"How could you be so stupid?!"

 

The sound of unchecked testosterone woke me from dreamland to find myself lying on a large comfortable bed, in a lavish bedroom. I looked around just long enough to spot Sven and his grandfather arguing then shut my eyes and pretended to be sleeping. The two of them were certainly heated over what had happened in the ritual chamber, so I figured they might give some information away so long as they thought they were alone.

 

"I wasn't stupid grandfather. I did everything right!"

 

"You did nothing correctly. You acted like a petulant child and put our order at risk!"

 

"Nobody saw me take her. I performed concealment spells before I took her."

 

"It's not about your gods damned spell work!" The elder man shouted. "We instructed you and the others to select someone who was unattached to people in the mundane world. No close family or friends and especially not a lover!"

 

"But…"

 

"No 'buts' grandson. This woman obviously harbors an intense attachment to her former lover. That's what nearly killed her during the branding ritual."

 

"What did?"

 

"Do you listen to a word I say?!" Sven's grandfather raged. "The branding ritual is meant to place your essence onto the thrall's soul, allowing you to slowly craft an emotional bond between the two of you that the thrall will interpret as love. Since this one had already given at least part of her soul to her lover, the branding magic tried to overpower what was already there."

 

"But that should have been easy." Sven questioned. "I performed both the transformation and the branding ritual perfectly."

 

"Again child, it is not about the efficacy of your spell work, it's about the magic that was already present." I heard the old man lumber across the room in my direction before continuing. "Love is magic in its own right. It is one of the few forms of magic that mundanes still understand, though their understanding is fading. When people love each other, truly love each other, there is a magic that inscribes itself upon their souls, binding them together. It is very old, very powerful magic that has been around even before mankind."

 

"I had no idea grandfather."

 

"Of course you did not know." The old man replied before sitting on the bedside. "Despite your prowess and the advantages of your lineage, you are nothing but a novice in the arcane. That is why your elders gave you specific instruction with the expectation that you will follow to the letter, so you may learn and advance. Instead, you decided that petty revenge was more important and thus find yourself in the present predicament."

 

Sven's heavy footsteps grew closer. He pleaded with the old man, "I can fix this grandfather. Just allow me to take Yumi through the training. I know I can craft her into an exceptional thrall. I promise, I'll make you and father proud."

 

"Understand this my grandson. If you were anyone else, I would have killed you the moment I learned of your deception." The old man sighed. "As things stand, I've pledged my reputation and honor toward my confidence in you, hoping to appease the remainder of the council. They would  see you stripped of your power and transformed into a serving wench, but I assured them that you could overcome your transgressions and successfully train this girl."

 

He punctuated his speech by placing a withered hand on my smooth, fleshy thigh. I managed to remain still and focused to keep my breathing calm and even, though it took an extreme level of focus on my part not to recoil. This crazy old bastard was threatening to kill his own flesh and blood, who knows what he'd do to me if he knew I was spying on them.

 

The old man gripped my leg and pushed himself to his feet. "I trust that you will not disappoint me further?"

 

"Of course not grandfather. I will do all I can to fix my mistakes. And I thank you for your forgiveness."

 

"Ha!" The old man laughed. "You are far from forgiven child. I've simply given you time to earn my forgiveness."

 

I could hear the taps of footsteps and the subtle creeks of the wood flooring as the two crossed to the door. Once there, a heavy sounding lock slid open and the hinges squeaked as the door opened. Still, I remained in my place. I'd managed to gather some seemingly useful information, but I'd have to continue to play things smart if I wanted to beat the Order and their twisted plans; giving myself away now would only hinder things.

 

"Is there anything else I should know before we conclude?" The old man asked. "Now is the time to confess if there is any other way you might have defied our orders. I cannot help you if you chose to keep things from me."

 

What had Sven told them? Did he tell them that I am, or rather was, transgender? Or how our friendship ended? Who knows what information might be important to these sick fucks.

 

I could almost feel the anxiety radiating off Sven's person as he answered, "No grandfather. Everything is as I have told you. I am so sorry for my actions and the shame it has brought to our family. I will do everything in my power to redeem myself and restore our family's honor."

 

"Very well. I must return and oversee the final applicant. You will have an hour to gather yourself before you and your thrall must report to Master Gerald to begin training."

 

With that, the heavy door closed and everything went still. The room, that I was assuming belonged to Sven, turned from arguing to chilling silence. I wasn't even sure if Sven was breathing, he certainly wasn't moving; likely waiting to make sure his grandpa had truly left.

 

Several tense minutes passed as I continued my sleepy charade. Sven could be unstable on his best days and the last thing I wanted to do was make myself the target of his ire. Though, there was a small part of my heart that broke for him. He was struggling at the moment, caught between his desires and his duty, and I couldn't help but want to comfort him even though I was furious with him.

 

"Fuck!" A powerful thud reverberated through the room as Sven punched the door.

 

I jumped in surprise at Sven's expulsion of rage. It's not that I hadn't expected him to react like he did, just that having my eyes closed made his exact actions hard to predict. My moment of shock managed to pull a yelp from my throat, alerting Sven to my wakefulness.

 

He turned to investigate the sudden noise, only to find me awake and staring at him. He fidgeted and sputtered, trying to find something to say or do now that he and I were alone together. For my part, I too was at a loss for words. What does one say, what can one say when faced with the man who hopes to enslave them with magically induced false love? The tension in the air was palpably thick, lingering over every movement, every breath being taken. Eventually one of us would need to do something, but in this moment we were equals in our awkwardness.

 

Scrutinizing him as he stood there like a convict waiting for the gavel to drop, I drew a special satisfaction from the red-tinged tissues wedged in his nose. That told me that I couldn't have been out for too terribly long, since he'd barely had time to stem the flow of blood from his broken nose. Additionally, I surmised what I'd done to him to be significant enough to warrant enduring the pain, as opposed to immediately fixing it with magic.

 

One of us needed to speak, lest we spend the remainder of the evening together in this silent purgatory. It's not like I was going to argue my way out of this place, so cunning and subterfuge seemed my best approach. If I braved the waters first, at least we would be conversing on my terms, not his.

 

"How's your nose?" As I asked, I couldn't help but marvel at the alto tone of my new voice. Technically, I'd heard myself already back in the ritual chamber, but those were more akin to the pained screaming of a person in the electric chair than they were to my actual voice. I sounded dark and smokey, dare I say, sexy. I hated the situation that brought these changes about, but I couldn't help but love the things I was hearing and feeling.

 

Sven chuckled, "It's felt better. You always could throw a punch."

 

"Better than you."

 

"You're right."

 

Nervous laughter trickled from the both of us. We both knew there was truth in my posturing, yet we were both aware of how much I had been changed to make our dynamic shift in his favor.

 

"So…" I propped myself up on my shoulder. "Do you want to explain to me what the fuck is going on? Or am I meant to find out on my own?" While waiting for his response I took stock of the new sensations my body was creating now that it was under my control.

 

Without ever taking my eyes off Sven I was able to get a feel for just how much I'd changed. I felt an incredible heft on my chest while shifting position. A tugging sensation right below my collar bone that, while not completely foreign to me, had never been as extreme as it was now. Even my hip to waist ratio felt over-exaggerated, though I'm certain it had more to do with the overall change in my measurements than the actual splay of my hips.

 

I draped my arm strategically over my bust and shifted my legs while Sven was, presumably, thinking up a lie. So long as I had control over myself, I did not plan on providing Sven any free looks at my intimate parts.

 

He finally spoke, "Would you believe that this is all a crazy dream?"

 

"You know better than most that this body is a dream come true for me, but even so, there is no way I'd believe this was all a dream." I answered in riposte. "Try again dude."

 

"Fine." Sven let out a dramatic sigh before continuing. "My family belongs to an ancient order of wizards. I was finally accepted to enter the order and this is all the first step in my initiation; The Training."

 

"And what, pray tell, is The Training?" I asked, unfazed. It seemed that my eavesdropping was already paying dividends.

 

"The Training is an initiate's first test. It's meant to prove that the initiate has cut his attachment to the mundane world and is therefore ready to devote himself to the study and practice of the arcane."

 

"And you do that by kidnapping trans people?" I probed.

 

Sven was so nervous, he could barely look at me. Whatever the point or purpose of this "Training" might be, it's obvious that he was uncomfortable with some aspect of it. At the very minimum, he was uncomfortable being confronted and forced to explain himself.

 

"Well, yes and no. You see, for The Training to take place the council selects one person from an initiate's life, usually a friend or former lover, and brings them here to become a companion to the wizard in training. You being trans had nothing to do with it."

 

That sounded like a half-truth if ever I'd heard one. I needed more info though, so I let him ramble on.

 

"We then use the ritual chamber to change the companion into a form of our choosing."

 

I couldn't stand how nonchalant he was being about all this."Right, because it would be horrible if your new sex slave wasn't aesthetically pleasing."

 

"No, no! It's not like that." He protested. "You aren't meant to be a sex slave or anything like that. You're meant to be a companion; like a partner."

 

"Because the kidnapping, cages, collars, and painful coercion all scream 'partners.'"

 

"OK, yes." He admitted. "You're supposed to be subservient to me, but more like a housewife than a slave."

 

"So, you kidnapped me to try and force me to become your 1950s housewife." I gave him a withering look that seemed to take the wind right out of his sails. It was obvious that I wasn't buying the shit he was trying to sell. "Do I also get a poodle skirt in this arrangement?"

 

Sven let out a titter at my sarcasm, but endeavored to press forward with his half-truths and whole lies.

 

"Here's the thing Yuyu. I didn't kidnap you."

 

A blatant lie.

 

"Yes. I knew that the council intended to select someone from my life to present to me, but I didn't know who it would be before I opened the doors and saw you kneeling in the spell circle."

 

Another lie. This was quickly devolving away from useful information, and into a game of Sven's fantastical justifications.

 

"I mean, I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't happy to see that they chose you. Honestly, I didn't think you were even applicable anymore. After all, it's been a few years since I last saw you. I didn't think that the council would consider you to be someone in my life. Ya know?"

 

"No I don't know, Sven." I raged. "I don't know what the fuck is going on, where the fuck I am, or how the fuck you could think that any of this is a good thing."

 

"The Order does amazing things and helps the mundane world in ways you can't even comprehend. Sure, some of their practices are a little backwards..."

 

I couldn't contain my fury any longer. I charged across the room, lashing out in any way I could. "A little backwards?! You call the shit I've been through today 'a little backwards?'"

 

As I reached the bastard and tried to wrap my hands around his neck a choking sensation overwhelmed me, as if I'd attacked myself. Looks like that broken nose of Sven's was a fluke, as it seemed their retaliatory magic was back in full effect. I coughed and gasped for air until I calmed down and allowed my anger to relent. My fury remained boiling just below the surface, mind you, but until I could overcome Sven's magic I had to remain calm.

 

Like before, The Order's sadistic magic left no physical trace of the pain I'd experienced. Only a memory of the consequences of my actions remained. I had no intention of giving in and becoming the placid servant girl Sven desired, so I did what I could, glaring at him to denote my extreme displeasure.

 

"Wow." Sven breathed, breaking the quiet tension between us. "I know it's probably not the best time, but you are crazy gorgeous."

 

It occurred to me that I, once again, stood naked in front of Sven. I'd let my anger get the better of me and charged him, forgetting my new body or its shocking level of nudity. I wasn't about to let him get any more enjoyment out of the situation than was absolutely necessary, so I quickly covered myself. One hand covering my nethers while I tried to contain my breasts with my other arm. I knew Sven appreciated larger breasts, but I never thought his desires would extend to my levels.

 

He chuckled. "You're going to have to get used to people seeing you naked sooner or later. Thralls aren't allowed clothing until they earn it."

 

"I'd say that I 'earned it' via the pain and injustice I'm being made to endure." I seethed.

 

"Unfortunately not."

 

"Then I'll just have to try my best to cover myself until I do."

 

"That won't work either."

 

"Why the fuck not Sven?" I growled

 

He shrugged and recited, "Thralls aren't allowed to cover themselves. They are to remain naked until the masters deem them worthy of hiding their new forms."

 

"Then fucking deem me worthy, you ass."

 

"I can't. When I said 'masters' I meant the ones overseeing The Training." He explained.

 

"Fan-fucking-tastic." I yelled, dropping my hands in defeat. It's not so much that I had a problem with nudity, or even being naked myself, but I was less than enthused that it wasn't on my terms. Though, I'd better get used to that sort of thing, because that'll be the rest of my life if I can't find a way out of this mess.

 

"It's not all bad right? I mean, take a look at yourself." He gestured to a mirror hanging on the wall that I'd failed to notice until now. "You now have the kind of body that you could only have dreamed of before, you're in perfect health, and you're in better shape than you've ever been. You aren't even trans anymore, nobody would ever be able to tell that you were once a boy."

 

He kept speaking, but I didn't hear a word after I turned and caught sight of myself in the mirror. When a person transitions, we oftentimes struggle to see changes as they happen. That's because we see ourselves everyday and, although the changes of gender transition do happen over time, the gradual nature of our physical change makes it difficult to process, as our self-image is constantly updating. What had happened to me, however, was anything but gradual. 

 

I looked in that mirror expecting to find a shorter, bustier version of myself, like a twin sister or something. What stared back at me was someone I could only describe as a dream. She was only a bit shorter than I had been, maybe five-foot-seven or eight. She was thin yet well muscled in a way I'd always hoped for, but could never achieve. I could see the power in her form sitting just below a thin layer of cushioning fat, with the kind of thighs that worked equally well for pillows as they did for crushing coconuts. Her face was perfect, like a work of art come to life; I could have spent a million dollars of surgery and never come close to this vision's effortless beauty. She was curvy, yet lithe in all the right places with hips that gently sloped from her tight waist to her thick thighs. Then there was her chest.

 

In my now former life, I'd had a good appreciation for busty women. I'm probably being a bit too kind to myself by phrasing it that way, it was much more like an obsession. I don't know why or where it came from. Even if you put a gun to my head and demanded I explain myself, I couldn't tell you. Some of it likely stemmed from my dysphoria or my jealousy that I couldn't have what other girls my age had, or maybe it was because I grew up in a family of busty women so larger breasts were just normal to me. I have no idea. What I did know was that I now put everyone else I'd ever met to shame. I'd touched them a few times while trying to cover myself and I'd definitely felt their weight trying to drag me down, but it was something else entirely to actually see them sitting on my chest. I was stunned.

 

Then it hit me, I looked nothing like Sven's type of girl. I had shimmering purple pink hair that shone like cosmic radiation flowing down my back. Sven hated that kind of thing. He liked more conventional girls, not the wild anime dream girl staring back at me. Wild hair aside, everything else was wrong too, just as I had suspected in the ritual chamber during my transformation. I looked more like my own walking wet dream than I did Sven's. What was going on?

 

Sven's voice broke me from my thoughts as he concluded his ramblings. "So all things considered, you should be thanking me."

 

"Thanking you?" I questioned, turning back to face him. "I should be thanking you? For what Sven? The kidnapping? Or maybe I should thank you for nearly killing me? How about stealing the rest of my life from me? Huh?" I knew that it wouldn't work, but I needed to express my anger somehow, even if it kicked me right in the ass. I shoved Sven. To my surprise, it worked and slammed his back against the ornate hardwood.

 

His face flushed. He grit his teeth in rage. Sven had never been what most would call even tempered, but so far he'd held it together through all my anger and sass. Now though, he was fuming. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear that steam was shooting out of his ears. He lunged at me and landed a slap that landed me in a heap on the flood.

 

"You should thank me," Sven raged, "because I gave you a gift that nobody else could. No in a thousand years could have or would have given you what I have, but all you want to do is be mad at me. It's just like our big fight all over again. Do you know what I sacrificed just to try and make you happy?"

 

I was reeling from his assault, though the lack of magical after effects meant I just had to manage the pain without the magically induced emotional backlash. I didn't know what to say. I wanted to say something, anything to stand my ground, but engaging him further didn't seem like it would help so I stayed silent.

 

"I gave up everything for you." He continued. "I had one shot at cho...forging a thrall, just one." The suspicious pause said that he knew he almost slipped up, "but when I saw you sitting there I knew I couldn't do it. I couldn't stuff you into another body that wasn't yours, so I gave up my chance to have a perfect partner so I could help you."

 

He was lying again. Trying to make it seem like he'd made a noble sacrifice, yet I wouldn't be in this situation without him. I knew that he chose me to be his thrall, that he wasn't some benevolent benefactor of mine. Trying to make the best of a bad situation. The whole story of his fell flatter than a stockbroker circa 1929.

 

I wanted to throw all his bullshit right back in his face. I yearned to scream, "Surprise motherfucker! I know you're lying." Yet I knew that no good would come of it. If he no longer needed to keep up the pretense of being my old friend, he could fully embrace the villain he had become. He could be harsher, meaner, crueler; the truth would free him from restraint and allow him to break me without any concern as to whether I liked him or not.

 

Losing one's free will is a bad first step on the path to freedom and an even worse one when insurmountable hurdles already lay in the path. As much as it would hurt my pride to do so, I needed to back down. I needed to be Sven's friend again.

 

"I'm sorry." I choked out the words, feeling my stomach twist at the very thought of apologizing to this sociopath.

 

"What was that?"

 

"I said that I'm sorry." I declared, though it was no less sickening to say a second time. "This is a lot to take in and I lost my head, okay? But give me a break. I haven't seen you in like two years and then BOOM, you're back, you're Harry freakin' Potter now, and I'm expected to be your servant girl. That's not even to mention the shock of finding out that magic is real or being transmogrified into a body I wouldn't have dared dream was possible." Raising myself back to my feet, I stood before him with hands down at my side, head slightly bowed, and eyes shifted away; the picture of the good little slave that I'm sure he wanted. "Please just give me some time to adjust."

 

Sven placed his hands on my shoulders, attempting to comfort me. I steeled my nerves to stop myself from recoiling from the revulsion that sparked through every one of my nerve endings. "Play along. Play the part. You can't win this game if you don't play. He has to believe it." My internal monologue berated me with its begrudgingly helpful advice.

 

"Look Yuyu, this is a lot for me to take in too."

 

Seriously? He's actually going to go there?

 

"Cutting myself off from the mundane world was a really daunting concept. In order to take my place in The Order I had to leave everything behind: friends, family, relationships, even Janet. I had to devote my entire existence to becoming a wizard and protecting the world." He sighed "I wasn't sure I could actually do it. I wasn't sure that I could survive this new world all alone, but then I saw you. I saw you kneeling in the ritual chamber and I knew that I wouldn't have to do this alone. I let myself hope, just for a second, that I could have my best friend by my side."

 

"We haven't talked in years."

 

"I know, I know. I let our fight get the better of me. I shouldn't have let that come between us. I mean, I know that you're sorry for the things you said and you lost out on being the best man at my wedding, so I really should have been more mature and let sleeping dogs lay. Ya know?"

 

What an unbelievable, self-aggrandizing, narcissistic douchebag. He broke into my house, he threatened my wife, and he cut me out of his life all because I said a mean (or so he says. I think I was being rather reasonable) thing about his wife-to-be. Now he thinks that he can "forgive" me and wind the clock back to the good times. I knew he was crazy, but I fear I may have been off by a few points on the scale between eccentric wizard and wear-your-face-as-a-mask psycho.

 

I grit my teeth a moment, biting back the cavalcade of obscenities vying for space on my razor-sharp tongue. Once back in a state of semi-calm I spoke, "Let's go crazy for a moment and say that I accept your 'forgiveness.' What then? Where do we go from here since I'm certain letting me go isn't in the cards?" I backed away to study him as I continued, "I mean, you chose to leave everything behind. That was your choice, but you're asking me to just accept having my life taken from me. I have a family, I have a freaking wife dude. How do you expect me to be fine with leaving all that behind to play Sorcerer's Apprentice with you?"

 

"I left my wife. I left my family. I left everyone and everything for this."

 

"You said that your family is part of this fucked up organization."

 

"Only some of them," He admitted. "Magic doesn't always manifest, even in an old bloodline like mine. When a son comes along with no magical ability he is essentially discarded."

 

"I assume you're talking about your dad?" I asked

 

"Yeah. He was the great disappointment of the family. Before I was born my grandfather feared that our magic had somehow run dry." Sven answered, melancholy. "When I showed magical ability, my path was decided. The family elders dedicated my life to restoring the family legacy. My grandpa taught me in secret for most of my life. He's the one who chose this life, not me."

 

I could feel hurt radiating from every word. Clearly his family dynamics were a source of pain for him. In the back of my mind I couldn't help but wonder if he was a victim in this farce, same as me.

 

"I understand Sven. I know things have been tough for you, but you still made the choice to be here. I didn't." I stated. Even though I could commiserate with his plight, I couldn't let got of the fact that Sven had specifically chosen me. He wasn't innocent, even if he was a victim.

 

"You don't understand." Sven shouted, clearly exasperated by my resistance. "I've been heading toward this moment since childhood. When my grandfather said it was my time, it was my time; no ifs, ands, or buts. The only thing I had a say in was who…" He paused, rethinking what he'd been about to say. Did he almost slip up and reveal a kernel of truth? He screwed up his face, a slight blush (from either anger or embarrassment, who's to say?) racing from his chest to his cheeks as he regained his composure. "I...the only thing I could do was comply with his wishes and hope that his pick for my thrall wasn't too bad. If I turned the 'invitation' down," he actually did the air quotes, "they would have erased all memories of magic from my mind, stripped me of my abilities, and left me to rot in the mundane world."

 

"You could have stayed. The world isn't all bad. You had your dad and Janet." I offered.

 

"You just don't get it, Yumi." He sighed. "I was raised to be a mage. After the things that I've seen, the things that I've done, becoming a mundane is the most terrifying thing I can think of." He started gesturing wildly, frustratedly illustrating his speech with his hands. "It's like a king having to spend the remainder of his days living as a beggar after a revolution. It would be like Amazon imploding and leaving Jeff Bezos to live out of a car for the rest of his life. Being a wizard means that I have power, real power. I can shape the world in ways few others could dare to dream of."

 

I couldn't simply deny all of his points. I'd dreamed of the kind of powers he spoke of; power enough to help my loved ones, or even to help myself. I knew what it was to languish against the merciless tides of mundane life only to find yourself overcome by the waves of indifferent strife. Even now, as I stood before the man I'd once called friend, I couldn't stop reveling in the elation that every movement gave me. Never in my life had I felt the sense of congruence that I now felt with my body. I could scarcely fathom what it would be like to give up my new body; even still, I couldn't imagine going so far as to enslave someone to get it in the first place.

 

I sighed. "I understand, but…"

 

I didn't get a chance to finish as Sven grabbed my shoulders and directed me to look back into his mirror. "I mean, look at yourself Yumi. Really look. Nothing in your old life could have given this too you." He gestured up and down my naked form like a showgirl modeling a new car.

 

"I know, but Arissa…"

 

"Couldn't do for you even a fraction of what I can. I know she likes to call herself a 'witch,'" he threw up air quotes to demonstrate how little he thought of my wife's claims, "but I'm a real wizard. I actually have magic. She could have spent a hundred years doing her 'magic' and you still would have to go through the shots, the doctors, the surgeries just to get to passable."

 

Ouch.

 

"I can give everything and anything. I can show you the wonders of the universe and all the things that lay beyond it. Who else can make you that kind of an offer?"

 

Sven was nothing if not a master manipulator. His silver tongue sang so sweet that it even made a lifetime of servitude sound appealing. Appealing, but not convincing. "All the wonders of the universe and all it costs is my freedom, right?" I retort.

 

"Gods!" Sven shouted as he stormed away. "You can be so stubborn sometimes!"

 

"It seems like stubbornness is the only thing I have left. You've taken my life, you intend to take my free will, why shouldn't I resist you with everything I have?"

 

"Because there's no point!" His words hung in the air like a thick cloud of black smoke. He'd finally cracked and let his friendly pretenses fall to the wayside. "You...we have no choice in the matter." Sven revealed. "We're in this together whether we like it or not. If we fail, meaning I fail to forge you into my thrall, then we're both done for."

 

His grandfather said something similar before I "awoke," but I couldn't shake the feeling that Sven's admission still beguiled the truth of the matter.

 

"We're bonded now." He continued. "For better or worse our fates are intertwined. If you fail, then I fail, and we fail." His frustration seemed to wane to a more somber tone. "So, help me Yumi. If we work together like we used to I know we can make it through. I know I'm not the person you wanted to spend your life with, but I promise to do everything in my power to make you the happiest girl in the world."

 

Sven. At one time, he made up my entire world. The two of us were inseparable. I believed with all my heart that I would see him at my side on my dying day. Times change though, and now he stood as an obstacle, a chain holding me down and keeping me from the life I wanted to live. I turned to look at myself once more, assessing the "gift" Sven had "given" me. Euphoria surged in my chest as I beheld my voluptuous curves and beautiful face. From my voluminous cosmic hair and my powerful thighs, right down to my petite feet sure to score me a solid 10/10 on Wikifeet, I was truly perfect. But is a gift given out of selfish desire still a gift? In the end it doesn't really matter if it is thrust upon you.

 

Sven was right. We were in this together and, whether I liked it or not, the only way through this situation lay in the path forward. Even now I felt the thrum of magic that linked his will to mine. Like the incessant sound of traffic outside your window, his will, his desires whispered to my mind. I could ignore his influence if I concentrated enough, but the second I lost focus the whispers were back and clawing at my brain. I could fight as much as I wanted, but my only hopes of salvation lay through the peaks and valleys of The Training.

 

"You're right Sven." I sighed. "My fate is bound to yours now, so it's in both of our best interests to work together." A radiant smile lit up his face. "But! Just because I'm cooperating, doesn't mean that I'm happy about it or that I've forgiven you."

 

Sven swept me into a tight bear hug and lifted me off the ground as though I weighed nothing at all. "Thank you Yumi! Thank you so much!" He squealed in elation. "I know this situation isn't ideal, but you'll see. Being my thrall won't be so bad."

 

He swung me around the room, moving me as effortlessly as a doll or a mannequin. The proximity served to accentuate the size difference between us. His superior strength and size only widening the gap in our power dynamic.

 

After a minute of school-girl-like glee Sven finally put me down. His happiness told me that he hadn't actually listened to anything I'd said after the words "You're right" left my lips. His joy stemmed from the assumption that my cooperation meant the same as my acceptance or my submission; he was dead wrong, though the revelation of that fact could wait until a more opportune moment.

 

Sven must have caught sight of a clock in his room, as he stared over my shoulder for a moment before exclaiming, "Shit! I lost track of time and we're going to be late to our first class." He hurried me toward the door, snapping my leash into place as we went.

 

He started opening the door when I stopped him with a shout. "Wait!" I exclaimed. "I don't have any clothes on. You can't seriously expect me to just waltz out there with my tits hanging out for everyone to see."

 

Sven removed his hand from the doorknob to pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration. He never was one to handle resistance well. "I told you before Yumi." He said with an exasperated sigh. "Thralls aren't allowed clothing until they earn it."

 

"I thought you were just trying to get a cheap look in." I responded. "You were serious?!"

 

"Yes. I was serious. The Order has rules that must be strictly adhered to, especially during The Training." With that matter 'settled' Sven opened the door and gave my leash a firm tug. "Now come on. I don't want to get in any more trouble than I already am."

 

Sven's door shut and locked itself behind us. My only refuge in this nut house literally closed itself off from me. Like it or not, my training started now. Arissa, please give me strength.