᯽Capítulo 02⊰᯽

᯽⊱❈═ E T H E L ═❈⊰᯽

A humming, that’s what I could hear in the background almost distant, one that belonged to a sweet and cozy voice, one that was nostalgic to him.

The voice of your mother.

"Um..." the platinum end up grunting as she scratches her eyes "mom..., what are you doing here?" He couldn’t help but ask, but then he noticed; his hands were now small again, and his voice thin as when he was a child.

Child? A... child?

"What do you mean what am I doing here, silly?" His mother did not avoid laughing when answering, thus bringing one of his hands to his mouth "I came to stay with my little daughter, what else would I be doing here?" soon further messed up the hairs that were now short of Ethel.

Now his purple eyes were confused, he was lost, he was wondering a thousand and one things inside his now small, pale head.

Had she died? And if not, why did she come back? How did she come back? Who made her come back? With what method did she come back? Would that have any side effects? What effect would it have if it had one? It was the doubts running through their thoughts frantically.

"Hello..., do you hear me?" his mother poked his forehead with one of his fingers "or better..., do you want to sleep again? She doesn’t seem completely rested..." the tone came out worried and the look accompanied him in an almost orchestrated way.

"I’m fine..." the little platinum girl soon replied "but..., Mom...how old am I?" soon raised the large eyes of amethyst, thus turning the delicate face to the side lightly, with doubt.

"Have you forgotten, dear? You’re five years old, look."

She raised all the fingers of one hand and counted them with that gentle smile, the one she missed so much, the one who has made her cry several times on sleepless nights.

"Five... thank you, Mama."

Just like that, the little platinum rose up and went towards the door.

I wanted to know, I wanted to look.

"Honey, where are you going? We didn’t even finish the book!"

"I need answers, calm down!"

"Does she need...answers?..." her mother thought, and with that ended up giving a slight laugh when she noticed what she had just heard.

What would a child of that size want to know? If he had sweets that afternoon? If his favorite dress had just been washed? Well, she didn’t need to know, and she was happy that her daughter had so much energy and enthusiasm.

"Miss, you shouldn’t co-..."

One of the servants stopped her, but she soon looked at him with that determined face, which did not allow the butler to finish his speech.

"What day is it?"

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

"What day is it today?"

The butler had confusion in his clear eyes, but even so, gave a slight smile to the child in front of him, thus leaning towards him.

"Today is the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, miss."

"Oh..., so the autumn festival is near?"

"Yes, miss. Do you like this festival?"

She could not say that she hated it, but she could not say that she loved him completely, since it was a little after that festival that her parents died, when she was only seven years old.

That was two years away.

"I think so...thank you."

The child gave a smile and soon left then wanted something, something that gave a direction to her, why something like this had happened, who had planned such a thing.

No one ever told her how they were killed.

"Maybe..., uh, letters?"

His mind went to something simple. Threats could be sent in letters, usually executions had some notice, or at least... in some cases.

This led her to her father’s office, it was the most likely place to have something like this, and also the place and person most likely to have something like this delivered, but she would have to count on the chance of him being away on business.

"Dad...?"

He knocked a few times and had no answer, not even a simple grumble.

Maybe... now luck was smiling at her?

"Some kind of envelope...?"

He snooped around those on the open table, but it was useless. Much of it was about negotiations, matters of territory, invitations from uninteresting nobles..., how your father had the patience to read all that?

"Maybe..., in the drawers?" appeared simply in his mouth.

Which made her open a few drawers and look to see if she still had any close-up or just suspiciously hidden mail.

Nada.

"Do you even have a suspect? Anything at the time?" kept trying to look in his memory box.

However, nothing and no one stood out, besides his parents were more in the discreet category of nobles, without rumors, without misinterpretations, without intrigues.

However, there was that festival, the one that was close to the death of his parents.

"I should go..., but I never liked to go..."

A long sigh came out of her lungs as she withdrew from that room, she was exhausted just remembering those rehearsed smiles, rules, fancy decorations.

Expendable.

Trivial.

"No, that might have some impact" tried to remember, it would be worth it, it was their life.

You should get used to it.

"Miss? What were you doing in there?"

The butler found her again, but the answer came as quickly as a neck-cut on the guillotine.

"Dad is not here..."

"Oh..., I’m sorry, miss, he left for work early."

He shook his head in negative and staged a sad expression of disappointment.

And the butler believed, as did a spectator immersed in a play.

"He..., he’ll be back soon, okay? He can never stay that long away from you, miss."

"Ethel."

"How?"

"Ethel, not miss" ended up saying with a certain sulking air and a beak on her delicate face.

He remembered that butler, he’d made a scene when his parents were killed.

He carried anger as he screamed at his grandmother when he threw all that, all the events in her face and then when those clear eyes met her purple.

Melancholy.

"But, miss, I..."

"Ethel, E-THE-EL, E-T-H-E-L, ETHEEEEEEEL!"

The butler briefly tried to contain his laugh, but soon failed miserably, thus crouching to stay at the girl’s height.

"Right, Miss Ethel" the purple-eyed smiled in response, and the light-eyed did the same, then "call me when you need, now I need to get back to work" got up and went towards the kitchen, and the child just nodded with a wide arch, one that would reach your eyes.

"I hope he doesn’t leave this time..." did not avoid thinking with some distress.

But he wouldn’t, because the main event that caused him to leave would not exist.

She would avoid him.

"Think, think..." began to try to use a little of his reasoning, but was soon interrupted by a smell, a sweet and caramelized.

Doce.

That’s what I needed.

"I want it!"

He entered the kitchen and everyone was amazed at how abrupt the platinum had entered.

Had she really done that? Was she that hungry?

"Miss..., you can’t go in the kitchen like that..."

One of the cooks ended up saying quietly, so trying to be careful with her words.

But she was longing, longing to eat something delicious and full of sugar.

"I need... sweet..."

She spoke in a sly way and the cook who ended up feeling sorry, ended up giving her a piece of what she was doing.

"This stays between us, okay? You can’t have candy before food, young lady."

He shook his head in positive while savoring, which made the cook smile with satisfaction, thinking that maybe..., once did not do so bad.

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