ElizabethAndersonJr
|• the world belongs to you •|

"Emma, being by sister proposes great responsibility. You must learn to keep secrets." Lily, who had now been renamed as Emma, nodded, she knew how to keep a secret.

"You need to know how to be loyal." She nodded again, she had been loyal since the day she was born, to whoever was there for her.

"You must never break my trust." She nodded again. She had a feeling he was just repeating the same point again and again, but she learned to be patient and she was grateful that he had taken her out that prison. "You must not, under any circumstance, break my promise."

She nodded again, but with a reply, "I promise, brother."

"Call me Lincoln." He said. "Now, are you ready to see your new home?" She nodded eagerly. He chuckled, "Good girl, I like it when you nod." Emma knew she was grinning like a Cheshire cat, the blooming warmth in her heart took hold of her; her dreams would finally become true.

She'd longed for this day, it had finally come.

Under the dark night sky, they walked side by side, both content with life so far. Emma found herself dancing under the stars with delight, she giggled softly and twirled around in the tall grass. "Wait up," Lincoln called. Emma began to run, she always wanted to play under the shining stars.

Lincoln was a fast runner, she was impressed by his stamina and speed. He came around from behind her and stopped in front of her. Emma wasn't so good at controlling her feet; she skidded, yet managed to tackle Lincoln to the ground. She giggled furiously.

"You like giggling, don't you?" He smiled a sad smile. "Hope you'll giggle like this forever." She nodded again and beamed. No one could take that smile away from her lips. No matter what happened.

They walked on for a few moments, in silence until Lincoln asked, "So, tell me something about you."

"Well," began Emma, "I'm technically not an orphan, since my parents are alive, but I'm a burden so I belong in an orphanage. I've never been called by my name by anyone except my best friend, Aneesa." Her words choked her, she had never missed Aneesa more.

"Hey," Lincoln coaxed, "I'm going to call you by your name, and forget those parents, now you have me." He grabbed her tiny hands in his and squeezed them.

Emma already admired him. His sweet and protective words, which were directed towards her, were enough for her, enough to subdue the lifetime of hatred and loneliness she used to feel.

"My parents are like yours too. They kept us, but out of the three hundred and sixty-five days in the year, they only spend ten with us." She shuddered, then wondered who 'us' was? But she knew better than to question Lincoln. The more the merrier, she thought.

"We are here."

She was stunned; the empyreal towers were surrounded by pearly white statues of birds that glistened under the moonlight. Each window was crafted with thick tinted glass that hid secrets that were big enough for her to fall through whilst standing tall. Golden dust was sprinkled onto the walls, giving them a delicate touch. The walls were black, they blended into the night sky, camouflaging the inhabitants.

This is now my home, it will keep me safe. She let the thought hang on her shoulders as Lincoln turned the key.

It wasn't an old fashioned key, it was one of the new ones she'd seen Ms. Specimen carry when she came to meet Aneesa. It was a long tube that released spikes when inserted. The door creaked open.

"Welcome home." Lincoln gestured her in.

It was decorated in white and gold, the floors marbled and pure white. A white that would reveal the littlest specks of dirt and dust. She gazed at the chandelier, at how it reflected light to the tiniest corners of the room, nothing could hide here; it was like a big spotlight shining from above.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Lincoln grinned and again, Emma nodded.

He walked past her and into another room, she followed at his heels. "This," he threw his arms in the air, "is the ballroom."

He took her around the house, taking her through every room on every floor. There was more than Emma could imagine, from a ballroom to a shoe room. To her astonishment, there even was a room for biscuits, as apparently the family loved biscuits.

"Now," Lincoln had brought Emma to the third and last floor, "this is my room." Then he moved onto the next and said, "And this is yours." He pushed the door open.

Emma gasped, it was barely audible to Lincoln. She didn't gasp at the beauty and serenity of the room, but at what she saw lying on the marbled floor.

By the bed, lay the body of a girl, not much older than Emma herself. She was smeared in deep red blood, a pool of blood formed by her head. Her mane had downed in it, becoming tinted red. Her eyes were open, bloodshot. Emma realised that her sleep had been murdered, she couldn't sleep in this room after this. She bit her tongue to stop the tears and to stop the expression of fear showing on her face.

"She's dead." He said. "She Emma. The real Emma, my sister." Emma looked at him but his eyes were focused on the deceased Emma. "I killed her."

Emma spotted the murder weapon. It was a mere violet coloured crystal vase. It's for flowers, not to kill. She wanted to scream but knew better than to anger him, who knew what he would do to her. Her blood went cold; he surely wasn't the brother she wanted, but she put herself in this mess, how could she leave?

"Don't worry, this won't happen to you, she wasn't as... understanding as you." He looked over her way and smiled. "Now I need you to help me... discard her." Emma nodded, she was scared, but she'd rather obey him than die in vain.

"Good girl."

He walked over to the corpse and tugged at the arms. "And also, once we are done cleaning this... appalling mess, I'm going to dye your hair like hers and give you contacts so your eyes are violet. Then we will make a nice cozy fire and discuss all of Emma's memories so you know who you are now." She nodded one last time and grabbed the feet of dead Emma.

She should have known...

There's always a twist with unconditional kindness.

—

What just happened? Who expected this? Well I didn't...