AN: And now, most of the fluff has ended. However, each chapter will have a bit here and there, but only because there's an adorable little creature with him. If there aren't any, then he'd be his insane self once more.

As always folks, thank you for reading the story. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, let me know.

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The feline girl-child kept close to me from that point on, and would shiver in fright whenever a male human was spotted by her. It seems the image of the thug was still fresh in her mind, and would need time to get over it. She would not eat anything, unless a female, or myself, gave her something to eat and drink. The squeaky queen, it seemed, enjoyed being around the little girl-child, and would often bring some sort of sweet fish for them to snack on. However, even though she enjoyed being around the squeaky queen, she still refused to leave my side.

Then there was the issue of the wolf boy-child. He hadn't awoken, but was alive. This was no thanks to the healers, however, as they seemed to sneer and whine about "wasting their talents on a dog that should be abandoned somewhere". The thralls nearest my person had picked up on my anger, and were quick to obey my words. I desired to have the boy-child healed, and if they refused, then they would die. When one continued to refuse, he was killed instantly, whilst I covered the girl-child's eyes and ears. She did not appreciate my wanting to protect her, and covered her eyes after seeing the dead body of the defiant healer.

The other healers cowered under the brutality, and one even tried to demand why they were listening to a " dog that needs a leash and a muzzle". That one died as well, while the remaining two healers were quick to join the ranks of my thralls. They, in quick succession, had healed the wolf boy-child, and told me he would have died within a few days, if I hadn't told them when I did. These thoughts angered me, but it was also at that moment I was told of the prejudices towards non-humans.

I listened to my thralls, at the tales of slaughter and slavery that all humans were taught when they were young. It is a tale that is not for children, truth be told, so I did my best to put the clingy feline cat-girl to sleep, and tucked her into the bed. I did promise her, however, that I would be here when she awoke. I never brake my promises to children, you see. Their disappointment would be too much to bear.

She was given a sleep inducing tea, to which she drank and began yawning greatly. I could see her little canines showing, as well as her bristly tongue. She stared into my own eyes, as she finally drifted off into sleep. "Place female only guards on this room," I growled at those in attendance. "Any male, who is not myself, that steps in here is to be executed on the spot."

There were a few salutes, as we all left the room, and it was at this time I had noticed a strange human loitering about the halls. After inquiring as to who he was, he informed me he was the artist brought up to do a sketch of the cat girl-child. He then handed the sketch to a guard, who handed it to myself, and I found it passable. There were a few details missing here and there, but it was the girl-child for the most part. Once paid, I had the guards find someone to duplicate the sketch, and to send people to find out more about the girl-child and her companion.

"So troublesome," I muttered to myself, growing into my skeletal form once more. I had remembered the pants, this time, and took them off before becoming a giant. While walking down the hallway, contemplating on what to do, I became aware of various stares at my person. These stares were a mixture of nervousness, anxiety, and fear. Nervousness, because they didn't know what to do, say, or think, anxiety because the guards didn't so much as blink an eye at me, and fear because I was a giant monster roaming the halls.

I sighed mentally, and had a few thralls explain to those who saw me that I was summoned by the late king to solve their "demon" problem, and that the new queen had accepted my presence. We let them think what they will about the various Undying and normal guards saluting as I past, as well as the few that were following my person. There was only a few bystanders who were there when I butchered the hero right after I made him watch as his companions were raped repeatedly, and they fled my sight the moment my eyes were upon them. Guess they didn't enjoy the show.

We wandered the halls, as I contemplated what to do with my time. I couldn't very well run off to explore the world, not with the children still here, and we still haven't found out where they belonged. I wasn't about to drop them off at the nearest orphanage, because I didn't know what would happen to them. These thoughts kept me in a confused state, and when I awoke from it, I found myself as a kobold with only pants. The door to the children's new room was in front of me, so I rapped my knuckles once, then entered.

*****

The feline girl-child opened up more to myself, the squeaking queen, and a few of the maids who had children of their own, over the next few days. From one of the maids, I found out the girl wasn't touched by a man, but fell onto something hard, which would explain why the female guard found bruising around the area. This was, in and of itself, a relief, as I was loathe to try and explain why a male would do to her what I thought someone did.

The wolf boy-child, on the other hand, regained consciousness within a day, and tried to attack my kobold body as I was about to pick up the girl-child. She stared wide eyed at the pair of us, when he began floating and flailing in front of my person. It was here that they found out I could use magicks, and were scared at first, but became less wary as time went on. Well, I would say this, except for the fact that the boy-child continued to try and "protect" the girl-child from the "scary kobold who knew how to use magicks".

The scene was entertaining, to say the least, for the first couple of days. However, I was becoming more annoyed by the third day. I would have snapped, if it weren't for the fact that four beings were here for the children. These beings, two males and their female partners, claimed guardianship over the children we had. It seems the pair who were looking for the boy-child only came upon the guards by happenstance. They were searching for the whereabouts of the girl-child's place of residence, when the frantic parents asked them of their own, and became relieved, and a tad frightened, to know he was staying in the castle with a kobold watching over them.

The first pair to show up were, quite obviously, the parents of the wolf boy-child. The male was a muscular wolf-kin with dark brown hair, ears, and a bushy tail that curled towards his lower back. His skin was bronze in colour, as though he spent far too much time in the sun. However, the truth of that matter was he works in a forge, and his skin became that colour after plying his craft to various living metals. Living metals, by the by, are metals that have absorbed the energies of the world for hundreds of years. So much so, many of them have wills of their own, and beating them into shape causes many skins of blacksmiths to change in colour to match metals used. In his case, it was equal amounts of copper and tin to create bronze.

The female, on the other hand, was of the Tundra Wolf tribe, but chose to live with the wolf-kin despite opposition from the tribe. She did explain her situation, even though I never asked, and decided to ignore it. Probably wasn't the best choice on my part, but I didn't really needed to hear someone's life-story just for the retrieval of their child. However, what told me they were his parents was two factors. One, she had the same blue-gold eyes as the boy-child, and two, from the fact that after he saw them, he cried, "Mama! Papa," and leapt into their arms. Whereupon, they hugged, cried, scolded, and cuddled the child.

The other two to claim guardianship of the feline were an odd pair. They were a pair of white cat-kins in matching red clothing. The male had a red, tailor made suit that made him look like a butler, while the female had a red maid outfit. They spoke oddly, too. Mistress this, or Mistress that, and never saying I, we, or my. However, when the feline girl-child entered the room, the male was the one to speak up with, "The Mistress will be pleased you are well. Come." He then motioned for her to follow him, but she refused, and hid behind my kobold body.

The male's eye twitched, as he retrieved something that resembled a bull whip, but much shorter. This action caused the girl to cry, but stopped when an Undying placed the tip of its sword upon the nape of his neck. "It is punishment for disobedience," he tried to explain, as the female cat-kin began pulling out what looked like needles from a hidden pocket.

"The Mistress," she began, but began to choke as I used both arms to choke the air in front of them.

"I do not care," I growled at the pair of them, as I plied a levitation spell to them to make them float towards my being. Gone from my eyes were the starry night's sky, and in its place were a pair or crimson orbs that flare brightly in front of them. They began to claw at my arms, as their necks were in my grasp, and were now being dragged towards a pair of four-armed Undying.

"You will spend a night with the Torturer. He has gotten lonely of late, and will be glad for the company." The pair began to struggle fiercely, but it was for naught as the Undying began to chain them up, and dragged them towards the dungeons.

Looking down at my arms, I could see cracks on them, telling me the illusion was about the expire. Quickly, I reapplied the illusion, then turned around to see a quivering feline girl-child peeking out from behind and equally scared pair of maids. The maids had come with the girl-child to see her off, and to give her a few sweets when she left.

"Who is this 'Mistress'," I wondered aloud, whilst looking in the direction of the girl-child. Whoever this person was, they've made the top of my list of people who must die.