Chapter 43 - I Won't Chase After You, I Own You

Zhe Chouhen scoffed. (Yep, there it is. So it is only in this particular vanity mirror, huh? And it disappears so quickly, very easy to miss. This must be the third party's way of making things harder for me, since I cannot be possessed by the MLs now.)

Still, he needs to play into their hands and pretend he didn't notice.

He continued acting scummy as 'Franklin'. "You see, Stein dear. If you want to have something, you don't have to chase for it endlessly. Why chase after beautiful things when you can own them instead?"

"But... Hmmm...." Stein was now encountering his very first moral dilemma.

'Franklin' combed his hair. "Look at your hair now, Stein. Do you like it?"

Stein now paid attention to his reflection. The person inside the mirror...

Looked so much better than before. He can see his features more clearly now, and the lacklusterness from earlier lessen after the bath and breathing in some air, gaining some sunlight. The hair is cut short but not too much, reaching past his shoulders in round, fluffy curls. A fine jawline, chiseled nose, lips that are no longer dry, and looking plump.

He can see why Franklin would love such a person now. This beautiful person is worth loving.

"I like it." Stein said.

"I'm not finished. I still have to tie it up like how good gentlemen do." 'Franklin' suddenly took the book and left.

"Where are you going?" Stein asked.

"I will return soon. I'm just getting something to tie your hair with. Just stay there."

Stein did patiently wait, and he took a moment to register all his newly acquired knowledge. Bubbles pop. Franklin is his lover. He is not normal. And......

When you want something, you don't chase after it. You own it.

'Franklin' returned with his hand behind his back. "Close your eyes."

"Why?" Stein asked, but still did so.

He felt 'Franklin' approach closer and take his hair into a bundle, wrapping a piece of lace around it. He tied it at the side, letting them flow freely by his right shoulder. Then, he said. "Open them."

He saw that his shoulder-length hair was indeed tied up and.....

The hair tie has a blue butterfly on it.

"Whoahh...Pretty....." He touched the butterfly, and noticed a few differences. The wings look shiner and reflect more light, and the butterfly does not move, much stiffer than before. And hard, not easy to break.

It cannot fly anymore, but it remained beautiful as ever.

"I encased it in resin." 'Franklin' explained. "I was supposed to add it to my butterfly collection, but you seemed upset. So I hope I could lift your mood with this."

"Thank you....." Stein said. "I like it, Frankie....."

"You're welcome." 'Franklin' smiled as he quickly darted his eyes to the mirror.

[Scum Meter: 7%]

Satisfied, he placed a hand on Stein's broad shoulders. "Come on, let's give you something to eat. Something soft to chew on, like porridge or potatoes....."

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A month later, Stein had improved in terms of intelligence and social behavior. But only to the level of a ten-year-old child, and there is still much progress to be made. Yet 'Franklin' is letting him take his time, and Stein had grown to appreciate his patience.

However, he was never allowed to go outside. So whenever his creator would leave, he always felt alone.

One night, as his big burly body was being tucked into his soft, comfy bed, he decided to finally ask Franklin. "When can I join you whenever you go outside, Frank?"

He no longer says 'Frankie' since he learned it makes him sound childish. He's been trying to appear more and more dignified and mature each day, just so he and Franklin can finally stroll together outside.

Yet the creator still answered, "It's not time yet, my dear. When it's time, I'll let you go outside."

"When will that be?"

"Soon."

"What date is soon? So I can mark it on my calendar."

'Franklin' was not annoyed by his constant stream of questions, just amused. "The date is to be decided. And you cannot mark it on the calendar, because it is not in this year yet."

Not this year..... So that is a very long time. He sighed. He felt like it was because he was doing something wrong.

'Franklin' sat at the edge of the bed, the lamplight casting dancing shadows over his face. "You have to understand, Stein, that I am doing this for your own sake. We have to take caution. I do not want harm to come for us and take you from me."

"I know... It's because I am abnormal, isn't it?" Stein frowned.

"In everyone else's eyes, yes. But in mine, you are perfect." 'Frankin' rubbed his head and smiled. "Now close your eyes and rest. Have a peaceful slumber with good dreams."

"Wait, Frank. There is something else I would like to ask." Stein held on to his hand. "The locked doors that you told me I cannot enter... What are they for? Why couldn't I go inside? What will happen if I did enter them?"

'Franklin' just smiled at him, brushing a stray strand of his luscious golden hair. "Do you want me to tell you a bedtime story?"

"Bedtime stories are for children." The artificially created man looked displeased.

In his mind, he thought: 'I want Franklin to stop treating me like a child and treat me like how lovers do from what I've read in the novels.'

"But you still are a child, Stein. According to my latest test results." 'Franklin' ruffled his hair. "So right now, a bedtime story will do you some good to learn more lessons about how life works."

"But I have read far more interesting books than those fairytales." Stein persisted. "Stories that don't have magic and witches and talking animals..... But events that can happen in real life. I've seen it on the newspaper labeled as 'realistic fiction', and it is what the academics here in London are more inclined to writing today."

"Hmm, but how do you know the events in these 'realistic' books do actually happen when you have not observed them happen in real life yourself?"

'Franklin' does have a point. But this gave Stein more ammunition for his own side of being allowed to go outside. "That may be true, but that is because I have no capability to do so. I cannot observe what is not right before my eyes. I cannot see for myself exactly how life works and can only rely on what I have read on papers."

"But I can." 'Franklin' said. "Is that not enough for you? Will you not believe me, your creator, your lover?"

This puzzled Stein and put him in a spot. "I..... I need to confirm it, Frank. I do believe you, but I want to confirm everything for myself. I want to be an independent and self-sufficient man."

Zhe Chouhen felt his heart ache for Stein. Because he knows how ironic that statement was.

Oh god, he knows.

"Someday you will be, Stein. Someday." 'Franklin' patted his head. "But let me tell you my story first. To warn you about what you must look out for the most in the outside world, the most dangerous beings in existence: humans."

"I don't need any more Rumplestiltskin and Little Red Riding Hood, Frank." Stein sat back up. "I know what they mean. They are cautionary tales for liars, tricksters, and manipulators, but you could have just presented it to me how these evil people are truly are instead of presenting them as fantastical entities."

"But turning them into something fantastical is what makes the story fun, Stein. It gives you time to think, makes you recognize symbols. The answer is not written for you, it must be sought."

This is Zhe Chouhen explaining all of it, not Franklin. He is deviating from the script, but not going OOC. Because Franklin had never actually read fairytale stories to Stein. He did this for the sole purpose of being able to tell the story he will tell today in the guise of 'teaching Stein about real life'.

The story that will prepare Stein for what is coming for him, if he would be able to see the signs.

"You have never heard of this story before. This is the story of Glasseye." He said in an ostentatious and mysterious tone.

Stein crossed his arms. "Does he have glass for eyes?"

"Er.... Yes." Zhe Chouhen said, putting his creativity to the test. He isn't a writer, after all, he just thought of the name on a whim.

"How can he see, then? Is he blind?"

"Only one of his eyes is glass. But that's not important." He waved the question away and continued his hastily put-together tale. "Glasseye is a rich toymaker and has married a beautiful peasant woman named Evelyn. They moved together in Glasseye's house."

"The house was big and filled with countless doors. Evelyn was handed the keys to all of them. Glasseye has all kinds of rooms; he has rooms for music, for his pet dogs, for his coin collection and so much more. Evelyn was fascinated, but noticed that the number of keys does not match the number of doors."

"She confronted Glasseye about it. He told her that she can learn more about his house, and everything there was to him, but there are five doors that she must absolutely not open. The keys to those 5 doors are on his room, by the vanity mirror."

Stein raised an eyebrow. "This sounds quite similar to Bluebeard. Are you sure this is a different story and not just a rendition of the tale, Frank?"

"It is, just let me continue." Zhe Chouhen said in a slightly displeased tone, but in truth, he was actually happy as a literature geek that his smart creation knows the reference!

(My Stein is really smart, I am raising him well!) He thought to himself, then continued the story after clearing his throat. "Again, he told her where the keys to the 5 locked rooms was. And so, Evelyn became curious. When Glasseye left for work at his toy shop, she decided to take the keys and open them."

"This really does seem like another Bluebeard or The White Dove tale..." Stein crossed his arms. "Is it right for me to presume that when she opened the door, she saw a dead body of Glasseye's former wives in it?"

"No." Zhe Chouhen shook his head. "On the first door, she saw the wooden hand of a toy soldier crushed by a big metal anvil, and nothing more."

"Oh." Stein's eye's widened. "A toy's hand. Why would he keep that hand in a separate room?"

"I cannot answer any questions for I could only tell you the tale, my dear. Like I said, fairytales do not want you to make sense of it right away. You need to see through them." He patted his head. "Now that it subverted your expectations and your assumption is incorrect, do you still want me to continue?"

"I..... I suppose." Stein suddenly felt a little sheepish. "What did she find on the next door?"

"She opened the next locked door, and found two identical Russian nesting dolls, the matryoshka, one ruined to pieces except for its outermost layer which was put in front of the other one, that remained standing in single metal rod."

"On the third one, she found a one-armed broken china doll hanging on a thread by the neck. There was a big smile on the doll's painted face."

"And on the fourth one, she found a single mannequin trunk wearing a gentlemen's attire. Nothing more, just a bust with no limbs or head attached, and there was a big hole where the heart should be."

"Those are really odd..." Stein knitted his brows, trying to judge where this story is getting at. "What about the fifth door?"

"The fifth door..." Zhe Chouhen smiled. "The fifth door only had a small round mirror on it, where Evelyn saw her own face. Then, to her horror, Glasseye was also there, standing right behind her."

There was a pause after this suspenseful development of the tale.

Stein couldn't take it anymore, unable to believe how invested he was in this, and asked. "And... Did he kill her? Did she escape? Did he tell her why she shouldn't open the doors?"

"Glasseye....." Zhe Chouhen said, as he moved his hand that was resting on Stein's head down towards his chin, lifting it up. Then, he let go, letting those hands travel around his waist, wrapping around them. He gave Stein a kiss on the forehead.

"Glasseye held Evelyn and bid her good night."