Chapter 10 : Late Morning

“Mmmmm!” moaned Kianna as she rested her head on her sister’s shoulder and let herself sink a little further down into the warm water.

“Hey, no falling asleep in the tub!” chastised Anton as he glanced over to check which of the dark elves she was “Kianna!”

Kianna grimaced but kept her eyes closed as she lifted her head up a bit.

“I like how he can tell us apart!” she whispered softly as she leaned in close to her sister’s ear.

Fiona blinked and gave her an annoyed glare before rolling her eyes and going back to picking at her nails.

Both of the dark elves were now soaking in the six person sized, extra large Jacuzzi style tub in the bathroom of the master bedroom. The water they sat in was tinted a very faint bluish color due to the healing potion that had been added to it.

Since they had yet to regain complete mobility, they sat shoulder to shoulder to help each other stay sitting upright. The water level in the tub was high enough that even at their sitting positions the water came up to just below their shoulders. This allowed the majority their bodies to rest in the healing water and let their limbs soak up the soothing warmth.

Although this was the first time in days that the two dark elves had found themselves completely free from any sort of bondage, neither one of them had any intention of moving from right where they were.

Anton was sitting comfortably next to the tub in a cushioned, deck chair that he had brought in from the outside patio. The thick book being propped up in his hands gave him something to stay busy with while he acted as a lifeguard for the soaking dark elves.

Kianna cracked open a single eye and peeked out at Anton and her sister. Seeing them both distracted, she quickly dipped her lips below the water line and covertly sucked in a mouthful of water.

“Kianna!” muttered Anton as he shook his head without looking away from his book “Stop drinking that water! I’m not going to tell you again!”

“Seriously! Quit that!” growled Fiona as she nudged their shoulders together “You’re a grown ass woman Kianna! Stop being gross!”

“I’m sorry!” whined Kianna as she lowered her ears in embarrassment “But I’m still really thirsty!”

“Well you can drink as much as you want when you’re done with your bath” declared Anton as he flipped to the next page in his book “Until then you’re both cut off. I’m not going to risk having to drain the water again just because we can’t trust a certain “grown woman” not to pee in it”

Kianna stifled a laugh as she smiled at her sister.

“That was!” cried Fiona as she turned her face away from them and blushed “That was an accident!”

“I never said it wasn’t” smiled Anton “I’m not going to waste another potion though. So if it happens again then you’re both going to sit in it!”

Kianna made a disgusted looking face before lolling her head to the side and going back to her dozing.

Still frustrated, Fiona wrapped her arms around her legs as she pulled her knees up to her chest.

“ ... Hey, Mr. Master!” she muttered grudgingly as she tentatively shifted her gaze to Anton “ ... Mind if I ask you a question!?”

“Of course not” answered Anton as he pressed his finger down in his book to mark his place on the page he was on and turned to look at her “Ask away”

“ ... What the Hell are you!?” asked Fiona as she creased her brow and looked him over.

Kianna opened her eyes and looked up at him as well.

“Excuse me!?” laughed Anton as genuine surprise appeared on his face “What do you mean!?”

“What are you!?” repeated Fiona as she looked him over again “You look like a human! ... But I don’t think you really are one!?”

“Well, I was born a human, and as far as I know I’m still a human! So that label should work as well as any!” smiled Anton as he closed his book and laid it down in his lap “Why? What did you think I was?”

Fiona pursed her lips and looked down as she started fidgeting with her hands under the water.

“I don’t know!” she mumbled as she pointed her ears straight back behind her head “You just don’t seem like a human! ... You’re different!”

“Really!?” asked Anton as he tilted his head at her “How so?”

“I don’t know! That’s why I asked!” exclaimed Fiona “ ... You’re just, different!”

“You seem different...” whispered Kianna as she shyly looked away from him “Really different...”

“Oh really!?” mused Anton as he looked from one to the other “And why do you think that is?”

The dark elves were quiet for a moment before they both shrugged in unison.

“Hm!” nodded Anton as he continued to smile broadly “Well, tell you what! When you two come up with a theory as to how I’m different, just let me know! And we’ll discuss it!”

Kianna nodded tentatively while Fiona stayed silent and continued to fidget with her hands.

Chuckling, Anton leaned back into his chair and reopened his book.

Kianna watched him read for a moment before leaning forward and tilting her head as she tried to get a better look at the cover of his book.

“ ... What are you reading?” she asked as she looked up at him.

Anton turned to her and without a word lifted the book up to give her a clear view of the cover.

Fiona glanced back up as Kianna leaned in even closer and squinted at the book.

“...”Morris and Simmons Medical Encyclopedia : The Natural History and Anatomy of the Dark Elf, Volume 1”...” she read out loud “ ... Wait!? You’re reading about us!?”

“Mm hm” mumbled Anton as he repositioned the book to keep reading.

The two dark elves glanced at each other before quickly looking back at Anton.

“Why are you reading about us!?” exclaimed Kianna as her ears pointed themselves straight upwards.

“ ... I have a few questions about dark elves” mumbled Anton as he continued to read while talking “And I’d like to know a little more about how they work...”

Kianna turned to her sister and found her glaring in annoyance.

“You’re seriously reading a book when you have two dark elves sitting right in front of you!?” she exclaimed as she shook her head in disbelief “You do know we can just answer your questions right!?”

“I’d be really surprised if you could” mumbled Anton as a tired look came over his face “I doubt you’d even be able to answer half of them...”

“Why don’t you try us!” boasted Fiona as she nudged her sister’s shoulder “Who better to answer any questions about dark elves than actual dark elves!?”

“Mmm, alright then...” sighed Anton as he closed his book and set it back in his lap before turning to face them.

Fiona was smirking with an eagerly determined look in her eyes whilst Kianna was clearly nervous.

Anton smiled softly and took a deep breath through his nose.

“At what rate do the livers of dark elves metabolize sugars?” he asked calmly.

The two dark elves went completely still as they stared at him.

“ ... Uh, what?” mumbled Fiona as she turned to an equally confused looking Kianna “Um!?”

“Your ancestors were originally semi-subterranean in nature” continued Anton as he ignored her lack of answer “So how has this effected your current anatomy?”

“ ... Wait!?” exclaimed Fiona as her ears pointed themselves straight upwards “They were what!?”

“In order for you to be able to see in the dark underground. Your eyes have developed in such a way that they can utilize low levels of geothermal radiation and process it as a form of infrared” continued Anton as he ignored her question “With this being the case, just how far into the infrared spectrum does your vision actually range?”

“ ... Hold on!” exclaimed Fiona as her ears pointed themselves straight back behind her head “Did you just say our eyes process shit!? And are radioactive!? Are you just fucking with us!?”

“ ... Do your bodies metabolize vitamin D naturally like other races?” asked Anton as he tilted his head in a questioning manner “Or does it need to be supplemented into your diets?”

“ ... Did you just seriously ask if we need to eat vitamin D!?” growled Fiona as she glared up at him “No! We don’t need to suck dick to live you sick fuck! You’re not even being serious at all are you!? Are any of these even real questions!?”

Anton was still for a moment as he merely stared back at her.

“ ... How about we try a few easier ones?” he mocked as a condescending grin spread across his face “How many bones do you have, Fiona?”

“ ... Uh!?” drawled Fiona as she blinked in uncertainty “I think like, a hundred ... and fifty?”

“Mm!” nodded Anton as he pressed his lips into a thin line “And how long is the gestation period for a dark elf?”

“ ... It’s like a little more than a year?” questioned Fiona as she turned to her sister “Right!?”

Kianna opened her mouth and then closed it as she shrugged.

“No, it’s 11 months” sighed Anton “What is the range for a healthy body temperature in dark elves?”

Fiona stayed silent as she stared at him.

“How many teeth do you have?” continued Anton as he gave her a mock smile.

Again the dark elf stayed silent.

“ ... Fiona, what color is your blood!?” exclaimed Anton as he began to rub his temples in frustration.

“Red! It’s red!” cried Fiona as she frantically turned to Kianna “It’s red! Right!?”

“Um, I, yeah! It is!” exclaimed Kianna as she looked up at Anton “It’s red! ... Right!?”

“You’re both going to need to read this book when I’m done with it” muttered Anton as he shook his head and settled back into his chair to continue reading.

Fiona let out an exasperated sigh through her nose as she scowled down at the water.

“Wait, why do you even want to know all this?” asked Kianna as she tilted her head and cocked one of her ears in a curious manner.

“Like I said earlier, I want to have a better idea of how dark elves work...” answered Anton as he flipped to the next page in his book “I thought I understood dark elves pretty well already but apparently not. You two have really made me question a few things”

“ ... We did!?” exclaimed Kianna as her ears pointed themselves straight upwards “Really!?”

Fiona’s ears pointed themselves upwards as well as she shifted her eyes to look over at Anton.

“Mm hm...” mumbled Anton thoughtfully as he moved the book closer to his face and focused on what he was reading “Dark elves are a very private people, as they like the idea of being mysterious ... So there’s not a whole lot of info about them out there ... Not even online ... surprisingly...”

The two dark elves glanced at each other for a moment before turning back to Anton.

“But you say you know a lot about dark elves already?” questioned Fiona as she narrowed her eyes in suspicion “How do you know anything about dark elves at all!?”

Anton didn’t answer as he stayed focused on what he was reading. After a moment of silence he eased the book away from his face and turned to the waiting dark elves.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” he asked as he looked from one to the other “What were you asking?”

“How do you know anything about dark elves!” demanded Fiona as she gave him a questioning glare.

“Oh, I lived in Tantarra Estates for a good while” explained Anton “So I got to know quite a few dark elves pretty well”

“Where’s Tantarra Estates?” asked Kianna.

“ ... It’s in Tantarra, the demon realm” answered Anton as he gave her a perplexed look “It’s one of their major cities”

“There are a lot of dark elves there?” asked Fiona.

Anton had a questioning expression on his face as he looked back and forth between the two dark elves.

“Yes, it’s almost all dark elves” he explained “If you don’t count slaves then Tantarra’s entire population is about 80 percent dark elf, if not more. In fact at this point I’d say it’s the main population center for dark elves”

“Why are there so many dark elves there?” asked Fiona.

“ ... Have you really never heard of Tantarra?” asked Anton.

The dark elves both shook their heads in unison.

“Really, that’s odd? ... Anyways!” mumbled Anton as he shook the notion from his head “Tantarra is popular with dark elves because of it’s laws. Or, really, lack there of! You see, people that are non-citizens have no rights in Tantarra. So basically anybody who isn’t a registered citizen, or is from off-realm, can legally be enslaved without consent. Regardless of whether or not they’re innocent or guilty of any crimes”

“Really!?” marveled Fiona “That sounds pretty cool!”

“ ... I suppose it is if you’re either a dark elf or a slave-monger. Or someone who actually wants to be enslaved. Which shockingly! People like that are a lot more common than you’d think they would be! I guess the idea of being “owned” by a powerful dark elf is somehow very alluring to certain people” explained Anton as he shook his head “Anyways, I wouldn’t recommend even stepping foot in Tantarra if you’re not immune to binding curses, don’t want to be enslaved, or are not skilled or powerful enough to avoid slavery”

“So were you a slave when you were living there?” asked Kianna.

“Oh, no!” drawled Anton as he shook his head and let a broad grin spread across his face “No, no I wasn’t!”

“ ... Oh, okay” mumbled Kianna as she nervously eased herself back and lowered her ears a bit.

Ignoring Anton’s implication, Fiona leaned forward and began to scrutinize his face.

“So!” she mumbled as she looked him up and down “ ... You really do know a lot about dark elves then!?”

“Yes. I think we’ve established that!” quipped Anton as he tighten his eyes at her “Though like I said before, I really don’t think I know as much as I thought I did”

“Can you tell us about them then!?” asked Fiona in a hushed tone “Like, what you do know!?”

“ ... I suppose I can” mumbled Anton “Why, what exactly do you want to know about them?”

“Just, what are they like!?” exclaimed Fiona “Are they just like us!?”

Anton shifted his gazed back and forth between the two intently staring dark elves.

“ ... I don’t know?” he answered flatly as he closed his book and set it in his lap “I really don’t think so?”

Kianna’s ears drooped a bit more as Fiona tightened her eyes in annoyance.

“What’s that supposed to mean!?” exclaimed Fiona “How are we different from them!?”

“ ... Honestly, you two really aren’t anything like other dark elves Fiona” mused Anton as he leaned back in his chair “Or at least I’ve never seen any that act the way you two do ... Maybe they just hide it better?”

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

“I’m talking about the fact that you two are as close to each other as you are ... It just completely goes against the grain...” mused Anton as he indicated the two dark elves who were not only sitting side by side but had their shoulders pressed together and were obviously supporting each others weight “You two seem to legitimately care about each other ... And I’m not sure if this is normal?”

The dark elves looked at one another in confusion.

“You said something like that before!” said Kianna “But we’re sisters? How can that not be normal!?”

“It might be! Like I said, I don’t know for sure” said Anton “But personally I’ve never seen any other dark elves that are as close as you two are ... Maybe it’s because you’re twins? ... I don’t know?”

“You’ve never met any other dark elves that were twins?” asked Fiona.

“I’ve never even heard of any other dark elves being twins, or having twins. And I haven’t read anything that even mentions twins, here or online” said Anton as he tapped on his book “Obviously it must be possible! But it might be so rare that’s it’s basically unheard of? Again, I just don’t know!?”

“ ... How can dark elves not care about each though?” questioned Kianna as she lightly leaned in closer to her sister “How is that possible? Don’t they have families?”

“Well saying that they don’t care might be taking things a bit too far. They do care about each other. And they definitely care about their children! But it’s a different ... kind of care” said Anton as his face scrunched itself up and became thoughtful looking “It’s a little difficult to really describe but I guess one way of looking at it would be that they really don’t need to care about each other. And since they don’t really need to, they’re just not built that way. You see, they’re just so capable of taking care of themselves. Dark elves are both physically strong and intelligent, they’re viciously strategic and have excellent memories. These attributes make them talented combatants and scholars. Then there’s their affinity for magic. Their natural skill sets are a mixture of mana based abilities that have been blended with Auramancy. This alone is enough to set them above the majority of other races, but they can improve themselves even further by learning spells and gaining new skills and abilities outside of their natural ones. And this again is something that puts them a step ahead of the norm. Realistically, there is very little that can actually threaten them. Even the demons see them as equals and would hesitate to face them in a one on one fight, which is one of the main reasons why the two races get along so well. Then you add to all of this the fact that even as children they’re such fearless, independent, dominating beings, and there really isn’t any reason to be too concerned for them ... ever!”

“ ... So what you’re saying is that because they’re so tough and badass they don’t even have to worry about each other!” reasoned Fiona “That’s pretty cool!”

“Yes ... but you two do ... a lot” mused Anton as he rubbed his chin in a thoughtful manner “And I wonder why? It might be because you’re twins? Or maybe it’s because you were raised together? Since that isn’t normal either...”

“It’s not?” questioned Kianna “Dark elves don’t raise their kids together!?”

Anton shook his head.

“No, they don’t” he said as he looked to her “They only ever have one at a time”

“They only have one!?” exclaimed Kianna as her ears pointed themselves straight upwards in panic “Really!? Why do they only have one!? Can’t we have more than one!?”

“I don’t mean they only have one and that’s it! I mean they only ever have one with them at any given time!” chuckled Anton “They can have plenty of children but I’ve never seen a family that had more than one child in the house at a time. The parents will raise a child until it’s old enough to be out on it’s own, then once it leaves the house they’ll have another baby. Since they’re so long lived they can do this quite a few times and still have a large family. It’s just takes them longer to build it up than it would other people”

“Oh, okay!” exclaimed Kianna as her face became relieved “Yeah, that actually makes a lot of sense!”

“It does?” questioned Anton “You really think so?”

“Well yeah!” smiled Kianna “That’s how you make sure you can take care of the little babies!”

“You don’t think dark elves could take care of more than one baby at a time?” asked Anton as he became focused on her reactions “You don’t think it might be better for siblings to be raised together? Like you and your sister were? Don’t you think that might be why you’re so close with each other?”

Kianna was still for a moment before she scrunched up her eyes and tilted her head in a thoughtful manner.

“ ... Maybe?” she mumbled as she looked down into the bathwater “ ... I don’t know though!? ... It still doesn’t, that just doesn’t sound right?”

“Hm...” mused Anton as he watched the pondering dark elf “Do you two fight with each other a lot? Or did you when you were younger?”

The dark elves both glanced up at him before looking at each other.

“Sometimes. I guess?” said Fiona with a shrug “Not really though”

“Yeah, not really” said Kianna as both of the dark elves shook their heads “Why?”

“Because whenever I’ve asked any dark elves why they would only have one child at a time they’ve always answered with “Because kids will fight” so I was just curious if you two ever fought” answered Anton “Doesn’t seem like you did though...”

The dark elves looked at each other again before shrugging in unison and turning back to Anton as they shook their heads.

“Hm, maybe its the magic then?” reasoned Anton as he began to rub his chin again “Maybe you’d be different if you could use magic? It might make you more inclined to fight with each other? Which might drive you apart?”

“We can use magic!” declared Fiona as she pointed her ears straight back “We just don’t know how!”

“And you still don’t want to talk about why your Mother won’t teach you?” asked Anton “Or are you ready to talk about that now?”

“We already told you!” growled Fiona “She’s a busy woman! She just doesn’t have time!”

“Right” mumbled Anton as he nodded absently and continued to stare at her “ ... I wonder what you would be like if you learned though? I wonder if it would change you, make you more ... normal? ... It would be pretty interesting, and kind of scary, if it didn’t!”

“What do you mean!?” asked Fiona as she gave him a pointed look “Why would it be scary if it didn’t!?”

“Because dark elves won’t normally work together. When they do! Well, I’ve never seen it happen myself but I’ve always heard that it was a terrifying sight” explained Anton “It would normally take a pretty extreme situation to get them to that point though. But if didn’t ... if you had a pair that was willing to “team up” with each other ... That might be a pretty interesting sight!”

“ ... I don’t like the way you’re looking at us!” muttered Fiona as she narrowed her eyes into a glare and eased herself back “ ... Quit it!”

“Why won’t dark elves work together?” asked Kianna “If they’re stronger as a team then wouldn’t it make sense to always team up?”

“It would. But they’re just naturally too independent, so it would take a pretty powerful threat to bring them together. And like I said earlier, there isn’t too much that can even threaten them to begin with. So it really would have to be an extreme situation for it to happen” explained Anton “That’s the easy explanation at least. Personally I’d say the fact that they’re a “control race” is also a factor. It really wouldn’t be surprising to find out that something was built into them that kept them from being too united. They might be unstoppable otherwise”

“A “control race”?” questioned Kianna as she tilted her head and cocked one of her ears in a curious manner “What does that mean?”

“It means we control other races!” exclaimed Fiona “Obviously!”

“Well, it’s a little more complicated than that” said Anton “It’s not an official term or anything so I’m not surprised you’ve never heard it before. It’s also considered inappropriate to apply it as a label since it denotes a particular race as being superior to another. It’s not necessarily meant to be derogative in that way but I can definitely see an argument there. In reality it’s only meant to be a collective term for a group of otherwise unrelated races, and nothing more”

The two dark elves were completely still as they listened.

“ ... Anyways” continued Anton “The dark elves are one of the control races, along with the dullahan, the nurarihyon, the aos si and so on and so forth. These races were each brought into existence to help bring a balance to the world by controlling another race, or group of races in some way. You see, every now and then a race, or a whole group of them, would find a way to somehow tip things too far into their own favor. And when this would happen one of the “Gods” or whatever they were, would create a new race that could counter this threat and bring everything back to a balance. This was how they’d keep one race from taking over and wiping out all the other races. Each of the control races were created with the instincts and abilities to accomplish their given task without taking the place of their “counter race”. In other words, they were built with a toolkit to get the job done, but not become a threat themselves. All of the control races are very powerful and each could potentially take over the world if they choose to. Fortunately, none of them, including the dark elves, seem to have any desire to do so. And it’s believed that they were each designed with built-in behaviors to keep this very scenario from happening”