"--you let me help you take over the school," said Chantress. "World domination may be on the table eventually, but taking over the Academy is a good end goal in and of itself."
Melona blinked. "Why?"
"Well," said Chantress, "When you managed to take me as a servant, that was largely by accident. While I am unsure as to whether or not there is a good defense against the spell in question, you are certainly not invulnerable. Crucially, you have to say the spell aloud in order to cast it, so if you aren't as sneaky as you think, you'll tip other people off and give them your sole weapon at the same time." She spread her hands as though to placate Melona. "Of course, I am not suggesting that you're too incompetent to follow through with your plans of conquest, but even the greatest leaders need advi--"
"Not that," said Melona. "Why do you think I want to take over the school?"
Chantress furrowed her brow. "You ambushed me in the library, even if it was inadvertently, and used the opportunity to make me subservient to you. You don't seem to want me sexually, and you've been largely fair-minded this entire time. You clearly want an underling, am I right?"
"No!"
"Well then why did you make me into your servant?"
"I--" said Melona. She didn't know why, but a subservient Chantress was just as good at stressing her out as an independent one. "I don't know, alright? I panicked. I just happened to read the spell aloud; I didn't mean to target anyone! Then you started getting really scary and wanting to know 'what you are,' and I just went with the first idea that I thought wouldn't get me into trouble!" She could feel herself tearing up. "I'm sorry, Professor! I didn't want to make you like this, but I didn't know what else to do!"
Chantress paused. "So what you're saying is that you could have just as easily turned me into your obedient lover, or a drooling vegetable?"
"I--I guess," said Melona. "Honestly I barely knew what I was saying until I already said it."
Chantress took a deep breath. "Melona, even without considering the fact that I want nothing more than to serve your wants and needs, I still have to say that your brainwashing of me was quite fortunate."
"It was? How?"
"Well, I suspect that my previous self would have preferred if you just relinquished control of me with as few other alterations as possible, but I recognize that doing so could have gotten you into serious trouble. Even if it was an accident, I think I could have lost may temper a little," said Chantress. "Making a prompt that would have left us both in an ideal situation would have required a level of on-the-spot strategizing that, frankly, I think is a little beyond you right now."
Melona wasn't sure if she was supposed to feel insulted or not. "Thanks?"
Chantress shrugged. "I'm trying my best to stay objective here. I wound up with most of my faculties intact, save for a newfound subservience to somebody who appears to be a relatively benevolent mistress--" she saw the look on Melona's face "--in a strictly platonic sense of the term, of course. In the meantime, you wind up avoiding meaningful consequences for your actions and a teacher who's now on your side in all things going forward. It suggests either good luck or good instincts."
Melona tried to smile. It felt strange, considering the circumstances.
"So," said Chantress, "I retract my prior assumptions about your motives. Tell me; what would you actually like to do?"
"Well--" said Melona.
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