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A Child's Darkness Chapter 1: Vicki's First Time By Draconicon

Her parents had been dead for a year, and he hadn't bothered to tell her. Somehow, Vicki wasn't surprised.

The young kitsune shook her head as she folded the letter, putting it into the false bottom of her nightstand drawer. Her two tails twitched behind her as she slowly slid down on her bed, her eyes resting on the fireplace and the fire burning within it. Perhaps she'd burn the letter later; there was no reason to implicate her butler in the revelation her uncle had kept from her.

That, however, would have to wait. For now, she needed to think.

Rethan wouldn't hide this information without good reason, she thought. With what he's wanted, he'd be gloating and prancing about the mansion if he could. Something's holding him back...

Her parents were -

She pushed the thought out of her head with all the force her ten-year-old mind could muster. Considering what her parents had taught her on their rare extended stays in the manor, it was considerable.

Discipline is key, control is power.

Vicki took a slow, shaky breath as she started to repeat the family motto to herself, and bit by bit, the kitsune swallowed her grief. She allowed a memory to pass through her head, to be felt, and fade, before letting the next one pass through. Sometimes, two or three slipped through at once, and when that happened, the tears welled up again, but fewer than she expected. Far fewer.

They had been gone for over six months before they'd died, and had only been around her for two weeks before that, busy on a trip halfway across the world before that for almost a year. She hadn't seen them for longer than two weeks for more than eight years. Her attachment to them had been...minimalistic...

Yet it was still there...and she missed them.

She turned her head, resting her cheek on her pillow as the last few tears came. They dried in seconds, and her eyes did the same shortly after.

No time to waste. If her uncle was the one in charge of the manor - and unless her mother and father had changed the will recently, he was and would be until she came of age - then that would explain the strictures he'd placed over the last few months. No wandering the halls after the sun sent down. No leaving the grounds for any reason. No socializing with other males or unchaperoned females without him on her arm.

Particularly the last one...

Thanking her parents and her butler for their insistence on logic lessons in addition to her standard curriculum, the little cub put her mind to work on that.

Why wouldn't her uncle want her to know her parents had died? Because it would mean difficulties, at the very least, for him. Possibly something worse.

Why would he have difficulties, if he had custody of the mansion and her? Because there would be conditions; her parents had mentioned several times that she'd be taken care of, no matter what happened.

Why would he hide it?

Because...

Because if I knew about it, I could force the terms, and he couldn't stop me.

Well, that seemed easy enough to look into. She just had to call for the will, and as she was the main beneficiary - or would be, when she came of age - Vicki had no doubt that it would be simple. Yes, very simple.

Just...another cry, first. She wouldn't summon her butler with tears in her eyes. She rolled over, and let it flow.

Too long, she thought, the young girl disgusted with herself. Too long, when things have to be done...mother...father...

Cracking her tails in annoyance, Vicki pulled herself out of bed, reaching for the dressing gown hanging from the hook on the wall. The silk warmed immediately as she tied it around herself, pulling the middle sash tight so that it wouldn't slip, and she pulled the handkerchief out of the pocket and dabbed her eyes. No need to look puffy...not in front of the servants.

Not that mother would have cared, she thought with a broken chuckle, shaking her head. She reached for the line of ropes, standing on her tiptoes to ring the proper bell.

Moments later, the white-furred fox that ran the house opened her door. Even as he bowed at the waist, Vicki cleared her throat.

"I need to see their will."

"Pardon, milady?"

"My parents' will. We have a copy somewhere, don't we?"

"I am afraid not. Lord Rethan -"

She narrowed her eyes. It didn't faze him, though. It never had, even when she still had the thought to throw temper tantrums. However, he did pause.

"Would you prefer me to address him as your uncle?"

"I'd prefer him never to be mentioned again."

"I'm afraid this is not possible, milady."

She waved for him to continue. Whether titled or simply related to her, it was too much for Rethan.

"Your uncle wished the will to be kept in the family vault. As guardian of the estate, he is the only one allowed to unlock it until you come of age."

Vicki shook her head. So, it wouldn't be quite so simple. She turned around, pacing around as she wrapped her hands around her middle, thinking.

He won't have destroyed it. He can't. The rest of the clan would turn on him in an instant if he left himself without proof of ownership; they've always wanted this place, and always will. Nor can he fend off an eventual claim from me without it, she thought, starting at the beginning as she had always been taught. And he would need something for reference, a claim he can make without needing the copy itself. He can't lie; if he says something is in the will, he has to be able to back it up later. So he has all the points somewhere...

Which meant that he had a bullet-point list of what was in the will somewhere in the house. Probably somewhere on him. Which meant that she could probably get it, if she had the time to look for it. Which in itself meant that she needed to have Rethan busy somewhere else...and she had just the way to do it.

She smiled.

"Beni, I have a job for you."

Vicki knew from experience that there were many things the master of the house could ignore. The state of the building, the state of the servants, even the state of the family could be ignored by the master of the house. Her mother and father - she bit back a wince, thankful that was all it was as she hid behind the railing of the grand stairway - had ignored all of that at one time or another, though they were more attentive than Rethan was.

However, there was one thing that couldn't be ignored, and Beni had brought it right to her un-

She gagged. She couldn't even think it now.

She shook her head, crouching down on her hands and knees, peering through the railing as the white fox led her five-tailed uncle down the stairs. A full floor down, walking three more floors down to the basement as their conversation slipped up to her.

"Tax season can't be that close already."

"It is a new tax coming in this year, Lord Rethan. I'm afraid that we haven't quite budgeted it properly, but we should have the funds to make it work."

"Of course this happens when I get control...What else can go wrong?"

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean, sir."

"Why can't you do this yourself?"

"I can, of course. I am qualified to act as an accountant for the family. I merely need to have access to -"

"No. Absolutely not. The treasury's mine."

"Then I must have your assistance, my lord."

"Fine, fine. Let's just get this over with."

As they disappeared past the first floor, Vicki pulled herself to her feet and pulled herself onto the railing. Normally, she would simply walk down, but lacking time...

Biting down the urge to giggle as she slid, the kitsune pulled her tails and her dressing gown in tight, keeping them from flapping around and making noise. The grand staircase spiraled out over two dozen feet with every circuit on its way down, keeping a low slope but a wide curve. She'd ridden it a hundred times, sometimes all the way down into someone's arms.

Today, she stopped on the second floor, leaping off and coming to a silent landing on a wide golden carpet. She started walking down the hall immediately, passing by scroll paintings of the family lineage in white, black, and gray. More recent ones, painted at the dig sites that her grandparents and parents had funded, were drawn in color, but richer and more vibrant than anything they'd actually found.

She resisted the urge to linger and take in the memories, instead stomping as imperiously as she could towards Rethan's quarters.

At least I was able to restrict him to the guest quarters, she thought with a small smile. The tingle of petty vengeance was a good one, and she held onto it. She knew that he'd wanted her parents' bedroom instead of the guest quarters, but she'd insisted, putting her foot down that it belonged to them. Even past the point where they'd died, Rethan hadn't pushed for it again.

It was a sign that she had some power, at least.

His room was at the far end of the main hallway, and luckily, it was unlocked. Vicki slipped inside, carefully closing the door behind her, and let out a slow sigh of relief. A few shakes she hadn't known she'd been suppressing ran down her spine, and she took a slow look around.

It wasn't so richly appointed as her own room. Rather than a long bed of pillows and cushions, Rethan had a bed close to the ground, fluffy but thin. His walls were covered in mirrors rather than paintings, and the fireplace was a soft thing with a grate rather than the large, marble arch that she had in her own chambers. The ceiling cast a soft light on the room, likely lit with an enchantment he'd left behind as every stone seemed to glimmer.

Of course, it didn't make it easy to see, considering all of his furniture pieces were little more than dark silhouettes. Vicki walked down the side of the room, feeling a small chill every time her reflection appeared out of the corner of her eye. The gold-red fur was too close to Rethan's coat, and she never saw enough details to know it wasn't him right off the bat.

She felt her way along, her dressing gown trailing behind her as she walked around. Drawing a tail forward to keep her gown closed, she began her search.

There was little use in checking the desk - it was nothing more than a flat surface, lacking any drawers - so she bypassed that. Likewise the bottom of the bed and the usual hiding places in the closet. She doubted that Rethan would be so stupid as to hide anything in there. No, he would need it both cleverly hidden and easy to get to hand when needed. That meant that he would keep it close.

Nothing in the nightstand by his bed, not even in the third false-bottom drawer. She reached into his pillows, wrinkling her nose at the rank smell that saturated his covers, but there was nothing besides feathers and silk there, either.

She walked around the room again, this time tapping her foot along the floorboards for anything that might sound hollow. Here and there, she thought she felt something, but when she investigated, there wasn't anything loose enough. True, he might have sealed it with magic, but that would have left another trace, and she didn't feel anything like that.

Please, don't tell me he brought it down to the basement with him...

If he had, then this whole charade would have been useless. Vicki grimaced as she sat down on the foot of his bed, putting her head in her hands.

Think, think. You know you're smart. You're smarter than him. Where could he have put it? What could he have -

A crackle from the fireplace distracted her, a log coming down as it snapped in two. She looked up for a moment, just to confirm what it was, and only when she started to turn her head did the possibility occur.

Fire. Fireproof paper.

Would he have...

It was possible. Unlikely, but possible. Another look at the fireplace showed that the logs were all arranged in an unusual pattern. Rather than a pyramid pointing up, it was arranged almost like a circle, with an opening in the middle.

Walking over to the grate, Vicki pried it open and looked inside. The flames obscured almost everything, but with one of the logs broken, there was a gap. Not much of one, but enough to see something light and uncharred in the middle of the log pile.

You son of a - no, no, I will not insult grandmother...

That said, she cursed herself. She didn't know enough magic to be able to fireproof her own hands, and she had no idea if the spell was tied to the stone that the paper rested on or to the paper itself. If she lifted it up, would she trigger a trap? Would she set off an alarm for Rethan? Neither possibility was a good one, and she knew that he was just suspicious enough to have left something unpleasant for her...

There was only one choice. Shaking her head, Vicki slowly pulled off her dressing gown and laid it to the side. It was too loose to risk leaning over the fire with, and she did NOT want to walk through the halls in nothing but her underthings. Nor did she need the burning that would come with it.

She stood up, seeing herself in the mirror, and reflexively covered herself. With nothing having grown in yet, she didn't wear anything over her top, but she felt all the more self-conscious in her...uncle's....chambers without anything on but her panties. She flushed, shaking her head as she turned back to the fire.

Holding her breath, she leaned over the fire, peering through the smoke and heat waves. The air shimmered as she squatted down as close as she dared, trying to make out the letters on the note.

Points of interest...all money...stipend to Vicki...negotiable...authority over...negotiable...

That word kept popping up. Negotiable. So, that was how her parents had set it up...She'd been trusted with being smart enough to negotiate her own terms with her uncle, though he would have full authority over how it was actually enacted. And that was how he had managed to avoid having to give her anything so far. They never negotiated, so he didn't have to relinquish full authority.

No wonder he hadn't told her that her parents had died. As long as she didn't know, he didn't have to tell her anything, and he didn't have to risk losing his total control.

Well...that might change things.

Maybe.

She gasped as she pulled her head back, rubbing at her fur and pushing it all back into place. As she hurriedly dragged her dressing gown back on and ran for the door, ideas were already coming to her. There were many possibilities here...but only if she was smart about it.

Checking her reflection, Vicki rubbed the soot off of her narrow muzzle, and quickly adjusted her whiskers so that they were fanned out properly, rather than pulled in as protection from the heat. A lick to her paw tugged her fur back into place, and the proper golden glow was back.

As soon as her appearance was perfect, she darted out of the room and down the hall. She needed to get back to her quarters and think.

Unfortunately, every plan hit the same snag every time. While she could negotiate her terms with her uncle, he had the authority of choosing how to execute the terms after they were done. If she was able to negotiate for a higher stipend, he could choose to only give it to her in small fractions, or in an unusable currency. If she pushed for greater freedom along the grounds, he could choose to define what days it happened, or even what part of the grounds counted as 'the grounds.' With the final execution of any part of the contract up to him, it left her with a significant lack of power.

Vicki groaned as she slid back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Unlike Rethan's room, her quarters were properly lit with an enchanted orb from the ceiling, glistening with a light that changed with her mood. Currently, it was a crimson one. Suitable for how angry she was, she supposed.

Knock, knock.

"Come in," she muttered, sliding under her blankets.

The white-furred butler stepped in, bowing until the tails of his coat almost touched the floor. She smiled as he came back up, nodding towards a seat for him. He followed the direction and laid a hand on her head.

"May I assume that milady found something?"

"Part of something. Not enough. He's been...clever."

"Are you not clever as well, milady?"

"Not enough to get around this one. He has quite the advantage."

"Enough of one to be invincible?"

"No one is invincible..."

She sighed as she rolled onto her back, her arms folding over her chest under the blankets. Beni kept stroking her head as she stared at the ceiling, trying to find some way around that final block...but it wouldn't come to her.

"Could you answer something, Beni?"

"I can try, milady."

"If your opponent has an advantage over you, just one advantage that doesn't rely on cleverness but simple power, what do you do to get around it?"

"Is the advantage something that you can't think around?"

"Let's say yes."

"Does he have to be at least somewhat clever to use the advantage against you?"

"Not much, but certainly somewhat."

"Then I would suggest simply removing the advantage."

She turned her head, arching an eyebrow at the suggestion.

"How do you simply -"

"It is only a hypothetical, milady, but if you remove your opponent's ability to think clearly, then you remove his ability to utilize his advantage. If he wants something, tease him with it. If he wants something destroyed, then offer its destruction. Tantalize, give him something that will distract him from being at his best, and you may find that his advantage disappears sooner than he might imagine."

"...that is a thought, Beni. Thank you."

"Does milady require anything else?"

"No thank you, Beni. That will be all."

As he left, the vixen looked up at the ceiling again, her tails sliding against the bottom of her sheets as she considered the idea.

Rethan had always been one to...obsess over things. She had seen it, in the way that he craved her parents' wealth, in the way that he had pursued his own fame and failed, in the way that he had chased after other clan members and been brought low by his own carelessness...

And most of all, how he had pursued her.

She gritted her teeth, a low growl in her throat as she remembered stepping out of the bath on her sixth birthday to find him standing in the bath chamber. She remembered him staring at her, at the spine-chilling way that he'd looked at her body, at how he'd licked his lips before leaving the room.

She'd never brought it up, when he was a guest. And as her parents spent more and more time away from the house, and he spent more and more time there, she'd taken to removing herself from the majority of the manor, spending her time in her room unless there were guests around. Even when her education touched on reproduction - as a young lady should know what her future would be like - and she understood what he had been doing, she didn't say anything. It was better to leave it alone, particularly when her parents were trying to make things work with Rethan before they'd died.

His binding to the guest rooms had been done, in part, to keep him from taking her parents' bedroom, and also to keep him off of her floor. She could only imagine him sneaking down the hall, opening her door and looking at her while she slept. Or worse...

He has something he wants...something he can't get on his own...

Vicki let out a long, deep breath. The question was...could she give it to him without wanting to kill herself?

She would have to think about that. She would have to think about that long and hard...

Knock, knock.

Vicki opened her eyes at the sound, shaking her head. She'd fallen asleep as she thought about everything, and her dreams had been filled with nightmares. Rethan coming to her in her sleep, stripping the blankets to stare down at her. Using his tails to part her legs to let him see what he really wanted. Shifting, breaking, fur staining with blood as he became the monster that had always been inside...

She bit back a whimper as she pushed the nightmare away, pulling the blankets up as she called for whoever was the door to come in.

Unfortunately, it wasn't the butler, this time.

Wrapped in a green and brown bathrobe, her uncle stepped in. Rethan barely stood more than a foot taller than her, but his five tails cast a light ahead of him that made him look bigger than he was. She refused to squint as he walked in, not daring to give him that much respect.

As he walked in, she heard the soft wheeze that came from his broken nose, something that happened long before she was born. It made him all the easier to track; either he was panting through his mouth, or wheezing through the shattered end of his muzzle. She hated the sound. It always made her think that sickness was walking the halls. Perhaps it was.

She pulled the blankets tighter to her neck.

"What do you want?"

"It's what do you want, Lord Rethan, or Uncle, darling."

That sickening tone...he still didn't know she knew.

"What do you want?"

"...I can wait all day, Vicki."

"So can I."

"Really? You'll forget breakfast, or lunch, or anything else that lets you out of your room? Do you intend to become a full shut-in then? I don't suppose I would complain. It would make it easier with some of the business dealings with the rest of the family."

I just bet it would. Nobody to represent the main line's interest...

She sat up, but made sure to drag the blanket up with her as she did. The vixen settled into what comfort she could have while under his eyes.

"What do you want...uncle?"

"That's better, girl."

He walked over and sat on the side of her bed. She resisted the urge to grit her teeth. Better to hold back before she was sure of her plan. Better not to show her hate.

It was particularly hard when he took one of her tails in hand - just barely sticking out from beyond the blankets - and started stroking it. She felt it all the way down the length of it and in her stomach, but she kept her face straight, barely.

"You're turning out well, Vicki. Your mother and father would be very proud of you, I'm sure. Looking fine enough to lure a husband, before long."

"I'm still a child."

He was quiet, and she knew he was waiting for her to say something. She resisted for as long as she could, even enduring several squeezes of her tail before she finally opened her mouth again.

"Uncle."

"A child can still make a match. After all...you are certainly alluring enough."

She couldn't quite repress that shiver, and he chuckled.

"Of course, nobody will see that for a while. Not until you are properly trained for the social gatherings. You were such an embarrassment last time. Talking to your cousins without me there? Why, I heard several of your aunts muttering about your incestual needs -"

"I was merely talking with them about what they've been up to!"

"Oh, I know, I know. But you know how people talk."

Or how he talked, more likely. She knew her aunts, and doubted that they would have brought up such a thing. Once her uncle did, however, she knew how he could twist people. How they would start listening, almost despite themselves, to the sordid things that he would mention. They'd talk about it among themselves later, and suddenly it would all sound so much more reasonable...

Damn him. Damn him.

He kept stroking her tail, and she wanted to do nothing more than rip it away. It took everything in her to hold back, and he kept talking, making it harder.

"It may be time to put you away in your room, until you learn proper habits. How to be properly...disciplined, as the family demands. You have no control of yourself."

"Hmmmph."

"Oh, Vicki...I only do this because you make me, you understand that."

You will pay...I promise, you will...you will...

The more she thought about it, the more she knew that she would have to go through with the plan. She tuned out what he was saying, his voice becoming nothing more than a dull buzz in her ears as she considered how she could make this work. How she could...test the waters, so to speak.

There was one easy way...

Shifting position, Vicki let the blanket fall. Not much, not enough to entirely uncover her, but enough to let one side of her chest be revealed. She'd not bothered to dress before sleeping last night, so it was bare. Flat, but bare.

Just as she'd thought, his eyes dropped. They flicked back up almost immediately, but she saw the glint in his eyes. It was the same one from back when she was six years old, the same one that she'd seen every time he tried to get a peak at her before. It was something...not much, but something.

She pulled at her tail, and he let it go. Surprisingly easily. From the glance? Perhaps. Perhaps.

Maybe Beni was right. Maybe this will work...

As he started getting up, talking about meeting her for breakfast, Vicki cleared her throat.

"Uncle."

"Hmm? Are you interrupting me?"

"I -"

Two of his tails thrust forward, one pressing her against the headboard of the bed, and the other not-so-gently wrapping around her exposed tail. She bit her lip as she was held down, feeling the heat of his magic running down the glowing limbs.

"Manners, Vicki...manners."

The heat and the sickening feeling of his tail on hers disappeared as he pulled them back. That...that wasn't entirely new, much as she hated him for it. She should have been listening. Should have waited, rather than interrupting. He'd done it before, though not quite so...violently.

Coughing, she belatedly realized the blanket had fallen down...but pretended not to. She let him look. Let him see it. She saw the distraction in his eyes; let him take it for that, let it give her the time to think. She only needed a moment.

"I...I'm sorry, uncle."

"You are forgiven. What were you saying, then?"

"I wanted to ask for a meeting, after breakfast. There's something I want to negotiate with you."

She deliberately chose that word, and saw the little worry flicker in his face. Yes, he wasn't as good as disguising things as others. He was afraid, she could see that. She didn't smile, as much as she wanted to. No need to give the game away.

"May we have this meeting?"

"...Yes, we shall. Privately, in my quarters."

"May we not -"

"My. Quarters."

He stomped out, slamming her door in the process. Vicki managed not to wince, and slowly took a few deep breaths.

Progress. Not much, but progress. She had him on the back foot. Hopefully she could keep him there.

Breakfast went by quickly. Rich food, as ever, was brought forth by Beni and the other servants, laid out on a long table entirely too big for two people. She sat at the foot of the table, while Rethan sat at the head.

They didn't speak, and she was happy for that. What was coming took all of her attention, and she knew she didn't have much time.

How did she offer herself, properly, without losing the power that came with it? Seduction was part of being a kitsune, and she knew that her family had used it more than once to seal a deal, but this was something entirely different. She hadn't been trained in the arts either, and so could only rely on instincts...but....

He wants me because I'm young...and because I'm young, I have no idea of anything of the basics, she thought, spelling it out for herself. She knew the mechanics - where different things went - and she knew that he wanted her. That was enough to tell her where she needed to go with this offer, but at the same time, it told her how woefully lacking this area of her education was. What would happen? What would he want? What could she say no to while still maintaining what power she could get?

It was a quagmire, and what confidence she had was shrinking fast. She found herself slowly dragging her fork across her plate, stretching out breakfast longer and longer, and finally had to force herself to stand up.

"I am finished."

Silence.

"Uncle."

"To my quarters, then."

Suppressing a wince at the thought that she was likely to hear that phrase more often than she wanted to, Vicki got up and gathered her skirt in her hands. No dressing gown, now. Instead, she'd picked out a plain dress, one with a pale blue skirt that went down to her ankles, and a blouse that left her arms free. It made her look like some sort of doll, she thought...but that was what she was hoping for.

If he wants to think of me this way...let him, she thought. Logic said that the more she could offer, the more distracted from the contract and focused on her he'd be. If she could keep him from thinking of the will, of how he could pervert her wishes, then this should be bearable. It was only...only for a few minutes in a day, she hoped.

She swallowed, her fear rising as she ascended the stairs. It felt like his eyes were boring holes in her from the back, and she both wished and feared to see what was going through his mind. Feared it, for how deplorable it would be...and wished to see it so she could better anticipate what she'd have to do, how she'd have to manage him. What would she need to keep his attention?

By the time that they were in the hallway leading to his room, she was barely keeping herself from hyperventilating. Forced to curve her tails forward so she could hold onto them to keep them from falling down, Vicki closed her eyes, her feet following the path by rote.

I have to do this, I have to do this, I have to do this. Discipline is key, control is power.

She pulled at the mantra again and again, telling herself that she was taking control by doing this before he could. As long as she kept that control, kept herself disciplined, she would be alright. Her family was always alright as long as they were disciplined and controlled.

That affirmation barely held as her uncle shut the door behind them as they entered his chambers. He gestured for her to sit on the edge of his bed as he sat down at the head.

"I'll stand, thank you."

He stared at her.

"Uncle."

"This is my room, Vicki, darling. Show your manners...and sit..."

Momentarily flexing her hands into fists, she had little choice but to give in and sit down. She got a little more comfortable, smoothing out her skirt, before taking a deep breath. Might as well start at the beginning...and maybe ruin Rethan's smirk.

"I know my parents' are dead."

There. It was said, and there was no turning back. His face went from smirk to frown in record time, and his tails twitched. She pushed on.

"I know they're dead, and that means you are my guardian...and I know some of the terms. That we need to negotiate a -"

"Who told you?"

"Does it matter, uncle? I know."

"It matters. Tell me."

He flexed his tails, and Vicki knew she had to choose her words carefully. Anything that reflected back on Beni or the other servants would cut off that line of support forever. If he found out...no.

"Mother and father taught me to listen. They've been gone for a year. Eventually, word would have to get back to me, in bits and pieces. I listen to everything around me."

"Damn gatherings...I knew I should have canceled them..."

Progress, at least. Vicki turned to face him, kneeling on the bed with her hands on her knees.

"I know we have to negotiate...and I know that you don't want to."

"A girl like you has no business with the resources of the family. I'm named your guardian, and I will make sure that they are used appropriately. And that you are taken care of, adequately."

"I don't want adequate."

"You'll settle for it."

"Would you, uncle?"

He glared at her, and she knew that there was something else she was missing. He had to have something that was forcing him to provide as guardian...someone else had to be keeping him accountable. If she could only get at the will itself, this would be so much easier.

She'd have to guess.

"Perhaps, if I made a few statements towards how well you treated me, you would be able to care for...us...all the more."

A flicker. Yes, that seemed closer. An evaluation, then? Her mother and father could have set something up, so a minimum standard had to be reached for any aid, whereas more satisfaction would cause more to be released...A return on investment, essentially. It would be an interesting concept...and one she could work with, if she was right.

Vicki slid a bit closer to her uncle, fighting the pounding of her heart.

"Here's what I want, uncle. I want to have some money of my own. I want to have time to go around the grounds. And I want to be able to buy a few things from outside, rather than making do with whatever you purchase."

"You don't need any -"

"I have the right to negotiate."

"And I have the right to execute!"

His tails curled, the tips almost forming perfect nooses as he glared at her. She backed off, shaking her head.

"I...can offer a bit..."

"You can't offer me anything, Vicki. Not that your parents aren't already providing."

"I can offer myself!"

Shouting. Why did she have to shout? Her tails wilted as she shrunk back, and she could almost feel the confusion coming off of her uncle.

"...What?"

"I know what you want...and I'll give it to you."

"You..."

"I know. What. You. Want."

She bit off each word, feeling her stomach twist with each one. How could she be doing this? She didn't know, but there wasn't a choice now. She'd opened this door, and now she had to step through it.

Forcing herself to look up, she met Rethan's eyes. Suspicion, obviously, but...more than that. She saw that he wanted it. Wanted...her...

It felt like bathing in slime as he looked her over, his eyes lingering on her chest, and then further down at her hips. She didn't move, didn't object. She let him stare, let him see her the way that he wanted to.

Finally, he chuckled.

"If you're serious, go and tell the servants to leave. Take the day off. Take a shower. And then, meet me in your parents' room."

"What?! I -"

"Your parents' room, Vicki. If this happens anywhere, it's there."

"..."

"Do you understand me?"

"...Yes. Uncle."

The servants had left quickly enough, and the kitsune had fled to the bath chamber. She threw up in the sink before she could start the bath, and shook as she lingered over the bile she'd left in the bowl.

"This...is...the...only...way..."

She turned on the sink with her tail, letting it wash everything down as her stomach continued knotting itself up. Thankfully, it seemed to have emptied itself with that; she wouldn't be forcing anything else up when the time came, when she was done with this.

After washing out her mouth, she started her shower, and started undressing. Her dress slipped off quickly, and she let it crumple up behind her. Why work on keeping it looking nice? Nothing else would be nice after this...not after what she was about to do.

Damn it...Remember he's clever, Vicki. Remember that next time.

Doing this on her parents' bed. If there was a bigger insult to their memory, Vicki wasn't sure what it would be. She punched the counter and winced, cradling her hand as she stepped out of her underwear, the silk joining the dress on the floor and leaving her completely naked.

The hot water slammed her fur down against her body almost instantly, shrinking her by a few inches in all directions. Her tails dragged down by the weight, Vicki leaned forward against the wall and just let the water wash over her. The pulsing heat was the only comfort that she had now, and she knew that it wasn't going to last. All she could do was embrace it for as long as it did.

She looked down at herself, past the paler fur on her stomach to the dark fur on her hands and feet. She looked at the dip where the light fur turned to a golden-orange around her crotch, and took a deep breath.

Just...feel it over. Get familiar with it before he has the chance to have the first touch, she thought. She could at least take that from him.

It was awkward, feeling through her fur for the parts that she knew were there. Yes, she dealt with part of it every time she sat down to use the toilet, but this was...new. She reached around, finding the tightly-closed lips, and winced as she pulled them apart, dragging a finger along the dry flesh. The water from the shower helped, but only a little as she dragged her finger around.

Two holes. Yes, two holes, one that was for urine, and one for...for what she was about to do. She traced her finger around it, but felt nothing. Nothing good, anyway. Even as she brought her finger up to the little hood where something good was supposed to be, she felt nothing.

She wasn't old enough yet, perhaps. Ten years old...and she knew the basics, but had no experience.

I shouldn't have experience! she thought, but she almost wished she did. At least then, maybe she'd know what she was doing.

But...but there was something else that people did, besides sticking their male parts in there...

She squatted down, reaching around and under her tail. Vicki brushed her fingers around her flat rump, feeling for the other hole. It was easier to find, in his position. Her anus twitched beneath her fingers, and when she put the slightest pressure on it, she winced. No, no, that...that would not go well. She did not want that to happen, not by a long shot.

She got back up, turning the shower to as hot as it would go. She felt filthy already...

When she finally got out of the shower, her clothes were gone. No underwear, no dress, not even a robe. She sighed. Rethan had probably taken them...and she had a guess as to why.

Still, she blushed as she poked her head out the doorway, looking left and right for any sign of the servants. None of them were around; they had listened to her and left. Even Beni, though the white fox had seemed confused...and a little worried, now that she thought about it.

It was too late now, though. She had committed to this course, and had to finish it.

Her face burned as she stepped out of the bath chamber, her fur only now ceasing to drip. She was still damp as she walked naked down the hall to the grand staircase, and she could feel every breeze through the manor. It seemed to caress her like filthy hands, rubbing along her hips and between her hips, over her chest.

And damnably often between her toes. The ground was freezing outside of the carpets, and there didn't feel like there was enough of those. She shivered on the way up, her skin tingling under her fur, and her nipples popping in response.

It took a five minute walk to reach the top floor, and by the time she stood outside her parents' door, her tails were flat against the floor and she was whimpering. Her face felt like it was on fire, and she knew that this was her last chance to turn back. As soon as she opened this door, she would be committed. Rethan would have her, would have sex with her - rape me - and she would never be able to go back. He would take it as permission to do it again and again...

And that was the whole plan. It was the only way she could get any sort of freedom now. Vicki took a deep breath...and opened the door.

There he was, lounging in nothing but his underwear upon her parents' bed. A painting of her mother and father hung over the head of the bed, and there he was beneath it, smirking and squeezing at his crotch. One of his tails curled, gesturing her in like a finger, and she stepped forward.

Don't show your fear. Discipline and control. Discipline is key, control is -

"Such an obedient girl, doing what you're told. You walked through the entire manor like that, hmm? Oh, such a shame I wasn't there to see it."

If possible, he seemed even more vile than before, and she resisted the urge to fling something at him as he eyed her up and down. She felt his stare lingering at her middle, at her sex, and she hated the feeling of him staring at something so intimate. She turned her head away -

CRACK! His tail snapped like a whip, making her jump.

"Don't look away from me, darling...You aren't going to start disobeying now, are you?"

"...No, uncle."

"Good. Come here. Let me look at you."

She walked across the room, barely avoiding clenching her hands into fists before she crawled onto the bed. Reminders of the few times she'd spent in bed with her parents, of cuddling with them between adventures, filled her head, and she felt a tear growing in the corner of her eye.

She wiped it off, disguising it as a stumble. She wouldn't let him see her cry.

As soon as she was on the bed, he grabbed her around the neck with his tail, cutting off her air and lifting her off of her feet. Vicki gasped, grabbing at the tail desperately, even as he used two more to forcibly spread her legs. She felt her muscles ache as he pulled them apart, further, and further, her knees popping as she was made to do the splits, and her thigh muscles on fire.

He squeezed tighter, making her vision speckle as he pulled her close. She felt that she was right over his head, and as he started feeling her, his fingers felt much, much bigger than her own. Thicker, too, as they pulled her nether areas open.

"Mmm, yes, so small, compared to what other members of the family have. I can only imagine how tight that would feel..."

Vicki told herself not to struggle. Not that she could, when she was restrained like this...but she told herself it anyway. Make it a choice, she thought. Make it a choice, and its yours to make, not his to take away.

That thought disappeared in a flash of pure agony as a claw pressed under her tail before forcing its way forward. Fire blossomed back there, burning hotter than anything she'd ever felt against her, and she let out a soundless scream as he wiggled a finger into her backdoor. Her legs twitched against his tail, struggling despite herself, but she couldn't stop it. She couldn't fight it.

Further, further that finger wiggled, going somewhere nothing had any business going. She whimpered, a little snot oozing out of her nose as a tear slipped free. She felt his other fingers press against her rear, and figured - in the deep blackness of no air - that he had filled her completely.

Then it ripped free, and she gurgled out the remaining air in her lungs.

The color of the world came back as the tail around her neck eased, and the pain came with it. She felt hot blood running out of her anus, dripping down onto her dangling tails as her uncle kept her suspended by her legs.

"Look at you...So willing to make a deal, but no control of yourself. Did you think you had the discipline to actually take this?"

It was a verbal slap, but knowing what it was meant to do didn't take away the sting. Vicki lowered her eyes, even as he lowered her to the bed. It was soft, just like she remembered it, even as she tried to block the memories.

He pushed a pillow under her hips, forcing her up a little further, and she was made to look up at the picture of her mother and father on the wall, made to stare at their happy faces, the way that they held each other in picturesque bliss.

She tried to look away, to look back at her uncle, but he grabbed her by the head again, forcing her to look back.

"Oh, you don't want to look at them? Look at that. Look at my dear brother and your mother...See how happy they were? How you'll never see that again? Don't worry...I'll make sure that you remember that picture from now on. Every time you feel me...you'll remember."

She felt him, felt his manhood pressing against her. It was hotter than she expected. Strange details, when one was about to be raped. Strange details that one didn't think to feel, or notice. Like the stink of rutting, of an almost metallic tint to the air. Like the heat of a kitsune's rod. Like the copious nature of his fluids. Like the feeling of how pointed it was as he lined up with her bleeding hole.

"And so kind, that you drip already."

It touched her torn, bleeding ass, and she winced, everything tightening. It was a mistake that she would remember for a long, long time.

He slammed in as she was tensing up, and she screamed. Her eyes rolled back in their sockets, and her toes curled as they fought against the tails holding them, her own thrashing around until he pinned them down with his knees. His claws sunk into her hips as he pulled her back, bit by bit, forcing that hot, thick piece of unforgiving flesh deeper and deeper into her rear end.

She screamed, and he let her. She screamed...and she cried.

It hit her all at once. Her parents were gone, and would never come back to rescue her. He knew what he could take, and now he'd take it every day. She'd sent the servants away for the day willingly, and there was no one to take it back from her. She'd taken things too far...and there was no way that she could take it back.

Then take it forward.

She didn't know where the thought came from, but it was gone as her uncle pulled back and rammed in again. She let out another scream, her hole ripping more and more, blood dripping onto her tails as he tore her open with his size alone. Her body was reacting on its own, tightening up against it in a futile attempt to push it out, only to hurt even more as it squeezed down on the thing that made it hurt in the first place.

And she screamed. Oh god, did she scream, screaming until her lungs hurt, until her throat was savaged from the pain as her uncle kept her pinned, kept her staring up at her parents' picture, kept her looking at happiness while she was dragged through hell and back.

No, no, I can't...I can't...

Desperately, she tried to push him back with her hands, but he caught them in his last two tails and dragged them over her head. She was completely pinned as he huffed and puffed, panting as he slammed in again and again, the pointed head of his shaft ripping through her insides over and over again. The heat of her blood rolled over her tail, drenching her as it kept dripping out of her hole.

"Please...please..."

"Look at you. You can't even control yourself. This is why your mother and father left you with me. No discipline. No self-control. Worthless of carrying on the family name..."

Another scream ripped from her lungs as he slammed in hard, and she felt something bigger pressing against her anus, just about ready to rip through her, just about ready to break her completely. It had...it had to be his knot, she realized. Biology lessons ripped through her head, and she whimpered more, her eyes closing to slits as she realized what he was going to do.

"This is for your own good, girl...and you will realize that, sooner or later."

He loomed over her, his silhouette dark as night as he lined up his next thrust. Vicki could only stare up, her breath coming in soft, ragged pants. He was so big, so much bigger than she was. His tails kept her helpless, and there was nothing she could do.

Slowly, his rod slid back along her hole. As it thinned towards the tip, she whimpered more, hearing the almost squeak of bloody flesh rubbing against bloody flesh. When he was all the way out, he leaned forward, pulling her head down to look at his member.

It was thick, thicker than four of her little fingers, and the knot was thicker still. It would be bigger than her own fist to take, and she could see that it was soaked from the top to the bottom in her blood. Drying, slimy, and no longer slick. He smacked her in the face with it, and Vicki grunted as the blow knocked her head around.

"You wanna stare at it? Then go ahead. Give it a few licks...show me that you want it. That you're going to hold up your end of the bargain. Or do I need to teach you a little more discipline right now?"

There was no way that she would be able to take that, not now. Not when she was already this broken open. If there was any way to lessen it...

He'll be wetter if I do this, she thought, slowly opening her mouth as he brought his rod closer to her, his penis twitching as it approached her lips. It'll hurt, but...it's the only way.

Even with the self-encouragement, it did nothing to take away the horrible taste of blood and...and suffering, as she preferred to think of it. The coppery, metal taste of her own blood mixed with the foulness of where that shaft had been, and she gagged around it as he forced it further and further down her muzzle.

Coughing as it pressed against the back of her mouth, she looked up, instinctively begging for mercy. There was none to be had. He pressed down, and Vicki's stomach went up in knots as her lips were forced all the way down to his knot.

Her throat clenched hard around his shaft, squeezing down on it, and she could hear him groaning above her head. He kept both hands on the back of her head, humping back and forth in short thrusts that kept grinding his knot right against her lips. It kept almost forcing its way in, only limited by its sheer size. And she was...grateful. Her rear was already ripped up. Her mouth would be broken if he tried to shove that in.

Coughing and sputtering, desperate for air, Vicki sucked in what little she could through her nose. The stench of blood kept coming back, filling the air and making it worse with each passing second. This close to his sheath, she could tell to the day how long it had been since he'd bathed, how long since her uncle had taken care to clean himself. It was foul, filthy, horrible...and she was drowning in it.

Eyes rolling up in the back of her head, her vision going spotty, Vicki hoped that she would pass out. She prayed that her uncle would use her mouth until she was completely unconscious. She didn't want to feel what he'd do...didn't want to know how he'd finish this.

She wasn't that lucky.

With a roughness that nearly dislocated her jaw, he wrenched her off of him and shoved her back on the bed. This time, on all fours. He pulled her back by the bases of her tails, ramming the head of his manhood back inside of her, and started thrusting, hard, fast, almost slamming her right into the mattress.

It wasn't until he grabbed the back of her neck, squeezing hard enough to leave her breathless, that she was made to look at that picture again.

"Just think of it. Your mother and father would be proud of you...if you'd actually done anything for yourself. You have nothing, Vicki. You are nothing but a little girl, who has nothing to her name. You are just a brat...one that I will have to teach how to be a proper woman. Thank you, Vicki...I never thought you'd just give me permission to do this."

He pulled her back by her neck, pulling at her fur and almost tearing it out by the roots. She gasped for what little air she could get as he rutted her, slamming into her little hole faster and faster. His knot bumped her, and pressed hard. Gasping at the stretch, she swore that it came in, but no, it was out again, and pressing again...deeper...deeper...

She was pouring tears in minutes, and her rear hurt from his violent thrusts. His claws raked down her hips, leaving red lines behind as he used her. Bit by bit, ramming inside. She felt every inch, every new tear along her rim, until -

"Here it comes...scream, and I will punish you..."

He pressed, and she bit down on her lip hard enough to make it bleed. She screamed against the barrier that made, trying to hold back her pain, trying to keep back the horribleness of feeling something tear and rip and pull apart far more than it was ever meant to. Vicki could feel his knot getting to the halfway point, thrusting into her until -

POP!

It slid inside. Sliding being the technically correct and most understated way to put it. She screamed so loud that every single thought she had turned to white noise, leaving her unable to hold herself up. Everything went limp, her only support her uncle's hand around her neck, choking her out even as he kept her pinned down.

She felt her consciousness fading truly this time, something hot and plentiful spurting inside of her as the world went black...

When she woke up, she wanted to kill herself.

Not just from the pain, though that was considerable. No, it was more than that. More than the fact that she laid in a small puddle of her own blood. More than the fact that she ached more than a hundred flu seasons condensed into one day. More than the fact that she could barely breathe through her bruised throat.

You are nothing...

His words floated back through her memory, sparking a flood of tears that her parents' death had never done. Vicki lifted one hand and covered her eyes as she sputtered and heaved, her shoulders shaking as she wept. No, as she bawled; there was no dignifying this. There was no prettying it up. She cried her eyes out, and wanted to throw up.

What was I thinking? Why...why did I think...I thought I had a plan...this was...this was a good idea...

No it wasn't. She'd thought she was a clever girl...but all...all she got was this...

Vicki whimpered as she rolled onto her side, biting down on her pillow - it was her pillow, in her room, she realized - to muffle the pain. How she got here, she didn't know...but she hadn't been put here without something else.

On her nightstand were two small stacks of cash, and a letter. Still shaking and shuddering, Vicki reached out with one tail for the letter, holding it in front of her.

_"My Darling Niece,

If you're going to be a whore for your uncle, then you might as well get paid for it, hmm? This is the going rate for a good call girl - which you're not, yet - and a little extra, besides. But if you want anything more, you know what you have to do.

I'll expect you to get in touch with the overseer of the family accounts in three days. I'll give you a script to read. Don't get any ideas of deviating from it.

I hope you understand your situation, girl. You might think that you have some claim on all of this, because of your mother and father, but you are nothing like them. You have no control. You have no discipline. You never had any. At least now, you have someone here to teach you. And I plan to be well 'paid' by you for it._

Yes, I do mean well paid. I've had many thoughts of what I'd do to you, and yesterday was only the start. You'd best be ready for an education, darling. You're going to get one.

Your Lord and Master"

Vicki read the letter three times, and then flicked it towards the fireplace. It landed on the marble, half-folded, and she slowly laid on her belly.

I can't take this back...so I have to take it forward...

She remembered the thought from when he was...was raping her. He wanted to use her, and there would be no stopping him. She couldn't revoke the permission, not now. Paperwork or not, she had made a deal, and no member of the clan would allow her to go back on it. Not when she had offered herself freely and without being pushed.

If she couldn't go back...then she had to find a way to make this work.

From what he said, she had three days before she had to get in contact with the overseer. That probably meant that he wouldn't do anything to her during that time, just to make sure that there were no visible marks. That meant that she had three days to come up with an idea, and she already had the makings of one.

Rethan wanted a toy...so perhaps she'd give him one. It was another thing to learn...another thing that disgusted her...but if she could learn how to be the slut he saw her as being, perhaps she could take some of the power away from him.

The question then became, would she live through what he'd do to her?

She didn't know...but she knew she wouldn't live through it the way it was going now. It had to be worth a try.

End of Chapter 1