She knows what is best for your good

Dakota tapped her cane on the ground and flashed a smirk Kim’s way. The nearly-naked asian shivered at the look in the other woman’s eyes.

“And that’s the vote,” the host purred, rising from her seat and slinking towards Kim, twirling her cane as she went. “Now, what do you think the audience decided to permit you?”

Kim sighed and rolled her eyes. “Let me guess, the pirate costume?” She said sarcastically, earning her an amused chuckle from the other woman.

“Oh, Kim, gauche as always, aren’t you?” Dakota shook her head. “No, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised! With a quite a large margin, the audience decided that you’d be given the slink cocktail dress!”

Kim’s eyes widened. That was definitely not what she expected. “Seriously?!” She asked. “You mean it? That one?”

It wasn’t her first choice, and it certainly wasn’t her usual style of clothing. But it was more modest than a lot of options, and it was stylish. She wouldn’t mind wearing that one at all. She’d probably still prioritize the schoolgirl uniforms, since they were more comfortable, but the red dress would be nice to break out for special occasions.

“Yes, apparently, they wanted something you’d be able to wear on classy dates with Nick. Wouldn’t have been my first choice, but what are you going to do?” Dakota shrugged and tapped her cane on the floor. The bright red dress poofed into existence on the bed, laid out flat and smooth and ready to be tried on.

Which was good, because Kim was only in her underwear.

As Kim approached the bed, Dakota cleared her throat.

“…I suppose, I should mention one other thing…”

Kim froze. Here it comes.

“What is it now?” She asked with a sigh, turning reluctantly back to face the smirking host.

“Because you were such a good sport about this, and because Nick is definitely going to appreciate the effort you put into your photo album, I’ve decided to be generous today!” Dakota declared. “Yes, I know, surprising, isn’t it?”

Kim just shrugged. It was certainly unusual, but she suspected that the other woman’s “generosity” wouldn’t exactly be something she’d be grateful about.

“How generous are we talking here?” She asked wryly.

“Weeell, you see, there are quite a lot of outfits here. And while several of them got quite a lot of votes, and none got more than that dress, three outfits in particular stood ahead of all the others by a wide lead,” Dakota explained. “And since the audience is always right, and you’ve been so great about all this… I’ve decided to let you keep all three!”

Kim’s eyes widened. “Wait… for real? I get three outfits, just like that? …And I can wear them instead of the schoolgirl uniforms? Whenever I want?”

“That’s right,” Dakota nodded. “Whenever you want.”

Kim smiled from ear to ear. Well, alright then! It sounds like Dakota really is being generous after all!

“So what are they?” She asked. “The ninja outfit? …Oh, wait, one of ‘em’s probably the dominatrix gear, huh?”

“It was quite a surprise for me, too,” Dakota said. She tapped her cane twice more on the floor, and two more outfits appeared on the bed, beside the dress. “In second place, was the sexy CEO costume, believe it or not! I suppose they wanted something boring and ordinary for such a boring and ordinary girl.”

Kim’s eye twitched at the insult. But she was too happy to care, frankly.

“And in third place…”

Kim glanced at the bed, and her face paled. Then her eye twitched again.

“…You’ve gotta be fucking kidding.”

“Not at all! It seems that the audience were big fans of how you looked in that qipao,” Dakota chuckled, gesturing to the red garment resting accusingly on the starch sheets.

“So that’s why you’re being so ‘generous’ isn’t it?” Kim accused. “You just wanted an excuse to shove me into that damn thing again!”

Dakota shrugged. “No one said you HAVE to wear it. Let it rot in your closet for the rest of your life, if you want. But at least now, you have the option.”

“Thanks, but no thanks,” Kim huffed, grabbing the pencil skirt and white blouse. “I’ll take the normal clothes, thank you very much.”

Dakota shrugged again as Kim pulled on the CEO costume. She hiked up the skirt and then buttoned the shirt back up, smoothing it out as she went.

When she did up the last button on the collar, they all popped open again.

Kim’s jaw dropped. She immediately turned an accusing glare Dakota’s way.

Dakota just shrugged once more.

“What? I told you, it’s a sexy CEO costume,” the host scoffed, not even bothering to hide her amused smirk. “You didn’t really think you’d just get something normal, did you? No, no, buttons open, if you would.”

Kim sighed. “So my choices are a dress that makes me look like I’m trying too hard, a shirt that basically shows off everything, and a costume that’s about as culturally insensitive as ordering fortune cookies at a sushi restaurant.”

Dakota nodded. “Or your normal clothes.”

“You know what?” Kim flipped Dakota off, and grabbed the two dresses in her arms. “Save it. It’s not like they haven’t seen me in my underwear before!”

She knew that she should be grateful- Dakota was more generous than she had to be. But she’d dealt with enough manipulative scumbags in her line of work. She stormed out of the studio in a huff.

Then she popped her head back in. “…And thank you for the clothes. I really appreciate it.”

She slammed the door behind her, just to let Dakota know she didn’t appreciate it THAT much, while Dakota just laughed to herself.

On the topic of clothing, a certain heiress was lounging in the Garden Suite’s bed, topless, resting her massively-inflated chest on the soft mattress. Octavia was behind her, kneading her shoulder blades with a practiced hand.

“Oh, yeah, that’s perfect,” Vivian half moaned, half groaned as she embraced her butler’s excellent massage. “Anyone ever tell you those hands of yours are magic, Octavia?”

“All the time, Miss Carrington,” Octavia replied.

“Man, if I’d known that these bra-busters would give me this much back pain, I might not have been so gung-ho about it,” Vivian sighed, arching her back so Octavia could get to all the best places. “I’ve gotta say, I’ve a newfound respect for those chesty lassies like Carly and the punk girl in leather.”

“Gina,” Octavia reminded her master.

“Yep, that’s the one. She looks like she’d be a hoot,” Vivian laughed. “Wonder where she ran off to… ah, probably hiding away from Amy I’d bet.”

Speak of the devil, the door to the Garden Suite swung open, and Amelia marched in with a scowl on her face.

Vivian brightened up, glancing at the older woman and flashing her a smile. “Oi! Teach! How you been?” She asked, waving lazily to her roommate. “Care for a massage? Octavia sure gives a mean one. Once I’m done with mine, she’ll be happy to get to you!”

“Not right now, Carrington,” Amelia said, rejecting the offer. The last thing she wanted was to be helpless with her shirt off in Vivian Carrington’s presence. “But I do have need of your butler for other purposes at the moment.”

Vivian blinked, confused. “…Can it wait? We’re kinda in the middle of something here,” she pointed out. Octavia had stopped her massage when Amelia entered, and that was all manner of frustrating.

Amelia shook her head sharply. “I’m afraid it can’t.”

“Oh. Well, too bad then, because she’s my butler, and she’s busy.” Vivian swirled her finger in a figure-eight, signaling to Octavia to start the massage again.

Amelia scoffed and adjusted her glasses. “I’m afraid it won’t be that simple. You see… Octavia is no longer employed by you.”

The butler stepped back, and looked at the teacher for the first time. Her eyes widened in muted surprise, just for a moment.

Vivian was far more shocked. “Huh!? What’s that supposed ta mean, Teach?!” She demanded, propping herself up on her elbows to look more closely at Amelia.

“You may not know this, but several of the contestants here have transformations that allow them to copy the transformations of other contestants,” Amelia informed the slacking heiress. “Sylvia is one of them. Before I came here, she copied the transformation you have that brought Octavia to this island as your servant. So now, she’s employed by you both, I should say.”

“What!? No, no, that’s not fair!” Vivian exclaimed, sitting upright and shielding her breasts with her arm. “Octavia, tell her that’s not fair!”

Octavia paused, then shook her head. “Forgive me, miss. But she appears to be correct. I feel a distinct tug from two different people at this point. Both you, and another. It would seem that, technically, I am to serve both of you.”

Vivian looked horrified. “Well… but, no! You can’t! It’s not fair!” She wailed. “You’re MY butler! Just because someone else is borrowing you, that doesn’t mean you can just go! I order you to stay, you hear me?”

Octavia blinked, and then turned to Amelia again. “…Miss Carrington raises a valid point,” she admitted. “Although I feel compelled to serve Miss River, I am also obligated to follow her instructions as well, distasteful as they might be.”

Vivian glared at her. “You didn’t have to say that last part,” she muttered under her breath.

Amelia raised her eyebrow. “Curious. Then if Sylvia were to give you a contradictory order, they would be in conflict?” The scholar in Amelia was curious to know what would happen if pressure like that was actually put into practice. But she had a trump card, so she wouldn’t need to test that out today.

Octavia remained silent, not addressing the question. Which Vivian took as a victory in and of itself.

“There, you see?” She smirked, holding up her head in triumph. “Octavia serves me, not anybody else! Sorry, Teach! Tell that friend of yours to get her own butler, because this one’s spoken for!”

Amelia sighed and pushed her glasses up her nose. “…I had a feeling you would make this difficult, Carrington. So I’ll make it easier. Sylvia also has a transformation that allows her to veto and steal any one transformation for the remainder of the round. She didn’t want to use it if she didn’t have to, but you’re forcing our hand.”

Vivian’s eyes widened her face paled. “W-wait, veto? Huh!? What do you mean by that?”

“It’s simple,” Amelia declared, crossing her arms and cocking her hip to the side. “For the remainder of the round, Octavia would be under the exclusive employment of Sylvia. She’d stay in Sylvia’s room and wait on her hand and foot, just as she’s doing for you right now. And not only that, when the round is over, you may get your transformation back, but her transformation won’t disappear. Octavia will still be tied to Sylvia, permanently.”

Vivian shook her head. “N-no, but that… you can’t!”

“Nor do I wish to,” Amelia replied. Especially because Sylvia doesn’t actually want to use her transformation in that way. But she doesn’t need to know that.

Amelia didn’t like dishonesty. But if a bluff was what was needed to get Vivian to do the right thing, then she’d do it.

“So? Either allow Octavia to come with us for today, or Sylvia will make sure to take her for the rest of the round- and then forever.”

Vivian looked desperately over to her butler, who displayed no emotion whatsoever at the dilemma her master had been placed in.

“Well!? Octavia, say something!” She exclaimed. “Tell her she can’t do that!”

Octavia shook her head. “I apologize Miss Carrington, but it appears she can. Given that is the case, I will be going with them, so as not to be taken from your service any longer than necessary.”

Amelia was surprised to hear that. Octavia would come willingly, even despite Vivian’s protests?

“N-no!” As Octavia walked over to the door, Vivian stumbled out of bed, still shielding her breasts as she chased the two of them into the hall. “Stop it! Don’t take my Octavia from meeeeee!” She wailed at the top of her lungs.

The desperation in her voice had certainly caught Amelia off her guard. I never would have thought Vivian Carrington would be this possessive. Is it really just because Octavia is her butler? Or is there something deeper here?

She had never seen the snarky, rebellious, unabashedly irreverent heiress this panicked before.

“Miss Carrington.”

Octavia’s sharp voice stopped Vivian in her tracks. The half-naked heiress stared at her butler with wide, watering eyes, and a frantic, flushed expression.

“O-Octavia…”

“I have to assist Miss River with her needs at this time,” Octavia informed the heiress in a tone that allowed no room for argument. “When my duties are complete, I shall return to your side. I would advise you in the future to please permit a level of independence from this humble servant.”

She placed her arm across her waist and politely bowed to the shaking woman in front of her.

“Y-yeah, well… who even needs ya, huh!?” Vivian snapped, stomping her foot like an impetuous child. “If you care so much about that dumb Sylvia then… then…”

She was about to tell Octavia she could just go be Sylvia’s butler forever for all she cared, but she caught herself before she could. Taking a deep breath to calm herself down, she straightened up and crossed her arms.

“Fine, then I’m coming with!”

“Huh?” Amelia certainly hadn’t expected THAT.

“You’re taking Octavia because you want her to help Sylvia learn how to walk in those heels, right?” Vivian sneered. “Yeah, I got eyes. I can put the pieces together. But if that’s what you want, then I’m coming too! Just to make sure you’re not picking on her!”

Amelia raised her eyebrow. She sincerely doubted that anybody would be “picking” on Octavia. But she didn’t exactly have a plausible reason to reject Vivian’s demands, either.

“…Fine. Do as you wish,” she muttered, and headed for Sylvia’s room.

The three of them arrived to see Sylvia face-down on the floor, ass up in the air.

“…I tried it again,” she mumbled into the carpet. “Didn’t work.”

Octavia sighed. “It seems we have our work cut out for us, then, Miss River,” she said, snapping the wristband of her white gloves as she approached the clumsy girl whose service she was bound to for the remainder of the night.

“Hah! Too bad for you!” Vivian sneered. “Octavia’s lessons are super strict! She’s going to be crying blood!”

And yet, the butler gingerly helped Sylvia to her feet.

“Oh, thanks!” Sylvia looked up at Octavia with adoring eyes. “Are you really going to be helping me learn how to walk in these?” Amelia had done her best, but Octavia was a professional with far more experience when it came to assisting girls in the way of acting like ladies.

“Of course, Miss River,” Octavia said, flashing Sylvia a dazzling smile.

“Hey! What’s the big deal, huh!?” Vivian demanded, stomping her foot. “Why are you so much nicer with her than you are with me!?”

Octavia looked dryly over at the heiress. “Because Miss River genuinely seeks to learn how to act like a lady, rather than climb out the window the second my back is turned.”

Vivian’s face turned red and she muttered a string of frustrated curses under her breath.

Amelia held her head high, trying not to take too much pleasure in taking the spoiled brat down a peg.

Vivian wasn’t the only one who was having issues with Amelia though. Nor was she the only one whose behavior was affected by Amelia’s presence on the island, and her overbearing personality.

“What are you doing here?” Serenity asked, staring incredulously at the girl who’d invaded her little underground sanctuary.

“What? Can’t I come hang out?” Gina shrugged, plopping down on an armchair. “Just here to keep you company, that’s all.”

Serenity stared blankly at the punk girl. They hadn’t spoken to each other once. She didn’t even know the woman’s name.

“You’re Serenity, right?” Gina cracked the cap off a beer and took a swig. “That’s what Dani and Nick called you.”

Serenity said nothing. She nodded, still staring suspiciously at the other woman.

“I’m Gina. You don’t mind if I crash here for a little bit, do ya? I just wanted to get some drinking done.”

“You can’t do that on the surface?” Serenity questioned.

“Well, I mean, yeah, there are bars and shit,” Gina acknowledged. “But see, Amelia would definitely find me in one of those. And I’d rather not get a lecture, you know?”

Serenity had no real idea what she talking about. She just shook her head.

“Forget it. Hey, you want a beer? I know you used to be human before, so it’s not like you’ve never had one, yeah?” Gina offered a beer to the siren, and Serenity actually took it.

When was the last time she’d actually gotten drunk? It had been a long time before she’d turned blue and shiny, she knew that much.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. Thanks for letting me crash.” Gina took another gulp of beer. “Haaah… still, this stuff doesn’t hit as hard, you know? Because of these darn patches.” She scratched the patch on her arm. “Shit means I’m not hooked on the hard stuff anymore, but at the same time, I’ve got a real craving for Nick’s semen, you know what I mean?”

She winked playfully at the siren, who responded with a distasteful look.

“…Guess not.”

“I’m not really interested in that,” Serenity replied. She had enough bad experiences with semen in her own season.

“Yeah, well… I wish I wasn’t.”

Gina sighed and hung her head. “See, Amelia being here… it’s really making me rethink some stuff, you know? Like… do I really want to spend the rest of my life just keeping my mouth open for Nick to dump his seed in? My body wants that more than anything, but I don’t know if I actually want that.”

Serenity brought the bottle to her lips and took a long gulp. It tasted bitter on her tongue, as all **** did. A forgotten taste of home. But the flavor wasn’t what you drank it for.

If this was going to be the content of their conversation, she’d need more than one bottle.

“So that’s the other reason I came here,” Gina proudly declared. “I’m going to kick this habit! No more blowjobs for at least today!”

Even as she said that, Serenity could see the hesitation and doubt in Gina’s eyes. The way she was attacking the case of beer she’d brought with her, it was clear she was chasing something else right now.

But that wasn’t any of her business.

“Also…”

Serenity’s ears perked up. She couldn’t quite make out that last part. She looked curiously at the punk girl. “What?”

“I was wondering… could you do me a favor?” Gina asked a little louder, averting her eyes. Her cheeks were flushed.

Serenity blinked. A favor? For a complete stranger? Why would she ever do that?

“Dani… she said you used to be a professional swimmer, right?” Gina asked.

Serenity nodded. But that was a lifetime ago.

“Well I… I never…” Gina took a deep breath, and drowned her hesitation with another swig of ****, draining the bottle dry. “I never learned how to swim, okay!?”

Serenity’s eyes widened. That was a surprise.

“Really?”

“Yeah! Really! I mean, I barely could do it as a kid, you know?!” Gina wailed. “And then… Dakota… she…”

Her voice caught in her throat and she sank down into her chair.

“After Dakota drowned… I never went near the water again. I was too afraid. But… I’m fucking 27 years old! And I don’t know how to swim! How fucking embarrassing is that, huh!?” Gina had spent this whole time on the island, and had hardly gone near the water. It was her secret shame.

“I guess, seeing Amelia again… it reminded me of how darn lame this all is,” she muttered, shaking her head. “I thought, maybe… maybe you could teach me? I mean, if you want to. You don’t have to or anything!”

Serenity blinked. She didn’t expect someone to ask her for something like THAT.

Gina stewed in her own shame. It was dumb, thinking that learning how to swim would make her feel better. But if she was going to be an adult, if she didn’t want Amelia to be ashamed of her anymore… then she needed to improve at least a little, right?

Baby steps.

“…I could,” Serenity agreed. “If you wanted.”

Gina’s face lit up with joy.