A Bargain Struck, A Debt Owed, A Favor to Be Paid

Cassandra was tired. She had returned to her viewing room after Aubrey and Mark left, then gave her girls a heads-up on what happened. Again. This didn’t happen every season she ran. But every so often, with smart, observant, caring contestants, they would see through the programming to see through the shell that Cassandra had put around Astrid. Most were just horrified and resented Cassandra, thinking of her as a monster. Which was fine with her; she had done horrible things to people who really didn’t deserve it. She wished she had never struck that bargain with her producer. She was naive back then and didn't know just how cruel he was.

She had gone asking to make some seasons that were kind and sweet, thinking there was an untapped market for that. Seasons that weren’t harsh and with happy endings. Most producers just turned her down, saying sorry, but there is a reason there aren’t seasons that sweet. That they don’t work. She had been disappointed, but then a producer actually came and found her. Offered to let her make her seasons. Even mostly how she wanted. “There’s just a few small conditions.” He told her. She couldn’t believe she had been so stupid, to believe that serpent. Three small, itsy, bitsy things she would have to agree to.

First, Work exclusively under him making seasons until she became a producer. He had said he wanted to corner the market if Cassandra’s idea worked out at least until she became a producer herself.

Second, He would get to design punishment TFs and the Elimination TFs. He said he was concerned that Cassandra’s carrot might not be enough and that she couldn’t use the stick. That she would be a bit too soft. So he would take care of that. He would even let Cassandra choose which of them to use and which not to. Having a large collection, he had already designed that she could be merciful. He didn't have a problem with that: “Pick the least bad option, I don’t mind.”

Third, Cassandra would have to run a season of his design every so often. To help her branch out, get new ideas, keep her seasons from becoming boring and repetitive, or so he said.

At first, he had kept his word, even with the TFs he had designed, and she hadn’t been wildly successful at the start, but they had been successes. The first season he designed was when things changed. It was a dark season, a very dark season. It was a ****-style season; she heard those were popular, but never saw the appeal herself. It was awful, but it was her highest-rated season ever at that point. She wanted to quit or change producers, but he wouldn’t let her. He had told her that if she did, she would be breaking her deal, and that he did not take kindly to those who violated the terms of his bargains. She got lawyers involved, but the bargain was binding. Either she would become a Producer, get placed into a Master’s Harem, or become one of his trophies in the end. Those were the only endings left to her.

The Sextuplet season was one of his. It had broken something inside of her. Not what most of her colleagues believed, though. They believed she had just cracked and gotten a bit eccentric, collecting discarded pieces of magic that others no longer had any use for. A dumping ground for all the unused bits from previous seasons. But no, that was part of her plan; she was collecting things, true, and there was a lot of trash, but that just allowed her to conceal her plan. She had opportunities before to attempt her plan, but for some reason, the audience never chose to give the Masters she wanted the Princely Staff TF, and most could never buy it either. But this was her last shot; assuming the season was a success, she was slated to become a producer after this. She had been trying to figure out how to get him to buy the TF when he just bought it on impulse, and not even for the servants, but so he could better please his Harem. Now it was time to call in a favor.

It had been such a long day for Laura, and the day before that, and before that, and… honestly, they have all been long, eventful days since coming here, haven’t they? I thought maybe I could have a normal day after the others had gotten back to normal, a simple shopping trip, maybe try on something new. But no. Why would I expect things to calm down for one second? You always wanted excitement, Laura, chasing those thrills, well, what’s the saying? Careful what you wish for. After Aubrey stormed off, they called the others, and they all went to go see ASTRID. Asked her some questions, and they were frankly horrified. They didn’t have the same kind of reaction as Aubrey did, but tears were shed. Laura wasn’t sure what the others did, but she just went back to the cottage to rest. OH GOD DAMN IT, I’m so horny. There hasn’t even been any time to masturbate with all the crap that’s going on. Why did my date have to be at the end of the week?

~ping~

WHAT NOW, I swear to GOD if something else has gone wrong I’m going to pop. Laura opened up her phone to check the message.

Cassandra: Laura, please come to the Dragon’s Lair Auditorium to meet with me. I am calling in one of my favors.

Laura threw down her phone on the bed. She can fuck off right now. She wants a favor? Fuck her. Laura buried her face in her pillow and screamed in frustration.

~ping~

Cassandra: Please don’t make me compel you. I am aware you are upset because of recent events, but I still need you to come see me.

Fucking bitch. Fine, I’m going to give a piece of my mind, too. Laura got up and marched off to the auditorium. She walked down the long hall into the lobby, where this time she found the dragon wide awake, staring at her. His sapphire blue scales glittered in the light as he moved with cat-like grace, pacing back and forth, flicking his tail as he did so, never taking his eyes from the intruder in his lair.

“WHAT DO WE HAVE HERE!” Smug bellowed, his voice deep, smooth, and alluring, “A TASTY MORSEL COMING TO OFFER ITSELF TO THE GREAT AND MIGHTY SMUG? No. You are no lamb to be slaughtered and eaten. You are like Smug, mighty, and fierce. A fighter, a warrior, A CHAMPION.” Steam blew from his nostrils. “Have you come to take from Smug? Come to steal his treasures? You are welcome to try mortal.”

“I’m here to see Cassandra. She told me to come here.”

“Ah, a guest of my Lady. Very well. You need not fear me so long as you are hospitable then. No harm will come to you here, brave warrior. If you are amenable, I can help you with your problem, though I quite enjoy a strong woman. I could just eat you right up if you’d like,” his tongue flicking out like a snake. His voice had an air of superiority.

“Um, Smug was it? Not that I don’t appreciate the offer. But uh, I sort of prefer, well, more human-shaped partners. Also, while I’m not normally one for committed relationships, I didn’t really get a say in being part of Mark’s Harem. And I have already seen he is a bit possessive, I am pretty sure he would be upset with me sleeping with another guy, and things are already a bit messy as is, so I don’t want to start more trouble.”

She saw the dragon shift slightly, becoming slightly thinner, more graceful, a lithe beauty taking over from the previous handsome regality the dragon possessed, and with a high tinny chuckle, “Oh, is that all. Might I have your name, young one?” Smug said in a distinctly feminine voice.

Laura wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to respond, but she also didn’t want to be rude, so she chose her words carefully. “My name is Laura, but you may not have it.”

Smug let out a delighted giggle, “Hehehe, Ah, you think I am like a fey and would have stolen your name from you. True, I could have, but I have little use for them in my hoard. Brave Laura, you will find that I am not so inflexible that I must be in this form when pleasing you. Would it help if I were to become a Ryumusume? I can already tell your Master has several kemonomusume in his collection already. Would he begrudge you the pleasures of another woman?”

“What is a Ryu…, whatever you said?”

“Ah, yes, a dragon girl, I believe you would call it. I smelled a wolf and lion coming through here not too long ago; you were with them, too. It seems your Master and I have something in common: he likes predators, or perhaps he likes taming them.” Smug said with a visible glint in her eyes as she stared at Laura, wanting to do just that to her.”

Laura considered Smug’s statement for a moment. “Um, I’m not saying never assuming your humanoid form is at least moderately pleasing to look at. Which, judging by your current appearance, I bet is utterly stunning and beautiful. But not right now, sorry.”

“Very well, I understand. If you change your mind, you know where to come looking. Lady Cassandra is waiting for you on stage.” Smug returned to the top of her hoard.

Laura began to move across the lobby but stopped before entering the theater proper to ask a question of the dragon. “Is your name really Smug, not Smaug, like it wasn’t Cassandra who named you, right? And simply got the name wrong, for the dragon she was trying to name you after.”

Smug cocked her head quizzically at Laura. “Cassandra was the one to name me; she raised me from a hatchling, but I know not of the Smaug you speak of. I am Smug. Smug The Majestic, Smug The Avaricious, The Everchanging, The Enchanting, The Indomitable. Smug The Penetrator, the Dexterous. Smug the Silken Tongue.” Her tongue slithered out once again, and Laura, closer now, could see that it did look incredibly soft and smooth.

“Okay, there is no way that isn’t on purpose. Assuming there is a place to get books around here next time I stop by, I’m bringing you The Hobbit.”

“There is a Library in town, and I do enjoy a good book. Is it any good?”

“Oh yeah, I’m not really a reading books kind of girl, but I liked it, though I had to listen to the audiobook instead of reading a paper copy, but yeah, it’s really good. And if you like it, there are more by the same author in the same world I can recommend.”

“Intriguing, and you say there is a dragon in this book you think Cassandra named me after?”

“If it wasn’t after the dragon, then it is one hell of a coincidence. Anyway, I can see Cassandra glaring at me on the stage. I should get going. Later, Smug, I really like this form a lot better by the way the glitter of your scales enhances your beauty instead of clashing with the regality of your previous form. I’ll see you later and bring the book.” With that, she waved and walked onto the stage to meet with Cassandra.

“Did you really name him? Her? They? Smug? Like, was it an accident or on purpose?”

“I swear it was an accident, I hadn’t even read The Hobbit at that point, okay. You’re going to tell her, aren't you? And she's gender fluid, just call her based on her current form.”

“Already did kind of. Told her I would bring her a copy of The Hobbit next time I come by if I can find one. Is there one in the library, or am I wasting my time?”

Cassandra sighed, “Yes, it’s there, pretty much every work from your world ever written. Either someone will have to buy Ellen’s TF, or you will have to pay to use it. It isn’t a public library, but there are different levels of passes. You can figure that out later, though.”

“Right… The favor. First of all—”

“Save it, Laura. I haven’t had a great day.” Laura could see she really wasn’t looking great. “I am here to tell you what you are going to do for me for the first of three favors.”

“And what if I tell you to shove it? That I won’t do you that favor, because I’m feeling a lot less charitable right now. I’m not saying I’m going to refuse outright, but I made a deal to do favors, not demands.”

“Yes, and I said I wouldn’t push your boundaries too much. Not that I wouldn’t push at all. You will do the favors I request because they aren’t unreasonable, even if you don’t end up liking what they are. If I have to compel you, I will punish you, and you will do them anyway.”

Laura glared down at the tiny woman. “You know, you lost a lot of the goodwill you have earned up until now, today, right? Really want me to go shit talking about you because of this, or will you use one of your favors to stop me?”

“I won’t stop you, but you won’t be talking about the specifics of this first favor with the others because it requires secrecy. There is a spell I want you to buy and use three times this round. You are actually lucky I can’t compel you to spend your BP, actually, so you can technically refuse this once, but I can punish you for refusing the request.”

Laura was a little confused; she really thought the request would be completely unreasonable. “What spell? And I just have to use it three times by the challenge?”

“Here it’s called Induce Impulse, and no, there are some stipulations on how you use it. First, you can’t use it on the same person twice for this; three different people, all of whom must not be you. You are, of course, welcome to use it more. Second, one of the three must be Mark. Third, you must use at least half of your total Mana to cast each instance of the spell. Fourth, you can’t tell anyone you have the spell, or consult with them about how to use it or what you do with it.”

Induce Impulse: Instill an impulse to do some sexual act within the target; the strength and duration of the impulse increases with mana consumed up to a limit. The spell does not compel them to act upon the impulse, but a stronger impulse will be harder to resist. (2000 BP)

“You want me to mind control the others? Go fuck yourself, Cassandra.”

“It isn’t mind control, it is more like hypnosis, or very effective seduction. It doesn’t change their inhibitions, morals, or wants. So if they truly would hate doing it, they won’t do it. Even at max power, they probably still wouldn’t. For instance, I doubt that you could get Talia to sleep with you. Even if you used it repeatedly on her at full power. She really does not like the idea of being involved with women, and doesn’t want to have premarital sex. You might also notice I didn’t tell you what impulse to instill or who to use it on besides Mark. Kissing is sexual, stripping is sexual. It is on you if you immediately think of giving someone the desire to have sex with another person. Now, if you want my suggestion on who to use it on, I’ll give it to you, but otherwise, we’re done here, assuming you will actually comply.”

“Fuck you. I’m still tempted to tell you to go fuck yourself. I assume you won’t tell me how bad the punishment will be for refusing you, will you?”

“No, except that it won’t be permanent in nature.”

“I want to know who you want me to induce an impulse in and what it is.”

“So are you going to do it then? Because I am only giving you that info if you buy the spell. I can do it right here if you want; no need to go to the BP store. Just realize I can and will compel you to use the spell if you refuse to use it at all after buying it. So you’re essentially committing to doing it if you buy it.”

“GOD DAMNIT CASSANDRA!” Laura fumed, “I was actually starting to like you, you know. I thought you were decent, but stuck doing a crap job. Maybe you are, but you could have asked something else of me besides stabbing the others in the back. Because agreeing is a betrayal in this case. Can you please ask something else of me? Please.”

“No.”

“Do I have to answer you right now, or can I think about it?”

“You can have until you walk out of this room, but try to message anyone else and that’s it.”

Okay, how bad is it if I agree? I can’t ask the others if I do it. For Mark, I could just use it during our date night while having sex with him to get him to do something fun. So I guess that isn’t too bad. I mean, it isn’t that different from asking for something. I doubt he would mind me blowing him either. But the other girls, what could I use that for, that wouldn’t be an utter violation of their trust? Maybe I could have Ellen use a piece of bondage from the tower. Right, because look at how well that turned out. Anything with Talia is completely out. I might not like that she’s a prude, but I’m not going to fuck with her. Maybe I could get Merida to wear something super skimpy or pose for a while? Okay, that one isn’t horrible. I guess I could make a deal with Chloe that involves sex, somehow, but not directly with her? And give her the impulse to accept the deal. Make me owe her. Plus, knowing what Cassandra has planned would be helpful.

“Cassandra, fuck you, go fuck yourself with a pineapple. I accept, but don’t think we’re going to be friendly anymore.”

-2000 BP Induce Impulse (Laura) 3400BP -> 1400BP

“Now tell me who you want me to mess with.”