Later that evening, I was brought by Maltyie to her house. It took us about fifteen minutes from the military headquarters by car, with a bunch of vehicles suddenly started to pop up during that hour. And because of that, I had to cover my ears from her constant yelling and annoying rambling until we reached our destination.
"For the love of myself, the road today was not supposed to be THAT busy. Makes my blood boil. Now I have to take those pills again," said Maltyie as she scrimmaged her purse. We were at the front door of her house.
It was normal, from the looks of it. It was painted with the color white, which seemed to fade at a few areas. It was not that big if I were to compare it to the other houses around the neighborhood, with only having two floors. Taking in the shape of a cube, the house was indeed smaller than the ones next to it.
Being a daughter of the man who controlled almost seventy percent of the entire world, it was not a matter of expectation anymore. Maltyie's home should be big just from having her father's reputation behind her back.
"Here it is." Maltyie unlocked her front door with a silver key and it clicked. She twisted the knob and both of us entered.
Again, there was no unique features or anything in her house even from the inside. The walls in the living room displayed the peach color that had two square-framed family pictures nailed to it.
There were a sofa and a television there. Nothing much. Then the kitchen was quite passable for someone as wealthy as her.
As if she spent all her money on the dresses that she wore daily. Was what I assumed.
Not that I knew how rich people spent their money.
Maltyie turned to me after she put her purse on the wooden dining table. Her silver hair appeared to be radiating a bit of light judging from how bright her kitchen was.
"I hope you have no problem staying with me. Er, if there's anything that you want to ask, you can ask me now," said Maltyie.
"Um, why do you take me here?" I asked.
"I just feel like it."
"Eh?"
"No, seriously. I'm just in the mood for doing this kind of thing. You know how I've taken care of Aya before, right? This time around, I want to take care of you," said Maltyie.
"Oh. But..."
"I know they've been experimenting on you, Ava," stated Maltyie. "Aya was the same too. She told me everything that she went through."
The way she looked at me felt genuine, from her expression that told me she could feel my pain.
I opened my mouth but Maltyie waved at me quick. "No need to thank me, Ava. I did this for myself too. My father has been obsessed with power, you see. I wanted to help him be free from that desire of his, however, in my own way."
The urge to help her father. I cannot connect the underlying meaning behind her words. 'Help him in your own way,' I repeated in my head.
A strong, sweet smell whiffed in the air and my mouth cannot help but drool at that. It came from a covered plate on the dining table.
"He's been cooking, I see. Welp, at least I guess I don't have to buy dinner for tonight." Maltyie looked at me and laughed. "Of course you're going to eat too, Ava. Even if you didn't want to, I'll stuff the food in your mouth."
I nodded a few times, eager to savor what was about to be served on the table.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you. Your room's upstairs. You can see a room tag that says 'Aya'." Maltyie handed me a copper key and she went to the backyard, leaving me there.
"Where's the restroom?" was what I wanted to ask her. But she left before I could speak up so I have to search for it myself. "It must be upstairs."
There was a spiraling staircase at the left side of the house, just next to the kitchen.
"This looks... weird." I climbed the staircase slowly, wondering if the steps would diverge at some point. I poked my head out once I reached the corridor. "No one's here. Then who's the one cooking?" I asked myself. I brushed off the thought and found the door that Maltyie spoke of.
"Aya's been here." My hand ran over the metal plate that had the name 'Aya' on it and then quickly unlocked the door.
With a subtle scan with my eyes, I sat on the white bed. There were a cupboard, the bed, and a chair by its side.
"Empty... I like it."
I wondered about Maltyie's true intention since she was the daughter of Melker and all. Even so, I could not detect any hidden motives behind her action. It could be that she hid it well.
I opened the wooden cupboard and a few sets of clothing were hung using hangers inside it. A green pajama, a red dress, and a purple blouse with pink dots could be seen there. I found nothing in the drawers and so did the space under my bed.
I threw my back at the bed and I hummed to myself.
"How's Papa doing, I wonder? I just wish he's okay."
Knowing him, he should be. But the image of his deformed hands sent a tight feeling to my chest.
If anything, I was glad he was still alive. Even that dream of me having a peaceful life with him was not just a dream anymore. It felt like I could achieve it.
"I'll save you one day, Papa," I mumbled.
It was not long before night descended and Maltyie came to me, obviously dragging my body to the kitchen. I wanted to eat the foods that she served though I was anxious to sit at the dining table together with her.
When I arrived at the kitchen, there was a man already taken his seat. No, perhaps he was a young man.
He had a messy jet-black hair and the same blue eyes as Maltyie. Wearing a blue bomber jacket, he smiled at Maltyie.
"Come on, I'm hungry, Sis," he said.
"What're you saying? You're the one that cooked the food, Eugene," retorted Maltyie.
On the table, there were grilled fish, fried chickens, diced fruits, and what seemed to be glasses of orange juices lined up.
"How old are you?" asked Eugene as I pulled a chair in front of him.
"Twelve."
"You're still young. I'm seventeen. Oh, the name's Eugene."
He waited for my reply and I gave him my name.
"Ava, huh? Sounded like that Aya girl. She stayed here before."
Maltyie took a seat next to me. "She knows that."
Eugene raised an eyebrow and then grinned at me.
'What?' I asked in my head.
"So, this time, you decided to take care of Ava, Sis? You're fond of kids," said Eugene.
"Oh, shut up. I just felt sorry for her," said Maltyie as she glanced at me.
"Hmm, you should just get married already. You're old--" A glassful of orange juice splashed at Eugene's face.
"SHUT... UP!" Maltyie slammed her glass at the table and it toppled sideways. Fortunately, it did not break.
Eugene wiped his face with the sleeve of his jacket. Not that it mattered since he smelled like an orange.
"Er, I'll just go change." Eugene flinched when Maltyie attempted to throw her glass at him and he ran upstairs in a flash.
My eyes were wide the whole time those siblings had their little squabble.
"Sorry that you have to see that, Ava. He's kind of annoying sometimes," Maltyie continued, "But he's a good guy. Trust me."
I looked at her. "He doesn't live with your father?"
Maltyie was refilling her glass of orange juice when I asked her. "No, not really. Sometimes, we go to Dad's house. He's quite an extrovert, Ava. He has a lot of friends here so he prefers to stay at my place."
"Oh. I shee." My mouth was already munching a fistful of diced fruits, ignoring Maltyie. It was so sweet and a little bit crunchy. I loved it.
The corner of my eye absently took a glimpse of Maltyie's smile and I tilted my head.
"Don't be shy, Ava. You can eat as much as you want. I know you're hungry," said Maltyie.
Dinner on that night was lively, I could say. Eugene's occasional nudges at his sister about her status irritated her and they shouted at each other a few times. To be expected, Eugene was on the losing end of their arguments. He went to his room soon after he had finished his food.
"Ava," called Maltyie as she washed the dishes. "I like to take you somewhere tomorrow if you don't mind it."
I put down my empty glass of orange juice to answer. "Where?"
She faced me with a smirk, somehow anticipating my question. "A shopping mall! You've never been into one, right?"
"Shopping mall?" I shook my head.
"Then that settles it. You can take a shower if you want. It's to the far left of the corridor. There's a towel ready for you there."
Without waiting for Maltyie to say any further, I briskly walked upstairs and went to my room. Her suggestion was fine, though my head felt sleepy so I laid on my bed unchanged.
"Ava," said a monotone voice in my head.
"Aegis!"
I sat straight on the bed. "Where've you been?"
"Hmm, I have to remain inactive for a while, you see. Alicia must not see what you can do as a whole. So, I had to disable your usage of Aegis, and that it will not activate in conjunction with your second Aegis," it continued, "But, I just wanted to say, I'm very sorry, Ava. I left you all alone."
I snorted. "Hmph! I don't mind it. Being alone is something that I'm used to."
"Ohh, okay. I'll let you sleep then." His voice disappeared into the recesses of my mind and I laid on the bed again.
I rubbed my eyes to prevent me from sleeping. It did not work at all and I was fast asleep until dawn arrived.
. . .
The next morning, my Aegis had turned my red eyes to normal, much to Maltyie's surprise. I made an excuse that I could change it however and whenever I wanted to.
The three of us were walking inside the shopping mall that Maltyie talked about. It was large, cold, and too bright for my liking. I had never seen anything like it.
Eugene noticed my gaping mouth and laughed. "It's not that impressive you know. For me, every shopping mall has the same thing going on with them. Expensive clothes, expensive phones, expensive books!"
My eyes lit up at the mention of books. "They sell books here?"
"Uh-huh," answered Eugene simply.
My polka-dotted purple blouse felt uncomfortable. I found myself always pulling at the small wrinkles around my sleeves.
"So cold," I said under my breath.
Maltyie then slowed her pace to walk beside me. "Is it? I guess I'm used to this since I'm always here, all the time."
"What did you do?" I asked.
"Oh, nothing..."
"She buys EVERY imported clothes that she can find, Ava," answered Eugene instead.
"You!" Maltyie fisted him in the back and he grimaced.
"What's that for?!" yelled Eugene.
"Shut your mouth. Don't open it!" said Maltyie.
"Hey, I'm telling her the truth. You waste your paycheck on that kind of stuff. Everyone knows what you did. No wonder you have no--"
Maltyie pulled at Eugene's ear as he begged for her mercy. If she even gave it to him.
'She's rough,' I thought. A scene of when Beatrice had hit Hope from way back then came to my mind. Their relationship was different than those two, where Eugene would find a way to annoy Maltyie even if he did not know exactly what he did to her.
"Everyone's watching, Sis!" said Eugene with a strained voice.
"Oh, let them see. You'll not dare to speak of those words again," said Maltyie.
I scanned the area we were at. Indeed, all eyes were locked on those two siblings.
"Er, what words? And also, they have their eyes on you too, Sis. If the words spread, no one would want to--ouch!"
Maltyie pulled his ear stronger than before and whispered to him. "No one would want to WHAT?" Her silver bangs covered a part of her face.
"Okay, okay. It's my fault! Let me go already!" begged Eugene. He covered his left ear once Maltyie decided to do what he begged of her.
She sighed. "Come on, Ava. Leave him alone. I want to buy something for you." She pulled my hand and I glanced at Eugene as he hurriedly walked to us.
Maltyie introduced a bunch of dresses to me in the women section at one of the shops. I refused and said no to all of them, but my answer seemed to not have any impact on Maltyie as she bought them anyway.
Eugene then brought us to an arcade inside the mall, which I was not familiar with. I knew about video games and all. Though having a lot of them in one place did not leave a good impression on me. It felt crowded. And I did not like that.
One bit.
"Ava! Watch out!"
A ping pong ball hit me in the eye and I shot Eugene an angry look. He held his arms outward.
"Er, sorry?"
Eugene himself suggested that we both played a ping pong match. But you have to pay first and there was a time limit for how long our match would be.
"You know how to play ping pong, right Ava?" asked Eugene as his hand caught the ball I tossed at him.
'He's asking that now?' I thought.
"Yes. The gist of it," I replied.
"Great."
He tossed the ball back and I caught it, ready to hit that small, white ball with all my might. "Take this, Bart!"
The flat side of my bat sent the ball at Eugene so fast that he barely dodged it, hitting the back of a girl's head far behind him.
"Um, bye Ava." Eugene made a run for it and my legs caught up him with easily.
. . .
After a whole day of constant bickering and dress shopping, we arrived back at Maltyie's house when night fell. I did not even have a chance to take a look in one of the bookstores in that mall, what with Maltyie dragging me to wherever she went to.
"Ava! Come here for a moment!" called Maltyie outside of my room.
"Yes?" When I opened the door for her, a bright, sparkling purple dress greeted me. Paired with Maltyie's malicious grin. "Isn't this the one you bought for me at the mall?"
"Yes, yes it is." She held the dress right in front of my face. "I want you to try it out. Now."
"I don't have a choice, do I?" I muttered. My hands took the dress and I changed into it before opening the door again.
Maltyie's squeal almost made my ears deaf. "You look cute, Ava!"
"Uh, thanks?"
Somehow, someway, I could see my impending doom in the future.
Of when the room Maltyie prepared for me would be filled with all sorts of clothing, much to my dismay.