"Daddy! Daddy! Look!"
I smiled and pointed at my reflection on the smooth surface of the lake. I leaned over the side of our small wooden boat, mesmerized by the ocean of stars.
"Please remember -, that I loved you."
I knit my eyebrows together and turned to look at my father, but before I could twist my body I felt two strong hands shove me out of the boat and into the lake. The icy water made me gasp, and my lungs filled with liquid. I struggled to keep my head up, but my arms were too frail to counterbalance my leg's dead weight. It wasn't long before I stopped struggling, legs and soaked dress dragging me down. My heart slowed and my mind went blank as I slowly descended deeper into the lake. Black tendrils clouded the edge of my vision, and in the midst of the darkness I saw a lone face.
'Daddy?'
(Slender's POV)
I pulled the sopping wet body out of the water. It was a shame. I was hoping that I might be able to deal with her father myself. And though I wasn't to interfere with his personal matters, I couldn't help but save his daughter after he left. Poor girl, well maybe I could make use of her somehow. The manor could do with a woman's touch.
"Daddy?"
I was brought back to the pale form before me as she sat up and started coughing up the water that had undoubtedly filled her lungs.
"Daddy?" She repeated, then turned towards me.
Before I could correct her, she threw her arms around my neck, a feat she was able to perform due to my low crouching stance that I had taken up earlier. "Daddy."
I knew I should have pried her off with great ease, but something in her tone stopped me. It was as if she wanted, no needed me to be there for her. For once I succumbed to another's needs and nodded softly. "Yes, yes dear. Come along, we're to go home now."
I gently removed her arms from my neck and stood up, grasping her hand in my own and pulling her up. She stood for a moment, smiling at me, before her legs crumpled under her and she clutched at my suit to keep from falling over. How could I have forgotten? She was as able to use her legs as much as she was able to speak. To be blunt, she could do very little of either.
I used a few of my tentacles to lift her into my arms, something she found highly amusing. I carried her bridal style, her arms once again around my neck. "Alright, hold on tight, we're going to travel very quickly."
She nodded and tightened her grip, signaling that she understood. And with that we began to slender-walk back to the house.