Past the open windows on the darker streets, where unseen angry voices flash and children cry

Echo’s twisted smile broke her face in half. She looked down at Dakota, still bound in chains to the wall of the dungeon, and beamed in triumph.

“Hello, Dakota,” she cooed. “I’m here to bring you your lunch for today! Would you like to know what you’ll be having?”

“Enlighten me,” Dakota grimly replied. She was immune to any taunts Echo might care to throw at her, and merely regarded the other woman with a cold, detached glare.

Echo was just fine with that.

“Today, you’ll be having saffron risotto with scallops, and a side of steamed broccoli and carrots. For dessert, I prepared a delicious red velvet cupcake with sour cream frosting and a molten chocolate center, and paired it with a glass of Amelia Pinot Noir 2018,” Echo finished, puffing her chest out with pride at the feast she’d prepared for her predecessor. “The wine I picked out especially for you, given the title.”

Dakota remained ambivalent. “…Smells delicious,” she replied, refusing to let Echo see how hungry she was. Up until this point, she’d been given the scarcest of rations from her doting “daughter” Lynette, fed to her by hand.

She prisoner rattled her chains. “One problem, though,” she said sarcastically, looking up at her captor. “I can’t exactly eat it like this.”

Dakota assumed this was more taunting on Echo’s part. She crafted an exquisite meal, only to leave it to rot in front of her. Or destroy it in front of her. Or maybe even eat it in front of her. There were a lot of possibilities. But Dakota was fairly certain none of them would involve eating a single crumb of the scrumptious feast.

Echo crouched down in front of her and rested her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands. A gleeful smile stretched across her flushed face, making her look positively delighted by Dakota’s predicament.

“You’re so cynical,” she crooned. “But you’re right… of course I would never let you free from your shackles.”

She reached up and pinched Dakota’s pale cheek. “You are my absolute favorite prisoner, after all… I went through all this trouble just for you, and everything!”

Dakota wondered how much of that the other woman actually expected her to believe. “Really?” She raised her eyebrow. “It was that much trouble to have the faeries whip up a meal? Somehow I wouldn’t consider it that way.”

Echo blinked. “Oh, wait, you thought…?” She glanced over at the tray of food and then back to Dakota, and covered her snickering mouth. “Oh! That’s really quite rich!” She cackled. “Like I said… so very cynical. No, no, no…”

Echo stood up straight and walked back to the tray, carefully bringing it over to Dakota and setting it down beside her.

“I made this by hand, my dear,” she informed her predecessor. “Or have you already forgotten who I used to be?”

Echo was created from Mary. So just like Mary, she adored cooking, and had enjoyed being able to indulge in her hobby with all the free time she had gained as the host of the show.

All the corruption in the world wouldn’t change that aspect of her personality- merely redirect it in a more scintillating direction.

“Do try the wine,” Echo urged Dakota, lifting the cup up to her captive’s lips. “The first sip is always best before you eat your meal.”

Dakota felt the kiss of the metal goblet against her lips, and hissed. She hesitated, uncertain what Echo was playing at. Did she really intend for Dakota to eat this for her lunch?

…If so, why? Did she poison it? But what would even be the point of something like that? Dakota certainly wasn’t going anywhere- she was Echo’s perfect hostage.

And it was clear that the demented woman knew that. Because her hand only grew more insistent, pushing the cup against Dakota’s mouth directly.

Left with no other recourse, Dakota parted her lips and took a sip from the goblet of wine, figuring that there was no reason not to. Whatever Echo wanted to do to her, she could- there was no need for ceremony or theatrics from her.

It tasted delicious. Dakota felt herself reinvigorated as the sweet wine poured into her mouth, filling her dried tongue with a rush of flavor and relief.

All that from a single sip. She was just taking in the note of cherries when Echo pulled the cup back, taking care not to spill a drop.

“That’s enough for now,” she said, setting the goblet down just out of reach. Dakota’s eyes followed the glistening cup in the darkness, and she could feel her body screaming out for more. But of course, Echo wouldn’t be so generous.

“We can’t have you getting too drunk now,” Echo chastised Dakota, seeing the eagerness in her eyes in spite of the dark-haired girl’s attempts to look nonchalant. “Have some of your lunch first, then you can have another sip.”

Dakota bit the inside of her cheek and tried to regain her prior detachment. But it was a struggle. She’d already let the mask slip once, as a result of her human body. Having been host for such a long time, and then in captivity for the days that followed being stripped of her title, she had forgotten how much a human body craved stimulation.

Wine, after bread and water? Not even she could fully control her obvious desire.

Just as Echo had planned.

“The food really is delicious,” she said, dipping a spoon into the golden rice and scooping up a nice serving of it. She made sure to get a scallop for Dakota to taste as well. “I would hate for it to get cold before you could try it…”

She brought the spoon up to Dakota’s mouth, and much to the former host’s chagrin, her lips opened unprompted to allow Echo to feed her.

It was humiliating. But the food was too delicious for Dakota to feel humiliated. She just wanted more of it.

And Echo was happy to oblige her. She fed Dakota as much as she liked, and gave her sips of wine whenever it looked like the other woman was thirsty. Soon enough, the plates were picked clean, the cup was empty, and all that remained was the cupcake.

Dakota’s eyes dropped to it the second she swallowed her last bite. If there was a game being played here, then it would be with the cupcake. The risotto had been delicious, but Dakota had been hesitant to trust it- and the woman who prepared it.

“Ready for your dessert, are you?” Echo crooned. She patted Dakota on the head like she was an obedient puppy. “There’s a good girl… yes you are, yes…”

“Don’t do that,” Dakota snapped at her. “I’m not your ‘good girl’ and I’m not your pet. Get your hands off me.”

“Bold words, considering how obediently you allowed me to feed you,” Echo taunted her. “What, you’re happy to play the role of pet when you’re hungry, but once you have a full belly, you’ll bite the hand that feeds you?”

Dakota pulled against her shackles and sneered. “How about you let me out of here?” She growled. “I’ll bite a lot more than that.”

Echo’s lips pulled into a twisted smile and her eyes twinkled. “Oh, Dakota… I really am growing fond of you.”

She peeled back the wrapping on the cupcake and held it up to the other woman’s mouth. “Go on,” she urged Dakota in a whisper. “Try it. I really outdid myself… and I outdid the other me.”

Yes, there was certainly nothing ominous about a cupcake the same red shade as blood. Dakota knew better than to trust anything Echo put in front of her, she really did. And she didn’t even have the excuse of near-starvation to fall back on, either.

But at the same time, it was obvious Echo wasn’t going anywhere until Dakota finished her meal. Apparently, excellent cooking skills weren’t the only kitchen-related aspect of Mary that the host had retained- she shared the woman’s determination to make sure everybody finished cleaning their plates, as well.

What an annoyance.

But- Dakota didn’t really have any choice in the matter.

So, she opened her mouth, and took a bite of the sweet cupcake.

It really tasted amazing, that was the worst part. Between the soft, rich flavor of the velvet-red fluffiness to the sharp tang of the heavy cream, to the oozing warmth of the gooey chocolate center, it all came together to make the most delicious sweet that Dakota had ever had the privilege of tasting.

She would have been beyond grateful to enjoy such a delicacy, if not for the small detail of being chained to a wall while her captor fed it to her with a twisted smile on her lips as she savored every last bite of the damn thing.

Dakota despised being put on display like some show poodle!

“Don’t spill the crumbs, now,” Echo crooned, wiping Dakota’s mouth clean with a napkin once the salacious cupcake was finished. “We wouldn’t want to get ants, would we? The little things can be so annoying, if you can’t use your hands to brush and swat them away.”

“Why, thank you,” Dakota said sarcastically, glaring at the other woman. “You’re really looking out for me.”

“Of course I am,” Echo said with a smile. She tilted her head to the side. “After all, you’re-”

“I’m your favorite prisoner, yes, you’ve told me that one already,” Dakota interrupted her. She rolled her eyes in exasperation. “You really expect me to fall for that?”

Echo pinched her lips together tightly. “Dakota… you really need to understand the situation you’re in right now,” she said calmly, setting side her napkin and looking the other woman right in the eyes. “You are my prisoner. As the host of this show, I can do whatever I like to you. And you know what I chose to do with that authority?”

She gestured to the empty tray of food.

“…I made you a feast,” she said. “Wasn’t that nice of me?”

“You’re trying to buy me off,” Dakota said bluntly. “You think I don’t know what Stockholm Syndrome looks like? I’m not a Disney Princess, Echo, you can’t make me fall for you just by locking me up in your dungeon and showing me some singing furniture.”

Echo just smiled evenly at her. “…You really are so cynical,” she sighed, shaking her head. “Did you ever consider the possibility that I just wanted to do something nice to you? Because I felt bad for you, being stuck down here?”

Dakota snorted. “Not for a fraction of a second.”

Echo shrugged. “…Well, fair enough,” she conceded.

The two of them shared a tense look, as they each studied the expression on the other’s face. It was almost like a fencing match as the two women struggled to get an advantage over the other in their twisted, conflicted dance.

Then Echo clapped her hands together. “Well- I have plenty of time to get on your good side, and show you how much I care!” She said, rising to her feet. “From now on, all your meals will be prepared by yours truly! …Of course, if you’d prefer Lynette to feed them to you instead of myself, that can be arranged as well.”

“How about you let me feed myself?” Dakota suggested unseriously, knowing that Echo would never go for such a brazen request.

And indeed, the other woman just laughed at the idea and rolled her eyes.

“Oh, Dakota… I hope we have a long, long friendship.”

Of course, she knew that the length of her existence was entirely conditional on Dakota’s rejection of the role of host. As soon as Mr. S and the other producers determined Dakota was ready to resume her post, Echo’s days would be numbered.

And when your days were numbered in digits that you could count to with one hand, that wasn’t a good sign at all.

Dakota watched Echo walk towards the exit with her tray in hand, and wondered just what the other woman was up to. She didn’t believe for a second that Echo assumed she could get on Dakota’s good side this way.

There had to be another reason for it.

Was she really just going to leave?

No. There’s no way she ever would, Dakota thought.

And indeed, her suspicions were proven correct when Echo stopped at the exit of the dungeon and turned around to look at her again.

Even from this far of a distance Dakota could see the gleam of the other woman’s emerald eyes as she looked at her predecessor.

“I almost forgot to tell you the reason I decided to start this new meal plan of yours today,” Echo said, with a laugh in her voice that Dakota took to mean she didn’t “almost forget” at all.

“Oh, really?” Dakota narrowed her eyes.

“Yes, you see- I simply would HATE for you to miss out on the festivities,” Echo explained. “Even with your… circumstances, you’re still very dear to Nick, and I know that he would want you to celebrate with the rest of his harem in some way. A small way, perhaps, but still- some way.”

She placed her hand over her breast and let out a deep sigh.

Dakota fought the urge to throw up in exasperation. “Just get on with it,” she grumbled. “And spare me the theatrics.”

Echo smirked at her.

“…As you wish,” she said with a flourishing bow. “Allow me to explain just what it is that’s going on with Nick and his dear harem.”

She set the tray aside on a podium next to the door and walked back to Dakota’s cell. She didn’t enter this time, though- she just leaned against the bars and looked down at Dakota with condescension burning in her eyes.

But Dakota had plenty condescension of her own to return fire with.

The two women stared daggers at each other for a few seconds before Echo pulled her lips back in an amused smirk and tapped her fingers against the bars of the cell.

“Right now, Nick and all of his harem are getting ready to throw a little party,” Echo informed the chained woman. “Now, you might be asking yourself, ‘A party? But what could they have to celebrate? The fact that they have a new host, who’s so much more capable than the sour loser they were stuck with before, perhaps?’ …I wouldn’t put it past them…”

“It’s probably not that,” Dakota said, flashing a sarcastic smile.

Echo covered her mouth and laughed. “Fair enough, it most certainly is not,” she conceded with a shake of her head. “No, this party is for something much sweeter… to celebrate Nick’s love for Rose! And for the rest of the harem to show her their appreciation!”

If Echo expected that to get a rise out of Dakota, she was sorely mistaken. Dakota just stared blankly at her.

“…So what?”

“Hmm?” That wasn’t the response Echo had anticipated.

Dakota rolled her eyes. “You think you can rattle me with something like that?” She scoffed, shaking her head. “Please.”

“Not at all,” Echo lied through her teeth. “I just thought you might want to know how your beloved Nick is handling life without you, that’s all!”

Dakota glared at her. Not because she was angry or something. It was just her default expression when dealing with Echo.

“…I see,” she said finally.

Echo leaned in closer. “I think he really does miss you, if I’m being honest,” she confessed. She shook her head and sighed. “Oh, well… Nothing we can do about that now, though, I’m afraid.”

Dakota shrugged. “Nope. I guess not.”

“So they’re just going to focus on celebrating Rose! Everyone’s splitting up their duties, cooking in the kitchen, decorating the Banquet Hall, taking photographs of maids, all the things you need for a good party,” Echo reported.

“Maids, huh?” Dakota dryly replied.

“…But not for you,” Echo ignored her, narrowing her eyes. The corners of her mouth tugged up into a wide grin. “Tell me, Dakota… has anyone in Nick’s harem ever thrown YOU a party like that? Celebrated you, just for being who you are?”

Dakota didn’t have a response to that question. Because she knew as well as Echo did that the answer was no.

“…I suppose they haven’t, have they?” Echo asked, knowing that to already be the case. “I mean… can you blame them, though? The way you act? The way you treat them? Why would anyone want to throw a party for you of all people? I know I sure wouldn’t.”

It wasn’t a bad hand to play. Dakota could acknowledge that.

Still- she scoffed.

Because it would take a lot more than that to break her spirit.

“You realize… they won’t throw a party for you, either, right?” Dakota pointed out, smiling in spite of her circumstances. “Sorry- comes with the territory.”

Echo wasn’t shaken by Dakota’s statement, no matter how much the other woman tried to rattle her. She just flashed a brazen smile and shook her head. “Say what you like,” she purred, batting her eyelashes. “But unlike you… I’m not ruled by my feelings and emotions, Dakota. I’m not head over heels for the master. So, I don’t need to care about anything as inane as a party.”

Dakota smirked.

“…Sure you’re not,” she scoffed, shaking her head. “Sure you’re not.”

Echo’s eye twitched. Was Dakota implying that she shared Mary’s feelings for Nick?

“Don’t be ridiculous!” She scoffed. “He doesn’t mean anything to me… other than what I can turn him into, of course!”

She smirked down at Dakota, seeing how hard the other woman was trying to hide the fact that she was bothered by the party.

“I do hope you enjoy yourself enough for their sake, as well,” Echo said, turning to leave with a spring in her step. “Maybe I’ll bring you some leftovers from the feast for your dinner tonight, wouldn’t that be something?”

Dakota didn’t say a word. If Echo was really confident in this turn of events, then she would have left a screen in the cell for Dakota to watch the events of the party unfold. The fact that she hadn’t meant that it was just more smoke and mirrors- unlikely to amount to anything of importance.

At least- that was what she told herself.

Maybe she even believed it, it was hard to say.