“Friends, enemies, and those still deciding,” a voice amplified through the speaker system. “If I could please have your attention please. I hope everyone has had time to make merry this evening. To talk trance with one another and show off your beloved, programmed toys. But now it’s the time you’ve all been waiting for. Our Auction!”
The hall reverberated with the enthusiasm of its guests. Lily squirmed in her seat backstage, biting her lower lip unconsciously.
“For those of you joining us for the first time this year, welcome welcome,” the announcer continued, “and for our returning guests, glad you couldn’t stay away. Allow me to go over the how our little auction will work for those here for the first time and those who believe it’s their first time here.
“Tonight we have a lovely assortment of volunteers up for auction. All of them have been given fun little personas to live according to for the weekend. You know, the bimbo, the himbo, the wallflower, and so on. Various flavors of obedient playthings I know everyone in this room is dying to get their hands on. The only thing missing in their programming is the face of the one they’ll be spellbound to for the weekend.
“That’s where you, my lovely bidders, will play a part. You’ll all be part of a friendly competition to bid for the obedience of our volunteers. The winner will be brought backstage and handed the mental reigns of their prize. We politely request our more, let’s say loaded guests, control themselves and only bid on one volunteer. But who are we to complain? All money raised here tonight will be going towards a good cause. So if you simply must bid twice, go all in to make up for it.”
The hall was filled with laughter. Lily swore she heard someone yell ‘don’t hoard again Melodie’ which continued the laughter. Lily felt a part of her brain tickle in recognition to the name Melodie, but it faded.
You are not Lily this weekend. You don't know Melodie.
“One final thing. All of our volunteers have provided the organizers with their hard limits. We will also give these to the lucky auction winner. We insist the winner abide by the listed rules. Failure to respect our volunteers will earn you a permanent ban from our little group. No exceptions.
“But let’s not dwell on rule breakers. As we so often tell our subs, don’t think too hard about it. Let’s instead move on to our first volunteer for auction.”
Lily heard someone rise from a chair to her left. She didn’t know who it was. Part of the gimmick of this auction was ‘the first person they see’ is their owner for the weekend, so all the volunteers were presently blindfolded. Meaning Lily could only squirm in anticipation for her turn to be brought to the auction floor.
“Our first volunteer,” the announcer continued, “is the muscular Jerome. A whopping beast of a man standing at six-foot five with the muscles to princess carry anyone. Hell, he could probably carry our entire staff at once if he wanted. Jerome has been programmed to believe he is your dutiful bodyguard. All the loyalty and yearning of someone who has lusted for their owner for years, but used what little self control they have to look without touching. We leave it to our lucky winner to decide what to do with such a desperate man. Tease him, taunt him, indulge him, it’s up to you. Let’s start the bidding at two thousand.”
Lily heard the bids climb and climb for Jerome. Maybe it was because he was the first of the night, maybe it was this amazing build the announcer was talking up, or maybe it was a particularly interesting role-play scenario for the crowd. In any case, Jerome’s mind went for the price of over fifteen thousand dollars.
“A simply beautiful start to the night. The staff will take the two of you backstage for imprinting. I do hope you have fun with him~ Let’s keep the bids going. Please bring out our next volunteer if you would.”
Four more volunteers were auctioned off. The bidding enthusiasm didn’t wane for any of the options. Lily sighed as she heard some of the fantasies being sold tonight. An advanced sexbot, a doting spouse, a (nearly) mindless puppy, and a roommate with a raunchy set of triggers left in from a stage hypnosis show.
A hand gently tapped Lily on the shoulder before gently guiding her out of her backstage seat.
“I’d like to take a moment to thank everyone here tonight. We’re only a third of the way through our volunteers and we’ve already met our donation goal. Everyone, give a big hand to our wealthiest members.”
Cheers and applause resonated the hall.
“Moving on to our next volunteer, we have Wendy,” the announcer said.
I am Wendy. I have never used another name. I am Wendy.
Wendy felt the hand guide her onto the stage. As she walked she felt a faint light headedness; an intimately familiar post-hypnotic sensation that was her only indication something in her mind had just shifted.
“Wendy is a petite little thing at four-foot eleven,” the announcer continued. “Wendy’s got another persona to play around with. She’ll be a group member for your college project, and you’re free to tell her whatever you want the project to be. A study about toads? Done. A presentation on 18th century trade? She’ll believe it. A hands on practical for sex? Sure, sounds reasonable. Get creative and have fun with it.”
I have a group project I need to do.
“Our dear Wendy’s new persona is the unflinching skeptic who fundamentally does not believe in hypnosis or mind control. No matter the evidence you give her this weekend she will brattily deny it.”
Oh my gods. Hypnosis? Really? They think that’s real? I’m wasting time here. But I’ll stay until I find my project partner.
“Unbeknownst to her, she has absolutely no hypnotic resistance. A single swing of a pocket watch? Under. A momentary glance at a spiral? Dropped deep. No matter how you drop her, or how many times you drop her, or whatever suggestions you give her, she won’t believe you. Let’s start the bidding at two thousand again.”
“Ten thousand,” a voice immediately clamored.
Wendy let out a soft chirp.
“Someone likes what we’re selling,” the announcer said. “I hear ten thousand.”
The parts of her mind that still responded to Lily’s kinks were being pushed by the rising bids for her free will. She wanted to moan, to touch, to see the lascivious looks on the face of the bidders. Wendy denied any of this was happening.
There’s no such thing as hypnosis. Whoever they think has been ‘reprogrammed’ is just going to play along. It's fantasy. A charade put on by people who like to feel powerless.
Wendy sighed in disappointment as her thighs rubbed together.
“Twenty-two. Twenty-two. Going once, going twice, sold,” the announcer finalized her sale. “If you’d kindly meet the staff backstage, you’re ‘group member’ will be waiting for you.”
Finally. I hope my group member finds all this as much BS as I do.
Wendy felt a hand guide her off the stage. The dots connecting her being on stage to the auction she just heard being forcibly shut down by the programming that had overtaken her mind.
When the blindfold came off she was momentarily blinded by the flood of light backstage. She rubbed her eyes before she could focus on the only other person in the room with her. A slightly taller man wearing a nicely fitted suit.
Wendy thought for a moment before a soft feeling flowed into her head. Her thoughts became impossible to hold onto. She couldn’t focus on anything as her train of thought sputtered at the station.
“Wendy,” he said, “It’s me. Matthew.”
Partner… Matthew… Project…
“Matthew! There you are!” Wendy finally said. “What the hell are you doing at this… hypnosis scam?”
“Should I be doing something else?” Matthew asked.
“Hmm, oh, I don’t know. Maybe the group project? The one due in two weeks? Maybe that?”
“The one about the history of cosplay in America?”
Cosplay… project… our project is about cosplay…
“No, the one about former president Lincoln. Yes! The one about cosplay!”
“It’s almost the weekend, can’t it wait until tomorrow?”
“That’s what you’ve been saying all semester. I’m not going to let you tank my grade over this so you can go to a show about some… hog wash hypno crap.”
“Oh, I was right to pick you,” Matthew seemed to mutter to himself.
“I’ll enjoy playing with you,” he continued, ignoring her as he held up a pocket watch.
Seriously? A pocket watch?
“What do you… you… …” Wendy felt the words die in her throat.
Everything felt so far away. She was faintly aware things were being said. She was agreeing, and walking, and… smiling on command? She might’ve gone back to the auction hall with her partner for a bit, or maybe for the rest of the auction? She wasn’t able to focus well enough to know. It all felt too far away. Like a dream she was continuously waking up from. Nothing stuck. Nothing mattered. She just agreed. Obeyed. Followed.
Wendy felt her senses start to return some unmeasurable time later. The objects around her started to feel more defined and real again. She was sitting in the passenger seat of a car. She was disoriented as she wiped some drool away with her sleeve. She was already forgetting the dreamlike state she’d been in until just a moment prior.
She felt very aware of that fact for a moment, and then it faded back into her mind. She looked around and realized she didn’t recognize the car she was in. A moment of shock took over as she fervently looked at the driver. She felt only faint relief to recognize the driver as her group partner.
When did I get here? Where are we going? What time is it?
Rather than leave those questions unanswered, she began, “Hey.”
“Welcome back,” Matthew responded.
“Back? Did I go somewhere?” Wendy asked.
“Well, you seemed to have taken a bit of a mental vacation there for a while.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean? Did you drug me?”
“No, I just took out my old pocket watch and you got all distracted by it. I swung it a couple times and you just couldn’t take your eyes off it.”
Wendy began to think back. She’d found Matthew backstage. Gave him a quick talking to. She remembered the watch but everything between that and now was missing.
“It was a nice watch,” Wendy stalled.
“You got a beautiful glassy eyed expression when I swung it. I started talking about the project and you just nodded along with everything I said. Remember?”
No? I don’t remember anything like that happening.
“I just got tired of listening to you making up excuses about not doing the project,” Wendy tried to convince herself. “I must’ve zoned out and just given you the ‘damn, wow, that’s crazy’ loop until you were done.”
“Well, in that case should I repeat the plan you agreed to?”
What the hell did I agree to?
“Sure, but I’ll pay attention this time. I might veto anything stupid.”
“First, you’ll be staying the weekend at my place,” Matthew began explaining.
Matthew continued with, “Isn’t that right?”
Something lurched in Wendy’s brain and she felt her mouth say, “Yeah, that’s right.”
After a short pause she repeated “Yeah, that’s right.”
She then affirmed more loudly, “Yeah, that’s right!”
The word leaving her mouth disagreed with her. She barely knew Matthew and she was agreeing to stay with him for a weekend. That made no sense. It’s not something she’d do, and yet here she was unable to do anything but agree.
“You just said ‘yes’ three times, you okay?” Matthew asked.
“I’m fine,” Wendy lied, finding control over her mouth. “So, explain to me the brilliant plan for this weekend? Why am I staying the whole time?”
“To keep me on topic,” Matthew continued. “You agreed having you there to keep me focused on the project would be good. If I get stuck on anything you could help get me going again.”
That makes some sense. I still don’t think it’s something I’d agree to. It’s not my job to babysit a grown ass man with his homework.
“It’s coming back to me,” she continued to lie. “Anything else?”
“Nope, and how convenient. We’re here.”
Wendy noticed they’d parked outside a very nice hotel. A valet greeted Matthew and took the car keys. Matthew led Wendy into the lobby and then over to the elevators.
“You live in a hotel?” Wendy asked almost immediately.
“Not quite, just visiting for the weekend.”
She was about to ask a follow up question but was cut off when Matthew suddenly held his phone up to her face. She was aware a black and white spiral was slowly spinning on the screen before everything around her seemed to melt away. That sensation of being in a dream clouded her mind again.
Then she was standing in the center of a living room in a penthouse suite. Outside the window was a sparkling nightlife city skyline. She looked around trying to locate her partner.
I’m not worried about how I got here. I don’t need to think about it.
“We’re not gonna get started tonight,” Matthew said.
“No, it’s after midnight after all,” Wendy agreed.
He tossed something at her with a command, “Here. Put these on.”
Wendy caught them and furrowed her brow. A little silk camisole and a very short pair of shorts to match. Wendy couldn’t deny they were cute but it was not the kind of thing she preferred to sleep in. Definitely more revealing than anything she’d wear in the company of someone as unfamiliar as Matthew.
“Are there any other pajamas?” Wendy asked.
“Just mine, and I plan to wear them to bed,” Matthew returned.
With a roll of her eyes Wendy moved closer to the sofa in the living room so she could drape the PJs somewhere for a moment. Then she began to undress. She pulled her top off over her head and then shimmied out of her jeans. Only once stripped down to her underwear did she notice Matthew staring at her.
Why am I doing this here? This is normal. Changing in front of him is normal. Really? I guess it must be normal. It’s normal to change in front of him.
She picked up the skimp of fabric passing for PJ pants when he chimed in, “You gotta take your underwear off too.”
“Excuse you?” She responded.
Her hands had already put the PJ pants down.
“I am not stripping down to… my…” Wendy began to argue before noticing her own behavior.
She’d pulled her panties down and kicked them aside. As her mind raced to catch up to her own actions, her independent hands had begun to take her bra off. Confusion turned into heat as she became flustered.
“I - I- I- I- “ she stammered.
What am I doing? How did he make me do that? Hypnosis isn’t real. He must’ve done something to me. I’m not hypnotized. How couldhe get me to do that? Hypnosis isn’t real. There’s no way he MADE me do that. I’m not hypnotized. This is normal. He’s right. I need to be naked. That’s normal. This is all normal.
“I just forgot for a second!” She finally blurted out. “It’s been a long day. I’m tired. I forgot to take my panties off before changing. It happens!”
“Alright, alright,” Matthew conceded, hands raised in mock surrender. “It has been a long day.”
“Thank you,” she said, trying again to put the PJ bottoms on.
She looked half expectantly at Matthew as if expecting him to reveal some other rule about getting dressed she’d forgotten. His eyes were unapologetically tracing the curves of her body, drinking in every inch of exposed skin. Wendy’s near nakedness flustered her in ways she couldn’t consciously understand.
Normal. Normal to change in front of him. So why am I so flustered? This is normal. But I’m so exposed! Normal to change in front of him. Just him? Normal to change in front of him. I just haven’t changed in front of him before. I must be flustered since it's my first time doing this. It’s normal. There’s no reason to be flustered. This is normal. Just calm down. This is all normal.
Wendy let out a long release of air. She let her eyes close for a moment. Something about closing her eyes relaxed her and it helped her organize the thoughts racing around her head. She then opened her eyes and grabbed the camisole and pulled it on.
“So, who’s taking the bed?” Wendy asked.
“Where else would we sleep?”
Wendy looked at the sofa she was standing right next to.
People don’t sleep on the sofa. That’s not normal. You can’t suggest the sofa.
“Um,” Wendy stammered as her mind changed, “I… don’t know.”
“You must be really tired,” Matthew cooed. They continued in a lower tone, “You’re getting very sleepy. Isn’t that right?”
“Yeah, that’s right,” the words came out automatically.
Wendy didn’t question her response this time. She was so tired . Her eyes listlessly looked to Matthew. His lips had twisted into a sinister smile.
“I’m very sleepy,” Wendy continued.
The order sparked defiance in Wendy, but the part of her that flared to life was too far down. The spark died as suddenly as it had appeared, and Wendy moved to the bed. She slipped under the covers and felt Matthew follow behind her. He grabbed her and pulled her in close.
His velvety voice whispered directly into her ear, “You’re going to be a wonderful plaything this weekend. Isn’t that right?”
The last bastion of awareness fell away at the question. Wendy had no idea if she answered him, but a part of her knew there was only one thing she could say to that question.
