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The Aurelians want their property cleansed of such filth, and then packaged in a pleasure dress like one might affix a bow on a birthday gift.

I shiver, pondering my options. But what options?

What should I do? I could sit in here and wait, I suppose… Aurelians are not known for their patience, despite the thousands of years of life they enjoy.

Besides, I’m not ready to face them – not yet. I might not have any control over my own life any more, but I still want to feel like I’m doingsomethingof my own volition.It’s as if the rebellious nature of the old me is reemerging. I can feel myself coming alive again. I’ve been in a daze ever since Ling died – not letting myself feel, or letting myself do anything except retreat from reality.

Now that reality has caught up with me in the most grim manner possible, the old me has reawaken to cope with it. I’d thought that version of myself was gone – reduced to cold ashes – but I guess there was always a tiny ember burning deep down inside of me, and now it’s being stocked back aflame by the twisted winds of fate.

I just hope it doesn’t get snuffed out permanently this time – crushed so cruelly that the old me will never burn again.

I’m desperate to talk privately with Tessa – out of earshot of the Aurelians, so I can learn what she truly thinks about our captors. All things considered, Tessa has held up incredibly well under the pressure – and I’ve got a gut feeling that she can be trusted.

But to speak to Tessa, I’ll have to venture out into the main room again – into the heated gaze of those three lustful creatures.

My choices are no choices at all – not really. I could step out in my birthday suit – naked and vulnerable – or I could wrap a sheet around myself like a shameful, cowering child. I’d probably trip and fall if I did so, compounding my humiliation.

Or, I could put on this pleasure dress.

I bite my lip.

Once again, the dark desires these Aurelians have awoken in me come bubbling up to the surface; although I’d be lying if I pretended I’d never had this particular thought before.

I’ve always wondered what it would feel like to wear opulent, luxurious clothes – like the holo-vid stars wear. I’d never thought a vigilante or runaway like myself would ever have the chance.

I stare at myself critically in the mirror, and then pull the sheer dress up to see what the soft, golden color might look like against my skin tone.

When I stare at myself, I can’t help but compare my figure to that of Tessa. She seems so graceful and womanly compared to me – and yet I’m the one the Aurelians were staring at so intently.

But maybe they just want me, first – the same way I used to eat the vegetables on my plate first, saving the most delicious morsels of meat and gravy for last.

Perhaps she was sent to shower and change in one of the other rooms – and will now saunter back out into the main glistening and wet, and ready tothankthe Aurelians for rescuing her with an eager sensuality I’m too ashamed to mimic.

The moment I think that, a red-hot surge of jealousy pulses through me - until I quench it sharply.

What the hell? Why would I even care? Let them have her!

But as before, my sensual body betrays my logical mind. I find myself pulling the pleasure dress on – slowly and luxuriously, as if somebody else is controlling my limbs.

As the fabric clings to my curves, I revel in the sheer, stimulating softness. It’s like wearing a lover’s breath on my skin, and nothing more.

Yet, in the mirror, the dress looks beautiful on me - and I find myself reborn as someone new.

Now, I’m no longer the fearless vigilante who saved slaves from Toads and Bullfrogs, but neither am I the broken, helpless woman I’d been when I lost my best friend – fleeing for her life.

I don’t knowwhoI am now – this gorgeous woman in the clinging dress, staring back at me.

But, believe me – I’m going to find out soon enough.

After all, I’m trapped here on this mothership, behind a door that three huge, alien warriors lurk on the other side of. They were already on the verge of the mating frenzy when I stripped in front of them – and now I’ve accepted the inevitability of my fate, I find myself feeling calmer and more at peace than I have for years.

As if sensing my inner peace, the dress shimmers and flows around my body; clinging itself to my body and caressing my curves.

The dress is not insistent. It has the gentle, teasing touch of a lover – eliciting pleasure from every inch of my skin it touches – as if the fabric is molding itself against my body. My nipples harden beneath its touch, and I press my thighs together as I imagine the reaction it will elicit from those three perfectly proportioned warriors waiting on the other side of that door.

If I step into the main room wearing this, I’ll have no excuse for what happens next. I know the sight of me will be enough to drive them beyond the brink – and whatever happens next will be a direct consequence of a choice I consciously made, even knowing what might happen when I did.

But I can’t fight them. I promised to serve these three warriors, and Aurelians insist on keeping the terms of an agreement. They’re too big to resist physically, so the end result is not in question – only how I shall submit to it.