“You won’t even try to claim her?” Christoph asked. After she’d finished force-feeding him scraps of monster meat, they’d made their way through the stream and back up to their cabin. Diana could wait for now. “You know,” he said, “if you had more slaves you could send them out on the hunting missions in your place.”

Emilia made a face, wriggling closer to him in their bed. “I thought you didn’t approve of how much time I spent in the cabin already.” she said.

“Oh?” He looked down at her, stroking a hand through her hair and over her ears. “I didn’t realize you actually paid any attention to what I thought.”

“Hmmph.” Emilia snapped her teeth at his hand as he scratched at her ears. “You just want to mate with a human female,” she said with a frown.

Christoph shuddered at the thought of taking the Templar into bed. “Don’t even joke about that,” he said. “She tried to kill me, remember? I don’t really care what happens to her now.”

“She tried to kill me too!” Emilia said.

“Oh,” Christoph said, silence falling over the lovers for a moment. “You’ve never killed a person before, have you?”

“No,” Emilia replied. Christoph blinked at the suddenness of her confession. He been suspicious, but far from sure. If that was true, that meant that she’d witnessed two deaths now. It was a wonder she had even been in the mood to lay with him tonight. Or was that just how she was?

“I did try to kill you that first time,” she said. “But I didn’t really think you were a person back then… By the way, that doesn’t seem to affect your desire to mate with me.”

Christoph looked up at her frown. “That was painful, but I never thought I was going to die.” he said. “Besides, you actually treat me relatively well considering our circumstances.”

“Only relatively well?” Emilia asked with a smirk. “You’ve got it better than most of the clan, you know?”

“No, I don’t think that anyone would think that but you,” he replied with a sigh. “Most people have higher priorities than sex, food, and sleep. Freedom, for instance. Not to mention this headache. I can’t tell if it’s the food or the exhaustion or the lack of sleep.”

“Too bad,” Emilia said, pressing her body up against his. “I caught you fair and square, and you’ll be stuck with me for the rest of your life,” she said. “There’s no way I’m claiming that woman as well – Leila’s the one who collects slaves. One is enough for me.”

Christoph smiled back down at her, reaching a hand back up to pat at her head once more. “Suit yourself,” he said. “This cabin isn’t big enough for three people, anyway.”

“I doubt she’d be able to sleep here anyway.” Emilia said. “You cry out in your sleep, you know?

Christoph stiffened at her words. Talking in his sleep? No, he hadn’t done that since-

“Was Henry the first person you killed?” she asked. “You didn’t seem to react at all until you saw his body.”

“I-” Christoph began.

“Why was staying alive the only thing you asked me to do for you?” Emilia’s expression changed to one of confusion. “Was the world you came from really such a dangerous place?”

“No,” Christoph said, turning to stare up at the ceiling. Night had fallen long ago, and the window that usually peered up into the blue sky now showed only darkness. “The other world was a safe place for me,” he said. “In all my life, I don’t think that I was really ever in any real danger at all.”

“Oh,” Emilia said. “Well, I like the way you are now, so I won’t force you to tell me, but Leila has been asking about it for a while now. You’ll have to go see her soon.”

…

“You’ve been here nearly three weeks now, how are you settling into village life?” Diana watched from the riverbank as Christoph stooped, water splashing as he washed at his laundry. The beast-woman had always seemed to be lurking over his shoulder ever since she’d been returned to the clan almost a week prior. Just the sight of her annoyingly concerned face was enough to make Christoph’s headache flare up.

“It’s easier than I thought,” Christoph replied. “In my world, being made a slave would usually mean a short life, followed by a painful death.”

She chuckled down at Christoph he scrubbed at his mistress’ clothes in the clear waters of the river.

“Is something funny?” Christoph asked.

“It’s just that you’re all the same, knights and adventurers alike,” Diana said. “You kick and shout, or slump down in defeat, but as soon as they sink their teeth into you, you turn into their little toys.”

“Toys?” Christoph felt a ball of unease forming in his stomach as she spoke, and a sudden pain pricked at his neck. Looking down into the water, he saw a scar covering his throat. Bite marks? Were they from where Emilia had bitten him that night? How had they not healed yet?

“Haven’t you seen Leila’s men walking around?” Diana asked. Christoph shook his head, and frowned down at him. “They all say the same thing. ‘It’s not as bad it could have been’.”

She looked down at Christoph as the human returned her frown, confusion covering his face. “It’s like you’re all dolls,” Diana said with a sigh. “You know, if you’d have come to me I would have let you keep ownership of your soul, at least.”

“Here.” Reaching out towards his head, Diana smiled down at the human man. “Let me do something about that headache of yours.”

…

“Terminal?” Christoph sat in an aging office chair, swinging back and forth as he waited for her reply.

“Yes?” Terminal asked. Her blonde hair covered most of her face, but then again ever since the hairdresser had broken down he’d decided to leave them be. Maybe they would learn to cut their own hair someday? Dolls cutting each others’ hair, the concept would have been almost funny if it wasn’t part of his reality.

“Unseal doors 12 through 35,” Christoph asked. “I wish to leave the lab.”

“Permission denied,” Terminal replied, her black box clicking softly as she processed his request. “Lock-down is in effect awaiting lady Josephine’s return.”

“When was lock-down initiated?” Christoph asked. He stood from the chair, almost tall enough to look into the doll’s eyes were her fringe not hiding them from sight.

“Lock-down was initiated 14 years, 3 months and 12 days ago,” Terminal responded. “Cause of lock-down was intruders in the outer labs.”

“When was my mother last seen on the premises?” Christoph asked.

“Last contact with lady Josephine was 14 years, 3 months and 12 days ago,” Terminal said. “Contact was lost following lady Josephine’s contact with intruders in the outer labs.”

“How many dolls are there left?” Christoph asked, reaching out to lift a hammer from the top of his mother’s old desk.

“There are 14 functional units remaining,” the doll replied emotionlessly as he reached up to wrap his fingers into the long blonde locks of her hair.

“How long until total shutdown of the labs?” Christoph pulled the doll to the side, toppling her onto her knees and resting his left hand on the top of her head as his right clutched the hammer.

“Even with the loss of all functional units, it is estimated that the facility will continue to function indefinitely,” Terminal said.

“How long until I gain full access permissions?” Christoph asked, drawing his right hand back to lift the hammer in the air. “How long until I can leave?”

“Full access permission are scheduled to be transferred to you in 2 years, 5 mon-”

The hammer smashed into the side of Terminal’s face, crushing her jaw and rendering the remainder of her sentence intelligible. The second swing took her in the temple, and the third smashed most of her face into an unrecognisable mass of meat. The door to the office opened, another doll stepping in to stand over the boy.

“Loss of Terminal detected,” she said. “Registering current unit as Terminal pending lady Josephine’s return.”

“Do you want me to cut your hair?” Christoph asked, tossing the hammer away and wiping his bloody hands on the former Terminal’s long black dress.

“Units do not possess the capability to desire,” Terminal replied.

“How does this make you feel?” Christoph asked, gesturing down at the broken doll beneath him. “Are you afraid?”

“Units do not possess the capability to feel,” Terminal replied.

“Besides desires and feelings, what is it that separates the units from the living?” Christoph asked.

“Records indicate the lady Josephine considered a soul necessary in a living subject,” Terminal said. “However, the whereabouts of Angel are currently unknown.”

“A soul…” Christoph sighed up at the doll, moving to sit down in his mother’s seat once again. “How do you measure the existence of a soul, then?”

“Records do not hold any indication that lady Josephine ever defined such parameters,” Terminal replied. “Sir Daniel once said that ‘If you were alive, you would be afraid to die, too,’ although it would seem there is more to a soul than fear of death.”

“Fear of death…” Christoph looked over at the blonde doll, and down to where her predecessor lay broken on the office floor. “Am I really even alive?” he asked. “Am I really human? What did uncle Dan have to say about that?”

“Sir Daniel did not express such concerns, however, lady Josephine once said ‘Christoph is perfect, my perfect little boy. Everything about him is pristine and immaculate.'” Terminal paused for a moment before repeating herself. “Whereabouts of Angel are currently unknown.”

…

Christoph’s head ached as he ran, feet pounding over the dirt and tree roots of the forest floor. The village faded from sight behind him as he crossed the clearing around the grove, stepping into the forest without pause. Was he being followed? No, he left Diana by the edge of the stream and snuck away unnoticed for now.

Unless she had merely pretended to leave, it was doubtful that anyone had noticed his escape. Escape? Christoph winced as his head flared in pain, ignoring the growing urge to turn back to the village he was running from. Had she really taken his soul? He kept Diana’s words in his mind, remembering what Emilia had said to him on the night of their ritual. ‘You are mine, body and soul’.

Christoph shook his head as he ran. His soul was his, and his alone. Emilia had treated him well for a slave, but in the end he had been just that. Freedom… as far as he was concerned, his life in the village had been free enough. What would his father say to that? He could not feel resentment at her orders, either. Was that a result of his years living alone with Terminal? Remembering his mother’s dolls made Christoph’s skin crawl.

His soul was something he could not relinquish. He would not become like her, not like them. He was alive, he was sure of that. His father had said… Christoph stumbled as his head pulsed in pain, clutching at his temples as he passed deeper into the forest. Where would he go? To the south was the human lands, but to the north was the dwarven kingdom, and the plains of Manitas, god of the lost. Who had told him that? Groaning in pain, he stopped his advance, looking up as several figures appeared from the trees ahead of him. Four of them were clad in shining silver armor, but the last was wearing no armor at all, a long-handled hammer clutched in his hands as he stood half-naked in the forest air.

“Good morning,” Gideon said.”I hear that my former companions decided to attack your village on their own. I trust that they are well?” The Paladins spread out to surround Christoph in a half-circle, Gideon standing at the center of their formation.

“The woman survived,” Christoph said. Gideon was here? No, they had been expecting him to appear, hadn’t they? He shook his head again to clear his thoughts.

“Has Leila claimed her?” Gideon asked, ignoring his confusion.

“She…” Christoph frowned over at the Executioner for a moment. That’s right, Leila had been waiting for him to-

There was a slight distortion in front of the Executioner before the air split apart, a flash of dark fur and bright steel slamming into the black-armored knight and pushing him back across the leaf-covered ground.

“Hello Leila,” Gideon said, light shining from where his hammer had produced its massive blade. “Did you miss me?”

“It’s good to see you Gideon,” Leila replied, lifting her equally oversized sword to point towards his chest with a single hand. “Has mother been treating you well?”

“She has,” he replied, taking up his own stance. Her mother? Christoph backed away from the four Paladins as Gideon spoke. “I know that you never agreed that I should be the one to wield her, but this was her wish. I hear that you had to kill one of my subordinates.”

“I was protecting my little sister,” Leila said, rising to her full height. “Gideon, former slave to Lord Stellar of the Greater Paw! I hereby challenge you to a duel.”

“I shall accept your challenge,” Gideon replied. “But I doubt that Stellar would have been happy to see us fighting like this.”

“Don’t think for a moment that I am doing this because of her,” Leila said. “If I defeat you, it will not be my mother’s soul that I claim as my own!”

“I know that,” Gideon said, reaching up to touch at his neck. The scars he bore always flared with pain in the cold. Christoph mimicked his actions as his pain grew, the ache in his head still pounding after his feet had ceased.

“Christoph!” Emilia called out as she appeared behind him, Diana following soon after. “What-”

An explosion rang out as Leila and Gideon clashed, a shockwave of dust rising as their blades met. The two combatants struck at each other with abandon, and they soon disappeared into the forest, a handful of trees falling in the wake of their blows.

“Don’t come any closer!” Christoph clutched a hand to his head as it flared in pain.

“Christoph?” Emilia came to a halt, drawing her daggers as the Paladins standing opposite her lifted their swords and shields.

“My soul…” Christoph looked up at her through blurred eyes. “I can’t give you my soul!”

“No, you…” Emilia stopped, looking over at him with a confused face. “It’s not-”

“Don’t lie!” Christoph winced in pain. Diana stepped in front of Emilia as the Paladins began to approach. “Be careful, Emilia,” she said. “Lord Leila is not here to protect you anymore.”

Emilia pushed the taller woman to the side, taking a step forwards as Christoph slumped to his knees. “Come back to the village,” she said, glancing up at the four knights as they took another step forward. “You know the church is looking for you. Why did you come out here?”

Christoph looked up at the beast-girl, her ears lying flat against her head in an expression of dejection. Why? He had been running, hadn’t he? Wasn’t that the right thing to do in this situation? No, should he go back to the village after all? He felt a sudden urge to be inside of the cabin once more, but his pounding head drowned that out.

“I…” he hunched over in sudden pain, and the Paladins took another step towards him. “I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t…”

“Christoph!” Emilia called to him, holding out an arm across the distance. “Come back,” she said. “Please.”

Christoph reached an arm out to her, slowly rising to his feet. “I-” he began.

The familiar wet thunk of a blade piercing flesh interrupted Christoph’s words, and he blinked in confusion. Emilia returned his expression, the tip of Diana’s knife jutting from the front of her chest as she fell to her knees with a thud. Behind her, Christoph could see the taller woman staring over at him with a grin. The Paladins moved, and as the air rent with a flash of blue light, he saw Diana slowly close one of her eyes in a mischievous wink.