I snuck around the house, feeling intimidated and scared. It was strangely quiet for a house full of children... Maybe Tilly was wrong about the kids being in here? I looked around the house and spotted a large lump hiding behind curtains. Reaching out, I touched the bump and—

"AHHHH!" a scream pierced through the air.

"AHHHH!" I screamed along with it as I fell on my bottom in surprise and fear.

The lump revealed itself to be a young boy. He had smooth jet black hair and sky blue eyes. He looked around May and Felicity's age.

Before I can open my mouth, the boy shouted, "Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert!"

Suddenly, all over the place, children began to poke their heads out of their hiding spots. Some from behind tables, chairs, other curtains, and a closet. They held something in their hands and raised it above their heads. I paled when I saw that one of them was holding a broomstick.

"Oh!" a familiar blond girl stepped out of the closet. "It's Sister!"

"Felicity?" I asked.

Felicity came charging at me at full speed with a smile on her face.

"Woah! Hold on! Slow down—"

The breath knocked out of me; I suddenly find myself laying on the ground with an elementary face grinning back at me.

"It's okay guys! She's not a stranger! She's the one who gave me the pretty flower yesterday!" Felicity beckoned.

The girls perked up and inched towards me. The boys on the other hand were still hesitant until the black haired boy stared at me closer and cried, "It's the red-eyed girl!"

In an instant, I was trampled by a herd of kids who began fighting to get a chance to play with me. The girls wanted me to get them flowers and do their hair, while the boys wanted me to play tag with them, convinced that my eyes had superpowers.

Although I only remembered one new name, Jimmy, the boy who I had found behind the curtain, I wasn't motivated to learn anymore names. My ears were bleeding already, and it hadn't even been past five minutes. I was so done with these kids; I was ready to leave and escape the house when Tilly's words rang inside my mind.

"See, the rest of the kids here are orphans as well."

"Shut up, you bald-headed dummy!"

"How about you shut up first, you blond-headed demon!"

I turned my head to see Felicity and Jimmy screaming at each other, pulling at each other clothes. Quickly, I intercepted them and pulled them apart. The two kids looked at me with contempt for interrupting their fight.

"Why don't we play a game together?" I asked, trying to control my temper.

"Game?" Felicity asked.

"With her?" Jimmy wrinkled his nose.

"We separate into a girls team and a boys team. We have one boy and one girl race each other. We will start off with one girl and one boy. That pair will race against each other around the inside perimeter of the pen and tag the next person in line! Whichever line finishes first wins!" I said confidently, clapping my hands together.

The kids looked at each other warily.

"That's a stupid idea," Jimmy groaned.

"Sister, that's a horrible idea!" Felicity whined.

Ouch, there goes my self esteem.

"After all," Jimmy said with a smirk. "It would be such a waste of time for us boys to spend it with girls."

"Hah!" Felicity snorted. "You're just scared of winning!"

"You wish!"

"No, you wish!"

"H-hey," I said, trying to calm them down.

"Wanna go?" Jimmy challenged.

"Fine!" Felicity yelled.

"Set up the race!" they overlapped.

"Didn't you just say it was a stupid idea?" I muttered.

Moments later, I found myself out in the farm with two groups of kids, pushing and tousling with each other. I grumbled to myself as I watched Felicity and Jimmy bicker over who would go against who. Exhausted from their fighting, I interrupted them.

"Alright!" I said, completely annoyed. "Everyone get in a line. One line of boys and the other with girls."

They shuffled around at the austere tone of my voice.

"Okay," I started. "So we'll have the first pair race against each other around the inside of the fence. When you race back, tap the next person in line. The last person to get in their line wins!"

Cheers cried out from the lines of boys and girls. Some people had heard the commotion of the children and curiously crowded around the fence to watch the game.

"When I count to three, the first pair take off. One! Two! Three!" I waved my arms and the first pair shot off.

I watched, amused, in the middle of the farm, while the pair raced each other inside the fence before touching the next person. I gloated. Finally, the kids could focus on something rather than bickering.

Looking up, I realized the sky had turned a red color already; cotton candy clouds dotted the sky with birds flying through them. As they passed overhead, I caught a blond color in the corner of my eye. I glanced away from the side to see Yuri leaning against the fence next to me.

"Miss!" he laughed as I smiled at him.

"Hey Yuri," I greeted, running up to him.

"I wanna join the fun game!" he cried, ready to climb over the fence.

"No," I said, pushing him down. "The kids are evenly distributed. If you join, it'll make the race unfair."

Yuri pouted like a kid but then broke into a smile. 

"I hope Miss makes a lot of close friends! They'll be the ones that keep you happy everyday!" Yuri cheered, waving goodbye to me.

Something about Yuri's laugh unsettled me, but I gave him a smile and nodded as Yuri walked away. Turning back to the race, I turned around just in time to see the second to last racers tap the last players which so happened to be Felicity and Jimmy.

I rolled my eyes at the sarcasm and irony. The screams grew louder as all the children began to cheer for the last two racers. I couldn't believe they still had the breath to yell names at each other.

"Mii-"

I frowned and looked around, but everyone outside the fence were watching Felicity and Jimmy race. That sounded a lot like Yuri...

"Miis—"

I turned around and looked around. Either someone was pranking me or my ears were beginning to hear thing.

"MISS!"

My eyes spot Yuri running towards me, his arms gesturing wildly at me. I waved back, confused. Suddenly, the people around the fence who were watching gasped and ran away. I looked around still confused of what was happening.

Then I saw it.

Browny was galloping in at full speed towards the farm. That wouldn't be a problem if I spotted a rider on top of him. Where was Justin? How could he let this happen—

I blanched as I recognized a familiar black haired boy behind the horse, trying to call his horse back. His eyes widened when our eyes met, and I knew this wasn't planned at all. Browny must have shot off while Justin wasn't looking or something—

I shook my head. There was something more important to think about right now. If Browny jumped over the fence, he would hit Felicity and Jimmy who were just rounding the fence. I glanced behind my shoulder where the oblivious kids were still captured in the race.

The image of May's body on the ground during our time in the campsite suddenly flashed through my brain. Without realizing it, my body took over.

Browny was ten feet away— I started to hit the ground running towards the two children—five feet—just a little more—! I lunged and grabbed the two kids, wrapping them within my arms.

I rolled onto my stomach so that my body wrapped around Felicity and Jimmy. I gritted my teeth as I felt Browny's hooves graze my back. I almost fainted in relief when Browny landed just far enough to not trample onto us when he landed on four legs.

"Whew!" I grinned, shaken as I fell back onto my back. "You guys alright?"

The two kids were on the ground, their eyes still reflecting confusion and fear as they stared at me.

"What—"

"Are you alright?!"

Something rammed into me and shook me hard.

"Wha—" I said, confused. "Justin?"

"You idiot! You could've died!" Justin yelled, gripping my shoulders. He was close enough for me to see golden specks in his iris. His bangs almost touched my forehead as he sighed and leaned forward when he realized I was alright.

"I'm fine," I reassured. "Justin—"

Suddenly he leaned in and hugged me tightly.

"Justin?"

He didn't say anything for a few seconds; it quickly became quite awkward with so many curious kids and people watching.

"You stupid monkey," Justin finally said, pulling himself away from me and pinching my cheeks.

Irritation bubbled inside of me, and I made a grab at his cloak, ready to choke the life out of him when Yuri jumped over the fence and pointed at me.

"Miss! Your back!" he cried.

"Eh?" I asked, looking behind me. I couldn't see behind me but based on his look it wasn't good. Justin turned me around, and immediately the atmosphere switched from a relieved tone to an angry feel.

Felicity and Jimmy gasped when they saw whatever was on my back. I frowned and tried to look behind me. "What's wrong?"

"Y-your back," Jimmy gulped.

Felicity started to cry, and Jimmy looked on the verge of bursting into tears as well. I reached out for them, but Justin grabbed me.

"What are you doing? You need to treat your back right away," Justin growled.

"Wait, what about them—"

I gasp in surprise as Justin lifted me up and threw my over his shoulder. My stomach exploded with butterflies as he began to walk away from the scene.

"Let me down!"

"The kids will get treated but you're the one really hurt," Justin said ignoring my punches and kicks. "Doesn't it hurt when you move? You should stop moving."

I didn't want to listen to him, but suddenly, I felt as though a burn was blazing onto my back when I moved. I gave up in defeat and let him carry me into a house.

I didn't have to see, but I could already hear Maida's voice as she came running up to us with supplies in her arms. Justin placed me on a futon and stood out of the way to let Maida treat me.

Maida motioned for Justin to go. He looked down at her unwillingly. Maida let out a sharp heave of sigh through her nostrils. "I'm going to have to strip her."

With those words, he turned on his heel and left the house.

Maida began to strip my clothes off and gently turned me onto my stomach. She applied medicine along my wound.

"You're lucky it's not deep," Maida said.

"Yeah," I managed.

Maida never really liked me, and I could tell. Since I was deaf and blind to everyone who came in a week before, I never minded Maida when she came in to check up on May. But now that it was just the two of us, I could feel the awkward tension begin to set in.

Because of that, I was surprised when Maida spoke up. "You know...when you first came in with Justin holding you tightly against his chest, I didn't like you. I thought you would be one of those annoying pipsqueaks who did nothing but whine. You didn't do anything but stare at your sister's body."

I winced at the last sentence.

"When you finally got up and went outside the house, everyone including me was surprised. Then you helped Felicity to stop crying. Two days after that, you risk your own life for two children you barely knew for a day."

Maida looked at me. I finally could see what she really looked like. Her dark brown hair was wrapped in a low messy bun; her hair covered one eye while the other light brown eye shone brightly at me.

She suddenly broke into a smile.

"You're quite an eccentric girl. I think I like your type."

I stared at Maida, surprised, before a natural smile came.

"Thanks for taking care of me Maida," I said.

A knock on the door interrupted us; Maida permitted the knocker to come in. Justin came in with a bowl of soup in his hands. His eyes landed on my back and flashed with irritation. Tearing his eyes away, he bent down and placed the bowl next to me, his white cloak trailing behind him.

"Eat," he commanded.

I propped myself up with my elbows in front of me and brought the warm soup to my lips. In seconds, it was gone. I licked my lips happily, and Justin snorted.

"What?" I asked.

He opened his mouth and then closed it and shook his head.

"You're lucky that you'll get to eat this everyday," Justin said before taking my bowl with him.

"You'll be back to normal by tomorrow," Maida informed me. "Just don't move around a lot."

I nodded mutely, and Maida left me with Justin. I was left in the dark, trying to sleep as I tossed and turned. Again, sleep didn't come to me that easily. Groaning in frustration, I sat up and frowned.

I stood up cautiously to see if my back would hurt, but it didn't hurt one bit. It only hurt when I turned my back. Sighing, I glanced around the room and spotted a cabinet.

Wondering if there were anything inside, I opened the brown cabinet and found myself looking back at me.

Blinking, I edged towards the mirror and leaned in. I didn't recognize the girl standing in front of me anymore.

My eyes had dulled, my skin had gone paler, and there were scratches on my face and arms. I frowned and leaned even closer to the mirror. I didn't realize how long I was looking at my reflection before I heard someone's footsteps near my doorsteps and slammed the cabinet shut.

"Tristan!" I exclaimed as I turned around.

"Here are some dumplings for dinner," he said, handing a bowl towards me. "What are you doing?"

Ignoring his question, I munched on the dumplings happily before I realized Tristan was staring at me. "Did you eat yet? Do you want some of mine?"

"I already ate," Tristan said.

"Why are you staring then?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Just engraving a memory of the red-eyed girl who," Tristan paused, sticking his fingers in front of him. "Has not fallen for Justin, managed to get a hug out of him, and risked her life for the two most annoying kids."

I stared at him and rolled my eyes. "What a good impression of me. Anyways, I'll return this—"

I made my way to the door, but he grabbed my arm. "You should rest. Maida will freak out if you're out of bed again."

I pouted but let him take my bowl. " Thanks."

Tristan smiled at me. He left the room, and I was alone again. I tossed again from one side to the other unable to sleep. I turned on my back. I wondered how Jimmy and Felicity were doing.

Moments later, just when I began to feel sleep creep up on me, I heard the door open. I shot up and spotted three shadows in the doorway.

"What are you guys doing here?" I questioned.

"Sorry did we wake you?" Tristan asked.

"No," I shook my head. "What's up?"

"We just wanted to check in on you," he smiled. I tilted my head and frowned. Tristan and Yuri I would believe...but Justin? I don't think so.

"Thank you for bearing with us," Yuri smiled, bowing his head. "I hope you have a lot of fun here."

"It was a pleasure," Tristan grinned.

"What?" I asked, confused. I looked towards Justin, and our eyes held a short stare. He bowed his head towards me the slightest before looking away.

"Night!" Yuri chirped before closing the door.

I stared at the door, still confused on what had just happened before deciding I was overthinking it. Closing my eyes, I let the silent and still night close in. The only sound I could hear was the sound of crickets chirping and the wind outside. I smiled unconsciously to myself.

Even though Mom was gone from my side and May still hadn't woken up, I felt human again. Like I wanted to get up and help people. And maybe, I had made a couple of friends with that new desire.

~~~~~

Chapter 9 is up! Thank you all again for reading! If you enjoyed this story, please give your vote and comment down below your thoughts on this chapter:)))