Aaliyah had moved in. She had found a room on the second floor, cleaned it up, and made it hers. It was the only room in the house that she had explored so far which had a functioning bathroom.
The mansion was old and simple. Aaliyah loved simple things. The only problem was that it hadn't been cleaned in what seemed like years, and most of the walls, ceilings, corridors, and furniture were dripping with cobwebs and dust.
So much dirt had settled everywhere, and it was suffocating.
Lucky for this mansion, she had spent more than half of her life doing chores and running around.
As she climbed down the stairs to check for the cleaning items, she saw him climbing back up. His footsteps were silent, and she wouldn't have known he was coming without seeing him. Anxiety kicked in hard, and she forced herself into a corner and hid there till he was gone.
Phew!
Aaliyah had been trying not to think about it, but what the hell was up with him? There were still many strands of hair falling down his face but it wasn't as much as the last time, and it was bright enough for her to see a bit of his face.
Pale skin. Dried and almost colorless lips. He resembled a ghost more than he looked human.
Aaliyah wondered what happened to him, and why he lived alone and away from town. Maybe his life was as sad as hers.
It took a lot of searching for her to find everything she would need to clean. The mansion had four floors, and she started cleaning from the third floor. It took her the whole day until she was satisfied with her work, and decided she would go for the second floor the next day.
No way she was gonna live somewhere that looked haunted. Her Job would be to make it hospitable.
Her stomach growled in hunger, reminding her that she hadn't eaten anything since she got here. Judging from the man living here and the house itself, Aaliyah highly doubted if she would find food anywhere around.
Getting to the last floor, she took a look inside the fridge and just as she had predicted, it was as dirty and unkept as the other parts of the house. Her stomach growled again, and Aaliyah bit her lips thinking of how to get food.
Thirty minutes later, she was standing in front of his door. How did she find him? It was hella easy. She just followed his footsteps in the dust that covered the ground and it led her to this door that was covered in cobwebs, except the knob.
Aaliyah was contemplating. Maybe she should just go to sleep without eating. After all, it's not the first time she's been left to starve all day. Her fingers were suspended in the air, and a whirlpool of thoughts ran through her mind.
Should she? Should she not?
"Hello?" She called out instead, seeing how her limb was too scared to make a move, "I haven't had lunch...or dinner," She added softly, hoping she would hear any movement from inside.
Minutes passed, and Aaliyah rubbed her forehead.
"Are you asleep? I'm a little hungry," Her stomach growled again, louder than before and she sighed, "How dare you marry me and you can't even feed me?" She murmured this time, her lips forming a pout, "I've checked everywhere, and I can't find anything edible. If you give me some money, I can...," Aaliyah stopped herself before she said more. What was she even saying?
The door suddenly burst open, and Aaliyah's heart almost jumped out of her chest.
He stood at the other side, and she stiffened.
"Sirens need to be fed," He said to himself in a low growl, or maybe that was just the deepness of his voice.
"Yeah...I guess," She replied, wondering what he was talking about.
"What do they eat?" He asked.
"Bread. Water. Sugar. Salt. Homemade meals...," Her brows creased.
The man then stepped out and walked away with her following a little far behind. She loved keeping her distance. Standing near him made her look small, and she was a tall person!
He got to the entrance door and halted. Aaliyah could not see his face and tried to peek a bit to see what had stopped him.
Sitting right outside the door were tons of bags, a delicious smell coming from them.
Aaliyah's mouth watered. God, that smelt delicious.
Without another word, The man turned around to walk away as if his work was done. But his steps were too broad, and Aaliyah had scooted closer than she had intended, drawn to the smell of food. His frame knocked into her, and it felt like a large boulder had collided with her.
The Impact sent her falling on her back, "Hey!" She blasted out at him.
He ignored her and was going to walk away... but paused. His calm demeanor changed all of a sudden, and the power of his Aura grew. It was nowhere as strong as what she felt two weeks ago, but it was dense enough to hold her tongue and rethink her words.
When he squatted down, she squeezed her eyes shut and wished she had just let it go instead of letting her temper get out. Aaliyah refused to look up at him, but he did not hesitate to grab a hold of her chin and force her eyes on him.
"Little Siren," She could feel his eyes on her through that thick hair, "Don't test me," And he sounded as emotionless as ever.
The strength of his grip on her chin was hurting.
Nothing broke her heart more than to feel tears gathering in her eyes, "I am not a Siren!"
His grip tightened, "I said what I said," His Crusty voice whispered.
Then, he released her and walked away.
Aaliyah remained on the cold floor. When she saw that she was getting married, she had been scared and angry. But then, she thought marriage was the best escape from that hellhole she lived in. She thought there could not be any worse form of torture than the ones the Nuns and pastor made her go through...
And yet...
A tear rolled down her eyes and dropped to the ground.
There were about ten bags outside, three of them stocked with dresses she could wear, and two pairs of slippers, six bags had raw ingredients she could use to prepare food and the last one had a box of pizza...Edible food she could eat at the moment.
Whoever had sent this must have thought about this deeply...and knew what she needed. Could it be the same person that has been feeding her these past two weeks?
As usual, the silence of the night was her only companion as she started to eat, not realizing just how hungry she had been until she picked up the last piece. Then, she decided to keep it for tomorrow morning.
Aaliyah wondered if the house had electricity, but the switches she found were not working. She had found no candles or torches either, only relying on her sense of direction to get back to her room.
As soon as her back touched the soft bed, Aaliyah jumped back to her feet in shock, rattled at how comfortable it had been. It was so comfortable she thought she might have been hallucinating.
But when she laid down again and covered herself with the soft blanket, she felt like she had finally walked into heaven. The tide of emotions that hit her was heartbreaking and grateful at the same time, with a smile on her face along with the tears that kept rolling down her eyes.
It didn't take long before she fell asleep.
As soon as he walked in, Aaliyah's eyes flew open.
It was deep in the night, and even though his footsteps remained as silent as ever, she could tell whenever he made one.
This time...it wasn't Pastor Ramus.
Why was he in her room so late at night?
When she felt his crawling up the bed, Aaliyah squeezed her eyes shut. This couldn't be happening. Not him...Not this.
His palm cupped her leg through the blanket, and the heat penetrated her leg, making her swallow. He trailed a finger up her leg, and she felt like her whole body was being ignited by something this simple.
What was the meaning of this?
When he climbed up her thighs, Aaliyah did not think before she squeezed her legs shut... making him aware that she was awake.
She stiffened...and felt him pause too.
"W...what do you want?" She breathed, opening her eyes to the darkness.
He remained silent, but his fingers kept trailing round and round her leg.
"What...is your name?" She tried again.
"You're so Naive, Little Siren," He said after what felt like hours, and his voice enacted reactions from her fragile body. In all twenty-one years of her life, she never thought her body could be manipulated, and feel this strongly.
"Naive... about what?" She breathed again, harder when his fingers left her lip and settled on her waist.
"Everything,"
"What do you want from me?!" She gasped and gripped the blanket hard when his fingers moved again, tickling her sides. She wanted to yell at him to stop touching her, but something was stopping her.
Aaliyah felt like the spell that had been cast on him that made him a little softer this night would break once she broke their physical contact.
Then, he took her hand in his and guided it somewhere. It was too dark to see but she was curious and stared at his frame. At that moment, she could see a little through the air covering his face...and swore she was looking directly into his eyes.
But...how can a person's eyes look like that?
His irises...had almost faded away, leaving only the white part.
Oh no, was he sick?
"I don't know...," He replied, placing her palm on its destination.
His Heart.