When Artemis went upstairs, the first thing he did was sit down in one of his arm chairs and open the box of files. Before he had any sort of interactions with this elf, he wanted to know a little more about her.

There were several jumbled up papers inside. However, they all had page numbers, so, after a few minutes of sorting, he managed to gather them all up in the correct order. Then he began to read.

Personal Fairy Facts:

Name- Holly Marianna Short

Age- Unknown

Parents- Chris Short and Coral Marianna

Bred- February 14th, Massachusetts Fairy Center

He stopped after reading that. He had already read through the rules and the information on the terms, species, and types of fairies, and all of the general need-to-know stuff, and was starting to read on the personal information about his elf, when he read that. Bred. Not born, bred. Like some cattle. . . . like some animal.

He threw the papers back in the box, disgusted with them, and snapped the lid closed on it, throwing it on the floor. He couldn't read anymore right now. He had things to attend to, anyway. . .He would set off his meetings for tomorrow, as he was already exhausted mentally.

He got up and walked across the room to his bed, where Butler had set the elf in her cage there on top of his blue sheets and left her. Carefully, he lifted the heavy blanket slightly so he could peek in on her. The glass of the cage clear while the locks and bottom were a shining silver.

She was lying there, in almost the exact same position as when he first saw her, with her head pillowed on her arms and curled up tightly. The only difference now was that she was not asleep.

Her hazel eyes widened when she saw him, and he could see her tense up. He tapped lightly on the glass, and she watched his hand with uncertainty. Sighing, he turned the cage slightly so the door was facing on the bed, and unlocked it again. He didn't take the blanket off the top, so she couldn't see around her, but she could see him again when he stuck his head inside the cage.

"Holly," he whispered, his voice soft and soothing as though talking to a new puppy or kitten, "It's okay. I'm going to take care of you, okay? You can trust me." He reached inside the cage and gently took her hand, pulling her towards him and out of the cage, and she whimpered. It was the first sound he'd heard her make, and it was not a good one. "It's okay," he promised again, looking deeply into her eyes and whispering, "I'm not going to hurt you. Trust me."

He finally succeeded in pulling her out of the cage and into his lap, holding her close. He was right before about her attire - it was the remains of probably what used to be a beautiful, blood red cocktail dress, but it was faded, torn and ripped in several places, and way too long for her, as it was probably fit for a human. She had most likely been wearing it for a long time.

She didn't move as he rocked her back and forth slowly, and he could feel her frozen form in his arms. She was obviously terrified. Knowing this, he didn't push her to speak or move, but instead finally sighed and just laid her on the bed. She jumped at the sudden shift, but didn't say anything, so he took it as a good sign and decided that now would be as good a time as ever to check her body over.

"Holly," he said softly, and she met his eyes without speaking. "I want to check over your body, to make sure that there's nothing physically wrong with you. If I touch you somewhere, and it hurts, don't be afraid to tell me. I have to know. Okay?" She nodded. "Good. And, once I know what kind of state you are in, I'll decide what to do with you next."

This time she didn't respond, so he went ahead and started probing around her body. She was silent through all of it, and though she did flinch a few times when he hit some bruised or sore spots, she never made any sounds and he didn't find any broken bones or ribs. She was completely intact, though she did feel weak, and he didn't doubt he could change that easily if he wanted to. If he squeezed her hand too tightly it would probably shatter.

Once he finished, he stared at her for a moment in silence, and she stared back. Finally he asked her, "Can you talk?"

Holly licked her lips and cleared her throat, her eyes closing. Her lips parted, and, after a moment of effort, she managed to say, "I- I can talk. It's just been a while since I have...a- and I wasn't sure if I was allowed."

Artemis nodded. "I understand. However, you are allowed to speak, and I would appreciate it if you would from now on. Do you understand?"

She nodded. "O-okay. I guess. . . ." She stopped and wet her obviously dry lips again, her eyes flitting back up to him. "So, what are you going to do with me?"

"Right now, I'm going to give you a shower. And then . . . well, and then I'm not sure. We'll see later." He grabbed her arm and pulled her up, setting her on the floor easily. "You can walk, correct?"

"Yeah..."

"Alright. Follow me, then."

Artemis slid off the bed and stood next to her, walking into his adjoining bathroom and heading straight to the tub to start some water for her. She came in behind him, peering over his shoulder at the facet and the spraying shower head, and then stepping away from it quickly. "What is that thing?" she gasped, her eyes wide.

It was then Artemis remembered she wouldn't have any knowledge of primitive human technology; she'd lived in a cage her whole life, after all. "It's a bathtub, and that's a shower head," Artemis answered, pointing stuff out to her as he named them. "This is a faucet here; that's what controls the water pressure and what makes it turn on and off."

She nodded, but she still looked hesitant to get near it. "Is it. . . is it safe?"

He laughed. "Of course it's safe. And you had better hope it is, considering you're getting in it. That reminds me. . . " He turned around and knelt next to her. "Put your arms above your head."

"Why?" she asked, but nevertheless did as she was told.

With one swift movement, he grabbed the hem of her dress and pulled it over her head. "So I can help you get your clothes off, of course," he answered, as he tossed it aside. "Did you really plan to wear that into the tub?"

Her face turned a brilliant crimson, but she didn't try to cover herself. She knew better than that. She shrugged. "I- I didn't know I wasn't supposed to. I've never used one of these things before."

"Holly, the purpose of the tub is to get your body clean. Which kind of means you have to be able to get to your body," Artemis said, shaking his head.

"But what about my clothes?" she asked. Then a thought seemed to occur to her, and she suddenly looked horrified as she asked, her breathing speeding up. "I'm not going to have to keep my clothes off, am I?"

"Not forever," he assured her quickly. "Just until you get clean and dry off. At any rate, we have machines called washers and dryers to clean our clothes. We don't have to put them in the tub with us." He paused. "Plus, I believe my parents got you some new clothes, so this old thing is no longer important anyways. Now, get in while I get a washcloth. . . . "

Holly obediently climbed in over the side of the tub, sitting beneath the spraying jet of water and waiting for him to turn back to her. "What's that for?" she asked curiously.

"So I can get you clean," Artemis replied, giving her a quizzical look. "Why else?"

"Why do you humans have machines that can clean your clothes for you, but none that will clean you?" She looked up, and got some water in her eyes and nose. She freaked out then, frantically wiping her face with her hands.

Artemis laughed. "I don't know. We haven't invented one. I guess we're still okay with cleaning ourselves."

"I guess," she murmured, quirking a shoulder and turning away. After a moment of silence, she added, "Are you going to clean me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because, I am your master. It's my job. And anyhow, do you even know how to clean yourself?"

She thought about it and didn't answer for a while. Eventually she just said, "Is that what I am supposed to call you then? Master?"

"If you'd like. I suppose I really haven't told you anything else to call me, have I?" She shook her head mutely. "Master it is, then. Now," he said, returning to her and taking in her nude form for a minute. She was obviously young, but not too young. Her breasts weren't of a child and the small patch of pubic hair suggested that she was an adolescent. Possibly the same age as him, only in fairy years. Artemis sighed, So young. He thought bitterly. The next thing the genius knew, he was kneeling beside the tub. "Give me your arm. . . "

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