A CROWN OF DIAMONDS AND DEATH

4. Broken Clocks and Empty Eyes

TWO YEARS LATER
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"Willow, you knocked down my clock!" Rebel turned her head to glare daggers at the cat before groaning in exasperation. Her classic alarm cloak had shattered to pieces next to her nightstand.

The seven-year-old crouched down, looking at all the bits and pieces that made the device. "What a mess," Rebel muttered under her breath, already thinking of how hard it would be to clean up.

And knowing her aunt, she would make sure she swept up every piece until it was all cleaned.

Selene had magic and probably could make the pieces disappear in seconds. Probably even fix the device itself too. And yet, it would become a teaching lesson for Rebel.

Whenever Rebel ever made a mess or had poor manners, Selene always made it a lesson.

Of course, she understood why. That Selene wanted to raise her right, but sometimes the brunette could be downright bossy.

The young redhead sighed before fetching a broom and dustpan.

Might as well clean it up before Selene sees and lectures me.

Carefully, she swept up the broken pieces. She was cautious not to cut herself with any glass pieces before dumping them in the kitchen's trashcan.

When Rebel returned to her room, she huffed a breath and sneered at the brown tabby cat who sat on her bed.

Willow remained unchanged from her previous position, unaffected by the havoc she had caused. The cat just blinked at the girl and let out a simple meow.

"Brat." Rebel said before walking over to her bed and plopping down on her back next to the cat.

The cat crawled over to her. And even though Willow couldn't express herself with words, she knew that Rebel couldn't stay mad at her for long. None of her caretakers that lived in the cottage could. Even the adults. The brunette with jade eyes. And the brute who always had a smile on his face.

Within the day that she had come to live with them, they had adopted her into their family. That same day they had turned their family of three into four.

But Rebel was her favorite. Her favorite out of the three humans. She loved to spend time with the little girl. She was her person.

Rebel giggled, feeling Willow begin to swat a fuzzy paw at her nose. "Silly cat."

She smiled, leaning up and seizing the cat in her arms. She started scratching her cat's head, getting at that spot behind her ears that Willow loved. "Look at you making me a big softie just like Henrik."

Willow nuzzled her head against Rebel's arm in response to her confession, looking upward at her freckled face like, "Sorry, but I can't help it."

And she couldn't. Willow was adorable. Who could ever turn down the chance to snuggle her?

Besides, when Henrik and Selene were crazy about maintaining school and training lessons, Willow was the only tolerable one.

Unfortunately for Rebel, her aunt and uncle were relentless during their training sessions. Typically, they spent at least three hours a day doing exercises to test her agility, speed, endurance, and coordination.

It was a lot.

This wasn't even considering that Rebel still had six hours of elementary school lessons every weekday. And even though her courses were taught by Selene, and she trained her too, the brunette was not willing to jeopardize her education for training's sake.