No plan survives

“So, you have a contract too, right?”

I immediately raised an eyebrow. I know we were in a tense situation, but my curiosity couldn’t be helped. “So, the cat’s out of the bag, huh?”

“I suppose it is.” She noticed my eyebrow lift and smirked. “So, what did you wish for?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“You barged into my house. The least you could do is answer my questions.”

“Sure, but not that one.”

“Tell you what: you answer a question, I answer a question. Sounds fair?”

“Sure. But not that one.”

Our objects, or however she called the people that were brought to her by the contract, were quickly shifting their attention between her and me, our verbal spar making their heads go back and forth, trying to keep up. And failing, based on all of their confused expressions.

“Ok, then how about this: why should I ever let Bianca go back to you?”

I flared with rage at the mere insinuation Bi wouldn’t be coming back with us.

“Because she is m—” I stopped myself before I would say something I would regret. This woman didn’t know our dynamic, the same way I didn’t know why her people called her mistress. If I said I owned these women, then she would probably not like that very much. To put it mildly. “Because she was with me first.”

“Right, very 5th grade of you. ‘Finders keepers’, is it? And who’s to say she can’t upgrade?”

“No, no, I answered your question, now you answer mine.”

“Alright, but only because this is proving to be quite entertaining.”

“Why are they calling you ‘mistress’? Was that an added clause in your contract or something?”

“Oh, well…” Was she blushing? “Can’t a girl enjoy some light BDSM once in a while? It makes me feel powerful, ok? I just asked them to call me that once, and it felt too good to stop. And besides, the guy who gave me the contract said they’d be into it anyways.” She hastily adjusted her glasses, straightened her shoulders, and glared at me with determination. But she couldn’t hide that blush.

Interesting, this Sam girl wasn’t as impervious as she seemed just a few minutes ago. Then again, most people aren’t comfortable when their kinks are brought into the open out of nowhere, so this isn’t an excuse to lower my guard around her.

“Ok, so if they don’t call you that because of the contract, then why…?”

“Nah, nah, nah.” She wagged her finger at me. “Next question is mine.”

“Sure.”

“They call you owner. Why should I let my newest girlfriend leave with a guy who treats her like an object instead of staying with a woman who loves her?”

“No, wait, hang on.” I began to flounder. “This isn’t on me, ok? The ‘contract guy’, as you called him. He did this in the first place!”

“And you never thought to change it?”

“N— wait, you can do that?” Again, my curiosity gets the better of me before I can stop myself.

“Of course you can! See all these lovelies here? They all called themselves my lovers when we first met. I simply asked them to use a different term.”

“Honestly, that’s kinda cool.” I couldn’t help but feel impressed. She discovered and experimented with a side of this contract that hadn't even occurred to me could be tampered with. This Sam figure was not to be underestimated.

“So,” my eyes snapped back to Sam as she steered the conversation back on track, an amused chuckle escaping her lips, “am I right to assume you never bothered to ask if you could change the way they refer to you? Or to themselves?”

“I did run some experiments, but like I said before, this one topic didn’t even occur to me.” I crossed my arms, defensively. For some reason, I felt the need to explain my train of thought to her. “Usually, with a supernaturally enforced contract, you don’t assume you can change its effect willy-nilly.”

“The heck are they even talking about?” Barbie whispered the question to no one in particular.

“Shh! I don’t wanna miss any details!” Sitting across from her, the girl with the asian features whispered back.

Barbie frowned at the comment as she grabbed a handful of her popcorn from her bucket and ate it as silently as she could. Despite the tense environment, she was as entertained by this conversation as she would be by a Netflix series.

Sam ignored this little commentary and jumped straight into her next question. “Wait, so you ran other tests? Of what kind? Did you mess with the specificity of the request?”

“Hang in there, Miss S&M. The next question is supposed to be mine. But yes, I ran other tests. Though, that is all that I feel comfortable answering, given you just made a lot of questions back to back.” I smiled and got a little bit more comfortable on the couch. This wasn’t a full victory in this situation, but she had stumbled, and I intended to capitalize on it.

“Fine. I suppose you have two questions in a roll.” Sam’s sharp glare returned. “That is how many you answered.”

“I suppose I do.” I wanted to get rid of this banter and go straight for what was at stake here. But since I had another question left… “What did you ask for in order to make Bianca come to you?”

That caught her by surprise. I could see a blush rise on her face once more, despite her efforts to maintain her icy expression. She also had a hand fidgeting with her sleeve. Maybe I didn’t have to be on my backfoot for the entire night if I played my cards right from here on out.

“Oh, owner, she didn’t ask me anything,” Bi interrupted, in a conciliatory tone. Perhaps seeing an opening to smooth things over with both her owner and her lover. “Mistress just met me by chance at the park earlier, and…”

“It’s ok, Bianca,” Sam interrupted her with a soft tone. “I know what he’s asking about. And he wants to hear my version of events anyway.” She raised her eyes to look at me directly. “Am I wrong?”

“I could be really annoying right now and count that as your next question.” Her expression hardened once more and I knew trying to be sassy in a moment of confidence may have been a little bit of a mistake. “But I won’t. Of course.’

Sam sighed. Wait, was that a smile in the corner of her lips?

“Oh, fine. I was feeling a bit horny after a good run in the park, so I asked for someone who could take on and satisfy me and all of my sl— lovers.” Sam answered fast, probably as to not have to talk about her sex life any further.

I hate to admit it, but that answer hit me like a truck. Bi was the perfect fit for another harem. And for someone else. This wasn’t just Sam’s opinion of her, this was a wish magically granted. Universal forces decided Bi was a perfect choice for this other group.

“What, cat got your tongue?” And just like that, her confident attitude had returned. “Can’t blame a girl for being greedy.”

“Greed, huh?” The question escaped my lips. The devil said he had been searching for people to corrupt, for sins to exploit. Maybe this was Sam’s.

“Yeah. Yours?” She caught my drift.

“Lust.”

“Yeah, no shit it's lust. We’re both fucking and forming harems, that is just a given. No, I mean what really is yours.”

I barely had to think about it. If I was honest with myself, I could admit it very easily. Thing is, just because I can admit some truths about myself, it doesn’t mean I want to say that outloud to a bunch of strangers. But our situation wasn’t a simple one, and I wasn’t going to risk letting Bi be taken from me because of some simple fear or shame.

“Pride. Like it or not, I love these women so much that I think I can take care of them better than anyone else could.” Perhaps even themselves, I wanted to add.

I felt a reassuring hand press on mine. Aly was smiling at me. I smiled back, thankful. Then I felt a bump against my shoulder. Barbie, on my other side, gave me a look of reassurance and utter confidence. I nodded at her. That smile, that look, it was all I needed to keep moving forward. And to falter no longer.

“I still have a question pending,” Sam brought my attention back to what was really at stake. “This has been a very fun conversation. Really, it has. But what do you think is stopping me from throwing you out of my house right now?”

“Because that’s not really your end goal, is it? I could tell Bi to not pleasure anyone from your harem anymore.”

“Are you really interested in some pyrrhic victory? I could just as easily tell her to do the same. And neither of us want that.”

“Guys, please!” Bi tried to reason with us both. “I wouldn't want to go against either of your wishes, but let’s not do anything drastic.” Her defense crumbled before she even finished her sentence, realization setting in that she would really do anything either of us asked. And that was part of the problem.

“Well, staying here isn’t my main goal either,” I continued. “I can get some… outside help to muscle my way out of here.” Sam understood the meaning of my words right away. Wish for some muscular friends, overpower her and her harem and get Bi away from here before this blondie could cause any more harm.

“Same point as last time: so could I. And I start with an advantage here.” She motioned to two other people in the room, the woman who opened the front door for us and the man with the leather choker. “I already have a pair of muscle on my side. And you can’t use yours” She gestured to Bi nervously sitting at the edge of her chair.

I began looking around for answers. No windows, only one door. The muscular woman from before was close enough to the door to block us from leaving. The cold air on my skin made my hair stand on edge. Or was it the fear? I was on the edge of my seat as well, ready to pounce, but there was nothing to pounce on. Unless… I could hear the street outside. It was faint, but I bet one of these walls led to the outside. I could wish for a friend who crashed into this house with their car, leaving us with a big enough hole to run out. It would serve both as a distraction and a second get away vehicle. It was a reach, but I was running out of options here.

Then, the last voice I expected to hear at this moment called out to me.

“Let me stop you right there, before any of you do something you might regret.”

A knock on the wooden doorframe called mine and Sam’s attention back to the hallway. Standing on the threshold, was a pale bald man wearing a well kept suit.

“You?!”

“You?!”

Our surprise was shared, just as was our befuddlement.

“Uhm, owner…” Aly gave a nervous laugh. “Who are you talking to?”

“Oh, right, I forgot!” The devil pretended to act surprised. “They can’t see me because they have no contract.”

“Cut the crap!” Sam growled in annoyance. “You’re fucking with us and laughing about it. Just tell us why you’re here.”

“Mistress…” The man with a choker said, putting a hand on her thigh in worry.

Sam stopped him with one gesture. “It’s fine, this won’t take long.” She turned back to the devil. “Will it?”

“Weeeeelllll…,” he was enjoying this too much, “as much as I loved watching this stalemate of yours, I came up with an idea that may just give all of us what we’re looking for.”

Sam and I exchanged glances. For the first time we agreed on something. This was fishy as hell.

“What do you say we talk business upstairs?” The devil continued. “Unless you want your little playthings to think you’re both insane? I can work with that too, I suppose.”

Sam and I exchanged glances again. There was no way in hell either of us could predict where this was going to go and we both knew it. I stood up. I would take any advantage I could get. Sam rose up even faster and rushed to the door.

“Everyone, stay here,” she commanded, “this won’t be long.”

Once we reached the door, the muscular woman interposed herself between us and the hall.

“Iara, let us pass, it will be fine,” Sam was firm.

“Mistress…”

“It will be fine.”

I could see in the eyes of the woman named Iara that she deeply distrusted me and heavily disagreed with the decision. But she got out of our way.

“You two,” I turned to Aly and Barbie, “keep your eyes on Bi. Make sure they don’t get away with her.”

“You got it.” Barbie gave me an encouraging smile.

The devil gave us one more amused look, before turning away and into the hallway. Sam and I quickly followed him down the hall and up the stairs. As the others were left alone in that room, Bi tried a desperate attempt at diplomacy.

“So, uhm… did any of you catch the game last night?”

No one really responded.

***

Author’s Note: Hi folks! It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Sorry for the wait, I got stuck in a writer’s block for most of a year, trying to figure out what the scene in this chapter would look like. I had written a bunch of versions of this, with more and less interactions between all the characters in the room, but this version here was the only one I was even a little happy with, despite a few criticisms I still have. I realized that if I didn’t publish this eventually, then my story would be stuck for even longer, so I hope y’all enjoy. I have more chapters planned to release soon, so you can expect this story to continue relatively soon.

Oh, and I added some new AI pictures to image chapters. Mostly on the chapter presenting the folks from arc 2 but I also added a new Aly image to the chapter right before that one