Chapter 9 : Morning

Fiona scrunched up her face in irritation as a loud series of obnoxious beeps began to ring in her ears.

“Will somebody turn that shit off!” she growled as she tried to block the sound by covering her head with the folds of the blanket she had been sleeping on “Seriously! It's-! Ow! Hey! Don't kick me, bitch!”

Ignoring her grumbling daughter who had been sleeping at the foot of the large bed, Olivia stretched out her legs and lifted her arms up high into the air before raising up to a sitting position and swinging her legs out over the side of the bed.

“Oh, oh, oh...” moaned the dark elf around a soft smile as she twisted at the neck and waist “...Now that's what I call a lovely evening!”

Getting to her feet, Olivia again twisted back and forth a bit as she absently checked her breasts, hips and backside for bruises. And taking stock of the many handprint sized, though easily concealable marks that now adored her body, she smiled in satisfaction.

Laying on his back in the center of the bed, Anton began to stir and grumble before rolling over onto his side and draping an arm over Kianna's prone body.

“You know, good as last night was, I don't think I could ever stand baring the sight of any of you on a daily basis...” said Olivia as she made her way across the room and bent over to pick her purse up off the floor “That being said though, I wouldn't be opposed to the occasional repeat of last night... Maybe this could even be a monthly thing. We could call it your rent perhaps.”

“...How the Hell is this bitch even standing up right now?” muttered Fiona as Olivia switched off her phones alarm “I swear I thought I almost killed her twice last night...”

“Don't think so highly of yourself, or so little of your Mother, Fiona...” said Olivia as she quickly scanned through her missed messages “I've sailed through far rougher seas than those I went through last night, and still lived to tell the tale...”

“...The fuck are you talking about?” questioned Fiona “No. You know what, never mind. I don't even want to know... Just go away and let me go back to sleep...”

“Fine by me.” said Olivia as she kept her eyes on her phone and made her way into the bathroom.

“Stupid bitch...” mumbled Fiona as she settled back down “Stupid morning people... Make me sick...”

Up near the head of the bed, Anton chuckled and took a deep breath before blinking open his eyes.

Finding Kianna already awake and staring up at the ceiling with a sour look on her face and her ears hanging limp from the sides of her head, he smiled and tightened his arm around her in greeting.

“Good morning...” he said softly as he reached up and lightly ran his fingers over her head as he tried to smooth out her hair “And how are we doing this morning?”

Shifting just her eyes to him, Kianna tightened her lips into a thin line as she looked back up at the ceiling.

“I don't want to move my legs... They hurt...” she grumbled as she went to curl her toes and winced from the pain in her stretched muscles “I think I'm in even worse shape than I was in the last time we did this...”

“Yeah... You might need something a little stronger than just enchanted shampoo this time around.” said Anton as he shifted his eyes towards the bathroom just as the shower could be heard turning on.

Looking in the same direction, Kianna's frowned deepened.

“She's up taking a shower already and I can barely even move...” she muttered before turning back to Anton and narrowing her eyes at him “She barely even got fucked at all, while I ended up with my legs bent back behind my head for most of the night... That wasn't fair...”

Laughing softly, Anton ran his hand down her waist before gripping her hip.

“Well what can I say? Why would I ever want her, when I had my favorite dark elf right there with me?” he said as he began to gently massage Kianna's navel with his thumb and fingertips.

Kianna stared at him for a moment before looking away.

“...You ass.” she muttered as a faint blush spread across her cheeks “...You're so mean to me.”

“I know, and I'm sorry.” chuckled Anton as he leaned over and kissed the side of her head “That being said though, you did last a lot longer last night than you did the last time we played with that elixir. So you should be excited about that at least.”

“I still didn't win...” muttered Kianna as she tried to sit up but again winced in pain “Also my ass really, really hurts too... Did you really have to spank me so hard?”

“Oh, now don't try blaming me for that! Not when you were the one who was begging me to smack you harder and harder!” smiled Anton “Also you deserve that for drugging me without consent, you bad, bad girl.”

“Hey, you never said I wasn't allowed to drug you.” said Kianna as she smiled cheekily “So I didn't even know I was doing anything wrong...”

“...Oh! Yes you did you little brat!” laughed Anton as he gave the side of her hip a light, playful smack “You knew exactly what you were doing and you're not even sorry about it! Are you!?”

“Maybe a little bit...” said Kianna as she looked off to the side and lightly shifted her hips back and forth “...But not really, no.”

“Yeah, that's what I thought.” said Anton around his smile “Now I'm going to have lock that bottle up somewhere where you can't get to it anymore.”

“...What, no! Don't do that!” cried Kianna as she pointed her ears straight upwards in alarm.

“Argh! Will you, shut up! So fucking loud...” grumbled Fiona.

“You shut up!” snapped Kianna “What are you even doing in here still!? Shouldn't you be watching Mom or something!?”

“What? When did that become my job!?” said Fiona as she shifted to the side and eyed her sister “I'm not the one who decided to make her the guest of honor at the sexy slumber party. That was you!”

“Hey don't act like you didn't enjoy yourself!” countered Kianna “You should be thanking me! I know that had to feel good to finally put that bitch in her place! To you especially!”

“...Okay, yeah. You got me there.” mumbled Fiona as she seemed to deflate back into the blanket “Gods alive... I really needed last night... That stupid bitch knows better than to fuck with me now...”

“Oh yeah, same...” breathed Kianna as she too became relaxed again “So nice to not be afraid of her anymore...”

Shifting his eyes from one dark elf to the other, Anton raised a eyebrow in intrigue.

“So, hold on? What exactly was last night about?” he asked as he met Kianna's eyes “Are you two, somehow dominate over your Mother now?”

Fiona snorted as Kianna shook her head.

“No, that stupid bitch will literally die before she ever considers either of us dominate over her.” said Fiona as she stretched out her legs “She's just not going to fuck with us anymore, that's all.”

“Basically, we're not kids anymore and Mom knows that she can't just make us do whatever she wants anymore.” explained Kianna “We're like the same as she is now. We're like equals.”

“Oh, okay... I see...” nodded Anton as his expression became thoughtful “And you made her understand this... By having sex with her?”

Both of the dark elves laughed in unison.

“Nah, that was just us wanting to see the stupid bitch crawl.” said Fiona “That didn't have anything to do with what we're talking about.”

“Yeah, that was all just for fun.” said Kianna “Which, you had fun too, right? Like I know I didn't really explain much last night, cause I wasn't sure if you would be onboard with Mom being involved in all. And I am sorry about that... But you did enjoy yourself, even with her there... Right?”

His mind flashing back to a memory of yanking back on a fistful of Olivia's long hair as he was roughly taking her from behind, Anton slowly nodded his head.

“I did, yes...” he mused softly “Though I will admit that I'm of the same mindset that she is. In that I don't know if I'd appreciate her being around constantly... An every now and then thing probably wouldn't be so bad though... Honestly this whole thing with her is just one big question mark to me. Especially in the sense of why she's even here. I'm guessing she came because she wanted to check in on her vault? Though the timing on that decision is a bit odd to me...”

“That's probably one reason why she's here, but it's definitely not the main one.” said Kianna “The real reason she's here is because she wanted you to fuck her. Even if she won't admit it, that's why she came when she did.”

“...Excuse me!?” questioned Anton in surprise.

“Yeah, no, she definitely wanted some attention from you.” said Fiona as she glanced over at Anton “I guess she was feeling lonely, or either you just strike her fancy just right or something. Either that or you charmed her over dinner. You were out with her for a while... What were you guys even talking about anyway?”

“We, talked about... Wait! Why would you two think that she was here because of me?” questioned Anton “Did she tell you that was why she came?”

“Not with words, no.” said Kianna “It was just like with what happened with Mica. You could just kind of feel it through her aura.”

“...Wait? So, you used that reading ability on her?” asked Anton “When did that happen? Was I there when you did it?”

“You were, but I didn't fully read her or anything. I didn't have to.” explained Kianna “This was just a surface kind of thing. She wasn't trying to hide what she wanted, so it was easy to pick up on.”

“...Oh, I see.” said Anton as he looked over to where Olivia's mana signature was located “Well that's an unexpected development... And honestly I'm not sure how I feel about this? I really don't like the idea that I might have reminded her about...”

Trailing off, Anton blinked as he realized what he was saying. Glancing down and finding Kianna staring back at him expectantly, he went quiet.

“...Reminded her about what?” questioned Fiona as she raised her head up high enough to look at him.

Finding himself under both of their scrutiny now, Anton looked back and forth between the two dark elves before shifting his gaze back towards Olivia.

“I don't know, how to start...” he said softly “Honestly, I don't know if I'm the one who should even say anything...”

“...What the Hell are you talking about?” questioned Fiona.

“Is everything... Okay?” asked Kianna.

Looking down at her, Anton tightened his eyes in sympathy.

“Look... There are some things you need to know, both of you...” he began with a sigh “But I don't know if I should be the one to tell you though... Or if it would be better if your Mother did...”

“Things we need to know?” repeated Kianna as she cocked an ear in a curious manner “Are these, good things?”

“...No.” sighed Anton as he shook his head “No, they're not...”

Turning his eyes away from the dark elves, Anton went quiet as he focused on getting his thoughts in order.

Glancing at each other, Kianna and Fiona both shrugged before turning back to Anton and waiting for him to continue.

As the three of them went silent, the noise of Olivia's shower filled the otherwise quiet space, and after a time, these sounds too disappeared.

Having shifted their attention to Olivia's mana signature, Anton and the dark elves all followed her with their eyes as she wandered about in the bathroom for a bit and then meandered through the closet before finally heading back towards them.

Having dressed herself in a pair of pink, lace panties that belonged to Kianna and one of Anton's button up shirts that she had left mostly open, Olivia had a refreshed, casual air about herself as she sauntered back into the room.

“Still in bed?” she questioned as she flipped her long, damp hair back over her shoulder and eyed the trio of her most recent lovers “By the Gods, Anton. I know they're idiots, but you really have done a poor job of training these two. Sure, they're skilled at servicing their betters in the bedroom, but a slaves duties hardly end there. And letting them laze about like this is a poor precedence to set.”

Taken aback, Anton and the dark elves all said nothing as they each worked to decipher what had just been said.

“Slaves! Chop, chop! Breakfast isn't going to make itself!” said Olivia as she clapped her hands and addressed her daughters “Coffee, with two shots of vanilla cream. And I'll have a five grain bagel with a light, and I mean a light! Spread of strawberry cream cheese. And if we have any blueberry yogurt here I'll take some of that as well.”

Blinking, Fiona and Kianna looked at each other before they both turned back to their Mother with glaring expressions on their faces.

“Hm... It looks like you two might have jumped the gun a bit with your earlier assumptions...” mused Anton “I'm not so sure that the idea of you guys all being equals now is the consensuses here...”

“Equals? With slaves!?” laughed Olivia as she rolled her eyes and went to open the bedroom doors “Don't be ridiculous! That's... Hello? What's this... A cubi?”

Having fully opened the double doors, Olivia stopped short in surprise as she found Mica curled up on the floor in the middle of the walkway.

With a clearly satisfied expression on her face, the kiochi had apparently been indulging in the rampant tantric energies that had been produced throughout the previous night, and was now blissfully sleeping off her intoxicated state.

“Is this your cubi, Anton?” asked Olivia as she looked over the sleeping girl.

“Yes. That's Mica, my kiochi. Please don't step on her, or kick her.” said Anton.

“Hm, interesting... Another freeloader in my house... Looks like I'll need to start charging you for a pet deposit.” mused Olivia as she stepped over Mica and went to leave the room “Have that cubi join us the next time I'm in, and we'll call this even.”

“...Okay, this is clearly a problem that's going to need to be addressed immediately.” mumbled Anton as he watched Olivia disappear out into the hallway “Girls, pull yourselves together because we're going to need to go handle your Mother...”

“Let's just ring the bitches neck and be done with it!” grumbled Fiona as she pointed her ears straight back “Or we could just let the bug eat her. That would work too.”

“Oh, right. Tessa!” said Anton as he moved to leave the bed “We need to let her know that Olivia isn't an intruder!”

“No we don't.” said Kianna in dry tone.

“Yes, we do, Kianna.” said Anton with a grin as he got up and began to move quickly.

Once dressed, healed and grudgingly woken up, Anton, the dark elves and Mica all made their way downstairs and into the kitchen where they found Olivia just barely starting the coffeemaker.

“Oh goody, she's still alive...” muttered Fiona as she made her way to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of orange juice.

“About time. Bring me my mug when it's ready.” said Olivia as she went to sit at the table “...What happened to this chair?”

Having pulled out the chair at the head of the table, Olivia was surprised to find that two of the center spokes that made up the chairs backrest had been removed.

“Ah, that's the seat that Tessa uses.” said Anton “We had to modify it a bit so as to accommodate her wings and abdomen.”

“Tessa? And who is this Tessa?” asked Olivia.

“She's a weremantis who lives with us.” said Anton as he turned to Mica “Speaking of which, do you mind going and waking her up, please.”

“Sure, no problem...” said Mica around a drowsy yawn.

“Thank you.” said Anton as he took a seat at the table opposite from where Olivia was now sitting “Alright, Olivia. I'd say it's pretty important that we have ourselves a little conversation this morning. There's a few things I think we need to discus, ground rules not being the least among them...”

“Ground rules?” repeated Olivia.

“Yes, ground rules.” said Anton “If you're going to be visiting us on a regular basis now, then there's going to be conduct that will need to be followed. Such as no more showing up out of the blue. This is our home, after all, and we do have a right to some privacy. So give us a call first. Preferably at least a day ahead of time.”

“I guess I can try to remember that, but no promises.” said Olivia with a catty, one shoulder shrug.

“It would be appreciated if you did...” mumbled Anton “Secondly, the girls are not your servants. Nor are they in any way restricted in how they're allowed to treat you. So I wouldn't recommend that you keep talking to them in the manner in which you have been lately. Useless you're actually interest in seeing just how far you can push them...”

“Pfft, come on now, Anton... Let's not pretend like those two don't know their place...” chuckled Olivia “I'll talk to them in any way I see fit.”

“Alright then, you're taking that risk on your own though.” smiled Anton as he shrugged as well “Lastly, I'd like to talk to you about buying-”

Anton stopped short as an urgent sounding beep suddenly erupted out of Olivia's phone.

“Hold that thought...” said Olivia as she held up a finger and eyed her phone as she scanned the new message that was being displayed on its screen “I need to make a call real quick...”

Placing the phone to her ear, the dark elf absently played with the buttons on her shirt as she waited for the line to be answered.

“Keeble, what do you need? What could possibly be so important that it can't wait till Monday?” said Olivia as she lolled her head to the side and listened to the frantic sounding voice on the other end “Are you serious!? No! They're not getting another dime! In fact, they're fired! ...Because they failed to complete the job! And I know they failed because I'm sitting right in front of him right now, and he is very much alive! So I don't care what they say, they're lucky they got paid as much as they did! Oh, and another thing! Their so called “brilliant plan” was another point of failure. That monster they tried to send didn't even go after the right person! So no, they're not getting the other half. They're not getting anything. ...What do you mean what should you tell them!? Tell them that they're fired and tell them that if I ever hear another peep out of them ever again, it'll be the last mistake they'll ever make! In fact, tell them that they'll be really lucky if I don't just send Anton after them right now!”

Ending the call with a click, Olivia let loose an exasperated sigh before turning back to Anton.

“At some point in the future I may need you to go destroy a group of assassins.” she said nonchalantly.

With his elbows planted on the table and his chin resting on his clasped fists, Anton's expression was clearly unamused.

“So I gathered...” he drawled as he narrowed his eyes “Now you do realize that I don't work for you, right?”

“Not officially, maybe. But you do owe me, as you are using my home to house all your little pets...” said Olivia while glancing at the entryway just as Mica and Tessa were stepping into the room “Speaking of which...”

“Excuse you!?” said Mica as she planted one hand on her cocked hip “And who do you think your calling a pet!?”

“You.” said Olivia in a dismissive tone while looking Tessa up and down.

Apparently more than content enough to just ignore the new face in the room, Tessa sat down in her seat and yawned softly before closing her eyes and seemingly going back to sleep.

“Hm, have to appreciate the quiet ones...” mused Olivia before turning back to Anton “In any case, while living under my roof, you and yours are in my debt. And being called in for a few random favors every now and then seems like a fair enough trade to me.”

“Yeah, about that...” said Anton as he rose from his seat “I think I've got a better idea. I'll be right back. Just need to go get something real quick. Girls, Mica, mind our guest while I'm gone, please.”

“Right, boss.” said Mica as she crossed her arms and planted herself in the doorway.

Watching Anton as he left, Olivia shifted her gaze to the now readied coffee before eyeing her daughters expectantly. When all Fiona and Kianna did was stare back at her in defiance, the elder dark elf rose from her seat with a huff and made herself a mug.

“Absolutely useless...” muttered Olivia as she sat back down and began to idly look at her phone.

A few minutes later, Anton returned with a stack of papers in his hand.

“Alrighty then... So of course I don't expect you to sign this immediately...” he said as he sat back down and separated the papers into two stacks before passing one set across the table to Olivia “Here, this is your copy to take with you when you leave. Look it over, see what you think. And we can meet back up at some point in the next few days or so to get it signed...”

“Signed? Hold on, what is this?” asked Olivia as she grabbed up the papers.

“Just a little something I had my lawyer write up for me. In a nutshell it's a contract that'll transfer the ownership of this property from you to me.” explained Anton “It's fairly standard in form, but was purposely made out to be as simple and painless as possible. I can promise you that there's nothing insidious hidden inside it. Though I'll fully understand if you want to have your own people look it over for you.”

“Are you insane!?” balked Olivia as she immediately tore the contract in half “As if I'd just sell you my property out of the blue like that!”

“Hm, yeah, I figured you'd react that way.” said Anton as he gazed at the torn up contact and tapped on the stack of papers sitting next to him on the table “Which is exactly why I brought a few spares...”

“Bring as many spares as you want, it won't make any difference!” declared Olivia as she pointed her ears straight back “I'm not selling you anything, Anton!”

“Oh, but I think you will...” said Anton as he met the dark elf's eyes “In fact, I can guarantee that you will...”

“Oh really?” mocked Olivia as she leaned back in her chair and took a sip from her mug “And how exactly are you going to manage that?”

“By not giving you a choice.” said Anton “Let's not forget, Olivia, I've got more than enough justification to enslave you. I could just take everything from you in one go, but instead I'm trying to be nice here. And I'd appreciate it if you would acknowledge that...”

“Enslave me!” laughed Olivia “Are you serious!? Did you already forget our conversation from last night? I'm a dark elf, Anton. Three pigs literally spent months trying to enslave me and they couldn't do it no matter what they tried! So what in the world would make you think that you'll be able to succeed where they failed?”

“The fact that I've already succeeded, twice.” said Anton in a dry tone.

“Pfft, please...” said Olivia dismissively “I'll admit that those decorative little collars that you're making those two idiots wear may be lovely to look at, but they're not fooling anyone, Anton. You can't really expect me to believe that you actually enslaved those two.”

“I could always prove it to you.” replied Anton in the same nonchalant tone “You really don't want me to do that though. As I don't think you'll be very happy with where you're going to land on the hierarchy around here...”

Olivia went silent as she narrowed her eyes at him.

“...Look, let me make things clear. There are only two things that I want from you. And one of them is this house. Now I'm not trying to cheat you out of the house in any way though. Nor am I asking for anything for free here. I'm willing to pay you a fair market price for the house.” said Anton as he crossed his arms over his chest “And considering I do have other, cheaper, options... I think this is a pretty generous move on my part.”

“Generous indeed...” mumbled Olivia “And why exactly do you even want this house so badly?”

“Because it's important to the girls. And I want them to have it.” said Anton.

“Again with the girls...” said Olivia as she rolled her eyes “Those two have you completely wrapped around their fingers, don't they?”

“Well, one could certainly make that argument.” chuckled Anton.

“Yes, they could. Easily” said Olivia as she too crossed her arms over her chest “And what was your second demand?”

Anton was still for a moment before he sighed softly and looked down at the table.

“...I want you to tell the girls everything.” he said as he looked back up at the dark elf “Everything that you told me last night.”

“No.” said Olivia.

“This isn't a request.” said Anton.

“Good. Because it isn't going to happen.” said Olivia.

“The girls need to know the truth. And you're going to tell them.” said Anton as he narrowed his eyes “Or I'm going to complete my collection of Vale women, and make you tell them.”

Pointing her ears straight back, Olivia glared menacingly as she tightened her jaw.

“If you want them to know so badly, then just tell them yourself.” she said in a tone of irritation.

“...I considered that.” said Anton as he looked off to the side and shook his head “But no. It wouldn't be right. It's not my place. It's not my story, or my history. It's yours, and theirs... They deserve to know the truth. What happened, where they came from, and why you made the decisions that you did... They deserve to know everything...”

“...Why?” hissed Olivia as her eyes shifted to a glowing red “What good is it even going to do them to know what happened? How are they not better off without knowing!?”

Anton was still for a moment before without a word, he looked up at Fiona and Kianna and gazed at them in silence.

The two dark elves blinked in uncertainty as they stared back at him and watched as a tiny, sad looking smile formed on his face.

“...It's not going to be good, or easy for them to hear.” he said softly as he dropped his eyes back to Olivia “But they need to know... They'll never be whole otherwise...”

Staring at him in silence, Olivia paused as she took in his strained expression, and registering the sincerity in his eyes, she slowly dropped her own to the table.

“...The one benefit of you knowing everything was that you could be the one to tell them.” she mumbled softly “And you couldn't even do that right...”

“It's not my place, Olivia...” said Anton as he slowly shook his head “Look, I just need you to tell them. And then I'll take care of everything else after that...”

Keeping her eyes on the table, Olivia said nothing.

After a time, Anton rose from his seat and had Mica, Kianna and Fiona all help him to quickly make breakfast. Fielding their questions the entire time, Anton remained steadfast that it wasn't his place to say more.

When breakfast was finally ready, he set a plate of eggs and bacon down in front of Olivia and sat down with everyone else.

Though she was silent the entire time, Olivia did finally cave to her hunger and begin to eat as well.

When everyone was finished, Anton made up a fresh pot of coffee and set it up on the table for Olivia, before ushering Mica and Tessa from the room.

Alone with her daughters now, Olivia stayed silent for nearly an hour before with an exasperated sigh, she began to speak.