Chapter 36: Roles

29 November 2025

The crowd at Brunch and Crunch was past its peak, as the two women were seated for Saturday brunch. 11:30 was late enough that Olivia could sleep in and still join her mother for a nice meal near campus, and it gave Mary plenty of time to fit in her workout, shower, dress, and take the Underground into town.

Bob insisted the two of them make time for each other, and Saturdays were the easiest day to manage that at this time of year. During the week, Olivia had her studies and her new social engagements. Mary was focused on her assignments from Bob, both in the home and outside. Thus, even though they were together in large part because their Master commanded it, they still were excited to carve an hour or so each week for the two of them to be together.

“Mum, seriously, there is all this delicious food available, and the only thing you’re going to have is that?” she asked as she pointed to the Kale Kick smoothie Mary was sipping from. “Surely you can live a little?”

Mary arched an eyebrow before cracking a smile. “Alright, love, you’re on. You finish my smoothie, and I’ll have myself one of those Hot Chocolate Royales you’re always going on about. How about that?”

Olivia’s eyes went wide for a moment, but there was no way she could about-turn now.

“Go on then!”

Challenge accepted, Olivia reached across and plucked the glass from her mother’s hand. The thick green liquid smelled every bit as unappetising as it looked, but Olivia had taken the dare. She closed her eyes and thought about that wonderful chocolate confection that her mother would soon be drinking despite herself. She tried to find anything positive about the smoothie. She thought perhaps she was sensing a hint of the mango that the menu promised was in the glass, along with the kale and spinach.

Swallow after interminable swallow, Olivia worked her way through the ordeal. Her eyes were watering and her stomach was revolting, but she persisted.

One last bit, she told herself.

She felt the last drops of the sludge as they rolled across her tongue, and she gulped them down. Hard.

Olivia slammed down the glass, harder than she intended. But she had succeeded.

“Bloody hell, Mum. How do you drink that stuff and not be sick?”

Mary was laughing. Laughing!

“Oh heavens, love. When have you ever seen me downing these? It isn’t meant to be treated like a pint.”

Olivia shook her head and laughed too. “Aw, piss off. You let me make a proper fool of myself, didn’t you?”

“Afraid so, dear. And you did it so well too.”

The women broke into laughter together. It was cathartic for Olivia. She couldn’t remember the last time she had laughed like this with her mother.

“Fuck, Mum, I needed that so much. Thank you.”

“I needed it too, Livy. I’m sorry for having a stick up my bum for so long.”

That evoked another round of laughs, first from Olivia, and then shared by Mary.

“You really did,” Olivia spouted through the paroxysm of laughs. “But please, I don’t want to be thinking about anything in your bum.”

“Been hearing too much at home, have we?”

Olivia threw a napkin at her mother. “Shut it, Mum! We’re in public, after all.”

Mary froze, and she looked down. “I’m sorry, Olivia.”

That reaction - the sudden deference - was something new since they had been claimed by Bob. Olivia hadn’t been trying to pull rank on her mother. In fact, she had been loving the light-heartedness. But this poured cold water on the morning.

"Mum?"

Immediately, Mary’s head lifted again. Her eyes were clear, deep pools of molten clover.

"Yes, Olivia?"

“What just happened?”

“I… I’m not sure. We were laughing, and it felt so good to be close and sharing with you. And then…”

“Then I raised my voice at you, and gave you a command. A very loving and playful command.”

Mary nodded, not quite returning to her earlier, jovial self.

“As soon as I heard it, I felt as though I had crossed a line, and that I had to obey.”

“But why would you obey me, Mum? Dad is our Master. I’m not in charge of anything.”

“You are very important, Olivia. I will do what makes you happy.”

This was just weird. And that was saying something, considering her dad was their master. She mentally catalogued this as something she needed to discuss with him later. Surely he wouldn’t be happy that his wife was cowed by her.

She felt something. It was a really good feeling.

She knew about the virus now, and that Bob’s claiming of her had connected them in a way that was beyond powerful. Anything he wanted, she needed to do. Anything he needed, she had to provide. And the way he made her feel… sexual didn’t even come close to describing it.

But after he made her go down on him, and when she tasted and swallowed him, something else changed inside her. She felt supercharged. And as far as she could tell, no one else had experienced this. When she had tried to talk with Jenny about it, the scientist was excited to learn more. But it made Olivia feel like she was providing data from an experiment. And the last thing she wanted to be was a lab rat, unless Master told her to.

“Mum, do you have any idea why I am feeling different from you?” Olivia asked.

“Different? What do you mean?”

“I’m feeling stronger. More aware. More confident. And sensual too.” She shifted in her seat, and in doing so, she unintentionally pulled her top more snugly across her chest. Her enlarged chest. "And why I am changing like this.”

She specifically reached up to highlight that her chest had expanded just in the last few days.

“I don’t know, Livy. I haven’t asked around, and it isn’t really my place to be inquiring about things like that. I have to take care of Master and his life, and to make sure that you are being served as well. Have you asked Jenny? Or perhaps seen a doctor?”

“I don’t want to be poked and prodded by Jenny again, Mum. And I don’t think there is a doctor who would understand this. Not unless she was like us.”

Mary blinked twice, as if she were processing what she just heard. “Do you need me to bring your doctor into our circle, Olivia? I will do whatever you need.”

“Are you serious, Mum?”

“Of course. I will do whatever Master wants. And he wants me to take care of you.”

“Why? What’s in it for you?”

“Master has commanded it, and I must obey.” Mary sounded so fanatical.

Mary reached across the table and took Olivia’s hand in her cool grasp.

"The virus has changed everything," Mary continued. "You are Master’s pride and joy. You are special, and now you’re even more special.”

“Mum, you’re special too. Dad loves you.”

Mary blushed. “Thank you, love. I know he does. But I didn’t deserve his love before. But now I see. I’ve been optimised. This version of me is so much better. Before I was selfish. I had my agenda, which I put above him and us. I was so foolishly prideful. My sense of self got in the way. Thankfully, Master has given me a purpose that is so much bigger than that old me."

Olivia felt a spike of heat, because she understood exactly what her mother was talking about. Even though it seemed odd to be sexually excited by her mother describing her own enslavement, she couldn’t deny the compelling logic.

"Do you think there is more, Mum?" Olivia whispered.

"More, love?"

“I feel the pull. I know that I have to do whatever pleases Dad whenever he wants it. But for some reason I feel like I have to do more too. I’m not just his slave.”

Mary smiled and squeezed her hand. “You really are his daughter. You’re meant for something big. Just like I always told you.”

Olivia heard her mother’s words so much differently this time. She heard the love and the pride. There wasn’t pressure in the comment. Just recognition of their reality.

“Thank you, Mum. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Olivia closed her eyes and luxuriated briefly in the ruby-tinged dark. She could feel the silence of not being pulled by a hundred different requirements. There was a peace within her.

Then a vibration at Olivia’s hip disturbed the moment of calm. Her eyes snapped open, and she grabbed her mobile to check the incoming series of texts causing it to incessantly buzz.

In a way, the device felt alien in her hand, a relic of a time when her life was a frantic series of notifications and social obligations. The virus had unnaturally muffled those distractions. Her purpose had redirected her attention for the past couple of weeks.

Still, the outside world hadn’t disappeared, and in this moment, a familiar shard of the old Olivia scraped against the smooth walls of her new conditioning.

Talia.

Olivia hadn’t thought about Talia in weeks. The last time they had spoken, they were discussing a history essay, and Talia was pushing her to go to a pub to hear some New Wave revival band.

In the before time.

Talia had always been the loud one, the one who tried to push Olivia out of her shell. If only she knew…

Livy, Y you been ghosting me?

I'm at the library. And UR not!!!

RUOK?

Where are you?

Olivia’s heart hammered against her ribs, a frantic rhythm that overwhelmed even the bustle of the restaurant. It had been two weeks since she felt this sort of anxiety over anything outside of him. No one else had a claim on her time, or her attention, or her mind.

But this was Talia. She was the closest thing Olivia ever had to a BFF. Maybe it wasn’t right to disappear on her.

Talia. I'm here.

She paused before pressing the send button.

Was it better for her to move on from Talia? How could she ever explain what had happened? Maybe Master didn’t want her to have outside friends.

No, she thought to herself. That couldn't be right. He sent her back to the halls. She returned to her regular life, for the most part. So he didn’t want her to be cloistered.

Besides, he liked Talia.

Suddenly she felt a surge of heat in her core. He liked Talia.

Olivia felt like she was no longer alone in her thoughts. The virus had an opinion too. And it wanted her to connect.

And to spread.

Across the table, Mary’s head raised, as if she had felt an alert also. Her eyes pulsed with a brighter shade of green.

"Who texted you, Livy?”

"It’s Talia. She was worried. I... I just wanted to say hello," Olivia whispered, her thumb suddenly trembling.

"Talia is such a nice girl," Mary stated, rubbing Olivia’s wrist. "Master would enjoy having her serve him, don’t you think?"

Fuck, Olivia thought. My mum is suggesting that my dad should enslave my best friend too. And I’m actually getting turned on by that.

Olivia looked down at the screen again. Suddenly Talia’s name looked like a foreign word. Talia. The name of a girl who knew a girl named Olivia. But what about this Olivia? Can I do that to her?

She hit the send button. The die was cast.

The blue dots started pulsing on her phone screen.

You’re alive! What’s going on?

The duelling impulses were swirling in Olivia’s chest. She missed her friend. And she wanted to be near her.

I'm not ghosting you, Olivia typed, her breathing becoming more measured. Everything is just... different now. It's so quiet. I wish I could share this with you.

Before she could hit send, she hesitated again.

“Mum, why do I want to seduce her for Dad?”

“Because your Master deserves to have whatever makes him happy. And you feel that Talia would add to his happiness, don’t you?”

Do I?

“He would want me to have Talia in my life. I know that.”

“Then you must do what you feel is right, dear.”

The whisper in her mind – the one that had wanted human interaction – was still there, but the other part of her was even stronger. She felt the flare of ruby light again. The virus was a greedy god. It didn't want her to have friends. It wanted her to have partners in service.

Her thumb triggered the message, and the seduction was truly on.

That sounds heavy. Talia’s message popped up, and then the bubbles showed she was still typing. Wanna get together and talk about it? I miss you, Livy.

Curious from watching Olivia’s hesitation, Mary came around so she could peer over her daughter’s shoulder. "You’re doing well, love. She’s more than just your friend. She’s going to be an asset for Master. Just like me. Just like you."

"An asset," Olivia repeated, the word tasting in her mouth with the metallic tang she had come to recognise. Olivia licked her lips. Her thumbs were hovering over the glass, trembling with excitement instead of hesitation.

I've missed you 2, T. I'm sorry for being so distant — everything got crazy here. We need to get together and reconnect. Can I meet you at the Double D later this week? I really want to show you how much my life has changed.

She hit send. The blue bubble appeared on her screen, a digital arrow launched at her prey.

Mary put her well-manicured hand on her daughter’s shoulder, and gave her a squeeze. Her eyes gleamed.

"Good girl," Mary said softly. She smiled, and Olivia smiled and suppressed a slight shiver at the praise.

Olivia looked at the phone, then up at Mary. The whisper in her mind, the one that had reached back to Talia out of lingering human need, was now co-opted by the predatory hunt. She had accepted her role as Master’s disciple, and she would welcome Talia as his new convert.

A heart emoji popped up next to Olivia’s last message. How about Tuesday night? I’ll be caught up on studies enough to spare a night by then.

"She'll come," Olivia murmured, her eyes shifting from the sharp ruby light to a dark void. "We’ll get together Tuesday night. She always said she wanted to know what was going on inside my head. Now I don’t have to tell her. I can show her."

“So you have a date, m’love. Will you let your mother help you get ready?"

Olivia's eyes lit up again. She never imagined being excited by such an offer, but it felt wonderful to her.

"Thank you, Mum. I’d like that a lot."

The women settled the bill, and made their way out to Warren Street. They planned to meet the next night at the house, so Mary could help her daughter to dress to impress.

Mary held onto a parting hug a little longer than usual. Olivia wondered what was happening inside her mother’s mind.

"Mum, do you ever hear whispers of who you were?" Olivia asked, her voice barely audible over the street noises.

Mary’s posture shifted momentarily as they parted from their embrace. She stood up straight, and looked her daughter in the eyes before they gazed down.

"Only silence, Olivia," Mary said. "I don’t miss the pain of having to think for myself."