Heinrich trembled as he stood behind his guards in the feast hall; sweat beading upon his brow from the sounds coming outside of the double doors. Tearing, slicing, rending. Wet squelches and spattering upon the marble floor. The gurgles and screams of dying men. The thin blade in his meaty fingers wavered as he pressed himself against the far wall. Whatever was out there doing all of that could not possible be human. A demon must have come for him! A demon summoned by his rivals to slay him in the midst of his dining.

The plump middle aged nobleman watched his cadre of guards push up against the massive oaken doors leading into the chamber, bracing them with the chairs of the long table. More than one shook in their armor as one by one the screams died off and the sounds of a massacre ceased. Eerie quite overtook the outside. Heinrich's eyes never left the doors, indeed his entire body had seized up in fear. The phantom horrors outside of the room that were capable of such slaughter filled him with terror. Whatever thing was out there it obviously had no concept of what mercy was.

Then the pounding started. It startled his men as the doors vibrated, threatening to push some of them away from the only barrier between them and whatever was out there. "Hold fast! Don't let that thing in!" The lord commanded, wiping a hand over his sweat stained face.

The pounding grew louder. Thick wood cracked and creaked and buckled under the assault of whatever lay beyond the other side. There was no escape route, no secret hallway that could save them. Heinrich prayed. He prayed to the Lord of Order that he would be protected from this horror. He had been one to mock the gods but in this moment he was rather finding his religious side if it would save him from death. He ran his hand through his thinning and greying hair, just wishing that the pounding would stop.

Splinters flew from a freshly made pair of holes in the door, some black and shifting substance peeking through. It withdrew immediately and slammed back into the door, the men that had been holding it backing away in fright as they fumbled with their spears. The doors were flung open in a hail of splintering wood, knocking most of the five guards onto their backs. Heinrich's blade clattered from his trembling hands as he stared at the remnants of the doors, eyes wide and fixed upon the outside.

There was blood. There was so much of it that when the doors were opened a river of it seemed to flow inside the dining room. Mangled and mutilated bodies were strewn about, both servant and guard alike indiscriminately slain. Heinrich had seen death, he had watched battles from afar, but never had he witnessed such a scene of brutality as the one set out beyond those doors. He felt his dinner rise to meet him, emptying it out onto the rich carpet at his feet. Of course, then there were the two standing in the doorway itself.

The black and shifting substance from earlier belonged to the talons of a bestial and massive clawed arm. It writhed and twisted and possessed wide and tortured looking eyes staring out at all it could find. The arm was attached to a tall, red haired and rather heart achingly beautiful woman, her skin as pale as new fallen snow. She was dressed in a ragged grey robe and walked with a stooped gait, her darkly circled and sunken green eyes well away from the woman walking beside her. Despite the horror on her right arm she looked almost... broken. Her pointed ears and exotic features marked her as elven.

The woman at her side could barely have been called that. Indeed, she barely looked much older than Heinrich's seventeen year old daughter. She had a sort of childlike demeanor in how she practically skipped inside, her red pigtails bouncing with each step. Also an elf and one that looked rather like the other one, albeit younger. Her own robes were a brilliant purple, though were quite short and came up to her knees. Belted sandals encased her feet and lower legs in straps of leather.

The younger of the two was humming a rather childlike tune. She spun in place as she skipped inside, looking at the table of rather rich food with wide eyed wonder. The older elf shuffled in after her, her eyes looking to the guards. The men recovered quickly enough and were now pointing spears at the two elves. Heinrich had feared demons, but this was almost as bad. Elves. Those who had enslaved an entire continent of humanity. If even half the stories about them were true he dearly hoped the Lord of Order was feeling merciful today.

"Woah! Look, Mommy! I knew the humans here ate well but talk about a feast! It all looks so yummy, don't ya think?" The younger elf giggled, unconcerned with the spears pointed her way.

"Of course, my daughter. If I might be so impertinent, however, perhaps we should tend to the mission first...?" The apparent mother suggested.

The younger elf spun around suddenly to her mother, causing the older one to flinch away. "Hmm... I want to play with these ones first! We came a long way and I haven't got to play with any humans. You keep them all to yourself." She said, pouting.

"You ordered me to do so, dearest daughter."

"I didn't say kill all of the humans! Dispel your arm!

"Of course, my daughter."

At the younger elf's command the unnatural right arm of the older woman started to emit rather revolting popping noises as it twisted and jolted in a manner disturbing to the eye. Soon enough pale flesh was all that remained on her right arm, as normal as any other arm. The daughter let out a pleased hum. It was at this moment that Heinrich opted to find his voice. Why would elves be here of all places!? Why were they after him!?

"Wh-who are you!? W-wh-why are you doing this!?" He stuttered out.

The younger elf perked up at the sound of his voice and spun on her heel, favoring him with a wide smile and a clap of her hands.

"So you do talk! Most humans back home just cower and tremble and squeak, it's rare to see one that actually can talk! Your voice sounds funny though." She said.

She adopted a rigid posture and a scrunched up face. "'Vho are you? Vhy are you doing zis?' Its really, really funny! Do it again, do it again! Say something else!" She said, hopping in place slightly.

Heinrich looked at the elf in disbelief. "Wh-wh-what!?"

A squeal of delight came from the younger elf as she clapped her hands together. "So cuuute!"

She looked around at the men surrounding her. "Anyway, I'm Alicia Tylsiva, Councilor of Elsira and Mistress of Elder Magical Studies. This is my wonderful mommy, Lilisila Tylsiva, my First Apprentice. Say hello to the humans, mommy!"

"Hello." The woman said.

Elsira. Heinrich shuddered at the name of the great elven empire. It was a continent away but the stories of what role humans had there was enough to put fear into most free human nations for the day the elves knocked on the door. He didn't think too hard on the fact the younger elf's mother was her apprentice, all he wanted was to get as far away from the clearly mad Alicia. She was all smiles and giggles but the look in her eyes was chilling. Like everything she looked upon was a toy for her amusement.

One of his men finally had heard enough and let out a strangled cry as he surged forward with his spear, the tip aimed right at Alicia's head. Her eyes never even moved towards him, she didn't flinch once. All she did was shift her pinky slightly and a thin cord of purple extended from the digit, exploding into a shower of thin strings. The strings were pulled taut and immediately the armored man stopped mid-thrust, standing as still as a decremented suit of armor.

Her hand flexed fully and more strange purple cords shot out around her, one moving straight for Heinrich. The lord tried to duck away, however the cord exploded before reaching him and a few of the strings formed managed to make contact with his skin. It felt rather like they were sliding under his skin and were now in his very blood. The contact with the clearly magical substance made his skin crawl and felt so utterly wrong in his mind. Everything that was real and true with the world was everything this strange power was not. He wanted to scream but his lips wouldn't move. Only his eyes could stare out, watching this puppeteer giggle girlishly with delight.

"Ha! New dollies to play with! The question is... who to play with first? Let's try you five!"

The young woman waggled her fingers, sending a pulse of energy out through the strings upon the guards. Their mouths were freed as the screams they let out were positively blood curdling. Slowly they began to shrink away, armor and all, growing tinier and tinier at the whims of this cruel witch-elf. She laughed gleefully as the humans shrunk at her whim, becoming lesser and lesser with each lost inch. Her mother stood stoically at her side, dutifully awaiting any command her daughter and mistress might give to her.

When the guards reached one inch in height the strings binding them vanished, the little armored men staggering and stumbling upon the sea of rich crimson fabric. A rumbling giggle from above turned all eyes skywards. Alicia towered over them, hands on her knees as her brilliant green eyes leered down at the insignificant insects crawling about upon the floor. Within the confines of her sandals her toes wriggled and writhed, almost playful as she unconsciously anticipated the fun to come.

"That's a little better! You humans are best at this size, mere plaything for your betters. I love playing with my humans, running them ragged and watching their little insect legs scramble away me. I wonder how fast you can scramble." She said aloud.

She stood to her full height and tapped a finger against her pink lips, pondering something before gazing down at her terrified audience. "Alright, I'll make you all a deal. I'm only really here to kill the fat human over there. So if you can survive a minute with me chasing you, I'll let you go. Better get running, I'm really good at squishing slow little humans! Start counting Mommy!"

With that she got right to her sick little game, giggling as she watched the terrified men scatter. There were relatively separated from one another so it wasn't like her challenge was utterly unreasonable. Alicia's mother counted off each second as her bundle of energy skipped towards the closest man. Heinrich was a captive audience to this horror show, unable to move or speak as the young elf played.

The oldest of the guards was not the best runner, huffing and puffing as he ran his hardest away from the titanic elf. Each step for her seemed like dozens for him. The childish humming from elf was chilling and slowed his legs as the fear of her catching up weighed upon his mind. Alicia skipped away towards him, her sandaled food smacking down against the carpet right in front of him. A flick of her foot sent him sprawled out on his back as his vision was filled with the bottom of her sandal. He could see every clump of dirt and even older bloodstains of her past victims.

Alicia pressed hard upon the man, feeling as his armor crumpled under her foot. A little blood squirted out from under her sandal as he splattered like a ripe grape, a simple uncaring twist of her foot obliterating him utterly. When her foot was moved away the only thing remaining of him was twisted metal and a smear of blood on the carpet and under her sandal. She giggled, green eyes turning upon the other running humans.

"Run, run, run from big bad me, humans! I'm gonna squish you!" She said in a singsong voice, skipping over to the next human.

The man screamed as he was flicked over onto his back and Alicia pressed the very toe of her sandal upon his lower half, pressing down slowly. She twisted her heel as little itty bitty hands pound away at the tips of her toes, another giggle escaping her lips. She slid her foot back, creating a long and bloody smear with what had been his legs. The elf didn't bother to finish him off, instead skipping away to her next terrified victims.

"C'mon, guys, I'm actually feeling a little sad here. The humans we breed back home can run waaay better than this!" Alicia said as another one was casually popped under her sole.

"Oh, right, how does that make you feel, huh? Knowing humans are bred and bought like cheap toys and pets. I know from experience they taste really, really yummy when spiced up and served with sauces." She taunted, cornering one at the farthest wall.

He fell to his knees and begged, pleading with the cruel elf for mercy. The only mercy that he got was a very swift death as she popped him under her sandal, rolling her eyes at the weak display. A darkness entered the playful eyes, a disdain for the beings she smeared upon the carpet. It vanished a moment later as her eyes searched for the last one, who had possessed the common sense to dive under the long table. The young elf moved towards it and knelt, preparing to head under just when a soft voice sounded out in the room.

"Time, daughter."

The change in mood was stark and rather frightening. Whereas she had been so playful and cheerful a moment ago when she stood again her face was a mask of fury. Her arm swept out across the table, sending food and dishes alike clattering and shattering to the floor. A low growl of anger and frustration escaped her snarling lips. Heinrich felt the strings upon him tighten and it actually felt like his bones were going to splinter and his organs were going to rupture as dark energy seeped through his body.

She placed her hands on the table and took a few deep breaths, locking her jaw. "Fuck! Only four in a minute? What's my record again, Mommy?"

"Twenty seven, dearest daughter."

She pouted and crossed her arms. "You must have counted too fast! That's it, it's your fault, Mommy!"

The slap she delivered to the older elf echoed through the room, turning Lilisila's head to the side from the force of the blow. "Stupid bitch! How dare you mess me up!? Apologize!" She demanded.

The mother bowed her head low. "I'm sorry, daughter. Forgive me for my gross disservice to you."

Another slap sent the taller elf to the ground with a squeak of surprise. "Maybe you forgot what happened to daddy when he made me mad! What happened to him Mommy? What did I make you do, you stupid bitch?"

"You- you made me... made me eat him." She whimpered.

"That's right, Mommy. Maybe I'll eat a bad Mommy. You don't want to be a bad Mommy, do you?" The young Councilor hissed.

"N-no! I'm sorry daughter! Please, forgive me!"

After a long few moments Alicia's expression shifted into a smile as she threw her arms around her mother, pressing her face to the older elf's breast. A little coo of pleasure escaped the younger elf as a pair of arms were place around her. She snuggled into the fearful hug as though it were one from a loving and caring mother. Heinrich felt his own sanity fraying as he watched this sick and twisted creature. How she killed like it was fun and how she abused the very woman who granted her life like she was a slave. She was every horror story of the elves come to life.

"Mmm... alright, Mommy. I forgive you. I know you want to be the best Mommy ever so I'll let you prove it." Alicia said.

With that the younger elf disentangled herself from the older elf, who looked very much like she was on the verge of tears. The elf knelt down at the table and groped around under it, snatching up the frightened and tiny human. She brought the tiny man up to her massive face, smiling a toothy smile. There was no doubt now that a minute had passed but after that rather... unsettling display towards her subordinate there was no telling what the unstable woman might do.

She simply stood and walked towards where the blood was pooling near the shattered doors, dumping out the armored man unceremoniously. "Okay! You lasted a minute so you're free to go! Get running, little guy!"

"W-wait! Change me back!" He shouted, his voice coming off as a squeak.

Alicia giggled and poked him hard with her forefinger, her squatting position making her look like a girl toying with ants. "Silly, I never said anything about making you big again! You are just the right size for a human! Soon enough all the humans in this land will be just like you, so you won't be alone! Maybe we'll even get to play again sometime if you live that long." She said, standing and dusting herself off as she walked towards Heinrich.

After watching the clearly deranged elf mage work and hearing her speak quite clearly about the elves setting their sights on his nation the lord was scared out of his wits. He felt his very sanity fraying as he looked into those maddened green eyes, hearing the haunting giggle in his ears once again. It echoed in his skull, tainting the sounds of playful children forever with this murdering elf's laughter. Truly she was inhuman, an example of how very alien the elves could be.

The strings were moved with a twitch of her fingers and he felt his limbs jerked into motions he didn't will them to make. It hurt and he tried to resist but it was like she was his puppet, unable to do anything without her commands. Was she going to turn him into a smear on the underside of her sandal? Her eyes played over his form and she shrugged as she looked at her mother, the red marks from her slaps still upon Lilisila's cheeks.

"Hmm... I'm in the mood for something sweet tonight. Bring that cream on the table over, Mommy." She commanded.

Sweet? What the hell did that mean? He only had a moment to ponder this before liquid fire filled his veins. He found his mouth freed just in time for him to scream. He screamed, and screamed, and screamed. It felt like his skin was going to split as the world around him grew so much bigger, so much more frightening. Magic was truly as foul a thing as the legends had stated. This was a pain that Heinrich would never wish upon even his worst enemies.

When he reached one inch in height the strings were removed. He stumbled in fell back on his rear, panting and gasping for breath as he regained control of his body. A shadow came over him and he looked upwards just in time to see a massive hand reaching down towards him. He froze, fear paralyzing him as the wall of soft pale flesh descended to him. He could see every crease and every contour of her hand in a way he would never have noticed before. Her thumb and index finger moved close together slowly.

Heinrich let out a cry as the two digits crushed against him, wriggling in the firm grip of the unnaturally soft and supple flesh. A giggle left Alicia's lips as he was brought up before her smiling face. He huffed and puffed and struggled with all his might but it was a laughably vain effort to make.

"Mmm, keep wriggling like that; you are going to feel so good squirming down. Squishing humans is fun but I love having them in my belly even more!" The young elf said, her silky, pink tongue peeking out of her mouth to lick at her soft lips.

The nobleman's eyes widened as he processed that information. "No, wait, please! Don't eat me, please, I beg of you, milady, don't eat me!" He begged, his heart pounding in his little chest.

Alicia tapped her chin for a moment. "Hmm... well the other Councilors did say to eliminate you. They didn't tell me how though, so I think I'd rather satisfy my sweet tooth and follow my orders. Everyone wins!" She said, her logic clearly quite flawless to her mind.

Heinrich didn't manage to get off another protest before her hand moved towards the small bowl that her mother was holding dutifully. The noble found himself dipped quite deeply into the sweet white cream within, coughing and sputtering as it was choked down his throat. It got in his nose and his eyes as well. It coated every inch of him in a sweet and white cream, which Alicia noted with a very pleased sound in the back of her throat.

"Yummy! I love cream coated humans. Honestly I could eat them by the dozen with each meal. Don't you like them, Mommy?" She said.

"They have an appeal, daughter." The woman answered diplomatically.

Heinrich cleared his eyes just in time to look into Alicia's open maw, her tongue wriggling about within playfully. "Wait! Please! Don't-!"

The lord was cut off as Alicia plopped the plump, cream coated human into her mouth. She swished her tongue around her tasty treat, humming as she licked the cream from the tiny form in her mouth. The struggles inside were pretty typical and indeed were somewhat amusing to the young elf. Her eyes looked about in contemplation as she sampled this foreign human rather thoroughly.

After she'd enjoyed herself for a bit and licked him clean she swallowed. She traced a finger down her throat, feeling him writhe and struggle the whole way down. To help him on his way she took up a goblet of wine nearby and gulped the ruby liquid, washing her treat down rather nicely. She patted at her slim belly as she felt the little man arrive, his pounding and struggles starting the moment he entered the organ. A sigh escaped her throat. The humans from this land had quite the taste about them. The ones in her own had been enslaved before her birth so maybe it was a breeding difference. Maybe free range humans just tasted better.

She shrugged the thought off as she let her stomach enjoy its little treat. "Hmm... who are we visiting next, Mommy?" She asked.

The older elf bowed low. "Lady Silvia Von Rosenburg and her daughter Lady Anna Von Rosenburg are next. The council desires one captured alive for interrogation on their naval strength."

"Oh? Only one you say? Sounds like fun! Let's get going, Mommy!" The elf said, smiling as she skipped away from the dining hall with some fresh bloodstains on her sandals and a fresh human in her belly. Who knew acting as prelude to an invasion could be such fun?