A.N. I know, I know. I seem to be making my chapters short and sweet. Well, from the reader's pov, its more one than the other, right? But if I can pull off another where its similar length measures up to four pages, then it is deliberate, and not because the author can't think up more content. Heh, or maybe I'm just deluding myself. I wonder if anyone will actually read this.

Bishonen and Bishojo: Daughter of the Mob

Chapter 3

When she woke up this time, she found herself cushioned and in a semi-upright position. Not to say in the least a lack of pain from her leg or wrist. There was also the little matter of a warm weight in her lap and the distinct feeling of eyes watching her very closely but without any evil intent. With her own eyes still closed in the faintest attempt to feign sleep, her hand twitched, flexing, in order to shake away the sleepy lethargy that comes with being deep under. The movement also served to redirect the attention once focused solely on her face as well as tell her that she was reclining on something with a smooth expensive fabric. She could recognize the quality just by the touch. She had developed her eye for fine things on her rare trips with her father when he wanted to show her off to the higher ups in their expensive mansions and offices.

Sooty lashes quivered and then rose, revealing eyes just as dark beneath. The warmth in her lap squirmed around rather painfully, what with a sharp knee scraping her hipbone in its attempt to settle comfortably. Aela's hands darted forward to lift under her burden's armpits to halt the painful movement. But she chuckled when sapphire blue eyes peered up at her from thick blonde lashes like a kitten caught by the nape of the neck after doing something naughty kittens shouldn't do.

"Just stop kneeing me please. That hurts."

"All right." And the child was set down with Aela's arms around her in a semi-hug. The child fairly purred with the positive attention as Aela looked her surroundings over.

It seemed they were situated in a study. A well appointed room with a handsome fireplace against the far wall. Directly ahead of her wingback chair, a solid wood desk loomed, imposing in its size, but delicate in its make. The seat of honor behind its massive length was empty, for which Aela was glad. She did not want to meet the master of that chair at the moment, let alone at all. Typically, the ones who owned such furniture did not place much patience in fifteen year old girls, and the ones who did take an interest... Generally was not an interest she wanted taken in her. Not too pleasant a thought.

In a voice hushed but not urgent, she asked politely, "Where am I?" in the hopes that this well-bred daughter would tell more than she was supposed to know. It would not do to let the kid know how desperately she needed the information. She also didn't know if she was being monitored. No self-respecting affiliate of her father's would ever consider leaving a prisoner with what was an obviously high born daughter, no matter if said prisoner was also a relatively young girl as well.

"Ebon Askavi."

Well that was piped back readily. Aela made an encouraging sound. Sometimes children took that as an invitation to reel off anything and everything that came in their heads. Plus, that name rang a bell somewhere.

"This is where my cousin rules the Realm from. She said she wanted to meet you, and so does her Daemon, and even a number of the boyos. If they get all snarly, you can just snarl back. If you're not intending to hurt one of us, they'll back down. They'll even be glad if you snarl back, if you do it right. But I don't think you have anything to worry about. You did it pretty well when you got here, that's why everyone knows about you and wants to meet you. You were like a dark bomb in the webs. My name's Janaelle, who're you? Are you really a trainer? Daemon says that you are, but you haven't been glomping everyone."

Aela's head was reeling. Yes, a bit too much information. But two names had caught her attention. "Daemon, the same who's with your cousin that rules the area?" The outpouring of facts had started to make sense, but then it was quickly blown away when they didn't add up.

This girl, Janaelle, (and wasn't it just a coincidence that two of the names of her favorite book characters were being used here?) looked at her like she was the silliest of geese.

"No," she laughed, "that is Witch's Daemon, the one I was talking about is the Daemon who is my constant 'no its too dangerous, Janaelle, you can't do that Janaelle, I just want you safe, Janaelle' Daemon. You know, the one who constantly pesters me and annoys me, and who is absolutely NOT 'my' Daemon, like Witch has 'her' Daemon."

Aela sat with a small frown on her face, digesting that statement for a second.

"You, have a lot of people named Daemon around here?"

"Yep, and each and every one goes through his Sadist stage when he evolves from chibi into san stage. Brr, that's a lot of guys who will go cold at the oddest things. And each one has a different trigger. But you still haven't told me your name." And then came the dreaded puppy dog eyes.

Aela crumpled.

"Michaela, but please call me Aela."

"Why?" Uh oh, there was that mischievous tone of voice. Aela knew that tone when the brats she used to babysit wanted to make her life hell by asking the 'why' game until she was pulling her hair out.

"Because all my friends do..." she said insinuatingly. If this Janaelle had any smarts, she'd intuit that Aela was offering to be her friend if she'd cut the crap.

It just so happened that she was in luck.

"Really?! OK Aela! But you'll have to call me... well, 'Janaelle' doesn't really have a nickname, but all the Lucivars call me 'little cat' or something like it. So does Daemon, but he can't do that."

Nodding sagely, Aela felt that she was just beginning to understand this precocious minx. And a little bit about this 'not-mine' Daemon who so obviously acted the elder brother. She was also absentmindedly petting Janaelle's hair while congratulating herself on her powers of perception when an actual purr erupted from the child on her lap. Aela's eyes widened visibly when she realized that this 'little cat' was breathing regularly through her nose. Humans just couldn't purr exactly like a feline. When they imitated the sound, it had to pass the vocal cords through their normal airways, which would usually interrupt the breathing patterns to a certain extent. Janaelle's purr was independent of her breath, just like a cat's.

It was the first hint Aela had that those around her weren't exactly human.

The resonant click of a solid wood door opening interrupted the cozy scene of a girl and a chibi cuddling. The stoking fingers halted their way through shimmering gold tresses and prompted Janaelle to protest their cessitation. Soft padding footsteps rounding the wingback had two sets of eyes trained on their instigator. Sapphire narrowed in compounded annoyance not only because the footsteps possessor irritated her on a constant basis, but additionally their presence stopped such wonderful hands from playing with her hair. No one but her mother, a Janaelle-sama knew just where to stroke, and when to massage, and chibi Janaelle was quite wroth.

Ebon pools regarded the entrant from the tips of his gold frosted and stylishly tousled hair to the matte black of his probably expensive leather shoes, and raised an eyebrow.

"Daemon, I presume?" she asked with a touch of frost inherent in her words.

A calculating cold gold gaze returned the favor. "Done oogling?" there was only the faintest bit of curiosity in his voice. For a new trainer invited to the Bishie worlds, she was showing remarkable restraint, even if she didn't know she was technically allowed to capture them.

A slow blink was his reply. Hmm.

Being unable to contain her outburst any longer, Janaelle spewed her childlike vitriol. "What are you doing here?"

And just like that, the attention was off Aela. She could only watch the chibi-baiting.

"My, my, little cat, forgotten so soon?"

"I didn't forget anything! I know we're here to see Witch!"

"Ah ah, dear, it seems you have missed something. Only she," gold orbs flicked in Aela's direction before moving on, "is supposed to see Witch. You weren't asked for."

"What?!" came the furious shriek, just before those same petting hands clamped gently over her mouth. Attention summarily diverted, and an almost puppyish betrayed look in her eyes begged for an explanation.

Aela only winced a bit before removing her hand. "Remember your knee? Just like that, only with your voice. It hurts."

And Janaelle quickly donned a contrite look. She hadn't meant for her new friend to feel pain. But Daemon, on the other hand... The Chibi returned a glare to her face and directed it back at the appropriate designated receiver.

But Daemon decided he wasn't going to notice. Instead, he only had an elegant brow raised at that little interaction. It normally took him a gag, some kicking struggles and an explanation to her mother before Chibi-Janaelle would leave off the shrieking if she got it into her mind to perpetuate it. Internally, it made him reassess the female holding what could possibly be the Realm's future Witch.

"I want to go with Aela!"

"Aela?"

"My name," the trainer said dryly, directing a silent look to her compatriot on her lap asking silently if this Daemon was acting the fool for her benefit. If he wasn't, then that certainly left some questions to be asked about his mental capacity.

Daemon caught that silent communication as it was not sent on a distaff thread; it was pure body language. With a slight scowl invoked, he curtly held out a long fingered hand to Janaelle and helped her off the 'dangerous new trainer'. He did not like his mental capacity being questioned so blatantly.

"It is past time for your appointment with Witch. Come. She is not usually kept waiting."

The words, "Indeed not," spoken with a mature midnight sepulcher voice killed the retort on Aela's lips. And it was such a good comeback too. Pity.

Leaning against a doorframe hidden in the wall near the desk was an older copy of the Janaelle standing just to the side of Aela's chair. It was Witch in all her glory, and the only san staged Janaelle in the entire Realm. But then, Aela didn't know that little pearl. All she knew was that all those little confusing puzzle pieces gathering in her head started to snap together.

"That... That wasn't just a gimmick website, was it?" The question tacked on at the end was asked much slower than the beginning.

And those terrifying Sapphires which eclipsed chibi-Janaelle's were peering into her soul. It was both stripping, and freeing. Terrifying that someone, anyone, could see so clearly what made her what she was, and also exhilarating. She would have nothing to hide with this person, and that Aela was important enough that such a powerful treasure of a person would look so deeply at her.

After endless, year-long seconds, Witch shook her head no. And when Aela was about to ask another question, a mischievous smile broke out on the adult Janaelle's mobile face and pre-empted the answer in a voice that lacked the resonant echo Witch had when the abyss lurked behind her words.

"And no, it wasn't a dream."

Aela frowned then. Her fingers clenched the ends of the armrests before using the grip to propel herself out of the cushiony clutches of the evil chair. With the forward momentum, she slowly padded her way around the desk to stand less than two feet from a character she had only read before in a book. Black eyes searched twinkling sapphire. When her hand reached up, the attendant Daemon tensed but subsided almost angrily when chibi-Janaelle smacked him.

Aela frowned, but followed through with her motion. She poked her.

Aela poked the embodiment of Witch.

Actually, Aela poked Witch in the cheek, which twitched a bit as that side of her face quirked into a smile.

When Aela retreated her appendage, she crossed her arms in contemplation as she declared, "So you ARE real. That's odd."

And Janaelle took one look at the picture this new trainer made, grumpy pose and all, and burst into laughter. Both Janaelles did. Daemon was left looking slightly bewildered at this odd reaction in his charge AND his Queen.

"Aela," it was the chibi-Janaelle speaking, "I like you. You find out about Bishies and poke our Queen, and all you can say is 'That's odd'?

Aela looked a bit put out by the laughter, but her intrinsic jovial nature understood the humor of the situation. Her next words were spoken with that hint of humor only because of the repeated upheavals and shifts of moods and perspectives. She was not exactly running on all four cylinders quite yet.

"I was expecting to be raped and killed a couple of hours ago, so yes, it is rather odd."

End Chapter 3