Out, near the snowy courtyard, Sylaris's high-pitched laughter echoed through the playground.
After nearly an hour of chaotic fun, all the children were now sitting together in the cold snow. Their clothes were thoroughly messy, caked in white powder and dirt.
Sylaris looked completely wild—her hair was tangled and full of snow, her silk hair ribbon was nowhere to be found, her fine tunic was stained with slush, and her small hands were bare, her gloves long lost in the drifts.
All seven of them were breathing heavily, their hot breath forming white clouds in the freezing air.
Damien stood up, holding a small burlap sack filled with sweet, colorful demon candies he had managed to steal from a vendor. He reached into the bag and tossed a handful of sweets to Carmilla, Ruthven, Sylaris, Jaber, Selene, and Kiki, before popping his own share into his mouth.
Sylaris, who was sitting right beside Carmilla, watched with wide eyes as Carmilla happily chewed all her sweets in one go.
She seems to really like them, Sylaris thought.
Determined to give Carmilla more, Sylaris extended her chubby little arms toward Damien, smiling as warmly as she could. Carmilla smiled back, extending her hands to receive whatever Sylaris managed to get.
Damien tossed a piece toward Sylaris. But in a flash, before the candy even reached Sylaris's hands, it vanished into thin air.
Sylaris blinked in total shock. She looked at her empty hands, then looked at Carmilla's empty hands, which were still suspended in the air.
Suddenly, loud echoes of mischievous laughter broke out.
Sylaris snapped her head around. Shy little Selene was blushing furiously, holding one stolen sweet in her hand; Jaber was grinning widely, hiding another sweet behind his back; and Kiki had turned around, placing her hands behind her head while wiggling her little tail to mock Sylaris endlessly.
In a flash, Sylaris was on her feet. She stomped over to Kiki, extending her hand and yelling furiously, "Give it back!"
Kiki smirked and tossed the sweet over Sylaris's head to Ruthven. Ruthven caught it, letting out a loud laugh.
Sylaris whipped her head around, glaring at Selene, but the shy girl was already happily chewing hers. She snapped her eyes toward Jaber, but he was swallowing the last of his sweet with a grin.
Pouting furiously, Sylaris sprinted toward Ruthven. But just as she reached him, he quickly threw the last remaining sweet high into the air toward Damien.
Carmilla quickly ran up behind Sylaris, gently patting the angry little girl's head to calm her down. "It's okay…..Let it go, elder sister"
Sylaris yelled, violently pushing Carmilla's hand away from her head. "No! It's NOT okay!"
Carmilla giggled at her fiery temper. "We can always steal another one tomorrow"
"No! Dad said stealing is bad!" Sylaris screamed, turning and charging forward towards Damien.
Damien, being 13 years old, was significantly taller and stronger than her. Sylaris extended her small arms, jumping up and down in an attempt to snatch the sweet out of his raised hand. But Damien easily held the bag high above his head, far out of her reach.
Before Sylaris could try again, Damien reached out with his free hand, grabbing the back of her collar and lifting her off the ground.
Suspended in mid-air, Sylaris's long hair spilled forward over her face as her small hands and legs wriggled helplessly in the air like an overturned beetle.
All the kids burst into fits of hysterical laughter at the sight, while Carmilla giggled softly from the side.
"Put me down!" Sylaris yelled, her cheeks flushed with rage.
Damien smirked up at her dangling form. "Make me"
Sylaris smiled viciously. But before she could gather her frost to blast him, Damien suddenly unhanded her collar.
Sylaris plummeted face-first into the deep snow mound below. Her hair spilled out across the icy ground as she hit the slush with a soft thud.
The children's laughter echoed loudly through the courtyard.
Sylaris lay in the cold snow for a second, her tiny body boiling with fury. She shoved her hands into the drifts and raised her head up, ready to unleash havoc on them all. But as she wiped the slush from her eyes, she realized the kids were not laughing at her.
She followed their gazes.
Carmilla had blast Damien and he was no longer standing—he was buried up to his neck in a massive, solid drift of snow, looking utterly bewildered as to how he had gotten stuck.
Carmilla walked over to Sylaris, reaching down to help the little girl out of the snow. She gently dusted the thick powder from Sylaris's hair and stained clothes.
"Yay Snow fight!" Kiki suddenly yelled, scooping up a massive handful of slush.
Without warning, a giant snowball came flying through the air, hitting Sylaris in the chest and knocking her backward into the snow once more.
Sylaris sat up, her eyes blazing with absolute wrath. "Oh, I will show no mercy!" she screamed.
In a fraction of a second, Sylaris unleashed her aura. Swirls of radiant, freezing white mana burst from her tiny palms. She effortlessly manipulated the surrounding snow, shaping over a dozen perfectly dense, rock-hard snowballs floating in mid-air around her.
With a wave of her hand, she launched the rapid icy barrage directly at Ruthven, Kiki, Selene, Damien, and Jaber. The snowballs struck them in succession—bam! bam! bam!knocking them all backward into the drifts, while Carmilla stood safely behind Sylaris, clutching her stomach as she laughed hysterically.
Within seconds, an all-out magical snow war erupted. All seven children began launching snowballs back and forth, channeling their minor elemental powers to curve their throws, create mini-shields, and blast one another with icy slush.
After playing intensely for over twenty minutes, they all collapsed onto the snow, completely exhausted and panting for air under the amber sky.
Amidst the chaos of the snow fight, Sylaris had managed to secretly scoop up the single sweet that Damien had dropped earlier.
As she lay in the snow right beside Carmilla, Sylaris reached out her chubby little arm and, without a word of warning, shoved the sweet straight into Carmilla's open mouth.
Carmilla choked in shock, her eyes going wide as she gagged slightly on the sudden candy.
As Carmilla burst into a fit of coughing, Sylaris panicked slightly, hovering over her and patting her head awkwardly. "I'm... I'm sorry" she muttered, having no idea what else to do.
Carmilla cleared her throat, swallowing the sweet, and burst into a soft giggle. She reached up and stroked Sylaris's wild hair in return. "It's okay," she whispered softly. Reaching out, she pinched Sylaris's chubby cheeks. "Thanks for the sweet, elder sister."
Sylaris turned her face away immediately, desperately trying to hide her intensely burning cheeks from the younger girl.
Side-by-side, the children lay back down in the snow, gazing up at the thousands of glowing lanterns drifting peacefully across the dark night sky.
Carmilla lay close to Sylaris, her small hand resting near Sylaris's side. She gently extended her fingers, then quickly withdrew them, hesitating over whether she was allowed to hold Sylaris hand or not.
Noticing her hesitation, Sylaris reached over and firmly grabbed Carmilla's small hand, lacing their fingers together with a bright smile.
Carmilla's cheeks instantly flushed bright pink. She quickly shifted her emerald eyes back up toward the glowing sky to hide her embarrassment.
For a long moment, the children lay there in peaceful silence, watching the lights glow above them.
Selene broke the quiet, whispering softly, "I wish the festival was every day..."
Jaber stared up at the amber lights, muttering in agreement, "Me too..."
Kiki sighed deeply. "I don't want this night to end."
Ruthven turned his head in the snow, looking at her. "Why?"
"Because I lost my shoes when we were running from the vendor," Kiki whined miserably. "Mom says she will cut off my tail if I lose anything again"
"Your mom is so scary," Ruthven remarked, shaking his head.
Sylaris sat up in the snow. Without a moment's hesitation, she unfastened her exquisite, custom-made leather boots and threw them directly at Kiki.
Unfortunately, owing to Sylaris's terrible aim, the boots landed on Kiki's face with a loud thud.
"Ow!" Kiki yelled, clutching her nose as she sat up quickly. She picked up the boots, glaring across the snow, ready to scream at whoever had hit her. But the moment her eyes registered what was in her hands, she froze.
"There! You can take my shoes so your mom doesn't cut off your tail" Sylaris declared nonchalantly, dusting off her socks.
Carmilla sat up beside her, using her fingers to gently brush the remaining frost from Sylaris's white hair.
Selene looked at Sylaris, stammering in shock, "Wouldn't... wouldn't your mom yell at you for giving those away?"
Kiki was stunned, staring down at the footwear in her lap. The little boots were breathtakingly beautiful—crafted from supple, midnight-black leather, featuring intricate, hand-stitched gold runes that shimmered under the lantern light.
Sylaris rolled her eyes. "No, Selene. I don't have a mom. I have said this a lot of times! And it's just a pair of shoes. Dad said we should always be kind to people."
Damien sat up, snatching the left boot out of Kiki's hands to inspect it. He turned the boot around, his jaw dropping in awe.
"Wow..." Damien gasped, tracing the shimmering metallic thread with his thumb. "Is this... real gold"
Ruthven and Jaber immediately scrambled over to them, hunching down behind Damien and Kiki to ogle the fine footwear.
Ruthven reached out, carefully touching the gold thread with a trembling finger. "Huh? They put real gold on shoes?"
Jaber hunched over Kiki's shoulder, squinting down. "But it looks so small..."
Their collective eyes traveled down to Kiki's feet. Her feet were rough and significantly larger than Sylaris's delicate ones. The boots wouldn't even fit over her toes.
Carmilla spoke up, without even looking in their direction as she continued playing with Sylaris's hair. "We can trade them at the fair for a bigger pair."
Damien immediately cut in, his eyes gleaming greedily. "No! We should sell them! We can buy Kiki ten pairs of shoes with the coins we get from selling these.They look so expensive , we'll get plenty of coins"
Kiki's face lit up with a big smile. "Really?"
Carmilla smiled back at Damien. "Yes, you're right"
Sylaris pouted, looking sideways at Carmilla and thinking to herself, Why are you smiling at him like that?
Selene tilted her head, looking up at Sylaris with innocence. "Sylaris... if you don't have a mom, how were you born? Did you hatch from an egg?"
The surrounding children all burst into roaring fits of laughter.
Sylaris rolled her eyes in annoyance. At first, she had genuinely thought Carmilla was the dumbest among them, right up until Selene opened her mouth.
"No, I fell from the sky" Sylaris replied with a warm smile.
"No doubt, you are so weird," Jaber laughed.
Soon, all the children were laughing even Sylaris couldn't help but crack a small smile behind her pout.
To show her gratitude, Kiki unfastened a carved wooden mask hanging from her belt and tossed it gently into Sylaris's lap.
"Thanks for the shoes, Sylaris," Kiki said softly, fidgeting with her hands nervously. "I don't have any money to give you, so please take this instead."
Sylaris's eyes lit up with excitement when she saw the wooden mask. It was carved in the likeness of a roaring demon beast, painted with bright red and black dyes. She quickly slipped the leather strap over her head, wearing the mask proudly and nodding enthusiastically at Kiki.
Ruthven smiled at her. "If you want, you can come play with us again tomorrow"
Carmilla beamed brightly. "Mmm…. That would be so nice"
Sylaris sighed behind her wooden mask. "Dad doesn't allow me to leave the house usually. And also... I have lessons tomorrow."
Selene blinked, looking confused. "What do you mean?"
"The academy..." Sylaris muttered softly.
Carmilla tilted her head. "What is that?"
Damien's expression instantly darkened. "Don't you know what the academy is?" he asked the younger kids before clenching his fist tightly. "My mom works there as a cleaner. She says the kids there are so mean to her...She often comes home crying. Those filthy nobles. I hate them all."
"That's so sad..." Selene whispered, lowering her gaze.
Suddenly, the children's eyes all drifted back to Sylaris, who was sitting among them wearing the terrifying beast mask over her face.
Jaber scratched his head, pointing a finger at her. "But... Sylaris looks like a noble."
Carmilla instantly jumped to her feet, placing herself in front of Sylaris defensively. "No, she doesn't! Nobles are very mean, selfish and wicked. And Sylaris isn't wicked at all! She gave me her fur coat, and she just gave her gold shoes to Kiki"
Damien rolled his eyes, waving his hand dismissively. "Calm down, Carmilla. No one said your girlfriend was evil."
The kids all erupted into laughter again, while Carmilla instantly froze, bending her head down in overwhelming embarrassment as her face burned bright crimson.
Ruthven broke the teasing by looking down the street. "Do you think the night fair is still open?"
Selene whispered, "I don't know..."
Damien stood up, dusting off his pants. "Let's go check"
All the children quickly stood up from the snow, shaking the frost off their clothes.
Suddenly, a massive, dark shadow loomed over the entire group from behind.
Every single child screamed in horror—except for Sylaris, who simply turned around.
Talha was standing right behind Harun, giggling uncontrollably behind his hand at the children's terrified reactions, while Harun just let out a long, weary sigh.
"It's time to go home," Harun muttered softly, stepping forward.
"But I wanna stay..." Sylaris whined, crossing her arms stubbornly under her mask.
Damien puffed out his chest, yelling bravely up at the giant man, "Yeah! Let her stay!"
All the children chimed in unison, "Yeah! Let her stay!"
Sylaris stepped forward, tugging on Harun's dark robes. "My friends want me to stay. Please... please, Uncle Harun….I wanna stay with my friends! We want to go get new shoes for Kikimora"
Harun and Talha's eyes slowly traveled down to Sylaris's bare, sock-covered feet. There were no shoes. Then, their eyes scanned her little frame, her fur coat was completely gone.
Their gazes drifted over to Carmilla, who was currently wearing the luxurious fur coat wrapped around her tiny shoulders. Then, their eyes traveled down to Kiki's hands, which were holding the gold-stitched leather boots.
Realizing she had been caught, Kiki quickly shoved her hands behind her back, whistling innocently.
Determined to protect their new friend, Selene scooped up a handful of snow and threw it directly at Harun's chest. "Let her come with us"
Carmilla grabbed her own handful of snow and hurled it at Harun too. "Leave her alone! She wants to go to the fair, so let her go!"
Damien grabbed a huge chunk of slush, ready to attack.
Talha, seeing where this was going, quickly leaned down and whispered a faint command into the air. In an instant, the tiny winged pink creature materialized out of thin air right in front of the kids, roaring with a magical flash.
The children shrieked in terror at the strange flying creature, turning on their heels and sprinting down the street as fast as their legs could carry them.
"Run!" Damien screamed.
Within seconds, all the kids had scattered—except for Carmilla, who stood her ground, holding tightly onto Sylaris's sleeve.
Sylaris pulled on Harun's sleeve. "Can you bring her with us? Can you ask Dad to buy her? Please... please, Uncle, please…please convince Dad to buy her. Uncle, I really want Carmilla... I like her a lot. Please, please"
Talha stood frozen in shock. His eyes snapped over to look at Harun's face, expecting the man to be horrified by the suggestion. But to Talha's bewilderment, there wasn't a single trace of shock or disapproval on Harun's face.
To them, buying a person is completely normal... Talha thought, a sudden chill running down his spine. At the end of the day, they really are demons.
Harun stood there, genuinely unsure of what to say. On one hand, his heart swelled with happiness seeing that Sylaris had enjoyed her night and had made genuine companions. On the other hand, it broke his heart to see her pleading so desperately, knowing he had to take her away.
How can I explain to this little one that Carmilla has her own family? That it isn't ethical or moral to simply 'buy' a little girl? Harun thought mournfully.
Carmilla gently reached out, grabbing Sylaris's hand. Seeing Sylaris on the verge of crying broke her heart. Carmilla offered her a sweet, gentle smile.
"You are so pale," Carmilla whispered softly, using her thumb to gently caress the little girl's pale knuckles.
Harun almost stepped forward to intercept the physical contact, but Talha quickly reached out, grabbing Harun's shoulder and pulling him back. "Let them say goodbye," Talha muttered quietly.
Sylaris sniffled beneath her mask. "Huh?"
Carmilla giggled softly. Reaching up with her free hand, she gently petted Sylaris's white hair. "You don't have any horns at all?"
"They will grow!" Sylaris blurted out desperately, her voice cracking. "I promise! Dada says I am just a late bloomer"
Carmilla caressed Sylaris's cheek softly. "Your eyes are so blue... They look like the sky when it's not snowy."
"Is that bad?" Sylaris muttered nervously. "Auntie Iruna says they are pretty..."
Talha cleared his throat, calling out softly, "Little girl, shouldn't you be on your way? Your friends are already almost gone."
"I will meet them at the fair," Carmilla muttered back calmly.
Without breaking eye contact with Sylaris, Carmilla reached down to her wrist. She carefully unfastened a beautiful green jade bracelet she was wearing. Taking Sylaris's hand, she gently slipped the jade bracelet onto Sylaris's wrist.
"My Aunt Vexra brought this for me from the Capital City," Carmilla explained softly. "She is going to be so angry that I gave it to you."
Sylaris looked down at the shining green bracelet on her wrist, her eyes wide. "Then why are you giving it to me? Won't your aunt cut off your horns?"
Carmilla giggled warmly. "I'm giving it to you because I want you to remember me. I will always think of you whenever I look at this," she said, clutching the soft fur coat around her shoulders.
Carmilla gently patted Sylaris's head one last time. "Thank you so much, elder sister."
Offering one final smile, Carmilla turned and began running down the street in the direction her friends had vanished.
Sylaris stood frozen, looking down at the green jade bracelet on her wrist. She touched the cold stone softly, muttering to herself, "It looks just like her eyes..."
Harun and Talha watched the exchange in complete silence. It felt as though they were standing back watching a bittersweet play unfold.
Then, out of nowhere, Carmilla suddenly stopped in her tracks. She turned around and came sprinting right back toward Sylaris
Before anyone could react, Carmilla leaped forward, leaning in and pressing her soft lips directly onto the mouth area of the wooden demon mask Sylaris was wearing.
Sylaris froze. Her blue eyes widened to the size of saucers behind the mask.
Carmilla pulled back slightly, her face glowing with childish fondness. "Aunt brought home a portrait of a human. She said she met him in the Capital City once. His eyes are just like yours, he didn't have any horns, and his skin was so pale."
All three of them—Sylaris, Harun, and Talha were utterly shocked by the little girl's sudden bold action. But for little Sylaris, something deep within her seemed to awaken in that exact moment. Her tiny heart began beating so fast, it felt like it would burst out of her chest.
Carmilla reached out, grabbing both of Sylaris's hands. "Please come visit us one day, elder sister…..My aunt has a huge, fat cat at home. it looks just like you. You would really like it"
Releasing Sylaris's hands gently, Carmilla turned on her heels and sprinted away for real this time, her laughter echoing down the street until her small figure disappeared into the shadows of the night.
Talha watched her go, clutching his chest as he thought to himself, Goodness gracious….This is the most cutest thing I have ever seen.
Harun, on the other hand, stood with his large fist tightly clenched at his side, glaring down the dark alleyway Carmilla had sprinted too. That was an outright assault! he thought.
Sylaris stood frozen in the snow like a statue. Slowly, she extended her tiny hand, gently touching the lips of the wooden mask where Carmilla had kissed her. Underneath the painted mask, her entire face was so red it rivaled a ripe tomato.
She stood still, staring blankly at the dark alleyway where Carmilla had vanished into the night.
Then, suddenly, the word "fat" echoed loudly inside her brain.
Fat! Fat! Fat!
"It looks just like you"
Sylaris's eye twitched behind the mask. She clenched her chubby little fists, threw her head back, and screamed at the top of her lungs into the dark night: "HEY! I AM NOT FAT!"
Talha burst into a loud fit of giggles, while Harun couldn't help but smile warmly.
Harun leaned down, placing a hand on his knee. "Are you okay behind there, little one?"
Sylaris nodded her head behind her giant mask.
Harun's smile widened. He reached down and gently lifted the little girl up into his arms, carrying her against his chest.
As the three of them began walking back toward the waiting carriage, Sylaris's initial shock vanished, replaced by an endless barrage of questions.
"Am I human, Uncle?"
"When would my horns finally grow uncle?"
"Am I fat, Uncle?"
"Am I weird uncle? Ruthven said I'm weird"
"Can we go to the fair, Uncle?"
"Why can't we bring Carmilla home, Uncle?I really like her and I want her….would you help me convince dada to buy her?"
"Can I come play with my friends tomorrow uncle?"
"Uncle... can I get married to Carmilla?"
That final question caught both Harun and Talha off-guard.
Harun nearly stumbled over his own feet, staring at the little girl in disbelief. He had no idea where Sylaris had even learned the word 'marriage' but he was a hundred percent sure that Thalassa and Iruna were terribly influencing the poor girl's way of thinking.
Talha covered his mouth, snickering loudly as Harun struggled to find a coherent answer to explain the concept of marriage to a six year old girl.
Harun looked down at the little girl resting in his arms. Beneath the oversized wooden mask, he could feel the joy radiating off her tiny frame. She was clutching her green jade bracelet tightly against her chest, her small toes wiggling happily in her socks.
Harun adjusted his grip on her, smiling as they reached the carriage door. Regardless of the chaotic night, the missing shoes, or the absurd questions... she was happy, and that was all that truly mattered to him.