Her name was Alice.

David Qin stared at the door to his house, knowing what lay beyond it. His fingers were curled into two tight fists. Inside them lay the shredded, crumpled remains of six months hard work.

He'd written all sorts of poems about her, everything from haiku to epic stories where he played the musing hero and she the fair damsel. Admittedly, those were a tad on the cheesy side -- in fact, they all were -- but he kept them all, promising himself that he'd show them to her eventually. At the end of the semester maybe, or at the beginning of the next school year. He'd show them to her.

Today he had worked up the nerve. He had rewritten all of them in fine black ink and stylish handwriting. It was incredibly tacky, but it was the thought that counted, right? At the end of the day, he had caught her in the hallway and, with a dopey grin pasted shyly on his face, handed the precious packet to her.

And Alice laughed in his face.

Her replies still stung him. Now he knew the reason why she was called "notorious" when it came to dumping guys. But of all the words that hurt him, the one that stung the worst was the least expected:

"Chink!"

David slowly leaned forward and banged his head against the door. "Dammit."

Darcy found him in front of the fireplace. She stayed silent for a while as she watched him, cigarette in hand. She knew the smoke wouldn't announce her presence, not the fire he had going. So his poetry was good for something, even if it was fuel for the fire.

She was a little surprised to hear some of the words that were spewing from his mouth. Darcy hadn't even realized that her David knew such words, let alone used them… How interesting.

A cloud of smoke appeared around her as she took a long drag of her cigarette and released it without batting so much as an eyelash.

"What are you doing, little brother?"

She watched with no small amount of amusement as his shoulders stiffened and relaxed at the sound of her voice.

"What does it look like I'm doing, Darcy?"

Ooh, cold. So he does get angry once in a while. "Making a mess," she replied carefully, shaping her voice to sound amused. Sauntering forward, she flicked her cigarette into the blazing fire, then turned to look him in the eyes. She frowned; he was crying. "What's wrong?"

David gave her the most infuriating answer there was: "Nothing."

"Oh, don't give me that shit, David. Something is obviously wrong." She crouched, picking up one of the pieces of paper and opening it.

Quickly, Darcy tried to think of who this could be about. Blue eyes, blonde hair… God, David, they're all the same. "Can't you think of anyone original to fall for?" she blurted without thinking, and froze as a deliciously wicked thought came to mind.

"Shut up, Darcy!" The paper disappeared from her fingers. Scowling, David crumbled it up again and threw it into the fire. It blazed briefly with gratitude.

This was so typical of him. Rolling another piece of abandoned poetry, she stuck it into the fire. As its end burned cheerfully, she drew out another cigarette and lit it with the orange flame. Then she tossed the paper back into the fire. "Well, it's true. You have this thing for girls with blonde hair and blue eyes, don't you? What are you, little brother, a Nazi?"

"Shut up, Darcy! I mean it, just shut up!"

She smiled demurely. "So who is the little heartbreaker anyway? A cheerleader? Fellow poet? Some straight-A hussy you caught sight of in the--"

He slapped her.

That was when she knew she had him.

"I was just trying to help," Darcy whispered in a voice that could freeze Hell where it stood. "Some kids do that, you know. Come to their big sisters for help." She turned her head slowly to look at him, eyes cold. There was a red mark on her cheek. "I'm just trying to look out for my little brother."

"I… Darcy…"

"Save it. I don't want to hear it anyway." She took a long drag of her cigarette and blew the smoke in his face. As he coughed and waved at the air, she turned her back to him and exited the room.

David stared numbly after his older sister's retreating form. He looked slowly to his hand, then back up again, just in time to hear the sound of a door slamming shut. She was locking herself in her room again.

He hadn't meant to slap her. She just had to keep pushing, didn't she? See how far she could go before he snapped… David sighed and put a hand to his face. He had been dumped before. Hell, he had been dumped a lot. So why was this any different?

The fire seemed to whistle faintly as it devoured six months worth of beauty.

"Hello? This is Darcy. Is…? Hi! Mm-hm, I'm doing fine, sweetheart. How are you? …. Uh-huh. …. Of course, hey, listen. Could you do me a favor…? …no! Not that kind of… Well… Quit it, love, I'm being serious. …. Oh, that'd be perfect. Thank you. …. Uh-huh. …. David's at the door, can I talk to you later? All right… Good night, Tambi."

He rapped lightly at the door. "Darcy?" There was no response. He tried again. "Come on, Darcy, let me in."

A moment passed by.

"Darcy?"

He heard a sigh, and the sound of the door unlocking reached his ears. "Come in."

David stepped into her room, closing the door behind him. Despite the maids' best efforts, his sister's room continued to hold the stubborn taste of cigarette smoke. He tried hard not to cough.

She was seated on her bed, legs folded. The sweater she wore was too big for her, though the color complimented her eyes. It slid down off to the side, revealing the pale flesh of her collarbone and shoulder. There was an aura of gray around her as she ground out a cigarette and reached for another.

"Hey there."

"Um. Hi." David ran his fingers through his hair, taking in a deep breath and releasing it. "Darcy… I… About what happened…"

"Forget about it."

He blinked. "What?"

"I said, forget about it." She looked at him, and he swore he could see amusement curling at the edges of her lips. Darcy let out a bitter laugh. "Come off it, David, it's not like I've never been slapped before. Don't you remember Jacob?"

He couldn't suppress a shudder. Jacob had been a hurtful man whose terrible homelife led him to seek demanding relationships with women that often left them battered and beaten. David had tried to warn her, but it was a rare moment when his older sister listened to him. Ever since ending the relationship with him, she had been… different.

Darcy watched a variety of emotions cross her brother's face. Another bitter laugh surfaced as she slid off the bed. "Let it go, little brother."

"No! Darcy, I… I was out of line! I shouldn't have taken it out on you. Just let me say--"

She pressed a finger to her brother's lips, silencing him. "Hush." A faint, almost wistful smile touched her face. "Don’t say it, David. Just don't. I was the one who was wrong. I was the one who should have realized…" She took his hand in hers, smiling at him. "… what you really needed."

David's eyes widened as she placed his hand over her heart, pressing his palm flat into her bosom.

"I'm sorry, little brother," she whispered huskily, gazing at him. "I should have listened. I should have understood." She leaned against him slowly, pillowing her face into his shoulder. His hand was sandwiched between their two bodies. "I wasn't being a good girl to my little brother..."

"What… Darcy… No!" His free hand came forward, grabbing her by the shoulder and pushing her back. "Jesus, Darcy! Are you nuts?"

She laughed in reply, her eyes sparkling wickedly. "Oh, don't deny it, little brother! You want me. You know you do!" Her smile was broad, but cold. David felt sick to look at her. "This is all any man would want."

His voice shook. "Stop it, Darcy."

"No…" Darcy smiled demurely. "I don't think you want me to stop."

"Yes, I do!" He fumbled for the knob, but it wouldn't turn in his hand.

"It's locked. It does that automatically when you close the door," she noted idly and smiled again. Her hands crept to the end of her sweater and she pulled it off. David's throat grew thick.

She wasn't wearing a bra.

Darcy leaned against him again, the tips of her breasts flat against him. Her hands crept to his cheeks, holding his head in place so that he couldn't look away. "Don't be afraid, little brother," she whispered soothingly. "I know this is your first time, so I'll be gentle. But don't fight it."

There was hardness between his legs, and shame crept to his cheeks as he felt his sister's tongue flick across his teeth. He was kissing back! David's eyes closed and he let out a strangled cry into Darcy's mouth. In response, she slid her hands down his shoulders and into his shirt.

"Don't," she murmured. "Don't, sweetie, just don't think about it. Just forget her. Let me help you forget her. Let me take care of you…"

Oh God. Her hands, they were… "Darcy!" he groaned out loud as he tried to squirm away. "Darcy, I… I don't want this…!"

"Yes, you do. You feel it, don't you, David? You want this… me…"

"Darcy-!"

She kissed him again to keep him quiet.

And the world faded beneath his feet.

David awoke feeling very naked. As his eyes slowly opened to see the vague outline of his sister beside him, he realized with a start that he was, and so was she. Then the events of a few hours ago came rushing on to him and he sat up sharply.

"Oh God," he whispered hoarsely to the smoke-scented room. "What have I done?"

Beside him, Darcy stirred. Yawning, she rolled over, scratching her left nipple idly as she gazed at him blearily. A smile crept across her lips.

"Good morning, lover," she said amusedly, but the amusement was cold and vulgar.

David felt sick.

She sat up as well and slid off the bed. She was unbashful about her nakedness, watching him through the corners of his eyes as he scrambled for his pants. Lighting a cigarette, Darcy leaned against the wall, looking at him.

He looked back, swallowing.

"No one will ever love you the way I do, little brother. I'll always take care of you." She blew a smoke ring. "Remember that."

Without a word, David fled the room.

A few days later, Darcy examined the room critically, running a finger along a dirty window. "This place is filthy. Despicable. Hard to believe people even live here. Aren't I right, Tambi?" She glanced over her shoulder with a smile, watching her thick-muscled, but strikingly beautiful companion as she tied a girl's arms and legs to a chair.

"Yes," Tambi replied smoothly without looking up. She was just barely out of high school, but she looked much older. She also looked as if she could break anyone in half with her hands. But Darcy had nothing to worry about that.

When she was done, she reached into her pocket, unearthing some smelling salts that Darcy had filched from one of her father's cabinets. There was a moment or two, then the bound girl let out a sharp gasp as consciousness flooded back to her with the force of a tsunami.

Darcy smiled. "Good morning, dear. Did you rest well?"

This girl couldn't be more than midway through high school. She had delicate features and pretty blue eyes. Those selfsame eyes widened with fear. "Wha… Where am I?"

"In an abandoned apartment building due for renovations in about a month," Darcy replied, dropping her cigarette and putting it out with her foot. "Daddy has quite a few of these, and they come in handy once in a while."

"Who… Who are you?"

"I'll tell you in a moment. First, I have a question for you, my dear…"

The girl just stared at her, open-mouthed.

Darcy reached a hand towards her, touching her palm to her cheek. She brushed some sunblonde hair from the girl's eyes. "You're a very pretty girl, Alice. Did you know that?"

"What do you want with me? Why… Let me go!"

"No." She smiled again, but venomously. Her nails bit into the girl's cheek, drawing blood, and she cried out. "You see, you're mine now. For as long as I decide you are, you're mine. And I'm going to do things to you that will cost your rich little family thousands of dollars in therapy bills, because the memories are going to be so horrid and tramautizing that you'll suppress them deep inside your head. You'll never tell anyone what happened because you're a scared little girl that worries too much about what people think, and you don't want them to know what's going to happen to you. You'll be ashamed. You'll be mortified.

"Do you know what I'm going to do to you, Alice Wallace?" Darcy leaned forward, her breath hot on the girl's ear. "I'm going to ruin your life."

Alice shrieked, eyes blurring with tears. "Let me go! Oh God, you… you freak! Let me go!"

She ran a finger over the girl's nose, tracing the line of her nostrils. "Do you like girls, Alice? I like girls. I like them very much."

"You freak! You… You freak! Let me go! Let me go right NOW!"

"….Tambi?"

"Yes?"

"Lock the door."

When Darcy returned home that night, it was with a smile. The girl was taken care of, with no way that she would talk. Even if she did, the Qin family lawyers were very good and very ruthless. There was nothing to worry about.

As she closed the door, she recalled the girl's words and the look on her face. It had been very much like the one on David's face... until he realized that she was right.

Darcy sighed and ran a hand through her hair, smiling faintly. She moved down the hallway, towards David's room. She was quiet, very quiet, and there was not a sound as she looked inside. His expression was peaceful on his face. Asleep, he lay on his bed, hugging a pillow. Darcy smiled again.

Nobody loves you except me, little brother. And I'll always protect you.