"What're you doing here, Octavia?'' Mica
finally broke the long ensued silence
after watching Octavia eat for a long
time.
Octavia didn't look at her, although she
was nervous.
"I...I want to stay here, Mica. I want to
be a part of the X-family" she answered
timidly.
"Why?" Mica's voice was a whisper.
"Why would you leave home and come
here, Octavia? I don't understand".
Octavia couldn't say a word but just
chewed slowly at her pops.
"You know what?" Mica scoffed.
"This isn't happening. You're going
home as soon as you're done"
She stood up and turned around.
"I'm staying, Mica!" Octavia also stood
on her feet and Mica stopped walking.
When she turned to face her, her eyes
melted.
"Please.." She added.
"Don't push me away."
Mica scoffed and walked closer to her.
"You can't stay here, Octavia. What is
wrong with you? Before I left, I explained
how dangerous this was".
Octavia bent her head dolefully like a
child who was being scolded.
"But everyone here is like me" she
muttered, almost inaudibly.
"It doesn't matter. There are a lot of |
people out there who are just like you
and still living in their homes. Besides,
the Master won't accept you. He's
rejected 12 people in the last two days.
He doesn't need a new member!"
"Just...just take me to him. I'll prove myself to him and make him accept me".
"I can't do that!'' She said angrily.
"Master Khalid isn't someone you toy
around with, and as a matter of fact,
you need to leave before he comes back
and finds you here".
"Besides, you told me you've always
hated the X-family. You told me you've
always disliked them".
"That night, when l'd wanted to leave,
you tried so much to convince me out
of it. So, why the sudden change of
mind, Octavia? Why do you suddenly
want to be a part of us?" She hushed,
but Octavia kept her head bowed and
didn't say a word.
Oh damn it! Mica could sense it. There was something wrong.
"Where's dad?" She asked, and Octavia,
with her head still bowed, answered:
"He's fine".
"And Agatha?" That was their
stepmother.
"Fine as well came the reply.
''So, why the fuck did you leave them?
Why exactly are you here, Octavia?
What're you hiding from me?"
Yn was almost shaking, but tried
as much as possible not to show it.
"You can't stay here, Octavia, you can't
Survive it" she went on.
"Over here, we do a lot of terrible things. We steal, we fight, there's bloodshed, we...kill" she whispered the last part, her voice sounding so hoarse.
"We....we make use of our bodies,
Octavia. We don't know what dignity is
anymore. We can get used at anytime,
anywhere. All that matters is the game.
Do you really think you can survive it?"
Mica's words drove cold chills to
Octavia's spine. They scared her to the
guts and made her feel like running
away instantly. But, she couldn't. She
was scared of staying and was scared
of running away.
"Octavia!" Mica held her hand, awaiting
her response.
And in a timid voice, her reply stood:
"I want to stay".
Mica felt all her hope flying away as she let go of her hand. She scoffed and
walked some steps away.
"What are you hiding from me?" She
stood at a distance and asked.
"Why exactly do you wanna stay here?"
Octavia fisted her hands on both sides
of her dress and didn't say a word.
Immediately, the door went open
without a sound and the two sisters
turned to see who it was. One of the
Master's close guards.
Mica's heart skipped immediately as
she knew what his presence meant. If
he was around, it only meant Khalid was
around as well.
"Mica" he called grufly still standing at the doorway.
His eyes drifted to Octavia.
"So, it is true" he stated.
"There's indeed a stranger here",
There was silence, a deafening silence.
"Anyway, the Master's back and
requests her presence" he added and
left.
Mica turned back to face her sister, her
face looking more etiolated.
"Octavia please" she said bleakly.
"Leave while you still can".
Octavia shook her head lightly,
indicating her decision still stand. She
was determined to stay.
Mica scoffed and turned around. She
winced and went through a lot, trying to
control her emotions. Then, she turned
back to look at her sister.
"Try not to look him in the eyes when
he's talking" she said hardly.
"No matter what, be polite. Mind your
words. He kills at the slightest annoying
thing, Octavia" her voice had almost
broken at the end.
"Are you sure you're ready for this?" She
asked and Octavia nodded slowly.
Mica finally gave up when she saw the
determination in her sister's eyes. She
could see two things: determination and
fear.
With a deep sigh she turned towards the door
and said:
"Let's go".
Octavia took in a deep breath and
followed her sister out of the room. She
kept her head bowed the whole time,
trying to prepare her mind for what was
next.
She could do it, she said repeatedly in
her head. She could blend with them. All
she needed was to belong. Even if she
hated it, she had to. She'd look for a
way to convince the so called Master to
let her stay.
She walked behind Mica for a long time
and finally, they got to a door which had
two boys in front of it.
"Master Khalid sent for me" Mica said
to the boys. Octavia was a little
surprised at how bold and rough her
sister was. Even her walking steps had
changed.
One of the boys nodded and opened the
door for her and they walked in.
At first, all Octavia could see was
smoke, smoke flying in the air.
*
*
*
To be continued!