Arya wakes up to the smell of pancakes and waffles. She follows the scent into the kitchen and sees Elizabeth along with another girl with white hair that reached the bottom of her back. She's sitting with a doll that looks identical to her. Elizabeth is cooking and dancing through the kitchen as she moves around. "Morning, Arya. I would like for you to meet The Pretender. She's your other sister. Pretender this is Arya, our little sister. Please, be nice to her. She's going through a lot right now." Elizabeth sits next to The Pretender after placing a plate in front of The Pretender, a spot for Arya, and herself. Arya sits in the empty spot that happens to be next to The Pretender. "So, Arya, what's your story?" The Pretender asks. "My dad died when I was little, my mom sold me, and I've been passed around for the past 2 years." Arya answers. "Interesting, did they tell you anything about us?" The Pretender interrogates and Arya shakes her head. "Great." The Pretender eats a piece of her waffle that is drenched with maple syrup. "Who are 'they'?" Arya asks. "The C.A.A." Elizabeth responds. "C.A.A?" Arya tilts her head. "The Child Assassination Association." The Pretender responds. "Oh, is that why I'm here? To kill people?" Arya looks at Elizabeth then The Pretender. "You know what the world has too much of? Adults who don't care about children and we eliminate them. We give kids homes and purpose. They toss kids out and wait for the garbage to come pick it up. We don't kill people whose lives don't matter." Elizabeth says a little harshly. "You think that some people's lives don't matter?" Arya questions. "Not to our fight. No, they don't matter. Listen, Dearest, we do what we have to benefit us...to benefit you." Elizabeth places a hand on her shoulder and kisses her temple and in some weird way, Arya finds comfort in it. "Okay, Elizabeth." The 3 of them continue eating breakfast. After they are finished with breakfast, a buzzer goes off. "Arya, will you go with The Pretender for a while? I'll see you at dinner." Elizabeth gets up and leaves the kitchen. "Let's go to my room." The Pretender grabs Arya's hand and pulls her towards a purple door with a small microphone and intercom next to it. "Name?" The intercom asks. "Paisley Rose Evelyn Tiana Eleanor Noelle Daisy Emilia Rachel." The Pretender says into the microphone. "Say your first and middle name or names." The Pretender insists. "Arya Yelena." Arya says into the microphone and the door opens.
On one wall, there's her bed and 2 dressers. On the other, there are shelves on top of shelves on top of shelves of dolls. On the back wall, there's a small play area with a door that leads to another room. "They're beautiful...when they behave." The Pretender puts away the doll she had at breakfast and picks up one that has black hair, amber eyes, and it's wearing a white nightgown. "This is Odette. Elizabeth gave her to me when she came back from a successful mission. She's always been there for me and she never tries to run away." The Pretender says, a little sadly, straightening the doll's dress and hair. "What do you mean by behave and run away?" Arya asks. "You're very inquisitive...Let me put it to you this way, my dolls are seen and not heard and if one is to be heard, they are never seen again." The Pretender states, still fixing her doll. "You're allowed to take any one of them, just let me know first and when and where you return it." The Pretender walks over to her bed and neatly places her doll on top of it. "If you're wondering where Elizabeth went, she went to go train. That buzzer keeps her on schedule. She's doing ballet right now. They chose ballet because of how disciplined the style is; you either did it wrong or right and Elizabeth, being the perfectionist she is, always does it right. It also keeps her body strong and builds up her body strength. She makes dancing look easy...too easy." The Pretender says, while turning on her television screen. "We can watch whatever you'd like." The Pretender offers. "I don't really know what to watch." Arya responds. The Pretender tilts her head, pulls a box from under her bed, and pulls a VHS tape of Alice in Wonderland. "Let's watch this." Arya sits next to The Pretender and she plays the movie.
Not long into the movie, Arya and The Pretender start saying the words along with the movie. The movie flashes and shows the word assassin. The movie resumes and the two continue to repeat their words. After the movie, the two girls get up and start playing with The Pretender's dolls. They play all day until 6PM when Elizabeth comes back. She kneels by the girls and picks up Odette. "It's nice to see all of you playing together." She takes Odette through the other door and shuts it behind her. A few moments later, she comes back with Odette in a new outfit and a mini doll, resting in Odette's plastic hands. "Pretender, this is Odessa. Odette's doll." The Pretender nods and takes back Odette and Odessa. "Elizabeth..." Arya starts. "Yes?" Elizabeth turns her attention towards her sister. "How was training?" Arya asks. "Easy."
YOU ARE READING
Family Comes First: Wonderland
FantasyTW:Child Trafficking and Child Neglect Family always comes first... right? Arya is a girl who was sold to a mother at birth. She was a lovely lady, but not a lovely parent. Soon after they were on their way to Romania, Arya was sold once again, only...
