Sowhere... within the quiet depths of a dream...
Marvin stood in a sunlit room, watching his wife, Diane, with an amused expression.
The blonde haired woman with the ears of a werewolf, had one hand resting over her baby bump, and the other on her hip as she frowned at him.
"No," she said. "I like my na better."
Marvin exhaled. "It’s boring."
They had been in this argunt for a few minutes about the right na for their incoming child.
Diane scoffed lightly, shaking her head with a smile.
"Fine," Marvin said after a pause. "Then we’ll settle this properly."
"And how do you propose we do that?" Diane asked
Marvin turned his head slightly and gestured to their three year old. "Hayley."
Sitting a few steps away from them, cross-legged on the floor, Hayley looked up from the storybook in her hands. She had been quietly watching the entire exchange with a small, amused smile.
Marvin continued. "Between your mother’s choice and mine... which one sounds better?"
Diane nodded as well. "Yes. You decide."
Hayley blinked once... then looked back down at her book for a second. Her finger rested on a page that had an illustration of a knight.
Then she looked back up. "Percival."
The word ca out in the sweet voice of a child.
Marvin frowned slightly, especially since that na hadn’t been part of the ones he and his wife had argued over.
Diane’s expression softened imdiately, and she smiled, walking closer to cup Hayley’s cheek. "Aw... the hero in your story."
She had read that book to her almost every night, so she knew it by heart.
Hayley nodded, lifting the book with a gentle smile.
Marvin glanced at Diane, then back at Hayley... then sighed lightly.
"...Percival," he repeated.
Diane looked at him with a small smile, she also seed to be in agreent.
And after a mont, Marvin let out a chuckle, shaking his head. "...Percival it is."
Diane’s smile widened, and Hayley bead as she returned to her book.
The mont lingered for while...
...and then it shifted.
This ti, there was no light from the sun.
The air was heavy here as rain fell over a silent burial ground.
Three figures stood before a gravestone. Marvin, Hayley and Percival; all dressed in black.
The na carved into the stone read:
Diane Erna Arcorys
Hayley’s hands were clenched as her shoulders trembling. Percival was beside her, quieter... but no less affected.
Marvin stood in front of them, with a solemn look on his face. For a long ti, none of them spoke.
Then...
The scene shifted again.
It was right here in her room, at ho that night.
Hayley sat on the edge of her bed, with tears streaming down her face as she tried to wipe them away with trembling hands.
Marvin went down on knee before her. He had a soft expression on his face as he reached forward and gently held her hands, lowering them from her face.
"Hey..." he said quietly. "Look at ."
She did. Her eyes were red and fragile.
Marvin gave her a smile. "Your mother isn’t gone," he said. "Not really."
Hayley shook her head weakly, tears falling again. "She is," she whispered.
Marvin rubbed his hand on her cheek to help her clean her tears, then continued.
"She’s here," he said, tapping lightly against her chest. "And here."
He tapped her forehead next.
"And as long as you rember her... she never really leaves."
Hayley’s lips trembled.
Marvin exhaled slowly... then reached forward and pulled her into a gentle embrace.
"You’re strong," he murmured. "Stronger than you think."
She clutched his shirt.
"And one day..." he continued softly, "you’ll be the one watching over your siblings."
Marvin pulled back just enough to look at her.
"Just like I’m here watching over you now."
Her tears didn’t stop, but she nodded.
The scene lingered for a mont, then finally it ca to an end.
——
Hayley’s eyes fluttered open. "...Father..."
The word left her lips as she stared blankly at the ceiling. Reality settled in almost imdiately after, and her breathing hitched slightly.
She sniffed, wiping her eyes with both hands before pushing herself upright.
She exhaled, beginning to accept that this was their reality now, where they were Orphaned.
Then suddenly, a furious frown drew on her face. Her body began emitting a whitish glow of mana, flowing subtly around her fra.
Two days had passed since Marvin’s death.
——
Back at the Stark Manor...
Ethan descended down the stairs into the basent, while Bella followed just behind him.
When they reached the base, Bella looked mildly surprised as she saw her eldest sister, Andrea.
Her head hung low, her white hair covering most of her face as thick chains bound her arms and torso.
Unlike chains embedded with Zaranite stones, these were made entirely from Zaranite itself.
Her body carried several bite marks from Eduardo, littered her from neck to wrist, so shallow, others deep enough to have torn through muscle.
The wounds were healing at an extrely slow rate due to the chains she was bound with which suppressed large amounts of mana.
Her skin carried that strange mix of pale and red. And when her eyes lifted slightly, they were hollow.
Bella had been told of what transpired that night and who the real culprit was, before being brought down her.
Ethan began in a calm tone. "Thanks to Eduardo bringing her in, we’ve gotten a lot of valuable information. About your brother’s whereabouts,... and a whole lot more."
Bella still stared.
Ethan continued. "However... when Eduardo brought her here, he said sothing.... vengeance isn’t mine to take."
There was a brief pause.
"And I agree with him. Which is why Andrea will be handed over to House Arcorys tonight."
Then he turned towards her, "I just thought you should know."
Bella turned to him and gave a nod.
Right then, Ethan’s phone rang. He pulled it out, glanced at the screen, and picked up imdiately.
"Hey man..."
There was a pause.
Then, "Oh. Good. I’ll be on my way."
He ended the call and slid the phone back into his pocket before turning to Bella. "Hayley’s awake, I’ve got to go."
Bella nodded again in understanding.
Ethan then turned and walked off without another word.
Bella remained there for a mont longer. Then she exhaled softly and turned, already heading toward the stairs.
"...So you’re really going to let them do this to ?"
The voice ca weak, but it stopped Bella mid-step.
Andrea hadn’t lifted her head much, but her eyes had shifted just enough to follow her.
"To your own family."
"Tch." Bella clicked her tongue and slowly turned back.
"Family?... this is probably the first ti you’ve ever spoken to ," she said in a flat voice, "and it’s a sha it had to be now."
"It’s even more of a sha, that it’s people from my own family causing others this kind of pain."
There was a brief pause before Bella added, "I hope you get what’s coming to you."
Andrea said nothing this ti.
Bella turned again and walked away.
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