paixaorpg | And Haunting Little Tales [completed]

Entry tags:

And Haunting Little Tales [completed]

Character(s): Marluxia and Nina
Content: Moar experiments
Setting: ?
Time: Week two, ?
Warnings: ~~Marluxia and children.~~ Marluxia's a bastard.

He had already gained her trust; now all he had to do was add fear to make sure she never disobeyed.

Marluxia allowed the Dusks to strap the child to the table this time and waited until they had left to go to her side. "I'm very sorry about this, but if they knew I was helping you, I'd be taken away. Now stay very still." He phased through her, raising an eyebrow. It seemed that father of hers wasn't as innocent as she believed.

As for her "brothers," he'd allow her to keep them for now. At least, until he could find something that could sever her ties to them.

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Nina shivered and watched Marluxia with wide eyes as she was strapped down by the terrifying, chimera-like monsters. But Marluxia said it would be okay, so--so she simply stayed still and tried not to shake too much.

"Wh-what're you doing?" Nina asked, once he had moved through her like a ghost and somehow come out the other side.

He had a feeling having her restrained would only serve to help him. "Looking through your memories," Marluxa replied, turning around to face her again. "It's just one of the things I have to do," he assured her.

Nina squirmed uncomfortably but remained as calm as she could under the circumstances. Reading her memories? It seemed like some sort of magic trick, but she couldn't bring herself to laugh.

"You're not gonna tell anyone the bad stuff I did, are you?"

Bad stuff like taking cookies before dinner, sneaking into the basement where the chimeras were kept, and going outside without her scarf and mittens.

"Why would I do something like that?"

Marluxia put a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "As long as you never tell a soul the bad things I have done, I will never tell all that you have done. Promise?"

She smiled up at him, more confident when he seemed to be okay with her. "Promise!"

She squirmed again, hating to be tied down, and hoping Marluxia could keep the weird creatures away. "So what happens now?"

"I have to keep you in here for awhile, just like before," Marluxia replied. "I could tell you some more stories in the meantime." He thought back to the fearful expression she wore before. "Do those white creatures frighten you?"

"No!" Nina said, and then, after a pause: "Kind of."

They terrified her, to be honest, but she wanted to seem brave in front of Marluxia, who was trying to help her. Stories, though, sounded nice. "Stories, stories!"

"I knew you were a smart girl. They are scary, aren't they? They don't care whether or not you're a good girl or a bad girl; they'll attack anyone." If they were ordered to. "You should be very careful around them."

"What stories would you like to hear today?"

Nina nodded as Marluxia warned her, shivering without realizing at the idea of the strange, white monsters gobbling her up. She perked up again as he again brought up stories.

"A nice story!" Nina said. "About a princess!"

Marluxia shook his head. "I'm afraid I'm all out of nice stories for now. But I'll have one ready for you the next time we meet. But I'll make sure you're ready for any creature who might come your way. Knowledge can be one of the best weapons one can have, after all."

"Okay," she said, full of childish annoyance that was easily washed over with curiosity. "But next time one about a princess! What's this story about? The monsters?"

She kicked her legs as best she could, simply for something to do.

Marluxia nodded. "And others. They aren't the only monsters in this place, after all." He retrieved a chair and moved it next to the table, sitting down. "These others seek out anyone who has done anything bad in their lives."

He paused. "And when they find them, they devour their hearts."

Again he used half-truths, but that wasn't for her to know.

Nina jerked, eyes widening and her hands straining for a moment against her restraints as she tried to protect her heart, her imagination doing all the work necessary to fill in Marluxia's story with horrifying imagery.

"I don't want my heart eaten!"

"The world is a dangerous place," Marluxia warned. "More dangerous than you could ever imagine, and definitely too dangerous for such a little girl to handle. Even the strongest have fallen to those terrifying creatures, never to be seen again."

He shut his eyes as he shook his head. "The poor, blond boy for example. I never saw what became of him."

Nina had squeezed her eyes shut, as if not seeing them would prevent them from coming to attack her. She didn't want the things to eat her!

"B-but they don't hurt you," Nina said, shivering.

So she'd noticed, had she? She really was a smart little girl.

Marluxia shook his head. "No, they don't. You'll be safe with me, but you should be very careful when you're not. I'm the only one who can protect you."

"My brothers..." Nina said, her voice a choked, shaking whisper. "Would they hurt my brothers?"

Her eyes were wide and trusting, looking to Marluxia to help her. Surely her brothers were strong enough to protect themselves? They were so strong, and they knew alchemy, so... So they could protect themselves right? But--but monsters...

"I don't know. Have they ever been bad at all?" he asked her. "If they have, there's a chance they'll be attacked. If they've done nothing wrong in their lives, they'll be spared... maybe. The creatures seem to be a fickle sort."

He supposed he would have to assure her that nothing would happen to her brothers... He was curious as to how she would react if he left the statement as it was, but assurances were probably for the best. Children, after all, were too easy to break, and he still wanted her to be somewhat intact, even if only by a few threads.

"But they seemed to be capable, from what I saw of them."

Nina was reassured, to some degree. But she still shivered at the idea of her brothers being attacked and torn to pieces by the monsters. Small Big Brother knew about them, but she hadn't seen Big Brother lately. What if something bad had happened to him...?

"W-will you protect me? And them?"

Marluxia frowned as she asked that question. "You do trust me, don't you? I can't do anything for you if you don't," he warned her. "Well?"

"I trust you! I do!" Nina insisted, squirming once more in her restraints and nodding furiously. "So--so you'll protect me, right?"

She hoped so.

Marluxia decided not to answer one way or the other. "I'll do what I can." And it was somewhat true, at least. She wouldn't be much use to him if the heartless got to her, would she? Sweet little girls were far more difficult to find in this city than one would first think, especially sweet little girls known by most of the city.

He'd already seen how they'd panicked when she had been taken. Incredible how children could rally so many together.

"Then--then when I get back how do I tell you if I'm in trouble or I meet someone bad?"

The idea that she might stay here forever hadn't occurred to her; after all, her brothers would save her eventually, or Marluxia would, right? Since they were nice and would help her and then she'd be back with Alexander. Just the thought of Alexander made the constant ache come to the forefront of her mind, and she whined a bit.

"When you get home, everything will be fine." Whether or not that would really be the case he wasn't sure, but he had no other answer to her question. As she whined, the girl's last memory of her world came to the Nobody's mind. "You look like you're in pain," he commented.

As the pain was acknowledged, she sniffled. "'Cause Alexander's not here," she said, as if it were obvious. It was to her. When Alexander was close, it was okay. When he wasn't, it hurt. He was probably hurting, too. She hoped he wasn't hurting too much.

Alexander, the dog, the one she was connected to and might have been combined with had she not been whisked away here. "I can't help you with that," he told her. "I'm afraid you'll have to wait until they decide to let you go to make the pain go away."

"What else can you do because of Alexander?"

Nina thought for a while. No one had ever asked her that, and everything seemed so second nature to her that it was like asking her how she could speak.

"He can talk to animals so I can talk to them through him," she said, finally. "And when stuff smells weird sometimes I know or he tells me. Like how Demyx didn't smell like anything."

She nodded as if this were very significant.

Marluxia "hm"ed quietly to himself. So her dog was able to tell what they were (or so he guessed). He supposed the ability to speak with animals could have its own uses, though he would have to see when the opportunity presented itself.

"Is there anything else?"

"I don't think so," Nina said, tilting her head again. "But he hurts and I hurt when we're not together so I want Alexander here. Will I see him soon?"

"I'm sure you'll be seeing him soon enough," he assured her. "You just need to be patient. I'm sure you can do that, right? Just a little while longer."

Nina nodded, though she really wasn't sure how much longer she could wait. She squirmed again, wishing she could move, wondering why she was strapped to the table, though she wasn't sure if asking Marluxia why she was strapped down would be a good idea.

"Do I have to stay on this table for a long time?"

"No, not much longer. But I believe you'll be put on a different table next time," he told her. "You'll be seeing someone else then, I'm afraid. But I'm sure you'll be able to handle whatever it is that comes your way there."

He averted his gaze, instead staring at the floor.

The thought of seeing someone new and potentially dangerous was terrifying, and Nina wished at once she could stay with Marluxia. "Will they be nice? What will happen to me? Do you know?"

She looked to Marluxia with all the trust a child could have in someone they had decided was their guardian. Nina had a few guardians, but Marluxia was the only one around, and thus the only one she could cling to.

Marluxia shook his head. He glanced at her once, but otherwise kept himself from looking the girl in the eyes. Where her eyes were filled with emotion, his held none, and while he wanted to see the girl frightened, he didn't want something so simple as a gaze to ruin this. "I'm afraid I don't." It was the truth; he wasn't entirely sure what the one who would receive the child next would decide to do with her.

"But many here aren't as kind as I am, and I can do nothing to stop them. You'll have to handle this on your own."

Nina shivered. She--she could handle it, right? She was a big girl--five years old, now--and she could last a little longer, right? Marluxia would protect her if it was something really bad, or her brothers would come to save her, right?

"Mmhmm," she replied, miserable nonetheless.

He smiled and looked up at her again, patting her head. "That's a good girl."

The Dusks entered and took the girl away as Marluxia stepped back to give them room.

Nina smiled up at Marluxia, but the smile faded quickly as the Dusks came in. She shrieked and squirmed away from them uselessly, but they held her tight and took her back to her cell.

She promptly curled up in a corner and hoped for her brothers to come save her.

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And Haunting Little Tales [completed]

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