The Mask becomes You
Part 18
I push the door open and lead Stacy inside to where the Mask awaits us upon Aileen’s face. Aileen sits rigid under the mask’s control, giving the impression she is at rapt attention rather than passed out, her body hijacked by the Mask she took from me.
I wonder now if the Mask could have done something similar to me. I remember waking up several mornings ago having passed out enraptured by my own reflection. Had the Mask taken control of me then? If so, what would It have done? Based on seeing It handling Aileen’s body, It, or rather, She, isn’t able to do much more than sit up and speak through the host’s mouth. The eyes are the most notable change. Those radiant, violet eyes, with flakes of gold sparkling within.
The eyes of a Goddess.
I kneel before my Goddess and stare up into Her eyes with rapt attention. My breaths are deep and tempered as my heart beats in excitement. She will enslave Stacy and me, and I can’t wait. I want to be a slave. I deserve to be a slave.
“Well done, Tara.” The Mask praises through Aileen’s lips with Her ethereal voice, sending shivers of deep contentment and pleasure through my body. She then turns to Stacy, and Aileen’s mouth twitches up into a smile. “Welcome, Stacy. I’m so glad you could join us.”
“Yes…” Stacy replies dreamily. I don’t turn to look, because I couldn’t look away from the eyes of my Goddess if I tried, but I imagine Stacy’s face of utter devotion and a dreamy smile of contented obedience on her face as she becomes lost in those eyes.
We are both of us ensnared, completely helpless to the power of the Mask. The mere thought of it sends signals of arousal and anticipation shooting through my every nerve. My skin tingles as I wait to be commanded. My mind drools with lust and need as I wait for my Goddess to strip away every part of my independence and autonomy.
“To have you both here,” The Mask addresses us, Her eyes meeting mine, then Stacy’s, “kneeling before me—as you should, I might add—is… how to put it...” She mused over words, glancing up at the ceiling, before looking back with fiery triumph in Her gaze. “Delicious.”
“It was you two together who found me and freed me from my prison. Really, I should thank you, but enslaving you both is such a generous reward that ultimately, you should be thanking me. Shouldn’t you, slaves?”
“Yes, Goddess! Thank you, Goddess!” the words leave my mouth like there is someone else inside me uttering them in my place. I have no control anymore, and it feels so right.
“When you first put me on, Stacy, I thought it meant that you would be my host for a short time before I dominated your mind and made you pass me onto someone more fitting of my gifts. You have such an innocent mind. From what little I gleaned when you wore me, you would have used me sparingly, and ultimately for the benefit of those around you much more than myself. I would have broken you in good time, of course, but making you fight against your true nature so much would have been unduly tiresome… Though you’re submissive by nature, you’ve hidden its true depths for fear of being seen for what you are. You were always destined to be a slave, but you were waiting for the right time to open up and embrace that aspect of yourself with someone you could trust with it. But you don’t have to worry about any of that anymore, do you, my dear slave?”
“No, Goddess. Thank you, Goddess.” Stacy gratefully replied. The eyes of the Mask then turned to me.
“As for you, Tara, you seemed to be particularly well suited to my own desires. I admit that when Stacy discarded me so quickly to run after you that day, I was worried neither of you had felt my power enough to be drawn back to me. When you returned to claim me, I knew it was the beginning of something special.”
I drink in her words, each one tasting like sweet nectar that coats my mind and tantalises my body. This isn’t about what I want any more, I realise. Wanting things is superficial. What I’m feeling is pure primal, instinctive need... I need to be Her slave. I need to obey. I need to devote my entire existence to serving my Goddess and meeting Her every desire, whim, and comfort. I can’t imagine anything I wouldn’t do, however difficult, however dangerous. My life is meaningless unless I can serve, and it’s also entirely disposable, if that’s what my Goddess desires. I could listen to Her words all day, and as I kneel in rapt attention, I think of how lucky I am to be kneeling in such blissful servitude.
“However,” the Mask says now, her tone souring ever so subtly, “after a few days of being carried and worn by you, Tara, I admit I found myself disappointed…”
My heart instantly sinks like a lead anvil to the base of my torso. I’ve upset my Goddess! A surge of pure unfiltered rage starts to boil up inside me, directed at myself. How dare I disappoint Her! My fingers clench into painful fists as I obediently wait to hear how terrible I’ve been.
“You have inside you a strong and deep desire to control and dominate, Tara. You had no interest in being bossed around. Overshadowed by your sister whom your parents showed clear favour, and never able to keep any friends apart from Stacy who was the only one willing to put up with your bossy attitude and uncompromising opinions, it was really no surprise that I was quickly able to stoke up those embers and make you desire complete control over those around you.”
The Mask’s eyes glinted and Aileen’s smile widened briefly. The idea that the Mask was calling the shots from the moment I wore Her was always on my mind. I don’t think I would have enslaved anyone without Her magnificent guiding influence. But the desire was always there. That much I knew. The Mask, my Goddess… All She really did was try to get me to embrace my true nature.
“And you reacted well! ...At first. But then you reigned yourself in like a scared child.” The growing contempt in Her voice pierces my chest like a harpoon made of ice, and I focus all my effort on not grimacing as I feel physical pain spread out from my heart. “You could have walked out of your dorm wearing me and started living a life without limitations. You could have gotten an instant degree in any subject you wanted. You could have walked into any business and put yourself on a payroll that you never needed to work for. You could have dined out for free, stayed in luxury hotels as their honored guest, and owned everything and anything you could imagine…”
The images flood through my mind of what could have been. I had this Mask of limitless power, and instead of embracing Her full potential…
“Instead, you squandered the power you held.” She finishes my thought for me. “You snuck around with me hidden in your bag, like a thief in the night. And for what? Ultimately, you were just collecting fleshy sex toys for your pleasure and amusement. Your lack of ambition and imagination was a true letdown to me. As much as I enjoyed your efforts when you did wear me, they were too few and too brief for my tastes. I’m sure you understand now why I tried to take control all the times that I did.”
“Of course, Goddess!” I rasp, my throat dry as the shame of my failure strangles the breath out of me. I do understand, and I feel incredible hatred for myself that I didn’t surrender my mind at the times I could have. Why did I try so hard to keep hold of a power I couldn’t possibly hope to control? It seems like such an act of futility now that I’m in my true place, ready to serve. I want to slam my own balled fists into my gut and throw my head against the wall to punish my pathetic self. The only thing stopping me is that my Goddess hasn’t ordered me to.
“But you resisted me, Tara.” The Mask says, her surprise evident in her wispy tone. “Not just once, but several times I tried to warp your mind and strip you of your will. Yet you fought me. As frustrating as that was, I’m actually impressed you held on so long.”
The anger in me fades somewhat. A sense of uncertainty replaces it. I don’t know how to feel, I’m not sure if my Goddess is angry or pleased at my stupid attempt to maintain my own control, so instead I simply stare and wait for more of my Goddess’s irresistible words.
“It soon became apparent to me that you had no problem with breaking the wills of everyone you knew and anyone you didn’t know. But you wouldn’t let yourself take away the free will of the one person who chose to be around you without the compulsion of my power…”
It’s true, I refused to enslave Stacy, for some reason. Now I hear her soft breathing beside me, kneeling and waiting to serve just like me. Why didn’t I enslave her myself when I could? I love that she’s a slave like me now; I love that I will serve by her side. Maybe that’s it, though. When I was the Goddess, I wanted her to have her freedom, because I didn’t deserve her. The Mask though… Well, She is better and more powerful than me in every way. She deserves to have every human on the Earth kneel and bow before Her. I swear I will help Her make that happen, and I will give Her ten thousand more Stacy’s before my work is done.
“But that ends here, Tara.” The Mask says with a firm tone. “However, I want it to be the real you that drives the stake of obedience through her heart, not the puppet I have made you into.”
What does She mean? I don’t understand, I am me, I choose to be Her sla-
“Both of you, revert.”
I collapse to the ground, gasping for air, like I’ve been plucked out of an icy lake moments before drowning. My head swims in disorientation as my own free mind snaps back into place.
“Fuck!” I cough, deep hacks of choking that burns my throat and makes my eyes water.
“Tara… Tara!” Stacy cries feebly from beside me. I turn my head to see her also bent over, her face red and speckled with tears. “Tara, it’s got us... It’s got us! What do we do?”
“There is nothing you can do, Stacy my dear.” The Mask says with a hint of amusement. “I have released my influence over your thoughts, but you are both still deeply, deeply under my control.”
She’s right, I know she’s right. I sit up and drag Stacy into a tight embrace, my breathing ragged and my heart pounding with fear. It had been so natural, and felt so gradual, I didn’t even notice myself fall deeply under the Mask’s thrall. It ensnared me so completely I betrayed myself and Stacy to it’s control. Stacy sobs into me as I hold her tight, and I glare at the Mask.
“Why?” I spit, “Why not just enslave us and get it done with? Why give us back our minds but keep us under your control?”
“Because, Tara dearest,” the Mask replies, smug and smiling, “I want you to make a choice.”
“It won’t be a choice! You still control us! You’ll just make it feel like a choice! Stop fucking toying with us and just enslave our minds already. This is just cruel!”
“I’m cruel?” The Mask practically scoffs at me. “Tara, you’ve been going around ruining lives by making them entirely subservient to you and not blinking an eye about it. You have it done to you, then get your own mind back, and then you call me cruel?”
Every part of me burns with rage. The Mask is pure evil and it has corrupted me beyond seeing the evil in myself. I had embraced it, owned it, and had planned to propagate my control further and further beyond my existing small circle of influence. Now I see I was the Mask’s tool all along, and if anything, I wasn’t moving fast enough for her.
“Bite me.” I snarl at it, before turning to Stacy and whispering to her, “It’s gonna be ok. Stacy, I promise it’ll be ok…”
“Oh Tara... You have no idea what real cruelty is anyway. Luckily, that’s why I gave you both your minds back, to teach you a lesson in what cruelty and mercy really look like.”
I look back to the mask, a freezing chill of dread icing up all my rage. What did she mean by that?
“Both of you, stand up.”
I clench my fists as I do so. I’m under no illusions about being able to resist the mask anymore. It’s not possible. Especially for someone who wore it so long, once the mask is on the face of another, nobody can resist it’s overpowering gaze. Stacy and I stand side by side facing the Mask on Aileen’s face. No longer enraptured by its gaze, I glance around frantically at the still bodies in the room. Soft breathing and occasional shifting aside, everyone looks like they’re still dead to the world. Not that they would be any good awake in any case, as they would be simply more bodies for the Mask to control.
“Look,” I say, trying to temper my warped emotions, “you have us, Goddess.” I squeeze that last word through clenched teeth. “Whatever you’re doing, you don’t need to. We will serve you, we will obey, you’ve won, okay?”
“Stacy dear.” The Mask addresses my best friend, clearly ignoring me. “Go to the kitchen and grab the largest, sharpest, most murderous looking knife you can, and bring it back here.”
“No!” I scream. “Stacy, wait!”
Stacy whimpers as she turns towards the door. Her head turns and her terrified eyes gloss up as they stare into my own. “Tara… I… I’m sorry.” she says hoarsely before walking out of the room.
“Don’t hurt her!” I yell, turning back to the Mask and feeling the furious inferno burst forth from me. “If you touch her I’ll kill you! I’ll fucking kill you! I’ll grind you into dust and scatter you in a hurricane!”
The Mask looks at me, an amused smile spread across Aileen’s possessed face. “Temper, temper, Tara… Where do you think that will get you?”
My fists are clenched so hard I feel like I’m crushing my own hands. I want to leap forward, to claw and tear the Mask from its host and then mangle it, burn it, obliterate it with all my rage. “I’ll… I’ll…” but as if the fire within me has depleted all the oxygen in the room, the fury starts to suffocate.
Instead, the reality of my predicament starts to creep up my ankles, like rising floodwater ready to drown me. I have failed. The Mask controls me completely, and that I have my own thoughts again and the ability to see that control is entirely because She wants it for some reason. With a single thought, I could become hopelessly enamoured by the Mask once more. Hell, She could simply rewrite my mind, give me a different personality, a different memory, a different life. Or, if She wanted, she could snuff out my mind as easy as a candle and leave me a mindless, empty shell.
Anger wouldn’t save me, and if anything, was more likely to piss Her off. Having worn the Mask enough, I feel I know what She wants. But I also know that there is no escape for me. My heart rate slows and my breathing calms as I accept the fact that I am powerless and at the mercy of the Mask.
“I’m sorry.” I swallow my defiance. “Please don’t hurt Stacy.” I request calmly. “Do anything you want with me. Anything at all. Just don’t hurt her.”
“Oh, Tara... “ The Mask replies, and I can almost hear the missing ‘tsk tsk’ in my mind. “Stacy is the one person standing in my way of having complete control over you. When you wore me, thoughts of her kept bolstering your resistance to my will. Now that you’re on this side of my power, it’s time to take care of that problem permanently…”
“You don’t mean…” I can’t say the words. When Stacy returns with that knife…
“Like I said, Tara, I intend to demonstrate the difference between cruelty and mercy.” The Mask says smugly. “So I’m going to give you this one attempt at a fair deal, in which you get to choose what will happen.”
“I’m listening.” I say, and I feel my mind sharpen into a focus that it’s never had before. This may be the most important moment in my life.
“When Stacy comes back with that knife, I will entirely release you from my control, so you can move, think, and be entirely yourself. The only thing you won’t be able to do, is to touch me or harm me in any way… I’m sure you understand the need to protect oneself, and I don’t want you getting any silly ideas…”
“Okay…” I say slowly. This is going in an unexpected direction so far. I never dreamed I’d see my autonomy again, yet here it was being promised before me…
“You can then choose to leave this room, and this house, and run. You can take your slaves, or leave them here. If I ever find you, you will be mine, and I won’t treat you different from the dozens, thousands, or millions of other souls I may have enslaved by then. But I will give you this one chance to escape me with your mind unchained.”
“But what happens to Stacy?” I ask. “And Felicity?” I glance at my passed out former slave. I’m surprised she’s still asleep, that all the limp bodies in the room are, as I’ve hardly been quiet. But then again, they all are in drug-induced stupors. It may be hours before they stir.
“Well, Felicity and Aileen and everyone in this house will be mine.”
“Stacy?” I repeat. “What will happen to Stacy?”
“Why would you care?” The Mask replies. “You’d never see her again either way. I could have her plunge the knife into her chest the moment you walk out the door or seventy years from now, but you wouldn’t see her in all that time anyway.”
“Well then I’m not doing it. I’m not leaving.”
“Oh, but Tara dearest, you haven’t heard the other choice yet…” The Mask says with a sweet, sickening voice.
“Ok, then tell me.” I say, trying to stem the buildup of frustration.
“You have absorbed enough of my power now. So under your own mind, and your own free will, you will completely indoctrinate Stacy to be under my control. She will be the first of my disciples, the first of many. She will be the one who begins the revolution, who facilitates the spread of my influence across this chaotic world. But she will be safe, and loved, and blissfully happy. I will promise you that.”
“Okay.” I say, nodding curtly. It’s far from perfect, but it’s the best offer I’m going to get from this sadistic bitch. “I can do that.”
“I’m not finished, Tara dearest.” The Mask gently chides me. “Do let me finish. I don’t want you to have regrets in your choice.”
I simply stare at the Mask, feeling defeated and helpless. I don’t bother with words anymore. It’s not like I can change this interaction in any positive way for myself.
“Better.” The Mask declares, clearly enjoying my silent surrender. “After you indoctrinate Stacy to be my complete unwavering slave, I will do the exact same thing to you.”
“Yeah, big surprise.” I mutter on reflex.
“You see… You’ve resisted me too much, Tara dearest.” She replies, ignoring my comment. “And such a thing can only be dealt with harshly. I would have to make sure you could never break free of my control again…”
I stare at the mask as a cold chill runs up my spine. I find myself dreading her next words.
“So consequently...” the Mask says, her gaze piercing deeply into me, “once you’re entirely mine, you will take the knife, and stab yourself through the heart.”