Roséville

X. New X'Mas

❝Sometimes all you can do is lie in bed, and hope to fall asleep before you fall apart.❞

―William C.

➺

PART i.

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―X'Mas Morning―

Lexis swung open the huge iron fenced door and walked down the path with her face hooded. Carrying her motorcycle's keys in one hand and backpack in the other, she stepped on the marble stones embedded on the pathway, now glittering with snow.

The creaking sound of the gate being opened brought a lot of attention to Lexis. Children ranging from little kids of 4-10 years to teenagers of 12-17 were building an igloo in the spacious lawn but paused and looked at her with curious eyes.

The house was painted with red and white and had three floors with a truss roof. It had red shutters and a wraparound porch to finish it. A garden of shrubs and berries, dried trees and dead flowers decorated the outer area. A typical orphanage institution.

Oblivious to the woman watching her from the house, Lexis kept walking with her hoodie down.

Lexis' eyes were searching for only one person. Soon enough, an old lady came out of the huge house and stood in front of her, blocking her path.

"May I help you with something?" The old lady asked in an authoritative voice. She hasn't met Lexis' eyes yet.

Lexis pulled back her hoodie to reveal herself. Low murmurs coming from the children broke the silence. Nevertheless, Lexis kept her eyes down. She didn't want to scare the woman. This time, sincerely.

"She is so beautiful,"

"Who is she?"

"A Princess, certainly,"

"Like Snow White?"

"B-But she is quite scary,"

Lexis' eyes snapped to the little boy who had the guts to utter those words. The little boy looked chilled to the bones. The cold morning breeze being a minor reason for it.

An amused voice cut through the murmurs, "You have got to smile. Loosen up a bit, you know?"

Angelo stepped out of the house with a cool smile gracing his lips and stood on the porch, directly across from Lexis.

Lexis just stared at him blankly for a few seconds. Angelo eyes turned into slits and he looked back in challenge. Reading his body language and expression, she understood what he wanted to convey.

She had to behave politely or dismiss her plans of spending time with Angelo till the 31st, in the air. The look on Angelo's face fixed her decision. She was going to have to do without the latter.

Former, it is. She sighed.

Lexis turned back to the little boy and rearranged her facial expression from her usual cold and void features to a kind small smile.

The boy smiled back in a dazed stance. Almost everyone looked stunned, it knocked them senseless. Almost because Angelo wasn't fooled. Because he knew it was a fake smile.