Author-Chan here! I'm not feeling too motivated to continue this story since it's really not getting as many reads as I was hoping it would... So, mind it please if I start getting even slower with updates, or if chapters get shorter. How many people actually read these notes, comment and lmk. :)
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Edith watched intently as Alastor placed the materials on the napkin, feeling rather uneasy about the situation.
The man looked at her eyes which were open wider than usual. "Would you like to go into the dining room so you can sit? We are able do that if you wish, dear." He offered.
The girl nodded her head slightly. It would make her feel a little better to sit down.
Alastor grabbed the materials and went into the dining room, holding the door open for Edith as she followed closely behind.
As the two entered and sat down at the table Al rearranged his materials back to how he had them in the kitchen before putting on a pair of gloves, a pair that would primarily be seen in a hospital.
Edith watched as he tore a small piece of the napkin off, drenching it with the medicinal liquor and gently grabbing the girl's hand.
She flinched and pulled her hand back fearfully, not understanding what was happening.
"Not to worry, darling." Alastor reassured. "Right now I'm only going to disinfect your finger. The liquid on this napkin will make sure there's no germs on you." He explained, his unfaltering smile calming the girl.
Edith carefully placed her hand back in Alastor's as he wiped down her finger with the napkin. Once he was done he wiped down the small sewing needle as well.
Upon seeing the needle, the girl tensed up, her eyes showing lots of fear.
Alastor wasn't a man with much patience but this seemed to be different. He didn't know quite why, but it was.
"All it's going to be is a little poke then I'll put a small bandage on it. Then it'll be over. Are you ready?" The man asked, giving the child time to mentally prepare herself and after a few seconds she shut her eyes tightly.
She hummed in response, nodding her head and without a second of hesitation Alastor pricked her finger with the sewing needle, drawing blood.
Edith let out a small whine as a tear or two trickled from the corners of her eyes and down her cheek.
"Shh. You're doing well, my dear." Alastor spoke soothingly, turning her finger over and letting a few drops of blood drip into the glass vial.
Once he believed he had enough he quickly took out the band-aid he had beside him and wrapped it around the girl's finger.
"There we go, that's quite finished. Very good. Very well done indeed!"
Edith slowly opened her eyes and looked at her finger, it was throbbing and slightly hot but overall that experience wasn't nearly as bad as she was expecting it to be. She smiled, feeling proud of herself for getting through having her finger pricked.
Alastor cleaned up his materials, disinfecting his sewing needle once more and putting it all away while Edith watched, rubbing her finger.
When he was finished he turned back to the young girl, the glass vial of blood in his hands and a bright smile on his face. "You, darling, may go back to reading if you so desire. I am going to go check on the health of your dearest brother."
Edith nodded, getting out of her chair and going back into the library to continue her reading meanwhile Alastor went downstairs.
When he got there he was met with the young teen sat with his back against the wall.
"Hello Alastor." Sam greeted. "How was your day?" He asked, not with attitude but as though he was genuinely curious.
"My day was rather swell, thank you for asking!" Alastor responded, walking to his workbench and putting the vial down.
Sam was quiet for a few seconds, not tensely quiet but... relaxed.
"How is Edith? Did she have a nice day today too?"
Alastor grinned. "Yes, dearest Edith is quite alright. She seemed to enjoy herself today."
Sam smiled softly. "Always does..." he mumbled primarily to himself.
No matter what the situation might have been, Edith always had a positive attitude and bright smile on her face. Such positivity could have been because she was 5 and didn't understand how life worked, or perhaps inside she always knew deep down that things would get better. Sam has always loved that about her. He hopes she'll never lose those traits as she gets older.
Sam shivered as he pulled up the blankets Mimzy had given him. They helped but not a lot. Even Alastor noticed the drastic change in temperature in the basement compared to the rest of the house. It was significantly colder than not only the rest of the house but outside too.
The man could hear the sound of Sam's breath as he tried to warm up his hands. He kept this in the back of his mind as he continued what he was doing.
Edith was naïve... Alastor felt slightly bad about using this overly innocent side of her but what else was he to do? Tell her "I'm going to take your blood and use it in a ritual."?
Although, Samuel was even easier, he simply pricked the teen's finger after knocking him out during his escape attempt.
Luckily, Alastor was always careful about hiding what he was doing from Sam who sat behind or sometimes even next to him.
In fact, he was rather surprised that Sam hasn't discovered exactly what he was doing in his basement. Of course, he wasn't complaining. Though, as he brought more and more thing downstairs he was beginning to test his luck which wasn't the best idea considering the teen doesn't have much to do besides look around and wait within his own thoughts.
Hmm...
Alastor stopped what he was doing, thinking to himself before slightly turning his head towards the boy. "Mimzy was kind enough to let me know that your day has gone well. That's good. Edith has been quite worried about you; asks about you a lot. You can tell she's rather attached to you. "
"I-I'd imagine..." Sam sighed, letting his head fall parallel to the floor. "But I don't see why. For the longest time I fought my hardest to take care of her and it still wasn't enough. Then you swoop in and change everything, I don't understand she isn't attached to you more than she's attached to me."
If Alastor had water in his mouth he would have spit some of it out with laughter and amusement.
He chuckled loudly as he turned around to face the teen who was still sitting on the ground behind him. "If you think that tiny child is attached to you because you took care of her then you must be more dimwitted than I first thought." He laughed with one hand on his forehead and the other on his abdomen.
Sam just looked at him with his eyebrows furrowed, confused and slightly insulted. "What are you talking about?"
"Haven't you understood yet? Little Edith doesn't love you solely because you were her care provider." Alastor explained, fixing his dress shirt and vest. "She loves you because you are siblings, you have a bond that proves very difficult to break. You might not have been a good provider but you should not have had to be one in the first place. However, I will admit you have been an admirable brotherly figure."
Sam put his head back up with a surprised and slightly proud look, though Alastor didn't see it as he swiftly turned around after finishing his sentence.
For the rest of the time, there was silence.
The silence wasn't tense though, it was a comfortable silence that was slightly relaxing.
Alastor quickly finished the work he was doing and put everything away, though when he got to the stairs, he paused.
"Well? Come along then Samuel. It's quite cold down here and I'd imagine it will only get colder as the night progresses." He spoke, not turning around. "Don't want you to freeze to death!" He laughed.
Sam's eyes widened, it would start to hurt if they widened any more than they were already. "Y-You mean-?"
"Yes, quite right." Alastor cut him off, waving his hand. "Now hustle along before I change my mind. I have dinner cooking in the oven and I'm sure your sister is dying with the anticipation of seeing you again." He said, beginning his walk up the stairs.
The teen smiled brightly and sprang up, almost running towards the stairs.
When the two finally got to the top of the stairs, Alastor gave Sam a few last minute words of warning before going towards the kitchen. Meanwhile, Sam looked around frantically and excitedly for his little sister.
When he finally found her, she was sitting on a chair in the library reading a book, snuggled up in a soft looking blanket in front of a warm looking fire. A big change from the cold dark basement.
Sam walked up behind her, debating how to reveal himself.
"Edith." He said softly.
The girl perked up, spinning around as her eyes showed emotions of pure happiness and delight. "Sammy!!" She exclaimed, practically throwing her book down and pulling her brother into a very tight hug, elated to see him again. "Are you okay now? Do you feel better? I was worried!"
Slightly confused, Samuel held her tight, ignoring the pain in his cheeks from smiling so much. "Uh, yes! I'm feeling much better. I've missed you so much!"
Sam released his tight grip and held his sister's shoulders in front of him. "How have you been? I heard you had a nice day today. Do you want to tell me about it?" He asked, wanting to spend some time with her.
Edith smiled. "I did! I had breakfast and Mr. Alastor took me to work with him again! He told stories and jokes and lots of news! He's really smart! Alastor knows everything!" She said, happily. "I had a nice conversation about movies with Husky too! He's really smart too!"
"Husky?" Sam questioned curiously.
"Well, Alastor calls him Husker and but I like to call him Husky."
"Is this a coworker of Alastor's?"
Edith's head tilted slightly. "Coworker?"
Sam chuckled lightly, he loved his sister so much, every little bit and quirk she had, he loved. "A coworker is someone you work with. Does this Husker work with Alastor?"
"Oh! Then yes! He sits behind glass and watches! He says funny things sometimes too!" She said. "He's grumpy but I like him! I think he's nice on the inside."
"Edith..?"
The girl hummed, signaling that she was listening.
"You always try to look for the good in people, don't you? How do you do it?"
The young brunette looked at her brother silently for a second before shrugging her shoulders timidly. "I like to believe in everyone. Everybody has feelings."
Sam smiled before pulling his sister back into a hug. "I'm going to start taking some pages from your book from now on."
The girl smiled and hugged him back. Even though Edith didn't fully understand what he meant, she still felt it was something good.
"Samuel, Edith."
The two split their hug and looked behind them to see Alastor smiling back at them. "Dinner is almost ready, best you both go wash your hands and join me." He said, before turning back around.
The two nodded before going upstairs to wash their hands.
~
After Edith had been put to bed, Alastor was in the kitchen washing the pans and dishes they had just used when Sam stepped in, closing the door behind him, trying to be as quiet as possible.
"There's no reason for your attempts at silence, Samuel. Your footsteps give you away quite easily, you know." Alastor said continuing his washing, without turning around.
"R-Right, of course." Sam spoke, not really knowing why he was even trying to be quiet in the first place.
Alastor finished his last pan before turning off the tap and turning towards the teen. "Well? It doesn't seem as though you came in here to assist me in the night's chores. Am I correct in assuming you wish to speak with me about something?"
"Yeah... I-I do."
"Well then, how about we go take a seat, hm?"
Alastor didn't wait for a response, instead he walked past Sam into the dinning room, gesturing for the teen to sit down, which he did, in the same seat he always sat in.
For the next half minute, all that could be heard was the ticking of the grandfather clock out in the hallway.
"As much as I enjoy a good bout of silence here and there, I am rather interested in what you wanted to talk about, Samuel."
Sam opened his mouth to speak, only to hesitate. This lasted for a good bit. The teen just couldn't seem to get out what he was trying to say no matter how hard he tried. Luckily, Alastor's curiosity made him particularly patient but who knows how long that would last.
"I-I just.." Sam stuttered out, the first few words he's said during this interaction.
"Hm? You just what now?" Alastor spoke, trying to move things along.
Sam took a breath, tilting his head down, almost nervously.
"I'm sorry."