Now it's Duran's turn to speak.

Duran's POV:

My name is Duran. It's a lot less intimidating than my older name back when I was an Orphan in the….Other world. Still, my mistress gave it to me and I bear it with pride. My mistress, my beautiful Natsuki.

I'm more proud than the other Childs are. At least, I think I am. I certainly have the best mistress there is. In a way, she made me feel like I was a better Child than I was centuries ago.

Back in the world we Childs and Orphans come from, I was one of the most infamous, murderous Orphans there was. I was the closest thing my world had to a prolific criminal. I didn't care who I destroyed; a politically powerful Orphan, a mere lowly thief or trespasser. Anything to relieve me of my anger.

I love my Mistress, dearly. She has let me see the honorable soul that she possess, and I believe that I have been changed by it. And yet, I'm a traitor. Yes, you heard me, a traitor. I know, a Child is supposed to obey his or her mistress, no matter what the order. But nonetheless I am a traitor.

My mistress named me after her dog, Duran, her closest friend back when she was an infant.

I want to pride myself on how much of a good Child I am for her, but by this point I can't exactly say that, can I?

I watch her in while I'm in her mind, watching her sleep and for me it's painful. I see her cry in her sleep as she has nightmares of her mother. I hate that I'm not more physically human. I hate that I don't have hands so that I can wipe away the tears that form at the edges of her eyes, as she has her nightmares. I hate that I don't have arms that can hold her in her sleep, I hate that I'm not allowed by rules to speak to her telepathically so that I can soothe her.

By rules of all Childs of Hime, I am allowed to make a choice after my mistress dies. I can either stay on earth just like the previous cowardly Kagutsuchi that became one with the previous winner of the Carnival, the Crystal Hime.

Or I can follow Natsuki in death and I can protect her soul in the afterlife. I've always looked forwards to the latter part of the options and yet, now realizing how much of a traitor I am for her, perhaps I deserve to remain on earth with the previous Kagutsuchi who didn't follow his Hime in death.

I feel that I was very lucky in getting the Hime mistress that I did. Natsuki is so much better to me than all the other Hime are to their Childs. The Hime Mikoto, Nao, Yukino, and Shiho, they just see their Childs as tools. Weapons really. And Mai and Yukariko are afraid of their Childs.

Natsuki on the other hand has never feared me. She's never treated me as just a weapon either.

In fact, even from the first moment I was summoned by her, I realized that she would treat me with the utmost respect and companionship. You can't imagine how overjoyed I was when I first felt her emotions and realized how she saw me.

We Childs are the stuff of nightmares; we're where stories like "the boogeyman," werewolves, vampires, loch ness monsters, and aliens come from. Humans see us and immediately are terrified of us or see us as objects.

My noble mistress has never done either.

Though I do endlessly worry about her.

I used to be a very large Child. I was huge physically back in my world. As big as a Kagutsuchi. Possibly bigger. The Child that is called "Julia" in this world was quite big too before becoming attached to the Hime Nao.

This is for a reason that's quite obvious. Both Natsuki and Nao are suppressing their emotions because of their traumatic experiences. This has resulted in the two of us being much smaller than we were actually meant to be.

My Natsuki is a noble, brave and wonderful young woman…who blocks her emotions to the point that she's suppressed and so am I.

At this very moment, I'm watching her in my mind and we're tracking another Hime, the one called Shiho, Yatagarasu's mistress. Apparently, the Hime Nao and her Child Julia attacked Mai's little brother, Takumi. When Mai and Natsuki went to help him, Yatagarasu and Shiho interfered.

Now we were tracking where that insane Shiho and her Yatagarasu went. I wish the Child that's called Harry was here. Yes, Harry. He was the closest thing I had to a brother back in the world we came from.

My brother was my companion in our world for almost thousands of years. He looked after me and I looked after him. When we were both summoned by our respective mistresses, we were both overjoyed that we were going to be summoned in the same century. But we knew the price. We would have to fight each other, just like all the other battles in the Festival.

Though not now. Harry had been defeated already. Already I suffered the death of my brother. He was murdered by that abomination, Miyu. I hadn't even had the honor of fighting my brother and giving him the mercy of dying by my claws and element instead of any other Childs' abilities.

Luckily we stopped Miyu and that fake bitch Hime before when she tried to take over the school.

Now, how was I going to stop the Festival from taking Natsuki from me, or just from Natsuki disappearing period. I needed a way for her to be safe completely from the rest of the Hime and their Childs.

I've seen her at her most vulnerable. I've watched her cry. I've watched her at her strongest. I've seen her in her most painful positions. Albeit, she's never actually admitted to anyone that she's in pain. Well, she never tells anybody except me of course. That's why I know that I am blessed with the best Hime. The rest of the Childs would never be honored with their Hime telling them about their problems. But me, me, my Hime tells me everything when she needs to. She trusts me. She trusts me in battle, and she trusts me with her problems.

It's true, I know that my friend and brother Harry was treated as a friend by his Hime, Akane, but still, I don't believe that their bond could ever surpass Natsuki and mine.

And I must say, I do not envy Miroku, Kagutsuchi and Gennai and their Hime; Akira, Mikoto and Mai's relationships.

Mai fears Kagutsuchi, almost to the point that she hates him for how dangerous he is. Mikoto and Akira treat their Childs as mere tools. Nothing else. But Mikoto especially, for such a loving child who appears to love all of those around her selflessly seems to hold no affection whatsoever for her Child, who she sees as a mere object and servant.

And then of course there are those that I do envy. Only I envy a certain human. I envy that wretch. I envy that worthless flirt of a human who can hold Natsuki in her arms if she wants and can even kiss her if she wants….amongst other things.

Shizuru Fujino.

That damned human. I hate her. The fact that Kiyohime is her Child is her only redeeming quality.

There are times when I seriously have to restrain myself from summoning myself and attacking Shizuru, ripping her throat out.

But then, I know what will happen if I do that. Natsuki will disappear. I know the rules of the Carnival. Natsuki is Shizuru's most precious person, if anything happens to either Shizuru or Kiyohime, Natsuki will cease to be.

That will kill me and not just physically. Whatever emotions I'll feel before I am destroyed along with Natsuki will be of anguish, despair, sorrow and desperation. Those agonizing feelings will be the last things I experience before I disappear after I watch Natsuki disappear before me if anything happens to Shizuru or Kiyohime.

So, seriously, killing Shizuru, is unfortunately, out of the question.

Funny, isn't it? I've had thousands of years to experience how to kill Orphans and Childs and even humans that have been unfortunate enough to cross my path, and yet now I'm stuck, unable to kill a mere human of nineteen because of her feelings for my Hime.

Unfortunately, living as long as I have and knowing the things that I know, I know very well what the Carnival will bring. As I said, Natsuki is Shizuru's most precious person, and the whole point of the Carnival is so that the strongest Hime will be found and be granted a great power so that she will save the world.

Part of that deal is that all the other Hime save for the victor are defeated. This would mean that it would be literally, unless Shizuru were to somehow change "precious people" impossible for Natsuki to actually "win" the Carnival trials.

For Natsuki to win, she'd have to defeat all the Hime, including Shizuru. This would result in Natsuki disappearing. And for that, I pray to whatever deity there is that Natsuki does not win.

Yes, you heard me. I hope that my Mistress does not win the battle. I am a traitor. I know a Child is supposed to serve and obey his or her Mistress no matter what the order. I should be concentrating on protecting Natsuki and making sure that she wins the Carnival.

But I can't. I love Natsuki too much. If Shizuru is defeated, and either she or Kiyohime are destroyed, Natsuki will disappear. That means that Shizuru must never be defeated.

Natsuki's precious person…For now is her deceased mother, Saeko. Not Shizuru. Therefore, if Natsuki is defeated and I'm destroyed in the Carnival, nothing will happen to Shizuru and her Child, and therefore Natsuki will not disappear.

I am a traitorous Child, I know that I am. I hope that when the Carnival comes, I will be destroyed immediately before Natsuki can start to see Shizuru as her most precious person. So long as I am destroyed before then, Natsuki will be safe from disappearing.

If Natsuki never comes to see Shizuru as her most precious person, and is defeated and if Shizuru wins the Carnival, herself and Kiyohime safe and unharmed, Natsuki will be safe always, as long as that happens, I'm happy.

I know Natsuki would not be able to stomach me if she knew that I felt this way. She's as stubborn as I am. Hell, more than I am really. Even I admitted defeat at least sometimes, centuries ago when I did meet some stronger Orphans.

But even when Natsuki sees that it's more dangerous than anything else to go after the scum that murdered her mother. Does she think about whether or not she'll die? Of course not. Does she think about the possibility that she could get captured, tortured, brainwashed or worse? Never.

If I somehow had the power of a god, which compared to almost all humans and most Orphans I do, I'd force her to stop myself, even if it is taking her choice away. I want to be a good Child, but it seems that there's no way around this.

If it just weren't for that blasted Hime, Shizuru and her feelings for Natsuki, then I could proceed to serve my mistress for the rest of the Festival without guilt, would be able to dispatch each of the Hime's Childs without any distraction, even killing my dear friend Harry. But no, because of that wretched woman, Shizuru, I'm hindered from my services.

I've never hated any human as much as I hate that woman. It's not just jealousy as I've explained. Her feelings are a danger to Natsuki as well as something that angers me. I love my Mistress. More than I've loved anything or anyone else in either of these worlds.

She is unique from all the other Hime. She treats me as her companion, partner and even friend. This only hurts me more as I realize the extent of how I'm going to betray her. I'm committing the ultimate betrayal by allowing myself to be destroyed in the Carnival.

I'm not even going to fight back when I'm attacked. If anyone even tries to kill Natsuki, that will be the end of them. They will all be destroyed. But if they're only attacking me, then I won't stop them.

For a while now, I've suspected that maybe I'm not worthy of following Natsuki after she dies. There's an option all Childs have after their Mistresses pass away. They can choose either to stay with their mistresses after death and follow them to the afterlife, or the Childs can stay on earth and never reunite with their mistresses again.

I've always believed that if I'd ever came to that choice, I'd follow Natsuki. But now, I'm not so sure I'm worthy. I've travelled with Natsuki all around this island for years and even occasionally have gone to other places besides the island and city with her on her missions to discover new information.

I've come to know a great deal about her. I know how honorable and noble she is. I know how kind she really is, she just hides it very well. To be honest, I don't know why she hides her compassion and kindness. She of course would be beautiful no matter what emotion she'd show, but she's so beautiful when she exposes her more gentle side.

Is it disturbing, a Child talking about its Mistress this way? We Childs might be servants, but all Childs that are linked to Hime are without innocence in how they feel towards their Mistresses. I will not deny that I want Natsuki. You ask Julia and she would not deny either that she wants Nao as well. It's the same for Kagutsuchi, Gennai and Harry. We all have romantic feelings for our Mistresses. We sometimes even have feelings for our Mistresses most important people; in other words, the precious ones of our Hime mistresses.

This, much to my constant anger, is the problem that Kiyohime has. It's true, she cares for her mistress, that damned witch, Fujino, but Kiyohime is in love with Natsuki as well. Now, Kiyohime and I aren't that close. We are friends, but we're just not close. However, I could tell what Kiyohime's feelings were for Natsuki, just as well as I could tell what Fujino's feelings were.

And I despise her for it. Kiyohime takes away whatever time I have with Natsuki by invading my thoughts telepathically and demanding to know how Natsuki is. I can take care of her just fine, thanks Kiyohime.

God damn it, I got along with Julia way better. Speaking of which, I know also what Julia's mistress, Nao's feelings are for Natsuki

Yes, you heard me, Nao Yuuki also loves Natsuki. I've seen how she looks at my Mistress when she thinks my Mistress isn't looking. Strangely, I do not feel myself seething with contempt whenever I think of her feelings as opposed to how I feel when confronted with Fujino's feelings for Natsuki.

I trust Nao more than I do Fujino.

What's more, Natsuki isn't Nao's most important person, which means that Nao will not be a threat if she falls in love with Natsuki. The only problem is of course, if she ends up defeating Fujino. That's the only thing I'm worried about. I know how devastating losing your most precious person can be.

Believe me, I've seen it happen one too many times with my brother and sister Orphans in the last centuries.

Therefore, I know that it will be horrific and traumatic for Nao to lose whoever her precious person is once she's defeated, but it must happen so that Fujino is not defeated and Natsuki is safe. That's another terrible thing. Nao, I know probably has suppressed her stronger feelings, which is why Julia is smaller than she's supposed to be, simply because she has been traumatized in the past.

And once again, I'm betraying my mistress. First, I make it so that I will be destroyed in the upcoming battle so that i won't hurt Fujino or her Child, then to top everything off, I'm denying my mistress further happiness by making a potential love interest suffer worse than she probably already has.

I've been cruel in the past, twenty thousand years ago. So very cruel. But I've never thought I could have the potential for this. I hated the thought of ever causing harm to a child. An actual child, not one of the Hime's servants, but a small, young child. I actually had self-made rules against harming children. Nao is only thirteen. She's still a child.

And yet here I was, planning on how I was going to make her life worse by destroying her servant and in the process, her most important person, all to keep my own mistress safe, who I myself wasn't even going to stop from being defeated because I didn't want her to develop feelings for any of the Hime.

I know I'm disgusting.

This same motivation, this same reasoning is why I am not appearing right now and helping Natsuki escape Nao's webs. Nao managed to string out a tight red web of sorts and got Natsuki to literally trip over it with her motorcycle and had been knocked out. When she had come to, Nao had had her tied up thanks to Julia.

I could sense Natsuki calling for me. She had said nothing, but I heard her in my mind. Her heart was calling out to me. I felt the guilt inside of me weigh on my steel shoulders. I hated doing this. Back in my world, throughout the centuries, brute force and might were the only things a Child needed to survive. It's no different here in this sick, twisted Carnival. And yet, why is it that here in this world, I've done things so much worse than anything I've ever done in the world where I was born?

For all the lives I've taken in the world where we Childs and Orphans come from, none of that seems to compare to what I'm doing now. To the traitorous deed that I'm committing.

From Natsuki's mind, I stare at Nao Yuuki, ironically, possibly the only option Natsuki has for a loving relationship. I truly do not believe that Natsuki will find it with Shizuru Fujino. What that woman feels for Natsuki is not love.

It's obsession.

And yet, so ironically, here I am, hoping that the same wretch that I loathe so much will succeed and defeat all the others so that Natsuki will live.

We Childs really know how to dig ourselves deep into the masochistic hole, don't we?

In the end, I tell myself the same thing that I'm sure every Child has told themselves to excuse themselves of the actions that they're taking. I tell myself the same thing that's the only reason why we Childs haven't allowed the guilt to eat away at us.

I tell myself that I'm doing this for the same reason that all the other Childs tell themselves they commit the heinous crimes they do.

I'm doing this for my Mistress. There's the only excuse we Childs will ever be able to produce.

Hell, it's a lot better of an excuse than any I could come up with for the things I did back in my world. For all the carnage I committed back then, this is probably the most noble and yet the most disgusting thing I've ever done. And I actually have an excuse for it this time. Just priceless.

Finally, done with Duran's POV. I guess the only one left is Midori's Child. God, it's been forever since I updated.