Divine Singularity || Reader x Murder Drones

VI

Surprisingly, J never did come to give you a stern talking to. Must've been too caught up in taking care of Tessa. And even more surprising was that apparently, James and Louisa had left for a business conference and would stay the night somewhere else, leaving Tessa alone with the company of the manors drone workforce. So luckily, you and Tessa had narrowly managed to avoid trouble. Well, you did at least. Your owner still had to hide the wound till it healed, and even then, you were sure that it would scar. One Way or another, her parents would find out.

With no tasks assigned to you, you opted to take a seat on the stairway, spending the past few hours sitting there and letting your thoughts swirl as you tried to find a foothold in the mess of the day. The images in your head—the fragments of unfamiliar memories; Tessa's injury that gnawed at your mind, guilt welling up in your core. And then, there was Cyn. Cyn, with her dark presence that seemed to suffocate you whenever she was near. The little eldritch drone that seemed to know more about you than you did yourself, and seemed to follow you wherever you went.

You sighed, slumping into your hands, as if your palms would somehow give you reprieve from your troubles. Unbeknownst to you, someone else had noticed your solitary slump. The soft, muted sound of footsteps against the carpet reached your audio sensors, and you glanced up to see another drone taking a seat next to you.

"Rough day?" he asked, his expression light and sympathetic, a small, friendly grin edging across his face.

You recognized him immediately—N. He'd been there when Tessa had first brought you to the manor. A quick scan of memories that definitely belonged to you brought back snippets of Tessa mentioning him, hinting that you two might get along well. Judging by his easy going presence now, you were beginning to understand why she'd thought that.

"You could say that," you replied. "I made a rather big mistake today. I let Tessa get hurt. And because of that, she'll probably be punished."

N's easy smile faded. "You know about the punishments?"

"Only through word of mouth. I haven't met her parents in person yet, nor seen the punishments themselves.."

He let out a low sigh, leaning back against the stair railing. "I wouldn't want to say they're cruel, but... I honestly can't think of a better way to describe them. Especially when it comes to Tessa. Their standards and expectations, they're all too high for a girl her age."

You considered his words, the vague choice of phrases like "expectations" and "standards," as though even the language around Tessa's parents was carefully restrained, controlled. "...what kind of punishments does she receive?" you asked. You had heard they were bad, but you still didn't know exactly what Tessa was put through.

N seemed to avoid your gaze, fiddling with his fingers. "W-well, usually the master and mistress lock Tessa up in her room, which admittedly doesn't sound too bad at first, but it's a whole other matter when chains are involved..."

Your processor stalled, your thoughts freezing in place as if a sudden chill had swept over them.

Chains?

You almost didn't believe it, yet the look in N's optics told you he wasn't exaggerating. James and Louisa, people who were ostensibly Tessa's parents, were actually chaining her up?

Your mind struggled to piece together a rational response, but the thought continued to hover, impossible to ignore. "They... chain her?" you managed to ask, though the words felt foreign in your mouth—disgusting even.

N nodded, his own expression twisting with a mixture of shame and discomfort, as though he'd failed somehow just by telling you. "Only when they think she's... misbehaving." The word carried a bitterness that didn't seem entirely his own, a bitterness he'd picked up by witnessing what Tessa endured. "But sometimes they do worse things. Sometimes they'll get physical with her."