Disclaimer still applies.
2.
"Thonk!"
I slowly made my way out of something that sticked to me like slime. It slowly resolved. I opened an eye. I really didn't want to wake up. It was just too early. It was Saturday, I wanted to sleep.
"Sil, get up! Quint just got home!" Gar yelled, and went away.
"Wha?" I tried to pull the robes off my legs. Looked like I had a busy night. Artemis tried to get into my lap, but I pushed her away.
"Not now sweety, I need to get dressed and go downstairs"
"Meow"
"Quint's home"
"Hooo"
"Good morning, Athena. I'll get you both some food downstairs."
I put on my clothes as fast as I could, splashed some water in my face and rushed downstairs.
"Quint!"
"Hey Sil, how's my sis doing"
"Great, it's almost end of term for me too."
He grinned because he understood. Then we had to make way for Gar, who was pulling what looked most like a trolley, with three huge suitcases on them. He made a face as he passed.
"Eh? What's all that stuff?"
"Well, I've been to London for a weekend a couple of weeks ago, and I bought some stuff for the vacation. Mostly light clothing and slippers. Mum asked me to bring some for you as well, because you are rather large for the clothes they sell at local stores."
I shrugged "I can't help it not every woman is 1.60"
"Tell me something. I had to run through the entire city to find something suitable for a 1.75 girl that wasn't as large as a tent and brown."
"How do you know my size, actually?" I asked suspicious.
"Mum phoned to tell me them."
"I see. She's sweet"
"Yes, she is. But I heard something about a friend of yours, staying next door. Can you tell me something about her, is she cute?"
"Uh-oh, romance alert." I teased.
"Don't say that, Sil. You know I'm dating Gretta in Oxford"
I shivered at that name. She was the most ewe-girl my brother had ever picked. The name alone! But they seemed to come along very well. No matter.
"I'm sorry. And back to that girl, her name is Gwen, and she is a niece of Scott and Jenny. She's really nice, but not cute. And her parents are staying in Egypt, also in Luxor, so she will be coming with us."
"Okay, and how old is she?"
"As old as me."
"Good for you. I'll see her some time then, I guess?"
"Yes, you'll meet her today. She's coming over this afternoon."
"Great."
"Hey, do you guys want something to drink?" Gar asked, his head just visible in the doorway to the kitchen "Patty just cooked water."
"Yeah, some coffee, please" We answered. And we went to the kitchen.That afternoon was one of the most pleasant of my life.
*************
How innocent, how happy was I then. Before they did this to me, before I came here.
My time-orientation is coming back a little, because it's almost dawn. I can feel the light, and it's getting warmer. So I must have lain here for two whole nights now.But my body is still aching from those few minutes. What I don't understand is how any human being could do this to someone else. I still can't move an inch without mentally freaking out from the pain. So I just go back to my memories.
How well I remember the warm hazelnut eyes of my brother, when I saw him back, he always seemed to smile, and he was never cynical. His brown hair was a little longer than it should be, and girls always looked at him in that particular way. He was a one-girl-guy though, he never had 2 relationships at once. At least he had learned that from father. And from mums pain. It was funny when he met Gwen, 'cause she had a girlfriend too, on St. Marten, where she went every year. We had a great time together, those two weeks, and we became good friends, the four of us.
But now one of the nastiest things in my life was about to happen.
*************
"Gar, Quint, Sil, anyone, help me! We have to get to the plane in time, and I just cant heave these suitcases in the car." mum called from the garage.
"'kay ma, be right out" And Gar and Quint came running out of the hall, and nearly tripped over the suitcases I had been repacking, hoping to save one or two bags. Gar stopped and frowned.
"Hey Sil, just stop it already. It's no use, and those bags don't matter anyway. Just relax, and have some fun on this journey."
I sighed, and retired from trying. "You're right. I'll just pack the last stuff."
And he mumbled some answer while he ran away to Gwen, to help her carry her three suitcases, her uncle had left her with at the beginning of the drive.
When we were all settled and ready to go, and Gar had made a last run for the toilet, we had a three-hour-trip to the airport. Mum driving, Gwen next to her, and Gar, Quint and I in the back. And we enjoyed the trip, pointing at funny things in the landscape and chatting amongst ourselves. Gwen had also brought some folders, with beautiful pictures of the pyramids and the Sphinx. I only felt a twinge of regret when I thought of Artemis and Athena, whom we had left at the neighbor's house, because there were no animals allowed in the airplane, nor in the hotel.
But why was mum so nervous? We were going on a bloody vacation, not to some all-importend exam. She seemed as if she was driving us straight into some war-area.
O well, maybe I was just deluding myself.
"Hey guys, do you think the trip will be boring? I heard those trips take pretty long, and you also have to wait a long time on the airport." Gar said.
"Yes, but you can shop on the airport once you've checked in, and they always put up a movie during the flight." Gwen answered, while she sat backwards on her front seat.
"Allright!" Gar yelled, while he almost knocked us out with his fist.
"Hey, be careful!" I said, rubbing my forehead. And all laughed at me.
The rest of the trip went okay, and the check-in also, everything was just fine, until we got to the waiting-room, half an hour before the plane was boarded. My father and his fiancee were waiting for us. Only then I realised why my mum had been so nervous. She hadn't told us, and she must have been really scared. And with justice, because if my intuition told me right, hell was to be unleashed, a two-month-hell.
"Hello children, how nice to see you!" he said, semi-glad "We are going with you on this nice vacation, won't that be fun?" Next to him miss ugly waved with her pink-and-red, new-bought, so-not-fancy bag, a smile plastered on her face, that looked like it was a mask of make-up going to crack.
"Mum, what is this?" I asked quietly. I could feel anger boiling just below the surface, and when I glared at the others, I saw I was not the only one. Even Gwen frowned, as she must have felt the tension rise to a climax.
"He paid for our trip, Silandra." My mum looked to the ground. And I did not feel sorry for her. Why hadn't she told us? Why did she let this happen?
"Ah." I almost couldn't restrain myself, and Quint tapped me on my back as if to remember me I shouldn't let go of myself. He could know. He was the only one who had pointed father on his mistakes. He had to go to the hospital the next day. The scars must still be on his back and his shoulders. So this was why, she had begun to gamble again, and lost the money for the trip, and dad had taken advantage of the situation. I sighed. "Aha."
"Don't 'ah' on me younglady, you know you have to respect your parents."
Oh, so now she had someone to to pick on, so she could feel herself better. Well, I wasn't going to play this little game.I saw through her, and what I saW wasn't pretty, it was pityful.
I only gave her a long hurted look and turned away. How could I respect someone who did not deserve respect?
Gar scraped his throat. He probably didn't know what to do.
"Shall we go to the airplane?"
And we all went with him, As far away as we could from that reincarnated devil, his new mate and his newly recaptured slave.
************
Was it wrong what I had done then? Could I have done it any other way? I don't think so, not without abandoning what I believed in, standing up for those you love. Ironically, I have lost everything but my believes now. I don't know where the others are, if they are still alive. I don't know even where I am. Maybe I know when I have sorted things out just a little more.
To be continued...
Note: More of Duel-Monsters coming up, I just had to put this chapter inbetween.
2.
"Thonk!"
I slowly made my way out of something that sticked to me like slime. It slowly resolved. I opened an eye. I really didn't want to wake up. It was just too early. It was Saturday, I wanted to sleep.
"Sil, get up! Quint just got home!" Gar yelled, and went away.
"Wha?" I tried to pull the robes off my legs. Looked like I had a busy night. Artemis tried to get into my lap, but I pushed her away.
"Not now sweety, I need to get dressed and go downstairs"
"Meow"
"Quint's home"
"Hooo"
"Good morning, Athena. I'll get you both some food downstairs."
I put on my clothes as fast as I could, splashed some water in my face and rushed downstairs.
"Quint!"
"Hey Sil, how's my sis doing"
"Great, it's almost end of term for me too."
He grinned because he understood. Then we had to make way for Gar, who was pulling what looked most like a trolley, with three huge suitcases on them. He made a face as he passed.
"Eh? What's all that stuff?"
"Well, I've been to London for a weekend a couple of weeks ago, and I bought some stuff for the vacation. Mostly light clothing and slippers. Mum asked me to bring some for you as well, because you are rather large for the clothes they sell at local stores."
I shrugged "I can't help it not every woman is 1.60"
"Tell me something. I had to run through the entire city to find something suitable for a 1.75 girl that wasn't as large as a tent and brown."
"How do you know my size, actually?" I asked suspicious.
"Mum phoned to tell me them."
"I see. She's sweet"
"Yes, she is. But I heard something about a friend of yours, staying next door. Can you tell me something about her, is she cute?"
"Uh-oh, romance alert." I teased.
"Don't say that, Sil. You know I'm dating Gretta in Oxford"
I shivered at that name. She was the most ewe-girl my brother had ever picked. The name alone! But they seemed to come along very well. No matter.
"I'm sorry. And back to that girl, her name is Gwen, and she is a niece of Scott and Jenny. She's really nice, but not cute. And her parents are staying in Egypt, also in Luxor, so she will be coming with us."
"Okay, and how old is she?"
"As old as me."
"Good for you. I'll see her some time then, I guess?"
"Yes, you'll meet her today. She's coming over this afternoon."
"Great."
"Hey, do you guys want something to drink?" Gar asked, his head just visible in the doorway to the kitchen "Patty just cooked water."
"Yeah, some coffee, please" We answered. And we went to the kitchen.That afternoon was one of the most pleasant of my life.
*************
How innocent, how happy was I then. Before they did this to me, before I came here.
My time-orientation is coming back a little, because it's almost dawn. I can feel the light, and it's getting warmer. So I must have lain here for two whole nights now.But my body is still aching from those few minutes. What I don't understand is how any human being could do this to someone else. I still can't move an inch without mentally freaking out from the pain. So I just go back to my memories.
How well I remember the warm hazelnut eyes of my brother, when I saw him back, he always seemed to smile, and he was never cynical. His brown hair was a little longer than it should be, and girls always looked at him in that particular way. He was a one-girl-guy though, he never had 2 relationships at once. At least he had learned that from father. And from mums pain. It was funny when he met Gwen, 'cause she had a girlfriend too, on St. Marten, where she went every year. We had a great time together, those two weeks, and we became good friends, the four of us.
But now one of the nastiest things in my life was about to happen.
*************
"Gar, Quint, Sil, anyone, help me! We have to get to the plane in time, and I just cant heave these suitcases in the car." mum called from the garage.
"'kay ma, be right out" And Gar and Quint came running out of the hall, and nearly tripped over the suitcases I had been repacking, hoping to save one or two bags. Gar stopped and frowned.
"Hey Sil, just stop it already. It's no use, and those bags don't matter anyway. Just relax, and have some fun on this journey."
I sighed, and retired from trying. "You're right. I'll just pack the last stuff."
And he mumbled some answer while he ran away to Gwen, to help her carry her three suitcases, her uncle had left her with at the beginning of the drive.
When we were all settled and ready to go, and Gar had made a last run for the toilet, we had a three-hour-trip to the airport. Mum driving, Gwen next to her, and Gar, Quint and I in the back. And we enjoyed the trip, pointing at funny things in the landscape and chatting amongst ourselves. Gwen had also brought some folders, with beautiful pictures of the pyramids and the Sphinx. I only felt a twinge of regret when I thought of Artemis and Athena, whom we had left at the neighbor's house, because there were no animals allowed in the airplane, nor in the hotel.
But why was mum so nervous? We were going on a bloody vacation, not to some all-importend exam. She seemed as if she was driving us straight into some war-area.
O well, maybe I was just deluding myself.
"Hey guys, do you think the trip will be boring? I heard those trips take pretty long, and you also have to wait a long time on the airport." Gar said.
"Yes, but you can shop on the airport once you've checked in, and they always put up a movie during the flight." Gwen answered, while she sat backwards on her front seat.
"Allright!" Gar yelled, while he almost knocked us out with his fist.
"Hey, be careful!" I said, rubbing my forehead. And all laughed at me.
The rest of the trip went okay, and the check-in also, everything was just fine, until we got to the waiting-room, half an hour before the plane was boarded. My father and his fiancee were waiting for us. Only then I realised why my mum had been so nervous. She hadn't told us, and she must have been really scared. And with justice, because if my intuition told me right, hell was to be unleashed, a two-month-hell.
"Hello children, how nice to see you!" he said, semi-glad "We are going with you on this nice vacation, won't that be fun?" Next to him miss ugly waved with her pink-and-red, new-bought, so-not-fancy bag, a smile plastered on her face, that looked like it was a mask of make-up going to crack.
"Mum, what is this?" I asked quietly. I could feel anger boiling just below the surface, and when I glared at the others, I saw I was not the only one. Even Gwen frowned, as she must have felt the tension rise to a climax.
"He paid for our trip, Silandra." My mum looked to the ground. And I did not feel sorry for her. Why hadn't she told us? Why did she let this happen?
"Ah." I almost couldn't restrain myself, and Quint tapped me on my back as if to remember me I shouldn't let go of myself. He could know. He was the only one who had pointed father on his mistakes. He had to go to the hospital the next day. The scars must still be on his back and his shoulders. So this was why, she had begun to gamble again, and lost the money for the trip, and dad had taken advantage of the situation. I sighed. "Aha."
"Don't 'ah' on me younglady, you know you have to respect your parents."
Oh, so now she had someone to to pick on, so she could feel herself better. Well, I wasn't going to play this little game.I saw through her, and what I saW wasn't pretty, it was pityful.
I only gave her a long hurted look and turned away. How could I respect someone who did not deserve respect?
Gar scraped his throat. He probably didn't know what to do.
"Shall we go to the airplane?"
And we all went with him, As far away as we could from that reincarnated devil, his new mate and his newly recaptured slave.
************
Was it wrong what I had done then? Could I have done it any other way? I don't think so, not without abandoning what I believed in, standing up for those you love. Ironically, I have lost everything but my believes now. I don't know where the others are, if they are still alive. I don't know even where I am. Maybe I know when I have sorted things out just a little more.
To be continued...
Note: More of Duel-Monsters coming up, I just had to put this chapter inbetween.