The Strings That Attach

Chapter Five

It's been a week, and a mysterious man hasn't returned. I don't know whether to feel relieved or disappointed. Relieved, I don't even know why I'm thinking that way.

Ash and I have been working hard to earn extra money, as our finances are slacking. Ash lost all her family at a young age, and we took her in for the most part. Now, she lives independently and still tries to help support my family.

"Are you ready to start walking home?" she asks me. We just finished our six-hour shift and were let go to leave.

"Yeah, let me put on my cover clothes, and we'll head out." I slip on a long skirt and a top that covers my arms and chest. I walk over to Ash, and clearly, I look off.

"What's the matter with you? Missing your mystery man?" She teases.

"What? No, I've already forgotten about him; I'm just tired, and this job is not helping."

She sighs and grabs my hand, "I know, Mel, let's get home."

The walk home is quiet, but that has never been an issue for us. We've been friends for so long that we can enjoy comfortable silence. I squeeze her hand harder and play with my sting in my other hand. Personally, I think the whole fated mate thing is bullshit; how are you supposed to look at someone and fall in love at first glance. That's not how that works, nor how love should work.

"Wait, isn't that your house? Why are there so many people there so late at night?" She is talking, but I barely hear her. I sprint over to the house and push past all the strange men there. Of course, Ash cannot make a smart choice for herself and follows right behind me.

I see about twelve men, six inside and six outside. Each man is wearing a purple uniform with black accents throughout. On their left chests lies the Kratos crest, which shows they are the king's army. They call the king 'The Devoted King' for his care and gentleness toward his kingdom. However, his guards are crueler and will punish anyone who may breathe incorrectly around the king.

I take a couple of deep breaths and assess the situation. Dad is still in his chair but at least has the two senses to keep his mouth shut for once. Nylisa has Elidy and Alsira in the corner behind Dad, keeping them close to her. Six guards are standing near the door and don't look thrilled I just pushed past them.

"Are you Melia Kleora?" the one closest to me asks.

"What do you want from us?" I'm not dumb enough to give a straight answer.

"Are you Melia Kleora?" He asks again more harshly. One guard starts to move closer to the kids, and I snap.

"Don't hurt them!" I shout, and he smirks at me. However, the man who seems to be the leader of the twelve snaps his head toward the guard, and he instantly stops. It makes me feel a little better, I guess.

"We're not here to hurt anybody; please confirm you are Melia Kleora." This time, it is a demand

"Fine, yes, what do you need? Just don't hurt them." I keep the waiver out of my voice no matter how much it wants to come up. My family needs me to step up right now.

"You have been summoned to the castle of Kratos effective in two days. This will be a permanent position, and you will move in then. A carriage will collect you and four others you would like to bring with you. Thank you. Have a good night." And then he leaves with all the other guards. I stand in the middle of the room, struck with confusion. I look around, and everyone looks at me for answers I know I don't have.

"Well, I guess we go pack," Dad says and attempts to stand up.

"Wait, you heard them. There can only be five of us." I look between the six of us.

"I am your father!" He shouts.

"No, you're no longer my father. You are just a leach, using me to care for these kids. I work away my life to care for you and this family when that should be your job. So yeah, I'm considering taking my best friend, who has always been there for me, over my drunk father, who screams at everyone all the time." I explode. The words keep coming out, and everything I have wanted to say for the past ten years spills from my lips.

When I finish ranting, my father's face is so red I step back. I've seen him mad before, but nothing like this. He goes to stand up, and I prepare to run. But he falls back down, he tries again, and again, and again. At this point, I've almost lost it on the floor laughing, and he is so red it's spread down his arms.

"GET OUT!" He screams and screams until Elidy and Alsira are crying. Shit, I quickly run over to them and guide them to the bedroom. I shut the door and ensured Nylisa and Ash kept them there.

"This is why I'm fucking leaving you here. You're lucky I gained Mom's heart and not yours because if I had yours, I would leave you here to rot in your filth, but because I have Mom's golden heart, I will make sure someone comes over to care for you. We'll leave tonight." I turn my back on him and walk back to the room. He's yelling at me, and I know the kids can hear it, but there's only so much I can do.

I pull Ash out into the hallway. "Okay, I'm so sorry about that, but we must discuss what happens now. Obviously, you don't need to come with me. I was just talking in the moment, and-" She cuts me off and grabs my face.

"Mel, I would follow you to the end of the earth. You are the only family I have. Wherever you go, I will follow." My eyes started to tear.

"Ash, what is happening?" I laugh and cry at the same time. She hugs me and whispers positive stuff in my ear.

"I don't know, but let's get out of this hell house, pack up all your stuff along with the kids, and we can stay at my house. Tomorrow, we will go and quit all our jobs and prepare." She rubs my back

"You're just ready to go and do this?" I pull back in disbelief. "You're alright, leaving your entire life behind."

"I don't have a life; you are my life." She kisses the back of my hand. I blush slightly. "Now, we need to get out of here before your dad can finally get out of that chair."

I laugh. It's weird. I always laugh at inappropriate times. I walk into the room and kneel by the other three. "Okay, guys, we'll stay at Ash's house for a little. I will explain more soon, but first, we'll pack up all our stuff. Can you guys do that?" The two youngest nod and start to move.

I quickly start packing everything up. I grab all our clothes, a couple of pillows and blankets, the bathroom supplies and soaps, and the hidden money on the wall.

"Everyone got everything?" We look like the most pathetic group of sherpas ever. Ash has all the other bedding items, Nylisa has all the sentimental items, including most of Mom's stuff, and the two youngest have all the toys we have. "Alright, let's go."

We walk to Ash's house on the next street. It is much smaller than ours, but we will make do for the next two nights. The idea to talk more about everything that will happen now quickly gets pushed away as we all drop like flies. Apparently, we are all exhausted at three a.m. and fall asleep. Well, talk about it in the morning.