All your insecurities and your doubts

Amelia adjusted her glasses when the light faded and leaned in to get a closer look at the Bounty Board, which had two new flyers posted up on it.

“So the board as refreshed already?” She questioned, stroking her chin thoughtfully.

“Makes sense,” Sylvia chirped. “Dakota said that the bounty sheets could be replaced at any time, so I guess this is an example of that happening, yeah?”

“I suppose so,” Amelia nodded thoughtfully. She looked over the two sheets, even though she had no intention of taking them.

SPEND 24 HOURS WEARING A SOAKED TOP (NO BRA)

REWARD: 500 BP

TOUCH ONE OF THE TRANSFORMING MIRRORS IN THE HALL OF MIRRORS

REWARD: Varies

“What is this ‘mirror’?” Amelia asked curiously, turning back to Sylvia. “It says that the reward varies.”

The blonde’s face paled. “Uh… you, you don’t want to take that one,” she mumbled, shaking her head. “Trust me, you don’t.”

“I don’t want to take any of them,” Amelia replied. “I have no intention of doing any of these bounties and earning BP. I have enough as it is.”

As the current frontrunner on the leaderboard with a nice reserve of BP at her disposal, Amelia didn’t have much use for a small pittance. And even if she could have more… what would be the point?

“Unlike the other women on this program, I have no intention of seducing Nicholas,” Amelia noted with a sneer in her voice. She shook her head. “And seeing as how the purpose of obtaining BP is to spend it on things that will increase my appeal to him, it would be a pointless gesture.”

Sylvia nodded and didn’t say anything. She could understand where Amelia was coming from, she really could. But she still thought there was value in the other woman going along with this scheme. But if Amelia didn’t want to, then there was no point in pushing.

“Just don’t take the mirror one,” she warned. “It’ll essentially be giving you a transformation, and it seems like you don’t want one of those. So… yeah. Don’t do it.”

While Sylvia was very curious what sort of transformation the older woman would receive, she still remembered the last time they’d played around with the Hall of Mirrors, and that hadn’t gone well at all.

“Um…”

Both women turned to see Morgana poking a shy head out from behind the wall. Her face was red, and she looked around shiftily, like she was trying to both get their attention and also not be seen.

“Hey Morgana, what’s up?” Sylvia leaned forward curiously. “Dawn awake yet?”

Morgana shook her head. “Um… I just wanted to check… are you guys talking about the Bounty Board?” She asked, trudging reluctantly into the lounge.

“Yeah, I got in on the first wave,” Sylvia said, raising her leg to show off the red heel on her foot. “But they just refreshed, if you want to get in.”

Morgana glanced at the Bounty Board and shook her head. “I… I don’t think so,” she replied, not even bothering to look closer. “I don’t think that getting those bounties… I don’t think it’s going to help, really… I just… um…”

It was clear she wanted to ask something, but she didn’t have the confidence to do it.

So Sylvia tried to play the guessing game. “Is it about Ella?” She questioned. “Are you looking for her? Because I don’t think she’s up yet.”

Morgana shook her head again. “No, um… actually… I was wondering, would… would Mary be coming down, today?”

Sylvia blinked.

“Mary?” Amelia questioned.

“Uh… yeah. I-I want to talk with her…” Morgana glanced longingly over at the elevator. “It’s kind of important, and it needs to be today… I wanted to talk with her yesterday, actually, but she just stayed up in the Master’s Suite the whole time.”

“Something you have to talk with Mary about?” Sylvia stroked her chin thoughtfully. “Oh, wait! Are you pregnant?!”

“What!?” Morgana blanched.

“Pregnant?” Amelia’s expression turned fierce for a moment.

“Well, I mean, I doubt that she and Daddy used protection when they-”

“I-I’m not pregnant!” Morgana stuttered, shaking her head frantically and making her black locks bounce. “Really! I just… I need to talk to Mary! About something important! …And I can’t tell you what it is, either!”

She looked down sheepishly as she finished her sentence, squirming uncomfortably in front of the two blondes.

Amelia looked cold and detached, while Sylvia almost seemed sympathetic. But her sympathy was locked behind an amused smile. She stroked her chin thoughtfully, when Morgana said something that clued her in.

“I just… I was wondering, now that she’s not a member of the harem anymore… now that she’s out and living a happy married life with Nick… is she going to hold any more cooking classes for the rest of us?” Morgana’s voice ached as she asked that question.

Sylvia leaned forward curiously. “Really?” She asked. “Cooking? That’s what you’re concerned about? You’ve never been all that interested in the cooking classes before, though…”

“I-I… w-well…” Morgana’s mouth flopped open and closed as her eyes spun in her head. “I can’t really talk about it…”

“Can’t talk about-? OH!” Realization dawned on Sylvia’s face, and she clapped her hands together. “That’s it! It’s your transformation, isn’t it?!”

“What?! Um…” The guilt on Morgana’s face was plain to see, even as she quickly shook her head. “I just, I mean…”

“Let me guess, the dream Dakota gave you the other night, it was about pleasing Nick by cooking him a meal, right?” Sylvia guessed. “Only, you don’t really know anything about cooking, so you want Mary to show you how. But since she’s up in her room…”

“It-it’s…” Morgana couldn’t say one way or another. She wasn’t even sure if she could nod.

But Sylvia was right on the money.

Her dream the night before last had been about cooking Nick a grand, luxurious feast. Of course, knowing what that signified, her first instinct had been to run. She tried to spend time with Ella to distract from that, and because she was concerned for the other girl, but right now the pressure was getting to her.

After all, tonight was going to be her night with him. It was so early in the week… And wouldn’t it be nice if she could just cook him something? Something to make him a little happier?

If only she could get in contact with Mary…

“Why don’t you go up to the Master’s Suite then?” Amelia bluntly asked.

Morgana’s jaw dropped.

“Wh-wh-wh-what!?” She screeched, shaking her head frantically. “Go up?!”

“Ask her to help you,” Amelia practically ordered. “That’s what you want, right? So go do it and stop being so indecisive.”

She hadn’t meant to come across as that cold and heartless. She knew how she sounded the second the words left her lips, and she sighed.

“I’m sorry, that wasn’t…” She pinched the bridge of her nose and tried again. “She won’t know that you want something from her if you don’t tell her. So if you want her help, then go to her directly and tell her you want her help to be a better cook.”

Morgana swallowed and relaxed a little, though the tension on her face was still plain to see. But she reluctantly managed out a nod, and scampered over to the elevator.

Am I really doing this!? Going to the Master’s Suite all on my own?! She questioned. It seemed so strange. First Ella yesterday, and now this? Maybe Morgana was a lot bolder than she gave herself credit for.

Either way, she wanted to speak with Mary badly. If she was going to make Nick happy tonight by cooking for him, then she would need some help.

“Aww, that was really sweet, Amelia!” Sylvia cooed, turning back to Nick’s stepmother with a sweet expression on her face. “Looking out for her like that. Why can’t you be that sweet with me, huh?” It was just a teasing jest, but Amelia took it seriously.

“I see that girl as like my daughter, unlike you,” she replied, narrowing her eyes.

Ouch.

“…I should say, that it’s because of my transformation,” Amelia hastily corrected. “That was not meant as an indictment of you as a person, Sylvia.”

“Yeah, no, I got that, don’t worry,” Sylvia assured her, shaking her head. “Believe me, I get it. I’m not bothered!” She tried to laugh it off, but the words had stung for a moment.

I can’t even get any maternal love from a woman who’s literally meant to be the mother of the harem. That was the thought that kept burrowing its way into her brain. She tried not to let those feelings show on the surface, but she wasn’t doing a very good job.

As for Amelia, she didn’t seem to care one way or another about Sylvia’s mother issues either. She stared at the blonde girl and almost looked bored.

“Um… so about what you said before,” Sylvia stammered, looking down at her feet. “About helping me walk in these… Did you really mean that?”

“Yes,” Amelia nodded. “It would be helpful, I imagine. Unless you changed your mind?”

“No! Not at all, emphatically not!” Sylvia shook her head frantically. “If you would help me learn how to walk in these, I would be eternally grateful my girl!”

Amelia nodded. She wasn’t thrilled about a woman who looked significantly younger than her calling her “my girl” but at the same time, it wasn’t the worst feeling in the world.

Before she could say anything else, however, Vivian finally took the opportunity to flounce out of the room, wearing a gaudy smile on her lips.

“Good morning, everyone~” She sang. Then she noticed that “everyone” only included two people that she had already seen this morning. “Oh, that’s strange. Is everybody sleeping in tonight? Or did they already go get breakfast?”

“Some people already went to go get breakfast,” Sylvia informed her. It had happened in the interim of time between Vivian heading into the Garden Suite and Amelia coming out of it. They’d seemed curious about Sylvia being rooted to the couch, but without anything on the Bounty Board there wasn’t much reason to stay in the lounge. “I think Carly and Marley are down there already. Gina too, believe it or not.”

“Gina is already awake?” Amelia raised her eyebrow. She was trying out the girl’s new name, but it was hard to keep it straight in her mind.

“Yep,” Sylvia nodded. “She was a little miffed that there weren’t any bounties left, but I don’t think she really cared about the BP. She just wanted to do ‘em for fun.”

Sylvia leaned back in her seat and chuckled. “I mean, it’s not like she needs to care that much, right? She’s got one of the highest BP totals in the game, and doesn’t really do anything with it, unlike Rose.”

“What was that about me?” Rose grumbled as she walked into the room. Her hair was a little longer, by maybe half an inch, but she still had a foul expression on her face. Obviously, she was still miffed about the whole Bounty Board thing.

But when she saw Vivian, that all changed. Her ire drained away, and a look of surprise and admiration took its place.

“Vivian, what… wow!” She stumbled over her words as she stumbled over to the heiress, staring in shock at her new assets. “Your… your breasts, they’re…”

“Hmm? You like ‘em?” Vivian teased, cupping her hands over her nipples and giving them a shake. “Yep, it’s one of the bounties from the board. I claimed it first chance I got. Need to spend a day with these puppies hanging out, unless I like my shirts bursting open.”

She glanced at Rose, scanning her eyes over the blonde’s curvy figure. “Tell me something, Rose, you’re in pretty good with Nicky, right?”

“Um, obviously?” Rose rolled her eyes, even while she blushed and played with her hair, preening and trying to look her best for the fashionista. “We’re like, two of the closest people on this island. He’s actually in love with me, if you can believe it.”

“Is that right…?” Vivian mused, stroking her chin.

“Carrington, is there some purpose to this questioning?” Amelia demanded, shooting her a glare.

Vivian waved it off. “Just wanted to get the full story from someone who’s actually got her fingers on the pulse of his heart, that’s all,” she replied.

“Well, that’s me!” Rose stuck her chin out proudly. “He’s so head over heels for me, he can’t get enough! In fact, even though last night he was supposed to spend the evening with Dani, he actually let me stay over as well!”

“To clean?” Sylvia prodded.

Rose didn’t deign to give that question an answer.

“Hmm… if you two are that close, then maybe you can tell me… what do you think?”

Vivian lowered her hands and posed, showing off her nipples to the other women. “Is this the kind of style he would like? Capture his heart and make it pound? Or am I going the wrong way with this whole thing?”

“I think it’s a perfect idea,” Sylvia said bluntly, having not learned her lesson in the slightest from the day before. “Daddy definitely loves women with large breasts.”

She gave her own enhanced pair a shake, even though Nick hadn’t exactly responded positively to that little endeavor.

Vivian looked like she wasn’t convinced. “Hmm… or maybe… oh? What’s this now?”

She turned to the Bounty Board, noticing the new sheets for the first time. “Refreshed already, huh?”

“Yeah, a couple minutes ago,” Sylvia nodded. “Why? It’s not like you can get a new one until you finish your old one.”

“I still think that’s a stupid system,” Rose muttered, her good mood ruined once again. She glared contemptuously at the board. “Can’t let me have something for myself, no, you’ve gotta go and give everyone a chance…”

“You still have your bounty sheet,” Sylvia pointed out. “Dakota didn’t take that away from you. She just gave the other girls a chance to get some BP too.”

“Exactly my point!” Rose huffed. “My bounty sheet is supposed to be a tool for me to get ahead, a way I can accrue BP fast and spend it to make Nick happy! It’s not fair if everyone else gets that same opportunity!”

Amelia stared blankly at Rose, wondering what could possibly be unfair about that. It took a bit of time to register that Rose wasn’t exactly looking at this situation from a balanced perspective.

“Just ignore her,” Sylvia advised the other woman. “Rose is just like this. She just wants an unfair advantage.”

“It’s not an unfair advantage! I work hard, so it’s a very FAIR advantage!” Rose pouted. “I need that BP! I got almost nothing from cleaning the Master’s Suite last night, and I can’t clear any of the video games in my room, either! And look at this!”

She flicked her fingers through the fringes of her hair. “It’s not growing at all! I need all the BP I can get, you know.”

“Then why don’t you claim one of those bounties?” Amelia questioned, nodding to the board. “Surely you could get something.”

Rose glanced at the Bounty Board with a pout on her lips. “So I go around with a wet t-shirt… or the mirrors!? Absolutely not!” Rose remembered the horror that had spawned from the last mirror incident. She had no intention of repeating that, especially after the girls had all promised Nick that they would leave it alone.

Rose kept the promises she made with the man she loved.

“What’s the matter with the wet t-shirt one?” Sylvia asked. “It looks like that one was practically made for you, my girl.” They all knew how much Rose loved showing herself off, even Vivian and Amelia, who had only known her for a few days.

“For 24 hours? Forget it,” Rose sniffed, turning up her nose at the idea. “What if an even better bounty comes later, and I can’t get that one because I’m stuck with this one? For only 500 BP, that’s certainly not worth it at all!”

Sylvia frowned. She could understand Rose’s logic, but at the same time, it still stung because that was exactly what SHE had done.

“Well… I guess you’ll have to wait, then,” she replied. “Or get to doing your own bounty sheet and make money that way.”

“I suppose I’ll have to,” Rose sighed.

“Hey, cheer up blondie,” Vivian laughed, patting her on the back. “Let’s go get breakfast talk about how I can best put these weapons of mine to good use!”

“Really?” The disappointment Rose had been feeling moments earlier was like a distant memory now. “You want to get breakfast together?!”

“Sure thing! You know a lot about Nicky’s tastes, so you’re the perfect girl to ask!” Vivian said as she steered Rose over towards the elevator. Amelia and Sylvia watched them go in silence, both grateful for their own reasons to see them leave.

Rose was a little starstruck as she rode the elevator down to the ground floor. And not just because of the woman’s large breasts, though that was definitely drawing her eye.

“I-I’m surprised you took a bounty like that,” Rose stammered. “I don’t know if I’d be able to do the same… I like my body the way it is.”

“Eh, it’s not like I knew this was going to be what I would get,” Vivian laughed, waving her hand. “It just sort of happened, you know?”

“I-I think I get it, yeah,” Rose nodded. “So you were fine with accepting a random transformation? For how much?”

“1000 BP,” Vivian replied.

Rose’s jaw dropped. “That much!? The bounty sheets can give out that much!?”

“How much do you get for yours?” Vivian asked curiously.

“It… well, some of the harder ones payout like that, but… I don’t know if I’ve ever gotten a bounty like that one… most of them have been about me doing stuff, not having stuff done to me…” Rose glanced at Vivian’s breasts again. She wasn’t even bothering to cover them. “Are you really fine with showing your breasts like that?”

Vivian shrugged. “I mean, it’s just the two of us here,” she replied. “And Nicky’s going to be checking ‘em out soon anyway.”

“Yeah, but… I don’t know, I just… I didn’t think you’d be so… brazen.”

Rose had always associated Vivian Carrington with a certain level of decorum and class. Even when she was throwing herself at Nick yesterday, she’d done so in a way that was different from the blatant physical seduction Sylvia had tried.

Now here she was, practically topless with two beach balls stapled to her chest.

“I was a little anxious at first about it,” Vivian confessed with a laugh, wrapping her arm over breasts. They were pretty big, but she could manage to cover both nipples. “But I mean, what am I going to do, lock myself up in my room for the rest of the day? The way I see it, when you’re stuck in a situation like this, you just gotta make the best of things and go for it! Fortune favors the brave.”

Rose nodded. She totally felt the same way!

“I- You’re right! I’ve gotta be bolder,” Rose agreed. “I’m not going to let anything hold me back!”

Vivian laughed. She wasn’t sure if Rose could be much bolder than she already was.

“Well, let me tell you something, Rosie, I’m happy to help with anything you need,” she assured the blonde, clapping her on the shoulder. “And I really appreciate the help in turn! I’m counting on you, ya know!”

Rose blushed, and beamed at the smiling heiress. Vivian was counting on her! That felt amazing.