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The late afternoon sunlight streamed through the window and into the room. Dust motes highlighted in gold floated this way and that, dancing around the girl's slim form like a shower of sparks. Stifling a sneeze, the girl bent down and resumed her chore. Sweeping the dust on the tiled floor in a repetitive motion, left right left right. It was boring, monotonous work.
The girl sighed, reaching up to tuck a strand of apricot coloured hair behind one ear as it fell across her face.
The same routine. Day in, day out. I really should be grateful, she scolded herself inwardly. Ever since onii-chan passed away, oba-san has given me a place to stay. It is hard on her, also having to take care of me as well as my cousins.
For a brief instant, a sad expression slipped onto her face. Only for a second though, before she banished it to the innermost depths of her mind. The truth was, ever since her older brother, Sora, whom had been a very successful merchant had died, her life had been a literal hell.
Orihime had been forced to move in with her aunt's family, as she had no other living relatives.
The huge fortune that her brother had left behind had fallen into her aunt's bony hands. It made her angry that her aunt had claimed all of the wealth which her brother had worked so hard for, and ultimately died for.
The accident had happened on a rainy night. Her brother had been hurrying to the last store, impatient to finish his last delivery of the day so that he could get home to his sister.
Nothing could have prevented it. The rain water had turned the thick dust of the road into a slippery mud, and as her brother had driven his wagon around a corner of the mountain pass, one of the horses had slipped and pulled the entire wagon down along with it.
That day had been the worst day in Orihime's life.
She could still vividly remember her own shock, and then intense disbelief followed by a cold numbing sense of unreality and dread.
It had felt as though the world was ending, and she knew that she would never forget that feeling.
Soon after, she had been forced to move away from the neighbourhood in which she had lived for her whole life and move in with her aunt Haribel. Her life of constant torment at the hands of her aunt and "sisters" had begun there.
At the time, she had been 7. Even thinking about the events that had transpired caused Orihime to feel a heavy weight on her heart. She sighed once more.
"INOUE ORIHIME! What do you think you're doing? Save your silly day dreaming for later. Did I not instruct you very precisely to finish sweeping the first floor by 5 o, clock? Now it's almost 6 and you still haven't finished even a quarter of the room! What do you have to say for yourself, Orihime? Mother works so very hard to keep this house in order so that we can all live comfortable lives. You are privileged, Orihime. You should feel grateful towards us for our kindness, all we ask of you is for you to do a few chores around the house. Yet you are utterly incapable of even the simplest task! You really are of no use."
Orihime felt like palming her face. Mentally, she scolded herself for being such an idiot. She had not even noticed the time fly by as he hands slowly stopped their clockwork sweeping motion with the broom, and her thoughts sank deep within old memories.
She had stopped and stood in one place for more than an hour! Stupid, stupid, stupid!
And at that moment, the doorbell rang, creating the perfect distraction.
The step sister stopped scolding her for a few seconds to order her to answer the door.
Orihime ducked out of the living room and quickly stepped towards the solid door of polished wood, which too had been bought with her deceased brother's money.
Still berating herself for her careless slip, Orihime unlatched and pulled back the door with effort. Entrapped within her own thoughts as she was, Orihime barely noticed the dark-haired messenger in front of her until he shoved a gold edged letter practically into her face.
"Uh, excuse me Inoue-san." the dark haired boy said.
"Oh! Hello Ishida-kun. I'm sorry, I didn't see you. What are you here for?" Orihime asked, curious.
Ishida Uryuu had been her long time neighbour and playmate, ever since she had moved in with her aunt and step-sisters at the age of 7.
Uryuu's parents ran the eye clinic and glasses shop next door, and she knew that Uryuu had recently gone to the castle as a servant to the King and lord of their Eventine. Their town was the capital of the entire country, so many young men were enlisted into the service of the King. The Ishida's son was no exception.
"I'm here to deliver invitations for a ball being held on the 23rd of December lasting until the 25th. The ball is being held for the prince and future King of our country. Invites are being sent out to all the maidens in the land because this year, it is said that the prince will select his bride out of all the women that show up at the ball." Answered Uryuu, startling Orihime yet again out of another short reverie (although the one before was longer).
"Wow!" gasped Orihime surprised. "Is every single girl in this country being invited? That's a lot of invites! How's the prince ever going to choose a bride out of all of them?"
"I have no idea," replied Uryuu, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "But I do know that invitations are being sent to even those who don't live in this country of Eventine."
"It sounds fun!" smiled Orihime. "though, really, can any girl go? I would really love to be able—"
"ORIHIME! What is taking you so long? It is just to answer the door!" came the blaring voice of her second step-sister, Ilsabel from inside the house.
"Hurry it up!" shouted the first step sister, Mariette.
"Ilsabel-san, Mariette-san, Ishida-kun is here with invitations to a ball being held that the castle in one week!" Orihime called back.
"Invites? So the crown prince is finally going to select a bride?" came the nearly hysterical voices of the step sisters, almost trampling each other in their rush to get at the crisp white envelopes held in Uryuu's hand.
Then, they proceeded to bat their eyelashes at him while giggling and cooing about how grateful and honoured they were to be invited, all the while completely ignoring the existence of Orihime who stood by the door in a nervous silence.