Red Princess

80. Shattered Illusion

Kaidon

"Would you like to stay with us tonight?" I hesitantly asked Rihanna, peeking a glance at her downcast face from the corner of my eyes while keeping my hand steady on the steering wheel. It had been almost a month since we realised Riannon was missing. She was officially on the Order's most wanted list together with Gilaan. The conjecture was that she was a sleeper agent implanted among us by the enemy, presumably Gilaan, and she erased our memories once she made her escape.

Then what caused them to return? Was it intentional? Did her powers wear off? Or was she... dead?

The Order was conducting a nationwide search for her but to no avail. Every time we received a lead, we ended up returning empty-handed. This was another such report we received, only to be met with a dead end.

For Rihanna, she was her elder sister. Even if the two weren't blood-related, Riannon did raise her. I wasn't sure what her intentions were, but she genuinely seemed to care about Rihanna back then. She couldn't have faked it for all those years.

Rihanna had been surprisingly holding it well together. For someone her age, she was extraordinarily mature and calm. Whenever I looked at her, I always thought it could have easily been me in her stead if my father hadn't become the head of the family. Ignored, isolated, with no one to care about. She was prematurely forced to become an adult. Looking at her made me feel guilty for abandoning her and everyone else in the last five years I spent wailing in my misery. Rihanna, even though being younger, handled things much better than I ever could.

"If it's not too much trouble." She mumbled while silently staring outside the open window. I could hear the slight crack and the pain in her voice. She raised her hand up to pinch the bridge between her nose, and I was certain she was battling her tears. We weren't sure if Riannon was someone we could trust which made it all the more difficult for Rihanna to express her sadness. All she could do was find her and hope she wasn't an enemy.

"Kai... you are back." Ariel greeted me at the main door. The chestnut colour from her hair was long gone, leaving behind the original crimson colour I had seen the first time I met her. It honestly didn't matter much to me now. I wasn't sure if her likeness to Alice was what drew me to her in the first place, but at this point, I could say it with confidence- I loved her. I didn't care what she looked like. I just wanted her in my life. Period. She made me happy. She made me calm, and she made me feel like I could breathe again.

She seemed happier too. I felt guilty for having treated her horribly in the past, and it was a relief to see her smiling like that. It felt soothing to have someone greet you at home. To not return to an empty place.

"I missed you, Ariel." I never thought I was capable of saying something like that to another person again. Maybe because she was as kind and pure as Alice was, it was easier for me to let her go.

"Ariel..." We heard Rihanna's soft voice as she walked past me and clung to Ariel's body like a child seeking comfort from her mother. Ariel gently wrapped her arms around her frail figure, and her fingers caressed her head while awkwardly smiling at me.

"You've got us all, Rihanna. You are not alone." She comforted her as she walked her inside the house, mumbling about getting her something to eat. She was like the mother none of us had anymore. Perhaps it was precisely the aura that she carried which drew me to her. Her kind and caring demeanour made me want to be selfish and squeeze all warmth out of her, but I ended up falling in love instead.

"What the hell are you two clowns doing in my house? Why are you always hanging out here?" I asked as I kicked Seydon's feet off the centre table. Both he and his loyal minion Alex were engrossed in some game. When Alex noticed Rihanna, he dropped the controller on the couch and headed toward the kitchen to see her.