Stay

twelve.

Aaliyah couldn't breathe.

Her sister, the same woman she thought dead for the past two years, was standing only inches away. She kept staring and searching her face for any sign of this being an imposter, but the tiny mole to right of her mouth was still there. Her tawny complexion still glowed, and she still had the same enviable figure.

The differences she did notice however, were somewhat substantial. While static features remained unchanging, the aesthetics were alarmingly different.

Ghadiya, who always had perfect skin, covered the light freckles that adorned her cheeks with an excessive amount of makeup. Her long raven locks that once cascaded down her back, were now cut into a neat bob that barely grazed her shoulders.

"Oh Aaliyah." Ghadiya moaned and placed her hands on the girl's shoulders. She pouted, almost theatrically, and then moved to feel on the scar. "Your poor face. It's such a shame." Aaliyah frowned and opened her mouth, but still, nothing came out. "No worries." She smiled cheerfully. "You'd be amazed what a little cosmetic work can do. In and out the chair in less than an hour."

"How...." That was all she could get out. "I thought....you were...." Water filled her eyes and clouded her vision. "All this time-"

Ghadiya's smile remained as she placed one hand on top of Aaliyah's. "Like I said, we have much to discuss." She looked behind and over Aaliyah, her eyes forming into icy slits. "Where is her room?"

Aaliyah looked around and realized they were all still standing in the hallway.

"Why not ask her yourself?" She recognized Oliver's dark tone. His annoyance was unavoidable.

"It is right there." Aaliyah motioned to a door just three feet away.

Her sister turned around and giggled, looking back and wiggling her perfectly arched brows. "Come come."

Aaliyah followed without protest, and watched as her sister pulled out the room key and slid it in, unlocking and opening the door.

How did she get a key?

She kicked the door closed with her back leg. Aaliyah stood numbly. She couldn't stop staring.

Ghadiya's grin was unwavering. "Oh you look so good. I mean, aside from that damn scar, but like I said - we can fix that for-"

"How are you alive Ghadiya?" She managed to get out, growing slightly agitated with the older sibling's nonchalant attitude.

Her smile finally dropped and she went and sat on the white sofa, patting the seat next to her. After Aaliyah sat down, she took a deep breath and started to speak. "Tommy."

Aaliyah furrowed her brows. "I do not understand. What does he....." She trailed off, the pieces finally coming together. "Tommy is Naji!" The man with the familiar eyes and voice was none other than her sister's lover.

She nodded. "Turns out, he was actually working for the League. Well, he was a member of the League."

"Wait." Aaliyah interrupted. "So Naji was there as a...spy?"

"Spy, assassin, whatever you wanna call it." She giggled, and then flipped her hair over her shoulder. "But anyway, the league found out about the attack on the palace - Tommy and Warith were in correspondence the whole time you know - and so he, Tommy, arranged for us to leave the palace before the attack."

Aaliyah's mouth went dry. "You were not even there that night?"

She shook her head. "We left right after I saw you."

Aaliyah was speechless. So many thoughts running through her head. Her sister was alive, sitting right in front of her. For two years, she mourned the murder of her only remaining relative, only to find out she hadn't died. She was still very much alive and living her life to the fullest.