âI still would have liked us
to settle on a name, but it
still worked out great. Thereâs
a promising future ahead of us!â
- from the video log of Madame Muse
She was late. She was so late that it made Muse question whether or not she was coming at all. By the look on Citrineâs face, she too was starting to doubt Museâs plan. If they got stood up, it would be awkward at best and embarrassing at worst. Muse said nothing.
Then, just as Muse was getting ready to call off the plan, Velvette arrived.
The pretty young girl had dressed back up since theyâd last seen her. Sheâd thrown on some dark jeans with tall combat boots and a grey tank top. Sheâd cleaned the tape residue off her face as well. Had Muse and Citrine just met her today, they might have never known how much of a predicament sheâd been in over two hours ago.
âWhat do you want,â Velvette snapped impatiently as she folded her arms and leaned against the wall by the doorway.
âShh,â Muse snapped back. âIâll do the talking.â
Velvette unfolded her arms and leaned forward, as though she were expecting a fight. âGonna need more details than that.â
Fair enough. Muse raised a hand to calm down her tense guest and said. âYouâre not the only person I invited. We have much to discuss, but first, we have to wait for the others to arrive.â
Velvette opened her mouth again â probably to ask who else was coming â but before the first syllable could leave her mouth, Ms Hawtrey entered the room. She, for one, was right on schedule. Muse and Citrine had sent out their invitations for different times so as to keep everyone from coming to her room all at once. Muse explained the situation again to Ms Hawtrey, who seemed far more willing to wait patiently for guest number four. That was good since Muse had chosen to give that woman lots of time to cool down.
Just as Muse had expected, the next and final guest used every second sheâd been offered to recuperate, and she still looked visibly surly upon arrival. About a minute or two after she was scheduled to arrive, the door latch clicked open and Jynx the Mynx entered the room.
Ms Hawtrey raised her eyebrows. She clearly hadnât expected the Mynx to be involved in this little gathering. Velvette was also surprised, but her shock quickly gave way to bitterness. No words were spoken, but the look she shot to Madame Muse sent a very clear message:
âYou seriously invited this c**t too?!â
Everyone who was invited had come, and there was no better time for Muse to speak up and call the meeting to order.
âWelcome, everyone. Iâm pleased to see you all here.â
âHere for what,â Jynx demanded? She clearly wasnât in a mood to play games with anyone.
Muse smiled, unfazed by the Mynxâs rudeness. âIsnât it obvious? Havenât you ever watched reality TV before?â
It certainly seemed obvious to Velvette, although she was doing a good job at hiding any sign of intrigue. âShe wants us to form an alliance.â
âOh, itâs much more than an alliance,â Muse responded with a smile. âItâs how weâre going to make it to the final five!â
The excitement (or lack thereof) in the room left something to be desired. Velvette and Hawtrey were both playing hard to get, and Citrine had already heard the idea hours ago. Jynx simply scoffed. âThe hell makes you think that I need help from anybody here?â
âThe limp that youâre trying to hide for one thing,â Muse quipped. Jynx looked infuriated by that remark, and Muse noticed Velvette smirking in the corner. She silently hoped that the little bald princess had kept her secret. Jynx looked ready for a fight, but the madam was quick to keep the conversation rolling. âThis dungeon was designed to be a dog-eat-dog world. It forces us to go out looking for trouble, and even when that works out, you wind up with a target on your back.â
Madame Muse threw a glance at Citrine as she spoke that last line, and the blonde bashfully looked to the floor to avoid eye contact. Muse went on. âBut dogs work best in a pack. If we all form a secret group and agree to dominate each other with full consent, we can all have a chance to flex our domme muscles much better than the others who are outside the group. Itâs simple, really. One team member can approach another at any time and discreetly agree to a little power exchange. They get a chance to dominate their cohort in exchange for submitting themselves later.â
âHAH!â Jynx slapped her leg with what appeared to be genuine laughter. âI dunno if you noticed, but Iâve been dominant for damn near every minute of every day, and I ainât ever needed to pimp myself out to make that happen. The best any of yâall can hope to achieve in this group is topping half the time, and bottoming for the other half. Why the hell would I ever wanna settle for that?â
âBecause by keeping our group a secret, we can ensure that everyone in the group will outperform everybody else,â Muse replied. âIf we all look out for each other, then you and everyone else in the room is guaranteed to be safe from elimination for the next few weeks.
âBesides, dominating a partner is much less tiring than dominating an enemy. There wonât be any overly difficult resistance from your bottoms, and no bitter grudges. Weâre all just teammates here.â
Between âsafety from eliminationâ, âno pesky bratsâ, and âno grudgesâ, Muse had hit every one of Jynxâs soft spots. Just yesterday, that woman had been tied up and at the mercy of Bee Devine, and it was a poorly kept secret that Jynx had gotten sick of her feud with Icy Fyre prior to that. Muse could tell that she was getting through to the ebony queen, but just like the others, she was playing hard to get.
Luckily, Museâs sales pitch went a whole lot farther than that. âAnd submitting to a teammate wonât be nearly as bad as it is to another domme. As teammates, we can all collude beforehand and discuss what we want to happen. That way, no one ever gets put in a situation that they arenât comfortable with. We can all share our hard limits and our soft--â
âFEET!â
The spontaneous shriek from Ms Hawtrey caught everyone by surprise, and there were more than a couple of flinches as everyone turned to the posh British domina. She stammered for a moment, seeming quite embarrassed by her outburst.
âI-I hate feet.â She spoke softly as her eyes darted every which way, as though she wasnât really talking to anyone in particular.
ââŚRight,â Muse answered after an awkward pause. âGood example. So if any of us agree to dominate Ms Hawtrey, we wonât do any foot stuff during the session. In exchange for that, sheâll have to respect your limits when you switch around. Everyone gets their time to shine without suffering for it.â
Muse had said all that she had to say. Sadly, Jynxâs dissent hadnât waned at all. She folded her arms and stared silently at Muse. The look on her face was one of boredom, one that asked if she was supposed to be impressed. Perhaps she wasnât playing hard to get after all. Maybe she really was uninterested?
When Jynx finally did talk, it wasnât good. âAnd here I thought that you was smart. This dream team of yours ainât nothinâ but a house of cards. If any one of us slips her tongue, itâs over. Hell, there ainât even anything stopping us from making a deal and then immediately turning our backs on it.â
âOh yes there is,â Citrine said. She stepped up next to Madame Muse and spoke up against the Mynx. âItâs called âochlocracyâ. If one of us misbehaves, the rest of us will know, and every single one of us will come for the perpetrator with a vengeance.â
Jynx smiled as though she were on the verge of hysteric laughter, and then she asked, âWas that supposed to be intimidating? Take a look, Einstein! This âocklockâ or whatever you call it is just two people! I dunno if youâve seen my wrestling portfolio, but two-against-one ainât a problem for the Mynx.â
Muse cursed under her breath. This get-together was going downhill, and fast. Muse scrambled to come up with something to say that could defuse the situation, but before something came to her, another voice spoke up.
âHow about three-on-one?â
That had come from Velvette! The domineering tomboy had been leaning silently against the wall for most of the meeting, but now she stood tall and moved in beside Citrine and Muse.
The madam was both astounded and elated. Sheâd expected Velvette to be a hard sell, and yet the domme that she had humiliated in front of everyone just two days ago was stepping up to help her! It was the best kind of surprise Muse could have hoped for, and it looked as though it might have done the trick. Jynx suddenly didnât have a lot to say, and it looked as though three-on-one was indeed a problem.
The winner of this little challenge was apparent to Ms Hawtrey. The clacking sounds of her heels broke the silence as she walked over to Muse and the others. âCorrection: this trio is actually a quartet.â
Jynx was livid. Sheâd lost, but she didnât dare admit it. By the look on that dommeâs face, it looked as though she might be willing to do anything to get back at the others. That worried Madame Muse, and so she tried one more trick to win over the opposition.
âJust please, give us a chance and weâll see how it works.â
It was a short and simple approach, but Muse had carefully chosen her words. They were submissive, and they made it sound as though joining the team was Jynxâs idea. Jynx snorted, and for a moment, didnât say anything.
âYâall look like the Kinky Village People standing together like that,â she finally said. âFine. I might as well stick around and make yâall look good.â
Jynxâs voice was bitter and unenthusiastic. Sheâd probably seen right through Museâs trick. Still, sheâd agreed, and that was all Muse could ask for.
âSpiffing,â Ms Hawtrey exclaimed. âThatâs all five of us then! So, whatâs the next step?â
It was Velvette who answered. âWell, the secret teams on all those reality shows tend to come up with a name for the group at this point.â
Jynx shook her head and turned for the door. âOh hell no. Iâll join your little club, but all that corny sh*t is on you. Come talk to me tomorrow, and talk to me only if you got business.â
The others looked a bit put off, but Muse was more than satisfied enough to let Jynx off with that. âVery well. Remember to be discreet and make a list of everything off-limits. Weâll be in touch!â
From there, the remaining members of the freshly formed team brainstormed ideas for a name, shared any hard limits that came to mind, and generally just had a good time with one another. They didnât exactly have fun per se, but there was a noticeable lack of flexing and hostility between everyone. It was relaxing, and after such a competitive first week on Alpha Domme, that felt really nice.
Ms Hawtrey was the next one to depart. They made sure to wait a little while before anyone else left to help keep things discreet. Mistress Citrine left next, which came as a surprise to Muse. After Velvetteâs complete and utter humiliation last week, she figured that that sour tomboy would want nothing more than to leave early. Instead, she stuck around, and said, âI hope you know that weâre even now.â
âExcuse me,â Muse asked?
âYou helped me out in the gym, and I helped you out at this meeting,â Velvette said sternly. âNo one owes anyone anymore favors. We start this thing with a clean slate.â
For a moment, this puzzled Muse, but then she began to read the writing on the wall. âFine, but thatâs not what you stuck around to tell me, is it?â
Velvette drew a long breath, as though her next words were produced with great difficulty. âNo, I⌠I wanted to talk to you about a deal.â
âAlready that eager to get started, are we,â Muse inquisitively cooed?
âItâs not like the arrangement you talked about earlier,â Velvette blurted. âItâs⌠more like an apprenticeship.â
An apprenticeship? Muse considered it for a second, and everything began to fall into place. It all made sense now. That was why Velvette had had such an easy time jumping on the bandwagon. She wanted something, and she thought that Muse could provide it!
Velvette continued. âYouâre a domme whoâs pretty good at knots, and I--â
âYouâre barely even a domme.â Muse interrupted.
Velvette looked offended. She wasnât pissed like sheâd normally be, but Muse could see that sheâd struck a nerve. The bald rookie opened her mouth to respond, but Muse was one step ahead. âDonât deny it. âVelvetteâ is a name youâd use for a stripper, not a dominatrix. Iâm guessing that thatâs how you started out before you wound up here, in over your head and in need of a skilled teacher.â
âDonât run your mouth about shit you donât know,â Velvette snapped. âIâm making you an offer, and itâs a yes-or-no question. I let you dominate me so long as you teach me about ropework and escapism along the way. Outside of those lessons, Iâll get to tie you up, and youâll get to return the favor if you can escape. Deal?â
She held out her hand, but Muse didnât take it. Instead, she said, âNot just yet. Thereâs something that I want to know before I can agree to teach you.â
Velvette sighed and withdrew her hand. âFine. What is it?â
âWhatâs with the hair? Is it just because your clients like the look, or is it more of a badge of honor for surviving cancer?â
Velvette stammered in shock at Museâs question. âH-How did--â
âYou said in your bio before the show that you wanted the money for medical bills and cancer charities. It doesnât take a genius to figure out what happened to you. So Iâll ask again, why keep your hair short?â
Velvette hesitated. She hesitated so much that Muse almost regretted ever asking. It was obviously a personal matter that Velvette
did not want to share, but in the end, she did.
âWell⌠part of it is because the clients liked the look and the character. Go with what works, yâknow? But thereâs more to it than that. Before my diagnosis, my looks were a big part of how I got by. Dancing paid the bills a whole lot better than any job I could get at the time, and so when I found out that I was gonna lose my hair, I was terrified. I thought that no one would want me, and I wouldnât be able to pay the bills or continue school. I thought that I was done for no matter what.
âBut then I pulled through. I looked awful, but I was alive, and⌠people still wanted me! I didnât even have to hide behind a wig or anything! My revenue actually went higher than ever before!
âIâve been healthy for a while now, but I kept the look because thereâs still so many people out there who are in the same boat that I was. Theyâre scared of looking ugly, but I figure that if they see me win Alpha Domme looking the way I do, theyâll know that theyâre not ugly. Theyâll know that their beauty isnât something that can just be taken away by a haircut.â
Muse said nothing. She said nothing for so long that it even put Bee Devineâs dramatic pause to shame. Velvette became visibly uncomfortable as Muse silently stared her up and down.
And then the seasoned domme finally spoke. âYouâve gotta tie the thighs extra tight.â
Velvette blinked rapidly. âUm, What?â
âThe thighs are thicker than the knees,â Muse explained. âThat means that as the sub walks or hops around, the ropes are apt to slide down her legs like stockings without a garter belt. Itâs not so much of a problem if youâre planning to use a hogtie or something that keeps the knees bent, but otherwise, you need to do a little more to make sure that it stays in place. Thatâs why I used tape on your thighs last week.â
Velvette looked confused. âSo, you agree to teach me? Was that it?â
âItâs all that youâve earned,â Muse replied. âIâm not about to hand out entire lessons in exchange for life stories. You wanted to learn from me, and you got what you wanted. Everything beyond that, youâre gonna have to earn the hard way.â
Velvette continued to stare for a second or two. She looked as though she was trying to think of something to say, but there was nothing to be said. Muse had made it clear that now was the time for action.
In the end, Velvette said nothing at all. She just moaned a tired sigh and turned to Madame Museâs dresser. Laying on top of it was a bundled coil of hemp rope that the madam had been practicing with earlier. Velvette held it up for Muse to see before tossing it over to the redheaded domme. Muse caught it out of the air and glanced at Velvette as her lips began to curl into a subtle grin.
Velvette didnât smile back. Instead, she begrudgingly turned around and crossed her wrists behind her back.