Alex smiled and hugged Tiff back and kissed her lips. He took his dear Neko into a hug after releasing Tiff and kissed her forehead lovingly. He then walked over to Lillia and hugged her as well, and kissed her love with just as much love and passion as he had kissed Tiff.
He looked at Melody and Sarah, and though he could guess why Melody was upset, he did not know about Sarah. He was just about to ask her, when Zane suddenly spoke. He did not know what to say, but luckily, D did.
"Now, now, Zane. You are injured, and the day is late. You need rest, and some food. Please, come with me and I shall help you."
Alex looked at his Master, worried for Zane, before noticing D's nod. D wouldn't try anything on Zane, at least now without Alex's agreement.
Zane seemed to think for a moment before nodding wearily and saying “Very well…I suppose that would be wise.” He would Give Tiff a kiss on the head and hugged her close, taking in her scent while he could before following D. Tiff watched as her brother left and then looked at her master after he was gone. “Y-You not going to hurt him are you master?” she asked, frightened for her sibling. She knew Alex had no plans to give her up to anyone.
Lillia seemed to understand this as well and seemed worried but said nothing. Neko, however, was oblivious to the whole thing and simply continued to hug her master, cuddling into him fiercely and holding him tightly. “Please master…he is my only family…can we at least hear why he wishes me? Maybe you can convince him to let me stay.” Tiff continued, looking down at her feet as she had been trained to by Arkurus, not daring to match her master’s gaze while she requested something of him.
Zane himself had good reason to want to bring Tiff back. The underground was in turmoil as a war over their considerable land raged on and on. Although Zane was still alive, he was male and only a female could lay claim to the land and settle the war. Some had come to kill Tiff, to make sure she never returned, while he came to retrieve his long lost sister, deliver her from slavery, and place her on the throne that was her birth right. He would explain as much to D and Alex and Tiff…if he was ever given the chance to.
"We will hear him out," Alex promised, petting her head. "I promise, my love."
D had led Zane to a bedroom, where there was a bed, and a floating platform that had plenty of food for the elf. "Rest. If you need anything just yell," the wizard said as he walked off, leaving the elf on the bed, with the floating platform of food in his reach.
D soon returned and he was quick to say something. "Your life is truly hell, isn't it, Alex?" he laughed.
"D..."
"A lot has happened. You're weakened right now. I know. Perfect time to finish your training."
"...What?" Alex gasped as he looked at his master.
"Your training. I can tell you're going to need help, and I sure as hell ain't going with you. I've had enough madness today. You're on your own," D said. He then looked at Tiff, Lillia, and the others. "You're an important part of this. If you truly love Alex, then it shouldn't be a problem."
Alex glared at D, before looking at his girls, comforting if they were afraid of D's words. Honestly, Alex was just as scared, maybe more. He remembered the pain D sent him through....If this was supposed to be some final test, it wouldn't be easy.
Lillia shivered, as did Tiff, who hugged her master close to her. Neko remained oblivious, as did Melody. "What?! Wait, how are we part of this?" Sarah asked, fear dripping in her every word. "W-We saw what Alex had to go through to get to where he is now...I thought that the training had ended." All of them shared her fears and concerns, both for Alex and themsleves.
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(What happened to hoods?)
Hoods created a dozen orbs, and then a dozen clones of himself. Going at a dozen at a time, he would ask a slave to enter an orb with him, or one of his clones. Inside, Hoods or his clone would ask the slave a series of questions. He needed to know their minds, understand how they think, and how they would think. Hoods was smart, and cunning, and he was good at reading emotions, even hidden ones. Some of the questions he asked were....
Did they have any living friends or family outside of slavery?
How long had they been under Arkurus' ownership?
Could they imagine life without a Master?
If Arkurus told you to serve another, would you serve that other faithfully?
Did they want freedom?
All of these questions would result in his choice of letting them free or not. While some wanted freedom, and Hoods would allow them, other minds just weren't able to let them live in the outside world.
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"Calm down! I ain't going to hurt none of you....Not physically at least," D said. "This is Alex's final test. Once it is done, he will truly be the Master of Magic. But he must pass it, and you are a part of it. A very important part....You may want to leave her," the master said, pointing at Neko. "It might be a little much....Then again, her pure, innocent love could be a deciding factor. Her you'll definitely want to leave," he pointed at Melody, and then pointed at Sarah. "You don't really love my apprentice, so you can choose to go or not."
"D....They are not a part of-"
"That's...where you are wrong. They are an important part of this...Now come on, or I'll torture them instead."
Alex quickly pulled away from his girls, and he stared at each of them lovingly, before following D outside the door. "I'll be back, in fifteen minutes. Read a book while we're gone or something," D said as the door closed behind them.
For fifteen minutes, the girls would wait. They would hear nothing, only silence. They were all alone in the library, and for fifteen minutes, Alex and D were gone. What they did in the fifteen minutes was up to do.
In the closing seconds of those fifteen minutes, it happened. A horrible, bloodcurdling scream. A scream of pure pain, that could only be heard in the library. The voice was unmistakable. It was Alex's voice. He was screaming in pain.
The door then opened, and D stood there, with a blank expression on his face. "Coming?"
It was up to the girls to pick who would go to see their tortured Master.
Hoods would find that many of the girls were to damaged to be released. Many answered the questions out of fear of punishment, constantly flinching away from him and expecting pain. Others refused to answer him, asking instead of Arkurus, hoping to make amends for leaving his mansion without permission. And then there were the truly sad cases, those that desired freedom, but were not in any state to have it. Many of these were previous mages and preistesess who had been severed from magic and power, leaving them without the skill to survive on their own, while others were to weak and naive to live outside the care of a master. If released, these girls would die or simply be reenslaved if not taken care of by someone, and there were few who were willing to taken in and heal these poor elves. In the end, only a few were truly fit to leave, but Hoods would decide who left and who stayed.
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As the scream filled the room, Tiff and Lillia ran towards it without having to think, dashing in to save their master. Neko followed, slower since she was so small and fragile. Sarah hesitated, wanting to go help he who saved her from so much...but she didnt want to make this worse for him, and from the sounds of it she would need a strong enotional tie to him, one that all three of the previous girls had and one that she had yet to establish.
(What happened to Rose I wonder...)
((......As do I....))
D stood in their way, and looked at them. "...I warn you....it won't be a pretty sight," the man said as he blocked them. If they were sure about going in, he would sigh and move out of the way, and when the girls exited the room, they would find a white door on their right. There was blood on that door. It was the one Alex was behind...
When the door was opened, the girls would find....it.
On the ground laid a man, an old one. His body was wrinkled and aged far, far beyond his prime. His body was weak, almost skeletal in fact. He was naked, and shivering slightly. Soon the full extent of this man's body was seen. His hands were gone, and in their place were stubs. It was as though some mad animal had bit his hands and tore them off...
There were cuts and scratches all over his body, fresh ones two. A closer inspection of his head revealed a few remaining strands of hair. All the others had been ripped off, right from his head. There were more claw marks, deeper ones around his head, as though someone had tried to open his skull and mess with his mind. Finally, the girl's would find the man lacked a penis... It had been ripped right off, balls and all.
The man was muttering things under his breath, and his body would twitch every few seconds or so. He was a mess, a horrible broken shell of whoever he once was.
"Pathetic....weak.....disgusting," D's voice said. "How can anyone love such a thing? Can you love such a thing?"
It would have hit each girl, though who it hit first was unknown....This....thing....this ugly, old, and dumb man is.....was....their Master....It was Alex....
Tiff was the first to hear, and the last to react. For a time she simply stared at her master, dumb struck, completely at a loss. Finally, however, when the full realization did dawn on her, her reaction would be unmistakeable. She fell to knees, losing all her strength, and began to cry. She crawled up next to him and hugged him close to her breasts, stroking his face and trying to comfort him. Neko reacted faster, but much to the same effect, hugging Alex as tightly as her small body would allow, burrying her face in his chest and crying there, her weak healing powers sinking into jhhim but doing little and exaughsting her quickly.
Lillia simply stood there for many moments, morning her master's pain and allowing the other two their time with him. "This...This is a test right? Its not...it cant be permanent...right?" If she was answered or felt that it would be she would sigh and remain where she was. She would allow Tiff and Neko some time with him...and then grant him the only mercy she knew. She would crouch down, kiss his lips, and as she did, snap his neck, painlessly and quickly killing him. Tiff would do the same, though not before many hours passed. It was a dark elf mercy, a quick, painless death...it was all they could give their poor master, who had everything already but this final mercy.
"That, relies on you. You see, I have broken Alex. Left him a shell of his former self. He should be killed, in an act of mercy....But....love is powerful," the voice said. "Love can heal, even the worst of pains...Love can be a source of strength, of will. I will soon enter the room. If your love for Alex has given him enough strength to stand, then he is truly worthy to be the Master of Magic. If he does not rise, when I enter the room....He will die...as will all of you...." the voice warned. "Only your love can help him now....If your love is strong enough, he will rise....But you must show him your love. I have taken from him, his magic, most of his mind, his sexual prowess, and have made his worst fear real. It is up to you....Is your love strong enough to help this withered being rise?"
"Tiff....Lillia....Neko....Sarah....I'm sorry.....I couldn't save you......I'm sorry.....I couldn't save you.....Tiff....Lillia....Neko....Sarah.....I'm sorry.....I couldn't save you....I'm sorry....I couldn't save you...."
Alex's worst nightmare, his fear, was the death of his slaves. His family. The ones he loved....
It was up to the girls now. If they could still love him, convince him to forgive himself, to be strong, to stand against D, their Master would return. The question was...could they?
Neko understood nothing and merely continued to beg her master to get better, holding herself close to him. Her Tattoo was glowing vut she ignored it and continued to pray and plead for Alex to get better. Tiff hugged him even tighter and cried into his shoulder, kissing him and trying to rouse him from his stupor. Lillia joined her on Alex's other side. "Please master...Dont leave us..." she begged him, genuine tears gathering in her eyes. Tiff promised him everything, did all she could, as did the other two, but they had very little in ways of expressing their love anymore than they already had, they could only give him so much.