Risk
===
I feel so wrong, but it feels normal,
no more tears even if you hurt me.
===
Don't try to save what can't be saved.
The pale crescent moon shone over the orphanage, the night was lit up by the many stars that covered the sky, and its moonlight reflected itself on the library's only window, the sound of a door being opened echoed across the room,
"You're here early," [Name] acknowledged, stepping in, along with her three friends, Don smiled, Gilda on the other hand, had a very troubled look on her face.
The [h/c] girl closed the door swiftly, waiting for someone to say something. She was very anxious herself, Emma was plotting something, she knew she was, the girl remembered what Emma told her right before they entered-
'Just follow my lead,'
Emma, just what are you planning?
"What did you want to talk about?" the boy asked, [Name] walked up to them and without a word she patted Don's head, ruffling his hair, she knew it was going to be hard for them, Don was the closest to Conny and Gilda was very sensitive, neither of them were going to take the news lightly.
[Name] looked at Gilda, the olive-green haired girl stood up and walked up to her, the [h/c]-nette smiled pitifully.
"We need to talk."
♡--★♪•♡•♪☆----♡
"Human trafficking?"
Don repeated, he didn't look concerned, after all, who could believe such idiotic lies... If only he knew that the truth was much worse. Gilda understood at once, she didn't need to give it a second thought, she knew something was wrong.
[Name] and Ray sat on the library's second floor, looking down at them.
"Yeah. All of our siblings have been sold to bad people."
"Pfft!"
Don burst out laughing, [Name] rolled her eyes then looked at Ray, the boy raised his eyebrows for a second, and [Name] sighed.
"No! No! No!" he continued laughing, now breathlessly, he kneeled over a bit, his stomach had started to hurt. "There's no way!"
"But the walls, the gate, and the siblings who left and never wrote to us," Norman tried to explain, Don turned to look at him.
"Oh, come on now, what's the punchline?" he asked, "You almost had me there for a second."
No one said anything, Don looked at Emma, the girl looked away, and his smile started to vanish.
"Why are you guys not saying anything?"
"'Cause it's true," Ray answered bluntly, looking down at him, [Name] leaned her head on his shoulder.
"Wait. Then what about Mom?" he asked, not looking all so funny now.
"She's the one..." Emma started, looking away, "who sells us to people,"
"Huh!?" Don made a harsh move, [Name] could've sworn he was about to punch someone, "There's no way Mom would do such a thing! Take that back!"
She didn't take it back at all, the boy grabbed her shoulders harshly, shaking her.
"Don..."
Gilda called him softly, the boy turned to look at her, still not letting go of Emma's shoulders, "Emma loves this house and Mom, just as much as everyone else... why would she make this up?"
The boy clenched his jaw as he tried not to whimper, he let go of Emma softly, looking terrified.
"Gilda-"
"And I did think it was weird... the night Conny left...", she gulped, "Emma and Norman went to the gate, and-"
"You did?" Don asked and Emma and Norman nodded.
"In most cases, even if you broke the rules, both of you would eventually tell the truth and everything would be back to normal, but you haven't done that yet.
Emma, I wanted to ask about it but I always got too scared to bring it up..."
She broke down crying, the orange-haired girl rushed to her, letting the girl sob into her arms, [Name] stood there, indifferent.
Don was frozen, he looked terrified.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please don't cry," Emma apologized, Gilda sobbed even more, "I'm sorry I made you worry,"
"D-did you see it happen?" Gilda whimpered, "Did you see Conny being sold off to those bad people?"
Emma hesitated to answer, she bit her lip.
"Yeah," Norman answered. "But we didn't make it in time..."
"O-okay but Conny is safe, right?" Don asked, very alarmed.
"I don't know."
"But how..." the boy covered his face with his hands, and he broke down too, "How could this be?"
[Name] and Ray watched them, the girl crossed her arms, so did Ray, they watched as Don and Gilda cried their eyes off, [Name] was right, they weren't going to take it easy.
"I don't know if this proves much," Norman added, holding a piece of paper, "Ray and [Name] spent the last few days looking at our sibling's scores,"
"Our test scores?"
The albino put the paper down on the table, letting Don and Gilda inspect it, Gilda squinted her eyes as she read, her heart racing as the 'truth' washed over her.
"The ones who left are over six years old, and adopted in the order of lowest to highest scores first, isn't it weird?"
"So not just Conny's scores, but Hao, and Ceddy's,"
"It's just like Norman said,"
"Don, Gilda," Emma called, the pair looked up, they looked desperate and miserable "Let's all escape from here.... and go help Conny and the others,"
Ray's breath hitched, [Name] clicked her tongue then pursed her lips, it was just as she thought, Emma did do something terribly stupid.
"Please help us."
Don and Gilda locked eyes, both communicated silently, as if they could read each other's minds, they nodded.
"Of course, we will."
♡--★♪•♡•♪☆----♡
The quartet stood in the hallway, [Name] felt Ray's temper rise as Emma waved her hand, and left, she couldn't blame him either, the girl also wanted to punch someone.
"What was that?" Ray spat, as soon as they were alone.
"Is it not to your liking?" Norman smiled.
[Name] scoffed, and tried to step closer, but Ray grabbed her arm pulling her away from Norman before she did something stupid, he grabbed her arm harshly, restraining her.
"So we can help everyone?" the boy repeated Emma's words, also restraining himself from punching him, Norman, on the other hand, was calm, smiling smugly.
"You should have told them they died!" [Name] yelled sharply, Ray pulled her away from Norman again.
"We did what we had to," he explained, convinced he did the right thing, "So they could join us."
"If they end up not being spies, after all, that was a cruel thing to do." Ray added.
"You gave them false hope!" [Name] exclaimed. "Conny is dead. You should have told them that!"
Ray breathed heavily, the fact that Norman wasn't even looking at him made him worse, did he not care at all?
"They need the truth! How and when are you telling them!?"
"Maybe," the albino sighed, "when the time is right... we're still assuming they are spies, too... So we should set a trap."
"A trap?" [Name] repeated.
"I'll tell both of them where the rope is hidden," he explained, Ray nodded, "I'll tell Don it's under my bed, Gilda will know it's in the ceiling of the second-floor bathroom.
And at that point, how is mom going to find out? We can trace it from there."
"Okay." [Name] sighed.
"But what if the ropes are gone and it turns out neither of them are the spies?" Ray asked.
"I've already considered that,"
"So you're completely prepared, huh?"
[Name] smirked, it has always been like this, ever since she could remember, the albino always finds ways to surprise her, that's why he can't be underestimated.
"I already told you, the key here is to outwit."
♡--★♪•♡•♪☆----♡
Emma, Gilda and [Name] had been chatting in the orange-haired girl's room, they sat on the girl's bed, giggling, they had been reminiscing memories of when they were smaller.
They recalled the time Emma tried to run away and live in the woods, and when Isabella asked her why she was packing a bag, Emma told her and invited the raven-nette to join her.
Emma just wanted to try living in a hollow tree for a while, you know?
The girls laughed as Emma blushed.
"It was so funny!" the orange-haired girl exclaimed. "...It has been a while since we talked like this."
Gilda grabbed Emma's hands, smiling softly, "Let's keep it like this, let's not get distant anymore..."
It was all a cute moment until Lannion threw a pillow at [Name's] face, [Name] gasped, the orange-haired laughed and Lannion stood there proudly, Gilda huffed.
"Lannion! Respect [Name], she's your older sister!"
"Yeah, respect me your little shit!"
Thoma and Lannion laughed and ran away, Gilda rolled her eyes and sighed like a disappointed mother seeing her child get in trouble, she apologised for Lannion, and the [h/c] said it was fine.
♡--★♪•♡•♪☆----♡
Kids had already gone to sleep, Isabella sat on her desk scribbling something on a piece of parchment, humming a rather familiar tune, she dipped her quill into the ink container beside and continued writing, her whole office was lit up by a different set of lamps, the raven-nette's thoughts drifted away from her writing, she thought about the whole space situation, a smirk appearing on her lips.
The sound of something being pushed under the door echoed, Isabella smiled, a piece of paper had been sent to her, just what she needed.
The woman stood up, walked towards the door and picked it up, unfolding the piece of paper swiftly, and read in a somehow messing handwriting
Rope
Norman
Bed
Isabella smiled, "I see..." she said to herself, "the rope is under Norman's bed."
Meanwhile, in Emma's room, the olive-haired girl stood up slowly, trying not to make a sound, she unconsciously held her breath as she walked to the door, she walked out, Emma sat up as soon as Gilda closed the door (she had been pretending to sleep)
Gilda knocked on a door, a very worried look on her face.
"Come in."
A voice behind the door said, Gilda opened the door, she walked in hesitantly, Krone was smiling creepily at her, Gilda walked over to her, her heart racing as she got closer.
"I've been waiting for you, Gilda,"
Emma stood by the door, pressing her ear against it, she listened carefully a terrified look on her face.
"..We can talk now, can't we?" the woman asked sweetly, Gilda looked down, she didn't want to look at her in the eye, and she gulped.
"About the issue, right?" the girl said softly, Krone nodded, Gilda didn't say anything at first, she bit her lip, frowning as she wondered what to say, Krone tilted her, still smiling but it now looked forced- she was running out of patience.
"There isn't an issue! I appreciate that you on me out of concern, but there's nothing to worry about!"
Emma sighed in relief, but it still wasn't over.
"Are you sure? I can't help but be concerned!"
"I feel better! I promise!" So you can leave alone now!" Gilda exclaimed bowing slightly. "Good night."
The olive-green haired girl started to walk out, but Krone's words interrupted her, she stopped, her body tensed up.
"I see. Emma told you everything didn't she?"
Krone turned Gilda around rather harshly, the girl was frozen, Krone smirked and continued to taunt her, the woman knelt to her height, her face inches away from Gilda, it terrified Gilda even more.
"Am I right? She told you everything!"
Krone backed away, and spun around, she faced palmed and pouted in what was supposed to be a disappointed expression.
"Darn, it's too bad, I was really hoping we could become friends," she smirked and got closer, "So who else knows?"
This woman has some nerve.
"Norman, Ray and?"
Gilda staggered and tried to back away, but Krone didn't let her, she cupped the girl's face, "I will let you off the hook so why don't we join forces?"
Enough
Gilda had enough, she pushed Krone hardly, breathing heavily, "Please stop this!" she snapped, "What are you even talking about!? Emma and I had a fight, but we made up! Everything is fine now!"
"I see... It was a misunderstanding, I apologize," Krone sighed, "If you think Emma lied to you come back to me, okay?"
Gilda then left the room, she walked over to her room, the girl opened her room's door, Emma was sitting down on the girl's bed, she gawked at her mouth dry.
Emma was smiling at her, she looked relieved and thankful, Gilda broke down, she started her crying her eyes off, again.
Tears streamed down her face, the girl launched herself on Emma, hugging her tightly.
Emma looked shocked for a second, then hugged her back, she smiled, letting Gilda cry on her shoulder.
-
Krone clenched both her fist and jaw, breathing heavily.
"I am not giving up." she said sharply.
"If I can't get Gilda, then...
I'll get them!"
♡--★♪•♡•♪☆----♡
<The next day>
Emma and Gilda hung the wet clothes, they watched as Don and Krone interacted, both frowning.
"Thank you for your help!" Krone said, Don smiled.
"No problem!"
Emma and Gilda were stiff and tense, the orange-haired girl glanced at [Name] who was washing the clothes with Ray, Norman and a bunch of other kids, they were using a rather old-fashioned tool, called a washboard, is constructed with a rectangular wooden frame in which are mounted a series of ridges for clothing to be rubbed on.
[Name] pushed her sleeves up once again and looked at Ray, he looked very focused or lost in thought, she noticed Norman was watching her, so she looked at him and smiled, and the albino smiled back, his cheeks turning slightly pink.
'Ray," the girl called softly, the boy hummed in response as he looked up, "Can you get my hair out of my face, please?"
"Why can't you do it yourself?"
"'Cause, my hands are wet,"
The boy deadpanned, and Norman chuckled.
"My hands are also wet, dumbass!"
"Can you still do it?"
"Fine."
The boy pushed the girl's hair behind her ear as she thanked him, Norman looked up and began talking.
"According to what Emma told me, Gilda is innocent... I'm still curious, why do you think the traitors are betraying us?"
Ray didn't look at him, [Name] didn't either, she chose to glance at the raven-nette from the corner of her eyes while her head was looking down at the clothes, her [h/c] hair covering her faces- and thank god it was, 'cause she couldn't help but smirk.
"It's obvious that there's gotta be some kind of advantage," Ray explained.
"Think about it," [Name] spoke up, still not looking at them, her tone was indifferent yet slyly convincing, she knew what she had to do and say to trick people, to gain their trust, it was one of her special skills, after all, she had been practising it for years now.
"They can be spared from shipping," she said
Norman gasped softly, his ocean blue eyes grew slightly wider, "Guaranteed survival, huh?"
♡--★♪•♡•♪☆----♡
They had just finished training with tag, Gilda and Don watched as the kids got back together, their hearts dropping as realization washed over them.
"This was training..."
Don said, the both of them felt a hand pressing on their shoulders, they turned around looking startling but their bodies relaxed just as quick, it was [Name], she then twirled a strand of hair with her finger, smiling at them, she tilted her head playfully, Don seemed surprised (not by the fact that she had sneaked upon them, they were all used to [Name] doing that), he didn't understand how she was so calm about this.
"You need to stop doing that, seriously... it's creepy,"
"Do what, Gilda?"
"You know exactly what I mean,"
"No, I don't."
[Name] rolled her eyes, mouth-shrugged and walked away, waving her hand as she made her way back, [Name] smirked as she walked past a figure who thought was hiding well.
She approached him, grinning, the albino looked surprised for a second.
"I noticed you watching over those two," she said softly, Norman didn't take his eyes off them as he nodded. [Name] ruffled his snow-white hair, "Stop that... It's weird,"
"Stop what?"
"Staring at them like that,"
The boy titled his head.
"Huh? Did I look mad or something?"
[Name] shook her head, "You didn't seem mad, but don't look at them like that,"
Norman smirked,
"What? Jealous?"
The girl's cheeks grew red, she looked startled for a second, she shook her head desperately, "Huh!? No! Why on earth would I be jealous?!"
"I'm just teasing,"
"Don't do that or I'll kick your ass
...Dumbass ."
♡--★♪•♡•♪☆----♡
Norman walked past the hallway that led to Isabella's office, he stopped for a few seconds he had noticed Emma was doing something extremely weird, she was counting her steps, he tilted his head but shrugged it off.
"Emma," he called her, his tone surprisingly soft and gentle, the orange-haired looked up, a smile forming on her lips, "Can we talk?"
They walked over to the dining hall, which was empty, Emma sat down looking up at Norman since he was standing up in front of her. The albino shifted uncomfortably, gulped and spoke up.
"I need your thoughts on something,"
Emma smiled, "What is it?"
Norman's eyes softened, "What if there's someone who is willingly being an agent to the demons, and that by spying on us they are guaranteed to continue living,"
"You mean, in exchange for spying on us, they won't get shipped out and live?"
He nodded.
"Would you take them with us, or would you leave them behind?"
She hummed thoughtfully.
"I'd take them,"
She didn't even hesitate, actually.
Norman smiled and nodded,
"Even if they didn't want that?"
"I'd force them to come with us, even if I had to knock them out and carry them on a bag...
So aggressive
Because if we escape that person's life might not be guaranteed anymore,"
The albino gasped, her words took him by surprise... the orange-haired girl was right.
"Also, I want to believe in everyone, what happened with Gilda made me realise that... Ray said to suspect everyone but even if there's a traitor, who is a demon's agent, non of our siblings are actually bad people...
We are family, we grew up together, even if that person gets in the way, betrays or says I'm naive, I still want to believe in them!"
"You're right, " Norman smiled, "Of course, you would say that, Emma!"
Emma's cheeks tinted red, a few minutes passed, they talked about something else and walked out... Someone giggled softly as soon as they left, the voice emerged from the shadows, a sigh escaped the girl's lips,
The [e/c]-eyed girl leaned against the wall, resting her hand on her chest, she felt her heart beating, a smile forming on her lips, her eyes were relaxed, her cheeks were pinked up, and some of her hair was in her face, she giggled again.
"Emma..." she muttered, "Why are you so nice?"
♡--★♪•♡•♪☆----♡
Ray, Norman and [Name] checked the bathroom ceiling, searching for the rope the albino had hidden, 'fortunately' it was there, Norman showed his friends the rope, although he was pretty sure they had already seen it, Ray glanced at the rope, poker-faced. [Name] did too, she crossed her arms looking at Ray, then at Norman.
The albino handed the ropes back to Ray, analyzing his every move, [Name] sighed and made their way to Norman's rope, where the second rope was supposedly hidden.
They entered the room, immediately walking to the albino's bed, [Name] knelt down, she shuffled her hands trying to touch the invisible rope, she smirked knowing there was nothing there, the [h/c] stood back up, hands empty.
"It's gone?" the albino asked, [Name] confirmed, the boy sighed, [Name] walked up to Ray, burying her face on his neck, the raven-nette knew why she was hiding her face, he knew she was hiding her biggest sneere, he could feel her smirking against her neck.
The boy clenched his jaw, trying not to smirk as well, he waited until Norman was distracted enough to whisper something, also sneering.
"You're a menace, [Name]."
"So it's gone, huh?" she looked back up, poker-faced again, Ray looked at her... they needed to keep the act going.
"That means... Don's the traitor,"
Norman (whose back was facing them) turned to look at them, he looked surprisingly serious and intimidating, she got closer to Ray, she grabbed his arm, Norman smirked.
Norman walked closer to them and leaned over, face to face with them, their face were inches away from each other.
"Actually, you two are the traitors...."
Ray's breath hitched, [Name] staggered slightly, she gripped the back of Ray's shirt.
"Aren't you?"
♡--★♪•♡•♪☆----♡
HII IM BACK,
im sorry it took longer than I expected, something happened and it made me feel really bad for a few days,
My cat died.
So yeah, I took some days off, I promise next chap won't take so long, kay?
The next chapter will be longer tho