The blinding whiteness is back. I swear, I can feel it starting to seep inside of me, like it wants to scrub everything away until I'm nothing but blank, empty nothingness. I can't tell how long I stay in the ocean of stunning white, but eventually, I start hearing sounds leaking from it. First the sounds, and then color starts to follow; brown, red, black, all blobby and blurry. The sounds start out fuzzy and muffled. Like everything else here, it's all unclear and hazy aside from the startling clarity of the glowing whiteness. I try to focus my eyes on the colors out of terror that blank white will be the only thing I'll ever see again. That's when the sounds snap into frightening volumes.
"Don't touch him! Get your hands off him, you monster!" I can hear a shrill voice saying. It sounds so familiar, too familiar—a little girl's voice. Her shouting is a terrible mix of snarling and shrieking, like that of an animal struggling and panicking in the throes of death. It wants to fight, but all it can do is wail. The girl continues her tirade, screaming threats and pleas in the midst of her awful, hair-raising snarls. I can make out only some of her words.
"Stay away from him!"
"I won't let you hurt him!"
A sudden, sharp cracking sound interrupted the screaming. The silence clouded over me like a sticky, clinging syrup that left me wanting to scratch at my own arms to scrub it away. A few seconds in the crushing silence, and I heard a quieter noise. Sniffling? Was someone crying? I uncovered my eyes—when had I covered them, why was I holding my hands clapped over my face?—and looked forward, where the blobs of color had taken shape. They were no longer over-saturated paint stains on the canvas of white. A little girl lay sprawled out on the floor, her long red hair splattered around her head like a spreading pool of blood. A few feet away from the girl sat a boy, his eyes filled to the brim with tears until they began spilling down his hollow cheeks.
The girl started to push herself up on her bony little arms. I watched them shake under her as she tried to support herself on them, looking so thin that I was ready to hear them snap at any second. She leaned up and lifted her head, staring straight into the face of one of the most frightening people I've ever seen in my life. At least, I think it was a person. It had a face and human enough body, but it had two extra sets of arms jutting out below the first pair. He looked but a few years older than the girl lying on the ground. The manic sneer on the boy's face was almost as grotesque as his extra limbs, sewn onto his body as if he were a doll someone wanted to modify. The girl's fists clenched on the ground and the older boy laughed down into her face.
My eyes snapped to the side when the little boy cried out, reminding me he was still sitting in the corner, tiny and forgotten. "Don't! Don't do it!" he shouted, his voice so dry and cracked that the shouting sounded painful. "You're going to make him mad!"
Him? The other boy? He already looked angry enough. The redheaded girl didn't heed the warning, anyway. For all that she looked like a sack of bones, she found a power somewhere inside of her that launched her forward. Her hands clawed and lashed out at the crudely experimented-on boy. Blood sprayed from his face along with several curse words, and all six of his arms battered at the little girl until he got a grip and managed to throw her off. His extra limbs didn't move right; they had jerky, inflexible movements. I could taste bile in the back of my throat.
Out of nowhere, a vicious shudder wracked my entire body, and I doubled over at the gripping chill. From the corner of my eye, a figure walked forward, passing right by me in slow, purposeful steps. My eyes glued to the black shoes as they squeaked across the sterile tile. My stomach wrenched inside of me, and I opened my mouth to scream at the horrible pain, but nothing left my mouth. No noise, not even a breath. The shoes stopped beside the girl's prone body, and I noticed the silence again. The little boy had stopped his crying. Slowly, my eyes lifted along the tall and thin frame of the owner of those squeaking black shoes. I didn't want to, I didn't want to see any more. Before my eyes reached the face, the figure spoke in distorted, broken-radio words.
"You never learn, do you, girl?"
I jerked awake, sucking in a gasp with all the greed of someone just escaping drowning. The claws of the nightmare were still curled around me, but as the minutes passed they began to relinquish their grip, along with any memory. I never remembered the nightmares after I woke from them, all I knew was that I had struggled with them for a few years, now, and nothing made them abate. At least I no longer woke up screaming in the middle of the night. That had been a little hard on Alex.
With a raspy groan, I sat up, and a loose fabric slid off and down into my lap. That was what had woken me up, I remember now. I'd felt it land on top of me. Confused, as it hadn't been there when I'd finally fallen asleep, I ran my fingers over the leather jacket. The interior was soft, warm fleece that felt heavenly against my freezing skin. Cutting into my musing, I heard a drawer snap shut. Startled, I dropped the jacket and looked up at the perpetrator of the noise. At the desk stood Sasuke, with his back turned to me and his head tilted down towards a pink sheet of paper. I'd never heard him come in, nor did I have any idea how long he'd been there. That thought unnerved me. I hated how quiet he was—someone needed to put a bell on him.
I stiffened when Sasuke turned to look over his shoulder, as if he could hear what I'd thought. "Cover up," he ordered, glancing down at the jacket where it covered my legs. "It gets cold here, and I didn't bring you here only to have you die."
I'm not sure how reassured I was by his words. Nonetheless, I wasn't going to turn down a good jacket, no matter who it belonged to. I was stubborn, not stupid. Usually. The thing was a bit long on me, but that was perfect for bundling up in. I must've looked something ridiculous, with how I'd curled up into it, if Sasuke's muffled snort was anything to go by. "Thanks for the concern," I grumbled, then proceeded to pretend that I'd missed the cold look Sasuke aimed at me. I'd fallen asleep in the window seat at some point, and by now the sun was starting to rise, casting a rosy glow. The clouds still drifting along in the sky looked like pink, fluffy puffs of cotton candy, and there were a few stars lingering, trying to outshine the sun. It was an enchanting viewpoint, way up here. I could almost forget the circumstances of why I was even able to see it.
Off to the side, I heard a frustrated sigh, cutting my admiration short. I turned my head towards Sasuke and watched him shuffle through a stack of papers, ruining their neatness by shoving several out of the way. He didn't appear to find what it was that he wanted, if the curse he mumbled under his breath was any sign. His shoulders tensed as he tightened his fingers on the edge of the desk, appearing to be contemplating. Even without him facing me, I could still feel the annoyance coiling in the air. He turned around after a moment and happened to catch me in the act of staring at him. I couldn't tear my gaze away fast enough, and I felt too much like a deer caught in headlights. He paused and narrowed his eyes at me, and I felt the headlights getting closer. "What?" he asked me, the question clipped and impatient.
I hadn't realized that staring had gotten outlawed. I opened my mouth to say as much, but the motion made my cheek throb, and last night's events came hurtling back to me vibrantly. I closed my mouth without uttering a word and diverted my gaze. From the corner of my eye, I thought I saw Sasuke's lips curve into a satisfied tilt. My fingertips twitched, lusting to wipe that arrogant smirk off his face. I was no longer sure which burned more; my cheek, or the petty insults I'd stopped on the edge of my tongue that ached to spew forward.
"You learn fast. Good, I don't want to waste too much time having to train you." Sasuke folded his arms and leaned his hip against the desk, apparently forgetting the papers he'd wanted to look for, much to my chagrin. I liked him better when he focused on anything other than me, then he didn't have time to try and pick me apart.
"You still have a lot to learn about decency yourself," I sneered. It was a shame I had to break his illusion of my being a fast learner, but the way his eyebrows shot up in surprise was worth everything in the world. The surprise wore off in a saddening amount of time, and he was scowling again, his eyebrows knitted together in annoyance. Every victory sees its end, and every chance I got to prove I wasn't a fucking animal, I was taking it.
"I doubt a mongrel like you has any concept of decency," Sasuke scoffed, unfolding his arms. For a moment, I worried my face was going to meet with his hand again—things weren't working out between them, probably best if they didn't—but Sasuke didn't head for me, he headed for the door. The relief I felt was shameful, even if I was the only one aware of it. "All that creatures like you understand is filth and violence." Sasuke shut the door behind him, and I heard an outside lock click, trapping me inside the bedroom. Granted, it was a plenty big space, but that wasn't the point. The point was getting caged up like a circus tiger. The point was someone thinking of me and treating me as a fucking pet that they could control.
"You have no room to talk about violence!" I shouted after him, even after the door shut. It was for good measure. About two seconds after quiet fell over the bedroom, my stomach rumbled. I suspected it would end poorly if I were to ask for food; begging would only cement his perception of a dog, and my pride would loathe me, anyway. I refused to have anyone seeing me that way. I was equally as much a person as Sasuke was.
A starving one, but a person all the same.
I heard the girl shouting after me when the door shut, one final act of rebellion in the face of getting ignored. It was the same as any other ill-behaved animal or child; when faced with a lack of attention, they only worked harder for a reaction. I exhaled a sharp sigh through my nose before convincing myself to walk away, I had other things to attend to that took priority. Standing around arguing with a waif wasn't among them. I hadn't wanted any of this to begin with, but with my father pressuring the decision, I'd ended up agreeing to visit the auctioning warehouse.
It was only to look, Itachi had told our father, but that wasn't what he wanted to hear, and we both knew he would be angry if we returned empty handed. As loathe as I was to taking any orders or suggestions from the old man, I hated dealing with his temper even more. It was Itachi who made the decision, in the first place. I'd hardly glanced into any of the cells that the overzealous, oily auctioneer was so eager to show off. The place was squalid, not fit for even the rats. The sight had left me with an uncomfortable bout of disgust. I couldn't imagine how Itachi felt, seeing the conditions. My brother despised slavery and slave compounds to their cores, but even he wasn't immune to our father's commands, no one was.
When Itachi had come to a pause outside one of the cells, I'd turned back to catch him looking inside of it. I'd tried to tell him this was a bad decision, we didn't need anything extra to worry about, but I was battling both my father's orders and Itachi's empathy, at that point. That was a battle already lost. I'd complied and gone to peer inside the filthy cell, myself. I hadn't anticipated how far that would go. There were two creatures inside, both unconscious. One male and one female, whose bright red hair almost had me believing she was bleeding out on the ground. In her mess of hair, I'd caught the sight of a twitching, pointed ear. I'd recoiled with a disdained curve on my mouth. "They're ibrida," I'd muttered at Itachi, who didn't appear the least bit bothered by the revelation. We had both been raised to believe ibrida were low class, dirty, and trouble makers.
"What does that matter?" Itachi had asked, "they aren't different from anyone else."
My brother's pacifistic nature was going to get us into trouble. I'd looked back to the girl, where she lay sprawled out beside the boy. Her hands clenched into fists and her face twisted into a grimace. Even in the dim light, it was a plain sight that both were in poor shape, all bruised and bloodied. From where I was watching her, it'd looked like she was having a bad dream. I still remember the sleazy grin on the auctioneer's face when he caught us stopped in front of the cell, he'd jumped at the opportunity to launch into telling us about the pair.
They were siblings, he'd said, caught just that morning before dawn. It had surprised me to hear the two were related, considering they looked almost nothing alike. The boy was seventeen, a Feles named Alex. Itachi had lifted his head when the auctioneer started to talk about the boy, and I'd grit my teeth. I knew there was no leaving after that. Once Itachi had his heart set on helping someone, there was no deterring him. After all the times he couldn't save someone, he refused to miss a chance when he could.
I'd left Itachi to talk about the ibrida slave, wishing to get the entire ordeal over with, but when the auctioneer handed my brother a file, he'd turned to me and held another one out. "Would you like to read about the girl?" he'd asked, sly grin on his mouth all the while. It was like he was trying to sell me a car, not a living creature. I had wanted to turn and leave right that instant, but Itachi happened to glance up at me at that moment, and I'd felt reminded of the monster waiting at home. How unhappy it would've been, were Itachi to have followed orders, and not me. It was always Itachi doing right, and never me. I'd glanced at the girl one more time, with her pained face and bad luck, and grit my teeth. That was how I ended up snatching the damned file to read it.
Amaya. That was her name. Bitterly, I smirked. Amaya and Alex, it was almost cute. She was eighteen—my age, and she wasn't even the same breed as her brother. She was a Lupus ibrida, a mutt. I skimmed through the file to find that there wasn't much on them. Itachi had questioned that, but the auctioneer didn't seem keen to talk about it. He'd said they'd spent a long time trying to hunt and capture these two, ever since they'd turned up around the parts and started causing problems. Clever traps to trick police officers and evade capture, getting into fights both with the other people living on the streets and with civilians, etcetera.
Ibrida that were in the streets were usually snatched up fast and taken into custody to get sold off, they were sought after so much for servitude. To imagine the pair in the cell before me evading capture and surviving on their own so long was...almost impressive. I raised my head to look in the cage again, and watched as the girl's mouth pulled back into a snarl even in her unconscious state. She was fighting. She'd gone down fighting, according to the auctioneer, whose pride was sickening as he grinned about the way his men had beaten the two ibrida down.
I don't remember the process. I only remember standing in front of the cell one moment, and it seemed like the next, I was standing in front of the redheaded ibrida as she snarled at me with all the anger and fearlessness of a wolf. The attitude caught me by surprise at first, it was so different from what I was used to. She was all teeth, claws, and brazen disrespect that she seemed determined not to break from. Even in my own house, under my direct control, she dared to test it to the limit until she forced my hand. I hadn't lost my temper like that in ages, so few could get a rise out of me in such a way. I could still see her face, after I'd hit her. She didn't keep her eyes down, even after that. No, she looked up at me with her eyes hardened, as if she were daring to challenge me again right after seeing what the consequences were. If she was too stupid to understand her place, she deserved what came to her. I tried to forget the brief flash of guilt that had first itched at me when I saw her collapsed on the floor, looking much like she had in that cell; battling a nightmare.
I'd left her alone most of the night to allow myself time to cool off, but come morning, I needed to fetch some things from my desk. I wasn't sure what I expected when I went in, but seeing the girl huddled up in the seat at the window and shivering something fierce wasn't on the list. I'd stared at her for a moment in my surprise before it clicked that she wasn't shivering from the cold. Her face was twisted into that of someone in pain, someone watching a terrible scene unfold without being able to look away. With curiosity clawing at me, I'd closed the door and walked towards her to get a better look.
It was likely the only chance I could do so without her snarling and snapping insults in her defensiveness. Her hair was falling into her face now, and her nose scrunched when it tickled her skin. My hand moved out to brush the strands out of the way before I'd thought better of it. Like this, she looked young and frightened, her brows pulled down and her arms hugged around herself in a tight hug. For most, it would have been hard not to pity her. It looked like she might shake herself apart, soon. Somewhere in the recesses of my thoughts, I doubted I'd want to know what was causing her so much distress. As if I should have cared at all. What was inside the girl's head was all her own, and her troubles weren't mine.
I still wasn't sure what I was going to do with the ibrida. I was stuck with her now, unless I wanted to pawn her off, and that defeated the whole purpose. I also doubted she would last long elsewhere, few would be willing to put up with any disrespect or problematic servants. My father's strong recommendations on purchasing a personal slave were based on general reasons. He thought it would do both my brother and I good to have something that was solely ours, something we could take our anger out on and relieve stress with. He was a man of tradition, a man of...distasteful habits. So far, she was only causing me to anger.
I decided it best to spend a few hours away from the Ibrida, fixing up some of my work and exorcising out all my frustration in the training arena. That was where Itachi found me, sometime later. I'd lost track. I was still bitter about his reckless choice last night, but I couldn't hold on to that grudge for long. My brother and I were too close, despite our many differences.
"What is it?" I asked, once I replaced the sword I'd used to train with. Itachi's grave expression made the hair on the back of my neck stand up, and I think I knew what was coming before he got it out.
"Father wishes to meet them both. I tried to dissuade him, but he's adamant," Itachi told me, his words tight. You couldn't change our father's mind once he'd set it on something. He was too used to getting his way, too used to controlling everything, including his family.
That was one of the things I was dreading, when I first realized Itachi wanted to go through with it. Our father had a love of "pets" and servants alike, and he'd gone through several only since I'd gotten old enough to realize it. He was a cruel man with sadism and a lack of empathy for most, even his own sons. I suspected he wanted Itachi and I either to take after him, or to purchase a fresh young face for him to appraise. Either or, I trusted it wasn't going to end well. "It had better be fast," I grumbled, pushing a hand through my hair to move it back. "Give me a minute and I'll get her."
Itachi pursed his lips in that look of disapproval that I hated. "You've left her alone?" he asked. I felt a prickle of annoyance that I had to scratch.
"She's a slave and I won't treat her as anything else," I snapped, "if you want to treat yours like a prized pet, fine. Do as you wish, but don't tell me how to handle mine." I nudged past my brother without waiting for what other lectures he might want to impart, as I was in no mood. I didn't need him telling me what I should or shouldn't be doing with the girl. She was mine, and I would do what I pleased.
I wasn't good at sitting for hours when the only thing to do was to stare out a window. I'd considered sneaking a book off the library, but I was too anxious that I would miss hearing Sasuke approaching again and that I wouldn't be quick enough to put it back. His warning about not touching anything felt very real after his demonstration of what would happen if I made him angry enough. In spite of that, my boredom and restlessness were so great that when I heard the door open, it was almost a relief. Almost. It was a painful mixture between yes, I'm tired of this window and oh god, oh god, oh god.
Sasuke didn't come in when he opened the door. Wary but confused, I straightened up from my place on the window seat to see better. Seeing the displeased expression clouding Sasuke's face didn't bode well. I flattened my ears when he raised his hand, his fingers curled into a beckoning gesture. "Come here."
The prospect of leaving the room was too tempting for me to not jump at the chance, regardless of what it meant. I left the jacket on the seat when I stood. I'd only just opened my mouth when Sasuke beat me to the punch, answering the question before it'd even gotten asked. "My father wants to see you," he explained curtly. "I suggest you keep your mouth shut, otherwise that mark on your face will look like nothing."
Ice water poured into my empty stomach, a burning cold from the inside out. The thought of having to meet anyone else couldn't be less appealing. After Sasuke, I wasn't' that keen on meeting any of the rest of his family, and his stony warning was of no help. Sasuke's wrath was enough, earning anyone else's wasn't on my agenda. I winced and offered a nod in understanding. If Sasuke's father was at all as vitriolic as he was, I'd be better off silent. Sasuke led me downstairs and through the set of double doors I'd seen last night, where I could see more of the overwhelming house. As unfathomable as it sounded, the bedroom felt small, now. This place was too much for one family, and I'd not seen anyone else living here aside from Sasuke and Itachi. And, I presume, their father. Surely there were others living here? Servants, family, something besides the shadows.
Sasuke turned a corner and at the end I saw Itachi and Alex standing, waiting near a closed door. A smile lit up my face at the sight of my brother looking well, and I stopped dragging my feet so much. Never would there be a more beautiful sight than Alex, who was often worn and dirty, looking so well. More well than I'd seen him in years. I felt guilty about how happy that made me, because he shouldn't be in this situation at all, but I couldn't help my relief. Alex looked up when he heard us getting closer and he started to smile, but his eyes lowered a fraction below my gaze and his eyes widened in surprise. I didn't have a chance to look, but I should've assumed that a bruise had formed, by then. Ignoring it, I threw my arms around my brother's shoulders once I was close enough. It was mostly because I had missed him, but I'd also done it before he could say anything aloud. I knew my brother well enough to predict him most of the time, and I couldn't begin to imagine what Sasuke would do, should Alex bring up the mark. Once I had my face buried against his shoulder, he murmured against my ear, "what happened?"
I could only shake my head in response, as much as I would've loved to sit with my brother and talk for hours on end, I didn't have that choice. Our time had already run out when I heard Itachi clear his throat, prompting me to back away from Alex, as much as it hurt to let go. I drifted back to Sasuke's side, who was standing with his arms crossed. He looked like he would rather be anywhere than right there. That did wonders for my nerves. And by wonders, I mean I felt ill.
Itachi was the one to knock on the door and, after a beat, a muffled voice called us inside. In the second between the permission and Itachi opening the door, he glanced to the side where Alex stood beside him, as if he were contemplating. I looked on in surprise when, without a word, Itachi placed his arm around Alex's shoulders and guided him close, only then did he open the door. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the display and shot a quick glance at me, but he walked ahead without a comment. I wasn't sure if that was a comfort or not, if Itachi had felt compelled to do what he'd done. As alluring as the idea of running away sounded now that he wasn't standing behind me, it would take all of three seconds for him to catch me. It'd take another three for him to snap my neck, too, if I had to bet.
The inside of the room felt like the cell back at the slave compound had. It was cold, clammy, and left me feeling like even breathing was dangerous. A part of me wanted to shrink behind Sasuke to avoid the monster that I was sure lurked in such an unnerving space. You know what part was bigger, though? My pride, the reckless bitch. There, sitting at a desk scribbling signatures on a document, sat a man, hardly a monster. He looked like any other man, unassuming and a little tired. His hair was the same dark color as his sons', though he wore it shorter.
"Father," Itachi greeted, inclining his head a tad. Ignoring us, the man finished what he was writing before he looked up, his dark eyes mirroring the color of Sasuke's. Although, there was something deeper in them that Sasuke's didn't have. A writhing nausea bubbled up inside of me with such sudden intensity that my body trembled with the pain. The man's gaze pinned to me, and for the split-second I saw them, I could see something sinister lay past the cool glass of the older man's eyes. I couldn't bear to look into them, I knew I would throw up. I couldn't place a name or a reason to my arbitrary panic, but I couldn't help it and I couldn't ignore it. There was an air about this man that made every hair on my body bristle.
I could still feel his gaze on me after I'd looked away. Sasuke shifted sideways then, and his shoulder blocked some of my face from view. His father emitted a quiet chuckle that sounded anything but humorous.
"Not bad. I'm surprised you chose a male, Itachi," the old man commented. His gaze passed over Alex for a scrutinizing appraisal, and I felt myself stiffen despite Itachi's protective stance. "Of course, all they are is a stress reliever, something you two could use." Horror welled in me. From where I stood, I could see Itachi's arm tighten around Alex's shoulders, but my brother's expression never wavered. It remained collected, his jaw set tight in refusal to display his discomfort. My chest swelled with pride, but the contentment was fleeting. Those malicious eyes turned towards me for the second time, and I felt exposed, vulnerable, as if he could pick me apart and see everything laid bare in front of him. "Come here," he commanded, his tone brooked no argument, and with his gaze centered directly on me, I couldn't pretend he didn't mean me.
Itachi and Sasuke shared a glance with each other, while Alex looked towards me. Neither were of much comfort. With all the acceptance of someone walking towards their own noose, I slipped past Sasuke and approached the desk, holding my hands clasped in front of me. It was all I could do to keep them from shaking. In a slow, purposeful motion, as if everyone in the world waited on him, the man rose and reached towards me to take my chin in his clammy fingertips. "She isn't that impressive," he commented dryly, after a moment. "Clearly one of those inbred mutts. However, I see she's doing just fine for you, Sasuke." A pleased smirk overtook the man's expression, and he pressed his thumb against the bruise on my cheek, making me hiss and jerk away from his grip.
His sneer widened into a smirk that looked almost too big for his face, and I thought for a moment he was going to lunge across that desk and snatch me again. He looked excited. To my relief, he did no such thing, but sat down in his seat again. "I see you still need to teach her discipline. Don't worry, she'll learn," Sasuke's father clicked his tongue with disapproval. Sasuke uttered a noncommittal sound, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. A deep root of nervousness planted in my gut, a wary bubble of anticipation building up, but I said nothing. I only wanted to get out of the room, to get out from under the omniscient gaze of this asshole who'd made my face throb anew.
As luck would have it, Sasuke was more than ready to go. Although, by the way his hand clamped around my arm, I wasn't so sure how lucky I was about to be. He led me out of the room, leaving Itachi and Alex a blur in my vision. I stumbled along, still ill from the encounter and now anxious about leaving Alex behind. Sasuke didn't stop until he'd dragged me all the way back to his room, and by then, I was ready to complain about how big this stupid house was right to his face. Only once we were in the safety of his room did he release me with a careless drop of my arm, which I tried to rub the ache out of. I met Sasuke's harsh glare with a bitter look of my own, disbelief and anger coloring my face. He couldn't honestly think that that was my fault, his father had touched me where he knew it would hurt, he'd done it on purpose! I couldn't help it!
"I warned you that you need to be careful how you act, dog." Sasuke brought a hand to his head and held his forehead. Good, I hoped he had a headache. And, wow, there was that lovely nickname again. "You don't want to push your luck further than you already have."
I snorted, well familiar with the warning. "You've already proved that fine, you abusive prick." I had a bruise or two to prove it. How could he have thought what'd happened was my fault? If anyone was at fault it was his own, for hitting me in the first place! Why was I getting blamed for the mess?
Sasuke took a step towards me, his teeth grit into an ireful growl that would make most feral ibrida jealous. "I'll show you what abuse is," he hissed, and I got the impression that he wasn't threatening, but promising. I quickly unfolded my arms to try and hold them up, a meager last line of defense. It probably would've done me about as much good as toothpicks. To my immense fortune, Sasuke didn't get to me before a knock on the door interrupted. Sasuke stopped his advance and cut his eyes to the side. For a moment, I worried he was going to tell whomever was on the other side to go away, and resume whatever he'd been about to do.
He decided against it. My luck was being rather fussy lately, but I appreciated what little I got. "What now?" he called through the door, his lips set into an impatient line and his voice still tinged with anger.
Itachi's voice filtered through the wood, the calmness in it the total opposite of Sasuke. "You have visitors, Sasuke. I believe you'd best hurry."
Sasuke's shoulders sagged out of his hostile stance as he turned away from me, with a last hard glance. I got the feeling he was promising that the ordeal wasn't over. I tucked my arms close to my chest, still prepared to use them as a wall between myself and any threats. With any luck, whoever was outside would keep Sasuke busy for a long time. It wouldn't be long enough, but anything was better than nothing. Sasuke exchanged a brief word with Itachi before he continued down the hall, and I held my breath until I heard him descend the stairs. That's it, go away, hopefully he'd forget why he was even angry.
Itachi's eyes cut to the corners towards me, and I ducked my head to the floor when he faced me in full. I had hoped Itachi had brought Alex with him, but it'd become apparent he was alone. I waited a moment for him to leave, so that I might wallow by myself, but he lingered, until a smooth voice made me jump in surprise. "Amaya, correct?" he asked, and I was too taken aback to do anything but nod.
He came into the room, but like he had with my brother last night, he afforded me a comfortable distance. It was a minute effort, but a greatly appreciated one that I wanted to thank him for, but I didn't know how. Itachi's eyes flickered from my eyes to my cheek, and his eyes softened somewhat. "I apologize on behalf of our father, he's a disturbed man. He should stay away from both Alex and you," Itachi told me. His easygoing and amiable way he held himself made it hard for me to not relax at least a little. I didn't trust anyone aside from Alex as far as I could throw them, and I had a greater reason to distrust anyone here. Yet, Itachi was someone that made you want to trust him. He offered no reason to doubt.
"As for Sasuke," Itachi's expression took on a fond, if disappointed look, "my brother isn't as callous as he seems. He can be...a bit choleric, but he isn't heartless," Itachi presented me with a gentle smile. I didn't believe him, nor could I hardly believe Sasuke was related to him. I clenched my jaw to avoid a snort of disbelief, instead I formed a shaky smile of my own.
"My brother is lucky. Thank you, for protecting him," I said. Itachi's eyebrows rose in surprise of his own that soon melded into a glimpse of pity. Itachi and I may be on the opposite sides of the tracks—if we were even waiting on the same train—but we were both the eldest sibling, there was a kinship in that alone.
"Stay strong, Amaya. It will be all right." With those words of departure, Itachi took his leave and left me to mull them over in surprise and doubt. The heaviest weight on my shoulders had lifted some, now that I could see my brother was out of harm's way. At least, the weight was no longer suffocating me. Itachi would take care of him. Or, at best, he wouldn't be hurting Alex. If that was the only miracle I'd ever get, I would be forever grateful. Even if I couldn't protect my family, knowing that someone else was keeping Alex safe was good enough for me. It had to be. I felt like I would break if I couldn't believe in that.
My shoulders sagged with the onset of exhaustion. I'd only gotten through the morning, but it had been a long morning. The window seat looked tempting enough for me to lounge in it again, as it was my only stupid option. Before I could get too comfortable, I heard the telltale sound of someone, a very loud someone, heading up the stairs. I highly doubted it was Sasuke, judging by the speed and noise. A few seconds later, the "someone" came bursting into the room, all blond hair and smiles. My heart met my throat. Well, the person had an interesting way of making an entrance. At least that proved he wasn't a threat; threats tended not to smile at you.
"Wow, it's true. I almost didn't believe him!" the boy exclaimed. Was everything about this kid loud? He raised his hand at me in a wave, never once did his smile waver. "I'm Naruto, 'ttebayo. Your name's…Amaya, right?" He cocked his head when he asked, looking like he hoped he'd gotten it right.
Stunned, I tried to wrap my head around the turn of events. This was Sasuke's visitor? This boisterous, energetic boy? I couldn't picture him even talking to someone like Sasuke. "Uh, yeah, you got it. Nice to meet you?" I said, though I sounded a little uncertain even to my own ears. Naruto clapped his hands together in excitement, and he looked like he was gearing to say something else. Before he could, our little party got cut short by another guest.
Sasuke walked into the room behind Naruto, looking none too happy. "What did I tell you?" Sasuke asked. I must've missed a downstairs conversation, as if I didn't feel out of place enough already. "You aren't here to befriend a slave, you're here to work. Get back downstairs, idiot."
So, I wasn't the only person Sasuke spoke to like trash. Naruto scoffed out an annoyed sound and rolled his eyes, taking no offense. "You don't have to talk about her like she isn't here," he grumbled over his shoulder. I recoiled against the window. Great, was Sasuke going to blame me for his friend defending me, too? I expected Sasuke to snap at the blond for the remark, but Naruto continued talking, as if Sasuke wasn't looking at him like he'd like to sock the kid. "Whatever. You owe me lunch before we do anything. Hey, Amaya," I switched my gaze from Sasuke to Naruto, "I'll catch you later, all right?"
Yeah, no, I doubted it, unless he wanted to come bursting into the room every time. He shouldered past Sasuke, leaving nothing between myself and the vampire. Sasuke looked after Naruto with pursed lips. Even with his...unfriendly names, the interaction was the most casual I'd seen him. "Oi, who said I owed you anything?" he called. He raised both of his arms then, too fast and too close to me. I flinched, it had happened too suddenly for me to not. It took me only a second to realize he was only stretching. Shame flushed my face, but he didn't appear to notice I'd shied away from him, at least. Thank god for small blessings, I'd hate to see his satisfaction if he realized I was afraid of him.
No, not afraid of him. Only wary. He started after his friend and reached the door before he paused to glance back. "I'll bring you something to eat, later. Be quiet until then, and don't touch anything."
Same old news. "I'm not some dirty animal, I'm not going to contaminate anything," I mumbled, almost pouting. Sasuke sent me a sneer for that and shut the door in my face. Maybe I should rub my dirty, dog hands all over everything and hope he catches something.
I snorted at the idea.
"You're an asshole, you know that?" Naruto asked me, his fork aimed at me and with noodles still hanging from it. I didn't spare him a glance from the laptop I was typing away at. I'd needed his help with something, and that hadn't included watching him stuff his face.
"I've been told," I commented, only half paying attention. I started paying a little more attention when he slammed his fork down against the counter, leaving the clashing noise to echo. From over the lid of the laptop, I peered at him, awaiting an explanation for the tantrum.
"She isn't just some doll for you to hoard away! You can't treat her like that," he accused, now the second person to try and tell me how I should handle things. When Naruto had first gotten here, all I'd told him was to stay out of my room. Of course, that had led to him asking questions. I should have known better. I'd tried to keep the explanation short when I told him about the visit to that filthy compound, and how Itachi and I had ended up with two extra mouths to feed. Before I could hardly get the girl's name out of my mouth, Naruto had gone bounding up the stairs for my room, exactly what I'd told him not to do. He was only going to give her a heart attack, she was clearly jumpy as things were.
"I don't recall asking for your advice," I sighed, "she's mine to worry about."
Naruto clanked his fork into his bowl. "Yeah? You're doing a shit job. I'll be in the office, you know, like you ordered."
I watched him go. I don't recall asking for his sarcasm either, but I'd gotten both. With a snap, I closed the laptop, and set my head in my hands. My head was throbbing, I could feel it in my teeth. Hunger pulsed throughout my body, but I hadn't had the chance to take care of it yet. I'd been too busy trying to pull together this treaty deal for my father, and now with the girl on top of everything else, I just hadn't had the time.
My hands clenched against the counter top, threatening to crack the marble surface. I could spit every warning in the world to that girl, and she would take it and shove it back in my face. Never had anyone had the audacity, the cour—no, the stupidity, to challenge me like she did. The way my father had looked her still sent a shudder of revulsion down my back. I couldn't blame the girl for pulling away from his grasp, but I couldn't allow it to slip, either. Not in front of him. If he suspected either me or Itachi of going soft on the two ibrida, he would take matters into his own hands. I'd witnessed how he treated those below him, especially servants. If the girl thought me to be abusive, she wouldn't survive my father.
Now that she was starting to realize the depth of her situation, I was hoping she would start to behave. I'd seen the way she cowered back from me when I'd lifted my arms earlier, leaning away from a hit that she thought to be coming. I wanted it to be progress, before she got herself into worse trouble, but she was proving herself to be too strong-willed for her own good. She had to break eventually, I knew.
Breaking into my thoughts, from upstairs came a thundering crash. I closed my eyes and took a slow inhale through my nose, struggling to find an inkling of patience.
Everyone had a breaking point.