Stasis really hadn’t been that bad, Mitch barely remembered it, in fact Mitch wasn’t sure anything came to mind. It had been terrifying, Mitch remembered that, before being frozen in stasis Mitch vividly remembered each cell freezing in it’s place and it was scary. “Please don’t hold back, it will be nice to talk to someone actually willing to listen about my culture. Though there are still some of us left there really isn’t enough to carry on the culture. I give it two more generations before we die out, despite our best efforts this is a war we lost.” Mitch looked sadly into the salad before grabbing a fork and beginning to eat. She had been right about being hungrier then expected, it was nice to have something that tasted a little like home, but it hurt too, because it wasn’t home. This salad, it wasn’t the same as it would have been in the forest, it just wasn’t.

Mitch swallowed hard and sighed, having a hard time keeping up the soft weak smile. “I used to cook a lot for my little brother, our father died in the war, and our mother had a disease that slowly turns a person to stone, from the inside out. It’s painful, and just as hard to watch, it’s also not curable; so I spent a lot of time acting as the parent.” Mitch took another bite, though the initial pleasure had faded and it was now just food, good food, but food none the less. “All elves are graceful, I may have lost a bit of it being around humans for long, but just watching people walk around was like watching a ballet at home. Even war had been hauntingly beautiful.” Mitch frowned, quickly changing the subject. "As you might have assumed us elves are vegetarian, at least I believe that is the word that you humans use, so a lot of our dishes are based around a different type of protein."

Mitch finished the salad rather quickly, gently setting down the bowl and looking at it. “Thus far you do not seem like the type who would enslave a sentient being just for your own amusement. I remember you saying that you were doing this for your father; is that the only reason?” Slowly Mitch scraped some of the dressing off of the side of the bowl, licking it off, not looking at her but staring pensively into the bowl. This was the first time Mitch genuinely did not want the master to be hurt, but Cliff was still out there somewhere. Mitch smiled, turning back to her. “You don’t have to answer, it really won’t change things either way. I should probably take a shower and rest some.” Taking the bowl over to the sink Mitch cleaned it and set it out to dry with the other utensils that had been used. “If that is alright."

Aria sat and watched him eat; she was taken aback by how he gave his own species two more generations before they all were lost. It sent a chill through her body, the books had said there were so many elves before but to hear that was a rather large reality check. While she watched him she noticed that his smile would sometimes waver. When he brought up that he had a little brother she watched him more intently, hearing that his father died in the war and that his mother had a disease that turned her to stone made Aria hurt. It was something that she couldn’t really imagine, “I am really sorry for your loss, I really didn’t mean to bring up such a sensitive subject.” She paused “I know your mother and father are dead but what about your little brother? Is he still alive? I understand if you don’t want to talk about it.”

When he brought up the war again she noticed how it made him frown, and to be fair what he had depicted sounded like a beautifully horrific event. She did note that when he changed subjects that he was vegetarian, she would have to inform the cooks to order more fruits and vegetables and other things that he would be able to eat. She knew he would still want to make his own food but the least she could do was make sure there were things in the house that he could eat. “I think that is what the book said, I will make sure that the gardeners and cooks always have enough food for you to eat on hand.” Aria tried to smile a little but the previous subject had still left her a little shaken.

When he finished eating he again changed the subject, this one that was more aimed towards her and her situation with her father. “It is only fair you shared a lot about your past with me the least I can do is answer questions you have.” She paused “My father is the main reason for doing it yes. But he also has the pressure of the community on him and the ideals of our community. I am his only heir meaning that I have to take on the family name, this you already know. With that come roles and responsibilities and the community thinks that I have to fill, and my father believes that I am not ready for them. I don’t really know if it is him or the community speaking anymore when it comes to what I have to learn in order to take on the name.” Taking another pause she sighed a little “I guess when I look at the big picture the war is what started it all… My father is the leading battle strategist, I think for our whole race by this point. Meaning that he and his family have a certain image to hole towards the community. They already didn’t like the fact that I am female but that couldn’t be helped since my mother died when I was young and couldn’t give my father a son. I am fine with the challenge however, I love to learn, but I want to be able to change things when I am done with all of this. On top of this all we are supposed to appear higher than other families and since other families are owning other beings it means that we should be too, but you won’t see any others in this house, my father doesn’t have time to deal with them and I believe that if he did have one the poor thing may be dead way before it should be. You are here because I have time and it goes hand in hand with my training. But other than that I do not wish to own anyone.” Taking a breath “Long story short, If I could have gotten away without owning another being I would have, but I am forced to by my father and the pressures of our society.”

When he mentioned wanting to shower and rest a little Aria nodded saying “That is completely fine, we can finish the tour of the house later.” With that she put the chain back on his collar and began to walk back to his room. When they got there she unlocked and opened the door, taking the chain off of his neck and placing it on the desk from there. Turning around to face him she said “Since your door locks I will come and get you about an hour before dinner so that you can make your own food, unless you want to walk around before dinner but you will have to let me know now so I know to come back and get you.”

Before the war elf communities had dotted forests everywhere, but when the first shots were fired, elves rallied together to make their stand. Mitch had once lived in the last sanctuary of the elves. Elpis had been a place where elves could have a future, even with the war around them; the humans now knew of this place as the Valley of Death, a place where nothing grew. The Valley was nothing now except an ashen wasteland with the obvious signs of a battle, corpses lay exposed to the elements, flesh unpicked by scavengers or bugs, it was the place mother nature had condemned and it was a reminder of humanity’s sin, a scorch on the earth that wouldn’t go away. No one seemed to care though, not yet, instead to many humans it was a symbol of their accomplishment, the place where the bastard elves fell. ”I believe he is still alive, but I don’t know. I last say him when I told him to run so that I could distract the last of the human soldiers.” The last Mitch had seen Cliff there was such a fear in his eyes, the thought made Mitch frown deeply. Cliff simply had to be alive, otherwise… there was no point to this.

“You don’t have to go out of your way, I’m pretty good and figuring out what to eat when there is little available." She was a really kind person and Mitch just wasn’t sure what to do with her. It had been a very long time since Mitch had experienced true kindness from someone in a “higher” position, that it was hard to think of this as such. “Your society is so strange to me, women are not seen as weak but rather as stronger beings. Child birth in and of itself is proof of that. Sure women are seen as people to be protected, but not because they can’t take care of themselves but rather because scientifically if there are 100 women left and one man you can repopulate a society, but if there is one woman and 100 men the society will surely die.” Mitch watched her. [color=“Mediumturquoise”]”Woman are favored in leading positions in the military because they feel such strong emotions towards something that they will want it done right the first time. Is that why you chose me? An elf is sure to bring higher status then something so common.”[/color] It didn’t sound like Mitch was bragging but rather had a complete grasp on how few elves actually survived slavery. By the time the two of them had gotten to this point in their conversation they were in front of Mitch’s door, though Mitch had not left her side yet, still interested in having this conversation.

Hearing that Mitch thought his brother was still alive made Aria feel a little better, although Mitch looked really upset by the fact that his brother was missing. When he mentioned food she smiled a little bit saying “It is no problem with me making sure that there is enough food for you here, if you are going to be here you are going to have enough food to eat, end of story”. When he brought up that her society is strange and his reasons behind it Aria chuckled a little “I see your point but that is exactly why women in our society are not really allowed to be in that position, and is exactly why I have a lot of pressure on me to be more than what I am.” When he brought up the point about her selecting him she looked at him with a half-smile “I actually hadn’t even thought about it when I selected you. I was supposed to get a nearly broken being, which would have been something common. I was actually drawn more towards you, I can’t really explain why but I just was. I also had not done a lot of research on rarity so I was not aware of your situation until the receptionist told me more about you. Also, everyone seemed very afraid of me selecting you.”

While they were standing at Mitch’s door Aria had moved them both inside, it would be easier for them to talk in here. She moved about the room a little putting away the chains, “I know you said your brother was alive, maybe I could try and help you in finding him. At least so that you have more peace of mind knowing where he is.” She paused “You are staying to meet my father who helps me hold up the image that I am required to have, so the least I can do is help you have a little more peace of mind.” Turning back around she smiled a little “If you would like my help all I would need is a description of him and his name and I would be able to find him.”

Mitch watched her put away the chains and sat on the bed. She really did seem like a nice girl. “As much as I would love my brother to be by my side again, I still don’t trust you yet. you seem nice, and thus far you have shown me no reason not to trust you, but past experience tells me to be wary of masters, and if you do mean me ill will and you are simply acting nice to get my guard down, then my brother would be a great leverage point, especially since I am a “violent elf” that must be carefully watched, contained, and not allowed near weaker family members.” Mitch wanted her to know that there was a reason why everyone was worried about her owning Mitch, even if those reasons were false, there was a reason for it. “If I come to trust you then I will happily take you up on your offer, but for now I will keep him safe in the only way I can, with secrets.”

It wasn’t that Mitch didn’t appreciate the offer, it really was a kind offer, but if she turned out to be heartless, it could back fire, or if that bodyguard got a hold of Cliff. Mitch didn’t want to be put in a position where any false move could mean Cliff being tortured or killed.

Hearing Mitch’s response Aria nodded, “I’m sorry about that, I guess I forgot about our situation when I offered you that. I didn’t realize the power that I would have if you told me, and I know that I have not earned that yet.” When he explained how he was a “violent elf” Aria sort of just shrugged it off, so far he had not shown any signs of being violent in any way. Which only added to her belief that what he had done was in self-defence as there would be no other reason for it.

Aria walked towards the door saying “I know you wanted to shower and rest for a bit so I will come back and get you an hour before dinner. That way you can make your food.” When she reached the door she turned back a little “Mitch, I am really sorry for what you have gone through, I know that I will never be able to give you back what you have lost, and I know that it must still really hurt. But I want you to know that I want to help, so you can ask of anything you want and I can try to somehow arrange it.” She paused “Like you said I never wanted to own another being, so the best I can do is try to treat you as much as an equal as I can, while still preserving the image I have to uphold.” She smiled a little bit before adding “I believe that things happen for a reason, not necessarily all good or all bad just reasons that will help the future.” She turned back to the door saying “I’ll see you before dinner”. Aria then left the room and closed the door behind her which auto locked.

After Aria left Mitch’s room she left to inform the kitchen staff and the gardeners of Mitch’s dietary restrictions. She was kind of kicking herself for bringing up the fact that she could find his brother, but all she wanted to do was help him a little. All things considered he was helping her a little by just allowing her to meet the required image he was supposed to have and that was really big to her. After she told the staff she headed to her own room, she knew that if she ran into Rex he would have a few choice things to say about her actions and decisions that she made already and she just didn’t want to deal with it right now. In her room she decided to take out one of the history book she kept there to read about the beginning of the war and why it all started again.

“It’s okay Aria, I know that you meant well, and I appreciate the thought, but my brother is the only things I have left, he is something I can’t lose.” Mitch bowed, walking with her to the door and listening to her final words. “Again I appreciate the sentiment Aria, but you have no idea what I have been through.” Mitch whispered with a weak smile before closing the door. “No idea what so ever.”

Mitch slid against the wall, wincing in the pain that the collar had been causing. Pretending everything was fine had been hard enough. It had been nice to finally have an intelligent conversation with someone. Mitch slowly fought the pain and limped to the shower. It was hard to act strong but the basic principle of war was no not show weakness. Mitch went to the bathroom and turned on the water, only to once again slump against the wall breathing heavily. “I can’t shower with this f****** collar.” But that was not going to be an easy task. Looking around Mitch searched for anything that could be used to pick a lock but there was nothing. “Damn.” Mitch sighed, stepping into the shower and holding back a scream as the electricity crackled. Mitch shuddered in pain but fought against it, trying simply to clean the cuts that littered Mitch’s back, after just a few moments Mitch could take now more. Quickly getting out of the water Mitch dried off as much as possible, laying down on the cool floor and crying slightly, just a moment of weakness. Then Mitch got up and went to get dressed before laying back down and falling asleep.

Aria had fallen asleep at some point during her reading and was now sprawled out on her bed. When she finally woke up she rolled over to see the time, realizing that dinner was going to be in about an hour she sat up quickly. She had not fallen asleep like that before, typically she would have kept herself busy enough to avoid this. She slipped off the bed and quickly checked her appearance, noticing that her hair was now slightly messy she opted for putting it into a lose braid so that she wouldn’t have to brush though her hair again. Her long hair took about an hour to brush out and she didn’t have that time. She turned to the door and began walking out while she was just finishing the braid off, once done the braid still reached past her knees making it longer than her dress even which ended just above her knees. When she made it back to the front lobby she saw Rex and sighed a little, this was not the time she wanted to deal with his opinions.

“Miss, may I make some suggestions to the way you have been handling your new situation, I am afraid they are a bit reckless and I need to make sure that you are safe.” Aria had just kept walking and when she passed Rex he had begun to follow her. “I know what I am doing and I am perfectly safe, I would not be doing this if I didn’t. Now I will see you at dinner, I have to go get Mitch so that he can make something to eat.” Rex’s eyes narrowed a little “Miss, you called the elf Mitch, and that he needed to make something to eat are you not telling me something? I can only do so much while watching the cameras.” Aria paused for a moment “The papers I signed, they said his name is Mitch because I know where you are going with this. Also, I read in the books that elves only eat certain things; I can’t go about feeing him something that he can’t eat. That would make me irresponsible. So I have decided that having him cook his own meals would be the best way around the fact that he can’t talk.” She smiled a little at her response, before saying “Now if you don’t mind that is what I am going to do see you later Rex.” Aria then turned and walked away. Rex on the other hand sighed and raked his hand through his hair, she did read a lot and he hadn’t really looked at the papers before Aria had signed them so he had no reason to believe otherwise, he was just afraid that she might end up being a little too reckless. With that he went back to the security room.

Aria passed through the door to the left wing and turned to go up the stairs to the servant’s quarters. When she reached Mitch’s door she paused and straightened herself a little before tapping lightly on the door while she unlocked it saying “Hey, Mitch it’s just me, Aria.” Not really hearing anything she opened the door to see Mitch lying on the bed fast asleep. Aria made her way into the room and over to the side of the bed. She paused a little before reaching out and gently placing her hand on his arm and gently shaking him saying “Mitch, it is an hour until dinner, it is time for you to wake up.”

Mitch flinched and in an instant thin white fingers were around Aria’s throat, pushing her an arm’s distance away. It took just a moment for Mitch to realize who it was and what she was doing and at that point Mitch immediately let go. “I am sorry Aria, force of habit I’m afraid.” There was a sadness and a pain in Mitch’s eyes but it was shut out as the elf sat up, rubbing the sleep away. Those same fingers that had threatened her life were now carefully rubbing away the sleep in Mitch’s eyes before trailing down to the collar that still emitted a low electrical hum. Mitch pulled at it but then sat up, looking up at Aria. Mitch was expecting at any minute now Rex would come flying in to shot Mitch for threatening Aria’s life, but really if she were meant to be dead, she would have been hours ago. ”Thank you for letting me shower, it did wonders for my stiff muscles, More importantly it let some of the pesky wounds that simply would not heal, be treated and rewrapped with fresh gauze. ”You said there were not cameras in the bedrooms right?” That was a relief, maybe the bodyguard wouldn’t show up brandishing a weapon. ”Let’s go ahead and go to the kitchen before your attack dog thinks there is something wrong.” What had been that dream? A nightmare? A memory? Mitch couldn’t recall but it was unsettling and would be better left behind in the land of dreams. ”I was thinking I could make a tropical salad with some mango chutney.” Was she afraid now? Mitch wouldn’t blame her is she was. She had every right to be afraid. So far though, Mitch had no desire to hurt her.

Aria noticed the flinch but was not quick enough to move out of the way when Mitch reached out and grabbed her neck. Her eye opened in shock before she calmed down a little and seconds later he had let go of her saying sorry. Aria simply took an even breath and slightly rubbed her neck a little. Standing up she shrugged a little saying “It’s alright I understand, I should have been more careful.” Hearing his comment about the shower and cameras Aria smiled a little saying “I am glad that it helped you.” She paused a little to chuckle slightly saying “Your correct no cameras in the bedrooms, to me that is way too intrusive, and trust me that was a fight and a half.” Aria chuckled a little at his next comment saying “My attack dog’s name is Rex, and I doubt he has even made it to the security room yet, I got caught by him on my way here.” She turned though saying “Going to the kitchen though is probably a good idea, dinner is 45 minutes.” With that she turned and started heading towards the door saying “Come on then, and make sure you close the door behind you.”

They were almost at the kitchen when Aria heard him make a comment on what he wanted to make and smiled saying “We should have stuff of that, if we don’t let me know so I can add it to the too buy list for foods we should get.” Pausing at the door Aria then said “There will be two of our cooks working in here tonight since it is only myself, Rex, and you. Some other nights there may be more, so after dinner let me know how comfortable you were in here and we can maybe work some stuff out for when it gets busy.” She was about to open the door when she remembered “Oh and you may not want to talk while we are in here… They are very sweet ladies but I know Rex will probably ask questions after my last conversation with him.” With that she opened the door and held it open to allow Mitch to pass through before saying “Marie and Lucy, this is Mitch, he is now living with us and will be preparing his own meals so don’t mind him and continue doing your work.” Turned to Mitch again saying “I believe you know where everything is now so go ahead and get started.” She smiled before turning to sit by the counter once more.

Marie was an elderly woman who was plump in size but had a very cheery completion even with her deep brown eyes and auburn hair that was tied up into a bun out of her face. Lucy on the other hand was a younger woman who was maybe only 2 years older than Aria and had brunette hair will blue eyes. They were both dressed in a similar fashion and had paused and turned around when Aria had begun speaking. They were a little skeptical about allowing the elf to cook in the kitchen, they had been told by Rex to watch for things earlier that day and since it was Aria who was in charge of the situation they trusted her judgement. After Aria was done talking to them the got back to work, they were only about half way done their preparations and were just about to begin cooking.

Aria on the other hand was sitting at the counter thinking about what had only happened a few moments ago when she had woken Mitch up. She knew that it was a reckless thing to do but really she thought that it was a harmless way of waking him up. To her she knew that eh only did it in self defense, she didn't blame him for it, she had no idea how he was treated and she should have been more careful. At this point she was also thankful that she had fought against the cameras in Mitch's room, it would have been an awful misunderstanding had Rex actually seen what had happened and she didn't need anything to fuel Rex's skepticism more about her abilities to control the situation.

Mitch nodded, beginning the temporary vow of silence. She introduced the two women and Mitch bowed before silently walking off to grab everything. It was strange, having been able to talk once again only to fall into the silence that had been so prevalent when the collar had been up to it’s higher power levels. Still the silence wasn’t always bad, it gave Mitch time to think. Where was Cliff now? Was he doing okay? Had he escaped human hands and was he hiding in the forest? Had the bandits broken their promise and burnt Cliff, leaving his last moments to be filled with nothing but pain. That last thought made it even harder for Mitch to concentrate.

Two people working in one kitchen was hard but not if you were used to each other, adding a third and more importantly a third that didn’t communicate made things even more difficult. Mitch was still graceful while cooking but the awkwardness was obvious. It was even more obvious when Aria walked past Mitch, causing Mitch to drop the knife. It was like watching a play, Mitch wrapped an arm around her, spinning her out of the wave before grabbing the knife before it hit the ground. “Sorry.” Was the raspy words that broke the silence. Slowly Mitch went to the sink to wash of the knife and the small amount of blood, it was barely a scrape but it was enough that Mitch didn’t want to get it in the salad. After that Mitch returned to the salad and finished it off.

Mitch turned to look at Aria, walking over to her with the salad. Mitch hadn’t meant to speak but it was only right to apologize, and keeping it low like that maybe when Rex heard the story he would assume that Mitch still couldn’t talk well, or that Mitch was getting used to the collar, either way, one word could be explained away. Mitch sat, gently rubbing where the knife had slipped, Elves couldn’t use their healing powers on themselves, it was one of the great taboos. It always back fired, so Mitch had to do this the normal way, wait it out until it was healed.

Aria had been asked to help Lucy when Marie stepped out to the garden to grab a few things and was glad to help. She on the other hand was not as graceful as Mitch even when he was working in a kitchen with other people. She had simply gone to pass him to grab something from the fridge when he wrapped an arm around her and she began to spin. She it all happened so quickly that she was still in shock until she heard the clattering on the ground and a raspy sorry from Mitch. Looking from the knife on the ground to Mitch as he picked it up and went to the sink to wash it and the small wound that he had received smiled a little before saying “Thank you for moving me out of the way.” Lucy had seen what had happened and was unsure of what to think of the situation until she heard Aria thank the elf.

When Maria came back in Aria went to a draw and pulled out a band aid and some polysporin then went to sit back at the counter to wait for Mitch to finish up. When Mitch came over to her with his salad he had placed it on the counter and sat beside her and began rubbing where he had gotten hurt. Aria simply took his hand saying “Here, I know it isn’t a bad cut but this will just help insure it heals properly.” With that she put a little bit of polysporin on the cut and placed the band aid over top of it saying “This will keep out any dirt so that it won’t get infected. “ She then got up and went to throw out the garbage and to put the polysporin back where it belonged before she returned to Mitch’s side saying “We can move to the dining room, it looks like Marie and Lucy have everything handled in her so we can just going out there to wait.” Aria then moved towards one of the doorways between the kitchen and the dining room and held the door open for Mitch saying “Just pick any seat.”

Mitch was aware of the concept of the wrappings and was very thankful for Aria’s help even if it wasn’t necessary, it was still nice. Mitch nodded to her, standing up and grabbing the salad, walking right behind Aria until they were in the dining room. It was frustrating to not talk because Mitch had been forced not to talk for so long so in the dining room Mitch let out a sigh of relief. “Well that was interesting.” A smile traced Mitch’s lips. “Sorry about that. You are okay right?”

Mitch picked at the salad but didn’t start eating it yet. “I normally am much more careful then that,” but there was something else going on wasn’t there? A slight tremble of the hands, just a little tightness in the chest, was slavery finally taking it’s tole, or was Mitch just weak from the abuse at the hands of the slavers? Either way, Mitch needed to get stronger, no sign of weakness allowed. “While we wait for dinner did you want to ask me some of those questions your had about elf culture?” Finally Mitch began to eat.

Aria smirked a little when she heard his comment before saying “I’m completely fine, thanks again though.” Aria watched him pick at the salad, she saw him tremble slightly but then smiled brightly at him after he asked if she wanted to ask any questions. Aria had many questions running though her head and opened her mouth to ask a question when she heard the doors from the kitchen open. She looked over her shoulder a little then back to Mitch before saying “Maybe after dinner, I am really sorry about this I know it must be tough.” She gave a half smirk before turning to Lucy and smiled as she placed the plate down in front of her and beside her. Right at that moment Rex walked through another set of doors from the hallway and sat down beside Aria. He took in the fact that Mitch was at the table and eating, but sat quietly and began to eat as well.

Aria rolled her eyes slightly before saying “Nice to see you too Rex, it must be real stuffy sitting in that little room all day.” Rex looked up at her and sighed saying “Miss, it is my job to protect you. I have no problem with the tasks that involves.” Aria smiled a little before saying “We are within the house I am fine, you should relax a little, you are normally never this occupied with protecting me at home.” She nudged him a little. Rex looked back at his food before saying “Situations change, therefore I must adapt. You should probably eat Miss before it gets cold.” With that Rex began to eat once again. Aria sighed a little and mumbled a few words under her breath before beginning to eat as well. Once Rex was done he got up saying “Have a good evening Miss.” Aria nodded saying “Night Rex, don’t stay up too late, we have training in the morning.” After that Rex just left the room to return to the security room.

Aria slumped a little saying “Boy, isn’t he just fun.” She turned to Mitch before saying “So we can finish the tour now or we can do that after training tomorrow. Though we will have to leave the outdoors portion until tomorrow anyway.” She stood up a little and pushed in her chair as she waited for Mitch to respond. She did want to ask him questions still but Lucy would be in soon to clean up so it wouldn’t really be safe.

One of the things Mitch hated seeing was women getting hurt. Maybe it was an after affect of the war, but Mitch just couldn’t stand it. That had brought it’s fair share of troubles, standing up for other slaves, getting in the way of punishments and such, but it would work to Aria’s advantage. Mitch really didn’t want to hurt Aria and would do whatever it took to escape, but wouldn’t go quiet so far as hurting her. Most likely Mitch was going to have to use magic again, but that was going to be close to suicide. The thought made Mitch frown momentarily before focusing back on Aria, or more specifically on the fact that Aria had chosen to end their conversation. For obvious reasons but it was still interesting.

When he first walked in Mitch threw a flirtatious smile and a teasing kiss Rex’s way, just to rattle the man’s chains. He was so high strung and it was entertaining to watch. Mitch understood it though, there weren’t the best rumors flying around about the murderous elf, but it was still very entertaining. Even more entertaining was their dynamic. Did she have a thing for Rex? Was this a rebellion so that he would pay attention to her more? It was a fascinating thought. Mitch finished the salad without even really realizing it. Rex didn’t even stay to have a conversation with Aria. Mitch was to curious.

“Finishing the tour later is fine with me, I can see in your eyes that you have a lot of questions you want to ask me so why not the library?” Mitch asked. “But first let me ask a question of my own, and I apologize if it is impertinent, but, are you in love with your guard?” Mitch stood, holding out a hand to help her up. It was a curiosity. Maybe she was in love with someone she couldn’t have.

Hearing Mitch say that they could finish the tour later she nodded, hearing that he wanted to go to the library she smirked a little “The library is at the other end of the house, I can show you the rooms on the way there at least it will reduce the amount we have tomorrow.” Hearing his question though was another thing and she burst out laughing. Taking his hand as she got up she calmed down a little before saying “Rex? You have got to be kidding me. He has to be almost as old as my dad as he was my mother guard before he was mine.” She paused to take a breath before continuing “I see him as a brother if anything other than a guard and that is because he has been around my whole life. He is really good at his job though so it is fun to bug him about it as he knows I am only kidding.” She was calm now “What makes you think that I would be in love with Rex anyways? Just asking out of curiosity.” Now that she was standing she realized that she was still holding Mitch’s hand and slowly let go of it.

Aria smiled at him before saying “Anyways it is a decent walk from here to the library, we can chat along the way though.” With that she turned towards the doorway to the hall and walked towards it saying “Come on, I have plenty of questions.” She opened the door and held it open for Mitch before turning down the hallway towards the library.

As Rex made his way to the security room he was grumpy, one he didn’t really like the idea of that elf being so close to Aria as it was a threat to her safety, two he couldn’t understand why she had picked that elf in the first place, and three the darn elf seemed to now be mocking him for it. He knew how to deal with the first two situations but he wouldn’t be able to do anything about it until Aria’s father came home and that wouldn’t be for about two days. Until then he would just have to make sure that she was safe, that is what he had promised to do when her mother passed away and he intended to keep that promise. Turning into the security room he sat back at the desk and was greeted by the head security guard with a smile.

Mitch nodded to that and stood up following her out of the room. “You simply act the way I did once with someone I loved who wouldn’t look my way.” Mitch stated. “The arguing, the fighting, the taking risks. Though I guess it is less of a risk to you then he thinks it is.” Mitch whispered softly. Mitch chuckled. “I used to do the same thing, but that’s in the past. I guess I can almost see how you have a sibling like relationship, but I always got along quiet well with my younger brother.” Maybe it was because Mitch had been more like a parent then a sibling. Mitch had not realized they were holding hands until she let go. Either way was fine, Mitch didn’t really have a preference either way. “I do have one question for you. What is the human story behind why the war started? I know what we were told but I’m curious as to how the humans justified it.” Mitch asked, walking slowly through the hallway. What had possessed the humans to attack? What had they done to justify the treatment that they had gotten.