The Sinsinati's

Day 6

"how are you feeling" I asked Maria as she opened her eyes.

"you had us worried" said Shino

"im sorry" she said

"its ok, its not your fault" i said

We were worried because the night before, after Maria woke up she fell back asleep again. I didnt understand why she was passing out and sleeping so much, i mean i know that she is still a child but shes 6 not 3. Then all of a sudden i heard a snuffel from below me and a tear fall onto my leg.

"yes it is" she said "it is my fault"

"Maria..?" i said

"I have been pretending to eat and drink for most of the time and at first it only made me more tired than usual but now..." she said

"why have you been pretending to eat and drink?" asked Shino

"he put something in your drink, didnt he?" i asked

Maria nodded. I put my arms around her. I didnt know how i hadnt noticed before. When that bastered tried to... she is to strong for him to have been able to get her to the point he had. But he did have bottles of water with him, he must have drugged one and gave it to her. As Maria cried into my chest i looked over her shoulder at my phone. I texted Shino what had happened because he wasnt there so her didnt know. I pealed Maria off me and put my hands on the side of her arms and looked into her eyes.

"you dont have to be scared anymore, the bad mans gone" i said

"but, what if another..?"she said

"it wont matter, because i will never leave you again. I will protect you until the day i die. No one will ever hurt you again" i said

"Daddy..." she said as she burst into tears.

After she calmed down i gave her a glass of water. We had started moving again and i thought that the time between now and when we would arrive at the next town would be a good time to talk to Maria about the future. I know i had only known her for a few days but knowing how her parents had treated her, and how that if i left her she would be put into an orphanage and most likely be forced to be a test subject again. I couldnt leave her. And I couldnt imagine my life without her.

"*gulp*" Maria drank some more of her water.

"so, how do you wnat to decorate your room when we get back?" i asked. Marias face lit up.

"you mean, you really are planning on adopting me?" she asked

"yeah, only if you want us to though" i said " Mummy and i have always felt like there was something missing from our lives, and we never knew what is was. But then we met you. You complete our family Maria. But if you dont want to stay with.."

"i do" she said "i want you to be my Daddy, i want you to be my family"

"Thats music to my ears" i said "so, how do you want to decorate your room? You can design it however you want"

"as much as i would love that, i wouldnt want you to waste money" she said

"no need to worry about that" said Shino "they wont be spending an money, i will decorate the whole house however you guys want with magic"

"really?" asked Maria

"yeah" said Shino

"oh, yeah, before i forget to tell you, Shino is going to be staying with us as well when we get back" i said

"really?" she saked

"yeah" i said

"thats even better, its going to be so much fun" she said

"you bet" Shino said as he climbed back into the front.

"so?" i asked "your room?"

"um... eh... i dont really know" she said "i havent had a bedroom that isnt completely white since i was 3 years old"

"oh Maria" i said in a simpathetic voice

"its ok" she said "i like animals"

"then we could... get you a whole bunch of animal plushies, and maybe get you a pet. or we could paint your favourite animals on the ceiling above your bed so that when you are trying to fall asleep at night you can look up at them.

"that sounds amazing" she said " i also like flowers and the colour green"

"maybe we could paint flowers on you walls and get you green curtains and a green bed spread and get you a whole bunch of kawia pillows" i said

"yeah" she said in an excited way "ooh, ooh, and i could have a desk with lots of pictures of us stuck to the back. And i could have a pink carpeted floor with a circle green rug in the middle"

"wow, you are good at this" i said

"you know what else you could have?" asked Shino

"what?" she asked

"a walk in closet with all the clothes you could ever ask for" he said " and a king sized bed"

"really?" she asked

"anything you want" he said

"could i have some framed photos of us all together on my walls?" she asked

"of coarse you can" i said

for the next few hours we just talked and joked until we reached the town of straneshire. We entered and head straight towards the nearest hotel. I paid for a room and took Maria by the hand. We found our room and were dissapointed to say the least. It was tiny, you could barely fit in the tiny beds.

"aww" i said

"Its ok, Daddy" Said Maria "just push the beds together and we can share one, like we did the other night"

"thats a great idea" i said

So we pushed the beds together and climbed in. I was beet, i hadent been sleeping much over the past few days, But Maria must have been tired because she fell asleep almost strate away. I fell asleep not long after. But before i did i whispered

"sweet dreams, Maria"