> "Would you mate with the dark one if your laws > allowed it? Would you bear > offspring for him?"

"I...Would I...It is impossible for me to do so" Illya replied, turning his head away from the speaker, hoping to signal the discussion was firmly closed. But it wasn't. Another jolt was sent through him, forcing him to grit his teeth and bear it as he couldn't squirm away.

"You will answer the question truthfully and completely. We are monitoring you sufficiently to know. Now. Would you mate with him, and would you bear his offspring?" the voice continued calmly.

Illya remained silent, for he could not give these people, these beings, such a weapon over him or Napoleon. For Napoleon, he reminded himself. Even if Napoleon had been coerced by them and choked him. If he gave in now, Napoleon would never forgive him.

"No" Illya replied stiffly, hoping he could control his body enough to prevent them from noticing.

"You refuse? strange....I had been given to understand you protected each other. Still, it is of no matter. If not with him then we will aquire another mate for you after we kill him. " the voice continued emotionlessly.

"NO!! I..I will mate with him. I will bear his offspring. " Illya said softly, admitting defeat in this conversation at least.

"Excellent. We will have him brought in. Do you require anything to mate?"

"Privacy." Illya snapped.

"That is not an option. You will mate in the room you are in. We will take care of all your other needs. We will prepare you to bear his child. When the child is born, we will let you go if we have enough information. We will of course keep the child. "

"We will require some items" Illya started.

"What do you require?"

"Towels, lubricant, oil, sulphur, charcoal, saltpeter, nitroglycerin and somewhere to bathe. "

"We have heard of no such thing. Explain".

"The towels are to clean up afterwards. We will need the lubricant as we are not designed to mate, otherwise we will hurt each other. The nitroglycerin is to keep the skin supple for the same reason. The bath is as humans prefer to be clean. And we need to mix up the sulphur, charcoal and saltpeter for a human fertility ritual." Illya explained, wondering if a bomb would count as such.