"You said you wanted to meet my family," Eva told Sean as they made their way to Gwen's house. "And now I'm granting your wish. If you can put up with Kai, my family's not so bad, really."
"Good to know," Sean said. "Now, whose house are we at again?"
"Grandma Gwen and Grandpa Mikael's," Eva replied. "Grandpa might make remarks about you being a wuss or a softie or something, but that's just how he is."
"All right, good to know," Sean repeated. But when they got inside, it wasn't Mikael that caught his attention, it was Victoria. "I know you!" He cried as he ran up to her. "You were with my cousin Kai when Eva and I came to visit him the other day."
"Yes," Victoria nodded. "But I hope you won't hold it against me. Dealing with him is only my job. I would be there today, but they let me off to come to this family party. I think they don't want Kai getting too comfortable with me."
"Oh, I won't hold it against you at all," Sean replied as Eva joined them and gave her cousin a hug. "Anyone who's that good at dealing with Kai is someone I want to get to know better."
"Is it because you find Kai so annoying that you need expert advice on how to deal with him from someone who does it on a daily basis?" Victoria asked dryly. "Because honestly, I don't blame you."
"I don't think he was so bad," Eva said, causing both Sean and Victoria to stare at her. "What?" She asked. "He said I was pretty. He likes me. He probably acts mean to you two because you're mean to him."
Victoria scoffed. "Eva, he needs someone to be mean to him! The whole reason why he was put where he was in the prison system is that he is not a nice man!"
"Fine, but I still think the two of you are being much too harsh with him," Eva told her and then strode off to get some cookies from the snack table.
"What do you think I should do with her?" Sean asked. "I'm afraid that this very incautious attitude she has about Kai is gonna get her hurt some day."
"You think that if I brought her with me to work and she saw what he was really like, she'd act more reasonably?" Victoria wanted to know. "Or do you think it's more trouble than it's worth to even go there?"
Sean sighed. "If it were up to me, I would never expose her directly to someone like Kai because as you know, he's not trustworthy and as I especially annoy him, I can really see him doing something to Eva just to spite me." He paused. "But, as she's pointed out, she's not some defenseless child who needs me to protect her all the time, so maybe I should just let her formally meet Kai and see what happens. Maybe he'll be the one that comes out worse for wear? What do you think?"
"I think it couldn't hurt if it accomplishes our goal of her learning that he's not as nice as he seems," Victoria agreed. "If she says she can handle being around someone like him without being seriously hurt by it, I'd believe her."
"I wish I could be as trusting as you," Sean told her.
"I'll look out for her," Victoria swore. "I promise. Why don't we get a drink or something? And I see my grandfather coming this way. Wanna go talk to him?"
"Okay," Sean replied, looking nervously at Mikael. "Let's get this over with."
"Don't show fear," Victoria told him. "It'll just make him think worse of you. Try and be brave."
Sean tried, but Victoria still had to hold on to him when Mikael approached, gave him a deep, penetrating glance, and then asked Victoria, "Who is this young man? Your grandmother has been telling me that she's wanted you to focus on someone other than that Kai boy. She doesn't like him at all."
"Well, that's very understandable," Victoria replied. "And it's only because I get paid to that I spend as much time with Kai as I do, but it's definitely not by choice. This is Sean. He's with Eva, but I don't know where she went."
"Are you treating Eva well?" Mikael asked. "You better be."
"I am," Sean replied, looking Mikael in the eye and trying to keep his voice steady. "She hasn't had any complaints so far."
"You're not human, are you?" Mikael asked.
"No, I'm a warlock," Sean told him.
"Good, good," Mikael nodded. Then, to Sean's surprise, he softened a little bit, leaning close to him and saying, "Don't let her get the best of you. She's not made of glass, you know. You can fight back if you feel she needs it."
"I will, sir," Sean told him before he headed away and Victoria gave him a hug for making it through his first encounter with Mikael. "I promise."
"Where the hell were you yesterday?" Kai shouted when Victoria strode through the door of his cell the next day. "Do you know how dull it is to try and entertain myself? That double they leave in here when you're not around has no life in her. I can tell the difference between you so easily."
"You mean you didn't just stand in front of the mirror and make faces?" Victoria asked. "I thought you found yourself more entertaining than anything else."
"No, I didn't do that," Kai told her. "And did you bring me any food?"
"No, why would I bring you food?" Victoria scoffed. "I'm not your servant! And even if I did, what would I get in return?"
Kai thought a moment.
"And don't you say 'The pleasure of staring at me for several hours' Victoria told him as he opened his mouth. "The truth is, you can't give me anything in return, can you? You know it, and I know it, so I'm not giving you squat!"
"I'm sure you'll be changing your tune when I tell you I've decided to confess to you what I'm up to," Kai smirked. But just then, a sound came from the mirror, the sound of little girls calling out.
"You don't wanna talk to this guy," Victoria said, reaching the mirror before Kai could. "He's a psycho and there are better things to do with your lives. Goodbye!" She ended the girls' connection and Kai growled at her.
"I just wanted to have a little fun," he said.
"If you wanna have fun, have it with me," Victoria said firmly. "Not people who have no idea what they're getting into."
Kai heard this and chuckled. "Do you really know what you're asking for?" He wanted to know.
"Well, whatever it is, I'm very sure I can handle it," Victoria told him. "I'm harder to kill than you know."
"I don't think I need to worry about that," Kai said. "I don't want to kill you. Then I'd be all alone again."
"That's so cute," Victoria smiled. "You like me!"
"Only as a source of entertainment," Kai clarified. "Not as a person." He paused. "Want to hear what I think of you as a person?"
"I don't think I need to hear it because I bet you feel the same way about me that I feel about you, don't you?" Victoria asked.
"It's possible," Kai nodded. "Although I don't know why you would hate me. What have I done to you to deserve that?"
"Give me time," Victoria replied dryly. "I'll think of several things."
"I'm bored!" Kai replied after a few minutes of silence. "Can't you do something entertaining like, I don't know, strip down to your underwear and dance around for me? I did it for you, so it's only fair you do it in return."
"No," Victoria replied immediately. "I decline."
"You can't decline!" Kai complained. "Your job is to entertain me so I don't try to escape. What do you think they're paying you for, woman?"
Victoria sighed. "You're not gonna shut up about this, are you?" She asked.
"No," Kai shook his head. "I want what I deserve!"
Victoria thought a moment, and then zapped up three things: a table, a chair, and a big hot fudge sundae.
"Interesting," Kai replied, eyebrow raised. "Where are you going with this?"
"Just be patient," Victoria said before beeping his nose, zapping herself into a red bikini, and then sitting on the table, slowly eating the sundae spoonful by spoonful and taking extra time to lick the dripping, melted ice cream off the spoon. "Is this enough entertainment for you?" She asked.
"Yes," Kai replied, rising from the bed and walking slowly toward the table. "It really is."
"Open," she suggested when he reached her. He did and she slipped a spoonful of ice cream in his mouth and then kissed him, which made him push her away so that she landed on his cot and looked up just in time to have the rest of the sundae hit her right in the face.
"You look good enough to eat," Kai chuckled and began wiping ice cream out of her hair. He then filled a bucket with cold water and dumped it all over her. "There," he said with satisfaction. "Now you're all clean!"
"You…you…you!" Victoria shouted, her arms flying upward to choke him in response to the cold as her skin broke out in goosebumps. "I can't wait to see what sort of evil crap my cousin Eva's gonna put you through when she comes to see just what an annoying pain in the ass you really are."
"Oh, another pretty girl coming to my lair?" Kai smiled as she finally let him go. "I can't wait."
"Yeah," Victoria said. "I just bet you can't!"