Chapter 9 - Training of the Mind (Emily)

 

[ - Content Warnings: hypnotism, bdsm, hot succubus - ]

 

We followed Katherine through the wide halls of the inner Tavern. 

 

Amelia and I figured out a way to mentally hold hands, so we did that and internally giggled like flirting schoolgirls. 

 

“Here we are,” Katherine said with a smile. She gestured towards a pair of pitch black doors with glowing purple sigils and runes inscribed all over them. “These are Lillian’s private chambers. She said something about wanting to start your training as soon as possible.”

 

“Got it, thanks for bringing us here, Katherine!” we said brightly.

 

“No problem cuties, I hope you have a good afternoon,” she replied. “Just knock, and she should let you in promptly.”

 

With that Katherine turned on her heel and swept past us, back the way we’d come.

 

I stepped up to the door and knocked firmly on it three times, then stepped back a bit. 

 

Our big poofy tail swished back and forth behind us as we waited. There were few sounds drifting through the corridor, so the sudden unlatching of the door was loud enough to startle us. Our tail was even bushier than usual when Lillian opened the door and greeted us with a friendly smile.

 

“Emily, Amelia! Very good to see you both,” she said. “I’m terribly sorry that Angie didn’t get my message about the tighter training schedule with you two. You’ll be able to shop for clothes to your heart’s content soon enough.”

 

“Good to see you too,” Amelia answered for us. I was busy processing everything she just said.

 

We can shop for clothes? I asked internally. Do you think she means order them from the tailor?

 

Probably? Amelia hazarded, but I have no real idea.

 

“Come in, come in!” Lillian said, and we followed her inside.

 

Her chambers turned out to be a suite of rooms. We entered into a sitting room of some sort, with plush arm chairs, a large couch, and a loveseat all arranged around a central coffee table. Through the door to our left I could see a large bedroom, and out the door to the right was a kitchen. 

 

“Please, allow me to welcome you to my quarters. Can I get you anything to eat or drink?” the succubus asked. Her heart-spade tipped tail swished about a bit anxiously behind her, belying her apparent calmness. 

 

“Sure, we haven’t had lunch yet,” we replied. 

 

“Perfect!” She clapped her hands. “I haven’t either. How about we go make some sandwiches?”

 

She motioned for us to follow her into the kitchen, where we began preparations for sandwich making. We grabbed plates from a cupboard at her direction, and got bread slices from a loaf sitting on her oven. Meanwhile she took some meat out of the arcane ice box in the corner and set about slicing it up for the sandwiches. I nabbed some tomatoes and lettuce from her less-cold ice box, collected the meat from Lillian, and together we made two delicious sandwiches. 

 

We took the food back out into the sitting room, and seated ourselves on the end of the large couch at the back of the room. Lillian took over one of the arm chairs to our left, and together we ate in a companionable silence. 

 

The sandwiches were delicious, and plenty big enough to fill us up. As we ate we kept picking up signs of anxiety and restlessness from our host. Lillian’s tail kept twitching about, and she was always moving some part of her body, whether tapping her foot or drumming her fingers on her thigh quietly or any number of other little motions. We weren’t sure if we should comment or not. But in the end we decided to hell with it. 

 

“Are you okay?” we asked her, as soon as we were both finished eating.

 

She let out a little sigh. “Am I that obvious?” she asked. “No, don’t answer that. I was going to bring this up eventually anyway, that’s why I’m so nervous.”

 

“What is it?” we asked.

 

“I’m afraid. I’m afraid to have you as my apprentice. I can keep up the domme act easily enough, but it’s not the whole me. And if we’re going to trust each other, we need to be real with each other.”

 

Amelia and I looked at each other internally, trading thoughts and emotions back and forth at the speed of thought. It made sense.

 

“Of course,” we said, “you’re a person, you have to have needs or this whole relationship doesn’t work. We want to be able to help you with your fears.”

 

Lillian smiled, looking relieved. “I’m glad we’re on the same page. So yeah, I’m scared of fucking up. I’ve lost several apprentices in my time.”

 

We frowned. “How many people have you trained?”

 

She smiled wanly. “Hundreds. I am several centuries old.”

 

We whistled. “Hot damn.”

 

“Indeed,” she said, “You never get used to the heartbreak, but time and friends can heal all wounds at least a little bit.”

 

I couldn’t wrap my head around her being hundreds of years old. Amelia wasn’t faring any better, but nevertheless she slipped into the front.

 

“Do you have friends that are also immortal?” she asked inquisitively.

 

Lillian looked slightly taken aback. “A few,” she said, “why do you ask?”

 

Amelia straightened her shoulders, and met our Mistress’ eyes. “Because it sounds lonely, having to lose so many friends throughout your life,” Amelia said.

 

The demoness shrugged. She waved a hand at the idea. “I mean, that’s how your lives work too, you’re just faster about the whole process.”

 

I slipped past Amelia as she retreated from the front, and took over. 

 

“We don’t have to deal with this bullshit anywhere near as long as you do,” I said, “Thank you, for being willing to train us despite your fear and pain. If we can do anything to help you feel more in control of the situation, please let us know.”

 

Lillian smiled. “You’re very kind,” she said. “But how about yourselves? Are you afraid to be under the whims of someone else?”

 

I cocked my head questioningly. “No, no we’re quite excited by the idea of being under your control. We’ll try to make that more clear going forward, sorry.”

 

“Oh no darlings, you haven’t done anything wrong at all,” Lillian said. 

 

We felt a wave of relief wash over us, and both of us found it mildly embarrassing that we already cared about this woman’s praise so much.

 

“Okay,” we mumbled bashfully, “good.”

 

The succubus straightened up a little in her chair, her large wings fluttering a little as she resettled them. “I’m going to make it my job to learn the language of your body, so that you are always able to communicate your needs to me and vice versa,” she said.

 

We gave her a smile. “Thank you,” we replied. 

 

“You’re welcome,” she said with a smile. 

 

“We actually feel very, very good about the idea of falling into your control. It just feels... simpler? It’s nice, whatever it is,” we said.

 

“I’m really glad to hear that,” Lillian said with a grin.

 

“Now,” she continued, “on to your training for today, if you’re ready to talk business?”

 

We nodded to her. “Yeah sure, let’s get into it.”

 

“Excellent. I have a very simple hypnotic session planned for you, just something to help you learn how to fall into trance for me at the snap of a finger,” she said. “I will be teaching you, while you’re under trance, how to feel when I say the words, ‘Drop for me, pets’. Does that sound okay?”

 

We blinked, taking all that in. “Um,” we said slowly, “yeah.” We started nodding. “Yeah that sounds pretty good actually.”

 

“Good,” she said. Then she suddenly leaned forward in her chair, her wings flaring out and her eyes hardening. Her tail snapped behind her. Her voice, when she spoke, was low, serious, and commanding. “Then it’s time for you to drop for me, pets,” she demanded.

 

The words hit us and we felt ourselves sinking down into a light trance without any training at all. “Yes, Mistress,” we said obediently.

 

“The first stage of this session will be an induction,” Mistress instructed, “I’ll get you down nice and deep into trance, and then we’ll move on to phase two: the body of the session. That’s where I’ll teach you just how much of a good girl you both are for falling down into trance for me when I say the words, ‘Drop for me, pets.’”

 

It hit us about the same as before, just a light tingle of relaxation washing across our body.

 

“Yes Mistress,” we replied.

 

“Good girls. Now, settle in for me,” Mistress began, “why don’t you lie down?”

 

We smiled at her, and slid sideways on the couch we were sitting upon, then pushed ourselves down it until our head was resting comfortably on the armrest nearest Mistress.

 

“Good... Now gently allow your eyelids to close,” Mistress said.

 

They did so slowly, but heavily.

 

“And just begin to allow yourself to relax.”

 

She traces her finger along the bare skin of our arm, sending shivers throughout our system. Much of the tension we’d been carrying left our muscles in a wave, like we’d just gotten home and sat down to rest after work.

 

“Let all your cares and worries go,” Mistress continued.

 

That wasn’t so hard to do. What was there to worry about? We were under the watchful eye of our Mistress. This was the safest place we could possibly imagine.

 

“And allow yourself to become separated from your senses. Drift,” she said.

 

We drifted. Further and further from our body, we finally allowed ourselves to separate from the sense of taste, and of touch; of smell, and of sight.

 

“Let the only input to your precious mind be the sound of my voice,” our Mistress said. And we tried our best to make it so.

 

“Now please, recall the trigger that I taught you yesterday. Do you remember? It was ‘Sleep for me, pets’.”

 

As soon as she said the ‘magic’ words, my thoughts blanked out. It’s like someone pushed down on my chest from above and sent me hurtling downwards into trance. 

 

“Goooooood girls,” Mistress whispers, her voice much closer than before. She must be kneeling beside the couch and us now. The thought is idle and quickly swept away by the plummet into deeper trance.

 

“Thanks, Mistress,” we mumble quietly, as we fall freely downwards into our own mind.

 

Suddenly we do remember being down here before, hearing Mistress whispering instructions into our ear, telling us what to do when she says ‘sleep for me, pets’. It had happened yesterday when she put us into trance, obviously, but we hadn’t remembered that conversation at all until now. 

 

“You made us forget?” we asked, confused.

 

“As a test, yes. It’s an easy way to tell if someone’s paying attention. Plus I happen to know that you think it’s incredibly fucking hot.”

 

“Oof,” we said in a strangled voice, “Guilty as charged.”

 

The succubus smiled, because of course she already knew that. She was super powerful and had that amazing sex sense thing going on, so she knew exactly what we liked even if we were too ashamed or too scared to admit it. The truth was that we’d long fantasized about being so completely and intricately under someone’s control that they could rewrite our reality on a whim, exactly like this.

 

“I know. Now sleep for me, pets.” She hissed out the final word, and it did incredible things to the hurricane of butterflies swarming around in our stomach. It also made our eyelids shut heavily, our body settle back into the couch, and our next breath to be drawn in much longer than the previous one. Again it felt like an invisible giant hand had pushed our astral body down deep, deep into our own mind.

 

“Yes Mistress,” we whispered practically on autopilot.

 

“Good. Again!” she demanded, “Sleep for me, pets.”

 

She didn’t put any emphasis on ‘pets’ this time, but apparently that didn’t matter much at all, because we dropped like a stone down through the layers of subconsciousness that comprised trance.

 

“Yes Mistress,” our mouth said.

 

We were feeling incredibly deep, definitely deeper into trance than we’d ever gone before.

 

“Now,” Mistress said, her voice the only thing in my conscious awareness, “I’m going to teach you a new word today, okay pets?”

 

Our head nodded.

 

 “Good girls.” A quick stroke of a finger down our arm. “Now, the phrase we’re going to encode into you is ‘Drop for me, pets’. Can you remember that for me? Repeat it now.”

 

“Drop for me, pets,” we responded.

 

“Good girls,” she said satisfiedly. “Now, when I say ‘Drop for me, pets’, what I want you to do is imagine yourself prostrating before me. Imagine giving your whole self: your mind, body, and soul, to me for safe keeping. Instead of falling into trance, I want you to think of falling into the deepest possible submission for me in your mind, your body, and your heart. Do you understand?”

 

We smiled vaguely. “Yes mistress, we understand. Sleep for me is for trance, drop for me is for submission. Easy enough. We love both.”

 

“Very good girls,” Mistress said. “Now drop for me, pets.” 

 

We dropped. We squirmed a little on the couch, the need to be fucked growing within us, because the only thing on our mind was kneeling before a resplendent Lillian and giving our everything to her. We were definitely going to need to change our underwear later, because we were sopping wet down there. 

 

“Good girls,” she whispered into our ears.

 

We clenched the muscles in our groin and legs. “Yes Mistress,” we whispered back.

 

Now we could remember her encouraging us to say that when we were feeling the effects of trance, yesterday. She’d made us forget that too, and we hadn’t even questioned why we were saying it before now. It just felt natural. And now that we were down here, in the depths of trance with full access to our memories, we realized we’d agreed to this memory wipe beforehand, in fact we leapt at the thought when she suggested it.

 

Our eyes opened, and we weakly clutched at Lillian’s purple-skinned hand. “Thank you mistress,” we said with sudden desperation, “thank you so, so much. This is everything we could have ever asked for.”

 

She smiled down at us. “Anytime, pets.”

 

We sighed, and settled back onto the couch, confident that our message had been received. 

 

“Now,” Mistress began, “There is one more vitally important standing order that I need you to remember for me, little ones.”

 

“Of course, Mistress,” we said.

 

“Rule number one cuties: your own needs are more important than any command I give you. If you need to use the bathroom, or aren’t feeling a scene for whatever reason, or anything else, just let me know and I’ll bring you up right away, okay? You’re also allowed to bring yourself up at any time if I’m somehow not available. Got that?” she asked.

 

“Yes Mistress,” we repeated. “Our needs are more important to you and to us than your commands, and we’ll always do our best to satisfy them and to alert you of them as soon as we are aware of them.”

 

She smiled sweetly at us. “Perfect, darlings,” she said.

 

We smiled softly back at her.

 

“Now,” our Mistress said, “it’s time for us to begin waking you up, little ones. Would you like to remember everything this time?” 

 

We smiled gratefully. “Yes Mistress. Except, um, maybe you can make us forget the new trigger until you use it again, like last time?”

 

She grinned down at us. “That sounds perfect, pets.”

 

She brought us up slowly after that, after taking care of the last few bits of our standing orders for what to do once we come up from trance. Then she started counting from one to ten, asking us to increase our awareness of the world around us with each number. By ten we were fully awake and alert again, and Amelia and I fell away from each other as we started to have thoughts independent of our Mistress’ orders.

 

Holy shit, I breathed.

 

Goddess almighty, Amelia mumbled.

 

“So, how was that?” Lillian asked with a wicked smile.

 

We were breathing heavily again already. “That was fucking incredible,” we told her truthfully.

 

"I'm so glad you thought so," Lillian said.

She leaned down and gave us a soft kiss on the cheek. "You're both extremely attractive, and I absolutely love having you under my control."

 

We grinned so wide it hurt. "Thank you so much, Mistress. We dearly love being under your control, and you're hotter than all the hells combined."

 

She smiled down at us. We gazed lovingly up at her. And for a brief moment, we felt at peace.