox himself into worrying less. Seb made a mental note to look into that later.

"Oh!" Tobias suddenly exclaimed from his spot next to Miki, shattering the quiet that had settled over the longue. "I almost forgot, babe—I checked with my mom, and she says it's cool if you wanna spend Thanksgiving at our place."

"Yessss, thank god." Miki high-fived her beau. "Did I tell you my dad removed the lock from my door last year? I swear it's like they don't even want me to come back."

"Well, he's never been big on...boundaries," Tobias grimaced. "What about you Seb? You're welcome too, if you want."

Seb blinked. "Uh...thanks, but...I think I have other plans." Shit. Thanksgiving. He had been so focused on Elise, the upcoming holiday had somehow completely slipped his mind.

"Gonna spend it at Sophia's?" Miki arched an eyebrow.

"Maybe. We're, um, still figuring it out," Seb deflected with an embarrassed laugh. In truth, he had no clue how he was going to handle Thanksgiving. Spending the weekend alone with his parents was hardly ideal, but having to choose between Sophia and Chelsea was equally daunting. Sophia was the one he was "seeing" as far as public life was concerned, though her parents didn't know that yet, and there was no telling how they would react once they did. On the other hand, spending a weekend among the Jaegers was probably riskier, and harder to explain to outside observers. On the other, other hand, sending Chelsea off to deal with her family alone felt unfair, even if Elise continued to behave as instructed. Maybe Seb could bring Chelsea to Sophia's place as well. Would it be more or less suspicious if she showed up with two friends in tow? He would have to get her take on it later.

Another mental note to follow up on. Despite having two slaves at his service, Seb had never felt busier.

A notification pinged on his computer: a new message in the "HaremChat" (Sophia's name, not his). Seb opened the thread and found a selfie of Chelsea standing in front of a hanging mirror, clad in nothing but a lacey maid apron, a playful smile on her face as she tugged one of the shoulder-straps down to offer a glimpse of a stiff pink nipple.

[Chelsea]: Walked by this mirror while cleaning and just realized what I'd been wearing all day. I assume this is Master's doing?

[Sophia]: whooooaaa

[Sophia]: where'd he even find that??? bed bath & boudoir?

Seb smiled to himself and began typing.

[Master]: Actually, Chelsea was the one who made the order, tho she probably doesn't remember that either.

[Chelsea]: Ahhhh. Well I have good taste, if I say so myself. It's very, very soft ;)

[Sophia]: asdkljadga;lkj

"Find a good one?" Tobias asked over the sound of Seb chuckling. "So far all my scripts have been a bust."

"Oh, no, sorry." Seb shook his head, and suppressed his grin. "Just...thinking about something else."

Tobias nodded and turned back to his screen. Seb did so as well, savoring once last look at Chelsea's new "uniform" before closing the chat. He still wasn't sure what the future would bring, but he knew what would be waiting for him when he got home.

And maybe that was enough, for now.

_________________________________________

Sophia kept her face low as she stared at the phone on her lap, hoping it wasn't obvious to her classmates how aroused she was. She usually tried her best not to check the HaremChat when there were other people around, but an image post from Chelsea was too hard to pass up. True, it was sometimes just a recipe or outfit she was considering. But in this case, it had been yet another open display of her conditioning, complete with that trademark rosy tinge in the her pale cheeks, a subtle flush of embarrassment that never failed to make Sophia squirm. Who would've thought that the campus queen bee would become such a subby glutton? Sometimes her sluttitude even put Sophia to shame.

Alas, not all of them could spend their Saturdays prancing around in fetish wear. Some, like Sophia, had to shackle themselves to a library worktable, trying and failing to get a group project off the ground. It didn't help that two of her assigned teammates were complete slackers, and had spent the afternoon producing more harebrained app ideas than workable code. At least their third, a sophomore named Zoey, was trying to keep them on task. And—with her slight yet feminine frame, stylish cropped curls, and scooped-neck band t-shirt—she was looking good doing it.

Also: she was looking right at Sophia. Apparently the conversation had moved on without her noticing.

"S-sorry," Sophia apologized, having trouble meeting Zoey's eyes. "I think I kinda drifted off there for a moment. What was the question?"

"See?" one of her useless teammates chimed in. "It's not just us. This assignment is just, like, a total buzzkill."

"Except she actually managed to finish her work," Zoey shot back with a glower. "Right, Sophia?"

"Oh. Um. Yes." It was true; without the usual nagging feelings of self-doubt, anxiety, and uncontrollable arousal, Sophia had flown through her schoolwork in record time. As it turned out, the structure and security of enslavement had done wonders for her productivity.

"So I'll ask again." Zoey crossed her arms. "Can we count on you two to have this done by tomorrow? Or do we need to stay here all night and hold your hand through it?"

The two boys exchanged a look, then muttered some half-hearted promises, already in the process of packing up their laptops and books.

"Alright," Zoey sighed and collapsed back into her chair. "See you tomorrow, same time."

Sophia was already back on her phone as the group dissolved, updating her Master and sister slave.

[Sophia]: group work just ended. gonna grab the movie and head over. you better still be wearing that outfit when i get there.

[Chelsea]: Of course. Unless Master decides to take it off ;)

"Hey." Zoey's voice suddenly broke through Sophia's flustered haze. She looked up to see her teammate lingering nearby, a concerned look on her pixie-like features. "Can I ask kind of a weird question?"

"Uh...sure," Sophia answered, hastily pocketing her phone. "What's up?"

Zoey chewed her lip. "You don't think I came across too harsh just now, do you? I hate acting like a little miss know-it-all, but these comp-sci boys just drive me crazy, y'know?"

"Oh totally." Sophia nodded. "Yeah. No. They uh, they can be a pain. You were being totally fair just now, really."

Zoey smiled, and Sophia felt her chest flutter. "Phew. Thank god. Wouldn't want the only other competent coder in our section to think I'm a control freak."

The compliment drew an involuntary titter from Sophia's lips. "N-no, I get it. I, um. Think you're pretty good too."

"I try." Zoey's eyes flitted towards the exit, but she still hadn't budged an inch. "And hey, um," she swallowed, and for the briefest of moments Sophia thought she looked nervous. "You...doing anything tonight? Some friends and I are gonna hang out and go see a movie if you feel like joining."

Sophia's eyes widened. "Uh...oh, well..." Her mind was spinning, all the little exchanges she had ever shared with Zoey suddenly tumbling into a new context. Was she asking Sophia out? What was the right response here? Sophia couldn't just duck out of her plans with Master, but she also really, really didn't want to reject Zoey. Especially not when she was acting so adorable.

"N-no worries if you're busy," Zoey insisted, even as her uneasy smile said otherwise. "It's just. Like. A super casual thing."

"Oh, no, I—" Sophia hesitated, trying to play it cool even as her face burned. "I—I already have plans tonight. But, uh, I should be free next weekend. Y'know, if you're...doing it again."

Somehow, her garbled answer seemed to translate, and Zoey's expression relaxed. "Gotcha. Rain check then?"

"Totally," Sophia nodded, returning Zoey's wave as the she headed for the door. "S-see ya tomorrow!"

When Zoey was out of sight, Sophia finally exhaled.

Had she...just made a huge mistake?

It had all happened so fast, and now all she could do was wonder if she had made the right move. After all, it wasn't like she was single. But, then again, it wasn't like she and Master were exactly monogamous either. Even if they were keeping Chelsea's role in their relationship a secret for now, they had all agreed it would eventually be necessary to come out as polyamorous. If that was the case...would Master mind if Sophia explored outside their little throuple? Would he want to bring Zoey into the harem as well? Would Zoey be alright with that?

It occurred to Sophia that her mind was leaping several conclusions ahead, and she chided herself with a gentle laugh. None of these questions needed answers right now—she wasn't even 100% sure what Zoey's intentions were.

What Sophia did know, with certainty, was that she couldn't wait to get back to the house, and share her favorite movie with her favorite people.

And that was enough, for now.

_____________________________________________

Veronica stared vacantly into her laptop screen, the only light flickering in the shadows of her darkened room.

It had been four weeks since Chelsea's escape from Elise. And since then, Veronica had not known peace.

There had been relief at first, of course. In the giddy rush following Chelsea's return, Veronica had even dared to believe their friendship would continue uncompromised. Yet even in their first post-reunion conversation, Veronica had sensed the shadows between their words, the not-so-hidden truths that revealed the falsity of their forced normalcy. When Chelsea finally moved out of the apartment into her new house, it had almost felt like a release. No longer would they be forced to pantomime their old rituals and interests, to strain their hearts propping up a crumbling façade of their friendship. And so their regular lunch dates turned into occasional run-ins, which Veronica now avoided whenever possible.

It was for the best, she had eventually convinced herself. No matter how often she apologized, Veronica would always be the woman who sold her best friend out. And not matter how Chelsea explained herself, she would always be the enigma wearing the face of familiar friend, a replica whose near-perfection rendered it all the more uncanny and inscrutable. Veronica would never know why Chelsea had chosen a life of servitude. Nor if it had ever really been a choice in the first place.

And that was what scared her most of all.

If the dissolution of Chelsea's friendship darkened Veronica's days, it was the confirmation of Seb's powers that kept her up at night. As impossible as it seemed, he had somehow done what he had promised, and forced Elise Jaeger into relinquishing control of her daughter. True, it was still possible that the whole hypnotism thing was a ruse, and that there was a more rational explanation for how he was able to exert such influence. But a man able to fake mind control so effectively was just as dangerous as the real deal; in either case, Veronica's knowledge of his nature put her at risk.

Would she wake up one morning to find him hovering over her bed, ready to indoctrinate her into his brainwashed flock? Would she look at her phone one afternoon to find that he would soon become president of the world? Or would he and his slaves vanish from view one day, leaving Veronica jumping at shadows for the rest of her life, forever wondering who among the populace was secretly under his control? Hell, it was possible she had already been hypnotized and just hadn't realized it yet.

So Veronica searched for answers. She scoured every website and resource even tangentially related to her struggles, desperate to fill the hole drilled by her spiraling doubts. She read conspiracy theories and obscure academic papers, dug through the histories and social media feeds of anyone even tangentially related to her adversary. But nothing Veronica found brought her any answers: just a few fringe hypotheses about hypnotism, and confirmation that not only was Seb's family as unremarkable as he was, but that he wasn't even theirs by birth.

It had all seemed so hopeless.

Until OpenEyes317 contacted her.

At first, Veronica ignored the message. She had left several queries on supernatural and conspiracy forums across the internet, and it hadn't taken long for her to grow weary sorting through endless, bogus theorizing and convoluted ranting. But, as she eventually discovered, OpenEyes' take was different. Whoever they were, they had made a habit of cataloging cases similar to Veronica's: sex scandals wherein the victims displayed odd, seemingly contradictory behavior, or abrupt, unexplainable shifts in personality. Of course, everything OpenEyes' presented was pure speculation, and they offered no proof beyond circumstantial evidence and some rather skewed logic. If she were thinking rationally, Veronica would dismiss her mysterious contact's claims as empty nonsense.

But Veronica was no longer operating in the realm of the rationale. And OpenEyes' message was the only promising lead she had.

So here she sat, in the throes of another sleepless night, trying to arrange a meeting. In a stroke of good luck, it turned out OpenEyes didn't live too far away, and seemed eager for the chance to share their findings with someone face-to-face. It was a long shot, of course, and Veronica had no illusions about its odds. In all likelihood, her rendezvous would produce nothing but an uncomfortable conversation over coffee, and a yet another wasted afternoon.

But there was also a chance, however slim, that OpenEyes could finally lay to rest the ghosts haunting Veronica's every hour.

And that would have to do, for now.

________________________________________

Chelsea lazily stirred the pot of pasta sauce, smiling to herself as the ripples of red trailed in the wooden spoon's wake. Her half-tranced brain delighted at the sight of little bubbles popping on the liquid's surface, and she found herself giggling as she tried and failed to predict where they would appear next. The beeping oven temporarily broke her reverie, but only enough to remind her to move on with the recipe. She covered the pot and reduced the heat to a simmer, watching the fogging glass top with lingering fascination, her mind already returning to the happy clouds in her head, and her hips swaying absently to the music wafting from the kitchen speakers.

Weekends were the best.

They were the only time Chelsea could fully embrace her new role as Master's faithful slave, a creature of pure, programmable pleasure. It was an indulgence she had worked hard to perfect, practicing her own submission until it was possible to slip into trance without a single word from Master's lips. All she had to do was take a few deep breaths (easy, natural breaths, she reminded herself), recite her mantras of submission, and descend gently into a warm, wonderful state of single-minded servitude. In this way, Chelsea could pass whole days in obedient bliss, drifting from task to task on rolling waves of pleasure. And if she had to come up on occasion for a particularly tricky job or social interaction, that was okay too. After all, every reemergence of mental clarity brought with it fresh recognition of her own brainwashing, a realization that never failed to send hot shivers of delight through her. Sometimes, they made her stifle a moan in the check-out line, or take a break to finger her dripping pussy before continuing her household chores. Either way, the fog of arousal that followed always made it easy to slip back down into trance, and resume her dreamy day with an extra squish her step.

But not every day offered such pleasures.

As much as Chelsea wanted to embrace a life of pure, blissful enslavement, Master was adamant that she maintain at least enough course credits to graduate, "just in case," as he had put it. As usual, Chelsea suspected he was worrying too much, though she understood his logic. They were still trying to keep a low profile after all, and having her suddenly drop out of school was a recipe for suspicion. Chelsea still wasn't sure what she would do with a business degree now, but it didn't hurt to have one. Besides, classes had gotten considerably easier now that she no longer cared about acing them. Some lectures she could tune out entirely, and spend the time more productively with a butt plug in her ass (Sophia had shown her how to insert it) and her face buried in "research" as to how better to please her Master.