Hey guys, I just want to let you know that when I bring up their ages it's because I'm showing how much time has gone past. I'm not putting up the ages now because Asmara is still 6.
I hope this makes sense.
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I'm posting this chapter earlier than I would like because my birthday is next week and I won't be updating until the week after.
Enjoy!
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- Asmara
I wake up to the sound of commotion coming from downstairs. I sit up In bed, my bandaged ankle protesting a little at the action as I rest my head against my headboard.
It's still dark out, the moon absent tonight as the stars do little to bring some light into my otherwise dark room. I continue to hear noise coming from downstairs along with a few voices, two of them I recognise to belong to my parents.
I can't make out what they're saying, my curiosity spiking as I struggle to climb out of bed, balancing myself on my good ankle as I limp towards my bedroom door.
Laurey did a good job bandaging my ankle and it's not far from being completely healed after I've spent most of my time in bed for the last four weeks since I fell from the tree. I haven't minded it though, mummy and daddy have kept me company and Wyatt has kept me amused when he's around.
It also means I've been able to avoid Owen and his friends, a relief I didn't know I needed.
I'm not out of the woods yet, my ankle still sends a dull ache up my leg every time I step towards my bedroom door, careful not to accidentally bash it on anything as I navigate myself through the darkness.
I reach out my hand, feeling for the doorknob before turning it once I've found it. I quietly open the door, a slight creak echoing around the dimly lit hallway which causes me to flinch. I soon realise no one had heard it, releasing a sigh as I step out into the hall and carefully close the door.
The voices downstairs become a lot clearer as I approach the top of the stairs. I step down a few steps until I can see the doorway of the lounge through the stair railings. I immediately recognise my mum's best friend and the vampire King, Tristan.
He's dressed in very expensive fabric, his navy blue shirt tucked into his dark trousers with boots that are meant for active work like fighting or running. They're filthy which makes me believe he may have run here tonight along with the way his features show urgency.
My uncle, Arif is next to him and he too appears a little agitated as if something bad has happened. My uncle wears the same boots with dark trousers and a black shirt as he listens to Tristan address my parents, "I have no idea how this happened, my guards didn't even see anyone go in or out of his cell."
Tristan sounds very worried, my eyes glancing to my dad as soon as he steps into view, surmising, "It sounds to me that this must have been an inside job."
I'm completely lost, trying my hardest to understand what they're all talking about.
Arif dismisses what my father said, defending Tristan's coven, "None of Tristan's guards or surrounding vampires had anything to do with his escape, I've already had Rylan interrogate all of them."
Escape?
Did someone bad escape from prison?
That would explain why Tristan and my uncle are both really worried.
My eyes snap to my mummy coming up to stand beside my dad as he places an arm around her waist. Her eyes are accusing and she's clearly worried and angry, "Tristan, we trusted you to keep him locked up."
Tristan's eyes fill with guilt and it's clear he didn't mean for any of this to happen, "I'm sorry, Alivia. I never saw him capable of escaping. A man with his mentality, it should have been impossible."
My mummy struggles to hide her disappointment even though it's obvious Tristan isn't at fault. My daddy tightens his arm around her before saying to Tristan, "We must assume he had help from someone who he clearly had some sort of alliance with."
Arif attempt to dismiss this, "Like I said, we already had Rylan intero-"
"I'm not talking about Tristan's coven," My daddy cuts Arif off, Arif's forehead creasing as my daddy continues, "I'm insinuating that an outsider who knew exactly where his cell was must have helped him escape."
Tristan finds this difficult to believe, "That's impossible, my guards would have picked up on anyone approaching my grounds let alone his cells."
My mummy quickly voices a thought that had popped into her mind, "What about a dark well?" My daddy and the other two glance down at her in confusion before she adds, "Raven could teleport so I suspect a dark well to be no different, it would explain why there was no break in."
A well?
I know Raven was a well. She was a good friend to my mummy and daddy, we visit her gravestone once a year but I don't know much about her.
Mummy and daddy don't talk about her much.
"It could be plausible," Arif responds, "but the only dark well who would ever consider helping Alijah would be Draven and you-"
Arif cuts himself off, my breath hitching when he turns in my direction, glancing up the stairs before calling, "It's not nice to eavesdrop, little pup."
Oh no...
He must have picked up my scent.
My mummy rushes out into the hall, her cobalt eyes falling on me with a scolding look, "Asmara, what do you think you're doing?"
I can tell from the tone of my mummy's voice that I'm in trouble, reluctantly making my way down the stairs as I keep my weight off my bad ankle. I look up at her with guilty crimson eyes, apologising with a small voice, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to listen but I got woken up."
I glance down at the floor as my mummy sighs, her features softening, "You should have called for me then, baby, it's not nice to eavesdrop on people."
My eyes snap to Arif when he coughs into his hand, "I know someone else who was like it."
I can't help but giggle as my mummy narrows her eyes at him, Arif giving her an innocent smirk before she's shaking her head and kneeling down in front of me, "You should go back to bed."
My eyes drift to daddy, asking, "Can daddy carry me? My ankle still hurts." My mummy smiles and nods, standing to her feet so that daddy can easily lift me into his arms.
My daddy is careful not to hurt my bad ankle as I rest my head against his chest, enjoying the safety of his embrace as Tristan questions my mummy, "Shouldn't her ankle be healed by now?" My mummy shakes her head and shrugs in response, Tristan offering, "I could heal it if you want."
"Absolutely not." My dad refuses, causing Tristan to frown, my mummy wondering why daddy would refuse the offer. Daddy states, "She has to heal on her own in order to build up a strong pain tolerance."
What's a pain tolerance?
"Very well," Tristan responds, not wanting to argue against my father's wishes, his eyes glancing down to me before he's smiling softly, "I hope you sleep well, Mara."
I grin back at him, "Goodnight Tristan," I then look at my uncle, his yellow eyes drawing away from my ankle when I say goodnight to him too. He says it back, my mummy now placing a kiss on my cheek before I say goodnight to her too, daddy now carrying me back up to my bedroom.
Daddy opens my bedroom door swiftly, stepping into my bedroom sideways to avoid banging my ankle against the doorframe. He walks over to my bed, placing me gently into bed before wrapping the blankets over me and tucking me in.
"Are you comfortable?" He asks softly as he sits at the edge of my bed.
"Yes," I grin, burying my head back against the pillow, "Thank you, daddy."
My daddy is about to rise to his feet but stops when I question, "Daddy?"
He glances back down at me, his crimson eyes searching mine, asking, "Yes, Mara?"
"Why-why do I need a pain tolerance?" I wonder, tilting my head to the side as I glance up at him. My dad's eyes instantly flash at the question, realising he should have expected me to ask the question.
He carefully responds with, "It's so that you're not easily hurt by others."
I furrow my brows, "But why would anyone want to hurt me?"
Did I do something wrong?
Maybe I upset someone?
My daddy releases a sigh, struggling to find the right words until he reluctantly answers the question in my gaze, "The world is filled with bad people, Asmara. People who hurt others just because they want to."
"That's not very nice," I murmur, wondering why anyone would choose to hurt others just because they can.
"They're not nice people." Daddy tells me, shrugging his shoulders.
"Is the man who escaped a bad person?" I ask, my daddy's eyes flashing with slight shock, not expecting me to remember that piece of information let alone ask about it.
"You really shouldn't have listened to that conversation," My daddy scolds, shaking his head.
"I'm sorry but who is Alijah and Draven-?
"I want you to forget those names, you hear me?" My daddy takes my by surprise, the authority in his voice causing me to cower slightly.
I made daddy angry.
I can't help it when my eyes water, my daddy's eyes instantly softening, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap like that." I nod my head, sniffling slightly as I wipe my cheek, "Perhaps when you're older I'll tell you, okay?"
"Okay...daddy," I whisper, watching him as he leans over and wipes the remaining tears with the pad of his thumb.
"You best get some sleep." I nod my head, a yawn passing my lips as he chuckles softly at the action, "I love you." I close my eyes as he presses a kiss to my forehead, pulling away, he smiles softly down at me.
"I love you too, daddy."
He stands to his feet, leaving me to fall asleep as he closes my bedroom door behind him.
As I drift off to sleep I think about what my daddy said.
The world is filled with bad people.
I wonder why he acted strangely when I asked about Alijah and Draven?
Are they bad people who want to hurt others?
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How do you think Alijah Escaped?
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