Souffles Arlequin

Maddy was woken up by a sharp dinging sound in her bed. She blinked her eyes blearily to look around and find the source of the noise only to see her roommate tossing and turning in bed next to her. Not only that but both of them were absolutely covered in glitter which explained the heat Maddy felt emanating from her core that was only growing as she was awake.

“Hmmm,” She groaned, stumbling out of bed and looking to the side table where the clock read 7 a.m. Not unbearably early but given she had also been woken up by Lily yesterday she couldn’t help but sigh. Both of them must be wound up tight by this experience because Maddy couldn’t remember the last time she had been so on edge.

She was half tempted to wake the plant girl up, but sense told her it might be better to take advantage of the free access to the shower while she had it.

She wasn’t sure what exactly it was that was winding her up so much. Her thoughts flew to the book that now sat on her bedside table and her face grew bright red with shame and embarrassment. Yes, while the book was quite titillating, she had been catching herself fantasizing quite a lot since getting here. Part of it was probably the regular exposure to Lily’s pollen, but maybe it could also be the stress of the situation.

Her eyes darted to the tray of snacks sitting on a stand outside the bathroom door. She hadn’t looked closely at them since arriving at her room. Part of her was worried that Lily might judge her or think she was planning to use them. Part of her was worried she may want to. While the transformations they had seen so far had not been the most ethical of things, there was a certain allure to the idea of changing who you were. Especially if who you were was so subpar.

Nervously, Maddy looked towards the tossing form of Lily to make sure the plant girl was still asleep and then inched towards the tray. Each of the desserts there was gorgeous and looked impeccably well made. Desserts weren’t Maddy’s specialty but she could appreciate the craftsmanship that went into making a well-crafted sweet. Between them all, was a small black card sitting on display with text in bright silver. Eyes darting towards her roommate one last time, Maddy reached out and picked out the card.

On the card was the title of each dish and what the dish did. Maddy noted that these effects were pretty bombastic but only lasted a short amount of time. Much more akin to the Sabotages which would probably make her friends not like them even more.

She looked at each dessert in turn, the first being a glistening ceramic white pot filled with a firm matte brown pudding dusted in cocoa.

Chocolate Sexpot de Creme: This silky creamy delight is indulgent and rich and will change the behaviour of the one who eats it into that of a Sexpot, alluring, seductive, and charming. Lasts for one hour

Maddy tried to picture what that might look like, leaning into Caleb…knowing all the right words to say. Having him kiss her hand while she whispered naughty secrets into his ear all with a composure and confidence that made it clear that she was in control. She shook her head and felt her insides stir a little before moving on to the next treat.

This one was set in pastry and had cascading thin slices of apple all arranged like a blooming flower. It was clear that the sugars had caramelized as the fruit as dark and glistening and reflected the light.

Apple Tart TitTan: A sweet and flaky pastry that gives whoever eats it their ideal beach bod complete with bouncy breasts and a healthy tan. Lasts for one hour

Self-consciously, Maddy reached and felt her own chest, ill-advised as even the slight contact sent an electric thrill through her body. She always thought it was cruel that no matter how her weight fluctuated, none of it ever seemed to go to her chest. It wasn’t enough to be chubby she had to be flatchested too? She looked to the final dessert.

This one was beautiful. Thin layers of flaky pastry stack on top of each other with layers of almost shining white cream between them. The cream itself was flecked with traces of red and purple and then the whole thing was dusted with icing sugar.

Spring Fillyfeuille: This layered dessert complete with berries actually is good for you. The person who eats it will become athletic and fit. Lasts for one hour

Maddy frowned thinking about how Lily had kept pushing her to be ok with her body. She knew her friend meant well but Maddy knew what it was like. She had lived a life of being overlooked, being passed over. Of having more fit friends who would subtly put her down or use her to make themselves look better. She imagined herself with a flat stomach, or with Ab’s like Amy’s. If she looked like that…Maybe maybe she could stand a chance in this competition.

She put the card down and felt another wave of heat pass through her body. With a start, she realized that maybe reading these wasn’t the best decision when covered in her roommate’s pollen. Her body was crying out for attention desperately.

She ran into the bathroom, hastily shut the door and began to strip, her body glistening with sweat and little sparking pieces of pollen that clung to her porcelain skin. She jumped into the shower and turned it on, the hot water feeling cool against her aroused skin. She placed her back against the cool tile wall and slowly slid down it.

As her backside hit the ground she urgently reached out to grab her quivering sex and gently stroke at her entrance as the hot water coursed down her body. Reaching up she felt the small sensitive flesh of her breast, kneading it in her hands and gasping out as her fingers ran over her pebbled nipple.

Feverishly she began to play with her folds, envisioning a version of herself that was confident, with large breasts and skinny. A better version, a version that would make a man want her. He squeezed at her chest with gasped out **** whimpers.

She had never felt so hot before, it was like she was exploring herself for the first time. She thought of this new version of herself, along with an amorphous man who grabbed her with torrid desire and ripped open her shirt and wrestled her to the ground.

She felt her insides tensing, she was so close. She imagined herself with all of these other women, so beautiful and strong. She imagined the same figure despite all that choosing her, singling her out and pulling her into a deep kiss while the others watched.

That was what sent her over the edge. As the water cascaded down around her she felt her insides begin to spasm as she thrust up her hips into the air to meet an invisible partner. Her fingers dug into her flesh leaving little red trails on her skin. As she rode it out she felt her mind go white with sensation before the sounds and sensations of the shower became real again.

She clenched her eyes tight, riding out the subsequent sensations of the orgasm before slowly climbing to her feet and grabbing the soap. It was clear that she needed to get this pollen off her now if she was going to be leaving here today.

When Caleb awoke it took him a minute to register where he was. The ceiling was still unfamiliar to him and the sound of even breathing next to him threw him off as he turned to see Eliza. Her clothing had returned to being the periwinkle pajamas she had been wearing at the start of their date and she had rolled towards the center of the bed, her back towards Caleb.

After the events of the previous day, he was relieved to see her sleeping so peacefully. He thought back to the changes that had overcome her and while it turned out she had been faking the majority of the mental changes, what if she hadn’t been? Caleb fully doubted the show was above such transformations or altering contestants in that way. After all they had no issue referring to the contestants as potential sex slaves so it was obvious nothing was off limits in theory.

He frowned, someone had to have used a Sabotage on Eliza last night, knowing it was her date with him. Unfortunately, he didn’t feel like he knew the group well enough to be able to judge. Prior to yesterday, he would have assumed this was something that Noemi would do, but he was trying to see her as more than a thug. In fact that was its own can of worms.

Who really was Noemi? The girl who had physically and emotionally assaulted him throughout his Middle school career or the sweet and slightly over-eager woman jumping to marriage? That was after one coffee date too. It was clear that despite these women being chosen due to their relationships with him as the Master, Caleb knew too little about all of them.

Then there was Lily…who no no he couldn’t in good conscious say he knew her now. The woman she had been before he betrayed her? No, he couldn’t rely on that. He was essentially at square one with all of them. Maybe this show was about them earning points with him, but if he was going to do right by them he had to focus on working hard to earn their favor as well.

He was disrupted in his thinking by Eliza turning over and slowly blinking her eyes awake, “Good Morning, did you sleep alright?”

“I can in good faith say that that it’s the first good night of sleep I’ve had since I got here,” Caleb smiled, “Looks like your transformation wore off, your clothes changed back.”

The professor looked down and examined herself, her look changing to one of curiosity, “Good to know that clothes changes are temporary too, I almost expected them to stay as they were to maximize eye candy for the audience.”

“Sounds like something Lucian would do,” Caleb muttered before his gaze looking seriously at Eliza, “Professor-”

“Eliza, remember?” His bed partner interrupted him.

“Eliza, last night you said the only thing the transformation did was make you want to show off right? Now that it’s worn off do you still think that’s the case?”

The blonde raised an eyebrow, “How would I know?”

“Oh, I just thought maybe you’d be able to tell now, like thinking back to your memories if anything felt out of place?” Caleb offered.

Shaking her head, Eliza gestured to herself, “My memories are just that, memories of what transpired and what I felt at the time. Maybe the transformation has worn off and I can think I might have handled it differently, but how is that different from any other memory? The self is just a compilation of our experiences and thoughts. You need to understand Caleb that’s why this show is dangerous. If one of us is **** to change it’s not that that person will no longer be themselves, it's that who they are has fundamentally changed. Do you understand the difference?”

Caleb paused and mulled the words over before answering, “I guess it’s like in cooking if you make a cake with an egg, you don’t say that is no longer the egg it’s just what it is now takes precedence.”

“Right, so if we get changed on this Island Caleb, take me for example,” the professor reached over to the bedside table to put on her glasses, “The me that was 51 is not a different person from the me who is now 21. But I might now behave differently because I’m more fit, have different hormones flooding my body, and so on and this is a more innocuous change. They were going to turn poor Maddy into a pig hybrid. Think how that would fundamentally change her.”

She breathed a heavy sigh, “The danger at the end of this isn’t that we are going to be different people, that would happen even if we were kidnapped without these magic transformations. The danger is that we will become individuals that we cannot reconcile with who we were. It’s not what has changed, Caleb. It is what is lost.”

“So those Sabotages then are pretty egregious because they can **** you into behaving in whys you might not be able to reconcile,” Caleb suggested.

“That’s how I feel, but at the same time…we need to consider lesser evils as well. Survival of the self at all may require giving a few things up. My goal is to minimize what the other girls need to give up to get through this competition.” The professor’s face was determined as she stared back at Caleb.

Caleb reached out and gently touched his hand to her cheek and watched as her expression faltered, “You don’t need to put so much on yourself though. Ok? I may not be able to do much about this situation but if a situation comes up, please talk to me. I saw last night how much pressure you put on yourself and I want you to be happy too.”

“Oh Caleb…” Eliza found herself leaning in and kissing the man again on the lips. She blushed and retreated back, brushing her hair behind her ear, “We should get to breakfast, I’m sure Lily, Noemi, and Maddy are curious how things went and I want to reassure them.

Caleb nodded and began to get out of bed, “What about what happened yesterday? Do you have any idea who might have tried to Sabotage you like that?

Stepping out from under the blankets, Eliza shook her head, “No I don’t know and without knowing the BP scores of others I’m very hesitant to start guessing. I’ll let Maddy, Noemi, and Lily know what happened and from there we’ll just have to keep an eye out”

Caleb nodded, hoping that if the saboteur saw their efforts didn’t work out maybe that would be the end of it. He was nervous that hope may be a bit naive.

Around fifteen minutes later the two managed to get dressed and come down the elevator. As they walked towards the breakfast hall they were greeted by someone just leaving.

Mira was dressed to the nines wearing a beautiful silver pendant and crystal earrings against a long slinky red dress with a high slit on the side. Her hair was done up and was impeccable. She glanced over at the two and her expression not changing stared down Caleb, “Good, I was hoping to catch you before you went to breakfast.”

Caleb looked at her stunned, he had not expected anything like this from Mira. After how casual and avoidant the parts of Eliza’s date had been…this had been the last thing he expected from the older woman. He still managed to get out, “You…look incredible.”

This earned a small smile from Mira, “Yes I know, thank you. I have plans for our date, so meet me at the auditorium at 1 alright? That should give you time to decompress after the previous day’s…activities. Oh and wear something nice”

With that final word, she strode past Eliza and Caleb leaving them alone as they entered the dining hall.