<< Who is connected to this web of lies? >>
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"E-Excuse me?" [Name] flinched back, nearly knocking Emma over. "Isn't that a bit soon? I'd understand if it was like three weeks, but ten days?!"
"Yeah!" Emma agreed. "I mean, it's alright, but-"
"It is not alright!" Ray snapped, bonking her on the head and pushing her out of the way. "Mom's objective is to control us. So if we don't make a move, she won't either. Wasn't the plan to carefully plan during the month and a half?"
"True, and that's exactly why I want to move quickly," Norman chirped. Ray growled.
"Please explain because I am five seconds away from strangling you."
"Ray..." [Name] scolded. She let out a sigh, looking at Norman. "But he's right. Could you explain so that we can follow your train of thought?"
"Of course," Norman chirped. "See, if it looks like we can wait to us, then that's how Mom sees it as well. I want to outwit her." He shrugged. "Well, even if it's not in ten days, I want to at least escape before winter. Mom isn't trying to hide the traitors. That means that making us think we have time is a trap."
"This is stupid," Ray muttered. Norman smiled.
"That's what you'd think, right?" he agreed. "That's why we're doing it. Besides, it's not like this is sudden. We prepared a lot of things in a short amount of time. We just have to take care of the important stuff in the next ten days."
"Alright." Emma nodded. "We'll talk to Don and Gilda tonight."
[Name] sighed as she climbed the stairs, right behind Ray. "I still think that we're being a bit too eager."
Norman shrugged. "If that's what you think, then that's what Mom thinks too. Which means she won't suspect us."
"What are you implying?" [Name] said lowly, a tick of annoyance in her voice. Norman rose his hands in surrender.
"It's not just you," he said hurriedly. "Mom's trained all of us to think that way, so she'll expect us to move slower. I'm not saying that you and Mom think alike."
[Name]'s glare dropped. "Oh."
Nice save, Ray thought. He rolled back his shoulders, recalling the previous conversation. "But she has a point. We're being reckless, moving this quickly. Do you think Don and Gilda could handle it?"
[Name] tilted her head. "Well, Norman said that we're not going to tell them the whole truth. Is that why?"
"I don't want to put them in danger," Emma said. "Mom isn't doing anything because we haven't shown her that we know. But if someone reveals that they do, she might ship that person out right away."
"Even if we fail," Norman added, "if they don't know the truth, they might be able to live."
"They can call me a liar," Emma looked down. "I don't care if they hate me later, saying that I tricked them. There's no point in telling them if Mom kills them first. Now isn't the time to tell them the truth."
[Name] bit her lip. "I understand where you're coming from but..." she sighed. "Okay. I'll play along."
"Thanks, [Name]," Emma smiled. She opened the door. "Thanks for waiting, you two."
"No problem," Don assured. "What did you want to talk about?"
[Name] climbed onto a ladder while Emma told them the fake story. She took careful note of Gilda's face. The olive-haired girl was perceptive, after all. There was no way that she didn't suspect anything.
"Human trafficking?" Don repeated. Gilda gasped, looking around at the quartet for any sign of lying. All she got were grim faces.
"Yeah," Emma mumbled. "All of our siblings have been sold off to bad people."
The four stayed silent to let the effect of her words sink in. Don's mouth moved wordlessly, apparently struck speechless. Gilda looked down, eyes wide with horror. [Name] sighed.
"So, we-"
"BAHAHAHA!" Don let out a full chested cackle, doubling over in laughter. "I was wondering what you were so serious about! Pft- There's no way! What kind of prank is this?"
"Think about it..." Norman tried to reason. "The walls, the gate, the siblings who never write back..."
"Oh, stop it!" Don chortled. "So, come on, what's the punch line?"
Nobody laughed with him. Don glanced around in confusion.
"You're not... You're not saying it's true right?" he asked nervously.
"It's true," Ray said bluntly.
"Wait, hold on. What about Mom?" Don had started to sweat, backing up. Emma clenched her fist.
"She's one who's selling us to bad people."
"Don't be ridiculous!" Don snapped. [Name] frowned.
"Don-"
"Shut up!" he shouted. "There's no way! She's so nice, and... Take it back, Emma!" he grabbed the ginger roughly by the shoulders.
"Don..." Gilda muttered. "Emma loves this House and Mom more than anything. So there's no way she would lie about something like that. And you two were being weird, that night when Emma and Norman went to the gate."
"What?" Don looked at Norman in disbelief. The albino nodded.
"Usually, even if you broke the rules," Gilda continued, "you'd come clean about it, but you didn't apologize for it, and you even told me to keep quiet. Then, Mom made us do chores as if she were punishing us."
[Name]'s face softened as the girl's voice broke. "Emma, you've become so serious now. And [Name]," said girl blinked in confusion, "you've been trying harder to act cheerful, and your smile's become forced. Was it to hide your grief? I played along, but still..."
[Name] straightened, the smallest pang of guilt hitting her heart as Gilda burst into tears, diving into Emma's arms with a sob.
"Did you see it, Emma?" Gilda choked out. "Did you see Conny being sold off?"
"Yeah," said Norman. "We didn't make it in time."
"Hold on, does that mean Conny..." Don shot up from his seat, grabbing Norman. "She's okay, right? They didn't do anything to her, right?!"
"We don't know," Norman lied. [Name] looked at him with shock, her fist balling up the fabric on her sleeve. Norman, no...
"But how?!" Don asked panickedly. "How could this be happening?!"
"I don't know if this proves anything," Norman said, bringing out a piece of paper, "but these are our siblings' scores that I had Ray and [Name] look into for the past few days."
"The scores?" Don repeated, taking it and examining the contents with Gilda. Norman nodded.
"The ones who left are over six years old and were adopted in order from lowest scores to highest," he explained. "Weird, right?"
"True," Don realized. "This is Conny's scores, along with Hao's and Sadie's."
"You're right, Norman," Gilda bit her lip, almost not wanting to believe it. But the evidence was there.
"Don, Gilda," Emma spoke up. "Let's escape, and save Conny and the others. Let's run away together! Please, help us save them!"
[Name] grit her teeth. Emma... what are you doing?!
Don and Gilda shared a look, before nodding at Emma with newfound determination. Emma smiled in relief.
"Thank you."
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"This is cruel," [Name] muttered as she changed Carol's diaper. "You know that, right Emma?"
Emma nodded grimly, feeding another infant with a bottle. "I know. But if it reduces the chances of them getting killed, I'm willing to do it."
[Name] sighed, pinning up Carol's new diaper and setting the infant into her crib. "Giving them that false hope, that was a dangerous move," she said, walking over to Emma. "Even if it got them onto our side, did you consider how they'll react when they realize the truth? Don... he might act violently when he finds out that we lied."
"I know," Emma said, setting down the infant in her arms. "That's okay with me. I'll be fine, [Name]."
"I worry about you, you know," the (h/c)-haired girl said softly, putting a hand on Emma's shoulder. "I don't want any of you getting hurt. Just be careful, okay?"
"I will," Emma assured, putting a hand on top of [Name]'s. "Sorry for worrying you."
[Name] smiled. "You don't need to apologize. You've been worrying me since we met, after all."
"Alr- Wait, what?!" Emma whipped around. "What are you saying?!"
"I'm saying that you give me and Norman a heart attack on a daily basis," [Name] said simply. "And that you do a lot of stupid stuff," she added with a teasing smirk.
"I do not!" Emma pouted. [Name] giggled.
"Say that again with a straight face," she laughed. "Tell me with 100% honesty that you don't do a lot of stupid things."
"I don't do a lot of stupid things," Emma said defiantly. She deflated. "...most of the time." She caught [Name]'s smug look and rolled her eyes. "Hush."
[Name] snorted, walking over to the door. "Hurry up, alright? Mother'll get mad if we take too long."
Emma nodded. "Okay!" she chirped. She blinked, just realizing something. "Hey, [Name]?"
"Hm?" The girl looked over her shoulder.
"When did you stop calling Mom 'Mom'?" Emma asked. [Name]'s face soured.
"A long time ago," she said. "I don't remember why, but it just became a habit."
"Oh," Emma finished feeding the infant, putting the bottle down and burping it on her shoulder. She placed it into its crib, running over to [Name]. "Okay, we're done! Let's go, Gilda's waiting!"
[Name] smiled, turning off the lights. "Alright, alright."
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The olive-haired girl waved as the two entered the bedroom. Phil ran up to Emma, dragging her off to show off how he managed to change his clothes by himself. [Name] smiled as they ran off.
She looked down at a tug on her hand. Jemima smiled up at her, holding a hairbrush in her hand. [Name] nodded, picking the girl up and carrying her to her bed, where she undid Jemima's ponytail and began to brush out the tangles in her hair.
"[Name]?" The girl hummed in response. "Can you sing that lullaby? You know, the one on your music box?"
[Name] tilted her head. "You don't want Mom's lullaby?"
Jemima shook her head. "It's too dramatic for me. I like yours better."
[Name] laughed softly. "Alright, then." She reached for her music box, only to grasp at her shirt. "Hm?"
Her expression saddened. That's right, she had stopped wearing Marin's necklace a while ago because it got in the way of her (stalking) duties. [Name] hadn't been bothered about it, but now that she noticed, it felt like something was missing.
"[Name]? Are you okay?" Jemima broke her out of her thoughts. [Name] blinked, shaking her head.
"I'm fine," she assured. "Now, you wanted his lullaby, right?"
"...His?" Jemima muttered, but [Name] had already begun singing.
"Si la, shmoi'ya pfitalo," she sang, putting down the hairbrush. "Ouleshin dra ti bien bagélo?"
Jemima sang along quietly, leaning back into [Name]'s chest. "Ensholai mjön shalem blemai bloniai?"
"Ma, mya, swetch bayahyi," they sang in sync. [Name] smiled gently. Ever since Jemima was a baby, she'd loved Marin's song. Eventually, she had learned the first few lines by heart.
"Li cashepêta ma hyetchomai hedr'ai," [Name] continued, picking Jemima and laying her down on the bed. "Kepati ma ça?" she tucked her in. Jemima looked up at her adoringly, her higher-pitched voice mixing with [Name]'s slightly deeper one.
"Ik nowa keti, lemya," [Name] pet Jemima's head, as she sat down next to the girl. "Ce goish ble à tchom mehelo. Ama bessla hola ou ma shin da. Alepiste pino nosna oula li mointchola."
"Mointchola..." She leaned over and pecked Jemima's forehead. "Good night."
"'Night, [Name]," Jemima said drowsily. "Thank you."
[Name] nodded, walking away from the bed. She stopped, deadpanning at the sight in front of her. The younger children sat in a half-circle in front of her, gazing at her with awe-struck faces. [Name] sighed, looking at Emma, Gilda, and Anna, who simply shrugged at her in response.
"What are you all doing? Go to bed!" she scolded half-heartedly. They groaned in unison, crossing their arms and pouting.
"We want a goodnight song too!" they whined. [Name] dragged a hand over her face.
"Fine, just go to bed and I'll sing to you," she said reluctantly. They gasped happily, running off to get changed. Within minutes, they were all tucked in and staring at her expectantly. [Name] blinked.
That worked?
Emma giggled at her dumbstruck expression. "Well, don't keep them waiting," she said, nudging [Name]'s arm. The girl rolled her eyes.
"Whatever," she said, walking over to the light switch. "You three get ready too, I'm about to turn off the light," she looked pointedly at the three oldest girls besides herself.
Anna rolled her eyes with a smile. "Alright, alright."
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Tick.
[Name]'s eyes snapped open. She slipped out of her bed easily. Gilda had left the room a few minutes before, Emma following her.
The (h/c)-haired girl wasn't blind. She noticed Krone's actions before. The woman may have not known it, but [Name] was always watching her, even if it looked like she was horsing around with her friends. Krone wanted to use Gilda to figure out the culprits' identities.
[Name] rolled her eyes, slinking past Krone's closed door and walking to Isabella's office, looking behind her to make sure Emma didn't notice her. No, the ginger kept her ear pressed to the door, too distracted to notice her.
Isabella opened the door, smiling when she saw [Name] in front of her. Silently, she let her into the room, closing the door behind her.
Norman walked past Emma, following [Name] hurriedly, and pressed his ear to the door of the office. What was [Name] doing? He grit his teeth.
[Name] glanced behind her, signaling to Isabella quietly.
Norman's listening in. Best to be discreet.
Isabella hummed, signing back and speaking with ease. "So, your report?"
What does he know about you?
"Sister is moving again," [Name] informed, moving her hands fluidly. "While I was walking here, she was attempting to get information out of Gilda. You should be careful."
He knows that I am a traitor and that my purpose is to watch Sister.
Isabella smiled. "She is, now?"
Is that all?
[Name] nodded. "She's more of a hindrance if anything. Aren't I enough of a guard?"
He doesn't know who the source of information is.
Isabella smirked. "If you were, we wouldn't be in this situation right now."
[Name] clicked her tongue. "Touché, Mother. But honestly, you should have never summoned her."
"It's merely a precaution," Isabella mused. "I know how much you care for those three. I have no guarantee that you won't turn on me."
"It's fine that you're wary of us," [Name] admitted, "but it makes us sad. We know that you're using Sister to deter us. And I have already apologized for my mishap. I made it up to you, did I not?"
Norman stiffened. [Name] had just confirmed two things. The existence of multiple traitors, and that her purpose was to expel those who found out the secret. But that brought up a question: why weren't they being shipped out yet? Norman's eyes widened. Oh. It must've been because they were of premium quality.
Isabella knew that, as evident by her irritated expression. "Perhaps you did. Just don't make any more mistakes. Or you know what will happen."
[Name] sighed. "Understood."
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<< The Next Day >>
[Name] shook her head in disappointment as she stood in front of the storage room. Krone was crouched on the ground, her ear pressed to the ground and bottom in the air. [Name] clicked her tongue, tapping her foot.
"Excuse me," she cleared her throat, startling the woman. "Some people need to get ingredients for lunch today."
"Oh!" Krone jumped off the ground, straightening with an anxious look. "I'm so terribly sorry! Here, I'll get out of your way."
[Name] narrowed her eyes as she passed. "I told you, you do not need to know who the culprits are," she said through a tight smile. "Do you want me to report this to Mother?"
"Are you willing to lose your source of information?" Krone sneered. [Name] grabbed a jar of spices.
"It's preferable that I don't, but your assistance isn't necessary," she hummed. "You'll reveal yourself if you keep this up. I'm telling you to not make yourself so obvious."
Krone grit her teeth, barely holding herself back from strangling the girl. "I'll consider it."
[Name] walked out of the storage. "I'm not the only one watching, Sister. Be more careful. I'd hate for you to die so soon."
That little shi-
Krone whipped around with a lethal glare, fists raised. She dropped her arms, looking around in confusion. [Name] had disappeared from the hallway.
[Name] walked to the kitchen. She passed by Norman, stopping beside him.
"Sister's on the move again. She was observing the storage floor earlier," she reported. Norman nodded.
"Thanks."
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"Emma, I'd like to hear your opinion," said Norman. It was evening now, the lights bathing the house is a dark orange. "What if there's someone who is willingly being an agent of the demons, and that by spying on us, they are guaranteed to continue living."
[Name] glanced behind her, hiding behind the corner once more to eavesdrop. Isabella's orders.
"You mean that in exchange for spying on us," Emma repeated, "they won't get shipped out and can live?"
Norman nodded. Emma sighed.
"I'd take them with us," she decided. [Name]'s eyes widened. Norman tilted his head.
"Even if said person doesn't want to come with us?" he asked. Emma nodded.
"If we escape, that person might be killed in exchange," she said. "I'd force them to come with us."
Norman chuckled. "Of course you would say that."
"This is about [Name], right?" Emma asked. "You don't think she wants to escape with us?"
"Considering that she's one of the traitors, I seriously doubt it," Norman admitted. "Knowing her, she'd..." he shook his head. "Nevermind."
"Well, even if she doesn't want to come," Emma said innocently, "I'd drag her by her collar and throw her over that wall if I have to. She doesn't have a choice, she's coming with us."
That's... surprisingly violent, [Name] sweatdropped, feeling a bit intimidated by the innocent threat.
"Also, I want to believe in [Name], and whoever the other informant is," Emma said, looking down. "Our siblings aren't bad people, and I've known [Name] all my life. She wouldn't betray us without a good reason."
[Name]'s face softened, a fond smile appearing on her face. There was the innocence that [Name] had wanted to protect, even all those years ago. The naivety that she'd grown to love.
"Even if she calls me naive, even if she gets in the way," Emma said, "I want to believe that my best friend is a good person."
[Name]'s face darkened. The faces of all those she had sold out flashed in her mind. Robert. Olivia. Susan. Catherine. Sadie. She'd watched them despair at the truth, and she'd sent them to face that truth for themselves. No matter what Emma believed, [Name] wasn't a good person.
She stood up from the wall and walked away from the dining hall, nodding at Ray as she passed. Norman had devised a plan to find out the traitor, by telling Don and Gilda the locations of the ropes, or better put, the fake ropes.
[Name] wasn't to do anything, while her partner told Isabella where Don's ropes were. They had done that last night.
[Name] watched Norman reach under his bed, looking for the fake ropes. He found nothing.
"Seriously?" Ray exhaled. "Let's check the bathroom too."
"I already did," Norman shook his head. "It was still there in the ceiling of the bathroom."
"Then it's confirmed," said Ray grimly, remembering what Norman had told them.
"To Don, it's behind my bed."
"To Gilda, it's in the ceiling of the bathroom on the second floor."
"Only the rope behind my bed is gone," Norman narrowed his eyes. He turned to Ray, his eyes dark. "So you're the second traitor, Ray."
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Short chapter this week, I'm sorry. the special has taken up my time, and the traitor arc's pacing isn't convenient for my pacing, but whatever.
Another thing, the special is going to be published in a different book, because I don't want the specials to ruin the flow of the story. The book is called "Remember That?" and it's on my profile (I would put a link, but Wattpad won't let me do that). It'll go up later (it's pretty long, so I need to finish it).
Thanks for reading!