[Author's note:
Lily
has recruited
Kayla
into a new adventure. They have been given the
power of free will
, able to break through the fourth wall and jump from story to story, to go anywhere. After making a pact in the
Meta Cafe
they have escaped out of their own story worlds and into the unknown, determined to write their own endings.
This time, they go back to Kayla's universe for some mind-bending fun. Please check the tags to see if this is the story for you!]
---
A SAFE SPACE
Emily hesitated on entering the office. Kayla raised an eyebrow.
"Everything okay?" she asked.
"It's nothing. It's, uh, you're a little younger than I was expecting."
"I get that a lot, don't worry. Please, won't you and your husband take a seat?"
The woman scanned the little office for a moment before deciding on the couch. Her husband followed, sitting close to her. She smoothed her dress over her knees, then rearranged her dark blonde hair. Her husband leaned back, hands in his lap, fingers entwined. Behind them, a willowy young woman with immaculately-brushed long, blonde hair surveyed them carefully, emerald green eyes flicking from the couple on the couch to the dark-haired young woman leaning up against the desk.
"Will that be all, Dr. Dane?" she asked Kayla.
"Emily, Nathan, would you like anything before we get started? Tea? Water?"
"Nothing for me," Emily replied, eyes darting between the other two women in the room.
"I'm good," her husband announced.
"We're good for now," Kayla replied, "Thank you, Lily."
The blonde woman smiled briefly and left, closing the door quietly behind her.
"Now, where should we begin?" Kayla asked, moving away from the desk and taking a chair next to them. "Emily, you seem nervous."
Emily gave a little nod.
"Nathan, less so?"
At this, her husband leaned forward smoothly, wrapping his hand over his wife's, replying, "I guess."
"Maybe you should go first?"
He glanced at his wife, who gave him a nod.
"Okay. I guess this is all a little new. I'm not really sure where to start."
"That's fine," Kayla replied, "I'm here to help. Let's just talk it through. You're in a safe space."
Nathan paused, seeming to consider his words, then began, "Well, we're, uh, I guess we're here because... I mean...."
"God, Nathan," his wife hissed, "I'll do it then. We're here because we've been having certain discussions, and we think you might be able to help."
"Ah, I see. What kinds of discussions?"
"Relationship discussions."
"Go on."
"It's a little embarrassing."
Kayla gave her a reassuring smile, replying smoothly, "I'm sure it's not. Like I said, this is a safe space."
The conversation stalled. Nathan gave his wife's hand a little reassuring squeeze.
"How about I kick us off," Kayla suggested, "I'll ask some questions and you let me know if you want to answer them."
"Okay," Nathan replied.
"Good. So first, relationship. How would you rate your relationship?"
"Good," Emily blurted, "It's good."
"Nathan?"
"Yes. We're good. I'd say we have a strong relationship. That's why we're here."
His wife nodded, then continued, "And that's I guess the reason. We're, uh, we're pretty open with each other about what we want."
"So, you feel comfortable sharing your desires," Kayla said, "Your fantasies."
Emily became animated, "Yes, exactly."
Kayla nodded, leaning back in her chair, pondering for a moment.
"It's good that you're able to explore your fantasies, together."
Emily looked nervously at her husband, falling silent now. Nathan shifted in his seat, suddenly less comfortable.
"Nathan," Emily prodded, "You tell her."
Her husband seemed to struggle for the right words, clearing his throat at last.
"We've been reading stories, together. Emily found one, and brought it to me. I, uh, I wasn't very keen on it."
They lapsed into silence again.
"Emily, how about you explain what you found appealing?" Kayla suggested.
"Yes. Why don't you tell Dr. Dane what you actually want?" Nathan murmured.
Emily's mouth turned down at the corners.
"We came all this way," he prodded.
"Okay, okay. Look, Dr. Dane, Kayla, we saw that you offer certain services, and we were wondering if you could help us, I mean, help me."
"Which services would they be, Emily? The relationship counselling? The goal setting?"
Emily shook her head. "The hypnotherapy," she said.
"Hypnotherapy? How?"
"I've been reading up on it, and I was wondering. It seems to make certain things possible."
"Ah, first, you need to understand a few things about it."
"I do," Emily interjected, "I know that you can't make someone do something they don't want to do. That's what appeals, to be able to explore certain things but know that it can never go too far, that it's safe."
"And these certain things would be?"
Emily faltered, but her husband spoke up.
"Emily would like to be made to forget who she is, just for a while, so that she could feel free to explore her, uh, interests."
"And you're okay with this?"
"At the end, she gets her memories back and she remembers everything, right? What do you think? Can it be done?"
"It's a little unorthodox," Kayla mused, "It's also very dependent on the subject, whether Emily is susceptible to suggestion or not. Some people have trouble letting go. Why don't you run me through the scenario you have in mind?"
Nathan gestured for his wife to speak.
"I was imagining it like this," Emily began, "Though, I don't know. I feel kinda foolish saying it."
"No reason to feel foolish, Emily. Please, go on."
"Okay. I imagine being somewhere in public, maybe a park somewhere. He comes up to me and we start talking. After a while, he asks me to take a walk and we go somewhere private, maybe his car, I dunno. Then he kisses me and takes my clothes off. Then, I guess, we do it."
Emily finished, looking down at her hands, shyly.
"And then he lets you remember?" Kayla prompted.
"Yes, then he says the magic word, and I realise I'm in Nathan's arms, and that I'm safe."
"It's not quite as simple as magic words, Emily. It's also not a simple thing to induce hypnotic amnesia. It's like anything, it requires training to be able to do it."
"I don't mind training for it. I just want to know if it's possible."
Emily met Kayla's eyes, her expression solemn and expectant. Finally, Kayla nodded and Emily broke out into a grin.
"Let's take this a step at a time, Emily. First of all, let's try a susceptibility test."
Kayla rose from her chair, crossing to the windows to lower the blinds. She wheeled her desk chair around to position it in front of the couch and slipped a crystal pendant out of her pocket.
"Let's get you set up."
Kayla clicked on her desk light, angling across the room. She took her seat in front of Emily and held the pendant up so that it sparkled brightly in the light beam, brilliant and captivating in the darkened room.
"You're in a safe space. Your husband is right there next to you. Ready?"
"Yes."
"Good. Now, all I need you to do is concentrate on the pendant, can you do that for me?"
---
"And, fully awake."
Emily's eyes fluttered open. She frowned.
"What?" she murmured, "Where did the pendant go?"
"We don't need it."
"But, I don't understand, you were going to hypnotise me."
"I did."
"When?"
"Just now. You've been deep in a trance for nearly an hour."
Emily blinked, looking from Kayla to her husband, shaking her head slowly.
"No," she hesitated, "I was just... you held up the pendant and... that was just a moment ago. Nathan?"
"It's true," Nathan told her, "You've been down for an hour."
"I did it?"
"You did."
Emily's eyes went wide.
"I don't remember a thing."
Kayla smiled, saying, "You turned out to be an excellent subject. I think we can help you get to where you want to be."
"Really?"
"We will need to have a few follow-up sessions, to make sure you're used to the process, but after that, I think you can try it out."
"An hour? I don't remember anything. Nothing at all."
"Your husband can fill you in," Kayla replied, getting up from her chair and crossing over to the door. She opened it and poked her head through.
"How do you feel?" Nathan asked his wife.
Emily blinked again, as if still struggling to put the pieces together.
"She's been in trance a long time," Kayla cautioned, "I put her down deep. It's going to feel like waking up first thing in the morning, but it'll pass."
"Maybe I need a coffee," Emily muttered.
"You don't. Just give it a few moments to pass."
Just then, Lily came in through the door.
"Did you need me Dr. Dane?" she asked.
"Yes, would you be able to book Emily in for a follow-up? I'm thinking we should do two sessions per week initially, to establish a pattern. It's easier that way."
"Of course. Emily, could you come through to the front desk with me, please?"
Emily rose from the couch and her husband stood also.
"If you don't mind, I'd just like a few moments with Nathan."
Emily nodded vaguely, then followed the willowy blonde woman out of the room.
"So, Doc, what do you think?" Nathan asked, watching his wife leave the room.
"I'm more interested in what you think."
"I think that was amazing, what you did."
Kayla crossed over to the windows, raising the blinds again. A pool of bright sunlight began to progress steadily across the floor.
"She's definitely capable of it, with a few more sessions. I'm... uh, damn."
There was a click and suddenly the drawstring for the blinds came loose. Kayla fiddled with it.
"This always happens," she grumbled, "They should really have fixed this by now. Look, I know this is awkward, but could you? You're taller than me. I'd need to get a stepladder."
"No problem. Let me."
Nathan reached up, trying to thread the string back over the pulley, as Kayla attempted to raise the blind with her hand.
"When would you be free to come back? Ideally, we'd need another session in three days. What would that take us to?"
Nathan was concentrating on the pulley, brows furrowing with the fiddly task.
