Crescent Shaped Soul - Amethyst of Deception

Chapter 8: A Family, A Thousand Threads

It took less than a fortnight for the two twin sisters to get well aquatinted, to be eager to finally meet eachoter. Celyne, on her side, was looking forward to meeting the girl she spend day and night with on the phone. it felt silly, they barely knew eachother, yet it had quickly clicked between them, easily forming a tight friendship. perhaps loneliness had even played it's part, both girls didnt have more than a handful of friends, their royal status shielding them from befriending their peers. To Luna, however, it was a welcome change from her fathers regime. While she couldn't claim that she was over her fathers death, quite on the contrary, she still mourned him, she wanted this change in her life, knowing it'd be better than rotting in her room. Luckily, both of the sisters didn't seem to quite grasp how much stress this was for the grown ones, that they needed to deal with so much bureaucracy, and the one or other clumsy papercut.
Out of all their caretakers, Sato was the most surprised about this change. It felt off, seeing Luna adjust so easily. Possibly it was simply her need for companionship that got fulfilled at last, she was very eager to move as quickly as possible to the rest of her family. what put Sato off was how easily Luna welcomed and even encouraged change. she never seemed that way in her childhood. But yet again, all she ever sought after was her father's validation. perhaps she just feels free at last.
Sato knocked at Lunas door the day of. it was early in the morning, 6:30 at most, and yet, Luna was already getting ready for her new life. she wore a lilac-colored dress, a summer dress, crafted to fit the beauty of a princess. It contrasted stunningly, with her blue eyes, which were even more accentuated by the blush she had put on all by herself. every time she was getting ready for her fathers parades, she'd study closely how her makeup was done by the maids, even if her own attempt was more... inexperienced.
Luna was pulled out of her concentration by the woman's chuckle, putting down the brush she had been holding, closing the palette she had open and turned her head to the doorframe.
"Good morning, Sato," Luna greeted, smiling softly. it was a brighter smile than the one she had been carrying for the past years, light with relief.
The older woman crossed the room, "Good morning, Princess." She slid a hand beneath Lunas chin and tilted her head from side to side, and swiped a wipe over the messy corners of her lipstick. "There," she smiled, "much better.
Luna looked at the mirror standing on her desk, and replied, "Thank you."
"You're welcome"
Luna cast a glance at the dress still hanging near her bed, the one she had worn on that tragic day. while she has yet to take a liking to the extravaganza of it, it made her sad to see the pure white tainted by the red splatters. she had tuned it out for the past dozen days, but every day with her departure coming closer, it nagged her. she wanted to keep the dress, not because she was particularly fond of it, but beca it held a memory. it'd be tucked away for the rest of her life, but it'd be there.
She looked back at the black haired woman, whose gaze held a hint of curiosity. Luna took a breath, and asked hopefully, "Is there any way to...rid this dress of the bloodstains? I wish to keep it, but I'd rather have it without the stains."
Sato took a moment to think, eyeing the dress more closely before patting the left front pocket of her black pants, as if making sure it wasn't empty, that something was in there. She looked back at Luna, answering, "Sure, grab it and follow me"
While Luna went to retrieve the dress from its hook, Sato already walked out the hallway, heading towards the washroom. Luna followed suit with a small pep of excitement in her step, following the older woman like a lost puppy.
Once there, Sato held open the door for Luna, who was already struggling to carry the big dress. She set it down into the big bathtub, almost falling in herself. She wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead, and stepped back to let Sato get to work.
Sato leaned over the dress, and gestured the princess to come closer and take a peek.
Luna obliged, and looked at it curiously, as the other woman pointed at a rather prominent splatter on the chest area of the dress.
Just as the princess was about to pick up a soap she's never heard of, Sato stopped her, and pulled out a small vial from her pocket. It wasn't old, a little plastic bottle with a transparent liquid, that looked no diffrent from water. A label wasn't on it, it looked like someone peeled it off forcibly. it was secured with a white lid, closed off to prevent leakage.
Luna raised an eyebrow, looking at the stain again, then back at the vial. "What's this? Is this some special soap?"
Sato could't help a small chuckle, "No, Princess. Ever heard of 'hydrogen peroxide'?"
the young girl nodded, she's learned about it during her chemistry lessons, but was confused why Sato had it, or even brought it out. As far as she was aware, it didn't do anything.
Sato turned back to the dress in the tub, opened the vial with the flick of her thumb and let a few drops fall on the bloodsplatter.
Soon, To Luna's surprise, tiny white bubbles rose up from the spot, even making a soft drizzling sound.
Once the bubbles started to die down, Sato rinsed it with a splash of water, and wiped off the rest, and turned it for Luna to see.
To her amazement, the splatter was as good as gone, maybe a wash or two and no trace would be left.
"How did it do that?" Luna asked in awe.
Sato set down the dress, and handed the bottle to Luna, who took it in both her hands. "It's some chemical reaction between the blood and the Hydrogen peroxide. It's been a few decades since I've learned that, but it's always handy to get rid of nasty blood stains and to treat wounds. My father taught me when I scraped my knee once when I was nine."
"That's so cool!" Luna exclaimed, partially because her father wasn't as attentive as Sato's seemed.
The older woman repeated the process on another few stains, and even let Luna have her go once. As she was holding the fabric up for Luna to apply on, the latter noticed a stain on Sato's sleeve.
"Ah, keen eye. I must have gotten it that day...you know. It's alright. I'll take care of it when you're eating breakfast," Sato replied to the princess's inquiry. Luna smiled and nodded, continuing the task at hand.
Yet one thing seemed...off. Sato hadn't stood close to the shot, had she? It has only been her and her father on the platform.
Ah, whatever. It doesn't matter now. Perhaps she simply tuned out Sato's presence that day, the brain has a habit of doing such things.
After a few more minutes of applying the hydrogen peroxide and rinsing it, Sato glanced at the clock on the wall. 7:08 A.M.
"Look at that, Luna. you should head down to breakfast. I'll wash the dress to clean the remaining stains and make sure that it's going to be taken with us to Neolin, alright?"
"Alright. I'll see you downstairs."
Once Luna left the washroom, Sato breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank god she believed me about that stain."
Meanwhile, Luna didn't feel like eating breakfast yet. Nonetheless, she walked down to the kitchen and grabbed what would've been her breakfast, a bowl of cereal and a glass of apple juice, and took it back upstairs to her room.
She looked around the nearly abandoned palace again. It was never really magnificent and tidy to begin with, but it has seen better days. But she knew that those days were in the past now. Many a repair had to be done, and nobody would willingly start repairing this place. As much as it hurt Luna that her home was falling apart at every crease and crevice, she knew it was not long till she would leave this place, hopefully for good.
Her feet carried her back to her room, before she had even realised it. Atleast her own room wasn't as depressingly dirty as the rest of the castle. Mister Purrington lay on a cushion on her couch, bathing in the sunlight filtering through the windows. Luna took a few bites of the cereal, trying to eat as much as possible. She got sick quickly if she didn't eat enough, and she most certainly didn't want that happening today. The remaining milk was fed to the small kitten, and she finished the apple juice herself.
Once the last sip of it was gone, Luna turned to the crate in which she had packed her books, and looked for her chemistry book, and turned to the page about Hydrogen Peroxide. Sato's use of the chemical was most curious to her, and she wanted to know more about that little wonder. She didn't have a lot of time to read the whole page, so instead she snapped a picture with her phone, hoping the quality would suffice, and packed it back where it belonged.
When she turned to look back around, Mister Purrington had finished lapping his milk and turned around on the soft fabric. Luna took the bowl of milk and rinsed out the milk in her bathroom, placing it neatly together with the glass in which her apple juice had been, to take it back down with her later. She still had a few things to throw into her suitcase, like the makeup she had been using earlier. The kitty only needed to get into the transportbox, and everything would be good to go.
As Luna finished the remaining tasks, she found herself with nothing to do besides sitting there and waiting. It were only a few more minutes until Sato would be finished with the dress and they'd be ready to leave. Even Mister Purrington seemed calm in it's box, still laying still. For a moment, the princess wondered if he wasn't sick, but then she remembered what zoomies he had earlier that morning, he had probably just tired himself out.
Soon she remembered the photo she had taken of the page about Hydrogen peroxide, and the curiosity got the better of her. Figured that she'd sleep on the car ride anyways, it were a few hours of driving along the same, repetitive sight of trees, clearings with some crop fields and the occasional herd of animals like cows or sheep.
The text about the wasn't long, but enough to keep her occupied for a few minutes,
"Hydrogen Peroxide (H₂O₂) is a chemical compound made of two hydrogen atoms and two oxygen atoms. It has strong oxidising properties..."
Luna skimmed over the chemical part, deciding to read and study it later. What interested her was the reaction with blood, which luckily, was included in this book,
"When Hydrogen Peroxide comes into contact with human blood, it encounters an enzyme called 'catalase', which triggers the oxidising reaction, decomposing the peroxide into water (H₂O) and releasing oxygen in the form of bubbles.
When blood is investigated on crime scenes, a chemical called 'Luminol' is used. It is a compound for a chemiluminescent reaction, specifically with the iron 'haemoglobin' commonly found in red blood cells. When Luminol is applied on blood traces, even if cleaned with water and soap, it will have a blue glow under UV light (blacklight). However, if Hydrogen peroxide is used on the stain, the oxidation breaks down the haemoglobin into other, simpler compounds such as methemoglobin, which no longer has the ability to carry oxygen. This disables the effect of Luminol, making the stains invisible even under blacklight."
The princess didn't hear herself reading out loud, too entranced trying to understand all of that fascinating science. Neither did she notice the woman standing in the doorframe, holding a packed-up dress.
"My apologies for having to cut your fascination short, princess, but i suggest we take our leave," Sato spoke up, unable to hide her amusement. She walked a few steps forward while the younger girl was scratching her neck in embarrassment, and placed the dress down on one of her packed boxes.
Luna slid her phone back into one of the pockets on the side of her dress, taking her backpack, and the box containing Mister Purrington, who meowed in curiosity. "Is it time already?" she asked.
Sato nodded, and took the remaining suitcase, helping Luna carry her things. "It is. But hey, the others will be delighted by your arrival. Princess Celyne prepared a bunk bed for you, aswell as some closet space and some shelves for all your books. you'll have all your things, just in a different place."
Luna smiled to herself a little as she opened the front door, and loaded the cat into the backseat of the car, and placed her bag in the foot space beneath it. "What about your bags, Sato?"
The older woman finished loading the suitcase into the trunk of the car, and turned to Luna, who was already sitting on the backseat, next to the now slightly distraught cat. "I've already loaded them in while you were busy with your science lesson."
Luna turned away, slightly flushed in embarrassment, and scratched the kitten behind its ears in an attempt to soothe it.
Sato found the sight adorable, closed the trunk of the car and got into the front seat, next to the driver, while Luna was still averting her eyes. Jonathan, a young man that was going to chauffeur them over to Neolin City, was finishing typing in the route on the navigation system, and as he finished, instructed everyone to buckle up.
The princess even made sure to fasten the seatbelt around Mister Purrington's box, wanting to be safe just in case. With the little space she had left, she curled up and took a pillow she had brought, leaning her head against the door of the car and closing her eyes in contentment, excitement even.
She had meant to ask Sato more about her father, about her family. The older woman was quite secretive about those matters, never having mentioned anyone besides that father of hers, whom she sometimes referred to as 'her pa'.
Yet before she had the chance to inquire, her eyes started drooping and the sound of the engine starting lulling her into a peaceful sleep, the last thing she remembered being Jonathan telling the time to the destination, some number she couldn't quite recall anymore, her mind already falling into the embrace of dreams.
☾
Meanwhile, the chaos in Neolin city was greater. The need to make a good first impression was high, and everybody seemed to have forgotten what 'communication' meant. The queen was trying to scramble Celyne awake, while Aquilus was attempting to somehow finish up the bunk bed for the twins, on which Celyne insisted, complaining if they had no craftsmen to do it here. The commissioner was stressed with a more complex matter, trying to organise and plan the late king's funeral, also wondering how that was her job.
Just as another wooden support fell onto his head, Aquilus' phone rang, a message from Sato, Saying they'd be there soon, about half an hour. Great.
Cecilia finally managed to shoo her daughter down to breakfast, and sat down on the couch in the corner of the room to relax for a second. Except that not even the wealth of a queen could buy a moment of respite in such a busy morning. She was called over by Aquilus, who asked for help with the bunk beds.
"I just got Celyne to wake up and get dressed, can't I sit down for a moment?" Cecilia complained, as she reached for the instructions that lay scattered between screws and nails.
Aquilus huffed, and shoved a screwdriver into her hand, "You're the one that wanted to wait till this morning to finish up the bunks. So you're helping. Don't act like you're too delicate now, Lia"
The queen huffed, and drove a screw into the wood, while holding another beam up for Aquilus to secure. He was right, she did want to wait to finish building the bed until everyone was absolutely sure that Luna would arrive. Probably though it was just her habit to put things off as long as possible, a habit she's formed in high school. Not a good habit she admits, but as they say, old habits die hard.
Celyne had raced down the stairs, quickly grabbing a toast from the breakfast buffet. She ran out to the office building, knocking on each of the office doors with a mischievous smile, until she halted before Kalliopa's door, catching her breath before knocking. Some workers in the offices came out to check, others didn't, but it had been worth it, Celyne was sure.
Finally, she knocked on the last door, the one to Kalliopa's office. Right after that, she heard a pen drop onto a desk followed by Kalliopa answering, "Come in".
Yet when Celyne opened the door and stepped in a few steps, Kalliopa still held a pen, and set it down to greet the princess good morning. The young girl raised an eyebrow, but chose to ignore it. She saw a small, almost sparkly blue puff of something evaporate, probably from the humidifier that stood in the nearby corner next to the door
Kalliopas voice took her out of her reverie, "Exciting day, hm?" She said, walking over to the princess that had stood frozen in the middle of the room.
Celyne nodded hastly, pulling herself together. "Mhh-hmm! I had always looked forward to meeting her these past days. I wonder how similar she to me?" she wondered aloud, earning a chuckle from the white haired woman.
"It won't take much longer. Say, have you already packed up the gift you wanted to give Luna?" Kalliopa leaned against her desk, crossing her arms with a smug smile, watching as panic crept over Celyne's expression. The princess quickly turned on her heel, whispering something along the lines of 'shoot', and ran off.
Kalliopa glanced back at her desk, gathering the two pens and tucking them back into her drawer, and gathered the two piles of signed paper into a single big one, and headed down to the entrance.
Once Celyne had finished up wrapping her present, she quickly sprinted down to the meeting point. To her surprise, she wasn't the last. Everyone was dressed as refined as possible, something about making a good first impression.
Behind her still came Arica Minci, the vice commissioner and personal royal designer. She was a nice woman, just that she rarely dropped by. She's heard rumors that Arica originally came from Zaralith and changed her name, though she didn't know for certain. Nevertheless, Celyne gave her a big hug, its been months.
"Haha, hey there princess. How have you been? Did you like the dress i send you?" Arica asked the enthusiastic girl, who quickly dusted off her clothes to avoid wrinkles, and to show the dark skinned woman that she was wearing the mentioned dress.
Cecilia had also noticed Arica's arrival, and turned towards her, extending her hand. "Vice commissioner," she greeted, smiling at her in a polite manner.
Arica gave a slight nod, respoding, "Your majesty."
Aquilus was also about to greet her, just as a black car pulled up, gathering their attention. Cecilia patted her daughter onto the shoulder to make her straighten her posture, ovethinking this moment a little too much.
Once the car halted, The driver, Jonathan, got up first to open the door for the princess, while Sato got out first by herself, streching her limbs after many hours of sitting still.
Luna followed suit while Sato was still streching, and carefully got out the box with the kitten, setting it on the ground right before getting hugged tight, nearly losing balance.
"I can't believe it! It's really you, Luna!" Celyne yelled out, rocking them both back and forth before pulling away. Luna was too stunned, having barely woken up a few minutes ago. She looked at Celyne, and it felt like she was looking into a mirror. She was about to respond to her sister, when-
"Achoo!"
Luna blinked at the sudden sneeze from Celyne, as another followed suit. "Are you alright...?" She just managed to stammer out.
Aquilus quickly dragged Celyne to the side, and noticed the box with the cat on the ground, kneeling down to the kitten, "That would answer that..." the man whispered to himself as he handed Celyne a pack of tissues to blow her nose.
"What's wrong? Is she alright?" The girl questioned, looking between her sister and uncle.
The man looked at Celyne, who was now standing next to their mother, pouting. He chuckled, and straighted up. "Celyne has a mild cat hair allergy, she inherited it from her mother. It's luckly you don't have it, Luna."
"Oh."
"Yea...yikes." Aquilus answered, but seeing the worried expression on Luna's face, he quickly added, "but don't worry! There's pills against such mild sneezes, it'll be fine and probably fade with the years."
Kalliopa came up quietly behind them, and took the box with the cat, setting it aside as Cecilia made her way to her lost daughter.
Luna recognised her as her mother quickly. The woman had tears in her eyes, a natural reaction, given that she hadn't seen her daughter in over a decade. "Oh Luna, my child, is that really you?" She stroked a hand over Luna's cheek, admiring her child.
The girl hugged her mother tight, muffling into her shoulder, "I didn't know you were still here...Father always told me you were gone..."
Cecilia straightened back up. She detested that man, but she didn't want to let it show to the girl who grew up with him, "It's alright now, Luna. I'm here."
During that heartfelt reunion, Aquilus noticed Sato standing nearby, and tackled her in a hug nearly as strong as Celyne's had been. "I missed you, ChiChi..."
Sato laughed at the silly nickname, and accepted it, not protesting anymore against it, though she probably would, later. "Missed you too, Quilus."
Kalliopa watched the hearty reunions, time flying quickly. Celyne had gotten her sister a pack of expensive markers and matching necklaces, one with a blue, star shaped pendant and one with a white one. Celyne took the blue one, Luna got the white. Arica had made her a designer outfit, made herself, one that she had communicated with Sato to find out Luna's preferences and likings. Soon enough everyone returned inside, Aquilus even searching for anti-allergy pills for Celyne, so that Mister Purrington would have his place in the twins shared room without Celyne having to deal with sneeze attacks.

☾

It was around 5 P.M. when Kalliopa was focused deeply in her work, barely even registering the knock on her door, the person on the other side not even waiting for a response before letting themselves in.
It was Sato. She closed the door behind herself, and leaned against it, crossing her arms.
Kalliopa greeted her with a polite, innocent smile, "Long time no see, Sato. How have you been?" Though she sensed something was off. But she couldn't quite put her finger on it yet.
The black haired woman nodded in acknowledgment. "Indeed, Astrados. I've been fine, but you just look like you're glowing. You haven't aged a single day."
"You flatter me, Minister. You don't look bad either, given the stress that you had to endure under Leonard's rule." The other woman responded warmly.
Sato scoffed, surprising Kalliopa, "I meant it. You look the exact same since I have started working here 17 years ago. You were, allegedly, twenty-six years old, three years older than me, back in '99. That'd make you..." the younger woman counted on her fingers in a mocking way, "fourty-three now. And yet, you look the exact same, not a wrinkle more. Come on, even Cecilia is younger than you and she looks older."
Kalliopa paniced, but tried to hide it beneath a flattered facade, waving Sato off with a hand, "Ah, I just have good genes. My mother lived to a hundrend years old, and she didn't look a day over eighty."
"Did she, now?" Sato raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing it, "besides, you brought up genes, that reminded me of something."
"Hm?" The white haired woman responded nervously, knowing her facade had crumbled by now, yet still keeping the small glimmer of hope Sato believed her.
"Sirius Astrados, does that name ring a bell? If I'm not mistaken, that should be your brother?" She pushed herself off the door, and paced around Kalliopa's office, watching the confusion and slight horror on the commissioner's face.
Kalliopa stood up, walking closer to her, heart pounding rapidly, "How do you know him?"
Sato shrugged. "Can't ruin all the fun now all at once now, can I, Commissioner?" She headed back towards the door. "But your blind trust in your colleagues is concerning, if you have never even looked through any of their files. Might as well, if you already have access to them. You could be surprised."
She reached for the doorknob, pulling it down and opening the wooden door to the room that felt like it was shrinking in on Kalliopa, "Alas, I'm going out for dinner with Aquilus. See you around."
Once Sato left, Kalliopa scrambled through her drawers in the corner of her room, till she found Sato's file, and quickly opened it.
She had a clean record, besides a speeding ticket a couple of years ago. Yet after she had skimmed through the page and turned towards the next one, she saw a record, one from 17 years ago, when Sato had started her work here.
'Surname changed from 'Astrados, Chisato' to 'Ikari, Chisato''
Kalliopa knew that Sato had never been married, nor divorced. It would be listed in her records. And she figured it could only be one other thing, that being adoption. It wasn't rare for children to change their surname back to their maiden name after turning eighteen. That must have also been the same case, even if Sato had changed her name at twenty-three. Perhaps it was because Sato had moved from Shinkai, a nation in the west in which she grew up in, to Neolin at that age, and had changed her name accordingly.
"Just what...Brother, where even are you?" Was all she managed to stammer out. The whole situation perplexed her to her core, and she was certain she'd encounter her brother again all too soon.