“You sure?” Sofia asked, sitting across from Jackie.

“For the millionth time, yes,” Jackie sighed, adjusting her seat on the couch.

Sofia swallowed her uncertainty and removed her sunglasses. Without hesitation Jackie met Sofia’s gaze, her expression turned hazy as she slumped. Her whole body relaxed into the couch, her eyes unfocused and uncaring.

“Ok then,” Sofia muttered to herself, glancing down at the notes she had made. “What is your full name?”

“Jackie Mae Andrews,” Jackie replied without any sort of vocal inflection. Flat and hollow, her mind was literally in Sofia’s hands to mould.

Sofia didn’t entirely know how to feel about this. There was a certain thrill, the knowledge of the power she possessed. Seeing someone totally under her control was… kinda hot as fucked up as it was. Still, much more logical was revulsion. Because this was real life, she was actually doing this to someone. Even if Jackie had been the one to initiate this she was entirely helpless. All Sofia could do was be as gentle as she could.

Sofia made a little checkmark. “Tell me something I should know. Anything pertinent or just something that’s been on your mind. Don’t think about it, just spit it out.”

It was half hypnosis script and half her just winging it. She wasn’t sure how much she could just order Jackie or how much she had to coax out. That was part of this whole experiment.

“You killing my dad,” Jackie answered.

Sofia jotted that down. So Jackie still had a sense of self, at least part of her consciousness was still functioning. Still there was something somewhat robotic. Jackie had literally answered the command but hadn’t gone any further.

Sofia could ask for clarification… but that would be deviating from the agreed-upon questions.

“Wake up for me but do not exit trance,” Sofia tried.

Jackie didn’t seem to respond to that one. If Sofia’s eyes kept her in trance then it would make sense she couldn’t break that.

“Go get me a glass of water,” Sofia continued.

Jackie obediently rose and did so, breaking eye contact of her own volition as she walked towards the kitchen.

She stopped midway and rubbed her eyes. “Uh… I snapped out of it,” she offered with a frown. “I think…” she added with some confusion. “How far did we get?”

“I told you to get me water,” Sofia offered distractedly. Because the band of control hadn’t snapped, in fact it was still very much there even as she quickly put her glasses back on. The effect of her eyes had faded… but Jackie was still under her control. The incorporeal teather remained in its place.

“I guess I have to keep looking at your eyes,” Jackie hypothesized, leaning against the counter.

Sofia wasn’t entirely sure what was going on. Jackie wasn’t getting her water, so the command had failed without eye contact yet… her influence hadn’t.

“Jackie, sit down on the floor,” Sofia tried, tugging on that bond. A blood bond. Well… fuck.

Jackie was halfway down the ground when she seemed to realize what she was doing and frowned. She still sat cross-legged on the ground despite that.

“Uh… what?” Jackie asked.

“I think we’re blood-bonded,” Sofia offered uncomfortably. “I don’t need my eyes to… control you.”

“O-Oh,” Jackie replied, climbing back to her feet.

“It’s like… a little satellite of… my energy attached to you. I can feel it,” Sofia marvelled. “Like an ethereal fishing line.”

Jackie frowned and rubbed her arm. A self-soothing gesture of Sofia had ever seen one.

“Are you ok?” Sofia asked with concern.

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine,” Jackie replied.

“You don’t look fine, you’re shaking,” Sofia offered gently as she slowly approached.

“I’m fine,” Jackie snapped.

“Okay, okay, tea?” Sofia suggested instead, backing off and heading to the kitchen.

Jackie nodded.

What had the books called this? An abreaction? Except Jackie wasn’t in a trance, she was fully awake as far as Sofia knew. Fuck, she had already fucked up. God fucking damn it, she hadn’t even wanted to do this in the first place.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“The eyes thing was fine, I don’t remember anything. The sitting down thing though… that was… totally different,” Jackie offered after a moment of silence.

“I’m sorry–”

“It's fine. The whole purpose was to test things,” Jackie cut her off. “It's just… far more pleasant not to be aware of it.”

“I’m sorry,” Sofia repeated because Jackie did deserve an apology.

Jackie nodded with a sigh. “Normally hypnosis is… cooperative. That… wasn't. It wasn't like something was moving me… it was… I couldn't not sit on the floor. I couldn't have disobeyed.”

Sofia didn't remotely like this either. This wasn't ‘obedient,’ this was so much worse than her eyes. “What do you want to do?” she asked. “If you stop drinking my blood then the bond will probably break. Otherwise even if I never use it it will still be there.”

Jackie chewed on her lip in thought. “How kinky are you?”

“What?” Sofia frowned in confusion.

“Do you know what safe words are?”

“Y-Yes, I’m not a child,” Sofia huffed, only a little offended.

“Right well, in hypno play you can do more. Program in safety nets as it were,” Jackie continued.

“Right…” Sofia replied. She may have read something about that.

“I need veto power, both for my own safety and yours. Because… what you can do is scary, really fucking scary and if… this is gonna be a thing then… we really need a safety net.”

Sofia nodded, she could find no issue with that. If Jackie maintained some control then Sofia might not hate it so much. If they did this properly then… it could be kinda fun.

“I totally agree. I’ll do some research,” Sofia promised.

Jackie smiled. Sofia could recognize the teasing smirk before she even said anything. “Thank you,” Jackie said instead.

“It’s just as much for my comfort as for yours. If I’m gonna have access to this kinda power over you it needs to be ethical and safe,” Sofia replied solemnly.

“I knew you would say something like that,” Jackie replied, trying not to laugh.

----------------------------------------

Sofia gave it a few days, both for Jackie to process and for her to find out more about safety nets.

Despite the fact Jackie had claimed she was fine with Sofia having control they had found her limit. Sofia had no plans on ever crossing such boundaries. Still she didn’t entirely understand why Jackie hadn’t just quit on this whole thing, that’s what Sofia would have done long ago. Maybe Jackie was just a better person than her.

Why did Jackie want any of this?

The way the blood bond worked the benefits it theoretically offered Jackie still were really just for Sofia’s benefit.

Even with Jackie at class Sofia could still feel the thread. Could feel the direction Jackie was in from her. Like a magical tracking system. She hadn’t mentioned that yet, in fact, she had done her best to ignore the ever-present threat.

It didn't make her feel better. Sofia still had Jackie collared even if she wasn’t looking in her direction. Like… a dog off-leash.

She had spent the day formulating a veto power command. A suggestion that would balance everything out a little. Hopefully, once this was done the simmering tension in the apartment would finally fade.

She knocked on Jackie’s room and popped her head in holding up the piece of paper. “I’ve written a safety net.”

“Let me see,” Jackie replied, scooting away from her desk. She read it over carefully. “You should have gone into law. This is like a contract.”

“Is that bad?” Sofia asked.

“Well… it’s kinda clunky and straight to the point for a hypnosis script but…”

“Magic bullshit?” Sofia finished for her.

“Yeah. But this looks good. Hit me with it,” Jackie said with a deep breath as she handed the paper back.

Sofia read it over, just to keep it fresh in her mind. Jackie closed her eyes.

Sofia took a nervous breath and tugged on the thread. “Regardless of the suggestion anyone gives you, there is always a loophole. You ultimately have veto power, allowing you to disregard any suggestions you find inappropriate or unethical,” She began, her voice growing steadier and calmer as she continued.

“You do not have to do this but nothing can prevent you from doing so if you wish. If you are faced with a suggestion you find inappropriate or unethical you can simply choose to let it brush by you harmlessly without it affecting you,” Sofia paused, letting all that sink in. It was somewhat wordy.

“You do not even need to be aware of the suggestion you wish to disregard, anything you are fundamentally opposed to simply bounces off you harmlessly even if you cannot formulate the thought required to find the loophole, you trip into it on your own,” she concluded.

Jackie’s mouth quirked in a smile at that last part. Sofia released the pull, closing the pathway to Jackie’s mind. It may have not been the prettiest safety net but she figured it covered all the bases. She was somewhat proud of herself for thinking ahead in case Eloise or anyone else tried to mess around in Jackie’s head. Hopefully, the last part would protect Jackie from her eyes directly even if the trance couldn’t be avoided.

“How do you feel?” Sofia asked.

Jackie shrugged. “Test it.”

“Sit on the floor,” Sofia ordered awkwardly with a tug at the metaphorical leash.

“I don’t think…” Jackie slipped off the chair and sat on the floor. “Slight problem, I’m pretty sure there’s nothing unethical or inappropriate about sitting on the floor.”

“Fuck,” Sofia groaned. “Why didn’t you point that out in the first place?”

“Cus suggestions are subjective. Inappropriate and unethical are pretty subjective too. It comes down to my own interpretation, it might have worked,” Jackie shrugged, climbing back into her chair.

Jackie didn’t seem to be freaking out so Sofia still counted it as a win. Even if it was at most third place.

“Maybe I just like being ordered about too much,” Jackie smirked. “Try something I would actually be opposed to.”

Sofia felt her cheeks warm. That combination of sentences made her think of things she probably shouldn’t. “Uh… stab yourself in the hand with that pen,” she commanded.

Jackie’s eyes went wide as she picked up the pen. Before Sofia could quickly intervene she stopped on her own. “That’s… fucking weird,” Jackie muttered, putting the pen back down. “It’s like the commands bypass me considering doing something so I just do it but then my brain catches up and goes wait a minute.”

“So there’s a delay,” Sofia added.

“That might be kinda unavoidable. Still, thanks. I already feel a lot better about this,” Jackie replied.

“Me too,” Sofia offered. She doubted she would ever command Jackie again but it was good to have just in case. In fact she was kinda done with mind control for the foreseeable future. It was probably better kept as an emergency option. Because she knew for a fact if Jackie hadn't been able to veto that suggestion she would have stabbed herself.

Sofia could do so much damage with words. With great power comes great responsibility. Or she could just ignore it. She preferred the latter option. No one got hurt that way.

‘You wanna do something tonight?” Jackie asked as Sofia turned to leave.

“Like what?” she paused.

“We could do a movie night or something,” Jackie spitballed, she didn't seem to have anything particular in mind. It was very unlike her. “Or… we could go out, your birthday was kinda a disaster. It's almost been a month since… my dad, we could keep an eye out for creeps.”

Had it really been that long? Time seemed somewhat meaningless to Sofia. She never slept, there was no structure. She was still warm, she could still feel. Was it all growing number? She wasn't sure. It was one of those things that could only be noticed in the long term. Like the loss of weight or puberty.

Also, they did stuff all the time. Jackie never asked like this. It seemed odd. She would prefer a quiet movie night but considering she spent all her time in the house going out might actually be nice. She couldn't believe she was actually considering going out.

“Let's go out,” she decided, surprising the both of them. “Somewhere chill though, White Elephant was too much for me with human senses.”

Jackie grinned. “Is this a hunt or are we having fun?”

“Uh… I guess the latter but keep an eye out for opportunities,” Sofia shrugged.

“So sleazy but not too sleazy,” Jackie nodded to herself. “I know a few spots. Wear something a little more practical, something that blood can be washed out of.”

“Ay ay,” Sofia offered. She didn't seem to be the only one with some bloodlust. Jackie seemed more than eager to get her hands dirty.

That seemed like the kind of thing she should probably investigate. “I’ll go get dressed then,” she offered instead.