The door to his room creaked open, causing the wind to start blowing harshly against the multiple scattered papers on the table. The tray of letters, which were an everyday thing for him. George watched as the tray landed on his table, but the pile looked different today compared to another days. "It looks a little thicker than yesterday's." He muttered to himself as the butler placed down the envelopes across his table.
"I was thinking the same..." The butler replied while letting it down and walking out of the door with a single bow. Once the door was shut, the letters caught his eyes in a way that made him curious and start opening every single one of them instantly, forgetting the maps spread across his table.
Most were invitations, smelling of different fragrances that represented different houses. But only one of them looked odd, with the cheap parchment and the stained pages. It reaked of blood and the envelope had a single note onto the off-white surface. It grabbed his curiosity in a way that made him want to open it, but hesitate from doing do. The address it had come from, was the Killers' street, and from the hitman quaters.
"Strictly addressed to Aefia Seraphina... What do they have to do with her?" He asked himself while placing the envelope down on the table and thinking twice from opening it. Well the last time... She had gotten a letter about my trial and happened to handle it all by herself... So what if she has gotten a new sort of letter that she would have to take a burden up her shoulders again? He thought to himself while fiddling with the opening.
Actually... I think it would be better that I leave my workaholic sister for a break. She has done enough and too much for her age... And I definitely think detective work for her right now is more like child labour right now. I might as well be the one to look after the matter and if I need help... Well? I am a grown-up. I should be able to handle it all by myself... Otherwise I would be mentally younger then her in terms of using my brain.
He used a nearby letter opener to tear open the wax cover on the envelope. Then sliding the sharper part through and then pulling out the cheap, tattered paper from inside. Without a hesitation, he flatten the paper, with the letter of the contents changing his mood and mind completely.
*
Directed to Aefia Seraphina,
I happened to have come to the conclusion that due to your young age and your life still having a long path left to climb, I was thinking that I would have you reconsider the matter. I would like to give the mission a two months deadline and if you feel like you would like to think back to your actions, I am happy to say that your money is still untouched.
And please, for the love of your mother and your family members, your life has more value than you think. Sometimes problems may cause you to feel disposable, and you may feel like your life is not going the way you wanted, but remember that every story has a problem, a climax and a solution. You parents didn't give birth to you to take your own life.
Yours sincerely,
The volunteer from the hitman quaters you visited yesterday.
*
The letter crumpled at his grip as he abruptly stood up, his glasses falling from is eyes and handing around his neck with the spectacle chain. "Yesterday?! What were the rest of the palace doing yesterday?! Why did no one inform me about this? ... I clearly have them all known to let me know when she leaves the palace grounds by herself..."
He slammed his fist onto the table and stared at the letter with widened eyes. "Well she knows she can't really run away from the palace grounds... So she chose to kill herself instead... Now what do? Scold her about this? Ask her?" He muttered to himself as he looked towards the door. "I can't even ask the servants to the guards... She probably bribed them... But still... It would be our money that she used to bribe them..."
He finally took the letter into his fingers and walked towards the door with many thoughts and worries in his mind. I am in luck... That this fell into my pile... And I know that she will be honest once I ask her... She isn't that hard to deal with sometimes. I can just talk her out of this... Can't I?
But as soon as his mind surrounded the fact that had silently done it without asking or discussing it with anyone in her family. His anger spiked just as he slammed open the door to her room, causing her to stand up from her sofa and slamming shut the book at her hands that she was reading.
"Aefia?! Why is there a letter strictly under your name that has been sent from the hitman quaters that says you have been there yesterday booking a kill under your name?" He sternly spoke while slamming the letter down in front of her. "Why are you trying to kill yourself now? And you didn't even think you should have consulted with the one of us when you went ahead and done it. What do you take your life as? Granted?"
But instead of getting an instant reply, he caught her eyes only widening at the letter and then silently muttering 'two months' to herself. After what seemed like a long time, she picked her calm gaze at his face and with her own face expressionless. "But even if I did kill myself... Why would you want to stop someone who isn't even your own biological sister. I will be honest... I have trust issues with everyone in this palace because I feel paranoid being around just anyone."
"Well is that your reason?!" He shouted at her, which was the first time he had done so, and it was also something he felt guilty about. "You couldn't have at least told me about this?! Maybe I could have gotten you some sort of help?!"
"But you had gotten me help back then... And it didn't work enough... Because I am back at it." She spoke, not breaking an inch of her composure.
"I could have tried and found some other ways!"
"What about the vacation then? Weren't you trying to use it as a way to keep me from the duchess's sight? Because you were afraid she was going to be the reason I might just break down?" She asked while affording a smile, but it was due to the fact that she was personally just calling herself stupid. "You tried your best to give me almost everything and anything to keep me happy under your power, but it turns out that my problems always come with a solution and more problems."
Finally, he lost his temper and stricked her across her face, then grabbing her by the arm. "Then did you think I have run out of the power and want to give up?! Do you think I have ran out of tries?!" He shouted her face, with was half red, but her stoic mask dropped that instant, with a part of her wanting to fight back. She didn't struggle against his grip, but her face turned into a maddened expression.
"Well you will at one part of your life. There is no point trying to raise a sister who is already in the brink of death to began with..." She spoke with her voice raising only an octave. "And you aren't really getting the point that the people around me already want me dead... I almost lost someone else and I am not going to lose another person... I am down to my last restrains because I had to sacrifice my magic to save her the last time. I only have my life left."
Her words echoed into his mind as he stared blankly at her face, realizing that Lewis might have just been trying to keep him alert about her mind all the time. This caused his guilt to double over and leave him a state of complete horror and the misery of not having kept this small detail in mind.
His eyes diverted to the book on the ground, which she pushed underneath the sofa, but he had read the title in the short amount of time that he had gotten the time. "Pick up that book... Before I do." He asked calmly, but his face still in a stern expression to keep her in the place of fear. How did I not come across this detail sooner? She had always been like this... But I didn't think she would go this far this fast. However, this delay is also the reason she has gotten the chance to step up that much.
She politely picked it up while narrowing her eyes, as if she was annoyed with his interuption into this matter. This son of a b*tch. Why does he have to come into this matter?! She silently thought to herself while handing him the book with her right hand. And as soon as she had handed it over, he snatched it, while simultaneously letting go of her arm. He scanned her face for a silent movement before flipping over the title page to where her bookmark rested.
The red and black sword shaped metal, pointed directly towards a specifically highlighted part of the page. The fluorescent marker made it a much brighter detail, and the specific thing she was reading about. Then he flipped to the other pages, with more highlighted lines. He looked through the entire chapter, only find the same topic brought into attention. Then, he slammed the book shut and threw it to the table.
"What is this Aefia? Are you seriously researching about how to kill yourself now?" He asked while clenching his fist. "What is this honestly? You have every single line talking about 'su*c*de' highlights and you were reading about ways to erase yourself from the every single universe."
"What are you going to do now about this? Isn't it my life to think about? If I find it better to end it, I would do anything to protect the others around me." She replied without flinching.
"And what about the people who is trying to keep you safe? Do we not matter to your life anymore?! Think about Henry!"
"He will get over it. It's not like my existence should be able to make a difference for a kid like him. He knows that I am just an adopted sibling, and he would know better that I left with my willingness. And speaking about mattering... Do I even matter in your lives? ... You all just see me as a way to save your empire..." She answered back. "Didn't you all survive before I came here? And if you think my absence will make a difference... It was the duchess's idea to pull me into this family."
Everything she said was logical, and a type of answer that he couldn't debate and win over. He had only one thought in his mind and that was the letter. "Either ways... This letter fell into my pile... And you are going to write a letter saying that you have rethought your decisions and choose to cancel it. Let the money stay unclaimed. You are not leaving this palace." He spoke while finally calming down.
"And what if I said I won't. If I write a rejection later... I won't wait two months to kill myself." She answered back while narrowing her eyes at him. "I might as well stain that letter with my blood before sending it out. Hiring a hitman is just one out of a thousand other ways to kill oneself. But I don't plan on writing a rejection letter any sooner." Her determination spiked a dangerous level, making she seem like a different person standing in her body and look.
With a fit of rage, he took a nearby vase and threw it to the floor, which shattered at her feet some cutting through the fabric of her trousers and lacerating her skin. She didn't flinch, as she watched her socked toes turn bloody, with red soaking onto her white socks. He clenched the letter tightly at his hand when he swung his hand at her direction, accidently knocking his fist onto the side of her head which stilled ached most of the time.
Her vision swum for a minute, before she lost her footing, leaning against the sofa armrest to keep herself up. But her expression didn't change, staying the same stoic and expressionless. She looked up at him one last time, then muttering with a soft voice at him. "I hate you..."
"Well at least I now know why mom hit you to keep you unconscious." He answered back softly as the doors to her room swung open again. The duchess swept in, hearing the chaos from the outside. She hurried to her side without a single word. "What is going on?!" She shouted softly as her arms braced in a way to grab Aefia into a hug.
"Get away from me woman!" She shouted back while stumbling against the carpet and plummeting to the sofa right behind her. But the duchess seemed concerned and stayed staring at the girl's stained white socks. "Mom... Leave her alone... I think she needs time to reconsider her actions." George spoke while passing the letter to the duchess.
But before long, the only thing that she said panicked him. "Then the best would be to head over and cancel it yourself. Whoever she happened to hire... They are not gruesome as to actually execute her just yet." She whispered in a motherly tone. "I will see if I can talk her out of this."
"Talk me out of what?! The first thing I know is that you think of me as a disposable pawn the way I think of my life disposable!" Aefia shouted back while trying to stand up with painful feet. "Care to explain the fact that you are acting so friendly just so you can feed my brain to the possesed doll in the execution chamber?! Well the way work has been lifted... When is my death day and where is my death warrant? ... In fact... I am ready to sign it myself..."