It was… warm… when I woke up.

It was warm, and soft, and quiet. I could hear birds chirping softly, and a sweet smell of coffee in the air.

The bed I was in was soft and welcoming. I wanted to open my eyes, to see my surroundings, but the warmth of the bed was coaxing me to let sleep take over once more. It was when I heard the sound of liquid being poured into something, that I forcefully opened my eyes, and groggily looked up.

It was her.

She was pouring what appeared to be a cup of brown liquid, which was probably the coffee I was smelling. She placed the pitcher down, added some cream to the cup and blew over it a few times. She sipped it slowly, her eyes closed without a care in the world.

I was the person who tried to kill her, and yet she let her guard down completely by my bedside.

I groaned, my head pounding when I attempted to roll over.

My movement caught her attention, and she looked over at me.

"Oh, you're awake! That's good…"

I weakly propped myself on my elbows, squeezing my eyes shut when the blinding light of the sun poured into my eyes.

When I glanced over, I saw her holding out a cup to me, a soft smile on her face.

"Here, I brought you some water."

When I looked down at the glass, I felt my throat begin to burn. I realized how thirsty I was and quickly took the glass from her. I gulped down the liquid quickly, almost groaning in relief as the water soothed my dry throat.

Once I drank the glass, I let out a cough. I lowered my head and handed the glass back to her.

"Th… Thank you…" I whispered, looking down at the duvet covering my legs. I stared down at my hands, lacing my fingers together.

"No problem. I'm glad you seem to be doing okay. Do you need anything else, like some food or another blanket?"

I shook my head, leaning back against the pillows.

"N-No… I'm okay…"

She nodded, moving the glass off to the side. She placed her hands in her lap and stared at me, her brows furrowed together in worry.

I looked down at my hands, feeling a sense of awkwardness wash over. What was I going to say? The girl I tried to kill was giving me water and a warm bed to sleep in. How does one respond to that?

But before I could try and start a conversation, I heard a knock on the door.

I shot up, the hairs on the back of my neck bristling as the door to the room opened up, and a woman walked in with a plate.

"Ah, our houseguest is awake!"

The woman had long, black hair done up in a bun and stark, olive eyes. She walked over to the girl and placed a kiss on her head.

"Hi, Ma! What did you bring in?" she asked, looking down at the plate.

I looked over myself, seeing a pile of fruits and pastries organized nicely.

"Just some breakfast things in case our guest was hungry. Speaking of our guest, what's your name sweetie?"

Her olive eyes fell onto me, and I felt my body tense. I couldn't tell them my whole name. They might recognize it, and with my weakened state, could easily overpower me. So I decided to go with a more simple name.

"My name is… um… Velvet. My name is Velvet…" I whispered, looking back down at my hands. While my hesitation seemed to make the woman look at me funny, she took my answer and pressed on.

"Well Velvet, my name is Marina. And this is my daughter, Astoria. She ran in last night with you thrown over her back like a sack of potatoes, screaming about how you passed out in the yard. What happened to you?" She asked, her eyes furrowing.

The girl, Astoria, had told me that her mother was a policeman. I was starting to see the interrogation in her eyes. She wanted answers as to why I was in her yard, but I couldn't tell her I came to kill her daughter. For the first time, I was at a loss as to what to say.

"She was lost."

My eyes widened when Astoria spoke up, looking over at her mother.

"She climbed over the wall and kept asking if this was her home. She looked really scared too. I tried to calm her down, but when I told her this wasn't her home, she fainted."

I gazed at Astoria gratefully, seeing her mother nod in understanding.

"I see, poor thing. Well, I hope you know your safe here," she cooed, reaching up to caress my cheek.

Before she could touch me, however, I threw my arm up and slapped her hand away.

"...Don't touch me…"

They both looked at me with wide eyes, shocked at my sudden outburst. Astoria furrowed her brows in anger, glaring at me harshly.

"What the heck!? Why did you slap her!? She was just trying to-"

"Astoria. It's okay." Marina held her hand out in front of Astoria, a soft expression in her eyes.

"But Ma-"

"No butts, missy. I'm a stranger to her. She's scared and confused, and I shouldn't've overstepped my boundaries." She looked down at me.

"However. Miss Velvet."

I looked up.

"While I will apologize for my forwardness, I will ask you to refrain from physically striking me. If I, or anyone else, does something that makes you feel uncomfortable, please try using your words first. That's rule number one in my house, clear?"

For some reason, the authority that radiated off of her compelled me to nod.

"Yes… ma'am. Thank you for understanding, and I'm sorry for slapping you…"

Was this what I real mother was like? Calm? Loving? Understanding?

…Yet terrifying?

"Thank you. Now, I'm off to work. I just wanted to check in. Be good you two, and don't burn the house down. I'm going to report your arrival and we'll see if we can find your home."

With that, Marina stood up and walked out, closing the door to the room behind her.

I looked over at Astoria, who's harsh gaze had disappeared and been replaced with a soft smile. I felt my cheeks get hot, and I looked down at the blanket over my legs.

"...Why?"

I saw her raise a questioning brow, "Why… what?"

"Why did you lie to your mom?" I asked, feeling a sense of desperation wash over me, "Why did you lie and tell her I just stumbled in confused. I tried to kill you! What goal or… or reason do you have to protect me?! One word about what really happened, and she would've dragged me off, and you'd be safe! How do you know I won't try again-"

"Hey, hey. Calm down." She reached out and took my hand, rubbing it gently. My breathing became erratic as I tried to piece what the hell was happening together in my head.

"Why. Why are you helping me!?" I cried, feeling my eyes burn. Was I.. about to cry?

But instead of snapping or taking my statements as a warning, she only softened her smile.

"Because you need it."

I furrowed my brows, staring at her with confusion. But before I could ask what she meant, she answered.

"Look, I don't know where you came from. I don't know why you tried to hurt me, or if you even wanted to. But last night, when I asked you why you were trying to kill me, and you couldn't give me an honest divine answer, you crumbled. As if you suddenly realized that… everything you were doing, to me and to maybe some others in the past, was a lie. And you just passed out. You need help. Whether it's to get back up on your feet and go home or to think about whatever you were trying to do, you need help. Your aura radiated with genuine confusion and fear. I know you won't hurt me again. You have no reason to. No proof that I deserve it. It's okay, you're safe here."

I felt my heart beat against my ribcage like a drum. My face got hot, and I felt myself get lightheaded. She didn't even know me. She didn't know of the pain I had caused to the people around me, and the innocents that had stained my blade red.

And yet…

I killed off so many people… so many… innocent people! They all had their lives cut short! Because of me!

I felt tears well up in my eyes. I looked up at her with desperation. No. NO! Please tell me I hadn't been a monster! A heartless killer!

But without a word, she opened her arms up, smiling at me warmly.

I bit my lip, the tears dribbling over my eyes and down my cheeks.

And I broke.

As if a dam of emotions that I had kept bottled down suddenly burst, I let out a wail of sorrow, and collapsed into her arms.

This girl. This angel! She was here to save me, and here to protect me. Even if I had my blade to her neck, she wanted to help me.

No one in my clan loved me that much…

I sobbed uncontrollably, digging my fingers into her back as I clung to her. She felt so safe, so warm…

I had never felt so vunerable, and yet so protected.

She rubbed my back and began to rock herself back and forth, letting me dampen her shirt with my tears.

"You'll be okay. I promise you that. You'll get through it…"

She whispered to me softly, reassuring me that everything would be okay.

But it wouldn't. Nothing would be okay.

What was I going to do? If my clan has lied to me, and we were killing innocent people, what would I do when I return? Stop taking missions and let the people of my clan continue on? Should I try to take them down? What was I supposed to do…

I continued to cry on, my brain spiraling like a whirlwind with questions.

The last thing I remembered before the crying drifted me off to sleep, Astoria had moved my head down to her lap and she was running her fingers through my hair.

This goddess had freed me from the shackles I didn't even know I had. But now, I didn't know what to do about my clan.

I knew the truth. I knew of our sick, twisted ways. I knew how we lived in prosperity. Money. Money and glory of the blood were drenched ourselves in.

The big question?

What now?

SUUUUUUUUUUUUPER SHORRRRRRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTT

But sweet-ish

Sorry about the long absence. College is a bitch... But I have a new schedule so hopefully, HOPEFULLY, I'll be better at updating! Anyhoodle, let's have our discussion!

The chapter was on the short side because the meaty side of Velvet's questioning comes later, or next time really. We had her freak out last time, but this is her initial reaction to the whole 'my clan lied wow okay then'.

So now, poor Velvet is gonna be trapped in her own head debating on what the hell she's gonna do.

Also also, Velvet does see Astoria in a very, very special way. Not only as a savior, but maybe even more than that. That's gonna be a whole kerfuffle later :P

But, that's it for this week! A Star's Revelation is updated every Saturday at 9 am OR 5 pm Tokyo time (+9)!

NEXT TIME:

After the shock and realization that her clan has fed her nothing but lies her whole life, Velvet ends up sick with a fever. Left to do nothing but question herself and what she's done, she and Astoria have serious discussions on how they see the world. What do they talk about, and what does Velvet do with the information?

Find Out Next Time: June 8th!

~HUGS ALL AROUND~