Chapter 13 : Noon

Kianna and Fiona had both become transfixed as they stared at the two little bundles.

Without a word Anton moved into the room and taking hold of the headrest, he shifted his deck chair back and to the side so that he could sit facing the two dark elves. Taking his seat he leaned forward and set the two bundles down on the edge of the tub, one in front of each dark elf.

With a sickly look on her face, Fiona cringed back and away from the unimposing little bundle that had been set down in front of her. While Kianna immediately leaned forward in an attempt to get a better look at her own.

“Would you like to see what it is?” asked Anton as he grinned at the obviously curious dark elf.

Kianna blushed slightly as she quickly looked at him and then back at the bundle.

“Yes!” she chirped as she clasped her hands together in front of herself and leaned in even closer “Please!”

Anton picked up the little bundle and quickly unwrapped the cloth before setting it back down on the edge of the tub. As he set it down he lifted the last corner of the cloth and revealed an elegantly designed and stylized leather collar.

The collar was not at all what either dark elf would have ever expected. It's main form was a thin wire framework constructed out of etched silver. This silver had been imbued with the necessary curses that would bind it's wearer to their owner. This wire frame also acted as the collars skeleton, and was overlaid with two layers of matte-black colored leather that had been heavily pressed to make it soft and comfortable to the touch. The seams of this leather had been molded together in such a way that they were no longer discernible, and it now appeared as though it was a single piece. The silver skeleton bulged outwards beneath this leather skin but this added to the collars overall design rather than took away from it's appearance.

The top edge of the collar was uniform along its length while its bottom edge began thin in the back and gradually expanded until it broadened into a downward point in the front center of the collar. This point would sit perfectly in the hollow of it's wearers neck and keep the collar facing forward at all times, rather than have it shifting back and forth with its wearers movements.

Situated in the center of this point was a smooth, bold, red, oval shaped jewel that had been embedded into the collar itself and was attached to it's silver framework. On either side of this jewel were set two smaller colorless jewels that had also been embedded into the collar and attached to it's silver skeleton.

Swirling across the leather surface of the collar was etched in an intricately designed, thin chain that ran along both top and bottom edges of the collar, as well as along the bulges made by the silver frame. This chain circled around each of the three jewels while at the same time connected them to each other.

Set just below the largest center jewel and just above the collar's point was a short silver bar that could, conceivably, be used to attach a leash and or a name-tag to the collar.

There were no buckles, clasps or locks at the back of the collar but instead there were two exposed portions of it's silver skeleton that appeared as two plates that would fit together in a seamless embrace.

“...It's, pretty!” gasped Kianna as she gazed at the elegant looking collar “It's really pretty!”

“Well thank you” smiled Anton “You can pick it up if you'd like”

Kianna bit her lower lip as she eagerly and carefully picked up the collar.

“...That, doesn't look like a normal binding collar!” exclaimed Fiona as her brow creased in bewilderment “That doesn't look anything like a normal collar at all!?”

“Well it shouldn't” said Anton “I made this one specifically for Kianna”

“...Wait!? You made this!?” exclaimed Kianna as she looked from the collar to him and back “You made this for me!?”

“Yes, I made it. Well, I put it together at least. And yes, that one's for you” chuckled Anton “Go ahead and try touching the jewel in the center. I believe I made it right. But just in case, I'd like to make sure of something real quick”

Kianna carefully balanced the collar across the palm of her left hand and tentatively touched the tip of her right index finger to the smooth surface of the opal-like jewel. As soon as she made contact with it's surface the jewel immediately began to glow with a faint red light.

“What the Hell!” whispered Fiona.

“Oh good, it does recognize you!” exclaimed Anton “Go ahead and try to touch it as well Fiona. And don't worry, it won't hurt you”

Fiona hesitated as Kianna held the collar out towards her. Reluctantly she raised her finger and just barely touched the surface of the jewel. The jewel remained dark and unresponsive to her touch but immediately lit up again as soon as Kianna's finger made contact with it.

“It does know me!” whispered Kianna as she stared at the jewel for a moment before looking over the rest of the collar “...It really is mine!”

Fiona shook her head as she leaned away from the collar.

“Thank you!” cried Kianna in a soft tone as she suddenly looked up at Anton “I love it!”

“You're welcome” nodded Anton “Are you ready to put it on?”

Kianna gently tightened her hold on the collar as she gazed at the red jewel.

“...Can I look at it for a little longer?” she asked quietly as she lightly pressed her finger to the jewel and lit it up once again “...Please?”

“Sure, take your time” said Anton as he grinned softly.

For the next several minutes Kianna carefully looked over the collar and examined its details. Once she was finally satisfied that she was familiar enough with her newest possession, she turned to Anton and without a word, handed him the collar.

“Ready to see how well it fits?” asked Anton as he took the ends of the collar and held them out to the sides of Kianna's head.

“Yes!” breathed Kianna as she tilted her chin up and exposed her neck “I'm ready!”

“No! No! No!” cried Fiona as she stared at the collar that was about to encircle her sister's neck “No! I can't do this!”

The panicked dark elf quickly scrambled out of the tub and tried to make a mad dash for the door, she barely made it midway across the room before being forced to stop short in surprise as two hula hoop-like glowing rings made of what seemed to be an orange light that had taken a solid form, suddenly winked into existence around her. Before she could even register what was happening, thin chains that were identical to the one that had appeared out of Anton's fingertip burst out from both of the rings and began to encircle themselves around her before becoming taunt.

“What in the!?” cried Fiona as the vine-like chains surrounding her body tightened enough that both of her arms were pressed in against her sides “No! Wait! What is this!?”

With the chains wrapped around her torso continuing to tighten, Fiona set her jaw in determination, planted her feet and bent forward as she tried to push her way through the tangle that held her in place. Almost immediately she found herself kicking at nothing as she was suddenly lifted up into the air by the chains from the uppermost ring. In the next instant, her legs were quickly wrapped up and pulled downwards by the glowing light chains from the lowermost ring. Twisting and struggling proved to be useless as the panicking dark elf soon found herself both stretched tight between the rings and floating in midair.

“No! No!” she cried as the rings began to slowly turn themselves around and she was made to face Anton and Kianna again “Please! No!”

Fiona's entire being was now trembling as her eyes began to well with heavy tears.

“Please! Kianna! Help me!” she cried out as she locked eyes with her sister “Don't let him touch me!”

Realization spread across Kianna's face and was quickly followed by panic.

“Touch you?” questioned Anton as he cocked an eyebrow at the ensnared dark elf.

“Master!” cried Kianna as she reached forward and grabbed Anton's shirt “Please listen to me!”

Turning to face her, Anton was instantly taken aback as she immediately began to speak.

“Please! Please Master, I swear I will do anything you want! Anything at all! Just please, please don't touch Fiona!” exclaimed Kianna as she flattened her ears down submissively “You can do anything you want with me! Anything! I don't care! Just please! Please promise me you won't touch her!”

“Wait! Hold on! What are you talking about exactly!?” exclaimed Anton as he put his hands up “Do you mean sexually touch her? Or just normally touch her? Because I've already touched her before and nothing happened!?”

“I, I mean it sexually!” explained Kianna “You see, Fiona is a... Well, Fiona is a little different! And she is actually really, really terrified of the idea of a man having sex with her! So please! If you want to do anything to either of us just do it to me! Please! I'm begging you!”

“...Wait! What!? Terrified!? Is this true!?” asked Anton as he turned back to Fiona “Are you actually afraid of having sex with a man!?”

Hesitating for a moment, the entrapped dark elf whimpered miserably as she laid her ears back submissively and nodded.

“...Really!?” asked Anton as he creased his brow in question “...I mean, don't get me wrong! I can understand not wanting to have sex with just anyone! ...But why would you literally be afraid of it!?”

“Because! ...Its disgusting!” cried Fiona as she began to buck and twist as she struggled to escape from the chains entwined around her body “Men take their filthy, disgusting dicks! The same nasty things that they use to piss out of! And then they ram them up inside you! And that gross thing is inside your body! Moving around! And then they shoot slime inside you! And they leave it in there, and it stays in there! And it absorbs into your body! Oh Gods! That's just so disgusting! It makes me so sick!”

Anton stared at the dark elf in silence for a moment before slowly nodding his head.

“Huh, well, yeah. I guess when you put it like that it is kind of disgusting...” he mused before turning back to Kianna “So do you have the same issue?”

“Who? Me? Oh no! No, I love dick!” exclaimed Kianna as she shook her head and let her eyes fall to Anton's crotch “Yeah I'm not playing when I said you could do whatever you want! I don't care if you rip me apart!”

“...You! ...You're such a good girl Kianna” sighed Anton as he gave her a loving head rub.

“Hee!” exclaimed the dark elf as she beamed happily and folded her ears back behind her head.

“So hold on just a second!?” said Anton as he turned back to Fiona “Are you actually a lesbian then!?”

The two dark elves locked eyes for a moment before Fiona groaned and slumped her shoulders.

“Yes! I am!” she mumbled miserably as she uselessly kicked her feet and continued to try and twist her way out of the chains “I don't love dick! And I really don't want yours anywhere near me!”

“...Huh, that's actually a little surprising!” said Anton as he tilted his head to the side “I'm usually pretty good at picking up on these kind of things. But you caught me completely off guard with this... I really had no idea!”

“Okay!?” grumbled Fiona as she pointed her ears straight back “So is this a bad thing to you!? Or what!?”

“No. It, really doesn't matter to me I guess?” said Anton with a shrug.

“...Right, right. ...Yeah, I guess it wouldn't matter to you! It's not like you're not just gonna rape me regardless anyway!” whimpered Fiona as she laid her ears back down behind her head.

Anton blinked before narrowing his eyes in annoyance.

“Now what exactly would make you think that I would do that!?” he asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Oh c'mon!” cried Fiona “Like that isn't exactly what you plan to do to me!”

“No, it's not” said Anton in a dismissive tone “And I'll even swear to that. I swear I have absolutely no intention of ever doing anything like that to either one of you. You have my word on this”

Both of the dark elves were silent for a moment.

“Wait! Hold oh! Does that mean you don't want to have sex with us!?” exclaimed Kianna as a panicked expression quickly spread across her face “Seriously!? Cause I! ...I was gonna! Uh! I mean!”

“What!? No! Now wait a second! I never said that, Kianna! You're both welcome in my bed whenever you want!” explained Anton as he chuckled at her expression “I'm just not going to force myself onto you though! That's what I meant to say! And that being the case, you're fine Fiona. I won't touch you if you don't want me to”

“Oh! Thank the Gods!” breathed Kianna as she covered her heart with her hands.

Anton couldn't help but to chuckle again at her look of relief, and this caused the dark elf to blush deeply in embarrassment.

“...Wait, are you being serious!?” exclaimed Fiona as her ears pointed themselves straight upwards “You're not gonna touch us!? What the fuck!? Why are you even enslaving us then!?”

“Because I want to” said Anton as he turned to her “I've said that much already. I think you two are interesting, entertaining and I doubt that either one of you would survive in a prison setting. So in the end, whether you like it or not, I think this will be better for you overall”

“...You're serious!? You really don't want to turn me into your sex slave!?” questioned Fiona as she narrowed her eyes at him “...Wait!? ...Are you into? ...Are, are you gay!?”

“What!? Oh no! No, I don't love dick either! Well, except for my own!” laughed Anton “And yes, I am serious when I say that I'm not at all interested in trying to turn either one of you into a sex slave Fiona. I don't think either of you would make a very good one anyway. And besides, if that was all I wanted then I'm spoiled for choices already. There's a whole host of species out there that would make a far better bedroom pet than a dark elf ever would! I could easily go and find myself something like a cubi, a nymph, a huldra or maybe even a kitsune! And they would all not only be willing but actually happy to live their lives in such a way. So with options like these why in the world would I even bother with a pair of vicious, and stubborn dark elves like you two?”

“Hey! Now wait just a second!” exclaimed Kianna as she pointed her ears straight back “I'm not vicious! Or stubborn! And I can do just as good a job as any fox bitch! Or some, Hell spawn, or tree sluts ever could! You just need to wait and see! I'm gonna fuck you good! Like real good! I, I mean it too! You just wait! I'm gonna be the best damn sex slave you could ever have! Ever! ...Seriously!”

Both Anton and Fiona had gone completely still as they stared dumbfounded at the now determined looking dark elf.

Kianna kept the hardened expression on her face as she looked from one to the other and back.

“...What!? ...I'm just saying!” she mumbled as she blushed, lowered her ears and sunk down into the bathwater “...I'm gonna be!”

“...Okay!? Well! ...That is! I'm not sure where that came from at all!? ...But I am definitely not going to stop you from proving yourself on that Kianna!” laughed Anton as he reached out and rubbed her head again “...You are just, so, so full of, interesting, and wonderful surprises!”

Kianna blushed deeper and smiled sheepishly as she looked down into the water.

“So, does that mean you'll really leave Fiona alone then!?” she questioned as she peeked back up and met Anton's eyes “You're really okay with just me!?”

“...Kianna, this had better not be another case of you trying to sacrifice yourself for your sister again!” said Anton as he narrowed his eyes at her “Now I want the truth! Is that why you're doing this!?”

“...Huh!? No!” exclaimed Kianna as she quickly shook her head “I'm not! ...I'm not doing that! Honestly! I'm, I'm not!”

Anton watched her for a moment before sighing softly and shaking his head.

“You really are something else, Kianna...” he grinned before turning to face Fiona “Now as for you! I already said I wouldn't force anything on you. And I meant that. So again, you have nothing to worry about”

“...You're really not going to rape me!?” questioned Fiona as she glared in confusion “Seriously!? You're seriously not going to!?”

“Now how many times am I going to have to tell you no! Before you'll finally accept it!?” exclaimed Anton “Believe it or not, Fiona! I'm not the kind of person who gets excited about abusing people like that! Nor am I in any way desperate enough that I'd stoop to taking advantage of an unwilling slave. Especially not a lesbian one that apparently has some kind of penis phobia”

“...I don't understand this!?” claimed Fiona as she leaned her head as far back as the chains would allow “What's your deal here!?”

“I don't know how I could explain it to you any more clearly than I already have!” exclaimed Anton as he held his hands out in question “I can keep reassuring you but if all you're going to do is refuse to believe me then it's just a waste of my time. Honestly, I don't even see why you would think I'd want to take advantage of you when I've already got the better sister right here!”

Fiona cringed back before her eyes tightened in question.

“...Wait, what!?” she mumbled as her ears pointed themselves straight upwards “What do you mean “better sister”? What are you talking about!?”

“I'm talking about Kianna” said Anton as he indicated the second dark elf “Obviously!”

Kianna's face lit up with excitement as her ears pointed themselves straight up at the acknowledgment.

“What do you mean, Kianna!?” exclaimed Fiona “How is she the better sister!?”

“Well, it's simple” said Anton as he turned to Kianna “At this point I've had more than enough opportunity to give you both a pretty thorough look over. And its my opinion that between the two of you, Kianna easily has the better looking body. Hands down really”

The eyes of the dark elves became locked as they stared at each other for a moment and then slowly turned in unison to look back at Anton.

“I am so ready to be your slave now!” whispered Kianna as she put her wrists together and held her hands out in front of herself as if she was expecting them to be tied up “I am gonna be yours forever!”

“You gotta be fucking kidding me!” raged Fiona as she rattled the chains that held her in place “We're identical! Completely the same! There's no way can you possibly say she has a better body than me!”

“...You? ...Why are you even upset about this!?” sighed Anton as he slowly shook his head and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger “How is this not good news to you!?”

“Because it's horseshit!” exclaimed Fiona as her ears pointed themselves straight back “We look exactly the same! She is not better looking than me!”

“You two really don't look exactly the same at all Fiona. I mean at first glance you do. But all it takes is a closer look and the differences are pretty obvious” sighed Anton “Kianna has got a little bit more of a softness to her that makes her a little more plump and round in the right areas. While you have a slightly slimmer build and just aren't as filled out as she is. Now don't get me wrong! I do think you're both very attractive! So you don't need to question that! Body-wise though, my preference is definitely for your sister. Kianna also boasts a sweeter personality, a much happier demeanor and she is just adorably cute without even trying to be! Add all this together and she really is easily the better sister”

“Master! Can I see my collar again, please!?” cried Kianna as she leaned over the edge of the tub “Just for a second!”

“Sure” said Anton as he handed her the collar “Here you go”

“Thank you!” exclaimed the dark elf as she carefully took the collar from his hand and held it out in front of herself “...Ah, it's so pretty!”

Without another word Kianna stretched the collar out to its fullest before raising her chin and slipping it around her neck. She gasped in shock as the two silver plates met at the back of her neck and made an audible locking sound as they immediately sealed to one another.

“Oh, you impatient little!” grumbled Anton as he reached out and took hold of Kianna's chin before she could fall forward.

The dark elf went completely limp as her eyes became dull and unfocused. With her chin resting in Anton's left hand she stared forward at nothing as the largest jewel on her collar began to glow brighter and brighter. While holding the dark elf upright, Anton raised his right hand and held it with his palm facing the red jewel.

Fiona's eyes went wide as Anton's aura took on a visible form and appeared as a bright orange fire that blazed wildly around his being.

Anton scrunched up his face as he seemed to be trying to focus his aura into his palm. As the power became concentrated, it formed into a pulsating ball of plasma-like energy. This ball of energy then collapsed in on itself and became a miniature lightning bolt that shot forward and struck the large red jewel on Kianna's collar, thus creating an arc that now connected her to Anton.

As the arc of power made contact with the jewel the etched in chain pattern on the collar began to glow with a faint pink light. The light of the chain had begun at the back of the collar and quickly spread forward from link to link along both of it's sides. As it reached and then encircled the two colorless jewels, it grew in intensity before filling them both with the same pink colored light.

Kianna gasped again as all three jewels reached a peak in their brightness and another audible locking sound rang out from the collar. In the stillness that followed, the glowing chain pattern went dark again while the two previously colorless jewels remained a shimmering pink.

Anton sighed heavily as he let his arm fall back to his side. His shoulders slumped in fatigue as his aura dimmed and quickly faded from sight.

Easing his head forward a bit, Anton grinned as he examined the large jewel that was no longer a pure red but now had a shimmer of a faint orange tint to it that gave it a very dark almost amber-like color.

Kianna remained unresponsive as the glow from the jewels on her collar began to slowly dim until finally they all three went dark and became dull.

“Kianna?” breathed Anton as he held her chin up a bit higher and squinted as he looked into her eyes.

The dark elf's eyes widened and her ears pointed themselves straight upwards as she seemed to register that she was being spoken too.

“Master” she responded dryly.

Anton pressed his lips together into a thin line as he watched Kianna's eyes remain unfocused as they stared straight at him.

“You bastard!” cried Fiona “W-what the Hell did you just do to her!?”

Anton turned and found the dark elf wide eyed with panic as she stared at her sister. Fiona's complexion had gone several shades paler as a look of absolute horror was plastered across her face.

“What's wrong with her!?” she whimpered “Is she okay!?”

“She should be fine” said Anton as he turned back to Kianna “This kind of response isn't that unusual. Right now her mind is learning how to function around being bound. She should be back to normal in a minute or two... Once she figures out how to put herself back together”

As he spoke the corners of Kianna's mouth began to curl up into a slight smile. Clamping her eyes shut, the dark elf held still for a moment before blinking rapidly and then looking up at Anton.

“Master!” she breathed as she laid her ears back submissively.

“Welcome back!” smiled Anton as he watched her eyes brighten and return to normal “...So? How do you feel?”

“I feel!?” breathed Kianna as she rolled her head to the side and nuzzled her cheek into his hand “...I feel warm, and safe!”

“Safe?” questioned Anton as he raised an eyebrow in surprise “Did you just say you feel safe?”

“Yes!” hummed the dark elf as she took in a deep breath and trembled “I can feel you!”

“...I see” said Anton as he tilted his head and grinned at the now dozing dark elf “Is that what makes you feel safe?”

“Yes” sighed Kianna as she tucked her arms in around her torso and hugged herself “I really like this!”

“Oh, well! That's good!” said Anton as Kianna hummed a happy sound in response “I'm happy to hear that!”

“Kianna!?” cried Fiona as she pulled forward against the chains “Are you really okay!?”

“Mm hm!” hummed Kianna as she lifted one of her ears and then let it fall lazily back against her head “...I'm great!”

“Well! I'd say this is looking like a complete success!” boasted Anton as he looked back at Fiona and gave her a cruel grin “So I guess now the next step is to see how well this works with an unwilling participant!”

Fiona's eyes widened as her ears laid themselves flat behind her head.

“W-wait!” she cried as she again started to struggle against the light chains “Wait! Wait!”

“Kianna, I'm going to need to set you down now” whispered Anton “It's your sister's turn to be enslaved”

“Oh, okay...” sighed Kianna as she lifted her arms up and folded them on the edge of the tub “That sounds good...”

Anton gently laid Kianna's head down on her folded arms before picking up the bundle that held Fiona's collar.

“Stop! Please! Anton! You don't have to do this!” cried Fiona as she watched him unwrap the cloth from around her collar “I'll, I'll do anything you want! Anything! I swear! I swear!”

“You are not allowed to call me by my name Fiona” said Anton in a dry tone “Do not do that again”

The dark elf panicked and redoubled her struggles against the chains as the two rings began to move. With her ears now quivering in fear she groaned miserably as the rings repositioned her right in front of and facing Anton. Pressing her chin down against her neck in an effort to protect herself, Fiona stared at the floor as Anton rose from his chair and stood in front of her.

“I'd like you to try to fight against this as best you can but I don't want you to actually hurt yourself” said Anton as he reached down, took hold of Fiona's chin and raised it up until she was forced to look at him “If you feel like things are getting too intense for you then just relax and let it come to an end”

“I'm sorry!” whimpered Fiona as heavy tears welled at the corners of her eyes and rolled down her cheeks “I'm sorry! Please! Please don't do this to me! Please, please just let me go!”

“Stop that Fiona. You're guilty, and you are going to pay for your crimes. One way, or another” said Anton as he stared down into her large, ruby colored eyes “You are a dark elf that doesn't even know how to flare your own aura. How well do you really think you'll survive in this world while all on your own? Let alone in prison. Where you'll be facing a lineup of monsters that'll all be fighting each other for the right to be the first one to take a bite out of your ears”

Fiona's breath became caught in her throat as her eyes widened to their fullest.

“I'm going to spare you from that fate. And let you stay here with your sister” said Anton as he raised the collar to her neck “Now, be grateful, and relax”

“No!” whimpered Fiona as she tried to pull away “Don't! Please! Don't!”

“Such a stubborn dark elf” grumbled Anton as he lifted her chin even higher and slipped the collar around her neck “All you're doing is making this harder than it needs to be”

Fiona gasped and went stiff as with a metallic snap the collar was locked in place around her neck. Just as it was with her sister, her eyes immediately lost all of their focus as the red jewel on her collar began to glow brightly. Unlike Kianna however, she did not go limp at all but instead her entire body stiffened even further and began to tremble.

With his left hand wrapped around her neck above the collar, Anton held Fiona's head still as he raised his right hand and faced his palm towards the large red jewel.

With his jaw clenched and his face hardened in determination, Anton again focused his power at his palm as his aura reappeared and blazed around him. Within moments the concentrated power had formed into a ball before quickly collapsing into an arc that struck the red jewel and connected him to Fiona's collar.

Just as it had done before with Kianna, the chain pattern that had been etched onto the surface of the collar began to glow. And like before this glow had begun towards the back of the collar before jumping from link to link and spreading forwards along both sides. Unlike before however this glow was far brighter in it's intensity and was colored a bright neon green rather than pink.

Fiona's eyes remained completely unfocused as her mouth fell open and hung slack. Anton groaned in annoyance as a glob of her drool rolled out and landed on his wrist.

The dark elf began to moan softly as the glowing chain links reached and encircled the two colorless jewels and immediately began to fill them with their green light.

“Wait!” groaned Fiona as the glow of all three jewels reached a peak and began to flicker in intensity.

“No” declared Anton as he seemed to redouble his own efforts against the large jewel that was now glowing an ominous crimson red.

Again as before, a second louder locking sound suddenly rang out from the collar itself.

Fiona gasped and rolled her head back as the chain pattern went dark and left the two colorless jewels now glowing a bright green.

Anton grinned and sighed through his nose in fatigue as he eased his hands away from Fiona and let his arms fall to his sides. Leaning forward he narrowed his eyes and examined the large jewel that was now glowing a dark amber-like color that was identical to Kianna's. Shaking the drool from his wrist he watched as the glow from the three jewels began to fade.

Fiona's head fell forward and hung limp when as one all three of the jewels went dark.

“Aw! Poor Fiona...” hummed Kianna “She's so tired now...”

Anton turned back to her and found the dark elf absently watching her sister. Though her head was still resting on her folded arms and her ears were hanging limp, she instantly smiled at him as their eyes met.

“Do you feel bad for her?” asked Anton.

Kianna shrugged by lifting a single shoulder.

“Not really” she said as her eyes went back to her hanging sister “It's kinda sad that she was scared but she'll be fine now”

Anton nodded before turning back to Fiona. The dark elf's head still hung motionless as a thin trail of drool dangled from her hidden face. After several minutes she gasped lightly as her limp ears rose upwards and then flattened themselves down against the back of her head.

“...Fiona?” said Anton softly.

The trail of drool fell to the floor as the dark elf cringed.

“...Yes!?” she whimpered.

Anton reached beneath the dark elf's hidden face and gently took hold of her chin. Fiona grimaced miserably as her head was lifted upwards and she was made to look at him.

“...How do you feel?” asked Anton as he tilted his head back and forth as he looked her over.

“...I feel” whimpered Fiona “...Tiny!”

“...I see” nodded Anton as he gently let go of her chin.

Feeling defeated, Fiona let her head fall and hang limply. She remained silent as she stared down at the floor beneath her.

As Anton took a step back from the dark elf the chains holding her in the air began to loosen and she was slowly lowered towards the ground. Fiona let her legs bend and fold up beneath her as she came to rest on the floor. Sitting on her bent knees she kept her head lowered as she hunched in on herself.

Anton stood still in front of the dark elf as the light chains melted away into nothing, and the rings they came from grew thinner and thinner until they too vanished completely.

Now free from her restraints, Fiona quickly shambled on her bent legs and pressed herself against the side of the tub. Whimpering miserably the dark elf curled in on herself and gripped her collar with both hands as she desperately tried to rip it away from her neck.

“...Can you get it off?” asked Anton as he watched her efforts become more and more frantic.

“No!” groaned Fiona in frustration as she pulled against the collar “The fucking thing won't come off!”

“...I see” nodded Anton as he stepped closer to her “Good”

“No it's not!” whined Fiona as her face scrunched up in anguish “I don't wanna be...! I hate this!”

Fiona gave up on her attempt to free herself and let her arms fall limply to her sides as Anton stopped and stood in front of her. She remained still as he bent down and took hold of her by sliding his hands beneath her arms. She kept her legs bent in close to her body as she was lifted up over the edge of the tub and set back down in the warm water.

“Poor Fiona!” sang Kianna as she slipped away from her spot at the edge of the tub and sidled up next to her sister “She feels so little!”

Anton sat back down in his chair and leaned forward until his elbows came to rest against his knees. He cradled his chin in his hand as he intently watched the two dark elves.

Kianna began to hum softly as she lightly wrapped her arms around her sister and gently pulled her into a comforting embrace. Fiona laid her head on her sisters shoulder and hid her face in the crook of Kianna's neck as she let herself be pulled in close. She still had a miserable looking grimace on her face but there were no sign of tears in her eyes. She sighed deeply through her nose as Kianna began to softly run the fingers of her left hand through her hair in an effort to comfort her.

Anton remained silent and still as he continued to observe them.

“Poor Fiona...” hummed Kianna as she tucked a strand of Fiona's hair behind her ear “Fiona? Are you still feeling like you're little?”

Fiona was silent for a moment before she quietly grumbled unintelligibly.

“Okay...” smiled Kianna as she continued to run her fingers through her sister's hair “We'll just keep waiting for you then...”

For some time the two dark elves remained this way until finally Fiona raised her head.

“Thank you” she whispered softly as she rested her forehead against Kianna's.

Kianna hummed a response as she smiled at her. They were both still for another moment until Kianna pulled her sister in close and hugged her tightly.

Fiona eased away as her sister loosened her grip. The still unhappy looking dark elf grimaced as she gave Anton a glance before quickly looking away.

Kianna tilted her head downwards and leaned in close as she tried to examine her sister's collar.

“Don't!” mumbled Fiona as she lowered her ears and raised her hand to cover the collar.

“Oh, poor baby!” teased Kianna as she smirked at her embarrassed sister.

Fiona grimaced again as she gripped her collar and gave it a tug. The collar remained locked around her neck even as she raised her other hand and pulled on it in earnest.

“Still can't get it off?” asked Anton.

Fiona doubled her efforts and groaned in frustration as the collar refused to budge.

“No!” she mumbled as she hunched in on herself and let her arms sink into the water “I can't...”

Kianna nodded and settled into a stance that mimicked her sisters.

“We can't take them off” she declared matter-of-factually “Only our Master can take them off”

Both of the dark elves turned and looked at Anton with blank but expectant expressions on their faces.

“...Well now! It looks like it actually worked!” said Anton as his eyes widened “...This could really change a few things!”

“Worked?” asked Kianna as she cocked one of her ears in confusion “What worked?”

“Right...” nodded Anton as he leaned back and settled himself into his chair “It's pretty obvious that you two have no idea... So I guess it's best that we have a discussion about this right away”

“What are you talking about!?” asked Fiona as her brow creased in uncertainty “What don't we have any idea about!?”

“That this should be impossible!” said Anton as he looked back and forth between them “And that you two have just become complete pariahs!”