It was only a few days since the incident when the door was knocked. It was a calm knock, but it for sure had a certain power over it. Albert was in the living room, just sitting, counting the days for the bandages to be taken off of him. The door was opened by a maiden, revealing two silhouettes. One is a man, not so tall but not too short. He had a uniform with black color and a yellow stripe going on either of the sleeves' length. He had a red background with white crescent and star on his face as a flag, his eyes fully black with white pupils as eye color. His expression wasn't firm, a little emotionless and a coldness coming from a 600-year-old country.
The other silhouette was a boy. He had the same flag on his face as the man's, but with a slightly darker tone and a thinner crescent and sharper star. His eyes a mixture of red and dark brown as the color with black sharp pupils. He was a stark contrast to the man he was next to, timid and... a little scared? Albert really wanted to see them,he didn't know how many people were there either... He had to wait until the wound was healed enough to actually take off the bandages. Marta smiled widely and spoke up.
"Selim!! It's good to see you!!"
Albert tilted his head, confused. Who was Selim? Was she talking about the child? He heard a timid voice speaking in a quiet tone.
"H-Hello... Marta..."
Marta smiled widely and hugged Selim tightly and chuckled. Selim smiled a tad bit and looked around a bit, spotting the boy sitting on the couch with the bandages on his face. He assumed that he didn't see but hear.
He leaned towards Marta's ear and whispered in a curious and quite wary way, clearly trying his best not let the boy hear him.
"Who is he?"
Marta got confused at first. Looking around, not seeing anyone except for Albert, who was sitting on the couch with the bandages on his face. She smiled and answered.
"He's Albert, my brother. I forgot to introduce you two, didn't I?"
Selim raised his brows, not expecting this as an answer. When did Marta have a brother? Most importantly, how did she have a brother? Her mother was long gone before she even turned 3... He still didn't know what happened to her mother. Marta didn't even told him the name of her own mother yet. Every time Selim asked something, she either changed the topic or told him that she was too young to even remember her own mother's name.
"How is he even your brother-" Marta suddenly cut him off with a bump to his shoulder. He looked at her with sheer confusion. Marta slowly shook her head in a warning way, her eyebrows furrowed. Selim sighed quietly so Albert wouldn't hear him.
Marta smiled again and spoke in a triumphant tone.
"Albert please let me introduce you to my friend from the Turks, Selim! He's a nice guy and I'm sure you two will get along so well!"
Albert tilted his head slightly. He was kind of wary and a tad bit curious. Was Selim a good person as Marta said? Or did Selim work for Bertram? Albert didn't even know why he was so paranoid of new people? It was probably his past traumas shaping him into this scaredy, paranoid cat... But no he wouldn't, shouldn't have let them shape him like this. He wanted to be independent, fearless man. He turned to where Marta's voice was heard and spoke up in a calm but cautious tone.
"Uhh... Hello, Selim... Nice to meet you I guess?"
Selim nodded even though he knew that Albert couldn't see him due to the bandages but didn't speak, which left Albert confused. He waited a bit more before speaking again.
"W-Well Marta... When will I get these off of my face?" he pointed at the bandages on his face, covering his face completely and being uncomfortable.
Marta turned to him and spoke in a soft but uncertain tone, scratching her arm in an uncomfortable manner, looking away.
"I'm sure we'll get those out in a few days... Bruder..."
Albert sighed and turned his head to the side, struggling to believe her those days... Marta's eyebrows loosened as she spoke in a mumbling voice.
"Do you need anything... Bruder?"
Albert shook his head without turning his head towards her, which made Marta feel worse. She was already feeling incredibly guilty for not coming earlier and stopping Bertram from beating him so hard and possibly leaving a huge scar on his face... Marta couldn't help but leave the living room with a heavy heart, on the verge of tears. She had to stay strong, she knew, but it was sometimes too hard for her to keep a straight and neutral face in front of Albert.
Selim followed behind her, feeling concerned for her and having a lot of questions at the same time. He sat next to her and looked at her with loosened eyebrows and worried eyes. He sighed and spoke up.
"Don't feel bad about yourself. I'm sure it wasn't your fault..."
He smiled reassuringly. He wanted her to feel better and to not blame herself for anything that wasn't her fault. He didn't know what happened to the boy named Albert he just met, though. What even happened to him? Did he fall off a tree or someone hit him with their horse? Was he found like this?
The fact that the one who did this to Albert was Bertram was something that didn't went through his mind once. He was considering every possibility came in his mind when suddenly Marta spoke up with a whispering voice, clear from it that she was about to cry.
"My Papa did it..."
Selim's eyes widen. Did he really do this? He couldn't have... Bertram had always treated Selim respectfully and nicely. Shaking hands,teaching,speaking... Was all that a mask?
"But... But he was-"
"No, he's not nice. Please... Don't tell him anything... Please..."
Marta's tears fell down to her chin, she was almost begging.
"I don't want Albert to pay the price. Please... Please don't tell Papa anything, not even Mr. Mehmet Keyhüsrev... Please..."
"My.. My father? Do you want me to lie to Baba?"
"N-No! J-Just don't tell anyone! I beg you!"
Selim sighed and nodded. He felt bad for her, especially for the situation she was in. Three knew this secret now...