"You are here for your monthly prescriptions?" Old Cecil questioned Sunny.
"Yes, I am. I also…" Sunny hesitated when her eyes darted towards Yuki. Her cheek visibly flushed before she lowered her gaze.
Yuki and her godfather shared a glance before reaching a nonverbal compromise.
"Come with me," Old Cecil commanded and pushed himself out of the comforts of his rocking chair. After affording a courteous glance at Mrs. Arquette, he turned and entered the house with Sunny rushing after him.
As her godfather disappeared into the house, Yuki's calm mask cracked; her emotions were too strong for a worn-out mask. She let out a small sigh before shifting her gaze from the empty entrance towards the mother and daughter pair with polite smile.
"I see you found a new front to conceal yourself," Mrs. Arquette stated as she made her way up the stairs towards the balcony, where the girl stood.
All the while, the mother remained stern, although, there was a hint of disdain in her black eyes when she beheld Yuki. When she finally reached the balcony, she plunged into the old man's rocking chair. As soon as she sat, Mrs. Arquette beckoned for her bashful, younger daughter to come to her.
At the same time, the crack in Yuki's mask worsened after hearing the older woman's words. Still, she maintained her courteous smile without flaw. Her seemingly calm eyes watched Moony rush sheepishly to her mother's side.
"Then, I will excuse myself," Yuki announced to the two and turned towards the house.
After hearing Yuki, Mrs. Arquette glanced up at the girl, sizing her from hair to shoes with a cold expression.
"You've really grown to resemble your mother I see. Your uncanny resemblance to her character is most surprising. I don't suppose you are imitating her character, are you?" Mrs. Arquette asked shallowly.
"Mother…" Moony's voice rose and died timidly in her attempt to prevent her mother from saying anything more.
Mrs. Arquette threw her cowardly daughter a sharp glare. "Don't tell me you have still not broken free of her manipulation?" she scowled angrily.
Moony's green eyes darted nervously from the floor to her mother's face, then from her mother's face to Yuki's calm face. When her gaze fell on Yuki's beautiful eyes, Moony momentarily froze. She saw, lingering in the mesmerizing blues, an ounce of pain and dejection; it was subtle but still evident. Her fingers slowly folded into a fist, while her nails dug into her sweaty palm fiercely. She bit her lip and lowered her gaze from Yuki's.
"I-I'm not being ma-manipulated mother," Moony stuttered. Her gaze still lowered.
"Tsk! You are really hopeless…how can I blame you though. She basically had you wrapped around her fingers the whole time. Had it not been my timely intervention, you would still been wagging your tail at her like the good puppy she made you!"
"Mother!" Moony rose her gaze and her voice with a look that clearly depicted her unhappiness. Her sheepishness had vanished into thin air.
"We were children, besides, all that I did were of my own accord! She never asked anything of me, I followed her and obeyed her because I wanted to."
Mrs. Arquette's face shifted from annoyance to anger which instead of her daughter, was directed at Yuki. "You fox!" she snarled.
"Even after all these years you still have your vile leash about the innocent child's neck! Do you see how a person who cannot even stand up for herself and who dares not defy me, raises her voice for your sake? As young as you were, you managed to manipulate my daughters to the point where they can take their lives if you told them to! Now, even now, they have still not broken free of your trickery. You stand here now with a virtuous face and with a reputation of good-naturedness," Mrs. Arquette hissed and stood to stand before Yuki after shoving Moony aside when she tried to stand in her way.
"You cannot fool me! I see through you; I will never be deceived by the front you put up. Do you think imitating you mother's character can change your true self? Do you think you can forever hide behind that false reputation of yours? One day, one day I say, everyone will come to know the true you. One day, the world will know how vile and cunning your true self is!"
"Mother, enough!" Moony yelled. She glanced over at Yuki and her eyes slightly widened from surprise. Yuki's smile had not faltered. Her expression was as calm as always, and her smile was just as kind as her expression.
"Yuki…" Moony called hesitantly. Her brows drooped in dejection when she realized the sadness in Yuki's eyes remained. "I-I…"
"Excuse me."
Without waiting for a response from the two, Yuki turned from them and made her way towards the compound from the balcony. Immediately her backed was turned to the two, her smile dropped. Her calm expression was replaced with creased brows, clenched teeth and a dark expression as she strode away from her godfather's cottage.
The cottage, which was where she was born and raised, in that moment was the last place she wanted to be. Clouded with several thoughts and emotions, Yuki's hesitant steps changed into a hurried pace, and when she left the compound and entered the woods not too far from her godfather's, her hurried pace turned into jogs.
Yuki's feet pounded into the ground in a frantic rhythm. Each breath she took was a suffocating gasp as she raced under the shade of the towering trees. Her dress hindered her movements considerably, still, the girl would stop at nothing to run from her reality.
Deeper and deeper into the woods, Yuki went. She did not pause. She did not look back. Her face was characterized with a desperate look, one that exposed her confused emotions which she needed a break from.
After tirelessly running on and on, Yuki gradually came to a halt. She clung to a slender tree nearby, her eyes drifting thoughtlessly into a distance. Yuki neither perspired or felt exhausted, if anything, she felt much energized after running for so long. Being reminded of that abnormal part of herself in that moment did not help her negative thoughts in the slightest. She clenched her fists discontentedly.
Hmm, huuu, hmmm, huuu, hmmm, huuu…
Yuki's chest rose and fell with an unhurried and deliberate rhythm as she tried to curb her unsteady heartbeat and her racing thoughts. She inhaled deeply, filling her lungs with the serene air that surrounded her. Yuki's eyes slowly closed and her eyelids fluttered slightly as she focused on feeling of her breath leaving and returning to her body.
Yuki repeated the process of breathing in and out for a long while; it was her desperate attempt to keep her nightmarish thoughts at bay while also rendering her a sense of solace.
Gradually, although she was still tense, Yuki's face started to relax. Her brows reverted back to normal and her jaws unclenched. During that quiet, internal struggle, Yuki found a delicate sense of peace; a fleeting relief from her overwhelming turmoil.
'You are kind. You are courteous. You are demure. You are an innocent human girl! You are not abnormal!' Yuki reminded herself with each breath. After a while, she regain a good amount of her composure. A small, practiced smile formed on her lips as she straightened her back and parted her eyelids.
As soon as her eyes flared open, the first thing the maiden beheld was a lanky, long-haired man with a very pale skin, standing not too far from where she stood. He was dressed in a lavish all-black outfit and gave off an extremely noble air. He returned her gaze without as much as a blink.
Despite the distance that sat between Yuki and him, she was still able to feel his dark and foreboding aura which caused all the hair on her body to stand on end. His glowing red eyes stared at her coldly.
Yuki's calmed heart started to pound uncontrollably in her chest. The composure she had only then gather fled from her body. She was in danger; she knew she was. Her instincts told her clearly, that the man whose gaze she held did not have good intentions towards her.
She knew she had to flee...but could she flee?