In the Harem of the Dragonlord )Whitebrand and Lyanna)

[Whitebrand]

She had failed her master.

Five words that the catgirl might never have thought she might hear. Now they echoed in her head like a terrible chant of guilt. She had deliberately sabotaged Brianna's performance because she'd not had the confidence to be able to compete with her skill as a dancer. Brand, her master, had seen through it almost immediately, and the expression on his handsome draconian face of disappointment had been crushing.

Now she was being marched before him like a schoolgirl before the principal's office for her sentence. Lady Viconia, the tall vixen who oversaw the harem, kept her face neutral as she walked the catgirl down the hall to his throne room. There he would again look at her with those disappointed eyes and pronounce her fate.

A fate that could be anything. The dragon had total authority over their lives, and his judgement was final. It could be anything from a mere demotion to imprisonment in crystal to even death if he so wished. The air of doom was made even worse when Lyanna saw him at last. He sat in his anthro form, his normally shining scales dull and battered-looking. He was molting, which in turn made him ill-tempered. This was not going to go well.

[Lyanna]

Lyanna has risen in the ranks of her Master's harem since her rebirth but as she's gotten out of the lower part of that hierarchy it's become more difficult and she grew impatient, and jealous. There's always a bit of jealousy from the girls not especially favored and her special devotion to Brand has made it even stronger. Trying to ruin Brianna's dance seemed like a good idea at the time but now she is questioning her judgement. While normally she's quite happy to walk around in a short, almost see-through dress like the one she has on right now she feels naked in it at this point. The kitten hangs her head and holds her feline ears low in shame.

As she arrives in the throneroom she looks to the dragon for mercy... she does love him! She looks to the girls her no doubt has at his feet for sympathy but doesn't expect much. The slave gulps, then moves forward a bit and drops to her knees... then prostrates herself before him worshipfully "Master... I'm sorry, I beg you for mercy!"

[Whitebrand]

Brand looked down at her, eyes glowing that beautiful molten gold. He stirred slightly as he watched his slave grovel for her life.

"I ask little of you," he said. "But you abused that trust. Now you will take the consequences.

"You shall lose your position in the harem until I decide otherwise. You will return your clothing and wear only the collar. You are no longer one of my favored. You are now a plaything to me, your life subject to my whim at all times. You will accept this and be grateful for it."

It could have been worse, but Lyanna had now lost everything she had worked so hard for. Her status was gone and she was relegated to the lowest rank possible in the dragons home. He could do anything he wanted to her...force her submission at any time, be treated as a servant by her former peers, or even feed his appetite if he so chose.

"Celeste, why is she still clad?" He rumbled at the masked vixen.

"Remove that dress this instant," Celeste said to Lyanna. Her punishment had begun.

[Lyanna]

The catgirl looks up at him and sees his displeasure... she shivers at his expression and lowers her forehead to the floor, sprawled out before him. She hears his decision and lets out a sad mewl. Tears start to well up in her eyes and glisten as she lifts her head again but does not meet his gaze. "Thank you, Master" she says. It's sincere, she knows he could do a lot worse and she does deserve to be punished. Shivering at Viconia's words she answers with a trembling "Yes Ma'am" and sits up, quickly slipping out of the dress, folding it and setting it down neatly in front of her. She kneels with her knees together and her hands in her lap, trying to hold back her tears.

[Whitebrand]

"At my feet," the dragon said, now no longer looking at her. "I have guests arriving soon. You are now here for their viewing pleasure. Your behavior will decide if I loan you to them or not."

Brand had spoken. A moment later he made a dissatisfied sound and plucked at his scales with irritation. The molting would continue regardless of whether he had guests or not. She could see the shine of fresh scales under the dead layer of skin where he had scratched it off. He would look amazing when he finally rid himself of the skin but until then he looked a little patch-worked.

He was now ignoring the cat girl as Celeste bowed.

"I will show them in, my lord," she said.

[Lyanna]

With a nod and a meek "Yes Master" the catgirl crawls on hands and knees up to his throne. He's seen his playthings before and even interacted with them on occasion but she never thought she'd be one. She looks to see if the others next to him are in the same position. Blushing at her nakedness she leans against the throne and does her best to look good for his guests.

As the dragon picks off his scales she looks up at him, then back down again as she tries to figure out what exactly she can do.

[Whitebrand]

Two other playthings were next to the throne. One was a red headed sorceress that had dared to challenge the dragon on his home turf and the other was a wolf girl whom she knew was being difficult to train. Both looked at the floor, not wanting to provoke even mild annoyance from their master.

"If they weren't right outside I'd be scraping this off on a rock somewhere," he grumbled.

The masked kitsune led the party into the throne room. They were all humans in semi-well-to-do clothing. Merchants, likely. The sorceress and the wolf girl took up places they could be seen by the visitors. What followed was a calm if determined negotiation for transit rights for goods through his territory. At times the visitors would look at the pretty girls at the dragons feet but they did not comment on them.

[Lyanna]

Before, Lyanna wouldn't have payed much attention to the playthings. They were a bad influence, troublemakers... she tried not to think about them. That's not an option now. The kitten follows cues from the others and keeps her gaze downcast. She's crying and it's all she can do not to make too much noise as she does... she shivers and looks a bit forlorn. Yet when the others move into position she mimics them and does her best to display Brand's beautiful property to his guests.

This is something she's done before, but the role was less passive and a lot more enjoyable. Before it was to tease and show off, or simply to please Brand even when being watched. Right now she is just scenery, but it's what Brand wants and she has always sought to do what he wants. And now there's a chance she could have entertain his guests in a much more intimate manner than before. Occasionally she looks to the others to see what she should be doing and after a time she manages to stop her crying and wipes away her tears.

[Whitebrand]

Fortunately she would not be required to service the visitors...this time. Brand was parsimonious with his gifts, and these men didn't rate for it. The negotiations ended on a more or less satisfactory note, with a shaking of hands and an exchange of gold. As soon as the men were shown out, Brand waved his hand at the playthings.

"You may go," he said tersely. "Back to your duties."

The two women got up and walked away, back into the labyrinthine halls of the master's home. The dragon remained on his perch, plucking at his peeling skin. Finally he got up and headed where she knew he usually went to unwind: The baths on the lower level.

Celeste waited until he was out of earshot, then turned to Lyanna.

"There are various tasks that need to be done to keep this place running," she said. "Your job is to help with the cleaning in the kitchen. Go on, and remember: You are a plaything now. Do not address him unless he addresses you. Otherwise remain invisible. If he decides on a task or use for you...any at all...you do it. You do not have the luxury of teasing him or otherwise interacting with him unless he chooses. Is that understood?

"Afterwards you will attend to the props in the storage rooms. The Erastide celebration is coming and they must be dusted off and cleaned."

[Lyanna]

Lyanna starts to follow the others though she looks over her shoulder at Brand apologetically as she starts to leave. She almost says "Yes, Master" as she normally would but the others don't, so she remains silent. She tries to make eye contact with him but fails to do so and his changed attitude towards her hurts. She still adores him!

Then she sees Celeste waiting and stops, blushing deeply as she listens to the kitsune. As she listens her feline ears are held low and she hangs her head. She holds her hands in front of her both in a demure and submissive gesture and to hide her hairless sex from view at least a bit. The new plaything nods her head. "Yes Ma'am" she says in a trembling voice.

She wants to start crying again. She fights this back as she asks "Is there anything else I need to know, Ma'am?"

[Whitebrand]

The mysterious face behind the mask softened. Lyanna was, after all, a bit different from the other playthings at the moment.

"Just remember that he's watching, dear," Celeste said. "Even if it looks otherwise. Work hard and you'll be back in his good graces before you know it." She gave the catgirl a reassuring wink before resuming her more firm tone. "You'll find everything that you need in the closets. Remember that the kitchen is one of his favorite rooms so be thorough."

With that the kitsune turned and left without the courteous bow she usually used.

[Lyanna]

The catgirl nods her head slowly. She knows this is just beginning and likely to get much worse before it gets better. But Celeste's reassuring voice and that wink settle her down and give her hope. She nods and answers with a little "Thank you, Ma'am" then scurries off after the other playthings to learn her way around her new role. Breasts bounce delightfully with each step and she's quite self-conscious about this but more concerned with catching up to the wolf and the sorceress. She finds them soon enough and walks with them. "Wh... what do we do now?"

[Whitebrand]

The red haired Mage looked down at the meek cat girl.

"We do our chores," she said, sounding tired. "And hope he leaves us alone."

"He could do them magically but he wants to break us," the wolf girl said. "Turn us into good little harem slaves. But I won't crack. 'A wolf wins her every battle but her last one.' He won't break me."

"It might not be so bad," the human said. "I'm just so tired of fighting."

The wolf girl huffed but was showing signs of mental fatigue as well. Lyanna knew the signs: despite their words they would eventually give in to their master. It was inevitable. Then they would know the bliss of serving him.

"What's it like?" The redhead asked Lyanna as they headed for the kitchen. "Being one of them?"

[Lyanna]

The kitten looks up at the others. She's certainly the smallest of the three and she is not comfortable being naked. It's not exactly a sense of modesty as her harem outfit is quite skimpy, it's what her nakedness represents. She wipes up the tears still on her face as she stays close to the others and seems a little out of place here, looking anxious at the wolf's words.

Talk of the harem seems to sadden her and she's quiet for a time, then speaks up softly.

"It's wonderful. Very luxurious, your only duty is to make him happy and all the girls love it. Love him. It's a lot better than my life was before."

She sighs softly with a little mewl.

"What's your name? I'm..."

Then she falls silent. She's not sure she has a name anymore.

[Whitebrand]

"Sometimes I can't remember," the Mage said. "I'm Rachel."

"Akasha," the wolf girl said after a moment. "He never uses them but I still know who I am."

"It doesn't sound so bad," Rachel said, nodding. "I mean, how hard could it be to please him?"

"He can't make you love him," the wolf said stubbornly. "I won't."

How little she knew him. After all, he had won Lyanna over despite her defiance and fear.

The trio entered the kitchen and Rachel passed out aprons for their use. One of the exceptions to their restriction on clothing: he wanted his kitchen kept clean after all.

[Lyanna]

The catgirl nods but doesn't give her name. She sighs softly and nods to Rachel "It's anything but bad." Then she hears Akasha "Well... we all do, make of that what you will. It's hard to explain but the general feeling is that he deserves it... deserves us."

She knows some girls from the harem have ended up in this position before but they never talk about it if they make it back. Nor do girls who make it into the harem. Not knowing what to expect she seems frightened and quite sad, which likely says a lot about how much she liked her now lost position in the household. She trembles as she puts on the apron and lets out a forlorn sigh...

[Whitebrand]

"You've really got it bad," Rachel observed. "You really do love him don't you? And it's not because you're pampered either."

"At least we don't get whipped," Akasha grumbled. "I'll give him that."

They went silent as they went to work. The work itself wasn't actually backbreaking but it was tedious and took a great deal of energy. Time disappeared as they cleaned and sharpened his many chefs tools and scrubbed down the many surfaces. It was a large kitchen with an island in the center and plenty of cabinets and shelves. In the end the place gleamed.

Celeste appeared and inspected their work. She had a sharp eye and was able to pick out little details that might have gotten missed...and made then do them over. Finally she nodded.

"You go to the storage closet down by the dojo and start work cleaning the Erastide decorations." Celeste said to Lyanna. She looked at Rachel. "You to the baths and you," she said to Akasha. "To the laundry room."

A kasha growled but stopped the instant the kitsune's eyes fell on her. A moment later she bowed her head in obedience.

[Lyanna]

The redheaded feline looks miserable as she nods her head. "More than anything" she tells the sorceress. "But I... wasn't worthy, so here I am."

She is quiet after that and does her best to get things clean. The work is tedious and menial and she keeps thinking it's beneath her. A few times she has to remind herself to keep working by thinking about what she is working {i}for{/i}. She still gets distracted and there ends up being a few things Celene likely makes her do over. She looks more upset about getting in trouble than about doing the work.

Given her orders she nods her head but takes her cues from the others and doesn't answer. Seen, but not heard she simply obeys and heads off to the closet. On the way she passes by some of the girls from the harem... she blushes and hangs her head in shame but wonders if they even notice her... and if that is even worse. She is thinking about this as she gets to work on the closet.

[Whitebrand]

Fortunately nothing needed polishing, just a good wipe-down. The winter-themed decorations were more numerous than she had remembered, with strings of colorful baubles and wreaths of pine and glowing stones that would light the halls. There were also tools that would be used for finding and decorating a proper tree when the time came. It would likely take the rest of the day.

Abruptly she became aware she was being watched. Brand was standing in the hall, watching as Lyann worked. His eyes glowed with a familiar light: a light of desire that he always had before he took her for a passionate round of lovemaking. What he would do now was anyone's guess.

[Lyanna]

The plaything previously known as Lyanna cleans up the place as best she can. While there's not a lot of difficult work to do there's a lot that needs dusting. She's still wearing her apron right now though of course it covers nothing from behind. Her tail waves behind her. It takes a while for her to notice Brand and when she does she keeps going even when she sees that look. It pains her to do so but her duties have changed.