[ five years later ]
The gentle warmth of the sun caressed a pond's surface, glittering like precious stones as fishes flung out to capture food mid-air, leaving behind a trail of sparkling droplets. The beauty of their freedom was short-lived because a maid was standing by the stoned edge of their limited world, ready with a hook and line to catch and make a meal out of the creatures who were chasing after their own food.
The fish jumping the highest was caught first. A well-aimed hook and a strong enough throw was all it took for the creature to wither in the hands of its catcher.
Overlooking the central pond in Amaria Garden was Count Helif Amaria's Estate. Through his office window, he eyed the withering fishes in a basket beside the maid's feet and a smug smirk took over his face. His dark eyes twinkled with anticipation.
"What a bloody catch!" he exclaimed.
The sudden shout alarmed the maid cleaning his office floors. She jolted and accidently knocked the dirty water bucket onto Count Amaria's exotic Willow carpets.
The loud knock diverted the Count's attention and his scrawny face birthed a scowl.
"What is wrong with you?! You useless piece of meat!" He spat as he got up from his chair, "You've ruined my one-of-a-kind Fae-woven carpets! How could someone be so utterly useless!" He shouted and thrashed the back of her head.
The girl fell to the ground, muttering and sobbing apologies. Her forehead was pressed on the floor, in the dirty water, and her exposed nape gave away her seal of banishment.
"Nobody wants you out there, so feel obliged that I tolerate your useless ass," Count Amaria scoffed as he placed his foot over her shabby head and pressed it further into the dirty water, "Now lick it all up, clean my carpets or I will have every hair pulled out of your body and make a carpet for your deathbed."
The maid gurgled out apologies, lapping up the dirty water as tears blinded her vision.
"Know your place. Keep your eyes and ears close. You don't belong anywhere. The world would be better off with your death."
"Y-yes mas-s-ter," the maid managed to gasp in between the slurps.
A proud smile elongated Count Amaria's thin lips. He was about to utter a rare word of praise when the doors to his study flung open and another girl came tumbling inside.
"Oh-my! Oopsie-daisy! I fell, Master! My honest apologies!" she twirled into the room and fell over Count Amaria's feet, taking them off the maid's head and wrapping both her arms around his ankles, "Forgive this scum of the earth, kind grace! You're the most magnanimous!"
"Yah-yah-yah!!" Count Amaria shouted, scowling as he tried to get rid of her. He recognised the familiar nuisance inducing curly brown head and the fading bite marks all over her body. "Get off me, Elvira—you little, I will fire you instantly if you do not get away!"
Elvira let go of his feet and looked up with wide, earnest, auburn eyes.
"No, Milord! Do not deprive me of your noble presence! I am nothing without your shelter! Forgive this useless sinner because you are the purest form of existence alive!" Elvira exclaimed, sniffling dramatically, as she positioned herself in front of the other maid.
"Forgiveness? You deserve lashes!" Count Amaria bellowed.
"Anything from Milord is a gift," Elvira grinned, "But I want you to only see me. Won't you shower me with your gifts, Milord?" she began sliding the shoulder strap of her dress when Count Amaria interrupted.
"No, no, stop! Don't you dare show me your hideous body again! The Stars know it's a sight to cause misery, ugh, what a curse you are!" he spat, "Jus-Just, clean my carpet and leave. Ugh, I'm so disgusted…" he coughed and hurried out of the room.
Elvira turned to the other maid and pulled the sobbing girl into her arms. "Are you okay? I'm sorry I was so late. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry you had to go through it. You did not deserve it. I'm so sorry, my pretty," she whispered into her ear while running a soothing hand over her back.
"N-no, it's, it's not y-your fault. I-I dropped the dirty water and ruined it, I-I-I am sorry you had to go through s-s-o much to stan-n-d up for me."
"Hey, Lira, look at me," Elvira said as she gently pushed the girl out of her embrace and cupped her chubby face in her palms, "It's not your fault for being who you are, okay? Just because someone rejects you doesn't mean that you're cursed. It merely means that you haven't found the right ones. People like the Count exist all over the world—but people like Yuna, Clary and I, do too. You don't have to give in to the evil ones, next time, just shout and the right ones will run to you."
Lira's pouty lips were upturned and her teary eyes were swollen. But, for the sake of Elvira's kind words, she tried her best to smile.
She had met Elvira when she was taken in by the Count's men and brough to his estate. She had been kicked out of her village for not having any powers and struggled to survive in the forest until she was captured. She had been scared when those big, buff, men had thrown her into a dark and damp basement.
Her young-self shivered in the darkness until a sudden glow of candlelight illuminated her vision and under the yellow glow was the smiling face of an older girl. She held out a hand for Lira to take and introduced herself as, 'Elvira.'
Though her eyes held kindness and her lips pursued warmth, her body was covered in inhumane bite marks, some bruising and some fading. There were two hollows over her forehead, the bite extending into her hairline—which Lira was able to notice because of Elvira's bangs being tied in a pony-tail.
Lira had no idea how Elvira lived each day with such a confident smile.
She wanted to be more like her.
So, she had taken her hand back in the basement and smiled for her in the Count's Office, eight months later.
"Yes, that's my girl," Elvira smiled and wiped Lira's face with the back of her uniform sleeve, "You're so pretty, don't ruin your face."
"You're pretty too," Lira said with a smile.
Elvira scrunched her nose and laughed out loud. "Get going now, I have to clean here. Meet Yuna in the kitchen, take some medicine and then help her instead."
"Thank you, Elvi," Lira said as she stood up and ran out.
Elvira stared at Lira's pretty back as her smile faded.
You're pretty too…Lira's words echoed in her head. She raised a hand and stared at the intertwining scars she wore as skin. They were the only tangible memory of Kaeo and Kairo's existence.
She had no idea how she woke up in Count Amaria's slave quarters but a week had passed since she had been banished from her home. For all she knew, Kaeo and Kairo might have been a pleasant dream – but the Kindler bite marks all over her body said otherwise. Five years later, though her memories of their faces and voices had long faded, her heart held their essence.
Elvira sighed. For if they truly existed – they would have searched for her…wouldn't they?
Maybe Count Amaria's words were indeed true.
She was sobbing, scared and hurting, clutching her hands and feet as the man before her smirked. "Your family left you to die. Your curse was about to take you out but I saved you. I, Count Helif Amaria, am your saviour. From now on, your life, your breath and your body are all devoted to me."
Elvira cringed at the memory as she began to gently scrub the carpet.
The morning sun settled into a fiery dusk after Elvira was done cleaning. She passed the carpet to Lira to hang it outside for drying. Elvira avoided going outside, it irritated her skin, which she concluded as aftereffects of incomplete Kindler bites. She preferred night shifts of chores, which most maids ardently avoided.
It was one of the only reasons why Elvira was popular amongst the household staff at Amaria Estate, even if she was relatively newer.
"Elvira, can you take over the stables for tomorrow?"
"Yes, why not!"
"Elvira, did you prep the food for tonight?"
"I was on my way to do it!"
"Elvira, did you weed the garden?"
"Yeah, I got done with it yesterday!"
"Thank you for taking over the sewing for me! I was so stressed!"
"Always!" Elvira exclaimed as she turned around the corner, from the lobby and into the hallway leading up to the kitchen quarters.
Life at Count Amaria's Estate was almost similar to how it had been back at home.
"Elvira! Run! Quick! I don't think I can kill this--!" Clary shouted as soon as she spotted Elvira heading towards the kitchen.
The brunette jogged inside and scoffed at Clary's scrunched stance over a withering fish. The girl was wielding a big sharp knife in her hand but her almost sobbing face countered the lethal weapon's image.
"Give it to me," Elvira laughed and grabbed the knife from Clary's hand. She twirled its handle over her fingers, pointed at something outside the window and as soon as Clary looked away, she chopped the fish's head.
The striking sound made Clary squirm. "I don't know how you do it…" she sniffled.
"Death is inevitable," Elvira smiled as she held out the knife to return it.
Clary pressed her lips in a line and her wide eyes stared at Elvira with expectations.
Elvira sighed as she rolled her eyes and began deboning the fish.
Clary grinned and clapped, "You're the best!"
"When will you aspire to be the best?" Yuna asked as she entered the kitchen with a big box of vegetables in her hand.
"I'm the best at washing vegetables, give them to me," she giggled and ran up to Yuna's side.
"I heard the hag harassed Lira again," Yuna began, "He keeps picking on her."
"It's cause she's pretty," Clary said as she unloaded the vegetables in the kitchen sink.
"And we're old," Elvira sighed.
Yuna took her place on the kitchen counter opposite to Elvira's. She stirred the cauldron on the stove before grimacing, "Why are they all so gross? Even their food is gross."
"Hey! I'm the one making it! And he loves that shit!" Clary shouted in protest.
"Wouldn't be surprised," Yuna scoffed. "Where's Lira?"
"I sent her out to hang the carpet," Elvira answered, "Here, Clary, all deboned."
Instead of Clary's cry of glee, the loud noise of Yuna's ladle dropping on the ground distracted their attention.
"What's wrong?" Elvira asked, seeing Yuna's wide eyes and pale face.
"Y-you sent her out? there's—there, uh, didn't you know? His, ugh, he's having a soiree tonight! His haggy friends were out in the garden!"
All colour drained out of Elvira's face.