She ain't your typical preacher's daughter, she'll leave you dreamin', yeah, there ain't no doubt

Nick returned to the Master’s Suite feeling cautiously optimistic about how the day’s events had gone.

They had managed to get through the day without anybody taking advantage of Cinder’s mirror transformation, and without Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin getting upset. In fact, it actually seemed like she’d had a good time playing with the kittens, though it was hard to tell because she was always smiling.

On that topic… she wasn’t going away.

“You can’t come back to the Master’s Suite with me,” Nick said as gently as possible, not wanting to set the assassin off. “Remember how Dawn went back to her room because it was almost time for curfew? You should do that too.”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin responded by tightening her grip on his arm. Her smile gave way for a frustrated pout, and she puffed up her cheeks in defiance.

Nick sighed. “Come on,” he said gently, trying to coax her. “You need to go back to your own room, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin.” It still felt awkward calling her that. They really needed to have a discussion about a name… well, not a discussion per se, but…

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin let go and took a step back to give herself space to cross her arms over her chest. Then she pointed at Rose, Holly, and Cinder.

“…Okay, but that’s different,” Nick said, averting his eyes from the cluster of girls dressed up in maid costumes. “They’re all going to work.”

“Plus, it’ll be really crowded if all of us are in the Master’s Suite together,” Rose pointed out cheerfully. “Tonight’s Morgana’s night, after all. Cinder might be going after an hour, but if you’re really going to stay past curfew, then you’ll be stuck all night there with us!”

The assassin’s response to that was a shrug. Nick sighed. Clearly, Rose wasn’t making the argument that she thought she-

…Wait a minute.

“Rose, you’re not staying the night either,” Nick said, turning to the actress with an exasperated expression on his face.

“Drat. Well, it was worth a shot,” the blonde pouted, doing a good approximation of Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin. “Still, at least I’m going to be cleaning!”

Nick tried one more time. “See? They’re not coming just to hang out. They have work to do,” he said, making an attempt to appeal to the assassin through that axis. “You can see how it’s going to get cluttered if they’re all trying to clean up the room while you’re here.”

“And we aren’t going to be cleaning up bloodstains,” Holly added on.

The assassin obviously wasn’t thrilled by what the girls were saying. And she was even more disappointed that Nick didn’t want to spend any more time with her.

“Hey, come on! We’ve all gotta make sacrifices,” Rose urged her. “If I could, I’d spend every minute with Nick! But these are just the things you have to put up with when you’re in a harem with a bunch of other girls.”

Nick was stunned. He never expected that kind of maturity from Rose in a million years. But he was grateful for it.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin was not. She rounded on Rose with a ferocious glare, and ground her teeth together. The actress winced and took a step back, knowing better than to push her luck right now.

“H-hey, but what do I know?” She stammered, holding up her hands in surrender. “Nick’s the guy in charge, I just work here!”

“Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin!” Nick tried to add some sternness to his voice, even though he was very intimidated by the professional killer in front of him. “You can’t go after people like that with threatening body language. Especially not the other women in my harem!”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin flinched. She obviously wasn’t used to being called out like that for behaving so aggressively. She glanced at Nick with contrition in her eyes, and then hung her head and nodded.

She turned to leave, but Nick felt a twang of guilt shoot through his chest.

“H-hey, wait!” He called after her. She perked up and glanced back at him.

“I… I really had fun today, with you,” Nick said awkwardly, not sure how to improve the assassin’s mood. “Seriously, I really enjoyed myself.”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin blinked, caught off-guard by his statement. Then her expression shifted into a cheerful smile and she nodded happily.

Nick sighed in relief. He slumped over, finally able to relax now that conflict had been avoided. This was far from the first time he’d had to deal with issues involving the women in his harem, but when those issues involved a trained killer, the stress level was magnified to an absurd degree, even if she couldn’t actually hurt anybody.

Or when the issues involved an unstable maid who was brainwashed into being obedient for another few hours.

Cinder stood in the entry hall with the same blank smile she’d been wearing all day. Nick had tried avoiding her without seeming too rude about it, because he didn’t want to give Cinder an excuse to hate him even more.

But that had pretty much reached a point where it was no longer possible.

Cinder needed to clean the Master’s Suite as a condition of her transformation, after all. It was the reason she’d changed into her maid costume even though the clothes she was wearing were from the mirror.

And there was no practical way of enforcing that transformation without giving her compulsory orders that her body **** her to obey.

Case in point: the first words out of her mouth when they entered the Master Suite itself.

“How may I be of assistance?” Cinder asked cheerfully, which was a lot different than the “Who the fuck do you think you are, telling me to clean your shit!? What would you even want me to clean, you asshole?!” that Nick would have expected to naturally come out of her mouth.

Nick winced and looked to Rose and Holly for answers. But he knew that this was ultimately something he would have to resolve himself.

So he cleared his throat and tried his best.

“Cinder.”

“Yes?” Cinder blinked and smiled at him, almost seeming eager to get to work. Nick had to remind himself that this was the mirror talking.

“According to your transformation, you have to work for an hour here, is that correct?” Nick asked, precisely phrasing his words so that there would be no misunderstandings.

“Yes, that is correct! I must clean the Master’s Suite for one hour!” Cinder confirmed. “And in that time, you may do with me as you wish!”

He wasn’t even gonna touch that one. Or her, for that matter.

“Forget about that,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m going to make this clear. I’m not going to give you any orders. Okay? I’m not going to tell you what to do, or what to clean, or anything like that. I don’t want to make you do anything.”

Cinder blinked. For the first time, the placid smile fell off her face, and a look of confusion took its place. She tilted her head to the side.

“Then… what should I do?” She asked curiously.

Nick shrugged. Without a verbal command, he hoped that Cinder would be free to make her own choices.

“Oh! Nick! You’re back already!”

Nick turned to see Mary come in from the kitchen with a big smile on her face, and a gleam in her eye that suggested some mischief. While his wife was an honest woman, she had a playful side to her, and it looked like she was hiding a big surprise.

“Oh, Mary,” he said, relaxing. “Yeah, we just got back. Rose is here to clean again, and Cinder-”

“Excellent!” Mary nodded vigorously. “You girls can get to cleaning, while I serve you your dinner, Nick!”

Nick gasped. “Wait, Mary, it’s not what you-”

His voice died in his throat as he saw Cinder quickly rush to get to work, and he sighed. “…Damn it.”

Mary instantly sensed that something was wrong. “Oh, no! What’s the matter? Did I do something bad?” She asked worriedly, looking frantically around the room.

“It’s okay, Mary, it’s not your fault,” Holly assured her.

“Nope. But you should probably learn to read the room better,” Rose sniffed, flashing a smirk as she went to go do the dusting.

Nick took a moment to explain to Mary everything that had happened with Cinder today. By the time he was finished, Mary looked like she was going to throw up.

“Oh my gosh… I’m so sorry! I had no idea!” She turned and looked warily at Cinder, who was busy running a rag over the floor. Even though Mary hadn’t specifically told her to do that, her instruction of “go clean” was obviously enough.

Mary hung her head sadly.

“Hey, it’s fine, you didn’t know,” Nick said, patting her on the shoulder. “It’s not like you were trying to **** her to do anything.”

Mary bit her lip. “But… I just… I’m sorry, I was talking to Rose and Holly, and I wasn’t even thinking that way…”

She turned and walked over to Cinder, eager to make amends. Nick tensed, not sure if that was the best idea, but uncertain how or if he should stop her.

“Mary…” He said warily, but Mary wasn’t about to be stopped.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized, lowering her head.

Cinder looked up from the rag with a confused expression on her face.

“I do not understand,” she replied, an emotion that was reflected in the real Cinder as well. She had no idea what Mary was apologizing to her for, because this seemed like a perfectly expected source of events.

“I shouldn’t have told you to clean. I wouldn’t have if I’d known about your transformation,” Mary explained. “You don’t have to clean if you don’t want to.”

Nick sighed. That wouldn’t work.

“There’s nothing to worry about!” Cinder assured her with a bright smile. “I’m happy to do all the cleaning!”

Mary winced. She knew obviously that wasn’t the case, because she remembered the meltdown Cinder had the other night. But clearly, things had gone too far.

“She’s just acting like this,” Nick said, shaking his head. “There’s nothing we can do about it now. You’ll just have to apologize when she’s back to normal.”

“…R-right,” Mary mumbled, looking down with a crestfallen expression on her face. She’d been so eager to give Nick his surprise that she hadn’t even been thinking when she’d come out of the kitchen. And now the whole thing was ruined!

“If it makes you feel better, Mary, we’re happy to do the cleaning!” Holly volunteered with a bright smile.

“Speak for yourself,” Rose muttered under her breath. Then she flashed a smile as well. “…Err, I mean, yes, that’s right! As a dutiful maid, it’s my honor to serve the master in anything his heart would ever desire!”

She cast a flirty look Nick’s way. “His heart… or any other body parts, that is.”

Nick rolled his eyes. Of course Rose would go in that direction. But at least it was a distraction from the current issue they were facing.

Meanwhile, Mary cast a jaundiced glance towards the actress, forgetting about Cinder temporarily to focus on her frustration with the blonde.

“I said last night, that kind of service won’t be necessary,” she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. “Nick already has someone who can serve him in that capacity.”

Nick blushed. But the knowing look on Mary’s face when she glanced his way suggested that there was something he wasn’t in the loop on.

Then he remembered how he’d ended things with her this morning.

“Hey, wait, Mary, where’s Morgana?” He asked, looking around. “Did you guys already finish your cooking lessons?”

Mary smirked. “Oh, we finished them, alright,” she said with a nod. “She was such a good student, once she got into the proper mental space!”

She flicked her head over her shoulder and called over to the kitchen door, “Morgana! You’re on!”

“Coming!” A voice far brighter than Nick ever associated with Morgana sang out from the kitchen, and the door swung open.

He nearly fell over in surprise.

While Morgana didn’t do a great job under normal circumstances of playing the dark, brooding goth girl (she was too neurotic to play that convincingly) Nick never would have associated her with the perky goth archetype, either.

Until now that is.

Morgana had gone through quite a makeover.

She was a little shorter than he remembered, but that wasn’t what stood out. Her dark hair, which usually fell over her face in long bangs, had been pulled up into two willowy pigtails to reveal a shining grin that lit up the room. Her pale skin had a fresh glow to it, instead of the usual unhealthy tone she seemed to give off; her Moonlit Alabaster transformation seemed to have a greater influence than ever before.

Her clothes were casual as well, even down to the black apron she wore. And they clung to her body in a brand new way, because her figure had gone through some changes as well. Her hips were slimmer, and that weight was made up for in her breasts, which were bigger than Nick remembered- and the way they bounced suggested she wasn’t wearing a bra.

All that was to say, the last thing Nick noticed as Morgana sashayed into the room was the tray of food she carried in her hands. It was so far off his radar he didn’t even process it until she set it down on the table and turned to greet him.

“Good evening, Nick!” She said, her bright smile growing brighter. “I’m glad you could make it tonight!”

“M-Morgana?” Nick stammered. All the chaos with Cinder’s transformation and the events that had transpired with Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin were pushed from his mind as he stared at the transformed goth in front of him. “What… what happened? You didn’t use the mirrors, did you!?”

“Oh, silly! Of course I didn’t!” Morgana giggled, shaking her head. “I promised I wouldn’t use those again, didn’t I?”

She stepped forward and held her hand over her chest. “I swear, I would never break a vow I gave to you, Nick!”

Nick just stared wide-eyed at her. He had no idea what to make of the declarations coming from her mouth.

“Um… okay, so… what happened?” He couldn’t help but look her over. It was obvious she’d gone through some kind of transformation. “You look completely different!”

“Oh! I’m so glad you noticed! Do you like?” Morgana did a little twirl, making sure to show off how her ass contoured to her jeans. It wasn’t as thick as it used to be, but it had more than enough bounce and it stood out fabulously on her more conditioned frame.

“I, uh… well, I’m not opposed to it, that’s for sure,” Nick said, offering her an awkward smile.

Morgana giggled in response. “I suppose that’s good enough… for now,” she said, giving him a coy wink that made him blush.

She’s not usually this forward… something definitely happened to change her. But if it wasn’t the mirrors, then what? Dakota wouldn’t just give her a bunch of transformations out of nowhere, unless it was… wait!

Nick gasped and glanced at Mary. She smiled shyly at him and nodded in confirmation.

“You… Morgana, did you… drink some of… um…” Nick was too embarrassed to ask the question, especially in front of everyone. But he remembered when Rose had a taste of Mary’s milk, and how that had affected her. The transformation hadn’t been nearly as drastic physically or mentally, but it was notable.

And right now, Morgana’s dopey, cheery, homemaker vibe was giving him some serious déjà vu.

“That’s right,” Morgana nodded, glancing adoringly over to Mary. “I was having a lot of trouble, struggling to prepare you a dinner fit to make you happy. And that’s when Mary told me that she had a way to ensure that I could give you everything your heart desired!”

She stepped forward, her eyes glowing with determination, and reached up to drape her arms around Nick’s neck. She leaned her chest against his and batted her eyelashes, moving her lips up close as she took in his scent.

“I wanted to be the perfect wife for you, my darling… in every possible meaning of the word.”

Nick felt his heart racing. She was being direct- really, really direct. Normally, Morgana would have backed off by this point and gotten flustered, but it was clear that the goth girl in front of him wasn’t even close to considering that.

Apparently, one of the things she thought needed changing to be Nick’s perfect wife was her sense of propriety and her shyness.

And admittedly, as much as Nick liked those qualities of hers… he couldn’t deny that her forwardness was appreciated.

Still… now was definitely not the right time for this. Not with Rose staring on enviously and Cinder scrubbing the floors as she listened to Morgana’s crooning.

“I-I’m very grateful that you were willing to go this far for me,” Nick said, sliding out from under her arms and putting some space between the two of them. Dealing with Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin all day had been very helpful for teaching him how to maneuver carefully around forward women. “But we have all night together. Right now, let’s just focus on eating dinner, while they work on cleaning.”

He winced as he saw Cinder out of the corner of his eye. It felt awful relegating her to just cleaning staff, even if it was to convince Morgana, but at the same time Mary had been the one responsible for this outcome for the most part.

Still… he would have to make it up to her.

For now, he just had to hope that she wouldn’t be too angry at him when she finally regained control of her faculties. But given what he knew about Cinder so far, he doubted that was likely.

If only I could somehow get through to Ella… but she’s so sensitive about Cinder it might just hurt more to bring it up. Nick was woefully unequipped to deal with someone who had issues on the level of Cinder and Ella. If only Sylvia was a real therapist.

Morgana calmly appraised Nick’s suggestion, and stroked her chin thoughtfully.

“…Well… I suppose there’s no sense in rushing,” she relented, and winked at Nick again. She turned and pranced back to the table, making sure to shake her ass in a way that emphasized her tight jeans.

Nick swallowed, and felt his heart racing in his chest. He hadn’t realized it until now, but Morgana’s very presence seemed to be arousing him.

Wait, that’s right… her Sotto Voce transformation! He remembered one of Morgana’s most alluring transformations of all, that one that turned every word from her mouth into an act of seduction. Normally she was so reserved the effects were minimal, but right now she was talking so casually it was like she didn’t even care about the effects.

Or maybe… she was doing it on purpose.

Morgana planted herself across the table, and looked up at Nick. She rested her chin in her hands and batted her eyelashes at him, almost like she was daring him to sit across from her.

And that’s when Nick realized… a full hour of this. An hour of conversation with a transformed girl who would continue to arouse him with every word she spoke. That’s what he’d have to put up with until the guests left for the evening.

“Come on, Nick, what’s taking you? It’s time for dinner!” Mary looped her arm around his and tugged him forward, snapping him out of his haze. He looked down into her shiny eyes, and realized that she was in on it too.

“You planned this out, didn’t you?” He sighed in exasperation, adjusting his pants to lessen the pressure on his erection.

“Whatever do you mean?” Mary asked just innocently enough to sound believable as she led him over to the table for his just desserts.