Making Monster Girls: For Science!

by Eric Vall

  “Not only that,” Afton snickered, glanced at the Warden, giggled, and then turned toward her counterpart. “But I’m sure your tiny, little man brain couldn’t comprehend our rules and regulations. It’s better for all of us if you stepped back and allowed the capable professionals to handle it.”

  “S-Sorry,” Milton sighed, gestured wildly with his hands, and stepped back. “I’m sure, as you said, my teeny man brain won’t understand the reasons why do you certain things. Yes, proceed, I just wanted to offer my services since we work in similar fields.”

  My nose wrinkled in disgust, and then I glanced toward Edony and then toward the two annoyed constables. I couldn’t believe he actually agreed with them, did he have no self-respect? I understood just taking their insults and slights, but how could be so spineless to agree with them?

  What a sad, little sniveling toad.

  “Milton!” Edony snapped, widened her eyes, and glared down. “That’s enough, allow them to do their jobs!”

  “Yes, yes.” the Warden bowed. “Sorry for any inconvenience.”

  “Annnyway,” Zinnia grumbled, glanced at her partner, lifted the pad of paper, and swiveled her eyes toward the porch. “And you are?”

  “I’m Charles’ Mistress, Daisy Browning,” The bear-girl uttered, stepped down two steps, and glared at each person in time. “He is my property.”

  “Ahhhh,” Afton scoffed, cleared her throat, and then rested a hand on her baton. “We had no idea that a Browning was moving to our tiny town of Edenhart.”

  “What do you want from my consort?” Daisy snapped, raised a single eyebrow, and took a menacing step forward. “Why are you here?”

  “Yes, we’re here on important business,” Zinnia clicked her tongue. “It seems that Delphine Vallantine has gone missing.”

  “What does that have to do with the Alchemist?” Milton giggled.

  “We’re getting to that.” Afton glared out of the corner of her eye.

  “Has she?” Edony whispered, turned, and cupped her chin. “Have you questioned her servants? Guards?”

  “Yes, extensively,” Zinnia nodded. “All the servants and guards said that no one visited in the past three days and that Delphine left for only a few hours to visit the mercantile.”

  “Again,” Daisy growled. “What does this have to do with my consort?”

  “After a few hours of questioning, we finally got one of the servants to talk,” Afton stated, placed her hands on her hips and glared over at me.

  “Annnnd?” The Warden grinned, rubbed his hands together excitedly, and hopped from foot to foot.

  “One of her servants.” Zinnia glanced down at her notes. “Augustus said that one person had visited, and that person was none other than the city’s own alchemist, Charles Rayburn.”

  “I knew you were deranged, Charles,” Edony snickered. “But did you murder someone?”

  “There is no proof of murder, madam,” Afton corrected. “But Delphine is missing from her quarters. May we ask you a few questions, Alchemist?”

  “Scientist and doctor, get it right.” Daisy barked.

  At that moment, I was grateful for Daisy. Though she played the part of my Mistress, she still defended me fiercely, and I wondered how she knew all of the rules of Edenhart, but I assumed that during my time upstairs, Valerie filled her in. The cat-girl couldn’t pretend to be my Mistress, her tail and massive ears immediately gave her away but Daisy… her tiny tuft of a tail and small, round ears were easily hidden.

  “Yes,” I nodded. “Ask away.”

  “Did you visit Delphine Vallantine’s house earlier today?” Zinnia asked, lifted her eyes, and studied my face sharply.

  “I did.” I inclined my head.

  “How long were you there, do you think?” Afton shuffled her heavy boots, stepped closer, and then leaned her head back.

  “I believe it was…” I scrunched up my face, thought for a moment, let my face relax, and looked into her eyes. “About two hours, but I cannot be sure.”

  “What were you doing there?” Zinnia snapped, raised her dark cyan eyes, and licked her lips.

  “Delphine summoned me,” I uttered. “To ‘service’ her.”

  Edony gasped, covered her mouth with a gloved hand, and then turned her back to us as her shoulders shook with giggles.

  “Service her?” Zinnia smacked her lips. “And what do you mean by that?”

  “What else could I mean?” I asked. “We had sex.”

  “Vaginal or…?” The redhead hung her pen over the page, glanced up, and waited.

  “Vaginal, why does it matter?” I tilted my head, crossed my arms over my chest, and stepped back once.

  “It’s merely a question that we have to ask,” Afton stated. “Why were the servants dismissed and then instructed to say you weren’t there? Augustus was the only one who would confirm your appearance at the was after… losing part of his pinky.”

  “I’m unsure,” I shrugged. “It’s what Delphine wanted, she didn’t give me a reason why.”

  “There’s a rumor that you went there to sign on to be one of her consorts, is it true?” Afton bounded forward, grabbed her baton, tilted her head, and leaned in close. “Augustus told us that you announced you wanted to become her new consort. Tell us, Alchemist, we need to know.”

  “Yes, I did,” I admitted. “Delphine said that she wanted to ‘try out the product’ first before I signed anything.”

  “Annnnnd?” Edony smirked.

  “I wasn’t up to her standards,” I sighed. “And she refused me.”

  “We did find a new contract in her files.” Zinnia raised her head. “But it wasn’t under your name, we have other constables out searching for that man too.”

  “But there is no way to be sure that you’re telling the truth.” Afton squinted her eyes at me. “The two witnesses are you and Delphine herself. We can’t ask her since she’s missing, and you’re a man…”

  “If I may speak?” Edony floated forward.

  “Of course, Duchess.” Zinnia brushed forward onto a low bow.

  “Not to defend Charles Rayburn, but I’ve known Delphine for a very long time,” the blonde uttered, leaned against her cane, glanced at me, and then continued in a cold tone. “She whole-heartedly believed that she was at the same social standing as me.”

  “That’s a laugh.” Afton grinned.

  “True, but she thought that her family lineage deserved what mine has always had,” The Duchess smiled. “That being said, she wanted the same amount of luxury as I possess, along with the consorts that I do not keep. A way… to rise above me, apparently. I know, for a fact, that she wanted Charles to be her consort. She brought it up to me on multiple occasions, the Alchemist and I had our own contract going for some work that I needed to be done. Yes, Delphine wanted him, but I know that she tries out each of her consorts before they sign the contract, and if they aren’t to her liking, she’ll send them away. Though it can’t be confirmed that this is what happened between the two of them, it’s what I believe. Delphine is particular with her consorts, and to be quite honest, I’ve known Charles for a few months, he would not be to her liking… at all.”

  Had I… just been saved by the goddamn Duchess? The woman who’d just a few moments before had sworn to get me back and execute me? No, that couldn’t be true, Edony had no idea what I’d done… unless she was attempting to spare my life from the constables, only to snatch it away herself. Yes, that was more believable, unless… everything she’d just said was true.

  “So, you don’t believe that Charles could’ve done this?” Zinnia raised a single eyebrow. “Kidnapped the Duchess?”

  “That’s not what I said,” Edony corrected. “I simply believe that Charles wouldn’t have been accepted as one of Delphine’s consorts.”

  “It’s not true,” Daisy stomped down the stairs and glared at each woman. “Charles returned from Delphine’s manor, I sought him out on the street, propositioned him because of how handsome he is…
for a brute anyway, and he agreed. He brought me back here after, and that’s where the Warden found us earlier.”

  “Where’s your paperwork?” Afton asked.

  “It’s a verbal contract,” the bear-girl turned her head, tilted it, and then pursed her lips. “There’s no need for paperwork where I come from.”

  “You seriously trust him to obey a verbal contract?” Zinnia balked. “He could break it, and there would be no proof.”

  “If there is a paper contract, there is no trust between us,” Daisy scoffed. “I didn’t feel the need for it.”

  All three-women stared up at the brunette with wide, shocked eyes. Edony’s violet eyes narrowed of the small bear-girls face for a second, pressed her lips into a hard line, took a decisive step forward, and placed her gloved hands on her hips.

  “No trust between the two of you?” The blonde crooked an eyebrow. “I don’t know how you do it in the east of Aunux, but here in Edenhart, our men are not trusted, period. No man is capable of making his own decisions, not employees, workers, and especially not consorts. That is why we use contracts, there are rules and regulations they must follow to the letter. Not only are they legally binding, but it allows the male brute to work within the limits each woman has set for him.”

  “Then, abide by your rules,” Daisy shrugged. “And I will abide by mine. I’m not going to change my beliefs to fit your standards. In Aunux, we treat our men with a modicum of respect, they still are our servants, but they are allowed a bit of esteem so that they perform their roles with more gusto.”

  “You may have lived in one of the largest cities on the continent,” Edony snapped. “But it sounds as if you all are savages, allowing your men to run about wild and loose. We don’t do such things here, accept it or return home.”

  “What will you do?” the brunette scoffed. “Drive me out of town? You do know that if I leave, Charles comes with me, and from what you said earlier, you simply can’t just let him go yet, can you, Duchess?”

  “You,” the blonde barked, stepped forward, and raised a single hand. “You dare speak against me? I’m the goddamn Duchess of Edenhart, I could kill you with a single swipe of my hand.”

  “Ahem,” Zinnia cleared her throat meaningfully. “Duchess?”

  “What?” Edony whipped around. “What do you want?”

  “We cannot allow you to harm another woman,” Afton grabbed her baton and unhooked it from her belt. “You may be the Duchess of this town, but… you still have to abide by our laws… just because your family set them in place doesn’t mean you get a free pass to do whatever you want.”

  “Fine,” Edony forced out, turned, pointed directly into the middle of my chest, and roared. “I see what you’ve done, Charles, do you think I’m blind? That I wouldn’t notice?”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “First, you went to Delphine,” the Duchess growled. “Then, when she refused you, you found a random woman on the street and begged her for a contract. You did all of this to avoid my wrath, our contract was solid, and your deadline was fast approaching. This was the only way that you could escape me unscathed. Do you think you’re clever?”

  “He did no such thing,” Daisy boomed, came down the last step, and stood directly in front of me. “I was the one who approached him, so if you want someone to blame, then it’s me.”

  “This is all fascinating,” Zinnia waved a hand toward the three of us. “But we have an investigation to continue, may we resume?”

  “Do as you wish.” Edony gestured toward me. “Interrogate him as much as you like, he’s no longer under my protection anyway.”

  “Yes,” Daisy nodded. “He’s under mine now.”

  “You--” the blonde barked, but she was cut off by Afton loudly clearing her throat.

  “As we were saying,” the mousey brunette uttered, held her baton loosely in one hand, and tilted her head. “You were at Delphine’s for a short time, she dismissed the servants, she took you into her chambers, you had consensual sex, you left shortly after, and then you came back here with Ms. Browning in tow, all of that is correct?”

  “Yes,” I breathed. “That sounds about right.”

  “What was Delphine doing when you left?” Zinnia questioned. “We did see that her bed was mussed as if the two of you had been it, did she get up to go anywhere or?”

  “No,” I shook my head. “Delphine dismissed me, let me know that sadly, I didn’t meet her requirements, and then I left her chambers as she dressed. She didn’t tell me what she was doing or if she was going anywhere.”

  “Hmmm.” Zinnia stuck her tongue into the corner of her lip, thought for a moment, lowered the pad of paper, and gazed over at me. “We’ll need to take a look at your wagon to see if the wheels match the tracks we found at Delphine’s manor. There were quite a few, and we need to match them up perfectly, especially if we find this mystery man who signed a contract with her.”

  “Of course,” I nodded, gestured for them to follow me and then moved around the side of my manor toward my carriage house. “It’s just over here if you will.”

  I nearly stopped in my tracks as a familiar shape slunk up the stairs from my laboratory, somersaulted toward the carriage house, stopped in the gravel, waved to me with a soft giggle, and then disappeared inside.

  “No, no, no, I told you to stay inside,” I grumbled under my breath, hurried forward, and then searched through the darkness after the cat-girl. “Valerie? Go back inside right this instant!”

  “Noooooo,” the feline-woman sang from the shadows. “Not doing it, I’m exploring! I’m allowed to explore, remember?”

  “Charles?” Zinnia called after me. “Did you say something?”

  I whipped around, plastered a wide, fake smile over my lips, and then gestured toward my wagon.

  “Here you are.” I pointed toward the plain wagon. “Sorry for the mess in here, I’ve been very busy with my experiments and haven’t had the chance to clean up the carriage house in a long time.”

  “It is a bit messy,” Afton sniffed. “I’m unsurprised though, most men’s houses are disgusting. You, Ms. Browning, be sure to teach him how to clean properly. My consort had no idea how to do it when he first arrived, but after hours of instruction and discipline, he finally got it.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” Daisy rolled her eyes. “Though Charles is pretty clean, anyway. His laboratory and home are spotless, I’m sure I won’t have to teach him much.”

  Zinnia trudged forward, bent down beside the wagon, shuffled through the pages of her notebook, found the right one, and then compared the paper to the wheel of my wagon. The redhead squinted her eyes, bit her lips for a second, leaned even closer, and then glanced over her should with a huff.

  “Are these threaded?” Zinnia pointed toward the wheel, pressed a finger to the wood, and then nodded. “They don’t look like it, but it feels as if they are.”

  “Yes,” I confirmed. “Getting up the hill to the manor in the winter is treacherous, and I had my wagon fitted with treaded wheels. They work very well, I recommend them if your wagon gets stuck often. Is there a problem?”

  Sweat beaded on the back of my neck as the shadow of Valerie rolled underneath the wagon, padded closer on her hands and knees, sniffed at Zinnia, hopped away toward the bed, and then grappled silently onto the side. The invisible woman climbed up into the back of the wagon, and it shook slightly with the movement for a second.

  Zinnia’s dark eyes rose, glanced around the carriage house, stared into the bed of the wagon, shook her head, and then glanced up at me. The redhead sighed, rolled her eyes toward the ceiling, placed her hands on her knees, and then stood.

  “The wagon imprints we found were without tread,” Zinnia huffed. “Completely smooth with a few divots of normal wear and tear. Someone else must have visited Delphine during the day, either before or after you.”

  “When did you say you went to see Delphine?” Afton scuttled closer.

  “I didn�
�t,” I breathed. “Early in the morning, shortly after I woke up.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, Valerie crawled to the edge of the wagon bed, perched there for a second, hopped off into the shadows, launched herself up into the driver’s seat, lifted both legs into the air as she did a cartwheel, and then jumped off at the other side.

  I gritted my teeth, attempted to calm my pounding heart, and kept my eyes glued on Zinnia’s face.

  If any of them looked hard enough, they’d see her even in the darkness of the carriage house, but thankfully, all of their attention was on me.

  “If you’re lying, Alchemist,” Afton stated, stepped forward, raised the baton, and pointed it into my face. “You know exactly what that means. You’ll be ripped from your home, your contract with Ms. Browning devoid of meaning, either placed in the stocks for a week or a jail cell, and then brought out in front of the whole town and hanged for your crimes. If you did something to Delphine, kidnapped, or killed, you will die. There is no doubt about it. Do you understand?”

  “Of course, I do,” I stated, turned, and leveled my eyes at the mousey-haired constable. “It’s a punishable crime, though, I’ve done nothing to hurt Delphine. I simply went to her for a contract, she refused me after she sampled me, and then I found Ms. Browning, my new Mistress.”

  “Alright, then.” Zinnia snapped her note pad closed, slipped it into her breast pocket with her pen, and then placed her hands on her hips. “Afton? Is that all we need?”

  “Yes,” the mousey brunette nodded. “That’ll be all for now, Alchemist, but if we find anything else, we’ll be back… most likely with a warrant to search the whole estate. Do you understand, Rayburn?”

  “That’s it?” Edony snapped, glanced at the two women, and then pursed her lips. “That’s the end of the questioning and search?”

  “Yes?” Zinnia cocked an eyebrow. “What else would there be? We came, asked him what we needed to, and saw the wagon wheels which don’t match the ones we found. Unless we have concrete evidence, there’s nothing else we can do.”