Daylight

28 | Aurile

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"Aurile!"

Laughter erupted from her stomach, echoing through the hallway as she ran, wild strands of brown hair trailing from behind her, her pink dress draping over the wooden floors.

The sun peeked through the windows, blessing her with its warmth, her skin basking under the light, smile glowing and wide. She turned to a corner and stopped in front of a double door, a hand coming up to fix her hair.

She plastered a wide grin on her face before knocking on the door, knuckles hitting the hard surface three times before she was given permission to enter by a gruffy voice.

With a delicate hand, she slowly pushed one door open and peeked inside before stepping in. She placed her hands on her back and lowered her head as a sign of respect "Father?"

A deep sigh was all she received in response. She slightly lifted her gaze to find an old man sitting behind a table with another young man standing beside him, both were overlooking papers.

"The head maid tells your mother you have been skipping your romanian lessons." the old man said without looking up from the papers, not giving her even the slightest attention.

She blinked "It is a hard language, Fath—"

"Your brother seems knows it just fine." the man cuts her off, leaving her no time to make up excuses, this time he finally looked up from the papers to acknowledge the young man that stood beside him "Don't you, Aaron?" he asked.

The young man nodded "Da, tatā." (Yes, Father.)

The old man returned his gaze to the stack of papers, not bothering to even glance at her "Do better, Aurile. I expect more of you."

She nodded, lowering her head in shame "Yes, Father." she shifted uncomfortably on her spot, picking the skin around her nails "I have a—"

"I do not have time for nonsense, I have a business to run before I pass from this world, Aurile."

She bit her lower lip, feeling the tears starting to flood her eyes but she swallowed the feeling down in her stomach "I understand, Father. I will ask Mother instead. Would... that be all?"

"Find your youngest brother, dismissed."

"Thank you, Father."

She tried to smile, glancing over at her brother who stood still by their father's side, holding a quill between his fingertips. He offered her a brief glance then returned to his work, mirroring their father the exact same way.

The tension from her shoulders came crumbling down as soon as she stepped out of her father's office. The skin around her nails had turned red and an empty feeling left in her stomach.

It was the same feeling every day, something missing in her life, something taken away from her. Taking another turn to a different hallway, she stopped in front of a white door and entered without knocking, not feeling any need to do so.

Inside was an empty drawing room with a few portraits hanging on the yellow painted walls. She looked around, eyes darting on the queen bed that sat on the corner of the room. She made her way towards the bed and sat on the edge of the mattress, brushing her fingertips against the sheet.

"Come out, Alex." she said to the room.

A minute passed before a head appeared from under the bed, a pair of blue eyes shooting her a glare as the little boy crawled out of the bed.

"Stop calling me Alex." the boy mumbled, taking a grumpy seat beside her on the large bed.

She chuckled, removing the dust and dirt that clung onto his shirt "Why are you hiding?" she asked, messing with his brunette hair.