Jenny’s smile faltered; she sighed and turned around. With Yuki held in both hands, the blondie entered the manor again. She strode past the foyer and dining room to the kitchen. Yuki still couldn’t move other than jerky, uncontrolled spasms. The more she tried, the firmer Jenny’s grip became.

  Yuki tried to wave magic, invoke [Wrack] bunnies or anything, but paralyzed and held onto as she was; the magic didn’t answer her.

  Now that they were near the other servants, Jenny’s gentle smile and demeanor returned. She bowed and smiled and waved. Inside the kitchen, she turned right and stopped in front of a countertop. There, Yuki saw a cutting board. Tied to a wall was Yuki’s current worst nightmare. Knives of every type and shape. Cleavers, carvers, boning and paring.

  “Not the knives! Anything but the knives!” Yuki yelled as loud as she could.

  “Hush,” Jenny said, voice soft, “it will be over in a moment.” Jenny covered Yuki’s eyes with her hand, pinning Yuki’s head to the cold wood. It smelled of blood and garlic.

  Yuki tried to bite or buck away; she tried to invoke magic, but paralyzed and pinned to a cutting board, her limbs didn't obey; she willed herself to teleport away by sheer force of will and panic. Nothing happened. As a last resort, she abandoned all pride and begged.

  “No, please. I’m too pretty and young to die. Don’t do this, please!”

  A moment later, Yuki heard and felt it. Metal scrapping against metal. The tugging in her fur, but no pain. She stopped, still as a rabbit; she waited for the inevitable.

  “There, all better now,” Jenny said, removing her hands from Yuki’s eyes. The girl held scissors instead of knives. Nearby, she saw the mangled and tangled patch of bloodied fur that she had tried to clean a few times but never managed. Jenny hung the scissors on the wall and then threw the fur away. Gently, she picked Yuki up and left the kitchen.

  Yuki didn’t even complain or try to flee this time; she was too tired.

  Jenny crossed corridors, strode through decorated rooms, though to Yuki it was all a blur. Finally, the girl opened a door that led to a dark room. The air was dry and stale; wood crates rested against the wall. Yuki saw bags that smelled of seeds, tools to work the land, and other farm equipment. Jenny walked to one of the crates, opened it, and placed Yuki inside. She hesitated for a moment, then sighed. “I’ll come get you later.” The lid came down, leaving Yuki alone and trapped inside the box.

  A few moments later, Yuki heard the door closing and the keys jiggling. She closed her eyes and took deep, calming breaths. The dark helped, even if she was still trapped.

  It was probably her relief at still being alive, but she fell asleep without meaning to.

  Yuki awoke. She jumped up, hit her head against the wood, bounced away, hit the wood walls of her prison, tried to run, only to hit her nose in even more wood.

  It was dark, and the floor texture was strange. The smells were all wrong. Old musty wood, manure, soil, and seeds. Another scent reached her. Something she recognized but not from this life. Old memories surfaced, and she remembered the tantrum when her nanny insisted Yuki ate the damn thing. Across from her was a wooden bowl filled with water. A carrot lay by the side of the bowl.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Not believing her nose, Yuki first walked to the water. She drank deep and long. She sat by the carrot, nibbling at the treat. She needed to think about this whole situation. On one paw, she was alive. Frankly, surprising. Yuki opened her character sheet and looked for a luck attribute or characteristic, found none.

  On another paw, she’d been kidnapped and locked away. On the third paw, her kidnapper left water and food. Was this some Stockholm tactics or something? On the last paw, Yuki missed the other buns already.

  Now that the fear had subsided, she realized panic made things worse than they were, at least with the blonde. Jenny, Yuki remembered the name, didn’t seem willing to cook a rabbit for dinner.

  This was also a good opportunity; didn't she secretly wish for more interactions besides the rabbits? Now that she wasn’t paralyzed anymore, she had choices. She could [Wrack] any humans trying to keep her here. Or maybe finally try that [Shapechange] spell.

  But more than that, Yuki was curious about the scent in the Lord’s office.

  On cue, a system notification blinked in her vision.

  New quest received.

  Quest: Burnt wood and Fresh blood.

  Description: You've smelled the scent of potent magic. It should have dominated the whole area but didn't leave the Lord's office. Find out what the smell is.

  Reward: ???

  Well, that at least confirmed that the quests were influenced by things she wanted. She tried to open the quest tabs, but it was still disabled.

  Yuki nibbled the carrot. It was good, the taste, the smell, the crunchiness. Not as good as the damn poison seeds or magic ‘shrooms, but still good. She sighed again. If she kept with the sighing, she’d become a granny rabbit soon enough. The decision was a poor one. She wanted to stay, even if the logical thing to do was to escape. She shook her head. She also needed to ensure no one realized she was more than a rabbit. If these people burned innocent girls in the pyre, she didn’t want to think what they would do with talking magic rabbits.

  After a minute of idle nibbling, she looked at her other system notifications.

  Resist: Fear (A): 5 ? 6

  Resist: Pain (A): 3 ? 5

  Resist: Poison (A) 1 ? 2

  It was like being punched and then snogged soon after. The suffering was horrible, but seeing the numbers go up was nice. Urgh, Yuki felt very conflicted about this.

  She was still mulling over things when she heard the jiggling of keys and the door opening. Yuki prepared the spell. If the blondie tried anything, Yuki would not hesitate this time. She crouched, ready to [Wrack] away at first notice. She had only one mana point left; this [Wrack] would be up, close, and personal. Not something she enjoyed.

  Footsteps got closer, then the crate lid slid open. Jenny peeked inside. Yuki stared back at the girl. With slow, deliberate movements, Jenny extended a hand toward Yuki. She didn’t try to hold the rabbit; she just presented the hand.

  Was this the famous pet bonding technique?

  Yuki had a strange feeling bubbling in her chest. The blondie was pretty enough. Yuki wouldn’t have minded playing the pet part in another life, but now?

  The hand edged closer until it almost touched Yuki’s nose. Yuki closed the gap and sniffed the offered hand. A strong scent of soap with a hint of something sweet and flowery. Did Jenny wash her hands before coming here? That was a nice gesture. Yuki gave the hand a lick, then edged away. The soap tasted funny.

  Jenny giggled. With the back of her fingers, she caressed Yuki’s fur. “Aren’t you a sweetie?” she whispered. “I know it was Boris’ fault. The idiot doesn’t know how to handle a cute thing like you.”

  Yuki recognized the word. Boris, that was the boy’s name.

  “Tomorrow I’ll go into town and get a proper home for you. Until then, I’ll need to keep you here.” The blonde placed her hand on the crate, palm up and open. She held a piece of carrot in her open palm.

  Yuki sighed; so much for not being a pet. For survival and research, she walked into the girl’s palm, nibbled the offered food.

  What followed after, the fingers gently stroking her sensitive ears and the involuntary leg thumping were things Yuki decided she would never talk about.

  Ever.