It was incredible how quickly a day could change.
Sophia shifted restlessly on her bed, clad in nothing but a thin, lace halter bra and a frilly black thong. It was hardly her first choice for dorm room attire: the undersized top barely supported her overflowing tits, and she had never gotten used to how...bare thongs could make her bottom feel. Still, it was the sexiest underwear she owned, an outfit straight from her hentai folder. And while the absurdity of that standard was just now occurring to her, it was too late to change anything.
Master was coming. And it was her job to cheer him up.
Rain tapped on the murky window pane, plucking at the stifling quiet. The sunlight that had cradled her in the morning had since been swallowed by an armada of clouds, their downpour claiming the campus the moment she had reached her own dorm. Since then, Sophia had spent her afternoon trying to catch up on schoolwork, a mission frequently thwarted by her worries over Master. She didn't think Elise would hurt him, but the possibility still made it impossible to focus on anything else.
Now he was on his way over to Mercy Hill, to "decompress" as his phone call had put it. He hadn't recounted all the details of his meeting with Elise, but Sophia got the gist: Chelsea's days at Diepner were numbered, and Master would likely never see her again. Sophia didn't know how she felt about that. From the sound of things, neither did Master.
Her phone buzzed on her desk, signaling his arrival downstairs. Sophia scooped on a pair of sweats and a hoodie, enough to look decent while she navigated the halls to the front entrance. As she opened the door, she wished she had thought to bring a towel as well.
"Oh wow," she said as Master stepped inside, his soaking clothes clinging to his narrow frame. "It really got you out there, huh?"
"You could say that," he replied. Then, after a moment of hesitation, he leaned forward and kissed her. Sophia melted into the sensation, eager for him to press further. But he pulled away after only a moment. "Can we, uh, talk in your room?"
"Sure," she answered, venturing to take his hand. He accepted her fingers into his, but his mind was still clearly elsewhere. It was only earlier that day that he couldn't keep his eyes off her; now his pupils drifted and darted away at the slightest glance. She tried not to let it bother her too much.
"Here," Sophia handed Master a towel as they entered her room. "We can hang up your clothes too, if you want."
"Thanks," he replied, droplets flying as he dried his hair before stripping his shirt from his taut torso.
Sophia resisted the urge to stare, turning around and disrobing instead. With her outer layer removed and her tits tucked back into place, she spun around to find Master already staring at her, his cock stiffening before her eyes. A flicker of arousal sparked between her legs, and she felt her cheeks flush.
"I, um. Thought you might need some cheering up," she offered.
He smiled. But it wasn't the hungry grin she expected. He looked exhausted. And sad.
"That outfit can't be comfortable," he observed.
"It's...not."
"You can put something else on, if you want," he said, climbing onto her bed and flopping on his back with a sigh. "I just need to lie down and...think for a second."
"Uh, okay." She hesitated. "Is it...alright if I lie down too?"
His smile was warmer this time. "I was hoping you would."
Sophia exhaled, her heart fluttering with relief. Being a good slave was easy when Master took what he wanted, but this was a whole other ball game. Her programming urged her to go to him, to smother him with worship and offer whatever relief she could. But the part of her that remembered their old relationship knew that aggressive affection would only push him deeper inside of himself, pressuring him to swallow his feelings instead of easing them.
So she freed herself from her lace constraints and crawled into bed without a word. She nestled against him and kissed his neck, her fingers tracing idle circles through his chest hair. His hand slipped down the arch of her back, and she exhaled contented murmurs as he kneaded her hips and ass. Whatever had happened between him and Elise, whatever was still lingering between him and Chelsea, Sophia wanted her Master to remember that she was here, she was his, and none of that would ever change. She needed him to sink into that realization with her, to leave everything else behind and take shelter in her instead.
But while the warmth in her room kept the rain at bay, the grey air still dripped through the cracks. It hung over Master's head, billowing and growing with every moment, until Sophia started to feel it too. Dark thoughts invaded her haven, wearing Chelsea's face and speaking in her voice. They reminded Sophia of the lies and manipulations she and Master had suffered, the hooks Chelsea had latched into both of their hearts. And yet, as Sophia felt the anger rise, she recalled the sadness she had seen in her former rival's gaze, the desperate longing in her voice as she bid farewell.
Chelsea had told Sophia to take care of Master.
But what if she couldn't do it alone?
"I'm sorry," Master muttered, breaking through the darkness. "This probably isn't easy for you either."
Sophia forced a smile. "It's...confusing," she agreed. "I can't tell if we dodged a bullet, or just haven't realized it hit us yet."
Master groaned in exasperated agreement. "It's so messed up. I know I should be happy. I'm living the fantasy I've always wanted, and the only person who could ruin it is leaving forever. And yet..."
"...And yet if it wasn't for her, our fantasy life would've just stayed fantasy," Sophia finished for him. "I've been thinking about that too."
Master met her gaze, seeming to wrestle with her words as he toyed with a strand of her hair. "Then again, it's not like Chelsea did it all out of the goodness of her heart. If her plan had worked, you would've been totally under her control, and used as a bargaining chip against me. Maybe it's really in spite of her that we managed to get together on our own terms."
Sophia frowned. "Maybe. But it's hard to say. I mean, Chelsea wasn't the only one acting shady. We were all being pretty dishonest with each other until last night."
"True..." Master pinched his eyes. "God, we were such idiots, weren't we?"
Sophia let out a soft laugh. "Kinda yeah." Her smile faded. "Which is why...when I think about what Chelsea's going through right now, it just...doesn't seem fair, y'know?"
"It doesn't." Master paused, then met Sophia's eyes. "Do you think I should try to rescue her?"
Sophia tensed, as though she were nudging the edge of a dangerous precipice. "Would that even be possible?"
"I don't know," Master admitted with a sigh. "If I could get Elise alone, there's a chance I'd be able to turn her. But it's a long shot. I can't test the waters or try a subtle induction like I have before—she'll be on guard and hypervigilant around me no matter what. I could try a head-on attack, but she might be strong enough to resist that too. And if I can't get her under control in one shot, I doubt she'll give me a second." He grimaced. "Even worse, once she knows about my power, she'll probably do everything she can to take it for herself. With her resources, she could pretty easily corner me into being her on-call Svengali. Or maybe she'd just gag and dissect me to see how the Vox ticks."
Sophia's stomach churned at the thought. "When you put it like that...chasing after Chelsea seems like a pretty dumb idea."
Master nodded, but didn't speak. He didn't need to.
Sophia swallowed, afraid to face the question that had stalked her all day. "Do you want to save her?"
It took Master a couple tries to answer. "I'd...I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about it. But it'd be stupid to bet everything on such a risky gamble."
"That wasn't what I asked though," Sophia pressed, desperation outpacing her fear. "Do you
want
to save her?"
Master met her eyes, his answer ringing clear even before the word broke the silence. "Yes."
"Could you live with yourself if we didn't?"
