Taken

3 - Sleep

        The sun burned her skin as she lied in the thick green grass. Illya didn't mind though. It never actually harmed her and she found the sensation to be rather pleasant. She heaved a contented sigh.
        "Illya," her sister said, "Why do you sleep?" The older girl turned her head, her red hair mixing with the pale blonde strands of the younger girl beside her, watching the little smile that seemed so rare these days play on her lips.
"Hm?"
Olivia shook her head. "Mother says you've started sleeping again, like when you were little. I wanted to know why."
        Illya slowly opened her eyes, pausing to admire how bright the blue sky was this sunny afternoon. "It doesn't feel comfortable, to stay awake all the time like you. When I feel tired I don't want to keep feeling that way. So I rest and wake up feeling better."
        Olivia thought for a moment. It did make sense she supposed. The problem then, was that Illya was still allowing herself to be tired.
Illya closed her eyes again, comfortable in the sting of the sun's rays.

When Illya woke, she didn't move. For a moment, she still felt the heat of the sunlight, the softness of the grass. Then it was gone. It barely lasted a heartbeat, but it was long enough to leave her aching inside.
        She hadn't forgotten. As much as she wanted to, she'd never been able to not cherish her older sister.
It took a long time for her to fully wake. Illya had always been a deep sleeper and now was no exception. Sitting upright, she peered at the window above her. The light behind it was still switched off, meaning the sun had yet to rise in the world above.
        She didn't mind the lack of color. Nor did she miss the need to consume food on a regular basis. But if there was anything she hated to be away from in this world, it was sunlight. Warm and soft, yet burning against her pale skin. Jessalyn had thought it alabaster. The mere notion was amusing, as it wasn't a word she heard often anymore.
        She was to visit her tonight. Hopefully, the foolish young woman would know where to find their meeting point. She considered herself lucky Philip hadn't sent her back yet, though she also knew it wouldn't be long until he lost his patience. That is why she had to act quickly, to get a bit of a head start on his next task. But now, she needed to clear her head before she could fall back to sleep.
        Stepping from her bed, she nearly jumped when her toes collided with the soft plush of a fuzzy teddy bear. It's tan fur squished between her toes, tickling her feet as she started at it in wonder.
That's new.
        She picked the big bear up, surprised to see it was almost as tall as her. It's width was almost as much as it's length, the prime proportions for the iconic stuffed animal. It was squishy, but not too floppy so that it couldn't sit up on its own. This was a child's dream toy, something she's heard called the "perfect cuddler." It's blue bow tie glittered in the dim light emitted from the speaker in the corner of the ceiling.
        Illya left the toy sitting on the floor, scanning the room as she took in the situation. It wasn't just the bear. There were many other items meant for a young girl now scattered across her floor, even a large toy trunk and an actual wardrobe overfilled with glittery dresses and plastic costume pieces. How this pertained to anything she had overheard the day before, she couldn't fathom.
As adamant as Philip was about never treating her like a child, this went against everything he had shown so far. Even in the beginning, when she first arrived, he'd never acted as if she were actually a young girl. This was the very last thing she expected him to do.
Before she could puzzle it out, the dim light overhead flashed green as a low buzz sounded from the device. She glanced back at the dark pane of glass they called a window, then back up to one of the cameras closest to it.

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