"Madam!"
Ailee Bai didn't look up as her personal servant came back, curtseying before her.
She ran her thumb along the cheek of her newborn son, holding him tenderly in her arms. Then, she took in a deep breath and handed the bundle to one of the younger maids beside her.
She turned to face her personal servant and smoothed out the wrinkles in her clothes, awaiting the news. "Is the task done?" she asked, showing the cold side of her personality despite just giving birth hours earlier.
The older servant bowed, looking down at the floor. "Well, Madam, it seems they have gone missing..." she confessed.
The female head of the household remained silent, taking in the report with an irritated sigh. "Missing," she repeated. "How so?" She gripped the sheets tightly in her hands, the anger slowly starting to rise.
"This...we are not sure," she replied. "We searched their place. Nothing seemed out of order-"
"So you are saying they vanished?" she shrieked, releasing her fury. She picked up the vase at her bedside and flung it.
It crashed against the wall and shattered to pieces, causing the servant to flinch and tremble.
The other maids hurried to her side fearfully. "Madam, calm down. It is not good for your health-"
She shrugged them off, breathing heavily. "In this world, there may be magic, but there is no such thing as ghosts!" she screamed.
She raised a shaking finger at the trembling maid she had been with for so long, feeling no bits of regret for raising her voice at her. She controlled this place, everything was to go her way.
"You better find me those pair of troublemakers, dead or alive!" she continued to shout. "I cannot let other people know that this Bai family has such worthless children!"
The servant bowed. "Y- yes, Madam. I will arrange men for the search." Then she left in a hurry, leaving Ailee Bai in the hands of the other maids, shaking with rage.
_______________
"Father."
The Master of the Bai household whirled around in his study to see his son and daughter standing in the entrance. He waved them in. "Come in."
Edison and Evelyn Bai stepped through the doors, expressions blank.
Alan Bai stood with his hands clasped behind his back as he stood, towering over his two children. His eyes lingered over to his eldest son-
No, he still had two more children, in addition to the one that was born today. Their names are Elias and Eryn Bai, he must not forget. They are his eldest children, his most beloved children.
His chest tightened. When the twins were born, he remembered exactly how he felt, how his heart melted at the sight of his first son and daughter. He wanted so much to take them everywhere, show them off to his friends whether they were born powerful or not.
Never did he think in his life that he would only be able to watch them grow up in dark, suffering and alone, with only each other to rely on.
Yet they never complained, never asked to see him or anyone else.
It killed him to not be able to be there for them, and every time he caught sight of them wandering in their little courtyard, his time with his treacherous wife became more and more unbearable.
They probably hate me down to my guts, he thought. It was his fault anyway. He let himself be affected by Ailee's taunts and threats and let her force them away despite him being the head of the family.
Everything was supposed to be under his control.
It seemed not, and he couldn't do anything about it anymore. It was too late to try to regain his footing.
He shook his head and cleared his throat, looking down at Edison and Evelyn. "Have you checked on your mother yet?" he asked.
Edison looked up at his father, his expression expectant. "Yes, we went together, earlier. Mother had given a name for our brother," he announced.
Alan Bai raised an unconcerned eyebrow. "Oh? What's the name?"
"Ethaniel," Edison said simply.
"Uhm," was all he said in response.
The two siblings shared a look as they watched their father fall into another one of his daily trances, lost in his own thoughts.
Evelyn elbowed her older brother.
Edison cleared his throat. "Uh, Uncle let us have a week-long break from our training," he said a little loudly, trying to get his father's attention. "He said that we could use the time to rest and take care of Mother and Ethaniel."
Alan Bai lowered his head. "A break, huh?" he said. He eyed his son. He was almost fourteen and yet he was just average, slightly leaning towards the scrawny side. Evelyn was the same, though she was twelve.
No matter how hard he tried to suppress these negative thoughts, he couldn't help but think: they are nothing like his eldest children. They don't work hard enough, they can't live up to his simple expectations.
He scoffed, causing a sliver of fear run down Edison's and Evelyn's spines. "Alright, alright," he mumbled, hiding the disappointment in his voice. "A week-long break it is, then. Off you go."
Evelyn scowled. "Father!" she shouted, startling him and her brother. "Why do you keep thinking about those two hopeless beings? Are we not your children as well? Are we not better?"
"Evelyn-" Edison started uncertainly.
Evelyn huffed and ignored him. "Edison has an eagle spirit, I have the spirit of a deer. You should stop wasting your time daydreaming and see the ones that need your support in front of your eyes!" she declared with a hand to her chest.
"We are the ones that have potential, we are the ones that will help the family prosper! Pay attention to us instead!"
Alan Bai whirled on his daughter, fuming. The words hit the spot, he wasn't going to lie. "You! You say you will help the family prosper!" he shouted. "How? May I ask how? You both think you are geniuses, yet you don't work hard to prove to me that you are worthy!"
Evelyn paled, regretting saying the words she had thought were righteous just earlier. "F- Father-"
"You both rely too much on your mother and others. How will you improve and show me that you are capable of solving your own problems?" he yelled, glaring at Edison as well.
The two were silent as their father scowled upon them, his blood boiling. "There will be no week-long break for you," he seethed. "Continue your training as normal."
"Y- yes," Edison stammered.
He quickly took Evelyn's arm and lead her out of their father's study, not daring to stay for another second.
Alan Bai grumbled, rubbing his temples as he plopped down on his seat behind the desk. He glanced over at the paperwork that he had not completed over the past week that started to pile up and cursed.
He grabbed one of the documents at the top of the pile and stared at the first word. He couldn't bring himself to keep reading.
He threw it aside and buried his face in his hands.
The Bai family was one of the families at the top of the chain in their Great Pheonix City. People viewed it as the glorious position in life that would bring them no more troubles, and yet, here he was.
He was the Master of the prestigious family, but within, there were unstable control, strained relationships, endless drama and hate. He was only forty-five and his hair had already started to show white.
He needed a miracle, a distraction, something that could improve his mood and shift his attention elsewhere.
He sat alone in silence for a long hour.
Then he sat up.
Ailee was busy recovering, the servants were busy running about and attending to her. The family elders and other members of the family were probably enjoying the night and sleeping.
Now's the chance.
He slipped out of the study and glanced uncertainly down the path that lead to the little courtyard in the back, where Elias and Eryn resided.
Now's the chance, he repeated in his mind.
He jogged down the steps silently and made his way there, his heart pounding with hope.