Aaliyah could hardly believe her eyes. It was nighttime here too, but the city had been lit up with so many lights coming from houses, cars, and the extremely tall buildings that were almost touching the sky.
Aaliyah thought it was beautiful, and the different colored lights pulled her in even more.
Windmill Falls, the town she had grown up wasn't as beautiful as this at night, and it did not have such tall buildings. The street wasn't just beautiful, it was busy and bustling with people.
Glancing back at Yuan, she had a completely different look in her eyes and it wasn't a good one.
How did they even get here in the first place? Aaliyah was as excited as she was scared.
"What is this place?" She mumbled.
"I...have no idea," Yuan replied and the grim look in her eyes vanished, replaced with a smile. It was very different from her other smiles, this one was clearly forced. That much Aaliyah could tell, "But I think we need to get out of here. Come with me,"
When Yuan tried to pull Aaliyah with her again, Aaliyah swatted Yuan's hand away with a suspicious look brewing in her blue eyes, "What do you know?" Aaliyah demanded.
Yuan remained calm, "What do you mean?"
"I may be stupid, but I'm not dumb. It wasn't a coincidence that you suddenly showed up the day Alastair and his friends were gonna leave, and then you showed up again immediately after they left,"
Yuan hid her hands behind her, and her fingers worked, "I really don't know what you're trying to say. I know Alastair and I...,"
"Let me guess. They asked you to come and keep an eye on me so I won't attempt to run away when they're gone. Right?!" Aaliyah frowned, taking a step back.
"Liya. You've got this all wrong."
"Then why are you with me?"
"I saw you and I thought...,"
"You thought to just walk up and befriend me? Do I look like friend material to you? Of all the people in the world. You said you live far away...Why did you come all the way to the mansion? Why didn't you come while Alastair was still there?"
"Aaliyah...,"
"Let me get something straight with you, Yuan," Aaliyah grounded out with a cold look, "I won't leave the mansion even if I want to. I have nowhere else to go. I do not want to be a homeless person, so if I am right about what I guessed about you, then be rest assured that you can return home now,"
Yuan was silent. Aaliyah's judgemental eyes were making her weak in the bones, and she wanted to look away from them. She wanted to clear the large lump that had clogged up her throat and feel like herself again.
"Was it really the rock that made you feel weak?" Aaliyah whispered this time, her eyes soft once again, "I should get rid of it,"
"No...I think you should keep it," Yuan replied, "Let's get out of here first...and fast,"
Aaliyah did not miss the sudden alertness that had Yuan glancing to their right, and then it disappeared as fast as it came.
"Come with me,"
As they moved around, Aaliyah noticed how hard Yuan was trying to keep a low profile. They moved in the shadows of others and avoided the places that were bright and exposed.
They walked around like that for almost fifteen minutes, and now you could see the confusion on Liya's face as she concluded that Yuan knew this city very well. But...how?
They got behind a small building, and Yuan pulled up the windows.
"Is this your house?" Aaliyah inquired in a whisper.
"Yes,"
"Why are we going in through the window?" Aaliyah felt like they were breaking in.
"Fine. It's not my place, but I need to do this for you. I know the owner of the building, and she wouldn't be so mad at me for doing this."
Before Aaliyah could say another word, Yuan had slipped into the house making absolutely no noise.
"How do you even know this city? Are you sure both of us aren't hallucinating?"
Yuan's hands flew out of the window, grabbed Aaliyah, and yanked her into the house. Aaliyah suppressed the urge to scream, even more surprised that Yuan had lifted her so easily like she weighed no more than a feather.
Then, Yuan shut the windows again and locked them from within.
The place was dark, except for the reflection from outside.
Yuan led them further in, tightly grasping Aaliyah's hand as if Aaliyah was gonna get yanked away from her if she let up even the slightest.
Then, they stopped in a room and Yuan turned on the lights. There was a huge mirror in the room with a furniture and chair. Atop the furniture were items that looked similar to the ones the nuns had used on her face the night she got married.
"I'm gonna give you a makeover,"
Aaliyah just stared.
"Don't worry, you'll understand more once we are done,"
Aaliyah simply followed instructions and was led around the place till she was seated with her head back, and Yuan was washing her hair thoroughly with different shampoos. They spent a few hours on the hair, and Yuan had not allowed Liya to see what she had been doing ever since she finished washing the hair.
But right now, there was a towel around her head and it felt so warm, and smelt good.
Next, Yuan focused on Liya's nails and also did incredible work there. She made Aaliyah take off her clothes, put on a small cloth, and gave Aaliyah the first and best massage ever. As Yuan did so, she applied all that she could on Aaliyah's skin to bring out the color.
But it was difficult. Aaliyah had so many marks on her body, including some that hadn't healed well. Plus, she was super protective of her inner thighs and wouldn't let Yuan get anywhere close to that place.
Yuan was trying so hard not to ask her to give her q detailed account of what happened to her body.
But then, even with everything, Aaliyah's skin was still very beautiful and smooth. And the chemicals only enhanced the beauty and made it stand out more.
Now, they were back to the chair from earlier with a blanket Aaliyah had chosen to be wrapped around her body, starting from her neck while Yuan was applying makeup to Aaliyah's face.
"Why are you... giving me a makeover?"
"Because we are going somewhere in the next one hour. And we can't go there without looking... like the part," Yuan replied.
"What is this place? Is it like a party?"
"Yes. A Party for grown-ups. They're all rich and mean-looking so you can't go in there smiling and looking how you would normally look. We need to... blend in,"
"Now I'm nervous,"
"You don't have to be. I'll be with you,"
Aaliyah thought it was weird. They suddenly switch locations and find their selves in an entirely different place. Yuan is not even the least freaking out at this...sudden teleportation that happened to them, tries to hide them, and now they're planning to go into the open again.
"What aren't you telling me?" Aaliyah asked, making Yuan pause, "Something strange is going on. What is it?"