My New Toy (Completed)

Chapter 4: Monsters

Surely later in the evening there was a meeting somewhere close by the village. It wasn't in Lady Dimitrescu's home but in some dirty underground area. Irene and the mistress were the last to arrive, where she saw four others in a room conversing together. One looked like a monstrous fish man, another was a woman dressed in all black and covered face with a doll in a white wedding dress, the third being a seemingly regular man with a giant steel hammer and smoking a cigar, and the last one was a woman with long blonde hair and in ceremonial garb. She was standing at the head of the group so Irene assumed that was Mother Miranda. The red headed girl stayed secluded in an area of the underground unit to watch the conversation happen. The mistress explained to Irene beforehand that they are not as merciful or lenient as she is, that if they saw her they may have used her for this ritual they would need to conduct.

Being here gave Irene the shivers more and she felt uneasy that these people were also different types of monsters. How could the three seem like monsters when the fish man seemed more terrifying? She watched from a door window, overhearing a conversation between them and her mistress on the other side.

"Now let's get to business of why we're all here." Spoke the woman at the head of the group, "We need to find a new vessel to experiment on so we can bring my daughter Eva back. None of the villagers have children and we haven't seen any young females roaming about the area. Anyone have any ideas?" Everyone went silent especially Irene's mistress who tried to not look back suspiciously, but the man with the cigar could obviously tell she was hiding something. His eyes went to the door where the window was located, Irene immediately hiding from sight and he took a long drag before huffing put some smoke.

"What about you Alcina? No new people trying to sneak in your home?" He spoke up and smirked, making the mistress uncomfortable and her taking a drag off the cigarette she had herself out of nervousness.

"Fuck off, Karl. That is none of your business. Don't you have anyone to offer up this time instead of me?"

"Hey now. No need to be defensive. I'm just asking a simple question. Maybe that you've had anyone you could let Miranda use to bring her little girl back?"

It was quiet in the room for the longest time while all eyes were on Alcina. She didn't speak a word until she gathered her thoughts, hoping no one would see Irene. It was rare she got to keep someone all to herself instead of giving them up to Mother Miranda. She wouldn't let them have Irene to experiment on. Not as long as she was around.

"No I do not. I haven't seen anyone to catch lately. If I see anyone you can use I will make sure to hand them over."'

"Very well. You know as well as I do we need a young vessel to bring her back, even younger could help. If you find anyone please inform me immediately. All of you."

Irene listened in on the conversation and wondered why her mistress hadn't tried to give her up for experimentation. Maybe she wasn't that much of a monster after all. With everyone being dismissed within the next few minutes of conversation, the only ones left were Miranda, the man with the hammer, and her mistress. Mother Miranda stayed a bit behind to talk with her mistress, while the man with the hammer made his exit. He came through the door that Irene had been watching through and she hid away from his sight. Upon shutting the door, he dragged on his cigar again and smirked. He wasn't even looking in her direction when leaning on a pillar nearby.

"So what's Alcina got with you? This is the first time she's ever kept a human as a pet. Don't be shy now. Come on out. I don't bite.~"

Irene moved away from her hiding spot and cautiously walked over toward the man, not turning her back for a moment. He looked over and turned in her direction, moving closer while he put the cigar back in his mouth. His hand gripped her face and looked her over, then going to grab at her wrist and see the marks on it from her mistress' bite.