Chapter 16: Past Noon

Fiona’s face showed her irritation clearly as she stood in the center of the room and watched her sister dry herself off. After leaving the shower, both her body and hair had been toweled dry and she was made to stand with her legs slightly spread on a rectangle shaped bathmat.

Kianna was humming quietly to herself as she continued to absently dry her body with one of the white cotton bath towels that Anton had brought back with him. Once she was satisfied with her level of dryness, she wrapped the towel around behind her back and shimmied it up under her arms before folding it over her chest and tucking it into itself to tie it off.

“Why does she get to keep her towel and I don’t!” growled Fiona as she narrowed her eyes and pointed her ears straight back behind her head.

“Because she isn’t about to be given an examination, and you are” answered Anton as he glanced up at the mirror in order to view the dark elves standing behind him “Don’t worry though Fiona. You aren’t being singled out. She’ll lose her towel when its her turn”

Kianna had a smug smirk on her face as she tucked her hair behind her ears and looked around at everything in the room except her sister.

Registering her sister’s mocking attitude, Fiona tightened her eyes even further as she slowly balled her hands into fists.

Anton continued to observe the fuming dark elf in the mirror for a moment before turning around and facing her directly. Fiona’s glare remained fixated on her sister for only a second before her large eyes shifted to Anton and locked to his.

There were no threats in the dark elf’s eyes as she stared, calm and unblinking. None of the rage and hatred that she had displayed so brazenly before now existed anywhere in the vivid rubies that were her irises. Now there was only the simple message of her raw, murderous intent.

Whether or not Kianna even registered the heightened level of aggression that her sister now displayed was questionable, for if she did, she choose to ignore it.

Anton however, did not.

Without a word, Anton crossed the distance that separated them and stood right in font of the dark elf.

Fiona remained completely still, save for her eyes which stayed focused on Anton’s and followed them as he approached and stood in front of her.

Gazing into her eyes, Anton found confirmation in his assessment that if she were able to at this very moment, this dark elf would indeed kill him.

“It’s nice to see that those enchanted soaps do live up to their reputation...” he said as he tilted his head one way and then the other “I can tell they’ve definitely had an effect on you...”

Fiona’s eyes tightened but remained unblinking as she followed his movements.

“You look good. I’d say even better than you did before” said Anton as a thin smile took form on his face “You look stronger. And more, confident”

Fiona’s eyes shifted into a full glare as her anger began to break through her calm facade.

“How do you feel?” asked Anton as he leaned in just a bit closer “ ... Any better than before? ... Any more, confident?”

Fiona clenched her jaw as her irises began to shine with a faint red glow.

“ ... I asked you a question, Fiona” said Anton as he suddenly reached out and took hold of her chin “How do you feel?”

The startled dark elf blinked in surprise and tried to pull away. Finding herself held in place by a firm but gentle grip, her glare returned as her eyes darted back to Anton’s.

“Well?” asked Anton as his face became stoic while he stared her down “How do you feel?”

“ ... Good!” grumbled Fiona through her still clenched teeth “I feel good!”

“Good, that’s good...” soothed Anton as he maintained the stoic look on his face “And do you feel more confident as well?”

Fiona was still for a moment as she stared at him.

“ ... Yes” she answered in an emotionless tone.

“Well that’s very good to hear” nodded Anton “I wouldn’t want one of my dark elves to not feel confident after all”

Fiona’s eyes went wide as she instantly became enraged.

“I am not one of your fucking-!” she exclaimed.

“And how does your collar feel?” interrupted Anton as he lifted her chin up higher and exposed her neck and collar “Is it comfortable?”

Finding herself suddenly staring up at the ceiling, Fiona went rigid and then began to lightly tremble as she tightened her still balled up fists. Her ears began to quiver in anger as Anton slid a finger between her neck and collar.

“Doesn’t seem too tight ... and it looks like the water resistance charm is working...” mused Anton as he slid his finger back and forth along the dark elf’s neck while examining her collar “Does it still make you feel small?”

“ ... No, not anymore!” growled Fiona as she stared straight up at the ceiling “I’ve beaten it!”

“Hm ... no, you haven’t beaten anything Fiona. You’re just getting used to it” said Anton as he touched the blood gem on the collar and set it aglow “Kianna!”

The second dark elf pointed her ears straight upwards in surprise as her name was called.

“Yes!” she chirped as her eyes darted from her sister to Anton.

“Would you like to take a closer look at your sister’s collar?” asked Anton as he turned back to her “I’ve noticed that you’ve been pretty curious about it”

“ ... Y-yeah!” cried Kianna as she quickly stepped forward “Thank you!”

“Mm hm” hummed Anton as he shifted to the side so as to make room for her.

Fiona’s face became scowling as Anton maintained his hold on her chin and allowed Kianna to lean in close and examine her collar.

Kianna was bright eyed with excitement as she peered at the elegant looking collar that was wrapped tightly around her sister’s neck. Shifting back and forth she spent several long moments looking over the collar from different angles before going still and staring at it from straight on.

“ ... It looks really good on you Fiona” she said quietly as she gazed at the set of three gems on the face of the collar “ ... Like, really good”

Fiona’s scowl deepened enough for her bared teeth to show clearly as she clamped her eyes shut and sighed through her nose in annoyance.

Kianna grinned and kept her eyes on her sister’s gems while she stood up straight and took a step back from her.

Fiona blinked open her eyes as Anton dropped his hand away from her chin. The dark elf quickly turned her glaring scowl on him before slightly softening her face and shifting her gaze to her sister.

“ ... You know what” said Kianna as she tilted her head to the side and cocked one of her ears in a curious manner “The collar makes you look, kinda ... scary!”

Fiona’s entire demeanor darkened as her eyes tightened back into a murderous glare and she pointed her ears straight back.

Blinking in surprise at her sister’s overly hostile response, Kianna leaned back and smiled sheepishly as she lowered her own ears.

“I mean that in a good way!” exclaimed Kianna as she put her hands up in mock surrender “It makes you look cool! And uh, tough! And dangerous! Like a badass!”

“It’s a fucking slave collar Kianna!” snarled Fiona as her eyes were set ablaze with a bright red light “It makes me look like a fucking slave!”

“ ... Yeah!” said Kianna as her eyes shifted from her sister’s face to her collar “ ... But not really though!”

Fiona pressed her lips into a thin line as she raised her balled fists and took a step forward.

“Fiona, you were told to stay on the mat” said Anton in a eerily relaxed tone “Now calm yourself down, and get back on it”

Fiona stopped mid-motion and immediately turned her glare towards him.

“And what are you going to do if I don’t!?” she growled “Huh!? You gonna humiliate me some more!?”

“Yes, I will” said Anton calmly as he crossed his arms over his chest “And I’ll do this by helping you to understand just how easily free movement can now be taken away from you”

Fiona stared at him for a moment as she digested what he had just said.

“ ... What!?” she exclaimed as her ears pointed themselves straight upwards.

Anton’s tone and demeanor remained calm and nearly emotionless as he continued to speak.

“I said that I’m going to help you to understand that being able to move freely is now a privilege for you” he said as he took a step forward and looked down into the dark elf’s glowing eyes “You’ve only had your arms and legs back for a very short time. And it would be a shame for you to lose them again so soon”

“ ... You’re, you’re kidding!?” exclaimed the dark elf as she eased herself back “You gotta be joking!?”

“Now why would you think that?” asked Anton as he tilted his head and creased his brow in question “I’ve put you in bondage before. And I’ve kept you in bondage for days. What would make you think I wouldn’t do it again?”

Fiona remained still and silent as she stared at him.

“ ... Well?” asked Anton as he raised his head out of it’s tilt “I asked you a question, Fiona”

“Y-you!” stammered Fiona as she leaned her head back in affront “You can’t just do that to me!”

“Of course I can Fiona. I own you now, and I can do as I please with you” explained Anton “And if I think that some discipline is going to be necessary to help you to understand that, then so be it”

Fiona blinked as her mouth fell open and hung agape for a moment before she closed it and clenched her jaw in determination.

“You, you can’t do this!” she growled softly through her teeth as her eyes continued to shine with an eerie red light and she pointed her ears straight back in challenge “I swear! I’m not gonna let you beat me!”

Anton stepped right up to the dark elf and loomed over her.

Fiona was still for a moment before she slightly eased herself back as she subconsciously registered his lack of fear.

“Honestly Fiona, what are you even doing right now?” whispered Anton as he mockingly narrowed his eyes in question “You’re smart enough to know how ridiculous this is. You have nothing to gain here, and so much to lose. So what exactly do you hope to achieve with this little stand-off? ... Or is this just your way of trying to prove to me how stubborn you can really be?”

Fiona said nothing as she tightened her still glowing eyes.

“ ... I am not going to continue to play these pointless games with you Fiona. So unless you actually do want to spend another very uncomfortable day downstairs” reasoned Anton in a quiet, calm tone “I suggest that you just let this go”

Fiona stared up at him for several moments before blinking and looking away in frustration.

“ ... Very wise, Fiona. Now, if you would, I’d like you to go ahead and step back onto the bathmat” said Anton in the same calm tone “Please”

With her anger still clear on her face, Fiona took a step back and planted both of her feet squarely on the bathmat.

“Thank you, Fiona” said Anton as a thin grin spread across his face “I appreciate it”

“I hate you!” hissed Fiona as she glared off to her side and then clamped her eyes shut in anger.

Anton nodded slowly as he eased himself back and stepped away from her.

“I’d like you to place your hands behind your head Fiona” he said softly as he turned away from the dark elf “And please, do not move again until I ask you to”

Fiona blinked and began to tremble in rage as her eyes began to glow brighter than they ever had before. She stood there and hesitated for a moment before she tentatively relaxed her fists and lifted her arms above her head. She then grudgingly planted her hands on the back of her skull and slumped her shoulders. Moving only her eyes she glanced up at Anton and glared at his back for a moment before the anger began to fade from her face and she lowered her ears as she let her eyes fall to the floor.

Kianna’s ears were pointed straight upwards as she stared completely transfixed at her sister. She had never had an experience quite like this before. And although she had no frame of reference for what she had just seen happen, she couldn’t help but to become excited. She had just witnessed another sapient being fall into submission, and as a dark elf, that sight alone was a thrill for her. But it was the process which led to it happening that was still racing through her mind.

She knew from her own experience the power that Anton now had over herself and her sister. The collars around their necks gave him the ability to make them do whatever he pleased. All it would take was a simple command and they would obey him without question.

There had been no command, and yet, Fiona had still obeyed him.

Kianna knew her sister well enough to know how spiteful she could be when being chastised, and that the mere idea of possible consequences would never be enough to sway her this way on its own. She desperately wanted to know why her sister would choose to simply listen like this but didn’t dare to ask her at the moment.

Fiona certainly didn’t want to obey, that much was clear. She had no qualms about letting it be known that she hated Anton and would not only not hesitate to seek revenge against him, but had no desire to follow any of his orders. And yet that’s exactly what she had just done. With barely any struggle at all she had conceited and obeyed. And how Anton had gotten her to do this was what Kianna’s mind was now working on trying to understand.

If they were given a command then both of the dark elves would obey. The curses that bound them would force them to do so, and they would have no choice. And yet Anton had not only chosen not to use this method to control Fiona. He had shown that he didn’t even need to.

With his words and his presence alone he had forced Fiona to acknowledge and understand that there would be losses for her if she did not maintain control of her own behavior. There had been no threats, no show of power, neither magical or physical and no mention of a command at all.

Despite leaving Fiona’s freewill intact, Anton had still somehow gotten enough control over her that when he instructed her to expose herself and remain completely still, she didn’t fight back or argue but instead had chosen to quietly do as she was told.

Fiona had been left allowed to make her own choices, and for some reason, she had chosen to surrender and obey.

As Kianna continued to stare at her sister and struggle to understand this strange scenario, a new thought suddenly slipped into her mind and immediately caused a fierce burning in her loins.

With a thin smirk now on her face, she watched her sister and began to imagine what it would feel like to trade places with her, and stand there herself with all of Anton’s attention focused on her as she stood there, naked, exposed, vulnerable and completely under the power of his control.

Anton glanced up at the mirror in front of himself to check and be sure that Fiona had done what he had told her to do. He grinned in satisfaction as he found the miserable and frustrated looking dark elf standing in the position he had instructed her to be in. Turning slightly to the side, he gave Kianna a cursory glance as well and couldn’t help but to stop short and cock an eyebrow at the sight of the other dark elf.

Kianna was staring directly at her sister with an odd, almost dreamy looking expression on her face and was lightly panting out of her half opened mouth.

Anton shook his head softly as he noticed that her arms were both angled downwards across her torso and that her hands were now under her towel, as she was clearly touching herself again. He was of course aware that dark elves were infamous for their libidos but this was quickly becoming ridiculous.

“Kianna” said Anton as he watched her out of the corner of his eye.

The dark elf stiffened and turned to him immediately.

“Y-yes Master!” she cried cheerfully as she pulled her hands out from under her towel and acted as though she were merely straightening it.

“Could you come over here for a second” said Anton as he looked down at the travel bag and shifted it over to make an open space on the counter-top “I’d like to check your collar real quick”

“Okay!” cried Kianna as she immediately began to move towards him.

Turning to look back at the dark elf, Anton was lightly startled to find that Kianna was already standing right next to him. The bright eyed dark elf was using just her fingertips to lightly play with her collar as she grinned up at him.

“Hm...” mused Anton as he bent down and rested his hands on his knees as he leaned in for a closer look at the collar “Did it stay dry in the shower?”

“Yes!” chirped Kianna as she happily raised her chin to give him a better view of her newest accessory.

“Good ... And it doesn’t feel too tight, does it?” asked Anton as he slipped a finger between Kianna’s neck and her collar “Because it can be loosened if it is”

“No!” sang the dark elf as she stared up at the ceiling and shook her head “It’s snug, but I kinda like it like that! It let’s me know it’s there!”

“Hm, okay then” grinned Anton as he stood back upright “Just let me know if it becomes too uncomfortable though and I’ll fix it for you”

“Okay!” exclaimed Kianna as she smiled up at him “I will!”

“ ... You really are something else Kianna!” chuckled Anton as he shook his head “I honestly doubt there’s another dark elf in all of existence that would be this excited to wear a collar!”

Kianna’s smiled faded as she cast her eyes downward and looked away from him.

“ ... It’s not just the collar” she mumbled quietly as she lowered her ears and a light blush spread across her cheeks “It’s also ... You, it’s cause you made this for me...”

“Ah, I see” nodded Anton as he reached out and wrapped his arm around her shoulders before pulling her into a soft, one-armed embrace “So you’re saying that when people ask me how I tamed my little dark elf, I should tell them that it was easy? I just made something pretty and gave it to her?”

Kianna playfully punched him in the side as she hid her face against his chest.

“No!” she complained as she pointed her ears straight back “That’s not what happened!”

“It did help though!” chuckled Anton as he gave her a squeeze “Didn’t it!?”

“ ... Maybe” mumbled Kianna in a quiet tone “ ... Yes”

Anton laughed as the dark elf pressed her forehead into his chest in protest.

“Here!” he said as he took hold of her shoulders and turned her until she was facing the mirror “Have you even seen it yet?”

Kianna’s eyes went wide as she silently stepped away from Anton and pressed her hips against the edge of the counter-top as she leaned forward and stared at herself in the mirror. The enchanted dark elf spent the next several minutes twisting, tilting and turning her head and shoulders back and forth as she examined herself and her collar.

“ ... So what do you think?” asked Anton after she had gone still for a moment “Do you like the way it looks?”

Kianna turned to him with a blank look on her face and stared in silence for a moment. Without a word she ducked her head and clasped her hands together over her heart as she quickly made her way back to him and pressed herself tightly against his chest.

“Y-yes! I d-do” she sobbed as she flattened her ears behind her head and nuzzled her face against him “It’s so b-beautiful!”

Anton chuckled softly as he wrapped his arms back around her shoulders and held her gently.

“Aw, how cute” he mumbled as he rubbed the back of her head “Is my little dark elf happy with her collar?”

“Shut up! ... And yes!” whined Kianna as she muffed her own voice by pressing her face against his chest “ ... Yes she is!”

Anton grinned to himself as through the mirror he was able to watch Fiona as she rolled her eyes in annoyance. Noticing that he was looking right at her, she stiffened as their eyes met in the mirror.

His grin growing into a smile, Anton looked back down at the dark elf in his arms and rubbed her head again.

“Alright Kianna, time to dry your eyes” he soothed as he leaned back from her “We still have some work to do!”

“ ... Okay” grumbled the dark elf as she wiped her eyes with his shirt and pulled away with a sigh “ ... I really like the way you smell!”

“ ... Well, thank you!” smiled Anton as he shook his head “I like the way you smell too!”

Kianna was biting her lower lip as she looked away to hide her blush.

“Good!” she chirped as she glanced over at her sister.

Fiona gave her a tired, irritated look as she slowly shook her head back and forth.

Huffing in indignity, Kianna stuck her tongue out at her before turning away to follow Anton to the counter-top.

As the dark elves both watched, Anton unzipped the center compartment of the travel bag and pulled out a thin metal tray as well as a roll of thick looking blue-colored paper towels. After layering a paper towel over the tray, he pulled a pair of metal boxes out of the bag and set them down on the counter-top. From the first box he took out a medical stethoscope and hung it around his neck before turning to the second box.

Kianna’s eyes went wide as she watched him take what looked like sets of both medical and dental instruments out of the box and begin to set them out in several rows across the towel covered tray.

Fiona’s eyes filled with unease as she too watched the instruments appear out of the metal box. Suddenly feeling vulnerable in her nakedness, she grimaced as she tightened her shoulders and pressed her thighs together.

Catching her movements in the mirror, Anton glanced up at her and grinned.

“Feeling nervous Fiona?” he asked as he lifted up a pair of odd looking metal-framed glasses that had a thin pen-light attached to the right side of the frames.

Fiona set her jaw and pointed her ears back in annoyance as she watched him click on the little light and move it up and down as he made sure it was working correctly. Shifting her head just slightly, she moved her eyes to the side and glanced at the open door.

Noticing this, Anton set the glasses down on the tray and lifted his head to look directly at her in the mirror.

“Choose your battles carefully Fiona” he declared in a calm tone.

The dark elf kept her eyes on the door for a moment before letting them fall to the floor as she flattened her ears back behind her head.

Anton nodded as he acknowledged her gesture and lowered his gaze back down to the counter-top.

Kianna’s eyes had remained wide as they darted back and forth over the items laid out across the paper towel covered tray.

“ ... Hey! Are you a Doctor!?” she asked as she looked up at Anton.

“No, not officially” answered Anton as he set a soft, plastic measuring tape on the tray “And by that I mean I’m not officially licensed. But I’ve patched together enough paper cuts over the years to have picked up quite a bit of know how. And at this point I wouldn’t be surprised if I could pass most medical exams. I do also have a Holy Attribute. But try as I might, I’ve never been very good with any of the healing spells that I’ve tried to learn. So I’ve had to lean on more of the traditional methods and potion making, which I am pretty good at”

“Healing spells don’t work for you?” asked Kianna as she cocked one of her ears in a curious manner.

“They ... work, just not that well” answered Anton “Like I said, I just don’t have a talent for them”

“Hm” mused Kianna as she stared at the measuring tape “You know how to make potions though?”

“I do” nodded Anton “That’s a skill that’s always useful. Especially while traveling. Potions are one of the few things that have a value everywhere, and I can whip up a few overnight and either use them myself or sell them for any extra money I may need along the way”

“Huh, yeah, that’s smart!” reasoned Kianna “ ... So do you do a lot of traveling?”

“Sometimes” shrugged Anton “If I have nothing better to do then I might decide to go exploring somewhere. Like I’ve said before, I don’t like to be bored”

“Right” nodded Kianna. The dark elf went to say something else but stopped short as Anton began to speak.

“By the way, Fiona” mumbled Anton as he looked over everything he had laid out on the tray “I noticed that you were calling Kianna “slave” while you two were messing around earlier. Is that something you would normally do?”

“No, that was the first time she’s ever called me that” answered Kianna as she looked back at her sister.

“Hm, what brought that on then?” asked Anton as he too glanced back at Fiona.

“I don’t know!” mumbled Fiona as she shrugged her shoulders “Just seemed right I guess”

Anton chuckled and nodded his head.

“And how long have you two been enjoying each other like that?” he asked as he rummaged around in the travel bag and pulled out another thin, metal box.

“Um, a while I guess” mused Kianna as her face became thoughtful “It started when we were sharing a room at school. So like, 8 years now? Or something like that?”

“Hm, and were you two always interested in each other?” asked Anton “Or did you just prefer each other to the other people around you?”

“Um, no, well ... it’s not that we didn’t...” stammered Kianna as she grimaced in sorrow “Nobody would talk to us, remember ... and we were always lonely...”

“ ... Right, of course. I did forget about that” nodded Anton as he took a tuning fork out of the thin metal box and set it on the tray “So then, do you two consider yourselves a couple now?”

“Oh no, no! It’s not like that!” exclaimed Kianna as she shook her head “It’s not like we’re together! We just, have fun sometimes! We, we both fuck other people too! Well, we have”

“I’d rather not talk about this stuff if it’s all the same to you!” growled Fiona as she glared down at the floor “It’s none of your damn business anyway!”

“ ... Uh, I don’t know if that’s true, Fiona?” mused Kianna as she looked at her sister “Even if he isn’t going to use it himself. You do still belong to him now, pussy and all. So anything that has to do with your pussy is kind of his business now”

Anton couldn’t help but to start chuckling at the direction Kianna’s logic had taken.

“Seriously Kianna!” growled Fiona as she glared at her sister “I fucking swear I’m gonna-!”

“Now, now! None of that!” teased Anton as he lifted the tray and held it out to Kianna “Patients aren’t allowed to threaten the nurses, Fiona!”

Kianna’s eyes went wide in excitement as she eagerly took hold of the offered tray and held it with both hands.

“I’m your nurse!” she exclaimed as she looked down at the items laid out across the tray “ ... What do I need to do!?”

“Just follow my instructions” explained Anton as he smiled at her enthusiasm “It’ll all be simple stuff”

“ ... Okay!” cried Kianna as she lowered her ears and continued to stare down at the tray “Go slow though, please! I’ve never done anything like this before! And I don’t wanna mess anything up!”

“Don’t worry. We aren’t going to do anything too complicated today!” laughed Anton as he reached out and tilted her chin up to have her look at him “We’re just going to poke and pinch your sister a little bit! And see what kind of funny noises we can get her to make!”

Kianna held her tongue between her teeth as a playfully wicked smile spread across her face.

“This is going to fun!” said Anton as they both slowly turned to Fiona “For us!”

The irritation quickly faded from Fiona’s face as she looked back and forth between their evil looking smiles. Her brow pinched itself in worry as she groaned nervously. Despite her previous attitude, she still couldn’t help but to flattened her ears back submissively once Anton began to move ominously towards her.

“We’ll be playing this by ear a bit, since there really isn’t any precedents for dark elves” mused Anton as he stopped just in front of Fiona and looked her up and down “I’ve got some working knowledge of elves in general, but from what I’ve been reading dark elves do seem to be pretty different from the other types”

“What, the Hell are you talking about!?” mumbled Fiona as she stared nervously at the tray of items in Kianna’s hands.

“I’m talking about your basic care” explained Anton “Since dark elves like you prefer to keep as much about themselves as secret as possible, and have never been kept as slaves before. There is no pool of knowledge to pull from when it comes to keeping your kind. In other words, I’m not really a hundred percent sure on how to recognize the differences between a healthy, or an unhealthy dark elf ... I don’t really know what signs I should be looking for...”

“She looks pretty healthy to me?” said Kianna as she peered at her sister’s face “And pissed off too!”

“You both do ... Look healthy I mean...” said Anton as he cradled his chin in his hand “But first appearances can be misleading. Especially when you don’t have much of anything to compare it to ... I do think you’re both very healthy looking, but there are a few things that still stand out...”

Kianna immediately turned to him and lowered her ears.