I’m pretty sure that everyone looked cute when they were in a deep sleep. The calming rise and fall of someone tummy, the cute snores or soft breathing that came from someone’s mouth. I guess it was that way because you looked peaceful when you were asleep, no worries, no cares, just trying to rest and recharge your batteries. Trinity had cried herself to sleep, and I didn’t blame her. She was physically and mentally exhausted. She had tried to put on a front that she was perfectly okay, that she was excited to learn more and proud that she had done so well with Katherine. I knew how she was feeling because that was how I felt for a very long time. I played off the injuries from strike two, I played off how scared and tired I was. I didn’t want to worry anyone, I had to seem strong, even as an eight year old girl, I tried to play it off. “I’m learning to be strong and proper like my mommy. Why wouldn’t I be okay?” I often told people and myself to get through those times. There were two differences between me and Trinity though.
I was Katherine’s blood daughter so she could be as firm on me as she could. After all, she was probably just punishing me for bad behavior. She was training me to be as good as her. Those were just two things I was sure people thought about us.
The second thing was that Katherine, at some point, cared about me in her own sick way. She gave birth to me, she raised me like any mother would when I was little. So there had to be a bond there… right?
Right?
I didn’t think Katherine actually liked Trinity. In fact. I was pretty sure Katherine didn’t like her.
My suspicion for that was while Trinity cried, she kept saying. “I do everything she says but she still hates me. Why does she hate me!” I didn’t want to make things worse for her at the moment. Katherine didn’t hate her. Katherine doesn’t feel hatred even for those she considers enemies. That was just one of the many emotions that she either hides deep down inside her or completely shattered entirely. She was impressed with what Trinity could do, however even her compliments and praises come out as scoldings or insults. Part of me wished I could tell Trinity more, that I could be more open and honest with her about my relationship with Katherine. Tell her that she was a dangerous criminal… however until I knew that Trinity was the smaller figure that was helping her do bad things. I couldn’t risk telling her that.
So all I could do in the moment was hold her, and comfort her. Tell her both a truth and a lie, that everything was gonna be just fine. It had taken nearly 45 minutes but now Trinity was sleeping on her stomach, a thick blanket pulled across her exhausted frame. Her breathing soft and her snores softer, she looked five years younger while she slept. That left me to my own devices, she was right when she said she had a ton of video games and every streaming service known to man. She was even an anime fan like me, she seemed to be in love with the romance genre, as her entire watchlist was filled with them. I had just finished my 2nd episode of an anime called, Your Lie In April. When someone knocked on the door and poked his head inside.
I held back a breath as the man that my daddy and Joshua were investigating stepped inside of the room. Hezekiah Wallace.
The picture that my dad had of him did not do this man justice. He was much taller than the picture made him out to be. Maybe around 6’1 to 6’2. He had a low cut haircut and his goatee looked a lot thicker than in the picture. He was letting out a strong black jepei aura. Strong cheekbones, a nice looking face, he was only wearing black suit pants and a tight tank top. Revealing strong looking arms and a body that could have been chiseled from stone. He had dark brown skin and dark tired brown eyes. He was holding a gift in his hand, a light pink box that had a darker pink bow wrapped around it. He poked his head back outside of the room and seemed to tell someone. “I know, but this is more important than some rich bitches.”
He stepped fully in the room and finally seemed to notice me sitting on the edge of his daughter’s bed. He stared at me for a few moments before fully greeting me in a strong and low voice. “You must be my daughter’s new friend. Cindy right?”
“I don’t know if we are friends yet.” I thought to myself before slipping off her bed to stand before him. I lowered my head a bit in a small bow before saying. “Y-Yes sir, my name is Cindy. I am Aailyah’s cousin.”
“I was not aware that Aailyah had any other cousins that didn’t live in the city.” He said placing the box on the desk with her computer, he adjusted the bow slightly before walking over to us. His shoes left a nice tapping sound even on the carpet that was over the floor. “And here I thought that I knew everything about everyone.” He stopped in front of me before tilting my head back up with two of fingers. They were much softer than I thought they would have been. “She spoke very highly about you.”
“W-What did she say?”
“Just that you were interesting and I can see why. A jepei users as well, my daughter has never had friend that shared out gifts. That know about our people’s struggles and pain. Perhaps that is why she finds you interesting.” He removed his fingers, but even still the feeling lingered for a moment. “She tells me you are from Spain, which part?”
I was prepared for that. “Bilbao, closer to the mountains than downtown.” When we first came up with my backstory for this disguise. Joshua had me go over where I would be from. We chose Bilbao since it was the tenth largest city, but also because of the mountains and water sources nearby. It was a good place for a jepei user to live, the nature there provided us the natural energy we needed to be strong.
“A wonderful place for a jepei user to live.” He said, coming to the same conclusion that we had when choosing the place. “How are you enjoying your stay in New York?”
“It is amazing, though it makes me miss my home more. That air just tastes nasty.”
“I am sure you will get used to it.” He said with a chuckle. “If you want a small taste of your home, try heading to center park and just take a long jog. That should be enough to get your body adjusted to last the entire day.” He knelt down in front of me, now not seeming as big as he did a few moments ago. “I see that you also enjoy a good day in the sun. Your tan is quite beautiful.”
“How do you know it’s not my skin complexion?” I asked, feeling a lump starting to form in my throat.
“Child I have been alive for a long time, I know the difference between light skinned and white girl with a deep tan.” He said with a small chuckle. “I’m guessing you take more from your daddy than you do your momma.”
“Yes sir,” I answered.
“Why have I never meet Aailiyah’s aunt before?”
I wanted to avoid looking him in his eyes. He seemed to be questioning every last detail of this story, to try to find the spot between fact and fiction. “My momma and her momma had a falling out a long time ago. She wanted to go study in Spain but Aunt Porsha wanted her to stay in America with the family. It was pretty serious so my momma just left and then met my daddy in Bilbao. We lived on Tarun Island as well for a few years before going back to Spain and then they made up at a funeral.” I explained slowly and carefully.
“Well it is good to hear that they made up. I would love to meet Porsha’s sister sometime.” He said before rising back to his full height and walking past me towards his daughter. Once he was out of sight I let out a loud sigh, relieved that he was not in front of me anymore.
I turned watching in silence as he took a seat beside his sleeping daughter and placed a hand on her back. He lifted the edge of shirt up and I saw rage flood over his once calm face as he stared at the large bruise on her side. “I told her not to go too far.” He mumbled under his breath in a sort of deep growl. “Do me a favor, Cindy.” I nearly jumped as he suddenly called out my name. His voice was much deeper and he seemed to be holding back his rage. He lowered his daughter’s shirt and placed his hand gently over the wound. “Go down to Ms. Raymond in the kitchens and tell her to make Trinity’s favorite foods today for dinner, as well as make some ointment. She will know which one I mean.”
“Y-Yes sir.”
As I reached the door he called out to me once more. “Oh and Cindy, do not go where you're not supposed to be. Straight there and straight back, am I understood?”
“Yes Mr. Wallace.”
I practically scurried out of the room like a trapped rat and closed the door. I let out a long sigh before pressing my back against the door to catch my breath. For a moment, he had allowed a hint of jepei aura spill out. It was fierce, red hot with anger, perhaps that was a good thing. Katherine crossed a line that she wasn’t supposed to. Maybe she will be put in her place for crossing that line. I looked around for a moment before gripping my gemstone and summoning Aisu from my gemstone. “Aisu go and look around to see if you can find anything,” I whispered before sending her on her way.
I quickly made my way down this grand staircase and back into the lobby. I had to guess where his kitchen was. As I stepped into the hallway, I had a good idea where the kitchen was judging from the amazing smell that was beckoning me to it. I quickly made my way and came to a stop in front of two large double doors. One of them was opened and when I stepped inside, I found Ms. Raymond leaning against a marple white counter. Another man was in this room, his hand moving incredibly fast as he effortlessly cut through peppers and onions. “E-Excuse me,” both adults turned my way and now I got a better look at the man’s face. He was very handsome, with short brown hair and deep hazelnut eyes, he was shorter than Mr. Wallace with a lean body. “Mr. Wallace sent me to tell you something,” I say looking at Ms. Raymond, mostly to avoid the chef, I could feel my cheeks starting to flush just at his sight.
“What is it darling?” She asked me in a soft voice.
“Mr. Wallace wants to know if you make Trinity some ointment, he said you would know which one, and he wanted the chef to make Trinity’s favorite meal tonight.” Out of the corner my eyes could see the chef sigh before moving his vegetables over and starting to gather different ingredients.
“Give me a moment,” she said, walking over to a different cabinet and opening it to reveal different kinds of herbs and flowers. “I offered to make the little one this remedy when she came limping back in, her stubborn behind didn’t want it.”
“She is asleep now,” I said, walking over to watch the woman work. I knew just what she was working from my herbal lessons back home. Now that I was closer, most of these herbs and flowers only grew on the island. Another blessing that came from the amount of jepei energy in the air, water and ground, was that the island produced flowers, plants, vegetables and herbs that could not be grown on the mainland. “Sapphire leaf, Jamus herb, skylight palm.” I listened as she placed each one into a wooden bowl.
“I assume that you are one of those jepei users,” she said, adding a bit of warm pink liquid that I knew was boiled down Parken Root. “I will say your peoples homemade recipes do the trick, a bit better than some out of medicine, a bit harder to make but still good.”
“I can get it together for you, Miss Raymond. I know how to make it.” I said stepping up onto a nearby stool to reach.
“Thank you darling.” She said, placing the smooth wooden bowl in front of me. I took the stone slab she had and began to go work grinding and mixing this material together. “Do you know any tips that can make this smell better, the young mistress always complains about the smell?”
“Yes ma’am, any fresh mint leaves in this kitchen. It's one of the only herbs that can be added that won’t ruin the healing properties.” I say closing one eye to look like I am focusing on grinding this ointment, but I switch my vision into Aisu’s right eye. It’s a bit overwhelming to have one eye on what I am doing and the other to see through Aisu’s eye but I can manage it before getting the wicked headache that always came from this. I could see Aisu had made her way into a very large office space, with a large oak desk, a nice looking computer and had a large amount of files in a filing cabinet. She had jumped up onto the desk and was currently struggling to open one of the three files that was on this desk. I will never take thumbs for granted.
“I’m sorry, did you say something?” I asked, bringing my vision back to both of my eyes for a moment.
I felt her hands come to rest on my shoulders holding me up. “I ask are you okay,” she questioned and now I could see my head was starting to spin a bit and I felt a bit sick. I was not good at managing to split my vision just yet. “You started wobbling there for a moment.”
“Sorry,” I said with a soft smile. “I haven't been around these herbs and flowers for a while and forget that they let out a strong smell that can make you dizzy.” Now technically that was not a lie, to the untrained these ingredients when combined can make you dizzy… However, I was used to the smell.
“Alright, but I am gonna ask you to stop for a moment baby,” She said, lifting me off the stool and to the ground. “I can handle this from here, you have already done enough to help me. How about you return to the young mistress, if you dilly dally any longer you are gonna make Mr. Wallace cross. He will start thinking you are looking around his things.”
“Why would he be worried about that?” I asked, trying to prompt this older woman into telling any of the secrets she might know. “He doesn’t seem like a secretive man.”
“Child, that man holds more secrets than you might know. So don’t let any childish curiosity get you in trouble.” She said both wisely as well as firmly at the same time.
“Yes ma’am.”
“Let him know I will be up shortly with this ointment, and thank you for your tips.”
I made my way through the hallways back to the grand staircase, taking a moment to relax and switch my entire vision back to Aisu. She had managed to open a file up but it was nothing important, just a lot of different numbers that I could not really understand. She couldn’t move any of the papers without disturbing any of the items inside. However at least we knew that whatever house this was. He was keeping some kind of information. Now I just needed to know how I could get into that room to see what was inside of those cream colored folders.
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When I arrived back at Trinity’s room. I could hear Trinity and her father speaking to each other, his voice was warmer and kinder than it had been with me for the most part. “If she is being too harsh on you, babygirl, just let me know and I will deal with her. She may be important to moving things forward and she may be above me, but you are above her in my eyes. They need me more than we need her.”
“Yes daddy, I-I’ll be okay, I ruined things at-”
“I don’t care about her little meetings, you stood up for me when I was not there. You did what was right in my eyes, you did what a princess does to honor their king. You did what I would do if someone dare spoke badly about you.” I heard him playfully growl followed by sweet giggles of Trinity. “Now I need to head out to handle business, so get some rest and enjoy spending time with your new friend.”
“Yes daddy, and I am sure you are just worried, Cindy is different, she is not trying to use me. She isn’t like those other kids at my club, she cares about me.” I felt sick to my stomach as I realized they must have shared some words with each other while I was off.
“Just be careful what you say and what you let out. There is something about that little girl, something that is on the tip of my tongue that makes me not trust her.”
I quickly grabbed my gemstone and thought to Aisu. “Make sure you put everything back just as you found it, not a page or corner out of place!”
“Why so worried, sissy?” She called back.
“He is worried about-” That was all I could get out before the door was opened and Mr. Wallace gave his daughter a wave before stepping out and nearly into me. “I-I’m sorry Mr. Wallace.”
He jumped a bit at my sudden appearance but that quickly shifted back to his stoic expression. “No harm done, what took you so long?” He asked, his dark eyes now staring down at me.
I didn’t want to risk telling him a half truth or a full lie, so I just answered honestly. “I was helping Ms. Raymond make that ointment, I even gave tips so it would smell much nicer for Trinity.”
“I see.” I don’t know why but standing under his gaze sent fear running through my body. It was like being under the gaze of an actual lion. “Well then it is nice to see that your skills on that island are coming in handy. Stay out of trouble with my daughter today, and I will reward your kindness in teaching her more about the protection technique in all due time. Thank you for showing her that.”
“It was my pleasure.” He began to walk down the hallway with his arms held behind his back. As I went to step into the room, I saw out of the corner of my eye Aisu waiting on the opposite side of the hallway. I quickly summoned her back to my gemstone and when I turned to look at Mr. Wallace. I noticed that his head was turned slightly towards me as he took a left into a different corridor.
Whether or not he saw Aisu I didn’t know.
Whether or not he was thinking I had her looking around, I couldn’t be sure.
What I did know was to not to risk doing this again in his pressure.
I was strong but no where near his level. I could just tell.
“If you aren’t on his level, then what makes you think you can face Katherine?” A voice rang through my head and I chose to ignore it.
Hatred is what made me think I could face her.
Fear is what should have made me never come here.
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