The Solaris Files

Chapter I

     Aruna Solaris heard a loud thud as something fell downstairs. She flinched and stood up. He was home. She quickly started to clean her bedroom, terrified of what he would do if he came in and her room was dirty. She didn’t even want to think about what he’d do. She finished cleaning as quickly as she could and threw a hoodie on over her tank top. She switched out of her shorts and into some black jeans. Grabbing her hair brush, she ran over to her vanity and used the mirror to see herself as she brushed her long black hair.

     She sighed and started to fix her makeup. Her mascara had dripped all down her face from the tears that had been running down like a waterfall just a few moments ago. She reapplied a bit of concealer and lip gloss just in time for her door to swing open. She looked over, breath catching in her throat. He looked angry. “Welcome home, father.” She spoke, her voice shaking slightly, as it did whenever she was in his presence.

     Not yet talking, Oliver Solaris looked around her room, obviously searching for any clue of an out of place item. He found nothing.  Seeming almost disappointed, he gave her a nod. “We’re having guests tonight for dinner. Make yourself look presentable. I expect you to wear that dress I bought for you.” He walked out, closing the door behind him.

     Aruna let out a sigh of relief. She felt like she had been holding her breath that entire time. She got up from her vanity seat and walked to her closet, grabbing the dress he spoke of. It was black, so that was a plus. She changed into it and walked to the mirror. It didn’t fit quite right, but of course. If it did, that would mean her father would have bothered to make sure the measurements were right, but he really couldn’t care less.

     The dress flared out a bit at the waist and went down to her knees. It had sheer sleeves that went to her elbows. It had a corset top and small white bows at the waist. She decided to wear sheer black stockings under it to cover her legs. She added on black platform heels to her outfit.

     As she walked back to her vanity, she grabbed some black ribbons from a drawer, then sat at her seat and looked in the mirror. She carefully braided her hair back into dutch pigtail braids and tied the ribbons into bows around the end of the braids and start of the pigtails. She stared at herself in the mirror for a moment before grabbing a set of amethyst earrings, along with a matching necklace and a matching bracelet. The silver of the metal complimented her well, and the purple of the amethyst matched the purple of her eyes.

     She found herself once again letting out a sigh. She started to hum a bit as she grabbed her makeup and started to put some more on, this time doing a full face of makeup. She looked up as she heard a gentle knock on her door. “Yes?” She spoke softly, knowing this was not her father.

     The door opened and then quickly shut behind  the girl who walked in. ‘The guests are here. Father wants us downstairs as soon as possible and- Wow, Aruna, you look great.” The girl spoke in a fast, panicked tone. Aruna looked over at her. “You’re panicking Star. Father won’t like that.” She told her older sister, Starla. “Take a few seconds to breathe.” She stood up and walked to her sister.

     Starla took a deep breath and nodded. “You’re right. Sorry. It’s just… Aruna, I think he’s trying to get rid of you… He has a few guys here for dinner ranging from 14 to 17…” Aruna froze as the words came out of her sister's mouth. While this wasn’t exactly shocking to her, she had hoped she'd at least have more time to prepare before it did happen.

     She gave her sister a small nod. “Okay… I see. That's fine, Star. It was bound to happen one day.” Pretending to be calm, Aruna approached her door. “Come on, let's go before he gets mad.” She opened the door and walked out, Starla following closely behind her. Together, the pair walked down the halls to the stairs and descended down into the entrance hall where the guests were waiting with their father.