ANASTASIA PENDRAGON
In the past, Arceus was a child who was afraid even of sleeping alone.
«So fragile, so vulnerable.»
I used to hear him crying, hidden away from everyone.
But now, at five years old, he had become stubborn and proud, which sometimes made me seriously wonder if I had made some mistake in his upbringing as an older sister.
«Where did my little scared child go?»
— Big sister, will you tell me a story? —he asked with his sweetest little voice.
— Ufufu... you really love hearing old tales —I responded, feeling a warm smile draw itself on my face.
We would always be together, from the morning when Ars woke up until the night when he went to sleep.
— Big sister is warm... —he murmured while cuddling against me.
Hugging him enormously stimulated my maternal instinct because I liked physical contact and sleeping.
«Could my brother be any more adorable?»
The more I felt his body temperature, the harder it became to let him go. Unconsciously, I tightened my embrace.
I was starting to wonder if my affection had gone too far, but still I could not stop pampering him.
«Every second with him is precious.»
As time passed and we both realized my little brother was maturing, we stopped sleeping together. But, in reality, that happened just a few months ago.
«Time passes so quickly.»
Until then we were together even when we bathed, so it was natural that Ars could not oppose me.
Ars, five years old, let out a muffled laugh, like some bad guy.
«There was something more to him.»
He did not seem like a small child at all, contrary to his appearance.
Ars's true nature was something only I knew. At that moment, he did not show that side of himself even to our mother Adelaide.
I remembered the adorable Ars with a distant look and let out a sigh that came from the bottom of my heart.
The scene seemed to freeze at that instant, with Ars cuddled against me, his calm breathing, while my hand softly caressed his hair.
No matter how much he would grow, how much he would change, for me he would always be my little Ars. The child who once cried in fear in the darkness, and who now laughed with a mischief that only I knew.
One day, while Arceus had gone out for morning exercise and my mother was cleaning his room, my father walked toward my bedroom. I was staring fixedly at a book in the living room when I saw him appear.
—N-no, you can't! How can you enter a girl's bathroom without her consent? —I shouted, grabbing his arm to try to drag him away—. It must be dirty.
"N-no?! It's not so dirty! These days I didn't clean much because I was practicing spells... Still, you can't!" I thought desperately while struggling.
Without paying me any attention, Atlas headed toward my bedroom door, and I was dragged there. The force I used to scream "Uang!" was almost nonexistent.
—Nnooooo! —I screamed by reflex when he opened the door.
On one side of the wall there were dolls, mirrors, and pictures of people. The quantity rose to almost a hundred. And it seemed I had consumed many chocolates, since aluminum papers and paper boxes formed mountains on the floor.
It was a manifestation of the purest disorder.
—I can't believe it! My mom said you shouldn't enter other people's rooms without permission, okay? —I reproached him, feeling my face burn with embarrassment.
—Those dolls, when did you get so many? —he asked me, ignoring my evident discomfort.
—That's not important! Please leave...! I'm dying of embarrassment —I insisted, pushing him with all my strength.
Atlas, who was pushed toward the hallway, suddenly said:
— Let's clean the house today.
«Typical of my father» ,I thought with frustration and resignation.