Norman sat on the bed and stared at the ginger haired girl, who had been talking for 2 hours straight, telling him all about her life because, of course, she hadn't been able to do that with anyone other than the scientists that she had been grouped with for experiments, and she knew they didn't give a shit or even listen

"... You're very quiet" Emma commented

"Sorry" Norman apologized sarcastically

"It's okay, Norman!" Emma smiled, ignoring the obvious sarcasm in his voice

"Ugh..." he scoffed under his breath. Emma kept smiling. Norman would be lying if he said that didn't scare him, just a little

"Emma. Your father said to go to your room. Its getting late" A guard opened the metal door and called out

"Oh, okay! I'll see ya tomorrow, Norman!!" Emma said as she got up and straightened out her skirt

"Yeah.." Norman watched as she left. As soon as she left, Norman got up, went to the bookshelf and started reading. After an hour or two, a speaker system turned on

"22194" A voice called out "you're needed in Peter Ratri's office" static overcame the voice and quickly vanished. After a few seconds, the same three guards entered the room and escorted him to Peter's office

"22194, there you are" Peter started "from what I've heard, my daughter has grown attached to you in the last few hours"

"Unfortunately, yes" Norman sighed in annoyance "why?"

"Well, I'd be careful" Peter said "she is my child. If you do anything to her, I might have to disobey the Queen's orders. Do you understand?" He warned

Norman agreed

That night, Emma tapped on the door and called out Norman's name

"Norman? Are you awake?" Emma asked

"Yeah.." Norman replied, annoyance clear in his voice

"May I come in?" Emma asked politely, which was unlike her usual childish and intrusive self

"Mhm.." Norman hummed as Emma pulled out her keycard and pressed it against the scanner lock

"Hi!~" Emma greeted Norman enthusiastically

"Hi.." Norman replied monotone as he flipped the page of the book he was reading

"Father gave me a doll earlier! Look!" Emma held out a pretty porcelain doll with curly ginger hair and beautiful yellow eyes, frills lining its dark pink dress

"... A doll? Aren't you too old for dolls?" Norman asked, referring to the fact that she is literally 13

"Huh? Why would I be too old for a doll? Dolls are for all ages" Emma replied "father said it reminded him of me" she smiled (damn, Peter being a good father lol)

"That's... Sweet, I guess" Norman said as he looked back at his book. Emma proceeded to tell him all about what had happened while gone, which Norman mostly ignored

"-And then I found this pen on the ground with W.M scratched into it" Emma pulled out a pen, which immediately snatched Norman's attention "is it yours? Cause I've never seen a scientist with it"

"Yeah. Yeah, it is" Norman snatched the pen like a wig and put it in his pocket

"Oh, wait! I just remembered why I'm here!" Emma beamed "wait, before that, do you like my dress? Father had it imported a few days ago!"

"You really like pink, huh?" Norman asked

"Hm? Oh, Father has someone else choose the clothes" Emma said "I don't really like pink all too much"

"What? Then why are you wearing it?" Norman questioned

"Because Father said so" Emma smiled innocently

"Why-"

"I'm not entirely sure why I can't wear what I want"

"Have you ever asked?"

"No. I don't want to upset Father, so I'll play along" Emma put her doll down and her hands behind her back, looking at Norman with a cutesy face, making him look away

"So, what did you come for exactly?" Norman asked

"To tell you something!" Emma said cheerfully as she approached him. Suddenly, she grabbed his face

"I know what you're planning. You want to escape and see your family again, hm? Well, guess what! I'm here to ensure you never leave. Listen to me, Norman. It doesn't matter how desperate you are to get out of here or what your reasons are. My job is to keep you in Lambda, no matter what it takes. I don't care about your plans or your dreams. You can try to escape, but I'll be right here, making sure you never get past these walls. So you might as well stop wasting your energy and accept it. You're better off that way" The gingerette said as her innocent green eyes turned cold and threatening, her demeanour changing from childish and naive to villainous and almost murderous

Norman could only listen in silence as Emma told him to give up, her nails digging into his skin as she did

"Understood?"

"..."

"Understood!?"

"... Y- yes..."

"Good boy!"

Emma patted his swan white hair as she told him to have a good night before walking out the door, locking it behind her

{~'∆*∆'~}

"So, you have your daughter guarding him?"

"Yes"

"Did the Queen sign off on that?"

"Well, yes and no. She just told me to do whatever just as long as she can have 22194"

"We both know how your daughter is, Peter. Just make sure she doesn't harm him too much"

"Physically or mentally?"

"Both"

"No promises"

{~'∆*∆'~}

"Oh, Normaaaaaan!!" a voice called out in a singsong tone "I've got a surprise for you!!"

Norman turned to the opening door and saw, the one and only, Emma Ratri

"What now?" He scoffed

She handed him a piece of origami

"Do you like it??" She asked, eagerly awaiting a response

"Uh.. Sure" Norman replied hesitantly

The events of the night before replayed in his head. Who would've thought a girl like this could be so... Threatening.. Guess it makes manipulation and blackmail easier

And here she is, acting as if nothing even happened

Then, he noticed something. There was a spot of blood on her sleeve

"Are you okay?" He asked

"Hm? What are you talking about?" Emma turned and replied

"Your sleeve. There's blood on it" Norman pointed to the red splotch

"Oh, its just from an experiment" The gingerette explained "don't worry. He's alive... Barely.." she giggled innocently

Experiment, huh?

Daddy's little monster, aren't you?