The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

Mary twisted the handle and thumped on the door in the vain hope that her actions would prove it to be stuck rather than locked. It didn’t open and the small amount of give confirmed that it was indeed locked. Silently screaming her frustration, Mary stomped down the hallway to try the next door. She was finally back in her own house, her husband Peter had finally conceded that she needed and deserved it more than him and he had been spiteful enough to leave some of the interior doors locked with no keys in sight.

She should have expected something like this, all of her friends had warned her that he would pull stunts, go for ridiculous custody claims, and generally be a bastard. They had all suggested that she should strike first, had helped her get a good lawyer so that Peter wouldn’t even get visiting rights to Tanya until he met her terms and that he would bear the bulk of the financial responsibility.

Actually, not all of her friends had been so eager to feed her bitterness. Rose was the exception. Rose had been there to support her, had loaned her the money for her legal bills and had agreed to look after Tanya when Peter’s lawyer had pulled her own coup by arranging for him to remain in residence in their house until the final settlement. Rose had also been the one to be the go-between for those awkward occasions when Peter and Mary had to communicate.

That was probably why Rose was still her best friend, she had been sensible and mature about the whole thing and had given practical help and advice. Mary had even begun to soften her stance on custody of Tanya, until now. Completing a circuit of the house Mary found three locked rooms she couldn’t get in to, the study on the ground floor and two of the bedrooms upstairs. It wasn’t like this made living in the house impossible, the master bedroom and Tanya’s room were not locked, it was more the principle that irked Mary.

Peter had also had the house redecorated, something that would have annoyed Mary a lot—if it hadn’t been so tastefully done. Even though Peter wasn’t completely clueless in such things, it was obvious that he had had help, and most likely feminine help. She briefly wondered if it had been the ‘other woman’ but decided not. Their divorce had been for irreconcilable differences, especially on the issue of raising Tanya, not infidelity. Mary was almost certain that Peter had been with another woman but it hadn’t started until their marriage was already on the rocks and it felt more like Peter was seeking sympathy and companionship rather than anything settled.

Grumbling, Mary went downstairs to the kitchen. Tanya would be home from school soon and Mary wanted to be in good spirits for her. Afterall they were home again, together and where they belonged. Although Tanya’s school work hadn’t suffered from the trauma of the divorce and being away from her home, Mary felt that things should get back to normal again as soon as possible.

Which brought her to the matter of Tanya. She had been shocked by her daughter’s changed appearance and demeanour. Initially she had thought that Tanya had just dressed up for her visit but in subsequent trips to Rose’s place while arranging to move back into their house Tanya’s clothes and makeup had become even more outrageous. As much as she loved Rose, Mary definitely felt it was time to get her daughter away from Rose’s influence.

The sound of a gentle knock on the front door brought Mary to the present and she hurried to answer it. As expected, it was Tanya arriving home from school. Her daughter was still, by Mary’s standards, a bit overdressed especially for school in her short skirt and tunic style sleeveless top but at least she wasn’t wearing any makeup or jewellery. Determined to make the homecoming pleasant, and vowing to work on getting Tanya to dress more sensibly later, Mary gave her daughter a hug.

“Hello darling. All your clothes and gear from Rose’s place arrived this afternoon and I’ve unpacked it all into your room just like you used to have it. Why don’t you go freshen up and check it out while I set the table for dinner.”

“Okay, mum,” Tanya replied, hugging her mother in return. “Wow, the furniture and the wallpaper and everything’s been changed.”

Mary hid her scowl until Tanya was away up the stairs. Now she understood why Peter had done it, he had deliberately made sure that they wouldn’t be returning to their old house. She couldn’t believe he could be so creatively cruel on his own and wondered if his lawyer was behind it. The woman had been cool and professional, yet Mary thought there was something overtly sexual about her.

Well she would just have to make the most of it, and maybe do some redecorating of her own. She could do it with Tanya, a mother-daughter project to get them settled in again and to wipe away the unpleasant parts of the past. Besides she might have to repair the damage necessary to open the doors if the keys didn’t show up.

Mary had just finished placing the best china on the dining table when she heard her daughter coming down the stairs.

“Mum, what have you done with the clothes Rose gave me? I can only find my old stuff.”

“Oh, that stuff. It was really nice of Rose but it was all a bit too delicate and impractical for daily use so I’ve packed it away for special occasions. If you’ve grown out of any of your old stuff I don’t mind taking you shopping.”

“No, I did need some new bras but Rose took me to a special lingerie shop and had me measured and fitted.” Tanya replied with a note of wistfulness in her voice. She wasn’t sure if she wanted things to be back the way they had been, especially if she had to go back to her old dowdy clothes. Still she loved her mother dearly and didn’t want to upset her.

“That was nice of her,” Mary commented less than graciously. Rose was generous to a fault, and she was definitely at fault in this case. She would have to have a quiet word with Rose at some point, perhaps even get her to take the clothes back. It was all right for Rose, she was an adult and she was rich, Tanya was neither and needed to get used to being more pragmatic about her appearance. Tanya needed to finish school and get on to university before worrying about boys paying attention to her.

It was late when Mary finally retired that night. She had played mah-jong with Tanya, after Tanya had done her homework of course, and they had talked without saying much. Tanya turned in at her normal time for a school night and Mary was glad that particular routine hadn’t been disrupted by her stay with Rose. Mary would have gone to bed then except that she was still a bit too worked up from the emotion of moving back into her house at last. She had hated living in rented accommodation, especially when knowing that her ex-husband had the house.

Now as she made her way up the stairs to her bedroom she felt she should be happier but something was still nagging at her. Maybe it was just the locked doors, she wasn’t an overly curious person by nature, in fact she didn’t have much in the way of imagination at all, but it irked her not knowing what might be in the rooms. Stopping at the locked bedroom she almost thought she heard movement within, but as she listened more intently it was silent so she dismissed it and moved on.

She was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. Then she was dreaming. She was walking down the hallway, towards the locked door only it was ajar. She stepped in to the room to find a gaudy pink palace, everything was frills and lace and pink, it seemed to leap out and assault Mary’s senses. Then she saw the large doll perched on the side of the bed.

Mary hated dolls, they had always seemed evil to her. As a child she had believed them inhabited by bad spirits, as an adult she had rationalised it to a distaste for enforced gender roles. Either way dolls still spooked her, her ex-husband’s insistence on buying them for Tanya had been one of the reasons she had been pushed in to the divorce. Now staring at this doll she just wanted to scream.

Instead she woke up the next morning in a cold sweat and a clear recollection of her nightmare. With the early morning sun streaming in her window she no longer felt frightened, telling herself it had only been a bad dream. Having a quick wash she dressed and headed downstairs to start preparing breakfast for Tanya and herself.

Tanya came down shortly thereafter and looked a bit out of sorts.

“What’s wrong honey?” Mary asked as she set out toast and cereal on the table.

“It’s just that my old clothes feel a bit grotty. Not all of the stuff Rose got me is fancy, couldn’t I wear the cotton dress or something?”

“No!” Mary almost screamed, then blanched at her daughter’s frightened expression. “I’m sorry, dear, I didn’t mean to jump at you. What I meant to say was that I’m thinking about returning those clothes to Rose, we really must learn to live within our own means and not take charity, even from Rose.”

“But its not charity, they’re presents.” Tanya objected.

“Nevertheless, they’re going back. You can chose one outfit to keep but that’s all. Now sit down to breakfast or you’ll be late for school.”

Later Mary was mentally kicking herself as she finished tidying up in the kitchen. Her happy homecoming was falling apart and it was all her fault. She should have let Tanya have her way that morning since they were in a rush and taken the time that evening to put everything in to perspective for her. Laying down the law was just likely to cause rebellion.

Hearing the front door open and close, Mary hurried out to say goodbye to her daughter before she disappeared. She got as far as the lounge when glancing out the window she saw something that made her freeze. Tanya was wearing a black leather minidress and heels, clothes from Rose that she had very carefully packed away to be returned.

Sighing, Mary finished getting ready for work. She would take it up with her daughter that evening.

Mary was annoyed, entirely with herself, as she closed the front door behind her and made her way to the kitchen. She had, completely unlike herself, left important documents on the kitchen table and was now using up her lunch to fetch them for the afternoon meeting. She had just picked them up and was heading out again when she heard footsteps on the stairs. For a brief moment she thought it might be a burglar, or perhaps worse, Tanya playing truant.

Instead she found a slightly perturbed Rose on the stairs. “Oh, its you.” Rose blurted out, less dignified than usual. “I heard the door and ..”

“Sorry to startle you, I had to come home to fetch something,” Mary apologised automatically, then added as she realised the incongruity of the presence of her friend in her house. “How did you get in?”

“I still have the keys you gave me years ago,” Rose replied easily, more composed now. “I thought I’d come over and see if any of them would unlock the other doors. No such luck though.”

“I see.” But Mary really didn’t. Still it wasn’t out of character for Rose to do something a bit ditzy like this. Sometimes her best friend was the most focused and clear headed person on the planet, at other times she was like a young woman who hadn’t quite got over being a teenager.

“No luck though,” Rose went on breezily as she came down the stairs and taking Mary’s arm escorted her out to the street. “Do you want a lift back to work?”

“If its no bother.”

“Like it would ever be a bother. So, what’s it like sleeping in your old house again?”

Mary hesitated for a moment, then decided she could be honest with her best friend. “It’s still a bit strange, I had a bad dream last night so I was a bit terse with Tanya this morning.”

“Oh, anything special about the dream?” Rose probed, “Like what made it bad?”

“It ..” Mary paused, not wanting to sound too silly, “It had a doll in it.”

“I didn’t know you were afraid of dolls.” There was genuine warmth and concern in Rose’s voice.

“I’m not really afraid of them, I just don’t like them. They’re too much like, well, people but they’re not real. They also remind me of Peter. He knew I didn’t like them but he insisted on getting them for Tanya. He spoilt her and I’m left dealing with it. On that subject, please don’t take this the wrong way, but could you take back the clothes you got for Tanya? I’m not ungrateful, but they really aren’t suitable.”

Rose started to object, then thought better of it. She could tell that her friend had made up her mind and wasn’t going to be swayed.

Mary went to bed tired and unhappy. She had confronted Tanya when she had got home from work, Tanya hadn’t even changed her clothes or made any attempt to deny what she had done. While they hadn’t actually raised their voices, it was the worst argument they had ever had. Upset, Mary had taken one of her prescription sleeping pills, something she normally only did during her period or when she was really stressed from work, and the potent chemicals soon put her to sleep.

Where she found herself walking down the hallway again. As she reached out to open the door there was a moment of dread that she would again face the doll but she found herself unable to resist. Beyond the door was the same pink tinged room and for a moment she thought it was the doll on the bed but it was too big. It took her a moment longer to realise that it was her sitting on the bed, clad only in her nightshirt.

Mary viewed herself critically, at least the her sitting on the edge of the bed. She looked older than she was and quite plain. Her hair style really didn’t do her any favours and the face looked washed out, especially staring blankly into the distance, unmoving.

She then noticed that the closet door was slightly ajar and felt herself being drawn towards it. Inside she found clothes, lots of them and without having to look too hard she could tell they were all woman’s, and overtly feminine at that. Even the sole pair of trousers in the closet were diaphanous and flared to the point that they would look like a dress when worn.

Mary looked back to where ‘she’ sat on the bed and decided this felt like a trial offer, she had herself as a mannequin and a selection of outfits. Her normal reserve weakened by the unrealness of the dream, she pulled out the most conservative outfit in the closet, a quite stylish double breasted long dress jacket and took it over to the motionless figure on the bed. That figure proved to be quite pliable if unreacting and Mary managed to stand ‘herself’ up and get the dress on without too much effort. A little nagging voice at the back of her head suggested that she should have done underwear as well but she didn’t see much point in that when she just wanted to see what the outfit would look like.

She was surprised by how good it did look. Admittedly it didn’t sit quite as it should due to the bulky nightdress underneath and the lifeless expression and functional but unglamorous hairstyle detracted from the whole. But Mary felt she could wear something like this to work. She carefully returned it to the closet before trying the next outfit, a cotton sun dress. This she just held up to her mannequin self, there was no point in draping it over the nightshirt and quickly decided against it, far too lightweight and skimpy. The cocktail dress, the day dress and the bright pink minidress that followed were equally quickly disregarded as options, all would show too much flesh for her to be comfortable with.

The next outfit brought the activities to a halt. It was a dress, not that such an item would be called such by Mary’s standards, of black leather. The distance from the pulled in waist to the hem was barely two handspans, the bodice was lowcut and the only part of it that would rise above the breast was the thin shoulder straps. Mary felt revolted. She didn’t think even a prostitute would wear anything that obscene. She wanted out of this room now.

There was a lurching disorientation, a feeling of falling followed by a sudden stop and for the briefest of moments her orientation shifted then everything went black.

Mary awoke the next morning with the usual dryness of her throat and mouth that came with using the sleeping pills. She also had a clear recollection of the very strange dream. It wasn’t until she was setting out breakfast that a note of incongruity surfaced, not the whole seeing herself or the strange things she’d done, all that could be explained away by the weirdness of dreams. No, what seemed odd was that the scale of everything had been wrong, not a lot, but everything including the herself sitting on the bed, had been just a fraction larger than they should. She had also, now that she thought of it, come from Tanya’s room, not her own.

The arrival of Tanya made her forget all about it for the moment. Mary was pleased to see that her daughter was dressed more sensibly this morning in jeans and a light sweater. She wasn’t fooled however, she could tell by the quality of the clothes that they came from Rose, but it was time for them to meet somewhere around mid-way.

“Hello dear, you look smart. Did you sleep well?”

“Mmm, sort of. I don’t feel tired but I sort of have this like impression of being really stiff. Not my muscles, but my skin. I don’t know why, I’m fine now.”

“Might be an allergy to some of the fabrics in the clothes you’ve been wearing,” Mary suggested. She knew it was a cheap shot but felt that anything that helped wean her daughter away from the expensive clothes was worth it.

“So how about you, Mom? Are you sleeping okay? I thought I heard you moving around last night.”

“Not unless I was sleepwalking,” Mary replied lightly, then frowned for a moment as she remembered her dream. She could dismiss that though, if she had been sleepwalking then she wouldn’t have come across herself, would she. So she turned her attention back to her daughter. “How about we get some videos tonight? You can even borrow my card and pick them up after school.”

“Okay, mom.”