“Wow! WOW! This house is… it’s… I’ve never seen anything like it!” Amelia uttered breathlessly, her tone rich with undisguised awe as she gazed about her at the immense wealth on display. In all her years scratching out an existence in the bottom rungs of society, she had never even come close to the inside of a mansion like this; to actually be standing inside one now was overwhelming.

Clearly however, the grandeur of the home was all too common to the trio of women accompanying her. Jenny owned the place so it only made sense that her reaction was entirely neutral, but neither Jade nor Jill seemed particularly impressed either. Jill wafted straight past the painting, sculptures and expensive furniture and examined the gigantic bookshelf spanning the far end of the parlour, while Jade simply plonked herself down on the sofa and rattled off a text message on her latest phone.

“Yeah, it’s alright I guess.” Jenny replied, curling a lock of blonde hair around her pinkie as she glanced about idly at the artworks on display. “But what do you think of the paintings? Daddy said they’re original Picadlio’s or something, but I’m not a big fan of the dusty old-guy stuff.”

“I think it looks wonderful!” Amelia said, leaning in close to examine each brush stroke against the canvas. “Why don’t you li-”

“Amelie, dear, would you be a darling and go get us a drink? I’m quite parched after the walk up the driveway.” Jade didn’t look up as she spoke, still entirely focused on the device in her hands.

“Oh, s-sure thing Jade… It’s Amelia by the wa… nevermind… Um… where’s the kitchen?”

“Out those doors, down the second hall, through the third door on the right across the boudoir and down the first set of double doors on the left; you can’t miss it!” Jenny gestured in the general direction, watching as Amelia trotted off quickly with a pink tinge in her cheeks. As soon as she was out of sight, she strolled over to the nearby cupboard and pulled it open, retrieving the crystal decanter within and pouring out three glasses of amber bliss for herself and her friends.

“How long do you suppose she’ll be looking?” Jill asked dryly, brushing her straight black hair aside as she bent down to look at the lower shelves, pausing briefly to make sure her makeup was still perfect.

“Nobody ever finds it on their first try…” Jenny shrugged with a slight jiggle, the extra heft of her curves rippling through her clothes as she placed the drinks on the coffee table.

“… especially when you give them the wrong directions.” Jade added, looking up at Jenny with a cocked eyebrow. “I hope that was deliberate Jen.”

“No? What are you… OH goodness yes; it was the fourth door!”

“You’ve lived here for how many years now?” Jade scoffed, tucking her phone back into her ample bosom and scooping up her drink, pressing it to her lips and downing half of it in a single swig.

“Oh hush, you know I’ve got more important things to think about that remembering where everything is in this house.”

“Like Amelia’s girlfriend you mean?” Jill drawled, eliciting a smirk from Jade and a scowl from Jenny.

“I can’t believe she chose that purple-haired guttersnipe over me! ME! I have looks, wealth, influence, connections, fashion! And what does Amelia have?!”

“Purple hair.” The Goth replied, plucking a book off the shelf and dusting off the spine to read the label.

“I could have purple hair!”

As she spoke, the door opened back up and Amelia peered inside, an awkward blush on her face.

“Um… Jenny, s-sorry but… I can’t find the kitchen, I think I got lost a little.”

Jenny spun on her heel and cast a warm smile across the room, nodding sagely.

“No dear, I’m sure you’ll find it just fine; fourth door on the right, remember?”

“F-fourth? I thought you sai… I must have misheard, sorry!” As she went to retreat through the door, Jenny hailed after her.

“Wait wait! One second darling… could you do me a favour?”

“Of course! Anything! I mean… uh… what c-can I do?”

Amelia stepped through the door as Jenny bustled over to the wardrobe beside her, unhooking the latch and peering along the shelves within. A moment later she closed the doors, holding an antique feather duster in her hand.

“Well darling, I was supposed to do a spot of dusting around the house this afternoon, but I’m afraid I’ve come over quite faint…” She touched the back of her hand to her head emphatically, a tone of despair in her voice. “I hate to ask, but, if you happen to spot anything dusty on your way to the kitchen, could you give it a quick clean for me?”

“Oh… sure! I… don’t think that’ll be a problem.” Amelia said with a cheerful tremble.

“Lovely!” Jenny placed the duster in the young lady’s hand, and yelped as something small and brown tumbled out of it. The cockroach fluttered to the ground, startled as it hit the woodwork and immediately scuttled towards the wardrobe. It got no more than a few inches however before Jenny’s white pump slammed down on it, crushing the crawling thing in a heartbeat. Jenny’s flustered expression melted slowly away as she twisted the ball of her foot back and forth, grinding away at the bug until nothing was left but a stain.

“Oh gosh! Are y-you okay Jenny?”

“Just… fine…” Jenny growled through gritted teeth, forcing a smile onto her face. “I detest insects… I don’t allow them in my house. Any insect that dares to dwell under my roof gets squashed.” Her heart rate slowed after a few moments and she cleared her throat. “Anyway,” she added, quickly changing the subject, “I forgot to mention, your eyes are absolutely gorgeous darling! You really mustn’t hide them away behind those glasses.”

“My glasses? But… I… need those to se-”

“Nonsense! You look absolutely ravishing without them. Please? For me?”

Amelia stood awkwardly for a moment, glancing at Jade and Jill before nodding and removing the spectacles from her nose, squinting her eyes at the change and smiling expectantly at Jenny.

“Gorgeous!” Jenny beamed, gently taking the glasses from Amelia’s hand and tucking them into her vast bosom. “You can have these back later; I’ll let you get back to the kitchen!”

Amelia nodded, turning uncertainly on the spot and moving back to the hallway. She shut the door behind her, and a few seconds later the trio were treated to the sound of numerous bumps as she felt her way down the corridor.

“No spine. None at all.” Jill muttered with disdain as she seated herself alongside Jade, reading through the pages of the book in her hands. “Where on Earth did you get this book?”

“I am of course a patron of the classics.” Jenny responded with a flourish of her hands, striking a momentary pose, not even looking at the tome Jill had selected.

“Jenny, you don’t read anything that didn’t come from a high profile fashion company,” Jill responded, a sardonic lilt in her voice, “and even if you did, this isn’t a classic. I’m pretty sure it’s hand-written.”

Jade laughed at the look on Jenny’s face as she glared daggers at Jill. The jiggling woman gave a haughty flick of the wrist and brushed a lock of hair out of her vision.

“Yes, well, one can’t have time to inspect everything one owns. It’s probably something that belonged to my mother.”

“It wouldn’t surprise me.” Jill said, slamming the book down on the coffee table and flattening out the page she was reading. She spoke aloud, “Flourish or flounder, wild success or crushing failure, fortune itself bends to your will when you utter the following incantation…” Jill enunciated each word with great care, unsure if it was Latin or something totally foreign.

Her body tensed for a few seconds as she felt a chill roll down her spine, though neither of her friends seemed to have noticed.

“I don’t think it worked.” Jade said, downing the rest of her drinking and moving to pour herself a new one. “Funny that.”

“Maybe not… I definitely felt something there, though you can’t discount the placebo effect.” She thought hard about it for a moment, patting down her pockets in search of something she could use for a test. Eventually, she dug into her bag and retrieved a beautifully embroidered coin purse. Plucking out one of the golden pieces, she flicked it into the air. “Heads.”

“This is dumb.” Even through her drink, Jade’s disapproval of the superstitious action was audible.

The spinning piece landed in the slender Goth’s palm, flipped over onto her opposite forearm instantly before she removed her hand to check the result.

“Heads. That’s one.” She repeated the process calmly, switching up to tails this time. “Tails.” She affirmed a moment later, a hint of excitement in her voice.

“It’s coincidence darling, nothing more.” Jenny settled into her favourite arm-chair, crossing her thick thighs and getting comfortable.

“We’ll see… heads… HEADS! Tails… yes… Tails… yes!”

Again and again she flipped the coin, each time correctly guessing the result. The possibility that it was pure happenstance faded with each successful moment, until even the raw cynicism of Jill’s two friends had melted away into genuine uncertainty.

“This can’t possibly be real… maybe the coin is rigged.” Jade said, snatching the thing from Jill’s wrist and flicking it herself. “Heads…” She caught the coin and pressed it against her arm. “Heads! See?”

“Try again.” Jenny urged, leaning forwards with her palms flat on the coffee table to get a better look.

“Tails…” Jade said breathlessly, until her face sunk as she looked at the coin. “It’s heads.”

“Well of course,” Jill replied, glancing at the book, “I only cast the invocation on myself after all. I need to cast it on you for it to do anything.”

“Shit… shit shit… um…” Jade eyed the book warily, her eyes glittering, “what else is in there? I’m not going to get possessed by a demon or some shit if you cast that on me, right?”

Jill laughed, flipping through a few pages before shaking her head.

“Nope, just seems like there’s more spells; there don’t seem to be any devil deals or demonic pacts, just… pure function.”

“Like what?” Jade inquired, trying not to sound too keen. Jill squinted at the pages as Jenny rose from her chair and trotted around the table to the sofa.

“Altering your internal body temperature, giving yourself temporary boosts of energy, mild foresight, increased intuition…”

“None of those seem that easy to test. Pretty much all of them could easily be ascribed to your body playing tricks on itself… isn’t there anything more, I dunno, flashy?”

“Uh…” Jill responded, flicking through a few more pages, “oh… this one definitely seems promising.” A deviant smile crossed her lips as she rose from the sofa, scooping up the book off the coffee table and striding across the room. Jenny grumbled irritably, not wanting to stand up.

“Well don’t be like that! What is it?”

Jill’s eyes sparkled, her fingers idly playing with the spiked choker around her neck as an expression of unmistakable malicious intent dances across her face. She glanced over at her two friends on the couch and cocked an eyebrow, gently pointing at Jenny as she spoke the unfamiliar words.

“Jill, I swear to God if you’re trying to scare me, I’m going to-” Halfway through the sentence, Jill completed the spell, and Jenny felt a pulse of heat shoot through her veins. It startled her enough to derail her train of thought, and she just stared at Jill nervously. “… What did you do?”

“Ha, relax, nothing bad…” Jill smiled with the predatory look of a jungle cat, “why don’t you come over here and see?”

Without thinking, Jenny rose from the sofa and began to walk slowly over to Jill, but stopped when her friend raised her hand.

“No no, on your hands and knees. Crawl to me.”

The indignant, angry flare in Jenny’s mind didn’t at all surprise her; she wasn’t one to take orders, let alone lip from her friends, and the sheer disrespect in Jill’s words filled her with an understandable amount of fury. What did surprise the pudgy princess however was that she actually did it. Even as she was opening her mouth to tell Jill to fuck off, the words caught in her throat as she sank to the ground. With her palms pressed on the hardwood floor along with her knees, she kept her eyes locked in alarm on Jill as she crawled obediently over to the smug-mouthed Goth.

“Whoa…” Jade said, her drink trembling in her hand as she watched with undisguised awe, something stirring behind her pupils at the sight of Jenny on all fours, “that’s… something else.”

“W-what the fuck?! Jill, cut this out right this second! This isn’t funny!” Jenny squealed in fearful anger as she halted in front of the slender vixen.

“I disagree; it’s fucking hilarious.” Jill said, squatting down and patting Jenny’s head like a puppy. “I didn’t think a puppeteering spell would work quite like this, but I’m rather glad it does!”

“Puppeteering spell?! Fucking switch it off you creepy bitch!” The expression of white-hot fury on the kneeling woman’s face vanished as she saw the reflexive flicker of dislike in Jill’s eyes. “I… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…”

“Jenny,” Jill said icily, standing back up to her full height and lifting one of her knee-high black stompers, “lick my boot.” She pressed the heel down on the chubby dame’s mouth, her heart hammering in her chest as she heard the unmistakable sound of something wet and slimy lapping at the leather… along with groans and mumbles of protest and disgust.

“I don’t believe it.” Jade seemed to be entirely unconcerned by Jenny’s predicament as she sauntered over, drink swishing in its crystal cup. If anything, she seemed quite amused. “You can make her do anything you want?”

“Can’t make her shut up apparently,” Jill noted, listening to the gurgling attempts at pleading from under her foot, “though her body seems incapable of disobeying me.”

“Can I try?” Jade said eagerly, placing her hand on Jill’s shoulder and looking down at Jenny.

“Sure!” Jill said pleasantly, removing her boot from the plump-puppet’s face and pointing at Jade’s own bared toes. “Jenny, lick your friend’s feet.”

“No no!” Jade interrupted as Jenny moved uncontrollably over to her, “I don’t want her to kiss my feet!”

“Thank you!” Jenny said, horror and relief mingling in her voice, “Oh my God, thank you Ja-”

“I want her to kiss my ass.” She said with a smirk, turning on the spot and letting her larger-than-average posterior thrust out casually.

“W-what?! Why the fuck would you-”

“Do it.” Jill said, glancing back at the book curiously. She didn’t seem particularly interested in observing the submission when it didn’t involve her. Though judging by the desperate, muffled sounds coming from Jenny and the incessant giggles from Jade, the action was serving its purpose. Jill couldn’t imagine that Jenny was enjoying herself nearly as much as her friends – yet the idea didn’t seem to bother her much.

Without ceremony or warning, Jill began to recite the spell again. Jade might have protested if she hadn’t been so distracted literally having her butt kissed, but ultimately she just stood there and let it happen, alcohol and physical contact preventing her from noticing the spell until it had surged through her veins.

“Huh? Jill, did you just…”

Jill smiled at her, the wolfish grin of a natural-born predator.

“Both of you get on your knees. I’ve got a surprise for you…” They obeyed without hesitation, though their faces were both glaring at Jill. Jenny looked like she wanted to bite Jade’s ear off, but her indignant fury was tempered by a significant degree of humiliation and fear. Neither of them had ever seen Jill like this before.

“Jill, hey, seriously…” Jade said, trying to remain calm as she stared at her unblinkingly, “we’re all friends. I know you’re having fun, but this is really scary and you need to stop.”

“Jade, you’re a darling.” The reply was warm, if slightly condescending. “You’re a beautiful young woman. A total bitch, but beautiful.” Jade’s cheeks flushed pink as anger stirred in her expression.

“Hey! What was that for!?”

“Don’t pretend like either of you give two shits about me any more than I do about you.” Jill snorted, re-reading the page of the book she’d stopped on. “We’re friends with Jenny because she’s rich and popular, she’s friends with us because we flatter her and put up with her shit, and we’re friends with each-other because there’s never been an easy way to remove the conflicting influence…” She flashed a wicked grin and waggled her eyebrows. “… until now.”

Jade went quiet, carefully focusing on Jill with an expression of tranquil dislike. Jenny on the other hand had no such silence to give.

“You absolute two-faced whore! You fuck-headed Gothic bitch I can’t believe I trusted…” She paused, correcting herself, “I can’t believe I kept you around! I thought you… you…”

“What?” Jill asked, cocking an eyebrow inquisitively, “Knew my place?”

Jenny said nothing, her mouth moving as though she were trying to start a retort, but had no words to put there.

“You’ve always talked about how much you hate vermin, haven’t you Jenny? How insects disgust you…” Jill traced her hand down the page. Recognition dawned instantly in Jade’s eyes, though Jenny remained oblivious.

“What?! What does that have to do with anything!?”

“Jill,” Jade said softly, a note of caution in her voice, “don’t do it. You’ll regret it.”

“Unlikely.” Jill assured her, clearing her throat and reciting the spell. Jade closed her eyes and remained silent, bowing her head as Jenny shook hers violently back and forth.

“No! Nononononono, don’t, whatever you’re doing please just stop! I’ll pay you, I’ll do whatever you want, just don’t-”

It wasn’t just an internal reaction this time. The very air itself bent and rippled, a bizarre fish-eye effect overtaking both of the kneeling women as Jill completed the curse. Immense heat flooded both of them, eliciting a cry of shock from the pair as the effect took hold. Before Jill’s very eyes, her ‘friends’ dwindled away towards the ground. Half their height, a sixth, a tenth, more… until neither of the petrified little things could have scraped more than a centimetre at the very tallest.

Jill laughed. She laughed so hard that she dropped the book, the dusty tome landing with such a hefty impact that it sent her tiny companions tumbling ass over tit. The sound of their petrified, incomprehensible squeaking barely reached the towering Goth’s ears as she shook with delight.

“Fuck! That worked so much better than I could have even hoped; look at you both! I was wrong; ‘insect’ is too good for you… you’re specks is what you are! Shiiiittt… it would be so easy to just…” She rested one heel of her boot next to the helpless bugs and her sole wave back and forth casually over them. The determined squeaking amused her greatly, and she bent forwards at the hips with deliberate slowness, “What’s that? I can barely hear you from up here…”

Focusing on their tiny little sounds, Jill’s heart skipped a beat as she recognized the end of the spell Jade was defiantly reciting right back at her. Without even thinking, she lifted her boot and stomped down as hard as she could on Jade… or she would have, if halfway through the motion she hadn’t been seized in a grip of raw, magical heat and overwhelmed with the force of Jade’s furious incantation.

The world stretched away from Jill, everything distorting oddly before eventually snapping back into shape. Her heart pounded against her ribs, shock clutching her senses as cold realization fought the heat of the transformation; Jade’s silence hadn’t been submission… she’d just been paying attention. By the time she’d finished shrinking, she was stranded in the vast field of parchment that comprised the book’s ‘shrinking spell’ page.

“What now bitch?!” Jade stormed towards Jill, clambering up the side of the book, followed by a furiously panting Jenny. “Can’t look for more fucking magic now can you!?”

“Stop!” Jill shrieked, pointing at Jade. For a few perilous seconds, Jade froze in place… until her limbs started forcing themselves forward, the puppet magic slowly wearing off. “STOP!” She repeated, the spell clinging once again – only to fall off even faster.

“C’mon Jenny!” Jade growled, glancing briefly at the jiggling grub, “if the old spells are wearing off, maybe this shrinking thing will wear off soon too! And since we shrank first, that means we’ll grow back first…” Jill’s eyes widened as she walked backwards across the page, her gaze darting back and forth between the two. “… so if we hold her down until we’re big again… we can make sure she never gets the chance to fucking murder us again!”

Jill’s mind raced.

“Are you really going to trust her Jenny?” The Goth spat quickly, jabbing an accusatory finger at Jade, “Sure, I cast the spells and you have every right to be angry with me, but Jade wasn’t exactly leaping to your rescue!”

Jenny stopped in her tracks, shooting a look at Jade with sudden suspicion.

“Whoa now! Sure, I got a little kinky,” Jade admitted, turning a reassuring look at Jenny, “but I didn’t try to kill you!”

“You would have if you’d had the chance.” Jill interjected, her steely gaze on Jade.

“That’s a lie! Jenny, you now that’s a lie!”

“I don’t know what I know!” Jenny bellowed in confused anger, “I don’t trust either of you; you’re both awful! I just want you both to fuck off and die!”

“Well why don’t you fucking trying it tubby?” Jade hissed, clenching her fists.

“Maybe I will! I can take you both on; you’re a vapid harlot, and she’s a painted rake!”

“We’ll see about that.” Jill breathed, reaching into her belt and producing a flick-knife and dropping into an aggressive stance.

“So this is what it comes down to, is it? Well fine then, may the best woman win!”

…

Her eyes watering slightly as she carried the wobbling tray of drinks, Amelia backed slowly into the lounge room.

“Hey everyone! Super sorry I took so long with the drinks, it was a real struggle without my gla-”

She looked around the empty room.

“O-oh. That’s cool. They must have forgotten something in the car.” She carefully set down the drinks and walked across the room towards the sofa, stumbling slightly on an object laying in the middle of the floor. She crouched down and squinted at it. It was a book of some description, though without her glasses she hadn’t the foggiest clue what it was about. “Huh… this shouldn’t be sitting here; it’s messy, and Jenny hates mess…” As her focus pierced the blur for a moment, she became dimly aware of a few scuttling shapes moving about on the middle of the book’s open page. Her face contorted in revulsion. “Ugh! And Jenny definitely hates insects!”

Without a second thought, Amelia scooped up the book and slammed it shut with an echoing ‘WHAP’. She couldn’t even feel the crunch as the bugs were rendered two-dimensional within the volume.

“Man…” Amelia muttered to herself, hobbling over to the bookshelf and feeling about for the empty slot, pushing the old tome back into its place, “my eyes are really starting to sting… I hope they won’t mind if I go home for a while; I need to get a spare set of glasses. I’ll just call up Zoe and see how she’s going; I’m sure she won’t mind a bit of company.”

And with that, Amelia shuffled across the room and out the door, switching off the light as she departed.