"Checkmate." Telling me this, Chrixten finishes up my second braid. The piece moves at the flick of her finger, but nothing touches it but air. "I think this is the first time you haven't let her win, Chrixten. Are you suddenly getting sentience, robot lady?" Kaide taunts.

I look up at Chrixten, but she's not really paying anyone any attention. I want to ask her. Why she hides her amazing superpowers? Why are there other people like her in hiding? Why do people like her hate people like me and Kaide? Why do people like us hate her people? When she notices me looking at her, she locks eye contact with me and smiles. My eyes quickly shy away and notice Kaide walking out the room. She's probably going outside.

I've never had any real conversations with anyone. They all see me as a child who understands little. Maybe I don't get much. But how can I understand more if it's not explained? Kaide is so distant with everyone. I don't know why she stays with us and doesn't run away like she always says she will. I follow behind her and make my way to the stairs outside the mansion.

Sitting on the marble stairs she pulls out a white rapper, lights it, and blows out a puff of dirty air. No one else in the world uses that thing but her. Auntie Theodora told me that there is a cure, but Kaide chooses not to use it. I sit down beside her and look out and down the path. She smells really bad.

"Chrixten smiled at me." I say. I'm not really sure why I told Kaide, but I just really wanted to talk to her. "Huh!? Chrixten? Smile? Hah!" She says in a chopping way, like she's piecing together the image and her thoughts at the same time. "Have you never seen her smile?" I ask her. "Heh. Oh I've seen Chrixten smile a couple times. You just gotta get her drunk, and, when I say drunk, I mean you gotta get her plenty of drinks. More than probably you could ever drink. A specific kind of drink too. Then you'd have to force her to drink it..." she pauses, questioning whether she should continue, "...but you don't want her to get her to drink. Cause, I mean.... when she drinks, she drinks and, when she smiles, she smiles and, when she's happy, she's mad. Not the mad that you'd think mad, but the mad crazy mad. The without her eyepatch mad. The kind of mad that pops out of nowhere, been following you behind for hours without you noticing her footsteps, gives you a gun, and fights you with a knife. Because maybe it's fun and thrilling to her" she stops for a moment to puff some gas. "...or maybe, in that moment, she's just mad."

I don't understand. 
"Y'know what I've neva seen? Ten angry. Like, I'm talking a pissy angry. The kind of angry that Theodora can only describe through her nightmares. But even then she says Ten doesn't look it. What do ya think could happen? Would she make everyone disappear from existence in a flash. I've seen her at work. The only ting ya see is the sparkling movements of Ten's knives or swords or bullets reflecting the sun's shine, and then whatever ya call what happens to the person after the fact. Ya try to trace her movements with the silver lines that she draws. But she's untraceable, untracked til... murder- ya murder. And don't get me started on that know-it-all Theodor"-I cut her off pretending that someone inside is calling me. "Yes?! Yes right away!" I say, jumping up to my feet and running indoors.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Immediately after Seán's little freak show inside that hot tub room, the Maidens and Bachelors got dressed and stormed into the Headquarters in a rampage. I had never seen them so disheveled. I don't think anyone has. Quickly, I make my way out the room and masks were bickering at masks and uniforms were bickering at uniforms and masks were bickering at uniforms.

Amongst it all, I saw Dia directly fussing at the plain black masked Maiden, who was just standing there. Politely pushing through uniforms, I made my way over there. Seán, sitting at his desk, watches with no expression at all as though he has more important things to care about. The lady in black in white stands beside his chair; she's like a statue listening to Dia's yelling.

"You set that up! You ruined the whole thing! Breaking the rules for your own personal gain!" Dia shouts. "We should have expected this from you and your kind." A Bachelor from the behind me says. "Have you learned nothing?!" She yells, adding more and more to the list of complaints. "Your kind will always use your abilities to get what your want! You're people are selfish and should not be here!" A Maiden yells from the other side of the desk. "Shut up." Dia says and goes back to stare at that blank black mask. "You have nothing to say as usual." She states, but it also sounded like a question.

A lone silence hovers in the building like they desired and longed to hear this Maiden's voice. They all know her, but I don't. Dia sighs and speaks, "very well then. This one is yours." She resigns and snaps her fingers, indicating that the lines must be formed. As they were slowly piecing back together an outbreak comes out again.

"No! This isn't fair! He's mine! I love him!" A Maiden yells as she runs up to the desk and shoves me aside. DAMAGE TO LOWER RIGHT QUADRANT. My arm yells in my head. A siren echoes in my mind, making it hard to focus. But I don't want to lose track of what's happening. As the Maiden charges to grab at Seán, the silent Maiden grasps the other's arm in a flash, flipping her over and shoving her into the ground.

     Now, the room was silent again, and all that could be heard was a crack of a mask beneath silver toed shoes.  "Ah. Aah!" The Maiden on the ground says. The black masked Maiden lifts her foot, and the broken mask beneath it crumbles to pieces. Moaning, the bare faced Maiden covers her hands over her face.

     "You really want him back, don't you? I once thought you've never wanted anything." Dia mumbles. Snapping her fingers twice, the Maidens and Bachelors get back in their two lines once more, and I get to the side. "We'll arrive sunrise tomorrow." She says, and they all march out. I guess I'll be coming back sunrise tomorrow then.

     Now that they had all finally left the  Headquarters, it felt empty. The blaring alarm finally stops going off in my head. That Maiden must have had a knife or something. She could have hurt Seán like she did to me. Not that anyone would care. The uniforms got back to their hustle, and I just stood there. My eyes couldn't look away from that Maiden. The longer I looked, my eyes began to water.

     Then, she looked at me, or in my direction since she had no eye holes. As I stated deep into the darkness, and it looked back at me, my eyes began going in and out of focus. Until I couldn't see anything at all.

...
      A voice clears itself from the side wall beside the door. Peeking through the door, I look over to her.  I can't see her face, but I see a girl standing beside Dia. "Wouldn't be a problem if you just had let me"- Dia cuts her off, snapping, "we are not putting a tracker chip in her back!" Shaking her head, Dia walks over to the the wall beside me and slouches down all the way to the ground. The girl looks down at Dia, getting down on the ground with her.  She doesn't say anything.

"Its not safe for her to be a part of this, but she won't shut up about it." Dia says. The girls doesn't say anything. "She's strong. She's determined. She could handle the danger..." she reassures, not really sure who she's reassuring. The girl stands back up to lean her back and prop her foot on the wall. She's silent for a moment then adds, "keep her away from me. She'll be fine." Then she's silent again.

"Sure, you're a pessimist, cynic, assassin, who suggests some pretty scary stuff, but you've always been sort of- in your own way- a good friend, and, by 'in you own way', I mean you have a very, very, different way of handling things. ...but that girl really needs a friend." Dia softly says.  Standing up, Dia looks down at her and stares. She's wearing a really hot jacket with fur on the inside and blue stripes going down the sides. A white circle with a dopey smile drawn on top is on the front of the jacket. She's always wearing that jacket no matter what the occasion. She looks unfazed by the heat. "He gave that to you?" Dia asks. She nods her head once. She's way shorter than Dia. When they make eye contact, Dia quickly jerks her head up to stare up at the sky. "Man I used to hate you. Maybe I still do." Dia states.

 

 

 

 

The next morning Luke left early, and I was alone and free in the apartment. The Woman in Silk gave me a day off; it doesn't make too much a difference cause no work was getting done anyways. As I bite into my breakfast, I can't help but think how, no matter how long I've lived here, I've never been in complete silence. But, right now, with that Maiden staring at me through that eyeless mask, I can't even hear the gulp from me swallowing coffee.

"You could at least tell me your name." I say. Twirling my fork above an empty plate. "Don't have one." She bluntly states. Putting my fork down, I frown up at her. "Then how the hell do people address you?" I snap. "As Kazu Ten." She says. "Kazoo? What kind of name is that. You're just Ten." I say. Picking my fork back up I start spinning it around my fingers. Tilting her head just the slightest, I hear the chirp of an animal for maybe five or seven seconds. "How old are you?" I ask. "Had lost track." She claims. "Tch. How the hell do you... never mind. You could at least say something more than just three words." I remark. "Sure I could." She replies.

"You remember everything?" I ask. "I do remember everything." She answers. "And you can't tell me anything." I continue. "I can't tell anything." She responds. I hate this. "What can you tell me?" I ask. As I spoke, a soft grinding sound resonates in my head. That should be a question open enough. "Depends." She says. Stabbing my fork into my plate, I stand up and push my chair out the way. "Alright. I'm going out." I say, dropping my dishes into the sink and leaving into my room to get dressed. 
 

     After Luke's little coronation, the whole family met up again, with three extra members.  We sat in a new food shop that Jordan suggested. Why do we even let this extra stay around us?

"So uh... tough crowd yesterday, am I right?" Jordan asks, but, judging from the atmosphere, no one feels like answering. A (young?) woman scantily dressed comes over to our table putting down the food Jordan ordered for us. We didn't understand a word on the menu, so she guessed what we'd like. "Maybe we should all start again, y'know?" She questions again.

...
"Well- um... I'm-"

"Yes, Jordalina is right. I am Dia, Maiden of Sir Lucas Flame." Luke's Maiden says, standing from her seat and doing an overzealous curtesy. My Maiden, in reply, slightly bows her head and speaks, "Ten, Maiden of Seán." 
"Er, I am Jordan, assistant intern thing of Maiden Dia who's Maiden of Luke." Jordan finishes, and the silence comes back again.

I pick up the spoon and stir it in the steaming mess of meat and red sauce. It looks like it would melt my insides the moment I put it in my mouth. The showy woman comes out again, this time with things to say. Guess she doesn't like the vibe my family so naturally and unawarely emanates.

"Welcome to our restaurant, we gladly assist your every need here. I couldn't help but notice the uniqueness of such a group and was curious as to what brought you here." She says, but we all knew she already knew her answer. When Jordan suggested that we come here, she spoke on such a personally invested level in forcing us to come here that it was clear she comes to this place at least every day. Wouldn't be surprised if she lived here. She would if she could.

"We are here in respects of Jordalina's wishes." Dia answers. Under her breath, Jordan mutters, "how come I have to call you your nickname..." The woman nods her head in fake understanding. "Ah. I see. My name is Rebbi, and, if you need anything else, feel free to ring. I so wish my husband and son were here to see this." She says, connecting a bell to a wire going through the table and just standing there and staring in awe. For too long she stares, but her expression changes for a moment in my Maiden and my direction. "Actually- you look a little familiar- do I"
-"no one cares. Get me a to-go container." Arms crossed, I demand.

"Geez, Seán, any ruder and she might have walked slower away in disappointment. Jerk." Jordan utters.

After having my food packed, I stand, saying,
"-Well! This has been a complete and utter waste of a day. I'm kinda pissed off at the amount of time you've wasted for us to just sit here and stare at each other like idiots. I'm going home." 
...

"See you later Seán." The chirper son of a bitch says, unfazed. 

I was alone and free in the apartment. I can't help but think how, no matter how long I've lived here, I've never been in complete silence. But, right now, with that Maiden staring at me through that eyeless mask, as I'm sitting on the couch staring out at an empty table, I can't even hear the sound of a lone heartbeat.

Ten, leaping over the back of the sofa, props her feet on the table and holds that expressionless black mask between us. As she looks over at me with that familiar light green eye and pitch black patch, she smiles, smugly saying, "wow, you're an ass." 

Didn't expect that. 

Matter of fact, my whole body jerked back at the words, but, at the same time, I chuckled. 

Didn't expect that.

  It's getting really boring just watching you. She wanted to see what we're like now. But that wont be a problem. No not a problem long at all, will it?