Darya was the first one to wake up. She groaned and rolled over, cringing as the beginning of a headache set in. Opening her eyes slowly she found herself in a small dirty room with no windows. A door was set into the wall a couple feet away, and even though it sat wide open no sound came through. Darya sat up, placing her hands behind her to support her heavy body. Mumbling and groaning from behind her made her turn her head.
She turned herself around to see her brother curled in on himself on his side, sweat beading on his forehead. Darya pressed a hand to his brow then ran her hand through his short dark hair. His groaning and mumbling ceased as she sat there, stroking his hair for seemed like hours. Even when she was sure that she herself slipped into a slumber, her hand still moved, still ran her fingers through his soft hair.
Throughout her waking moments and her sleeping ones the world was always silent, so silent in fact that she could swear that she could hear sounds and voices. Some voices sounded as though their speakers were inside the walls, muffled and distant. Others sounded as though the person were above her, but through a cloth. She thought she heard music, the sounds of birds, the sound of the streets.
No clock allowed her to see the time during her waking moments. No window to see whether it was night or day. No way to tell how long everyone had been together in the small apartment. Was it even an apartment? Darya didn't remember much after the babysitter had talked to her brother and her. The babysitter had explained everything, then said that once they reached their destination that she'd have to leave. Have to leave to find another child? Darya's eyes fluttered and closed and she could once again hear the voices and sounds that had been absent during thinking.
Then finally, during one of her short spans of awareness she heard a voice, no, two voices. And these were real, not her dream sounds. Still not removing her hand from her brother's hair she craned her neck to see out the open door. The babysitter appeared in her vision and Darya's breath caught in her throat. She was no longer 'the babysitter'; she was just 'the lady' now. Darya had asked her name but the lady had told her that knowing someone's name could be dangerous. She said that names were powerful and, in the wrong hands, could prove harmful to the person who bore them.
Right now, the lady was leading a short girl with shoulder length brown hair and big brown eyes. She had the black trench coat that the lady had been wearing when she had taken Darya and Dimitri to her car. The girl seemed to be shivering and she pulled the over large jacket tighter around her tiny body. "Who's this?" Darya cringed as she saw Genevieve step out into the hallway; she hated the voice of that blonde brat.
Genevieve moved to stand between the lady and the new girl. The new girl took a step backwards and tripped over the tail of the jacket. Genevieve stood over her and stared, hands on her hips, then stared up at the lady. "Why did you want her? She's nothing special. At least those stupid little twins can speak."
"Quem não pode falar!" the girl screamed at her. Genevieve brought her foot back to kick her but before she could the lady put a hand on her shoulder. "Genevieve," she said. She looked over at Darya. "Darya. This is Selene."
Selene looked from the lady, to Genevieve, to Darya, and back to Genevieve. "Who can't talk?" Selene repeated, this time in English. "I know more languages than-" Genevieve rolled her eyes. "Whatever you little twig," she said. Selene pulled herself to her feet as Genevieve went into a room and slammed the door. Selene looked over at Darya who quickly looked away. Selene could see part of another person but she didn't ask about them. "Don't worry about Genevieve my dear," the lady continued, patting her on the head. Selene shrugged and tightened the jacket around her. "Let's get you to your room," the lady said, placing a hand on Selene's shoulder and moving her towards an empty room.
"M-Ma'am," Darya called softly. The lady walked over and stood in the doorway. "Yes?" she asked. Darya bit her lip and looked to her brother, then looked to the lady. "Will-"
"Will Dimitri ever wake up?" Darya bit her lip and shook her head. "No... I know that he will but... What about Asher?" The lady suddenly took on the same air of menace that she had taken earlier in the car when she had been talking to Dimitri.
He had asked about where they were going, where they were going to stay. The lady had told him a hotel, but he pressed her with more questions. He didn't understand why she was staying in a hotel. She told him it was complicated. He asked for a more elaborate answer on why she was taking them in. Darya had seen the lady's hand twitch on the steering wheel, as though she were resisting the urge to turn around and slap Dimitri. "Child," the lady had said. "You ask far too many questions. You must learn to hold them back and bite your tongue." Her words were sharp, like the edge of a blade. Darya had glanced at her brother and seen anger boiling in his eyes.
"Asher... will wake up yes. But do you remember what you and Genevieve, and now Selene, have been told about? Do you remember what I had to say to him?" Darya nodded and sighed. "So Asher will be ok?" she confirmed. The lady sighed, showing the first hint of annoyance that Darya had seen since she had met her. "Yes he will, now tend to your brother and I will see you soon." With that the lady turned on her heel and the world became silent once more.
Darya sighed and looked back to Dimitri, whose eyelids were fluttering. His mouth opened slightly and he shifted under her hand. He moaned before slowly opening his eyes. "Dimitri?" Darya asked. He blinked and looked up at her. "Darya?" he asked. Darya wanted to cheer but instead she smiled. "Hey," she said. He slowly pushed himself into a sitting position and Darya's hand fell into her lap. Dimitri yawned and rubbed his eyes. "How are you feeling?" Darya asked. Dimitri looked at her and shrugged. "Fine I guess." Darya held back a smile. He was alright. That meant that the side effect the lady had told her about wasn't happening. He should have been ill, but instead she just saw that he had been plagued with dreams all through his sleep. "That's good."
"Where's everyone else?" Dimitri asked, looking around the room.
Darya looked out the open door and then looked back to him. "They're all in their own rooms. We're supposed to get some rest."
"Ok then." Dimitri lay back on the floor and yawned. "Have you slept at all Darya?" he asked. Darya shrugged. "A little." He took her hand and tugged. Darya sighed and lay down next to him. He put an arm over her and Darya smiled. She was glad that he wasn't angry anymore. But she was even happier with the fact that he had, in the end, trusted her.
Darya took her brother's hand and looked out the open door. She squinted, thinking that she saw a person sitting in the shadows across the hall. But then she blinked and there wasn't any trace of a person being there. She sighed and closed her eyes, wishing that she could sleep for a long, long time.
Selene watched the twins quietly, scooting farther into the wall's shadow when Darya spotted her. Selene sighed and looked down the hall. They didn't know how lucky they were. Selene didn't know about their parents or if they had friends, but it wouldn't matter because they had each other. They would always have each other, not matter what. They were twins and they shared that bond, so they'd always have each other.
A tear trickled down her cheek. She... she had no one. Well, not anymore. Now that the lady had found her she had her. "And I guess I have the rest of the people too," she muttered to herself, tugging the lady's jacket even tighter around her. "Genevieve..." she murmured. "Darya...and twin... one more... Who knows if there's any more than us...?"
Selene stood up, mumbling to herself. She went into the room that the lady had told her was hers. "Mar sin, cad anois?" she asked herself, continuing with her habit though there was nothing to convince herself about. "So what now?" She sat down in the farthest corner, which was about a classroom length from the door, and pulled her legs up to her chest. She rested her chin on her knees and closed her eyes. She wasn't tired. She was too... awed. Too confused. Too...excited and happy to sleep. She was awed that the lady had chosen her to be one of her children. She was excited and happy that she had been taken away from the life that had almost made her depressed. She was glad that she had been brought to this new family.
As she thought she could feel sleep tugging on her body, pulling her down to slumber. But she wouldn't fall asleep, no no no. She shook her head, trying to clear it.
She opened her eyes and stood up, shaking her hands then running them through her hair. "Tá a fhios agam," she whispered to herself. "I know... I can practise... Practise anything I want and... and there's no one to criticise me." She broke into a smile then started to pace around her room, talking to herself first in Irish, Italian, then French, German and over and over she went, through her languages, all the while going over her stances and follow throughs and plays for her sports. She did anything to stop her from falling asleep and putting herself into the realms of darkness that were her usual dreams. Also, she just didn't want to sleep. She wanted to be awake and see if anyone else would come, see if the lady would come and talk to her or even pass by. She could get the chance to say thank you...
In the other room, Genevieve was listening in. Genevieve laughed and stretched her arms above her head. "So, the little freak has issues with people huh? Well no wonder. No one can understand her. English please." She laughed again. "Oh well, it helps us. She won't realize what's happening until it's already happened, and by that time, she won't be able to stop it." She propped herself on her elbows and looked around her small grey room.
"I wonder how this is all going to work. With Dimitri and Asher both out of the real picture... Will it matter? Will everything go as planned?" Genevieve shrugged and smiled. "It won't matter really... we'll make it work- I'll make it work." She laughed and lay down on the floor, lacing her fingers together over her stomach. "This is what my whole life has been pushing me to do. All the annoyances I've faced... it's all so that I'd know that this is the saving grace of my life. This is what I was always meant to be, always what I've meant to do. I've always been meant to help this lady, I've always been meant to help her kind. " She smiled and closed her eyes. "And finally it's here... my chance to do what I've always meant to do."
As all the children fell asleep, including Selene who was in the middle of a sentence, the lady stood down the hall, watching them all through their open doors. She smiled, her red lips pulling back to reveal pure white teeth. "They are now mine," she whispered. Taking a step forward she pressed three fingers to Asher's door, then three to Dimitri's and Darya's door. "Whether they like it or not."
She crossed the hall to Genevieve's and Selene's doors and peered into each one, stopping at Genevieve's. "It doesn't matter whether you dislike Selene or not," she whispered through the crack in the door. "Selene is your sister now, and she will play a key part in your future."
Turning on her heel, skirt flying out behind her, she stalked down the hallway. "Now sleep," she whispered as she left. "Sleep and tomorrow you shall truly be my children."
