I have to admit, Cain's little sister, Mary Weather was a delight! She was brazen (like her older brother, I noticed), and highly intelligent. A mind of her own. We clicked right away, and chatted over the breakfast table, barely paying attention to the meal. I think Cain might have been a little annoyed by how well we got along. Or amused. I couldn't tell which. Riff stayed silent, but I could feel his presence all through breakfast.

She let me touch her face to see what she looked like, however. More like offered it herself. She said she was blonde and blue eyes, but she was beautiful! Her features reminded me of a delicately lovely little doll. As gorgeous as she and Cain both were, I couldn't feel any features of family resemblance between them. It was curious…

After the meal, Mary Weather asked me to play something on my violin. I was surprised at her request, since I hadn't even known that she knew I was a musician. I supposed Cain had told her before I had been called down to breakfast. Cain asked Riff to fetch my violin, and moments later, I was tightening the bow and tuning the strings. It had only been a few days since I had last played, but since so much had happened…It seemed like ages ago.

But my fingers still had all the muscle memory. I played the only tune I that was so hammered into my memory that I could probably play it in my sleep. My mother's lullaby.

I hadn't even realized I had started to sing the words until I was already halfway through the song. Suddenly embarrassed (I had never thought that I had been that good of a singer), my voice cracked, and I died out, letting the tune on the violin trail off.

There was silence for a few moments, before Cain, Riff, and Mary Weather started to clap. I smiled, still embarrassed that I had actually sang in front of them.

"That was lovely!" Mary Weather cried. "You have such a wonderful singing voice!"

I blinked in surprise. "Really?"

I flinched when I felt Cain put his hand on my shoulder. I hadn't heard him approach. "She's telling the truth." That only made me blush harder. I could feel my whole face heating up…

Suddenly, my head began to spin. I staggered, my violin dropping my from my numbing hands. I tried to worry about the condition of the violin after I dropped it, but my mind was clouding over too much. I could feel Cain's arms around my waist, trying to keep me from falling to the floor. My mind completely gave way to the darkness, and I went limp.

(^^)(^^)(^^)

The first thing I was aware of when I awoke was how hungry I was. I still felt numb, and peculiar. I didn't quite know how to describe it. But I felt better than I had when I'd fainted.

I tried to sit up, and it seemed quite difficult. I was about to give up before I felt a strong hand on my back, helping me up. Then I felt a cup being pushed to my lips. I drank. The tea was like an oasis in the parched desert of my mouth. I took the tea into my own hands, and drank until it was all gone. Then I held the cup out, and it was taken out of my hands. I heard the sound of the glass being set on a wooden table nearby.

"Cain?" I asked, my voice shaking from the lack of use.

"No, milady," the voice was familiar, but it disappointed me. Still, I couldn't expect Cain to care for me. So, that made me extremely shocked when Riff spoke again. "He's sleeping in a chair over there. He fell asleep from worrying about you so much."

"Cain…He looked after me?"

Riff chuckled, a sound that sent shivers up my spine. "Yes, I offered to take care of you instead, but he insisted on doing it himself."

"Bizarre," I replied, my heart beating faster despite myself. "What exactly happened to me?"

"Fever. Most likely from mental stress. You've been out for three days."

"Three days?!" I gasped in shock. No wonder I was so hungry. And…Wait, Cain had been watching over me for three days?

First things first. Cain probably needed the sleep. "May I get something to eat?" I asked.

"Of course," Riff replied. He left the room (the familiarity of the bed made me believe I was in the room Cain had given me), and I heard him speak to someone outside the room. Another servant probably. He rejoined me a moment later, sitting on the edge of the bed. I smiled in his direction. Riff may be a servant, but he felt like a person I wanted very much to be friends with. To share a relationship with him like he had with Cain, someday.

Someday? How long was I planning on staying here with them? And what about my quest to find Harmony?

I was ashamed to realize that I had forgotten all about Harmony for the time I had been staying with Cain. Before, the only times I had ever forgotten about my lost sister was when I played my violin. But now…

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. Riff was still sitting at the edge of my bed. There were so many things I wished to ask him about Cain…But that could wait.

Before I could say anything myself, Riff spoke. "If you don't mind me asking, milady, why did you decide to go into music?"

"You don't have to call me 'milady,' you know. I'm a commoner." When Riff didn't respond, I figured I should answer his question. "My father was a musician and my mother was a gypsy dancer, before she married him. It started off being in my blood, but I guess…After I lost my family and my vision, it became a source of comfort." I smiled inwardly. "I love it."

Riff was quiet for a long time. But, he finally asked, "How did you lose your family?"

I swallowed nervously. I didn't really want to talk about Delilah. I didn't know if Riff knew about it. But, if I couldn't trust Riff with this, who could I trust? "An evil organization called Delilah…Sent a hit man to kill my mother and father. Then he kidnapped my twin sister, Harmony…I don't know if she's still alive, but I am determined to find out."

Riff fell completely silent. The air felt tense. I hoped I hadn't said something wrong. I reached out to him, lightly resting my fingers on his arm.

"What's wrong?"

Riff sighed. "Lord Cain's father, Alexis…We all thought he died when Lord Cain was twelve, but he didn't…And now, he's the leader, the Card Master, of Delilah."

Okay, that I had not been expecting. I was pretty sure my mouth dropped to the floor with Riff's words. I lost my ability to breath for several seconds. "Seriously?" I hissed. It couldn't be. Cain's father could not be the Card Master of the very organization I hated with all my heart.

My hand was still on Riff's arm, and he took it in his own. It was different from Cain's touch; more comforting, than anything else.

"Don't worry," he said softly, "Lord Cain hates his father. I can see why you would hate Delilah, and I believe Lord Cain will try to help you in any way he can."

I smiled warmly at the butler.

"Thank you, Riff."