Kalea

Alaia tossed and turned for the third time in a row,pulling her covers over her head as she did so. Almost immediately she ripped her duvet off of her and dropped it in a heap on the floor. The heat was unbearable. 

It was difficult to sleep with the pale blue glow of the moon streaming through her windows and illuminating her room, even more so for a five year old. Despite the eerie quiet surrounding her home, living in a small home on the edge of town meant there were barely any cars or buses that drove past, Alaia could not drift off to sleep. Something was keeping her awake and she did not understand it. Her  eyes wandered round her room until they landed on a photograph of herself with her mum, dad and brother. It was her favourite photo and she always looked at it just before bed - the image of her herself being surrounded by her family always comforted her and it seemed fitting that it was the last thing she saw before each night.

After ten minutes of staring at her picture Alaia slid off her bed, grabbed her blanket and tiptoed towards her parents room. On the way she passed her brother's room and peeked in out of curiosity. Alex, though very much a typical boy, always had a soft spot for her and even at five Alaia was grateful that she was blessed with such a caring brother.

The door of her parents' room was ajar and she could just make out the shape of a woman tightly curled up in a ball with her mouth open and a light snore could be heard. Her mother worked so hard everyday at the bakery that  it was miracle she had any time to spend with her own children. She was a cheerful woman with a strong work ethic and even though she was a beautiful woman now,  she had a face that showed that she was stunning in her younger years.

Her mother let out a loud snore and turned away from Alaia, so she took the opportunity to creep away. It occurred to her that her father was not in the bed with her mother as normal and after a moment of confusion she decided to head downstairs to look for him. As she began her descent down the stairs she heard some rustling coming from the living room. Knowing instantly who it was, she dashed down the stairs towards the source of the rustling noise. Standing a mere two metres away from her, still not aware of her presence, was her father who was frantically stuffing items into a small bag. Alaia let out a small cough in the hopes of getting his attention but he was too engrossed in his frantic packing.  Her father was the General of the Kalea Army which meant that he was often under pressure. Whenever he came home stressed, which was often, Alaia had to stay out of his way, but this never upset Alaia because as soon as her father calmed down, which usually took a few minutes, he would devote all his time to her and treat her like a princess. 

"Daddy?" She whispered. Her initial plan was to remain silent and let him continue but she was overcome with the urge to talk to her father and have him wrap her up and give her cuddles and kisses.

Her father turned towards her sharply with a startled expression on his face. When he realized that it was his daughter his expression softened slightly but just as soon as the frown disappeared; it came  back.

"Daddy's busy sweetheart." He turned away from her and continued packing.

Not wanting to unsettle her father she went and sat on the bottom step and watched him intently. She noticed that his movements seemed jerky, as if he did not want to be caught doing what he was doing. The rare glimpses she caught of his face whenever he turned around for a split second revealed multiple frown lines and for the first time she could see fear on her father's face- an unusual sight on the man that fought in one had fought in some of the most legendary battles in the cosmos. 

She looked down at her blanket and noticed a loose thread. She tugged on it with all her might until it broke. She then took the now broken thread and wrapped it tightly around her finger until her finger was red. She was staring so intently at her finger that she did not notice her father swiftly walk past her and open the front door. Her head snapped up and she gazed at him with both confusion and worry.