This is a one-on-one role-play between myself and Typically Untypical. You are welcome to read along though if you find it interesting.

~Name~
Aria Calder

~Age~
20

~Gender~
Female

~Likes~
Learning how to take on the family name
Sitting by the fish pond
Listening and playing music

~Dislikes~
Wasting her time
Following orders blindly
Unnecessary rules

~Biography~
Aria's father had recently led a battalion that went undefeated in the last war, this gave the Calder's a greater reputation. One that Aria now would have to live up to. Aria is an only child as her mother had passed away while she was young. Her father hadn't taken it well as he did want a son but as Aria grew she her father began to warm to the idea that she was capable of taking on the family name. Although this was before the war Aria worked hard to live up to her fathers ideas but always questioned him on his decisions when she didn't agree with them.

After the war however her father began putting more pressure on her to be better. He began to notice that she would drift off when he went on about the war. It was a topic however that she cared not to listen to, to her it didn't make sense, but in today's society it was something she has to live with. This is where she currently stands and this is where she begins to learn how to be her own person instead of trying to live up to ideas.

One thing that humans seem to always want, is power. Power to protect their loved ones, power to take what they want and most importantly power to concur those who are weaker then them. Many mystical species fell into that category, nymphs, fairies, and more recently elves. All these creatures had been thrown into slavery, traded like trophies to those who had money, but elves weren’t meant to be in cages. Few had a spirit strong enough to withstand the cages and the beatings. Mitch was not one of those elves. Mitch had a strong spirit and a strong reason to keep living, to try to escape. Five times Mitch had escaped from the slave market, and five times been captured again. Masters were excited to take on this rebellious slave that they thought they could break and tear apart, but Mitch proved to be to much of a challenge. Two masters had died at the elf’s hand. Somehow they still decided to try to make a profit off of Mitch, rather then burning and killing the rat they simply took extra precautions.

The guards had Mitch in suspended animation, frozen halfway in a fight, forced to hold that position until someone else got brave enough to take the murderous elf. Mitch was visible to anyone who came looking, a glass wall making up one side of the cage. Long blonde hair was tossed up into the wind, pointed ears pierced with several rhinestone piercing, bruises cuts and scars all over the visible parts of an otherwise cream white body; in Mitch’s eyes was a look of determination cast in bright blue, bright like the ocean, an ocean on fire.

The market was hidden in a back corner of town, not that the place was illegal but a lot of people still found it unsavory. They liked to ignore that sentient beings were being treated like common animals. In order to get to the market one had to go to the roughest part of town, but upon entering the building it was beautiful and well kept, just the the reception room of a spa. A woman sat at the counter with a stack of files humming to herself as she shuffled through them. They didn’t get masters coming in often, but there was always a friendly face there incase one came by.

Aria sat in the back of the car staring out the dark tinted window. They were currently driving towards the far end of town and it was beginning to look a little rough outside. Leaning back in her seat she turned to Rex, her “protector” as her dad like to call him.

“I don’t understand why he thinks this will help in anyway.” Aria complained, Rex gave a half smirk “Now Miss Calder, you know your father is only trying to help you become better.” Aria rolled her eyes, “That doesn’t mean that I should own another living being. I could get a dog or a cat and it would give the same results.” Rex chuckled lightly at the comment saying, “I don’t believe so Miss, animals pose no resistance, whereas sometimes other beings will. Besides these creatures are lesser beings they are like animals.” Aria scrunched up her nose a little and turned back to the window, she didn’t like the idea of that, she had read history books and it wasn’t always like this, she just didn’t understand how it could switch so quickly. Rex sighed a little “Miss you really need to stop reading history books, times are changing and so must you. Your father is a great example of how society is changing and all he wants is for you to take on his role when he is gone. You have always seemed so keen on this idea so I don’t understand why this lesson is so difficult for you.” Aria continued to stare out the window, “I don’t see how owning another being with teach me how to be a commanding yet respected person. There must be many more ways to go about doing this”. Aria felt the car slowing to a stop and looked at the buildings around them, it all still looked like the rough part of town, and there was no indication really as to what building the market was in.

Rex had already gotten out of his side of the car and was now opening the door for Aria, “Now stay close Miss”. Aria glared up at him while she got out saying “All this training and yet I’m still made to go out like a child”. Rex chuckled “Miss, I know full well that you can take care of yourself but this is only to protect your image and your father’s sanity.” Aria smiled saying “As long as we are both on the same page Rex that is all I care about.” Rex rolled his eyes and began walking to the market building, “Just follow me”. Aria blinked for a moment before moving quickly to catch up to him in order to walk beside him to the door. Rex held the door open for her and she quickly moved inside, she was a little caught up by the interior of the building. It didn’t match the exterior at all, if she didn’t know any better she would step outside again to find herself in the better part of the town. She was looking around as Rex walked up to the counter where a woman sat humming and going through the papers.

Clearing his throat he said “Excuse me for interrupting, but Miss Calder is looking for a slave today and I was wondering if per chance you could provide us with help.” Aria by this point had joined Rex at the counter and smiled at the woman. The woman behind the counter blinked for a moment before asking “Is there a specific type you are looking for today?” Aria began to open her mouth when Rex stepped in saying “By request of her father, she is to obtain one that requires a little bit more training.” Aria closed her mouth before looking at the woman again, Rex wasn’t wrong but she didn’t necessarily agree with it. The woman nodded before picking up a stack of papers and standing saying “If you follow me, we can head back to the cages”, and started walking away. Rex turned to Aria before saying “After you”; Aria then began following the woman with Rex not too far behind her.

They visited many cages where the woman would stop and explain some information about the creature that was inside of it. All so far had not really interested Aria, she could tell that the being had already been well defeated and it hurt her more to see it. By this time Rex could see that they had almost finished off the stack of papers turned to Aria saying “Please just pick one; I don’t think your father will be too impressed if you don’t go home with one today.” Aria sighed saying “I know, I’m just looking for the right one.” They moved onto the next cage and Aria looked at the being and saw how broken it was before she just tuned out what the woman was saying. Out of the corner of her eye however she saw what appeared to be a floating elf. The woman however distracted her by asking “Would you like this pet?” Aria looked at the being in the cage again and said “No thank you”. They began walking again but instead of following the woman Aria walked over to the cage with the floating elf. She looked at the being, she didn’t know why but she felt drawn to the being. Rex took notice that Aria wasn’t following and stopped moving which caused the woman to also stop moving.

Rex began walking over to Aria saying “Why have you stopped here Miss?” the woman followed Rex over to Aria. Hearing Rex’s question she turned to him tucked a piece of hair behind her right ear and moved her long blue cloak off to the side before she placed her left hand on her hip before saying “Because Rex, I am interested in this one.” Turning to the woman Aria smiled before saying “Can you tell me more about this one?” Rex knew that stance anywhere, Aria was determined meaning this was probably the one she was going to walk away with, all he could do at this point was hope that whatever the woman said wasn’t to bad.

The woman looked at Mitch and frowned. “Really Miss, there are so many others that we can show you this one is… unstable at best. The first two masters went unharmed but the third and fourth ended up dead and the last two both were in the hospital for a few months. This elf isn’t to be taken lightly and you have so much life to look forward to.” She smiled kindly. “Our guards will occasionally wake them up and try to beat some of the spirit out of this one but they haven’t broken so far and it’s rather frightening. In fact I believe this is the longest I’ve heard of an elf surviving in captivity. 10 years if I remember correctly.” She went to look at the chart posted by Mitch’s cell and nodded. “Yep, 10 years.” That meant Mitch had been captured during the last raid of the Forest Wars, probably during the Valley of Death Battle. It was a last stance of the elves against the humans and the battle had been overwhelming. The human battalions had burned down the forest in that area and since then not a single thing had grown, it was a barren wasteland of ash and soot.

The receptionist looked to Rex for help, this really was not the right slave for a young lady. It was the type of slave that should have been executed a long time ago but had proven to be to entertaining to actually let go of just yet.

Once the woman began explaining more about the elf it the cage Aria turned back towards it to study him a bit more. She nodded once every so often while she thought, sure there is always a risk in owning another being but to her this one didn’t look beaten or broken. It gave her a sense of relief, well until she heard that they periodically woke him up to try and beat his spirit out of him at that she scrunched up her nose a little. Elves were supposedly peaceful beings historically; it didn’t make sense to just go about beating them, if anything that makes matters worse. When the woman was done explaining about the elf Aria was still deep in thought about the possibilities; however her mind was made up.

Rex on the other hand had paled when he heard about the elf’s past; he didn’t think that Aria’s father would be too impressed about her bringing this type of creature home. See that the receptionist was now look at him he stepped to Aria’s side saying “Miss, I don’t think that your father would approve, it is a dangerous creature by the sounds of it and at the thought of losing you due to this choice he could put more limitations on you than you already have.” Aria turned to Rex with a glint in her eye, “Rex, he wishes for me to learn and by taking one that is already beaten I feel that I will learn nothing. Hence it’s either all in or nothing at all.” Rex sighed “I was afraid you were going to say that. You are just like your father…. Its just neither of you see it.” Aria glared at him, “I am not like my father I am striving to be better than him in all possible ways.” Aria turned to the woman again smiling brightly “I will take this one I feel like he will be a great fit for me.” Rex turned to the woman as well saying “Might as well get on with it, she has made up her mind and she will not change it unfortunately.” He looked back over his shoulder feeling that this could be a rather large mistake. Aria however, was excited; this was the only being that she had looked at that seemed to captivate her. She didn’t know why but she wanted to find out and the only way to do that was to select him.

She had been afraid of that, a slight frown came to her face. “Very well then, if this is the one that you want.” She looked back at Mitch, “Let’s go back to the office and we shall discuss payment, then I will have it brought up brought up and you can take it home.” The woman said, “Also we have wavers and such things I must have you sign stating that we are not responsible for any injure you sustain due to the slave you have bought.” She ushered Aria to follow her and snapped at a guard who nodded and walked off to prepare to release Mitch. She didn’t like this at all.

Before they left there area one of the guard screamed and another one shouted "amp up the voltage, don’t let him sing.” There had been a collar around Mitch’s neck, it was a shock collard that was constantly providing electric shocks to the neck and vocal cords, making it nearly impossible to talk much less sing, though it was a curious comment in it’s own right. That was all they heard before the receptionist quickly shut the door, frowning as she looked at Aria. “If you are still sure hun.” She said, walking over to the desk and pulling out all of the forms. “Then I just need you to sign these four forms, and pay the amount specified at the bottom of this page.” It seemed the woman genuinely did not want Aria to take Mitch. She did not want to see this young girl’s corpse on the news.

Aria had followed the woman out with Rex at her side only looking back when she heard the guards shouting about additional voltage. With that she cringed as the door was closed, Rex noticed her look before saying “Miss, I know what you are trying to do just please take in what this woman is telling you. You can still back out and we can pick another one, possibly a more suitable one for you.” Aria looked at Rex and hardened her look stating “I know what I am doing and I want this one Rex, I am not changing my mind.”

Turning to the woman who had by now taken out four papers Aria walked up and picked up the pen. She took note of the woman’s look and smiled saying “I am plenty sure”, she got the feeling that the woman didn’t want her to take the elf but that just pushed her even more into getting him. She needed to prove to everyone that she was not a fragile little flower, she was to be the next Calder and she needed people to see that. Aria signed the four forms after briefly scanning them all, she knew the risks but she also knew that it was a risk that she had to take. Considering that she had originally not wanted to own another living being when she got there earlier to now fearlessly signing the papers for one she had realised that she was sick of people looking down on her and questioning her. With that she took out and cheque and wrote out the amount and signed it before passing it to the woman with all the forms.

Aria looked at Rex one last time and saw that he had a very confused look; he was probably trying to process what she had already discovered today. Turning back to the woman again Aria asked “The guard was yelling about voltage and singing, is there a reason for that or is it just because you are afraid of him?” It was a genuine question in her mind, the elf looked fierce in the cage, yes, but he was also frozen. To her she believed that the elf was truly not like that and he was just acting like an animal that had been backed into a corner, primal skills take over at that point and the options are flee or fight. She was going to be different at least that is what she hoped.

At first she looked confused, but then she realized she had not explained it to Aria. “Elves have, among their natural powers, a secondary power unique to their personality. This elf is able to sing and influence people’s thoughts and emotions. Though I said the first to masters were unharmed that isn’t 100% true, the second master was put to sleep by the elf’s spell and still didn’t wake for 3 years.” She gathered the papers together. “It seems that we underestimated just how powerful elves could be at first but we are doing our best not to make that mistake again. We used a collar that uses a mix for electrical pulses and sonic waves to disable the vocal cords, but it has proved to be less effective then we hoped. The slave seems to be getting used to the electricity and fighting against it.” She said again watching Aria.

There was a knock on the door and it opened to show two guards dragging Mitch in but a chain linked to the electric collar. Mitch was fighting hard against it, until fierce blue eyes noticed Aria, then Mitch stopped. What the hell? Was this a joke? They were going to have a woman be the new master? Mitch grimaced, looking at her before pulling at the chain once more, only to be kicked in the back of the knee and forced to kneel in front of Aria. “Well… here you go.” The receptionist still seemed reluctant to let Aria take Mitch, but she had no choice. Aria had paid and now it was out of her hands.

Aria stood listening to the woman, she knew about elves natural powers but the secondary powers were new to her. Hearing what the elf she just purchased could do, she just nodded and smiled saying “Thank you that is very good to know. I’ll make sure that I watch out for that carefully.” Aria wasn’t all to pleased about their solution but she couldn’t really say anything about. Rex on the other hand had once again paled, there was just more and more that he was figuring out about this creature, and it was all just a little too late. His biggest fear now would be what Aria’s father thought of the creature she had chosen and what would happen to him if Aria was harmed in any way.

When the door open Aria looked over and watched as the two guards pulled the elf into the room, her eyes open in awe when she saw him and she smiled. She noticed that he had stopped moving at one point and looked at his face to see that he was looking at her with fierce blue eye. She was taken aback by how beautiful they looked even when he was trying to fight. She then watched as he quickly forced to the ground and heard someone saying ‘here you go’, that is when her eyes shifted and her glare hardened saying “Do not harm him, he is my property, and with that I get to decide what is just.” Rex placed a hand on Aria shoulder causing her to turn a little, “We should probably head home now Miss, don’t want to keep your father waiting any longer.” Aria smiled before turning to the woman once more to say “Thank you, very much for all your help today, I really do appreciate it.” Rex took the chain before saying “I will take him to the car now Miss.” He then proceeded to pull the elf up and towards the door. Aria was close behind him, “Rex, he is my responsibility I think that I should do this.” Rex sighed, “Miss I would at least like to do this until we get back to the house where I know it will be safer for you.” Aria rolled her eyes.

When they made it to the car Ari opened the door and Rex shoved the elf into the back and onto the floor, he was also about to climb in when Aria grabbed his arm. “Rex, he is mine, I will not have you or anybody else harming what is mine. I would also like to request at this time that you sit up front with the driver so that I can just sit with him on my own.” Rex was shocked, “Miss I cannot…”, Aria interrupted him by saying “Rex, hat is an order, we are in a car… there is really not much that can be done, besides look at the chains on the elf.” Rex looked defeated “Miss please just…”, “No” Aria interrupted once again. Aria then proceeded to climb into the back and Rex closed the door and moved to the front to sit with the driver.

Aria picked up the chain a little and motioned for the elf to sit on the seat across from her. She then let go of the chain and smiled a little at the elf. By now the car was in motion and they were headed back to the Calder estates. After a few moments of silence and of Aria looking at the elf in amazement she said “I am terribly sorry about that collar they make you wear, it sounds absolutely awful what it does to you. They only briefly explained to me what it does, so I understand that you can’t really talk, I do hope that sooner or later I will be able to remove it for you.” She took a pause “For now I guess I can tell you who I am. My name is Aria Calder and I am to be your new master, I am daughter of Lord Calder who is a highly recognized figure in our society. Considering I am the only child I have to take on the family name which includes training, and that is where you take a role in my life. According to my father I am supposed to learn how to commanding and respected person.” By now she felt a little silly, she knew that she wouldn’t get a response from him but she felt that it was necessary to tell him why she had chosen him.

There was so much more that they didn’t know about elves because they were treated as lesser and not as equals. There was a lot elves could probably teach the humans but their numbers were dwindling fast, and without the main magic users of the forest, the forests had started becoming lifeless. It was only a matter of time before the werewolves were attacked and captured as well. These were just some of the thoughts that had gone through Mitch’s mind as the receptionist handed over the chains to Aria. A long time ago elves and humans had been friends, but Mitch no longer saw that as a possibility. It was so hard to believe that there were any good humans left.

As Aria spoke a smirk came to Mitch’s face. This girl was playing all high and mighty, saying ‘MY property and MY responsibility’, she didn’t understand the situation she was putting herself in, but for now Mitch wouldn’t make a move. It was to difficult to do anything will all of the bindings and like normal it would be best to place docile for a little bit, plotting the best way to escape. Reluctantly Mitch followed Aria, being shoved into the car but not before bringing a leg up and hitting Rex square in the groin, face landing hard on the floor of the car. It hurt like hell, connecting that hard with the floor. Everything normally hurt more the first few days after they amped up the voltage, it was like electricity got shot down to whatever place was touched, but Mitch could manage.

Aria was strange though, getting in and telling Mitch to have a seat. Most masters reveled in seeing Mitch squirm on the ground like a worm but she was offering a seat, a gesture usually reserved for those of equal status. Though slightly confused Mitch did slowly stand up and sit down, though even sitting in the car it was evident just how tall elves were, and Mitch was on the short side. What also became evident, as the car lurched a little, starting it’s movement, was that elves were not meant for motor vehicles. Mitch had paled in color, eyes losing their fight as slender fingers fought against the chains, trying to make it to Mitch’s thin pale lips. This would not be the best time to be puking all over the car. The collar would make it hurt 1000 times more then normal. By this point, Mitch was not listening to her explanation.

Aria had not noticed that the elf had kicked Rex, but Rex was still feeling it. He was just hoping that Aria was alright in the back. He didn’t hear any commotion but that didn’t mean much in his books. He knew that he would have to watch out for Aria during this lesson. He sighed, a little, why couldn’t she just pick a simpler slave, one that had already been broken. It sure would have made his job a lot easier.

Aria continued to look at the elf, he had seemed to have paled and was trying to do something with his hands. It took her a moment to realize what he was attempting to do but she quickly reached into the pocket beside the seat and took out a pill container. She opened it and tipped out two little pink tablets and held them closer to his mouth saying “Here take these, they help with motion sickness. The main ingredient of these ones is dimenhydrinate and ginger, which helps prevent nausea. We always keep them in the cars, I’m not very good with motion either.” She waited to see if he would take them smiling softly, she would understand though if he refused, she had no idea what they did to him. Nor what his trust levels were like, but she wanted to help him not hurt him, to her respect and trust was earned not freely given. She sighed a little saying “I know there are plenty reasons for you not to trust me but you look like you are in pain and I only would like to help, and I promise the only major side effects that you have to worry about with this is dry mouth.”

During these moments while she waited for him to take the tablets, she finally took in how large that he was, sitting down he appeared to tower over her. To her it was unnatural but at the same time astounding, she had always wanted to learn more about the different species and now she felt like she had an excuse. Well at lease one that her father would buy into, he didn’t like the idea of learning about other species and their histories, but maybe just maybe now she would be able to.

What were this girl’s intentions? Was she really being nice to be nice or did she had ulterior motives? Mitch watched her, initially refusing the medicine, but she didn’t seem to be lying. Hesitantly Mitch took and swallowed the tablets this woman was giving. At first the assault of chemicals was enough to make Mitch wince but slowly the taste of ginger came out and it was just enough to help Mitch force down the pills. They didn’t work instantly and at first Mitch grew queazier rather then better, but slowly the medicine took affect and a very weak, pained voice, struggling against the cage of electricity whispered. “Why?” It was barely audible over the normal sounds of the car but it was still there, a question over her motivation and reasoning.

Mitch was sure that not all humans were evil, but all masters might as well be. There had not been one who had not tried to hurt Mitch in every way possible, and the elf was tired of being a punching bag. More importantly though, Mitch had things to do, and those things could not be done in the confines of a cell or a collar.

Aria watched as the elf appeared to refuse them at first and was a little disappointed, she knew why he would refuse though and knew that it couldn’t be helped yet. However when he did take the tablets she smiled, well at least until she saw him wince and then she panicked a little she didn’t mean to hurt him. She was about to say something when she heard his weak pained voice, it hurt her to hear his voice, knowing what the collar around his neck was doing to him. At that moment she wanted to do something to lessen the pain but she didn’t want to make any quick movements as she didn’t want to risk scaring him.

He had asked ‘why’ to which Aria assumed he must be asking why she was helping him. She thought about it for a moment before saying “It’s the right thing to do.” She intertwined her fingers in her lap before saying “This morning I despised the idea of owning another being, but my father wants me to learn a lesson and thinks that this is the way about going about it.” She paused “Yes, I do want to learn the lesson my father wants me to learn but I am going to learn it on my own terms. I saw how broken every single being kept in those cages were, and it made me sick. You on the other hand weren’t, it gave me the feeling of hope, or at least a chance to help.” She looked up at him before saying “I’ve read a lot of history books, my mother kept them so that she could fill her time with something. I know about the natural powers, though I have to admit that your singing power never came up in the books.” She paused before saying “I’m going to turn down the voltage on your collar… I know about your track record but I want to believe that it was in self-defence.”

Aria slowly stood up and sat beside him saying “That and I can’t stand too watch another being in pain over a gift they possess.” From there Aria looked closer at the collar and noticed that there was a panel at the back with a menu on it. Aria selected the voltage setting and lowered it setting by two levels. She then moved back to her side of the car and asked “Does that feel better?”

Finally it didn’t feel like this roller coaster of a ride was going to make Mitch sick. It was much easier to listen to Aria’s explanation now and that was exactly what Mitch did, watching her carefully, listening to what she had to say. When she reached forward to reduce the voltage Mitch did flinch a little but allowed her to do it and immediately the relief was obvious. “You are taking quiet the chance on a maybe.”

Still with a soft voice, still unable to say much without it hurting, but it was much easier to speak. Singing would still be out of the question though. “After all, you said you have read the history books. You know how my people were decimated. What if I just want revenge for my family and friends that were all killed?” Mitch asked, coughing. That had hurt a bit more then Mitch had wanted, but there wasn’t a point in saying something if you weren’t going to say it right. Shifting in the car Mitch tried to get comfortable, as much as the chains would allow.

Aria smiled saying “It is a chance I am more than willing to take. I was drawn to you for a reason, and you don’t really seem like a being of ill intent.” She paused noticing him cough a little and shift around. She looked out the window to her left saying “We should be getting to the house soon,” more to herself then to anyone else. She had no idea how her father would react to the slave she had obtained; she just hoped that Rex didn’t tell her father to much about him.

Continuing to look out the she said “I know I’ve read the books, but I can’t help the feeling that they are missing something. I mean the book was written by my species there are bound to be over glorifications and major details left out. Take for instance; you said that your people were decimated. It never says that in the book just that your species is very hard to come by and they say the reason is due to your natural abilities.” She tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear “I mean, I remember my mom would point out things that were wrong with the books, like she had lived through them and knew that the book was lying.”

The limo turned into a forested area with large iron gates that held the insignia of her family in the middle of it. The driver buzzed in and the gates slowly creaked open, and the car began to drive up the long gravel driveway that was shaded by overlapping trees on either side of the way. Aria smiled a little saying “It will be another five minutes until we reach the house, then I will give you a tour. We will probably start with the inside as father will want to see you.”

Mitch looked to the window whispering, “the forest” it was so sad to see the forest in this state, the loss of life made it look desolate and empty, it broke Mitch’s heart and it showed, but Mitch hid the expression as quick as was possible. Turning back to Aria, Mitch continued. “History is written by the winner, but the winning side is not always the right side. In fact, often it’s not.” It was hard to not want to talk, finally there was some one of intelligence not blinded by their own bias. It was nice to talk to someone like that.

It would be a shame to leave her behind but it wasn’t possible to stay a slave. Mitch just couldn’t handle that fate. Again the elf pulled against the chains, they weren’t very comfortable. Mitch looked up at Aria, “I don’t believe I caught your name. I assume by now you know my own name.” Again Mitch coughed, this damn collar was getting very irritating, Mitch couldn’t even reach up to make it feel looser. It wasn’t the ideal situation but so far this had been much better then any other master. Mitch really couldn’t complain about the circumstances. The car lurched to a stop. Apparently they were here.

Aria listened to what Mitch was saying and smirked a little saying “My mother used to say that a lot.” Hearing him ask what her name was Aria turned back to Mitch and smiled saying “My name is Aria.” She paused “There was a name on the papers that I signed; I believe that they said Mitch? Is that your real name or one that they gave you?” She didn’t really want to call him anything that he didn’t want to be called.

When the car lurched to a stop Aria looked out her window at her home, and slowly moved over to the door where Rex was already opening it. Aria smiled at Mitch saying “Alright we are here”, she picked up the chain that was attached to him to at least take some of the weight of it and climbed out. Rex did a once over fairly quickly, just to make sure she was fine. Aria seeing him smiled before saying “See Rex, I am just fine. Nothing to worry about.” Rex sighed “Miss, this was one time, I won’t leave you alone with him again.” He held out his hand saying “Now if I may.” Aria glared at him “Rex, you walked him to the car it is my turn.” “Now Miss, please be rational here I…” “REX, I am fine doing this myself!” her eye began to glow slightly red. Rex gulped a little before saying “Yes, Miss” then began walking towards the door.

At the same time a butler was walking out towards Aria and Rex and noticed Rex’s face before stopping in front of Aria saying “Good afternoon Miss, I was to inform you that your father has gone away for a short trip to talk with the other lords and he should return in about a day or two.” Aria noticeable relaxed a little at this and smiled saying “Thank you Charlie.” When Charlie walked away Aria turned to Mitch and smiled saying “At least you won’t have to meet my father for a while. I guess we can head inside now and I can give you the tour. Once inside I will take off some of these chains, they really are annoying.” And she began to walk towards the door.

“Your mother sounds like a smart woman.” Mitch stretched again as best possible. “I respect you thus far, but I hope you understand that doesn’t mean I am going to stop trying to escape elves were not meant for cages.” With that Mitch began to get out of the car as Aria held the chain. "Mitch is the name that I chose for myself." That was the last Mitch said before Rex ran up to them. Aria and Rex bantered, and Mitch decided it was probably best not to talk in front of Rex. Both to make sure Rex didn’t feel Mitch was anymore of a threat and so that Rex didn’t get mad at Aria for turning down the voice collar.

It was a large house but not as large as some of the other houses that Mitch had been forced to inhabit, and there was a forest here. It was so nice to see such a large amount of nature, but Mitch was led into the house and away from nature. There were servants and such around and it was interesting to watch but Mitch was more interested in hearing about her father. It wasn’t quiet obvious what this man was about, but Aria seemed to talk more fondly about her mother then about her father. As she spoke to Mitch again, Mitch carefully nodded. It would be nice to be able to move again.

Rex had made it into the house before Aria and Mitch and had told majority of the staff to mill about while Aria was giving the tour. He had seen how mad she had gotten and wasn’t about to step close to that again. He knew that he had to be careful about not making her mad; it’s just that the girl was not one for unnecessary things and he was still trying to learn how to deal with the girl. He made his way to their security room and the first thing he did was put up the perimeter barrier. If somehow that elf hurt Aria and got away he was going to ensure that the elf couldn’t get away with it. The barriers were designed to keep lesser beings from passing through meaning either in or out. It had been implemented after Aria’s fathers last battle, he did not want anything harming Aria now that his title had changed. From here he would watch the cameras.

Aria had thought about what Mitch had said before they got out of the car while they walked to the house. Once inside Aria turned to Mitch and said “We will be starting in the left wing; that is where you will be staying so I will take the chains off once we get to your room.” Before they left the hall however one of the servants came up and took Aria’s cloak revealing her fitted blue dress with silver embroidery. From there she began walking to the left door way which was nestled under the split stair case. Looking over her shoulder she smiled saying “In my opinion no living being should be kept in a cage. So you are staying in a room. Of course my father made sure that it was locked from the outside but I do hope that it better than a cage.” She knew that Mitch would still want to escape, well at least with his track record the only thing that she could do was be prepared for it. She paused in front of the doorway under the stairs saying “Can you please just wait until my father sees you so that he doesn’t think I bailed on his whole lesson thing? I know it’s weird for me to ask, but it will only be a day or two and maybe you will like it here.” She smiled before walking through the door saying “Better keep moving Rex is probably watching. Anyways the left wing is dedicated to the servants, the kitchen, the laundry, and all other prep rooms.” She paused “Kitchen and prep rooms are on this floor, laundry is downstairs and the living quarters are upstairs, and I will take you to the kitchen after we get your chains off.”

From there Aria turned to the smaller set of stair cases and began to walk up them, making sure not to pull too much that would cause Mitch to fall. Aria then turned again and began to walk down a long hallway. “I am sorry about the long walk but your room is the one on the very end as it was the only empty room that we had left up here.” Once they got to the last room Aria took a key card from her pocket and swiped the card to unlock the door. She opened the door then proceeded to walk in closing it again behind them.

The room was simple, it had a single bed with a pillow and a thin blanket neatly laid out on it and a thick folded blanket at the foot of the bed. There was also, a desk and chair, a wardrobe and a door to the left and a window with bars over at the far side of the room. Aria half smiled saying ”Since my dad made it a locking room the door to your left is a bathroom, nothing really fancy but it has everything you need in it. The window does open still the bars are just there to make sure you can’t get out… and in the wardrobe there should be about 2 weeks’ worth of clothing.” She paused “The family colour is blue so the shirts will probably be varying shades of blue, the bottoms will probably all be tan in colour and you will probably find a tan pair of shoes in there as well.”

Turning back to Mitch she smiled saying “Alright now just stand still while I take the chains off and then we can go tour the rest of the place” With that Aria went to work on taking all the Chains off except the one that was attached to the collar. When she was done she said “I’m just going to leave that one so Rex doesn’t get too mad about me removing the rest of them.” She paused before saying “You said you chose your own name, were you not born with one or is that what your species do?”

“That dress is very beautiful on you.” Mitch said softly, “And a house, even as luxurious as this is still a cage in it’s own.” Mitch walked close to her the whole time, not speaking much as the collar still hurt, but still attentive. The stairs were a little hard to climb but it was mostly because Mitch hadn’t realized just how much suspended animation could affect one’s muscles. When they stopped Mitch had to stretch a bit, legs hurting from that small climb. “I will stick around for a bit, I need to rest any way, and build up my strength."

The thought of Rex watching weirded Mitch out though. Mitch really didn’t like the idea but what could be done about it? “You know if he is watching, he has probably figured out by now that you have turned down the power on my collar.”

“I would prefer to cook my own meals if that is alright.” It wouldn’t be uncommon for someone to try to kill the troublesome elf. They were going up another set of stairs and Mitch had to rest when they had gotten to the top. Coughing, just a little bit of blood came out but Mitch ignored it, standing up again as she opened up the door. Mitch walked into the room, it was nice, even having a view of the forest, but it was a view from behind bars. There was a sad look in Mitch’s eyes, even as she took off the chains, but Mitch didn’t say anything, lost in thoughts, or maybe memories, either way Mitch’s attention was lost, but when Aria had asked about the name Mitch was torn back to reality, smiling at Aria softly. “No, it’s much more simple then that. We are given names at birth like our parents, but when the war started, I abandoned who I was. I chose a new name for myself. I did not want to stain the name my parents had given me with a war.” Mitch sighed gently. The weight of the chains being gone immediately made things better. “Thank you Aria.”

Aria smiled politely at the comment he had made about her dress, it was odd normally it would be Rex who would comment on it. Hearing his comment about how even large the house was it was still a cage, she sighed a little it was true but it was a cage she had grown up in. However, when she heard that he was going to stick around for a bit that made her smile a little bit. This meant that her father would at least see that she had not failed him. When he brought up the point the Rex probably knew she turned down the collar she chuckled a little saying "They are cameras that do not hear sound, plus I doubt it would pick up that your mouth was even moving. They are positioned to just watch where people are not to intrude on our daily lives." When he commented on making his own meals she smiled again saying "I figured that much that's why I'm taking you to the kitchen after this. Plus you are probably very hungry, I don't know how long you were frozen but I figure it was long enough."

While she was taking his chains off she noticed that he looked sad and that he had been ever since he saw his view. She sighed a little saying "I know it's not the greatest and that it makes it feel like a cage even more but I doubt you will be spending much time in here other to sleep. Since I'm in training I am required to be outdoors a lot, and since you are supposed to be my responsibility that means you will follow me around. I'm normally out doors from breakfast to lunch then I'm indoors for an hour for studying but then it's free time for me and I tend to just go sit by the pond or go to the music room." When she heard about how he got his name she smiled saying "Even though it was under horrible circumstances it was a very considerate thought, most people wouldn't think twice about it." She paused "If ever one day you feel comfortable enough to tell me your real name I would love to know it. But I understand that it would be something that you would want to keep to yourself." When she was completely finished with his chains she opened a drawer in the desk and placed them inside. When she heard him say thank you she turned back around saying "You are very welcome, they seemed to be very cumbersome and I know my house has many stairs." She picked up the one that was still attached to his collar then said "I will probably leave this one off tomorrow as well, like you said this place is still like a cage and you don't even know the half of it yet." Moving towards the door she smiled saying "Shall we go get some food before we continue on now?"

Mitch was a sucker for a good smile, and she had one. The twinkle in her eye, the way her cheeks bunched up towards her eyes, it reminded Mitch of Cliff, hopefully Cliff was alright, alive and well, but Mitch had to find him. It was a relief to hear that the cameras were mostly non intrusive, it would make a few things a bit easier, and Mitch could also assume that it meant there were no cameras in the bedrooms. “I’m not exactly sure either, what day is it?” Slowly Mitch was building up a tolerance to the pain of talking and pushing past it. Singing was still out of the question, but just getting numbed to the pain was enough for now.

When she comment on being outside most often Mitch laughed just a little. “My sadness is over a home I can never return to, but thank you.” She was just trying to be cheerful and Mitch appreciated, but there were some pains that couldn’t be erased, and Mitch had learned to live with that. One could learn to live with pain, even if they never got over it. “Maybe I can play you something, I was once very good with the violin,” Though Mitch was very out of practice. Nodding to the prospect of food Mitch walked with her, trying to stretch out sore and tired muscles. The lack of chains was nice though, it made Mitch feel much lighter. Walking down the stairs was much easier then walking up, but Mitch was still glad when they were finally done.

When Mitch asked what day it was she thought about it for a moment before saying “Its Wednesday, June 25th, 2090” She had no idea when he last knew the date so she felt giving the whole date would be a good idea. Hearing Mitch laugh on the other hand brought a smile to her face, she assumed it wasn’t an overly happy laugh due to the fact that the comment that followed it was still a sad thought but at least she was getting somewhere. “I know that this place will never replace your home, but I figured that you would prefer to be outdoors more than being stuck inside. At least that is what the books made it sound like” She paused before saying “I am terribly sorry, I must sound like someone who has read a book and feels like they know it all…. I’m just trying to make my best assumptions from them.”

Aria walked in silence down the watching Mitch carefully, she had noticed that he had needed to stretch a lot while they were going up the stairs and just wanted to make sure he wouldn’t fall down them. She turned right at the bottom of the stairs and headed further into the left wing. They passed the dining room first and the kitchen was the next room on the right. When Mitch brought up playing the violin Aria smiled again saying “Could you really! I haven’t heard a violin in ages, I tried learning it just never sounded right to me. But I seemed to pick up many of the other instruments.”

Opening the door to the kitchen Aria moved towards the large center island that had eight stools along the right side. The sink was also on the island but on the left side, along the left side of the room were two stoves and a lot of work space. All the cabinets had glass so things were easily to be found and all the big utensils were hung under them. At the far end of the room were two fridges and a single glass door to the backyard where a small food garden could be seen. Along the right side of the room however were two doors that would lead into the dining room. Aria sat at one of the stools before saying “Currently most of the food is in the left fridge, we only really use both when we are preparing for an even. Everything is fair game so go ahead and make anything you would like, and if you need any fresh fruit or vegetables we can head out to the garden through those doors and we can see if we have anything ready to be picked.” She smiled a little more before saying “I’ll also take this chain off for now, I know how hard it is to prepare food without any inhibiting things, though I will have to put it back on once we leave this room.” With that Aria took off the chain and set it on the counter and leaned forward onto it to watch. She was really intrigued, she knew what he was capable of but so far she had not seen even a hint of it.

“Then it’s been about a month, but I don’t think that my stomach was really processing food while I was out though.” Mitch sighed, trying to continue smiling though. It was a soft smile, a sad smile, but Mitch kept it. “The outdoors will be a pleasure, and no, it’s okay. I understand that you are just doing the best with what you know. But you have a real life source of knowledge while I’m here. Why don’t you ask the questions you want to know the answers to? And I may be rusty but I can still play, hopefully.” A small joke but not a smile, not yet. Seeing the kitchen that made Mitch truly smile. It was amazing and this was going to taste so good. Gently rubbing one of the fourteen piercings Mitch had, thinking about what to cook. Lost in a separate world, long fingers danced around the kitchen, touching the utensils that were going to be needed, slowly pulling them each out. Then walking to the garden Mitch repeated that process, grabbing spinach, tomatoes and basil. Finally Mitch came back into the kitchen to find mozzarella. Mitch moved with the care of an experienced chef, slicing and tossing until a beautiful caprese salad sat waiting.

“Did you want some?” Mitch asked, finally pulled back to reality. Mitch was a wonderful cook, it was one of the things you learned to do when you had to take care of a sibling and no parents to help. Well, Mitch had had their mom, but she had been sick and couldn’t get around much.

Hearing that Mitch hadn’t eaten within the past month shocked Aria and she scrunched up her nose a little thinking of how awful they treated him. She had gone off into her own little thoughts for a bit until she heard him start to talk again. Aria perked up a little and smiled when he said that she could ask him questions and that he would play the violin for her. “You now realize that I am going to take you up on that offer and abuse it right?” She laughed a little saying “There is a lot that I want to know and books can only provide me with so much information.” She paused “I bet it will still sound way better than what I could ever dream of playing.” When they had entered the kitchen Aria had noticed Mitch’s smile change slightly and this had caused her to smile even more, she assumed that he liked the idea of food a lot.

While Mitch was walking about the kitchen Aria was in Awe watching him, he looked so focused that she even forgot to follow him out to the garden when he went out. He was just so graceful moving about the kitchen and getting everything prepared that she hadn’t even noticed that he had finished and that there was a beautiful caprese salad. She was pulled back to reality when she heard him ask if she wanted any of it. Aria smiled saying “No thank you, I ate before I went out. Plus you worked really hard on it and you are probably hungrier than you think you are if you haven’t eaten in a month.” It was all true, but the salad look really amazing and she just couldn’t bring herself to even want to eat it. Aria had paused for a moment before asking “I don’t mean to be intrusive, but where did you learn to cook like that, it was an amazing sight to watch, so graceful and I don’t know how to describe it.”

Rex on the other hand had watched Aria and Mitch go into the room assigned to Mitch and from there he waited, he had made sure that someone was cleaning close by so that if anything happened he would know. When they had come out however he was shocked, from what he could make out Aria had removed all of the chains except the one on his neck. He was ready at that point to get up and get closer but the guard with him convinced him to just wait it out, there was plenty of people around that could help Aria if she needed. Once they were in the kitchen Rex was again shocked when she took off the last chain, and let him go about making his own food. Aria knew that he was capable of watching and yet she was doing reckless things, so to him he was sure she was doing it to just give him a heart attack. When the food was done Rex just hopped that she didn’t eat it, he had no idea what the elf had made and didn’t need Aria to get hurt within the first few hours.