Run

Chapter 4

I let out a startled cry and beside me, Wil gasps in shock. I was beginning to trust Aries and Aristelle. I was beginning to think that they are willing to go out of their way to help us achieve our goals wholeheartedly. Obviously, I stand corrected.

After all, why else would there be an order to search this house, of all places, for us? Unless the twins' parents don't trust them enough, but I highly doubt that. If their parents don't trust them enough, why would they reveal classified information about their project – about us – to them? It doesn't add up. The only logical explanation for this search is that they betrayed us.

Aristelle puts a finger to her lips, a silent gesture to tell us to be quiet, before motioning for us to follow her. I'm frozen with shock. I turn to look at Wil to see what his next move is. Without hesitation, he follows Aristelle into another room. I wonder why he doesn't feel threatened or even have the slightest bit of suspicions of them.

Without having to properly contemplate what the wisest next move is, I reluctantly hurry after Wil. We enter what looks like a home office and I close the door as quietly as possibly behind us. Bewildered, I sneak a glance at Wil. He catches my eye and shrugs – almost as if he knows the question that I want to ask – indicating that he does not know what is going on either.

I advert my attention to Aristelle. She pulls open a drawer on the office table that is situated in the centre of the room. She reaches to the back of the wooden drawer, perhaps to grab something. Instinctively, I scan my surroundings. The room is not particularly large, nor is it particularly small. However, it is nearly bare apart from the office table – messily stacked with papers and books and a calendar – located in the middle of the room, a black leather chair and a portrait of a family hung up on the wooden wall behind it. Upon closer inspection, I realise that the family in the picture is Aries and Aristelle's family.

A man with dishevelled black hair, presumably their father, stands in the middle. The wrinkles on his forehead make him look worn. The dark circles under his brown eyes on his pale skin suggest that he hadn't enough sleep. His shoulders are tense and his posture is stiff. He almost seems like he is hiding something. Maybe he is. I'll never know.

A woman – their mother, I suppose – stands beside the man, his arm around her waist. She is smiling, but even so, something seems off. The smile doesn't match her body language. Her blond hair is in knots and her eyes, though a beautiful shade of violet – Aries and Aristelle must have taken after her – looks blank. Her shoulders are sagged like she's exhausted. She looks worried, almost scared.

In front of them are the twins. They wear mischievous grins on their faces, oblivious to their parents' exhaustion and worry, having not a care in the world. Aristelle's black hair is tied up in pigtails with red ribbons. Aries's hair is tousled, but it suits him, making him look better, if anything. They are a lot younger in this photo, around five or six.

Next to the twins stands a girl whom I have never seen before. She looks sixteen, sharing Aries and Aristelle's violet eyes, but instead of black hair, she has blond, similar to that of the woman's. Her hair is in a single braid, reaching just below her shoulder. She carries herself confidently, giving the impression that she has nothing to hide. Her eyes are determined, but her furrowed eyebrows suggest that she's solicitous about something. There is an air of mystery about the portrait, as though everyone has a story that they don't want anyone to know. I wonder why.

"Miri. Miri," Wil's voice wakes me up from my daze.

I force myself to look away from the arcane portrait and my eyes meet his brown ones. The warmth that is always in his eyes makes me smile subconsciously. I look past him and notice that the wooden wall behind the table, along with the picture, is no longer there.