Selenophilia

Four

"I'm sorry for my brother's words."

Why?

Elise sighed, looking away from the large windows, from the outside world, from freedom, to look at Marielle. The woman looked apologetic while wearing a small uncomfortable smile on her face.

Elise wondered why the young woman was trying to make some small talk with her. Elise didn't even want to talk about it, didn't want to give it a second thought because it felt too much for her to handle. She couldn't handle it. She already felt like a prisoner here but now she'd have to be burdened by the fact that she she was in a family full of what?

Like her brother had said, Elise was wasting his sister's time. She's wasting everyone's time. Why should she even bother?

Why should Marielle even bother?

Elise stared at Marielle for a moment, wondering why she suddenly cares. Marielle, who was poof! Magically her sister, was apologizing for someone, for their words. Else didn't take the young woman as a person who'd say such things. Where was the cold, frightening woman?

That side of hers was much more easier to deal with than this side of hers.

Since the beginning, the young woman had been nothing but rude, had provoked Elise, using words that slightly wavered her bravery and confidence and had been nothing but cold. Cold and frightening. Uattached of any kind of emotions.

What happened to that person all of a sudden?

Where was it?

"It's nothing." Elise answered tersely, looking back to the large windows as they walked through the empty corridors of the mansion. The only sound echoing were their soft patter of footsteps.

The young woman was giving Elise a tour but had immediately given up when the little girl looked uninterested, not even giving a second glance to the grandeur of the mansion. She was only looking at the windows with a longing look on her face.

Marielle had observed her for a little while and had seen the sadness in the little girl's eyes, her eyes would turn glassy as if she were about to cry and her lower lip would tremble.

It made Marielle's heart twist painfully.

"It's not nothing." She frowned, feeling her irritation swirling inside her. Why was Elise so calm about this? It wasn't helping Marielle's guilt. Elise was supposed to get mad and scream and react, she was supposed to do something but she was only looking at the windows with that longing, puppy dog eyes that was making Marielle feel like she should grovel before the little girl's feet.

"It is." Elise insisted but the young woman just didn't back off.

"It's not nothing." Marielle was trying her best not to snap. Her patience were wearing her thin though. Elise was just very hard to understand. Very hard to please.

Nothing was pleasing to Elise, nothing made the little girl's mood brighten, nothing ever made her show a smile or a laugh that's genuine.

And Marielle wanted to see all those sides of Elise.

"You shouldn't apologize for something that you didn't do, Marielle." Elise chuckled without having any bitter sound to it. She even sounded amused. "It doesn't suit you."

Marielle huffed and crossed her arms. "How would you know what would suit me or not?"

Elise looks at Marielle and grinned, her young, naive eyes were glinting with amusement and a look that made the young woman see a little girl with a story and not a mature fellow with a sharp tongue and eyes.