Chapter 12 : Noon

“Y-y-you p-p-piece of sh-sh-shit!” chattered Mica as she sat huddled into a small ball on the floor next to the large tub in the master bathroom “I c-c-can't b-b-believe y-y-you r-r-really f-f-fucking w-w-w-water b-b-boarded us!”

“You're going to figure out pretty quickly that I'm actually a very honest person.” said Anton as he dropped a set of thick bath towels on the counter-top “I don't believe a person's word is worth anything if it can't be trusted. So I strive to be as truthful as possible.”

“...Th-th-that's n-n-not th-the f-f-fucking p-pro-problem!” exclaimed Mica as she raised her head just high enough to glare up at Anton “Y-y-you th-th-think I g-g-give a sh-sh-shit ah-b-b-bout y-y-you b-b-being on-on-honest!”

“I think you should.” mumbled Anton as he glanced down at the quaking shinoccubus “I know I would appreciate having a Master who I knew was going to be honest with me.”

“...F-f-fuck y-y-you! Y-y-you ba-ba-bastard!” snarled Mica “Y-y-you e-e-even t-try an-anything f-f-f-f-funny l-l-like th-th-that on-on-on m-m-me an-and I'll s-s-slit y-y-your th-th-throat!”

“No, you won't.” said Anton as he narrowed his eyes “Though the fact that you will try is exactly what makes restraining you so necessary.”

Seething, Mica hissed through her teeth as the coils of her bound tail began to vibrate around her waist.

Shaking his head, Anton dismissed her as he turned away and began to unfold a cushioned deck chair that he had brought in from the patio.

Incensed at being disregarded, Mica tightened her eyes at him before quickly shifting her gaze over to the open doorway.

“G-go ahead and t-try it.” grumbled Kianna “L-let's s-see how f-far y-you g-get th-this t-time!”

Cowed by the dark elf's threat, Mica hunched back in on herself as she dropped her eyes to the floor. After a moment of hesitation, she slowly raised her head back upwards and tentatively looked up at the two dark elves.

Sitting up on the edge of the large tub, Fiona and Kianna sat huddled together and shaking in each others arms as they both glared down at the shivering shinoccubus.

Grimacing at their hostile expressions, Mica glanced away and glared at nothing as she began to speak.

“D-d-don't f-f-fucking st-st-stare a-at m-me l-l-like th-th-that!” she grumbled as she hunched down into her shoulders “I-I'm n-n-not th-the s-s-s-psycho! Wh-who t-t-tortured y-y-you!”

“N-no! B-but y-you're s-still the r-reason it ee-even h-h-happened!” snapped Kianna.

Blinking as she took in Kianna's words, Mica looked back up at the dark elf and returned her glare with her own.

“Y-y-you c-c-can't b-be s-s-s-serious!” she seethed “D-d-d-don't ee-ee-even t-t-try t-t-to bl-bl-blame m-me f-f-for th-th-th-this sh-sh-shit!”

“W-w-why sh-shouldn't I!” countered Kianna “It's all y-your f-f-fault!”

“Mm-mm-mm-my f-f-f-fault!” cried Mica “I-I'm n-n-not th-the f-f-f-fucker w-w-who ah-ah-most f-f-f-froze u-us t-t-to d-d-d-death!”

“N-n-no! B-b-but y-y-your s-s-still th-the l-l-little sh-sh-shit! W-who m-m-made it ah-all h-h-happen!” chattered Kianna as she pulled Fiona along with her as she loomed over Mica “An-and it's n-n-not l-l-like y-y-your ee-ee-even t-t-trying t-to apo-apo-apol-apologize! F-f-for an-an-anything!”

“F-f-fuck! Y-y-y-you!” growled Mica as she raised her middle finger and flipped the dark elf off “Th-th-th-there's y-y-y-your apo-apo-apology! B-b-b-bitch!”

“...W-w-why y-y-you l-l-little!” exclaimed Kianna as she went to rise to her feet.

“Alright, Kianna. That's enough.” said Anton as he turned back towards them “Our kiochi is in no condition to be beaten up right now. She can barely even move as it is.”

“A-a-ass! I-I'm n-n-not y-y-y-your n-n-n-nothing!” screeched Mica before dropping her head down and huddling back in on herself as a massive wave of shivering rolled across her body.

Gazing down at her, Anton's expression softened into one of light sympathy.

Unlike the two dark elves who, although uncomfortable at the moment, were still fully functional, Mica had become nearly incapacitated by her treatment. Which was the reason why, for the time being at least, she didn't actually require any form of restraints. In fact, even when first released from her bondage she had simply laid limp across the picnic table and had refused to budge. When picked up to be brought back inside the house, rather than attack or attempt to gouge out his eyes as Anton had expected, she had instead grudgingly curled up against him in an effort to absorb his body heat and had allowed herself to be carried back inside without so much as a word. Her current huddled position and inability to move was far from an act on her part, as with just a quick glance it was easy enough to tell that the miserable looking little creature's nearly frozen condition, was indeed legitimate.

Mica's entire body had paled to the point that she seemed to have taken on a blue cast to her skin tone.

The dark saturation that existed around her horns and eyes had deepened and spread out across her face so that it now appeared as though she were wearing an actual mask, and this was matched by her quivering lips which had become a dark grayish blue in color. The digits of her appendages had also followed suit, becoming their own shade of blue that was deeper than the rest of her limbs.

Though extreme in appearance, Mica's condition was neither life threatening nor permanent for her. Since, as an Infernal, her body could recover from being so thoroughly chilled without any actual damage being done to her. This meant that as soon as she was allowed to absorb enough heat to rewarm her core, she would be able to return to normal without any lingering effects.

Anton was of course aware of this and would be taking advantage of her immobilized state to address her. First however, would come the dark elves.

“...Girls.” said Anton in a flat tone.

Sitting huddled together as they continued to shiver and glare at Mica, both of the dark elves went still the moment Anton spoke to them. Although they had already had their ears pressed in against their heads in an effort to keep them warm, they both lowered them even further and pointed their tips downwards as, in unison, they slowly looked up at him.

Wearing identical expressions, with their faces scrunched up in unease and their large ruby colored eyes pinched in worry, the dark elves were both visibly tense as they silently stared up at Anton and waited for him to speak.

Gazing at them for a moment, Anton sighed through his nose before shaking his head.

“W-we're s-sorry!” cried Kianna as a light sheen of moisture formed in her eyes “W-we d-didn't know s-she was g-gonna t-try t-to k-kill y-you!”

“Th-the l-l-little sh-sh-shit l-lied t-to us!” exclaimed Fiona as she went to glare at Mica “Th-th-this is h-her f-f-fault! Sh-sh-she s-s-said sh-sh-she'd l-l-leave! An-and n-n-never c-come b-b-back! Sh-sh-she s-s-said sh-sh-she di-di-didn't w-w-want re-v-v-venge! B-b-but th-th-then-!”

“That's enough.” interrupted Anton “She's already been punished for what she did. It's over. We're past that. ...But you two! ...How could you!? What you two did! ...I don't even know where to begin!”

With a heavy, frustrated sigh Anton suddenly deflated in front of them and fell to land in the chair he had just finished setting up.

The dark elves breaths became caught in their throats as they watched him slump forward, rest his elbows on his knees and cradle his hanging head in his hands.

Too afraid to even breathe, neither Fiona nor Kianna said a word as a frustrated groan rumbled out of Anton's chest and he began to slowly rub his temples with his fingertips.

“...I don't want to ever have to do anything like that to either one of you two, ever again!” said Anton as he stared down at the floor between his feet “And I mean it! Never, again! Do you understand me!?”

“Y-yes!” chirped both of the dark elves in unison.

“Good! ...I did not enjoy that. Not at all.” said Anton as his fingertips slowed even further.

“...We-we're s-sorry!” whimpered Kianna.

“Mica could have hurt you, or even killed you...” chastised Anton as he shook his head while his voice dropped down to a whisper “And I thought she had... When I saw you both... Just laying there... Not moving... I...”

The dark elves both involuntarily cringed back as Anton suddenly raised his head to glare angrily at them.

“What were you thinking!? Do you even realize the mistake you made!? The risk you took! Do either one of you even have any idea, how terrifying it was to see you that way!?” exclaimed Anton as he looked from one dark elf to the other “Do you!? Do you have any idea how I! ...I! ...I thought she hurt you. Both of you... I thought I lost you...”

Fiona and Kianna's eyes widened to their fullest as they registered not only the pained look in Anton's eyes, but the rising tears born both from his frustration... and his fear.

Dropping his head back into one hand, Anton blinked the moisture from his eyes as he again looked down at the floor below him.

“What's wrong with me...” he mumbled as his shoulders slumped in on themselves “What was I even thinking? How could I have done this. How could I be so horribly selfish. ...I've put your lives at risk. And for what? Just to see if I could!? ...What have I done to you. ...I've made you criminals! ...I need to fix this... I have to find a place for you to go...”

“...W-wha? Go?” whispered Fiona in a soft, questioning tone.

“W-w-w-wait! W-w-what d-do y-y-you m-m-mean g-g-go!?” cried Kianna “G-g-go w-w-w-where!?”

Anton went still for a moment before sighing quietly.

“Someplace, safe...” he said softly “Someplace where you can keep learning... Where you can be free again. And away from me, and all of this-”

“Wh-what!? N-no! Y-you c-can't do th-that!” exclaimed Kianna as she began to frantically look back and forth between Anton and her sister “Wh-what are y-you s-saying!?”

“...I'm saying, Kianna. That I don't want you to get hurt.” said Anton as he raised his head and looked her in the eyes “That this was wrong. The risks are too great... And that I made a mista-!”

“No!” screamed Kianna as she leaped up from where she was sitting and dived forward.

Surprised to find the dark elf suddenly flying towards him, Anton reacted automatically by leaning fully back in his chair and catching her by planting his hands around her waist. Grabbing hold of his shoulders, Kianna screamed out in anger as she was held in the air above him.

“Wh-what's wrong with you! Don't say th-that!” she cried as she pointed her ears straight back and dug her nails into his shoulders as she tried to pull herself in closer to him “D-don't say that! Don't ever say that!”

Shocked into silence, Anton's eyes were wide as he stared up at the raging dark elf and watched as turmoil slowly spread across her face.

“Y-you can't do th-that!” sobbed Kianna as her eyes instantly welled with tears “Y-you c-can't l-l-leave us b-b-behind!”

With her anger suddenly resurfacing, she pulled her arm back to herself and gripped the collar around her neck.

“You see th-this!” she shouted as she pulled on her collar and brandished its gems at Anton “Y-you made this! For m-me! Y-you g-gave th-this! To m-me! ...And y-you can't have it back!”

Speechless, Anton's eyes became fixated on the bloodgem mounted to the collar.

“It's m-mine!” whined Kianna as she pulled her legs up and folded them onto Anton's lap “It's mine... It's mine, it's mine, it's mine! ...It's mine! And it means, that I'll n-never be alone again. ...Remember? That's what you said! ...Remember what you promised? ...What you promised me?”

With everything going still for several long moments, Anton remained silent as Kianna laid her ears back submissively and began to ease herself down until she was laying across his chest.

“...Right here.” she whimpered around a sob as she pressed herself against him “You said, I could stay right here... You promised me! ...You promised... You promised...”

Without a word, Anton wrapped his arms around the softly sobbing dark elf and held her gently.

“...I'm your little dark elf. I am. Me. That's what you said. ...I'm your little dark elf. ...I'm your little dark elf.” chanted Kianna as she wrapped her arms around him as well and rubbed her face against his shoulder “I'm your little dark elf...”

“...Yes. You are. You're right.” breathed Anton as he hugged her tightly to himself “You're right. You are. You're right, I promised you'd stay right here... And you will...”

Kianna whimpered happily as she nuzzled her head in under his chin before going limp from her spent adrenaline.

Again, everything went still for some time before Kianna tilted her head upwards under Anton's chin and began to speak.

“...Why would you even say that!? That you would leave. Why!?” she whined as she blinked the moisture from her eyes.

“I don't know...” sighed Anton “I'm sorry, I was wrong to say that... I just, I got worried... I just want you to be safe...”

“...Well then just keep me safe then!” pouted Kianna “Like you were always going to...”

“...Right. Okay.” sighed Anton as a soft grin spread across his face “I will. I promise.”

“Good!” said Kianna “...You were really stupid for saying that.”

“Yes, I was.” nodded Anton “I'm sorry.”

“Good! Now don't ever say that again!” commanded Kianna as she adjusted her legs into a more comfortable position “...And if you do, I'm gonna bite you.”

Anton paused for a moment before chuckling around a smile.

“Don't laugh. I'm serious.” whined Kianna as she pointed her ears straight back “I know you hate it. So I'll really do it!”

“Oh really!?” teased Anton as he reached up and began to gently tug on the tips of her ears.

“Yes!” pouted Kianna as she twitched her ears up and down in an effort to drive away his fingers “I really will too! Cause you'll deserve it!”

“Well... You're right. I would deserve it. So I guess I just won't do that again then.” smiled Anton.

“Good...” said Kianna as she took a deep breath and let the irritation fade from her expression “You're still stupid though... You ass...”

“I know. And I'm sorry.” chuckled Anton.

Humming in response, Kianna took in another deep breath and closed her eyes as she began to doze. Sighing, Anton held her for a few more minutes until he felt her begin to lightly shiver.

“Okay, c'mon now, Kianna.” he whispered softly as he started to rise back up to a sitting position “We need to get you warmed up.”

Groaning in annoyance, Kianna curled her legs in further as she tightened her arms around him.

“5 more minutes...” she mumbled as she hid her face in the crook of his neck “Please...”

“No, we can't wait. You're still shivering, and so is Fiona, and also Mica.” smiled Anton as he ran his hand up and down her back “And we don't want Mica to succumb to hypothermia and die on us. So we have to get things moving along.”

“Speak for yourself. Right now I don't care if she kills over...” grumbled Kianna “She's still the idiot who started all this shit. She's just as stupid as you are...”

“That's true. She is. But we can't just let her die like that, Kianna.” chuckled Anton as he sat up straight and glanced down at the shinoccubus “She's going to be very useful to us after all. So we don't want to let her go to waste like that.”

Still huddled in her spot next to the tub, where she had apparently been watching them this entire time, Mica locked her eyes with Anton and angrily bared her clenched teeth as she scowled up at him.

Ginning at her, Anton shook his head as he continued to rise from his seat. As he moved to stand up, he grimaced and then chuckled as Kianna made no effort to make things easier for him and instead did everything she could to remain right where she was sitting. Hefting her up with him as he rose, the dark elf grumbled in annoyance as she was forced to drop her legs down to the floor. Even as they both made it to their feet and were finally standing upright, Kianna stubbornly kept her face hidden as she stayed pressed up against Anton's chest and held her arms wrapped around him.

“Such a spoiled little dark elf...” teased Anton as he gently ran his fingers through her damp hair and grinned down at her.

Protesting his statement, Kianna pointed her ears straight back and grumbled in disagreement as she pressed her forehead into his sternum and lightly pushed back against him.

Chuckling, Anton's expression immediately shifted from amused to stoic as his gaze landed on Fiona.

Though she wasn't shivering anywhere near as badly as Mica was, the second dark elf still had her arms wrapped around herself as she stared at her sister. After a short moment of stillness, her eyes lifted upwards and met Anton's. Realizing that he was watching her, she grimaced and looked away while pointing her ears straight back behind her head.

“...Fiona-.” started Anton before stopping short as the dark elf began to speak.

“Stop! Just, don't even say anything! I don't want to hear how you're so sorry!” interrupted Fiona as she closed her eyes and lightly bowed her head “Seriously, don't even bother. I already know that if Kianna isn't going anywhere than I'm not going anywhere either... So fuck it! It's whatever! ...Answer me one thing though, please. ...If it had, if she hadn't, ...would you seriously have let us go? For real?”

Anton stared at her for a moment before slowly nodding his head.

“...Yes.” he said in a soft tone “Yes. I think I would have.”

“Fuck...” sighed Fiona as she scowled and shook her head “So close! ...Dammit, Kianna!”

“Humph! Oh, please!” mumbled Kianna as she glanced over her shoulder at her sister “Quit trying to save face over there. And quit acting like you wouldn't be scared! You know you would be. ...Hell, we all know that even if he'd let you, you wouldn't want go off all by yourself anyways. So just stop it!”

Narrowing her eyes into a glare, Fiona shifted her gaze to her sister.

“Only because I was worried about you! You dumb bitch!” she growled before dropping her eyes to the floor “Like I could just leave you behind with a bunch of assassins... And this tyrant...”

“Yeah right! Whatever...” muttered Kianna as she nuzzled her head back in under Anton's chin and closed her eyes “Say whatever you want... It doesn't matter anyways...”

Scowling at her sister's back, Fiona's expression slowly shifted from angry to sorrowful as her eyes drifted back to the floor.

Watching her, Anton's face remained stoic as he gave Kianna a gentle squeeze and softly breathed out through his nose.

“...Fiona,” he began as he kept his eyes on her “I do owe you an apology.”

“Pfft! No, you don't! I don't want your apology! I just said that!” muttered Fiona as she gave him a look of annoyance “I'm not going anywhere. So there's no reason to keep talking about this shit! ...Let's just fucking forget it already...”

“This isn't about that though.” said Anton as he shook his head “This is about you and me. And all the mistakes that I've made with you... None of what took place today would have happened... None of it should have happened! And it more than likely wouldn't have, if I had done things differently. If I had handled things better... Especially with you...”

Blinking in surprise, Fiona pointed her ears straight upwards as she creased her brow in confusion.

“What are you talking about?” she questioned as she narrowed her eyes at him.

“What I'm talking about is the fiasco that took place this morning. And the misunderstanding that led to it happening.” explained Anton “From what I understand, the main factor behind it all was mistrust. You and your sister both felt compelled to release Mica because you didn't feel that she would be safe around me. And you felt this way, because you, yourselves, no longer felt safe with me... Especially not you, Fiona.”

Neither Fiona nor Kianna said anything as they listened to Anton speak.

“When you heard me speaking to Leopold last night, you came to the realization that we were talking about you.” stated Anton “And then, without even trying to verify anything with me, you jumped to the conclusion that you would be sold to him.”

“Okay, now hold on just a second! Don't try to make it sound like I was the one overreacting here by jumping to conclusions! It's not like I didn't have plenty of reasons to think that you wouldn't happily sell me off! As if you haven't talked about doing just that, over and over and over again! No! I had every damn reason to think that you were gonna do it! And Hell, even now! I still think you would!” exclaimed Fiona as she suddenly rose from her seat, marched closer to Anton and started shouting into his face “Do you really think I don't know how much you hate me!? C'mon! I'm not stupid! No matter what you might think! I'm not! I know damn well that if it wasn't for Kianna, I'd already be a goner! I! Know! This!”

Anton remained completely silent and still as he listened to the shouting dark elf.

“I know, that you don't like me. Okay! I get it! I do! ...And I know, that you think that I'm worthless and selfish and a waste of time. ...I know, that you think I'm stupid. Or stubborn! Or whatever the fuck you wanna call it! ...It doesn't matter. The point is, I know, what you think of me.” stated Fiona as she eased herself back and took a step away from him “I'm not “your little dark elf” and I never will be! I'm just someone you have to deal with... Someone that you know is super valuable too. Which I'm sure is annoying to think about, since you know you're sitting on a goldmine... I'm just someone you can play teacher with while you make me more... Wait... Oh fuck! That's it! Isn't it!? That's your, your plan! It all make sense now! That's what you're doing! You don't care! You never cared! You're only doing this to, to... Make me even more valuable...”

Anton tightened his hold on Kianna as he felt her stiffen against him and watched as a look of horror spread across Fiona's face.

Taking another step back, Fiona quickly turned around and faced away from Anton as her ears lowered themselves and drooped in a sorrowful manner.

“It all makes sense now... I should have known... No, I did know. I know you well enough to know... When you say you're gonna do something, even if it sounds crazy! You do mean it...” she said as she shook her head “Hell, you just proved that by fucking waterboarding us... You evil psycho...”

Clearly exhausted, and starting to shiver again, Fiona let her shoulders slump as she stared forward at nothing.

“So now I know... I know... That it's only a matter of time...” sighed Fiona “You were just going to wait for me to fuck up again, weren't you? That's all you needed. Any excuse... And then, poof... I'm gone... Well now you don't need to wait... Now you don't need to hide it...”

Anton was still for several long moments as he stared at Fiona.

“...How could I have made so many mistakes in such a short amount of time.” he whispered as his expression became sympathetic “Listen to me, Fiona, I-.”

“Stop! Just save it!” said Fiona around an exasperated sigh “I don't want to hear it! I don't care any-!”

“No! This is wrong! It's not what you think. None of it!” claimed Anton as he shook his head “I was wrong! From the very beginning I've done nothing but make mistakes with you. And I see that now. This, all of this... How you feel, and what you think of me. ...Fiona, I never wanted to make you feel this way. I swear!”

Although she wouldn't actually look back at him, Fiona tilted her head to the side to indicate she was listening.

“My intention has always been to make you see the faults in your decisions, Fiona. The errors in your ways. And that's it, I don't have any other goal beyond that. And I never have. I was doing this because I wanted you to see the damage that you were inflicting upon your own life. And then convince you to change. Better yourself, and strive to rise above these poor traits. ...I wanted you to want to improve yourself. That's all I wanted.” said Anton as he bowed his head “...But I let myself lose my patience with you. Time and again. And I became too blunt. Too hard. Too cold... I have told you the truth with everything I ever said to you. ...But then I left you to dwell on that truth, and suffer under the weight of it... I was so quick to point out all of your negative aspects. And yet, I never even thought about how important it was for you to hear the positive one's as well. You know that I think you're stubborn, selfish and rash. But not once have I ever said anything about all the good qualities that I see in you, or how special I think you really are. We've spoken at length about your compulsive behavior, but not once about your drive to succeed, your unwillingness to surrender to defeat, or the fearlessness that you can maintain even when you're facing impossible odds. ...I may have led you to believe that these were all negative qualities, Fiona. But again, that was due to a lack of patience on my part. I've had to face these elements of your personality myself, head on, and it hasn't been easy. You may think that I can't stand you, Fiona. But the reality is quite different... You impress me, Fiona. And you have always impressed me.”

Fiona was still for a moment before tilting her head further back.

“And you just expect me to believe all this!?” she snapped as her ears twitched “You start saying all this shit out of nowhere, and I'm just supposed to take it as the Gods honest truth!? Are you serious!?”

“No. Of course not. I know that you feel you can't trust me. And I understand why. It's all my fault, I created this situation myself. Through my own poor decisions and actions.” said Anton as he shook his head “I will fix this though. I promise you that! ...I don't expect you to take any of this at nothing but face value. No. In fact, I don't expect you to believe anything I'm saying at all. I know I'm not going to convince you of anything with my words alone. So instead, I will show you that I'm telling you the truth. I promise you, Fiona. I will work hard to make sure that in the future you will know that you can trust me. That you can come to me without fear or hesitation and that you will always be able to get the truth from me. ...I'm really not your enemy, Fiona. And I never wanted to be your enemy.”

Despite her still obvious misgivings, Fiona couldn't help but to turn her head even further and actually stare back at Anton with one of her large, bright, ruby-colored eyes.

“...I've been tough on you. Far tougher than I may have needed to be. And I've made the mistake of comparing you to your sister when you're both so vastly different from each other. Now I know the way I treat Kianna is a far cry from how I've treated you. But again, you are different people. And just because I treat each of you in your own way doesn't mean that you aren't just as important to me. You are, both of you are.” said Anton as he stared into Fiona's eye and gave Kianna a squeeze “And I've failed to make sure that you knew that... Which was wrong on my part... It's my fault that you don't even know, that you have no idea... When I saw you, both of you, just lying there... You have no idea how painful that sight was for me, how much it hurt... I know, that it hasn't been very long that we've known each other. But even so... The thought of losing you, either of you... It scares me. It truly does... And now, just as bad, the realization that you don't even know how much I've come to care for you, and what you've both come to mean to me... I don't know how I could be so blind to my own mistakes like this! But I was... I was wrong. And I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. And I swear, I will fix this. I will make things better between us... And I just hope, that at some point, you'll be able to forgive me...”

As Anton finished speaking and went quiet, Fiona's eye tightened into a glare. And with a huff, she turned around to fully face him.

“You seriously expect me to forgive you!? Are you insane!? After everything you've done to me, and all the shit you've put me through! You think I'd ever forgive you!? Hell, no!” exclaimed Fiona as she pointed her ears straight back and balled her hands into fists “I have been living in a nightmare ever since I met you! You are the absolute, worst thing that has ever happened to me! You've done nothing but make me miserable this whole time! You've tortured me! Humiliated me! Fucking froze me! Then you threaten to sell me, pull out my teeth and even make me eat soap! Like some, little kid! ...You treat me like shit! And then, not only do you expect me to just forgive you for all that! But you want me to trust you!? After all of that shit! Are you crazy!? ...I! Hate! You! And I always will! ...I will always, hate you! Always! ...Always. ...Fucking, always...”

Anton did nothing but bow his head as he listened to Fiona berate him.

As her voice trailed off into nothing, Fiona continued to take heavy breaths through her clenched teeth.

The room remained quiet for several long moments before the dark elf spoke again.

“...We're you actually serious? ...With what you just said? Did you really mean it?” she asked in a soft hushed tone “Or were you just talking out your ass!?”

Blinking, Anton looked up to find her staring right back at him.

“...I was truthful with everything I've said. All of it.” he replied.

Fiona's eyes tightened as she looked away from him.

“Right, sure...” mumbled the dark elf “Like you're not just going to say whatever you think you need to! I'm not falling for your bullshit!”

“...Fiona, I'm not exactly sure what you're talking about right now. But whatever it is that I said, it wasn't a trick.” said Anton as he watched the emotions dance about in the dark elf's eyes “I have no reason to try to trick you. I do, legitimately want you to trust me. I don't know what it is that you're referring to, but whatever it was that I said, it was the truth. And I'll swear to that.”

Moving slowly, Fiona brought her eyes back up and locked them to his.

“...So then you really think that I'm, impressive?” she asked softly.

“Yes.” answered Anton immediately.

“...Fucking bullshit!” growled Fiona through her clenched teeth “You're just saying what you think I want to hear! That's all this is!”

“No. You know that's not true...” mumbled Kianna as she rubbed her closed eyes with Anton's shirt “You know he's not scared of you. And that he doesn't need to lie to you. So if he said it, he means it.”

Surprised by her sudden speech, both Anton and Fiona looked to Kianna in unison and watched her as she sighed and lazily rested her head back down against Anton's shoulder.

Grinning at her, Anton chuckled quietly as he reached up and laid his left hand atop her head. As he shifted his gaze back to Fiona, he stopped short in surprise at the sight of her.

Turmoil was plastered across Fiona's face as she stared at her sister.

“He doesn't though! ...He's lying!” grumbled the dark elf as she looked away and frantically blinked away a sheen of moisture that was quickly forming across her eyes.

Anton remained silent as he watched Fiona's eyes dart about as she seemed to be searching the room for nothing in particular.

As her gaze finally landed back on him she scowled and glared at him with a hateful rage in her eyes.

“You! You have to swear! You have to swear to me that you're telling the truth!” she snarled as her eyes began to glow with a bright red light “Okay! You have to swear to me! I want to hear you say it!”

“...Alright.” said Anton “I swear to you, Fiona. That I will tell you the truth.”

Hesitating, Fiona let her eyes fall to the floor as she began to tremble.

“Do, do you! ...Am, am I, really important to you?” she said as she suddenly sobbed.

Taken aback, Anton went still for a moment as the shivering dark elf continued.

“...Well!? Am I? ...Do you really care about me?” whimpered Fiona as she wrapped her arms around herself and clamped her eyes shut as heavy tears rolled down her cheeks“Were you serious? Do you really think that I'm... That I'm special!?”

Without a word, Anton shifted both himself and Kianna into motion.

Looking up to see him moving towards her, Fiona laid her ears down submissively as she bowed her head. She remained completely still as Anton's right arm was wrapped around her and she was scooped up into a tight embrace.

“I hate you!” wailed Fiona as she was tucked in next to her sister and held against Anton's chest “I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!”

“I know...” whispered Anton as he hugged her as tightly as he could.

“...I, hate you!” sobbed Fiona as she laid her head against his shoulder and cried into the crook of his neck “I hate you! ...I hate you so much!”

“I know...” soothed Anton as he rubbed her back in an effort to comfort her “I know you do...”

Growling in frustration, Fiona hesitated for a long moment before wrapping her arm around him and frantically gripping his shirt behind his back.

“Why!?” she wailed as held on to him “Why did you say that!? ...Why did you say it!?”

“Because it's true...” whispered Anton as he tightened his arms around both of the dark elves and held them all together “I'm sorry, but it's true...”

Fiona wailed again before falling into a fit of sobs.

For some time the three of them stood together this way before finally Fiona began to speak again.

“I hate you. I really do. I hate you so much...” she whimpered as she tightened her grip on the portion of shirt she had in her hand.

“I know...” nodded Anton as he began to rub her back again.

“...I don't wanna go.” sobbed Fiona “I wanna stay here...”

“Good. Because you're not going anywhere...” soothed Anton.

“...I hate you!” mumbled Fiona.

“I know...” said Anton.

“...I'm not your dark elf!” grumbled Fiona.

“Yes you are...” smiled Anton as he gave her another squeeze “You're my stubborn, disobedient, mouthy little brat of a dark elf... And you're going to stay that way...”

Pointing her ears straight back, Fiona grumbled in rage as she forcefully pressed her forehead against Anton's shoulder.

“Argh! I hate you so much!” she growled before taking a deep frustrated breath.

“Yes, I know...” nodded Anton as he continued to smile softly and hold his two dark elves.

After a moment of stillness, he began to chuckle as he felt Kianna begin to slowly move as she tried to covertly slip herself in between him and Fiona.

“What are you doing!?” snapped Fiona as she planted her shoulder against Kianna's and pushed back against her “Knock it off!”

The two dark elves immediately began to shove against each other as they both fought for space.

“C'mon now, Kianna... Don't be jealous.” laughed Anton as he leaned forward and kissed her on top of her head “You know you're special to me too! My sweet little dark elf...”

Both of the dark elves went still as Anton wrapped his arms back around them and hugged them to his chest.

“Oh, my sweet, special, stubborn little dark elves...” rumbled Anton as he squeezed them both as tightly as he could.

“Okay! We get it! We get it!” complained Fiona as the air was forced from her crushed torso “Let, go!”

Anton chuckled as the two dark elves kept their faces hidden against his chest and continued to grip his shirt, even as he loosened his hold on them. After a moment of stillness they both began to fidget a bit before recommencing to lightly shove each other.

“You're the stubborn one.” mumbled Kianna as she roughly pressed her shoulder against her sister's.

“Shut up!” snapped Fiona as she pushed back against her.

“No, you both are!” laughed Anton as he planted his hands on their heads and gently smoothed out their hair “Now c'mon, we need to get things back on track and get you all warmed up again. ...Also, it seems that our kiochi prisoner is trying to escape on us, and we should probably stop her.”

Moving in unison, the two dark elves both glanced over their shoulders as they followed Anton's gaze.

Suddenly finding herself under their scrutiny, Mica paused in mid-motion as she scowled up at the now frowning dark elves. Although she had been making her way towards the exit for some time now, the kiochi's condition had prevented her from being able to lift herself up off the floor or move with any real kind of speed. And as such, even after all this time, she had only been able to drag herself a little over halfway across the large room.

“Humph. Yeah, she's not going anywhere...” mumbled Kianna as she laid her head back down on Anton's shoulder “She still can't even barely move...”

“Just toss her dumbass in the tub for now.” grumbled Fiona as she followed her sister's lead and rested her head back against Anton's other shoulder “She's still frozen so she won't be able to climb out of there.”

“That's actually a good idea...” yawned Kianna as she closed her eyes and settled into a light doze “We should just do that...”

“...Right, okay? ...Don't you two actually want to get warmed up?” asked Anton.

“...Eh, we're fine.” said the two dark elves as they glanced at each other.

“Hm, I see. Well, I'm afraid I'm still going to have to insist that we get moving...” grinned Anton.

“Ugh, but it's warm right here...” grumbled Fiona “Why do you always have to ruin everything...”

“Hm... Tell you what. If you girls get moving, then I'll let you two handle getting Mica ready. While I get the bath going.” offered Anton “How does that sound?”

“...What do you mean by getting her ready?” asked Fiona.

“Well, she can't really move to well right now. And she's about to take a bath.” explained Anton “So I'd imagine she would appreciate some “help” with getting undressed...”

Their eyes locking in realization, the two dark elves both looked at each other for a moment before turning their heads in unison and staring down at the still shivering shinoccubus.

“I'd also imagine that the condition she's in, has not only made her all but helpless...” said Anton as he gave Mica a sly looking half smile “But also about as, pinchable, as she'll ever be...”

“W-w-w-wait! Wh-wh-wh-what!?” cried Mica as she watched the two dark elves eyes widen in excitement “N-n-no! St-st-stay th-the f-f-f-fuck! Ah-ah-ah-way f-f-from m-m-m-me!”

“Why don't you girls go find out if my theory is correct or not...” smiled Anton as he gave each of the dark elves a gentle nudge to get them moving “And please, do remember to be as thorough as possible with your tests...”

“Oh, yes! We will be!” exclaimed the dark elves as they smiled wickedly and began to advance on the hapless kiochi.

Panicking now, Mica turned away from them and began to frantically scramble forward as best she could as she attempted to escape through the open doorway.

Moments later the stillness of the afternoon was completely shattered by shrill, angry sounding protests and loud, gleeful laughter.