Chapter 9 : Morning

The table was remarkably peaceful as the three sitting bodies ate in silence.

Although it had been several days since either of them had eaten anything, both of the dark elves became full surprisingly fast and finished eating long before Anton did. While waiting for him, Fiona busied herself with trying to clean the stuck porridge from her face by scraping her chin, cheeks and forehead against the sides of her bowl. Kianna meanwhile kept a hesitant watch on Anton who seemed to have either completely forgotten about the dark elves, or decided to simply ignore them entirely as he absently clicked about on his laptop and lazily ate his food.

Kianna couldn't help but to become transfixed as she watched Anton eat. There was just something about the process, and each of the small motions that were involved, that seemed to suddenly fascinate her. She found a strange elegance in the simplicity of it all. Such as how he dipped his sausages in his syrup and lightly drizzled said syrup over his egg and toast. In how and where he would take his next bite. How with each bite the food seemed to slowly disappear. And finally, with how his jaw seemed to effortlessly move in such a smooth and nearly soundless way as it supposedly destroyed whatever was trapped between his teeth. She couldn't exactly say why this was so interesting to her but it certainly was. And as he got closer and closer to being finished she felt a twinge of disappointment that the show would soon be over. Glancing at her sister she couldn't help but to feel a second round of disappointment, this time in herself, for not having paid better attention to her while she was eating as well. She wasn't necessarily interested in comparing the two, but instead wanted to find out if Fiona was as much of a spectacle to watch as Anton was.

A level of tension hung in the air when Anton finally finished the last of his food and casually slid his empty plate to the side. The two dark elves were both becoming more and more nervous as he seemed to be content with staying focused on his laptop. Finally, after having apparently finished with whatever he was reading, he leaned back in his seat and folded his arms over his chest.

“So...” he drawled as he turned to face them “Are we ready to have a conversation now?”

The dark elves both glanced at each other and nodded slowly.

“Alright, I'll go ahead and let you two start then” said Anton as he gave each of the dark elves a nod “I'm sure you both have some questions you're dying to ask”

The dark elves were both silent for a moment as they each seemed to be waiting for the other to speak.

“Are you gonna kill us!?” blurted out Fiona as she grimaced down at the table.

“No. At this time I have no intention of killing either of you” declared Anton “And by that I mean I don't plan to kill you at all. That does not mean that I can't, or won't kill you. It just means that I don't plan to. As of right now”

The dark elves both shifted themselves back at the implied threat.

“W-we can pay you!” cried Kianna as her ears pointed themselves straight upwards “We really do have a lot of money!”

“No, you don't. You did! But now you don't” said Anton as he shifted his gaze to his laptop “You have both been getting a kind of automatic monthly stipend, or an allowance of some kind, and this had built up to a pretty high number in each of your accounts... A stock portfolio was also set up for each of you. And I even found an apartment complex that was in both of your names. That brought in a decent amount of money every month. All together, when everything was said and done, you both would have been doing pretty well for the rest of your lives. But then you decided to abduct me. And now its all gone”

“...W-what!?” exclaimed Fiona as she leaned forward and got jerked by her chain “What do you mean it's all gone!?”

“I mean it's gone. All of it. All of your funds have been diverted over to my outer realm accounts and are currently sitting at a pending status while waiting for me to accept the transfers. So now with a simple push of a button, all of your money will be mine. The transfers for both the stocks and the apartment complex have already been set into motion as well” explained Anton as he used the nail on his pinkie finger to absently pick at his teeth “...By the end of this month you won't own anything and you won't have a dime to your names”

Fiona fell back into her seat and stared dumbfounded at Anton as he absently flicked away a bit of debris from his fingernail.

“...How, you! ...When!?” she exclaimed as she shook her head in disbelief.

“Why do you think I was keeping you in storage for the last two days? What did you think I was doing up here?” asked Anton as he gave her a sly grin “What you were already doing is actually what made it so much easier for me. Especially with the apartment complex. How could you possibly do that to your own sister Fiona!? Terrible, just, just terrible!”

A sickly look came over Fiona's face as she lowered her ears and shook her head.

“...Huh?” questioned Kianna as she looked from Anton to her sister “Wait? What were you doing?”

“Nothing!” exclaimed Fiona as she turned to face Kianna and pointed her ears straight upwards “I was just making sure the money was taken care of! That's it! That's all!”

“No, that's not what you were doing Fiona!” mocked Anton as he shook his head and met Kianna's gaze “She's been slowly transferring both your funds and your stocks over to herself for the last year or so. And she's actually the one who set up the “sale” of the apartment complex. I'm guessing she was going to sell it to herself? Essentially, by the end of it, she would have had control of all of your money as well as her own”

Kianna's eyes went wide as she absorbed what was being said.

“I really didn't have to change much in the way of moving things around” continued Anton “Most of the groundwork had already been set up. I just had to change a few names and some account numbers. Easy enough really”

Kianna's mouth hung open as she slowly turned to her sister.

“...He's lying!” cried Fiona as her eyes locked to her sister's and she began to struggle in her bounds “I mean! He's, he's!”

Kianna clenched her teeth as her ears pointed themselves straight back in anger.

Fiona smiled sheepishly as she hunched in on herself and lowered her own ears.

“I, I wasn't trying to steal from you! Honestly I wasn't!” she tried to explain as Kianna's face became angrier and angrier “I just thought it would be easier to keep track of everything if it was all in one place! Seriously! That's really all I was doing!”

Fiona cringed back and clamped her eyes shut as Kianna reached out towards her. Taking hold of her sister's bowl of food, Kianna pulled it to herself and set it on the other side of her own and far out of Fiona's reach.

“Wha? Hey!” cried Fiona as she realized what had happened “That's mine!”

“It'll be easier for me to keep track of it if I keep it all in one place!” growled Kianna and Fiona cringed back as her own words were thrown at her.

“Kianna” said Anton with a stern tone to his voice “Give that back to her”

Both of the dark elves immediately turned to him with surprise spread clear across their faces.

“What!?” exclaimed Kianna “But! She, she just!”

“You have no right to be angry at anyone but yourself” chastised Anton as he pointed his finger at her “The fact that you don't even keep track of your own assets is just embarrassing. You're lucky it was only your sister taking your money and not an actual thief”

Fiona blinked in surprise and quickly became smug as she smiled at her cowed sister.

Kianna's face was torn as she looked down at the table. Scowling in frustration, she kept her eyes lowered as she reached over and set the bowl back in front of Fiona.

“That being said...” continued Anton as he shifted his pointed finger to Fiona “You are far from innocent! But I'm sure Kianna can figure out a good punishment for you. So I'll just leave it to her”

Kianna's eyes became vicious as she gave her sister a toothy smile.

“Wha? Wait a minute!” exclaimed Fiona as her own face became scowling towards Anton “You're the one that just-”

“Or!” interrupted Anton as he narrowed his eyes at her “I could come up with something that I would think was appropriate... Though I would like to think that your own sister wouldn't be nearly as cruel to you as I will be!”

Fiona stopped short mid-speech. With a questioning look now on her face she turned to her sister and found her still smiling evilly. Unsure of who was now allied with who, the confused dark elf eased back in uncertainty as she looked back and forth between Anton and her sister.

The arrogance on Kianna's face slowly disappeared as she looked away from Fiona and stared down at the table.

“...So wait, what happens now?” she whispered as she peeked up at Anton “You have all our money, and you have us trapped here! You said you're not gonna kill us... So what are you going to do now?”

Both of the dark elves were now staring intently at Anton.

Resting his chin in the crook of his hand, Anton's expression became thoughtful as he stared back at them.

“I still need to ask you a few questions before I make any final decisions” he said with a sigh “But first...”

Anton bent forward and tapped Molly on the head to alert her that he was about move. Rising from his seat, he stepped around the table and made his way to the sink in the kitchen.

Confused, the dark elves remained silent as they watched him run a wash cloth under a stream of hot water and then wring it out. He then took a bowl from an overhead cabinet and filled it to the half way point with water from the sink before making his way back to the table.

“Kianna, could you please clean your sister's face” asked Anton as he handed her the wash cloth and the bowl of water “It's just too difficult to have a conversation with her looking like that”

“Oh! Sure!” laughed Kianna as she took the cloth and immediately turned to wipe the stuck porridge off of her sister.

Fiona lowered her ears and grimaced in embarrassment as Kianna took hold of her head-harness, and using it as a handle, twisted her head this way and that as she cleaned her face.

“Ugh, ah, hm!” grumbled Fiona as Kianna wiped the porridge away from her closed eyes “...Thanks!”

“...Yeah” mumbled Kianna as she rolled her eyes “It's cool...”

“Don't worry too much about her hair” said Anton as he picked up Molly and retook his seat “She'll need a shower for that”

Kianna worked both quickly and meticulously to get her sister as clean as possible. In order to complete this task she had to soak the cloth in the bowl several times before most of the porridge was finally gone. When she was satisfied and felt she was finished, she went to move the bowl away and stopped short as she stared down at the soiled water.

“Master!?” she exclaimed as she picked up the bowl and turned to Fiona “Can I make her drink this!?”

“What!?” questioned Fiona as her eyes darted to the bowl in her sister's hand.

“Sure” said Anton as he glanced up at the bowl and went back to scratching Molly's ears “That's fine”

“Wha!? Wait, no!” cried Fiona as she looked back and forth between them “That's, that's not funny Kianna!”

Kianna said nothing as she grabbed her sister's head-harness, pulled her head back and held her in place against the chairs headrest.

Fiona frantically tried to pull herself free as a maniacal smile spread across Kianna's face.

“Fiona, you thieving bitch! If you don't drink this! Then I'm going to staple your ears together behind your head!” said Kianna in an unnervingly calm and nearly sweet sounding tone “And then I'm going to fall asleep to the sounds of you crying out in pain!”

Fiona froze as her eyes went wide in panic.

“Y-you're not serious!?” she whimpered as she folded her ears back behind her head in an effort to hide them “Are, are you!?”

Kianna's face remained unchanged as she nodded slowly.

Gulping in fear, Fiona's eyes darted to Anton. Her heart sank when she found him staring at her sister with his own shocked looking expression.

“Now, open wide Fiona!” sang Kianna as she lifted the bowl to her sister's quivering face “And say “Ah”!”

“Wait, wait! Kianna c'mon!” whimpered Fiona as her eyes became locked to the bowl of discolored water “This is crazy!”

“...Open wide Fiona” threatened Kianna through her still smiling teeth as she tightened her hold on the head-harness by twisting both it and a clump of her sister's hair “And say “AH”!”

“O-okay, okay!” groaned Fiona as she opened her mouth as wide as she could “...Ah!”

“Good girl!” exclaimed Kianna as she carefully tilted the bowl to Fiona's lips and forced her to drink “What a good girl!”

Fiona clamped her eyes shut and gulped down the foul-tasting porridge-soiled water as quickly as she could without gagging herself.

“Bah, ah, ah!” she exclaimed as she finished and began to shiver from disgust “You! You are such a bitch!”

Kianna said nothing as she set the bowl down and patted her sister on the head.

Turning her attention to Anton, she wore a small smile on her face as she stared at him.

“...So!” exclaimed Anton as he smiled back at her “Is my little dark elf having fun over there!?”

“Yes!” chirped Kianna as her ears twitched and her smile broadened across her face “She is!”

“I h-hate...!” whimpered Fiona as she hung her head over the empty bowl and continued to shiver uncontrollably “I h-hate you both!”

“Fiona, please don't vomit!” sighed Anton as he shook his head “And if you're going to, then at least don't do it on the table!”

Fiona groaned in misery as she worked to steady herself. After a few moments of stillness she had finally gotten a handle on her stomach and turning to her sister she glared angrily as she clenched her teeth and pointed her ears straight back behind her head.

“Alright, now that we know that Fiona isn't going to explode on us...” mumbled Anton as he watched Kianna smile cattily at her fuming sister “Let's move things along...”

The two dark elves shifted their gazes from each other in unison as they both became focused back on Anton.

“Like I've said already, I don't intend to kill you. And honestly, at this point, I'd say I've gotten enough compensation to feel justified for what you two tried to do to me” mused Anton as he sifted his gaze back and forth between the dark elves “I could, simply just leave right now and be done with this... That is an option...”

Their eyes going wide in surprise the two two dark elves pointed their ears straight upwards as they gave Anton their full attention.

“Unfortunately, I'm not the kind of guy who can just let a question go unanswered... And when it comes to you two, I've got quite a few questions...” continued Anton as he rested his elbows on the table and cradled his chin in his hand “So why don't we start with a few of the easier ones. Just to get the ball rolling”

Kianna and Fiona glanced at each other before looking back at Anton.

“...Fine!” mumbled Fiona as she narrowed her eyes “What do you wanna know?”

“What are your names?” asked Anton as he let his hand fall away from his chin and come to rest atop his other arm.

“Pfft, you know what our names are!” exclaimed Fiona “Or are you like a goldfish and you just forgot them already!?”

Anton merely stared at her for a moment before shifting his eyes to Kianna.

“...My name is Kianna Vale” mumbled Kianna as she sheepishly dropped her eyes to the table.

Anton nodded before looking back at Fiona.

“...I'm Fiona Vale” declared the dark elf with a frown “Who are you!? Or are you too afraid to say!?”

Anton remained still as Kianna raised her eyes out of curiosity.

“...Now why would I be afraid of that?” asked Anton as he cocked an eyebrow.

“Because you're a thief who just admitted to stealing all our money!” declared Fiona “And now you don't want us to know who you are!”

“No, if I was worried about that then I'd just kill you” answered Anton “I don't have any real reason to be concerned with you knowing what my name is. I'm only hesitating right now... because I'm just not sure if you even deserve to know who I am? I really don't think that you do...”

Fiona blinked and leaned back a bit as her confidence began to waver.

“But then again, I did ask you what your names were... and you did tell me...” mused Anton as he rubbed his chin “So, in the spirit of fairness... I suppose it's only right to give you the same courtesy”

The two dark elves went still as they became focused on what was about to be said.

“Most of the people that know me call me Anton. But my name is Antonius, Antonius Faustus North” explained Anton as his gaze shifted from one dark elf to the other “Now, just because you two know my name does not mean that you can call me by it. Neither one of you have earned that right”

“...Humph!” grumbled Fiona as she pointed her ears straight back in challenge “And what are you going to do if we do! Huh!? Mr. North!”

“First I'm going to reeducate you on the fact that your ability to speak is a now a privilege” explained Anton as he looked off into the kitchen and stared at nothing “And then I'm going to illustrate just how easily that privilege can be taken away from you”

Kianna swallowed nervously and turned to her sister. Shaking her head in the tiniest way she made it clear that she didn't agree with pushing the matter. Fiona stared at her for a moment before looking away from them both and letting her ears return to their relaxed positions.

“Moving on” said Anton as he let his eyes fall to Kianna “How old are you two?”

“Uh” stammered Kianna as her brow creased in thought “Um, we're 23! We just turned 23 last October! On the 10th”

“10th of October...” nodded Anton “Wait, you're both 23?”

“...Yeah?” questioned Kianna as she tilted her head and cocked one of her ears in a curious manner “We're twins! We told you that already!?”

“...You two are really twins?” asked Anton as he looked from Kianna to Fiona and back “You weren't kidding about that?”

“No” muttered Fiona “We really are twins”

“...Hm, that's pretty interesting!” mused Anton as he narrowed his eyes at them “...And you're sure that you're twins!?”

“Yes!” exclaimed Fiona as she gave her sister an exasperated look “Look at us! We're identical!”

“...Yeah, you are, for the most part” mused Anton as he looked back and forth between the two dark elves “Are you two the only children in your family?”

“Yes” said Kianna.

“You have no other siblings?” asked Anton.

“No” said Fiona “It's only us”

“Hm, and your parents are both dark elves?” asked Anton.

The dark elves hesitated as they both looked away with their eyes.

“Our Mom is” answered Kianna “We don't really know about our Dad. We never met him...”

“...Your Mother has never told you anything about him?” asked Anton “Not even his name?”

“No” answered Fiona “She doesn't want to talk about him”

“She says we're better off without him” mumbled Kianna as her sister gave her an annoyed glare “She says that it's a good thing that he's gone...”

“...Hm, I see” nodded Anton “I'm sorry to hear that”

“It doesn't matter!” snapped Fiona “Fuck him!”

Anton nodded as he watched Kianna shift her shoulders in discomfort.

“What is your Mothers name?” he asked as he met Fiona's gaze.

“Olivia, Vale” she answered flatly “Why are you asking about this kind of stuff!? This is none of your business!”

“That's true. But I'm curious about it” answered Anton “And if you'd rather not answer any of these questions then you don't have to. I already told you that”

“Well then I'd rather not talk about this crap then!” exclaimed Fiona “If you've got any other questions let's just get to them instead!”

“Okay” said Anton as he tilted his head mockingly and narrowed his eyes at the fuming dark elf “Why did you kidnap me? And what were planning to do with me?”

Kianna's ears immediately pointed themselves straight upwards as her eyes widened in panic. Anton smiled as both he and Fiona noticed her reaction.

“Um! We, we were!” stammered Kianna as her eyes locked to Anton's “We're-”

“We don't want to answer that!” interrupted Fiona “We don't have to! You said we don't have to!”

Anton closed his eyes and nodded as he leaned back in his chair.

“Yes I did” he said as he looked back at them “And you don't. There's no reason for you to panic”

The two dark elves looked at each other and eased back as well.

“You're not gonna be mad if we don't tell you?” asked Kianna as she failed to keep the nervousness out of her eyes.

Anton shrugged as he took on an air of indifference.

“I've got a pretty good idea of the direction things were heading towards” he said as he began to scratch Molly's ears “So I don't really need the details. We can move on to the next topic”

Surprise and relief were clear on the faces of the two dark elves as they glanced at each other and turned back to Anton.

“Okay” they both said in unison.

“Why don't you use any magic?” questioned Anton as he looked from one dark elf to the other “Neither one of you have used a single spell, or ability this entire time. Why not?”

The dark elves both went still and remained quiet as they stared at Anton. As the silence dragged on Anton narrowed his eyes at them.

“I purposefully didn't put a manabinder on either one of you. And there were no enchantments on any of the bondage gear I put on you that would displace your auras. You should have been able to escape the moment you woke up. But you didn't” he declared as his eyes landed on Fiona “Even now, there is no reason that gear should be able to hold you. So what are you waiting for? Why don't you just cut your way out?”

Fiona glared back in silence for a moment before her eyes fell to the table.

“...I can't!” she muttered through her teeth as an irritated grimace marred her face “...I don't know how!”

“...I see” nodded Anton as he shifted his gaze to Kianna “I figured as much”

The second dark elf flattened her ears back submissively behind her head as she dropped her eyes to the table.

“So why don't you know how?” asked Anton as he tilted his head thoughtfully “Can you even use magic? Or is there something wrong with you?”

“No, there's nothing wrong with us!” exclaimed Kianna as she kept her eyes on the table and shook her head “It's just... Our Mother is, really busy! And-”

“Kianna!” cried Fiona as she glared at her sister and immediately looked back at the table in front of herself “We don't want to answer that! Okay!”

Kianna stiffened in surprise at her sisters outburst. Easing the tension from her shoulders she looked away to the side and went quiet.

Anton remained still for a moment before going back to petting the little dog in his lap as he watched the two dark elves.

“Are you done yet!?” growled Fiona as she raised her eyes just high enough to meet Anton's “Or do you have even more questions!?”

Anton's face remained stoic as he stared at her for a moment.

“Do either one of you own this house?” he asked in a calm tone.

“No” said Fiona flatly “Our Mother does”

“I see” said Anton with a nod “But she doesn't live here?”

“Yes!” declared Fiona as she narrowed her eyes into an angry glare “She does!”

“Really? Because she hasn't shown up in the last few days that I've been here?” questioned Anton “Where is she?”

“She's busy!” exclaimed Fiona “She'll be back soon!”

“...I see” nodded Anton as he noticed that Kianna's ears had a slight twitch to them.

Fiona's glaring eyes suddenly became thoughtful as a thin, sly looking grin spread across her face.

“You know, there's a few things I should tell you about our Mother!” she exclaimed as her tone became mocking “A few things that you should really be aware of!”

“Oh really?” questioned Anton as he stared at her and continued to pet Molly “And what exactly should I be aware of?”

“Well, for one she has a Hell of a temper!” began Fiona as her grin grew into a smile “And that she is a very, very dangerous woman!”

“Oh, I see” mused Anton as he looked down at the little dog in his lap.

“Yeah! And another thing! Not only is she gonna be pissed about what you've done to her daughters!” threatened Fiona “But all that money you stole! That came from her! So you didn't just steal from us! You stole from her!”

“Mm hm, I see...” mused Anton as he nodded in thought “So what you're saying is that neither one of you have a career of any sort then? You don't make your own money but instead you just live off the money your Mother gives you? All while living in her house for free? ...Right?”

“...That's, not the point!” exclaimed Fiona as she registered the mocking tone in Anton's voice “The point is that the longer you stay here the bigger risk you're taking!”

“What do you mean?” asked Anton as he looked up at her.

“What I mean is that she is going to walk in through that door any second now!” exclaimed Fiona “And when she see's what's going on in here! You are not going to survive!”

“I see” nodded Anton “So you expect her back any time now?”

“Yes! Any second now!” threatened Fiona “You have no idea how lucky you are that she hasn't shown up already! You should leave now while you still have the chance!”

“You seem pretty confident that she's going to want to kill me” said Anton “She must really love you if she's willing to kill for you”

“...Of course she loves us!” cried Fiona “We're her daughters! We're the most important thing in her entire life! We're, we're her treasures!”

“She must be a pretty big part of your life then” said Anton as he stared into Fiona's eyes “I'm guessing you spend a lot of time with her?”

“...Wha, what are you saying!?” exclaimed Fiona as her ears dipped a bit “Yes! We're with her all the time! Always! She's, she's just busy a lot too! She runs her own company! That's why she can pay for us! She's wealthy! She has millions and millions of dollars! She, she can even hire assassins! And now that we know your name, she can find you! But if you leave right now we'll just forget this whole thing! We won't tell her anything about you! Or that any of this shit happened at all!”

“...That's pretty commendable, that she would be running her own company and yet still make time for her daughters” mused Anton as he began to pet Molly again “That's very impressive. There must be a lot of love there...”

“...Why aren't you listening!?” growled Fiona “I already told you there was a lot of love there! We are her treasures! She loves us more than anything!”

Anton was silent as he looked back up at her and nodded.

“...She is coming!” exclaimed Fiona “Any second! And when she gets here she will kill-!”

“Stop it!” cried Kianna “Just stop it, Fiona!”

Fiona's eyes went wide in rage as she and Anton both turned to Kianna.

Kianna was trembling as she sat hunched over the table with her head hanging and her eyes staring straight downwards.

“Just stop!” she whispered as tears began to form in her eyes “Just stop it...”

“What the fuck are you doing!?” snarled Fiona “I'm trying to save us you idiot!”

“No, he doesn't believe you!” whined Kianna as she clamped her eyes shut and starting shaking her head “He knows you're lying!”

Fiona's jaw was clenched painfully tight and her eyes were filled with both rage and panic as she turned to Anton.

Anton said nothing as he merely stared back at her.

Fiona blinked as her face softened. With her jaw still clenched she looked away from both Anton and her sister as she lowered her ears.

Save for Kianna's gentle sniveling the table went silent for several minutes until Anton looked to Kianna and began to speak to her.

“What is she lying about?” he questioned softly.

Kianna blinked and peeked up at him before looking back down at the table.

“All of it” she whimpered sadly “Our Mother isn't coming... She doesn't live here... She won't even talk to us!”

“...I see” whispered Anton “...Why not?”

“I, I don't know!” whined Kianna as she was overtaken by a fit of sobs “I, I don't know why! Or what w-we did wrong!?”

Anton was quiet for a moment as he nodded slowly.

“...We're, we're not her treasures!” exclaimed Kianna as she covered her eyes with her hands “We were never her treasures! We were Nanny Ma's treasures! ...But, she's, she's gone! She's gone, forever!”

Anton watched the sobbing dark elf for a moment before glancing at Fiona and finding her on the verge of her own tears.

“...When you say, she's gone, you mean she's passed?” he asked as he turned to Kianna and looked from her to Fiona and back “Don't you?”

“...Yes” answered Kianna as she nodded her head.

“I see, I'm sorry to hear that” said Anton as he let his eyes fall to the table in front of him “I know how hard it can be... to lose someone...”

Kianna blinked as she lowered her hands just enough to reveal her eyes and look up at him.

All three of them were quiet for some time until Anton spoke again.

“...Are you two alone? Or do you have anyone, who would come for you?” he asked softly “Anyone who would even notice if you were gone?”

Fiona went to speak but was stopped short as Kianna interrupted her.

“No...” sobbed the dark elf “There's no one... We're alone...”

“I see” nodded Anton “Why is that-”

“We're always alone! ...Nobodies coming for us!” cried Kianna as she dropped her hands away from her face and gripped the straps of the harness that was still wrapped around her chest and shoulders “Nobodies... we're alone! We're always alone! I'm sorry! We shouldn't have done this to you!”

Anton said nothing as he continued to stare down at the table in front of him.

“I'm sorry! I'm really sorry! N-nanny Ma I'm sorry! Please! Please! Don't hurt us! Please!” cried Kianna as she pulled her legs up into her chair and still holding on to her harness hid her eyes against her knees “I'm sorry! Nanny Ma I'm sorry! I tried, I tried to stop her! I tried to be good! I did! I'm sorry! ...Please don't hurt us! Don't... don't take Fiona away! Please! I, I don't want this! I don't want this! I, I w-want my Nanny Ma! ...Don't go Nanny Ma! Please! Everybody, don't! I don't want to be alone! I, I don't wanna be... I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I don't wanna be alone again!”

Anton clenched his jaw and pressed his lips into a thin line as he listened to the frantic dark elf falling apart. Unable to stand the turmoil he was hearing, he looked down at the little dog in his lap.

“...Molly!” he whispered as he tapped her on the head.

The little dog didn't make a sound as she immediately jumped down and scurried out of the way.

Anton was stoic and silent as he rose out of his seat and made his way around the table.

Seeing him coming towards her Kianna began to panic and curled herself into a tighter ball as she flattened her ears back submissively behind her head.

“I'm sorry! I'm sorry!” she cried as Anton approached her and stopped at her side “Please! I'm sorry!”

Without a word Anton reached down to her.

“Stay away from her!” raged Fiona as she nearly toppled her chair over as she began to struggle in her binds “Don't touch her!”

“Don't! No! Please!” begged Kianna as she covered her head and face with her arms “Please don't! I'm sorry!”

Taking hold of the shoulder harness at the point where several straps came together between the shoulder blades, Anton lifted Kianna out of her seat and pushed her knees downward to encourage her to unfold her legs.

The compliant dark elf continued to beg and tremble as she was made to stand in front of him. Keeping her arms up to cover her head and face she did nothing as Anton wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in to the center of his chest.

“Wha! What are you doing!? What are you doing!?” cried the panicked dark elf as she found herself being held in place as she was encircled in his arms “What are you doing!?”

“It's alright Kianna...” whispered Anton as he planted his right hand on the back of her head and tightened his left arm around her torso “It's okay... you're okay...”

Kianna went silent but continued to tremble uncontrollably as her eyes widened in shock.

“...Everythings going to be okay” whispered Anton as he tightened his hold on her and held her protectively “...You're not going to be alone”

Frozen in his arms, Kianna stayed still for only an instant longer before wailing loudly. Dropping her arms down she balled her trembling hands into fists and held them at her sides for a single hesitating moment before frantically wrapping them around Anton. Wailing again, she gripped his shirt behind his back as tightly as she could while she pressed her face into him and cried into his chest.

Anton closed his eyes and let his aura seep out and engulf the dark elf. The calming warmth that now surrounded her caused Kianna to cry out even louder as she tightened her hold and desperately pressed herself against him.

“I'm sorry!” she wailed into his chest “Please! I'm so sorry!”

“Stop... That's enough Kianna...” whispered Anton as he pressed his cheek down on top of her head “No more...”

The clinging dark elf said nothing more but continued to sob uncontrollably for the better part of the next hour. Anton held her tightly the entire time. When he felt her begin to go limp in his arms he craned his neck back and looked down at her.

Still holding on to him as tightly as she could, Kianna's large, questioning eyes gazed back up at him as she left the side of her head to rest against his chest. Her ruby colored irises stood out brightly against the tear induced redness in the rest of her eyes. Though she was still completely coherent, her fatigue was more than obvious.

“...Such pretty little rubies” whispered Anton as he stared at her for a moment.

The dark elf blinked and grimaced as she flattened her ears down even further and lightly blushed.

Chuckling to himself, Anton shifted them both into motion and lead Kianna back to her seat. Keeping her in his arms, he pried the dark elf away from his torso and maneuvered her onto his lap as he sat down in the chair and held her to his chest.

Kianna didn't resist in any way as she found herself sitting in Anton's lap with her back to her sister, her legs hanging off to the side and her hands folded in her own lap. Despite what the logical side of her brain was telling her, she couldn't help but to feel a sense of safety in Anton's arms. Laying her head against his shoulder she sighed heavily as she let herself go limp.

“...Why?” she whispered quietly “Why are you doing this?”

“Hm?” rumbled Anton “What do you mean? What am I doing?”

Kianna grimaced and tightened her eyes in annoyance.

“You know what I mean!” she whined softly “I mean this... Why are you, holding me?”

“Do you want me to stop?” asked Anton.

“No!” chirped Kianna as she gripped the hem of his shirt without thinking “...No, I, just want to know why?”

“Hm, well” mused Anton “...I guess it's just because I want to”

Kianna slowly loosened her grip on his shirt as she began to absently play with her fingers.

“...Why do you want to though?” she asked as she watched her fingers “...Don't, don't you hate me!?”

“Hate you!?” questioned Anton as he creased his eyebrows in question “No. Of course not. Why would you even think that?”

“...W-why wouldn't I think that? ...Aren't you mad!? We drugged you, and kidnapped you” mumbled Kianna as she pressed her ears down even flatter against her shoulders “...And also, you, embarrass me! And, make me call you Master!”

“Hm, mm hm” nodded Anton “Well, I technically drugged myself since I knew it was there and I drank it anyway. I'm not going to say that I was happy to be kidnapped! But I have gotten over it. So no, I don't hate you for those things”

“...What about the last ones?” whispered Kianna as she looked off to the side and stared at nothing.

“Hm, well...” rumbled Anton “I don't make you call me Master because I hate you Kianna, or because I want you to suffer or be embarrassed. I make you call me Master so that you will understand what our roles are now”

“...Our roles?” questioned Kianna “What's that supposed to mean!?”

“Well, do you understand what a Master really is?” asked Anton “And what it means when I tell you that I'm your Master now?”

“Yeah! It means that you think you own me!” griped Kianna “What else is it supposed to mean!?”

“Well, that is part of it! But not all of it!” chuckled Anton “As a Master there is much more to my role than simply being an owner. You see, as a Master, it's my place to understand, to recognize who and what the people beneath me really are. To teach them, and to help them to grow. Mold them into what I know they can be, and give them a purpose. To care for them. To be sure that they are safe, healthy and that all their needs are met. There is of course an element of discipline to this. But there is also a stronger element of protection and responsibility. This isn't a job for me though. I do all of this because I want to. And I only do all of this for the people that I choose to. People that I find interesting, or that I think are worthy of my time...”

Taking his right hand, Anton took hold of Kianna's chin and tilted her face up to look at him.

“I did what I did for you, because I wanted to. I don't need any other reason than that” he said in a calm but stern tone “I saw that you were in pain. And as your Master, I wanted to protect you from that pain, and to help you to understand that you are not alone Kianna. Not anymore”

Kianna remained completely still and barely even breathed as she stared into his eyes.

“Do you understand that now?” asked Anton.

The dark elf was still for a moment longer before she tentatively nodded her head.

“Good” whispered Anton as he smiled and let her go.

Kianna dropped her head back down and began to tremble as she held back a sob.

“My little dark elf is so clever!” soothed Anton as he wrapped his arm back around her and gave her a gentle squeeze “I knew she would understand”

Kianna whimpered quietly as she gripped his shirt again and hid her face against his shoulder.

Anton remained still and held her tightly as he felt her quivering with silent sobs. When he finally felt her relax and rest limply against him, he grinned and glanced over at Fiona. His grin faded immediately as he sighed through his nose.

“Kianna” whispered Anton as he hoisted the dark elf up higher in his lap “Your sister is crying. I think she needs you”

“...Fiona!?” whimpered Kianna as she twisted her head around and looked back at her sister “Oh no!”

The second dark elf was still hunched over the table but now she was shaking uncontrollably as heavy tears ran down her stricken face. She stared longingly at Kianna with eyes that were both bloodshot and desperate. She went to speak but no sound came out as her lips began to quiver wildly.

“Fiona!” whimpered Kianna as she reached her arm out to her sister.

Fiona's ears immediately folded themselves down and away from her head as her sister's fingertips reached her face and caressed her cheek.

“I, I'm sorry!” whined Fiona as she nuzzled her cheek into her sister's hand and leaned in as close to her as her chain would allow “I'm so sorry!”

Without a word, Anton reached over, grabbed the seat of Fiona's chair, and pulled her in next to himself and Kianna.

Kianna immediately wrapped her arm around her sister's neck and began to nuzzle their faces together as Fiona was dragged in closer.

Reaching around the trembling dark elves, Anton unclipped the chain from Fiona's harness before dropping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her in against him.

Twisting around in her seat on Anton's lap, Kianna fully embraced her sister and held her tightly as Fiona began to cry out for their “Nanny Ma”.

Tightening his arms around the pair of sobbing dark elves, Anton held them gently as they both began to wail in sorrow.

A little over an hour later, Kianna awoke, and blinking open her eyes, found herself staring at her still snoozing sister. The confused dark elf remained still for a moment as she tried to place where she was. A gentle pleasant feeling caught her attention and focusing on it she realized that someone was slowly running their fingers through her hair. Moving carefully, so as not to disturb whoever was comforting her, she tilted her head upwards and found that she and Fiona were both resting against Anton's chest.

Though he was still holding the two dark elves and lightly stroking the hair on their heads, Anton appeared to be dozing as he sat with his head leaned back against the chairs headrest and his eyes fully closed.

Kianna remained still and watched him for a moment before sighing silently through her nose. Her eyes went wide in surprise as his hand suddenly gripped the top of her head and began to playfully ruffle her hair.

“You two really need a bath!” mumbled Anton without opening his eyes “You both stink!”