Plus, I wanna get Rei into his ball duds.
Chappy 4: My Father's Clothes
Rei looked up from scrubbing the floors as the door opened. Ms. Tate and her daughters walked in, carrying a stuffed bag each. The blonde woman's eyes fell on the boy, but she said nothing. Up the stairs she went, leaving him with Mariah and Hilary.
The brunette looked down at him, eyes vicious as always. Rei felt as if he had shrunk under her stare. Unknown to him, she was searching for any sign that he had disobeyed her mother in any way. At last she looked less intensely and threw her bag at him to catch. He slipped on the slick, jade-coloured floors but managed to grab hold of it before it fell into the suds. He caught Mariah's with a little more ease.
"Put them away for us in alphabetical order according to colour." The pinkette barked. "I want to be able to pick out my magenta dress with my eyes closed!"
"Come, Mariah. Mother wouldn't be please if we skipped our music lesson talking to rubbish such as this." Hilary linked arms with her sister as they strutted into another hallway.
Rei got up and made his way up the stairs, a bag in each hand. It had been three hours since he had returned home. It was a good thing he made it before them, and thanks to a stranger of all people! He was having mixed feelings about that man. He was sure kind, but he did know what he was. He couldn't help thinking he would be reported to the authorities, and any day some big soldiers would barge into the house, drag him out and throw him in some dark cage before stabbing him to death. He entered Mariah's pink-infested room and started putting away her clothes away. The man had eyes like fire, dancing and burning on blood. His eyes were very demoniac, and Rei wondered if her could trust them.
As he ,made his way to Hilary's room, he heard a knock at the front door. He set the bag down and hurried downstairs. He opened the door and a letter was thrust into his face.
"G'day sir! Letter 'ere for the head of household." A short brunette boy said quickly. It seemed he had a package of the same letters under his arm. "Should be off now, plenty more to deliver!" With that, he hurried off back down the road.
Rei looked down at the letter, It was sealed with red wax with a symbol stamped into it; a crown with wings on each side. 'I better take this to Ms. Tate.' Quickly he made his way to the music room where someone was apparently killing a violin. He opened the door, seeing Mariah desperately trying the play the poor, crying instrument and Hilary singing terribly to the music, if you could call it that. The older woman's eyes darted to him, and the music stopped.
"WHY are you disrupting my lesson!" She hissed, her voice poisonous.
"Forgive me, ma'am, but a boy did come to the door and gave a letter to me with the seal of a winged crown." Rei explained, holding the letter to her. "He said it was for the head of household."
She snatched it out of his slender fingers eagerly, ripping apart the envelope to get the single card of parchment. She read it aloud.
"To Whom It May Concern,
You are invited to a ball on the seventeenth of July to determine who the prince will wed,. Everyone living with you, be them young or old, is invited as well and expected to attend.
Sincerely,
King Voltaire"
Hilary and Mariah gave exaggerated gasps, then started to talk rapidly to each other, despite the fact they weren't really listening to the other. Rei thought they might be on the verge of hyperventilating.
"Girls! Girls!" Ms. Tate shouted over their high voices. The two immediately fell silent at the sound of their mother's voice. "Now girls, I'm sure you're very eager about this, as am I. But keep in mind you have to act very lady-like when we go to the ball." She said strictly.
"Excuse me." The boy came into the conversation, drawing the three's attention. "Do I get to go too? I mean, it did say everyone." You could tell he was very hesitant about that question.
Although the brunette and the pinkette started laughing hysterically, Ms. Tate seemed to be thinking about it. "Well, yes, it did say everyone." That got her daughters to stop laughing like hyenas. "I guess if you can find something nice to wear and if you get all your chores done in time that day you may come with us."
Rei smiled. "Thank you so much! I really owe you for this!" Rei smiled and exited with room with high hopes.
Mariah rushed to her mother. "Why are you doing this! It's not right!" Hilary too began to protest about her decision.
"Girls, please. You do not see the good side of my choice." She said slyly, and the two quieted. "Allow me to explain. You see, I plan to give the boy extra errands that day, and if he somehow manages to get done in time, he'll have nothing to wear. I'll make sure of that. And if, by some wild chance, he is able to go, the castle is crawling with soldiers. One of them is bound to recognize him for what he is." She grinned evilly.
Mariah and Hilary looked to each other and smirked. The three shared a good laugh before resuming their lessons.
That evening, after Rei was finished all his chores and had made supper and washed the dishes, he stood in front of the bureau with the broken doors in his room. He took out a set of clothing, once owned by his father. The Chinese tunic was white, trimmed with gold. The pants were black and there was a red sash to go around the waist. Lastly, there was a pair of Chinese slippers to go with the outfit. He smiled at it proudly. It was a good thing he had saved them. He would wear his father's old clothes to the ball.
Rei hugged the material the his chest. He missed his father terribly, and his mother. But Myako and Hikara were gone, and were never coming back. He used to wonder if his parents left him because they didn't want him when he was smaller. But that couldn't be true. His strongest and happiest memories were with his parents. He remembered the time they were out on a grassy hill, Rei couldn't remember were, he was only six at the time. His mother had fixed a picnic for her husband and her son. They ate, talked and laughed. Afterwards, he remembered playing tag with Daddy. Mommy watched with loving eyes at the man trying to catch his quick son. Obviously he took after her.
Rei remembered how pretty Mommy looked then. She had long hair, as long as his was presently. It was a beautiful foxy red, wavy and somewhat curled parted bangs. She was a young mother, and didn't even look like she had had a child. Her skin was naturally pale, as was she skinny and short. Rei thought she had been wearing a creamy coloured dress that ended below her knees with short sleeves, a green sash around her waist tied into a bow at the back. She was naturally attractive, not hiding behind make-up or vivid dresses like the ladies in town wore. She let her hair flow freely around her, instead of keeping it back or up. Most importantly, her golden ovals were filled with kindness and affection.
Daddy, however, was a tall and strong man. He had jet black hair and dark brown eyes, like chocolate, Hikari used to recall. He had been wearing a white, red and black Chinese outfit that day. He always did look best in his native clothing. His skin was nicely tanned, not too dark, not too light. Rei remembered there were two Daddy's; Business Daddy and Family Daddy. He liked the latter the best. He wasn't afraid to show Rei how to climb onto the roof, or how to swim in the lake. If he was in any trouble at all, he could always could on his dad. On that day, his had scraped his knee and had started crying. Quickly his father had torn a piece of cloth from his clothing to wrap the wound up. After that, he had given his son a hug, which had made him feel a lot better. Mother had kissed the scar, and the pain was forgotten.
Rei wiped his eye with the lower part of his palm. He missed his mother and father so much. He sniffed a bit, trying to keep himself from crying even more. He could still smell his father on the clothes, even after all these years. He knew he would never be able to fit properly into them, but his father's clothes were better than his anyway.
A/N: sniff Poor Rei. My poor little orphaned Rei. Such a hard life you lead.
Okay, so you've sampled Rei's childhood, and I tried to make his mom as pretty as possible and his dad as dad-like as possible. (You know, all protective and stuff. Don't ask me, I don't have a dad.) I spent a good four hours on this so I hope you like it!
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