The maid stared at Aisha for a moment in disbelief and disgust. She was shocked by how confident Aisha appeared and at the same time irritated by the fact that she was right. A few seconds later she picked up the bucket and started out of the room.
" Today, I want to eat a tasty steak, along with the best wine we have. For dessert, I want a Brownie topped with vanilla ice cream. Is that possible? " Aisha stopped her.
" Yes. " She didn't turn to agree respectfully.
" Your name? " Aisha asked.
" Sriya," she replied and then left in anger.
Aisha laughed and lay herself back in the bed. The room was twice as big as hers and cold due to the four windows it had, which were all open. However, Aisha didn't bother closing them. She pulled out Romeo and Juliet and started reading the book.
A few hours later, Maya came to the room with some snacks. She placed it on the side table when she felt chill entering through her feet. Realizing that the windows were open, she rushed to close them but was stopped by Aisha. " Don't do that. " she said in a sore voice while reading the book. " it's not cold. " Aisha lied.
She had a childish thought hovering in her mind, that if she were to stay in the cold weather and get through it without wearing anything warm, she might become strong. Of course, she knew she was being childish but she had already decided that she would kill everyone who caused her suffering. For that she had to become stronger. The ceiling was her first prey and cold was her second.
Whenever she was cold she would get flashbacks of her time in the well. Thus, making her fearsome and making her want to cuddle herself to sleep in warm blankets that were hard to get due to her position in the household. But Maya managed to get two every winter for Aisha.
"But Miss, you are always cold, aren't you?" Maya asked standing next to the window from where the cold breeze was entering. She shivered, every second she stood there.
"Not anymore."
"But it is really cold today. Miss. Even the floor is cold and you are not even wearing any shoes or socks. You didn't even cover yourself in a blanket or a sweater."
Aisha closed her book and got up to look at Maya. She threw a blanket in her direction. "Cover yourself. I don't need it. Also, get out now. I prefer silence when I read my book."
———•———
"So, how do you think the room looks now?" Aisha took a sip of the tea she had brought when she had spent a day at the mall. The renovation had been completed, diligently. Aisha moved back to her room early, this morning and was happy with the work of the two gentlemen, she had appointed. After settling down, as promised, she invited her brother for tea time.
" It's good. Especially the chandelier. " He replied.
Maya placed a tray full of snacks on the table and poured another cup of tea for Aisha. She bowed placing her hand on her heart and the other behind her back. Later, she stood at the side of the balcony where the siblings were chatting.
" I made it in a way that if any intruders were to slip in, by any chance, it could save me from them. " Aisha took a sip of her second cup of tea.
" Intruders?" Neel finally picked up his cup of tea but instead of taking a sip, stared at it and tried to smell it.
" Yes, there are a few who enter without my knowledge. " Aisha laughed, observing her brother being suspecious of the tea.
" Who? " Neel took a sip after being sure that the tea was not poisoned.
" Why? Will you beat the shit of those people, if I tell you? " Neel burned his tongue. " Don't worry it's not poisoned. Not yet. " This time he choked on it. Neel looked at Aisha after placing the tea cup down gently. His forehead was covered with cold sweat. He shook his head and then using a handkerchief, he softly tapped on his forehead, absorbing the cold sweat that had gathered there.
" About the thing—"
" Yes, about that. It might be a piece of good news for me but not you, brother. "
That was a lie, nothing about that news was good news for Aisha. She was going to be sent there to be killed by one of the members of that family. In short, she was only a pawn, and while she had realized it by now she had no way to escape it. Aisha found a solution to not get married in that family.
Aisha decided to manipulate Neel into rebelling against this decision of Dhanajay. She had noticed that every time this announcement was made, he was very annoyed and not happy about it. But every time his actions towards the decision were very late. So what if, he were to know this earlier? How would he react?
"At the end of this week, Father will announce my marriage." Neel pulled himself out of the seat.
" Impossible. You are this family's property. Father would never—"
" Property? " Aisha threw her cup on the table, shattering it into pieces and making a mess on the table. She got out of her seat and walked towards Neel. " You've got a lot of nerve calling me 'Property' right in my face. " Aisha pushed him out of her way and walked out of the balcony. She stopped when came to par with Maya. " The tea time is over Maya. Clean it up and show Neel the way out of here. "
" Wait. I'm sorry. It's just that this is difficult to digest. Why would father do that? It sounds rubbish." Neel snapped.
" That shouldn't be your question. Your question should be what would happen after I am gone? " Aisha sat on her bed. " What would happen to you? Even though father might have a lot of reserves of my blood, for now. But for how long? Soon he will run out of the poison and will need a new blood slave. According to my calculations, he will need one in the next ten to fifteen years. Which means he might have to start preparing for the new one, in the next in a year. So who do you think that person would be? "
Neel stared at Aisha, trying to avoid the most inevitable answer to that question." I don't know, maybe some homeless man or woman." Aisha sighed and then stared at him. Trying to make him spit the obvious answer to that question.
" It's me, isn't it? " He gasped.
" Or maybe your children, your wife, who knows."
" But—but he can find some other person and —"
"Father believes in having family members as the blood slaves, instead of some homeless man or woman. Otherwise, he wouldn't have turned Mom and me into this disgusting creature."
"Why do I feel like you are lying?!" Neel concluded. He wanted to run from reality for he had finally come to realize that he was nothing but a puppet of their father like Aisha.
"Who are you getting married to?" He asked, giving in to the truth of his existence.