The Weapon, The Crown and Spring

5

Eden

"Kailah?"

Salem's eyes darted towards the girl; not in concern I'm sure, but in distaste, in apprehension.

Karin was doing the best that she could using her motherly instincts to keep Kailah from falling over I'm sure. Karin's lips would part again and again, before pausing, smiling, and then continuing. Although I'm not sure how well it was working. Kailah looked at the walls and floor, and practically everywhere else except in my direction. No doubt she must have been silently praying that I personally was not the one who called out her name.

Seconds passed and soon enough, the whispers between the two were almost too audible to ignore. Every tik-tock that echoed off of the walls of the room only amplified the uneasiness that resided just in the small space between Salem and I. Karin seemed to notice this as well; at least that's what her body personified as she turned, her eyes pivoted sharply in my direction.

"I need some help here." Was all I could repeat in my head. And considering her abilities, I'm sure she could have read it in bold letters across.

She looked back to Kailah, and spoke again, and whether it was truly her or magic, Kailah stopped looking everywhere and instead focused on what was in front of her.

My focus continued to remain tied to them both, yet out of the corner of my eye I noticed the older, vulgar woman, shift her body. Needless to say, the uneasiness seemed to thicken, precipitating suffocation. Her body had turned in the slightest towards her pet; her back situated like an arrow. Her head tilted downward, casting deep craters of shadows on the beds of her eyes and her oddly vintage royal ivory blouse. Her pose embodied that of a hawk, eyeing its prey carefully before extending its wings to jump. There was no beating around the bush at this point; the air around us all, was now claustrophobic.

It took another minute before Kailah began moving, one foot after another, meticulously, over to the cream sofa where I was situated. The overused chalky tunic she seemed to wear had small stains of burgundy. It was then that I noticed, that her quaking hands were responsible for splattering specs of the berry tea on her already tainted wardrobe.

And then all at once, she stopped. She kept her head down, her umber hair creating a curtain over her features and half of her chest. It was like seeing a robot shutting down after it completed its mission; having no self-power until further entitled to. One can only assume, Salem is she who gives her that privilege.

"Kailah,-" I began, she shuddered. "-come sit here. It's better than standing." I gave the seat to the left of me a light tap, hoping it would somehow seem like an invitation rather than a command.

Instead of looking to me, she lifted her head gently and looked over to Salem, for approval.

With narrow eyes, a grimacing face, and a hollow voice, she responded.

"Go ahead Kailah, sit, it is rude not to take an invitation."

She did as she was told without a second of doubt in her movements. She slipped between the table and the sofa and took a seat. When she sat, the seat made no noise. Not even a poof of air, nothing. She was a small little thing. I couldn't help but look at how much more she seemed like a shadow than anything else; always following along whoever is before her. I hadn't noticed that the clinking sound of the porcelain cup and small plate in her hands had begun to hum louder; pointing out the fact that her sitting close to me made her all the more afraid. Afraid? Yeah it had to be afraid.