Chapter 4: The First Trance

Catherine

With the induction complete, Mistress Catherine could now address the audience that was staring, stunned, at the two hypnotized women before them.

With a playful smile she asked, "Is there anyone here who doesn't believe in hypnosis?"

The women watching the spectacle in front of them merely laughed.

"So whatever shall we do with these two?"

There was a brief moment of silence before Shirley broke the ice: "Tell Penny to give Sandy a huge raise!"

This got everyone laughing, even Mistress Catherine. Suddenly, all of the girls started piping in:

"Can you get them to do that stiff as a board trick?" Mila asked.

Casey chimed in, "How about making them cluck like a chicken?"

Mindy interjected with a voice that Mistress Catherine thought might have a bit of breathiness to it, "How about getting them naked!"

This caused all of the girls to laugh ... except for Mistress Catherine, who simply eyed Mindy for a moment before turning her attention to Penny, whose limp body still rested in her hypnotist's arms.

"Before we do anything, I'd better find a place for Penny. Eve, would you be so kind?"

Eve promptly moved the chair that Penny had been sitting in so that it was right next to Sandy's in the middle of the pool of light. Once it was in place, Mistress Catherine gently lowered Penny's comatose body into it. Before turning back to her audience, she took this opportunity to put her subjects still further under her power.

Crouching in front of her subjects, she took the hand of each woman and began to once again trace small circles as she quietly spoke: "Go deeper ... with each breath ... deeper ... and deeper ... and as you go deeper ... you will start to count down from one hundred ... count quietly to yourself ... with each number ... you will go deeper ... and deeper."

Both women's lips began to move slightly, and Mistress Catherine could hear them both counting backwards softly under their breath. Satisfied that her subjects were doing as they had been told, Mistress Catherine turned back to her audience. Before she could do or say anything, though, Mila spoke up.

"Can I ask a quick question?"

"Sure," Mistress Catherine replied.

"How did Penny end up hypnotized?"

"That's an excellent question. First let me assure you that no one can be put into a state of hypnosis against her will. So, Penny went under because she wanted to. During my induction of Sandy, Penny watched and listened and fell into a trance just like Sandy did."

With a slightly confused expression, Shirley spoke next: "But Penny said she wasn't interested in being the subject."

"Yes," Mistress Catherine replied, "that's what she said. It's probably even what she thought. But on some level, maybe quite deep down in her subconscious, Penny wanted to be hypnotized tonight. Otherwise, she wouldn't be in the trance she's in right now."

"So why didn't any of us go under?" Mindy asked.

Mistress Catherine looked into the darkness just outside of the pool of light to fix Mindy with an intense look as she replied: "On some level, some of you might have. But I noticed Penny going under, so I turned my attention, and my induction, to her, and brought her to this deep trance. Had I noticed you first, it might be you up here..."

Mistress Catherine reveled in imagining the flush that must have crept over Mindy's cheeks as she thought about what the hypnotist had just said.

"So what's next?" Casey asked.

"Ah, good question." Mistress Catherine replied. "When Sandy asked me to come here tonight, she didn't specify exactly what she was looking for in terms of the type of show. That being the case, we'll let our subjects decide what comes next. After all, they went under because they wanted to, so we'll find out why that was the case."

Mistress Catherine knew that while what she was saying was true, the direction of the show was already quite clear in her mind. She had learned through experience that those women who were interested in being hypnotized were usually looking for one of two things: they were either interested in an excuse to act funny and be the life of the party, or they were somehow attracted, on a sexual level, to the notion of being at someone else's mercy. The deep flush that covered Sandy's face and even her chest upon Mistress Catherine's arrival made it quite clear to her that Sandy fell into the latter category.

Penny was a bit more interesting case. Mistress Catherine could tell from Penny's cold greeting that she wasn't terribly happy to see a hypnotist at the party. At first Mistress Catherine thought that maybe she was simply worried about Sandy and what she might end up doing under trance – a concern that Penny clearly did feel. In fact, Mistress Catherine suspected that this concern was the only thing that had made Penny's induction such a struggle – her desire to fulfill Sandy's trust in her – to watch over her and protect her – had made it difficult for Penny to let go and succumb to the hypnosis that she was clearly so drawn to.

But it didn't take long for Mistress Catherine to realize that Penny's initial cold greeting, and continued frigid demeanor towards the hypnotist was, in fact, rooted in something other than her protective nature. Mistress Catherine could tell, both by the way she carried herself and by the way the other women acted around her, that Penny was a strong, independent, and confident woman. And yet she had clearly displayed a certain nervousness whenever the hypnotist spoke to her directly. Penny seemed wary of Mistress Catherine's power, not just for Sandy's sake, but for her own – and for a woman so used to being in control, the notion that someone else could rob her of it would be quite disconcerting.

But if Penny feared the power of hypnosis, then that meant that on some level, she knew that she was susceptible to it, and Mistress Catherine had been sincere when she told her audience that she couldn't hypnotize someone against her will. Some part of Penny wanted to be hypnotized, even though she probably didn't even realize it consciously. Before the induction, Penny's conscious brain would only allow the deeper desire to be hypnotized to manifest itself through nervousness and veiled hostility towards Mistress Catherine. But once the induction started, that subconscious desire to be hypnotized took over, pushing through her desire to remain in control, brushing past her notions that hypnosis wasn't real, even overwhelming her desire to protect Sandy. Penny had clearly buried her desires quite deeply, but those desires were also clearly quite strong.

Mistress Catherine knew that she would not be able to get all the way to the bottom of Penny's psyche in one evening, but there was one thing she did know: a desire strong enough to overcome this woman's considerable willpower wasn't rooted in party tricks and silliness. Mistress Catherine was confident that Penny's attraction to hypnosis was at least as sexual as Sandy's.

For the sake of the show, she would let the other women think that they were discovering all of this together, but Mistress Catherine had known for some time where this night was headed. That was why she had been so careful to ensure that Penny was sitting where the pendant would be in the line of sight between herself and Sandy. That was why she had timed the steps of her induction to overcome Penny's signs of resistance. That was why she had indicated to her perceptive assistant to be ready to help with Penny's induction if the need arose. Now that she had both women in deep trances, she was quite certain that the night would soon take a very powerful turn towards the erotic. She was also quite certain that, for both women, this night would not be the last.

But for the time being, she had to put on a show. Mistress Catherine stepped behind her two subjects and said to her audience, "Let's have some fun!"

Mila, Shirley, Casey, and Mindy clapped enthusiastically.

"First, let's see how they're doing with their assignment."

Bending down again, Mistress Catherine whispered in her subjects' ears, "How far have you counted down?"

In a very sleepy voice, Sandy replied, "I'm finished, Mistress."

Even Mistress Catherine was shocked at this reply, not because Sandy was already done counting down (although the speed did say something to her about how eager she was to go quite deep), but because she had ended the statement with the word "Mistress." Most women were not so quick to address her in this way without being told to. As intriguing as Mistress Catherine had already come to find Penny, she was beginning to realize that Sandy might have been a rare catch as well.

Meanwhile, Penny replied dreamily to the hypnotist's question, "I have reached seventeen."

"Excellent," Mistress Catherine replied, "Penny, continue to count. When you have finished continue to focus on falling deeper into trance with each breath you take. Pay no attention to any other commands until you feel me touching your head. Do you understand?"

"Yes." It was more of a sigh than a spoken response.

"Now Sandy, I would like for you to open your eyes and sit up, but remain deep in trance."

Sandy's eyes slowly fluttered open, revealing a blank and glassy stare. Slowly, as if with great effort, she shifted forward in her seat and sat up.

From the audience, Mistress Catherine heard what she was sure was Mindy's voice whisper, "My god, she just looks so ... gone."

"Yes," Mistress Catherine responded, "Sandy is an amazing subject. She has gone incredibly deep incredibly quickly. Shall we see what it is that she's so eager to find?"

The other women all nodded in agreement.

"Sandy, when you called to ask me to come to your party, what was it that drew you to me?"

In a sleepy monotone, Sandy replied, "I wasn't sure."

"You weren't sure. Do you know now?"

"Yes, Mistress."

"Then tell me, why do you want to be hypnotized?"

"I find it very exciting."

"Exciting in what way?" Usually, Mistress Catherine would take more time and care getting to a subject's revelation about her desires, but in this case, Sandy was so compliant that she saw no danger in simply pulling it straight out of her. With only the briefest moment of hesitation, Sandy answered, "I find it sexually exciting, Mistress."

Mistress Catherine raised an eyebrow as she feigned surprise. "This might turn out to be quite an interesting evening, indeed," she said to the other women in the room, all of whom giggled slightly. "Let's see just see what else we can learn."

"So, Sandy, you find hypnosis arousing?"

"Yes, Mistress." This time there was no hesitation.

"Were you aroused when you made the appointment?"

This time, there was a moment of hesitation before Sandy, whose sleepy monotone now also contained a slightly breathless, husky quality, answered, "Yes."

"Why did you hesitate Sandy?"

"I didn't know the answer at first."

"Ah yes, you said you weren't sure about why you called me at first. But you did feel excited when you called, right?"

"Yes, Mistress."

"When did you realize that the excitement was sexual?"

"This afternoon, while I was in the bath."

"Did you touch yourself in the bath?"

Mistress Catherine thought she detected just a hint of frustration in Sandy's voice as she replied, "No, Mistress."

"Why not?"

"I was disappointed."

"About what."

"About not being hypnotized."

"Why didn't you think that you'd be hypnotized?"

"Because I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of Penny."

"So you were afraid of what Penny would think if you let yourself be hypnotized?"

"Yes, Mistress." Mistress Catherine was only just beginning to understand how much Sandy and Penny cared for each other – and the myriad ways that she could use their affection for each other to her advantage.

"Sandy, look to your left." Slowly, as though struggling to control her own body, Sandy turned her head to look at the hypnotized woman lying limply in the chair next to her. "What do you see, Sandy?"

"Penny is hyp-hypnotized!" Even in her deep hypnotic state, Sandy's surprise was still clear. For just a moment, the vacant look that had so dominated Sandy's face started to waver. Mistress Catherine suddenly realized what could have been a bit of a mistake. Sandy was counting on Penny to protect her – she had allowed herself to go so deep so easily because she thought that Penny would keep her safe. With Penny in a trance herself, Sandy, even in her deep state, nonetheless realized that her boss could not protect her, and thus might not be as receptive.

Mistress Catherine, though, quickly recovered. Placing her hand on the side of Sandy's face, she drew the girl's face to look at her own; to force Sandy's eyes to stare into hers.

"It's okay, Sandy," Catherine chimed, even as she saw the effect that her eyes were having on her subject, "Penny would never have let herself go under if she felt that there was any reason for you to be concerned. Penny wanted to have this experience with you."

Just as Mistress Catherine suspected, the prospect of their sharing this experience affected Sandy very deeply. The brief flicker of resistance had been quickly extinguished. Mistress Catherine, still holding Sandy's gaze locked to her own, resumed her questions.

"So, you find hypnosis sexually arousing?"

"Yes, Mistress." There was no mistaking it now, Sandy's breath had quickened and her nipples had become quite hard beneath her top.

"Are you aroused right now?" The answer was clear, but Mistress Catherine wanted Sandy to acknowledge it both for the sake of the audience and because verbalizing her arousal would only increase it.

Without hesitation, Sandy replied, "Yes, Mistress."

"Would you like to explore that arousal tonight?"

"Yes, Mistress." The need in Sandy's voice was shocking even to Mistress Catherine.

"Then that is what we will do. Listen very carefully. In a moment, I am going to tell you to sleep. For the rest of this evening, whenever I tell you to sleep, you will go back into the state that you were in before I asked you to open your eyes, only you will go deeper each time. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Mistress."

"Good. Now, I want you to focus on your arousal for a moment. Feel it coursing through you. Do you feel that, Sandy?"

"Yes." By now there was no disguising Sandy's arousal. Her chest was almost heaving with the need that ran through her body. Her nipples seemed to be carving their way out of her top, and her entire body was glowing with an undeniable flush. Mistress Catherine was certain that beneath her jeans and panties Sandy was dripping with her need.

"Feel that arousal begin to build. You find hypnosis arousing, and you are hypnotized. Let that drive your arousal higher."

Now there were audible moans escaping Sandy's lips as her sexual desires flooded through her body and her compliant mind.

"I see that this is affecting you, isn't it, Sandy? You're becoming more and more aroused, aren't you?"

"Yes, Mistress." Sandy practically moaned the words between her gasps of arousal.

"Keep allowing it to build. You can feel this arousal because of the power of hypnosis. The deeper you let yourself go, the more it will build. The more it builds, the more you want to go deeper. Isn't that right?"

Between the sensations racing through her body and the deep hypnotic haze clouding her mind, Sandy couldn't even begin to try to follow the logic of what Mistress Catherine had just said. All she could do was to agree with her hypnotist – the woman that was making her feel this good – and go deeper; become more aroused. Barely audible between her moans, Sandy breathed the words, "Yes, Mistress."

"Now Sandy, I need you to listen to me very carefully. Even when I put you back to sleep, you will still feel this arousal. It will continue to build. Do you understand?"

"Y-Yes, Mis-Mistress." Sandy's arousal was making it difficult to talk.

"Sleep!" Mistress Catherine punctuated this last command with a snap of her fingers, and Sandy's body instantly collapsed back onto her chair, her eyes closed, her breath still coming in ragged, needful gasps.

Mistress Catherine turned towards her small audience once again. "Well girls, what do you think?"

Shirley was once again the first to break the brief silence. "That was amazing."

"Holy crap, this is getting so intense!" said Mila.

Mindy, whose knuckles had grown white she was gripping a pillow from the couch so hard, simply shook her head, speechless.

"Yes, it is. But as you have seen, this is exactly what Sandy wanted. Even this afternoon she knew this is what she wanted. Do any of you have any problem with the turn that this is taking? If so, feel free to leave now, I'm sure Sandy will understand."

None of the women watching the display in front of them wavered for a second – they all wanted to see what would happen next. None of the women noticed that Mistress Catherine had never mentioned stopping the show altogether as an option.

"Excellent," Mistress Catherine continued, "now on to subject number two. We can't let poor Penny here miss all the fun."

With that, Mistress Catherine turned her attention to the other entranced woman. Standing in front of her, she placed her hand firmly on Penny's head and said, in that same commanding voice that she did so well, "Penny, please sit up and open your eyes, but remain in a deep, deep hypnotic trance."

Penny's eyes fluttered open and she, much like Sandy had just minutes ago, slowly pulled herself into a seated position, looking straight in front of her. Now, it was up to Mistress Catherine to coax the same admissions of sexual arousal out of Penny that she had gotten so easily out of Sandy. Penny would be more of a challenge, Mistress Catherine knew. The extra few minutes that Penny had just spent putting herself deeper into hypnosis would help, but Mistress Catherine would still have to use a more subtle approach than the one that had worked so well with Sandy.

"Penny, I want you to tell me how you feel at this moment."

"Good ... nervous."

"Why do you feel nervous, Penny?"

"I don't feel in control."

"You are usually in control, aren't you Penny?"

"Yes."

"Do you like to be in control?"

There was a long pause, and Mistress Catherine could tell that there was some conflict going on inside Penny. She saw no signs that Penny was coming out of hypnosis, but there was something within her that simply couldn't reconcile an answer to the question. Mistress Catherine knew that she would have time to explore this issue further another time, but for now, she needed to take things in a slightly different direction. Stepping close to Penny, Mistress Catherine pulled the woman's head against her stomach and gently held her as though she were a child. She began to softly stroke Penny's hair as she continued, in a soft, reassuring voice.

"It's okay, Penny, you don't have to answer that question. Just relax. Go deeper ... deeper and deeper ... deeper and deeper..."

Mistress Catherine could feel Penny starting to go quite limp in her arms. She bent down in front of the hypnotized woman, moving her hands to gently cup Penny's face as she brought her eyes to bear on her subject, who simply looked at her with a dazed, glassy stare.

"Now Penny, when I asked you how you felt, you also said that you felt good, is that correct?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to continue to feel good?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to feel even better?"

"Yes."

"Can you tell me what you mean by feeling good, Penny?"

"I feel..." again, there was a long hesitation. Mistress Catherine seemed to have encountered another wall. She noticed that Penny's breath had quickened slightly, and a slight flush seemed to be tinting her cheeks, which only reaffirmed her certainty that Penny's feeling was one of sexual arousal. But clearly, some part of her was still unwilling to admit it, even in this deep trance state. Getting her to admit this arousal on her own would be an important step in controlling her and Mistress Catherine had an idea about how to make that happen.

"Penny, it's okay. You don't have to tell me what feeling good means until you're ready to do so." At those words, Penny seemed to somehow relax even further. She was sinking so deep that remaining upright was becoming more and more difficult. Mistress Catherine, whose hands were still gently cradling Penny's face, guided her subject to sit back in her chair once again, causing Penny to resume her sleeping posture of before. Then, she withdrew her hands and used her finger tips to gently draw Penny's eyes closed.

"Let your eyes drift shut, Penny, and just relax. For the rest of the evening, any time I say the word "Sleep" I want you to return to this state. Do you understand."

The hesitation that had plagued her previous answers was gone as she immediately responded, "Yes."

"Good. Now, are you still feeling good?"

"Yes."

"And are you still feeling nervous?"

"Yes."

"I want you to focus on the good. Can you do that for me Penny?"

"Yes."

"Excellent. Imagine that the goodness that you feel is like the pendant that entranced you earlier. You can feel the way it pulls you, entices you. Do you feel that, Penny?"

"Yes." Penny's breath was starting to quicken.

"Wonderful. Now, Penny, do you remember when the pendant began to grow, filling your vision?"

"Yes."

"Well I want you to feel the good sensations that are in your mind ... and your body" – at this last comment Penny's whole body jolted, as though a wave of sensation had just struck her – "growing the way the pendant did. Can you feel that, Penny?"

Penny let out a long whimper before she replied, in a husky tone, "Yes."

"Do you still feel the nervousness, Penny?"

"Yes."

"Excellent. That nervousness is part of the good sensations, isn't it?"

There was a brief pause before Penny, between short, raspy breaths, breathed out, "Yes."

"Excellent, don't fight the nervousness, Penny. Let it combine with the pleasure, charging that pleasure, making that pleasure more intense!"

Penny was clearly following the Mistress's commands for her body's desires had grown so powerful that they were pushing past her physical sluggishness – Penny had begun to practically writhe in her chair, moaning uncontrollably. It had taken a bit more work than it had with Sandy, but once Mistress Catherine tapped the sexual energy in Penny it had begun to flow with an astonishing intensity. Mistress Catherine knew that Penny was now hers to control, but a final series of questions were needed to cement that control in Penny's mind.

"Do you still feel good, Penny?"

"Oh, god, yes!" Penny whined.

"What is this feeling?"

"I'm so turned on!"

"What do you want to do now?"

"I want to be driven wild."

"Anything else?"

"I want to cum!"

"Being hypnotized makes you want to cum?"

"Oh god, yes!"

"And it will, Penny. But not until your hypnotist allows it."

Penny let out a long and frustrated moan. As she did so, Mistress Catherine turned back to Sandy. Now that both women had declared for the audience and, perhaps more importantly, for themselves, that hypnosis triggered their sexual arousal, Mistress Catherine wanted to waste no time having fun with her subjects.

At first, she was slightly disappointed to find Sandy still lying in her chair in the same position that she had left her a few minutes ago. After all, she had commanded that Sandy's arousal would grow, so she expected the girl to be thrashing around just as much as Penny now was.

But then she noticed something that turned her feeling of disappointment into one of anticipation. She noticed that a thin sheen of perspiration had spread over Sandy's face, glistening slightly under the lights, and her expression, while still relaxed, had taken on a slight mask of strain. Sandy was intensely aroused, Mistress Catherine realized, but she was also obedient. She had been told to sleep, so she would not allow herself the freedom to express her arousal. But keeping it all inside was becoming increasingly difficult and she was straining with the effort.