I stand up with my father's sword. I need to get out of here.

I start walking. I wonder, where will I go? I feel like a stray wandering in a vast and cruel world. How can I survive this world?

How pathetic I become. When I reach the main door, a number of black cars are outside the house.

Who are they? I can't fight them alone.

Will I going to die this day? No, I will live. But what will I do? Wait for my fate?

My eyes go the a certain car, the door opens and it shows Mister Twain. He runs fast to me.

"Shanaiah, what happened?" and asks worriedly, brushing my hair.

"Mister Twain." I say as I start to cry. I don't know why I am crying. Maybe, I miss Dad brushing my hair and I will consequently miss it.

"Hush, lady." He soothes while wiping my tears with his hands. And that makes me cry even harder. "Where's you Mom and Dad?" He questions.

I just shake my head. I can't answer his question. It's hard to say it, when I still believe that they are still alive.

He sighs and kneels in front of me. He puts his forehead on mine, "I'm sorry. So sorry, Shanaiah." and apologizes with a breathless whisper, "If I only came earlier, this wouldn't happen."

I shake my head. It is not Mister Twain's fault.

"Shanaiah, let me take you home, okay?" He says and I just nod. He carries me and I only cover my face to shoulder.

I don't want to see the light. It reminds me a lot good memories that becomes painful memories.

"Mister Twain," I call for him while he's walking.

"Yes, child?"

"Please teach me how to kill." I say in hurtful tone and clench my fist.

"Are you sure of that, Shanaiah?" He inquires.

I nod full of determination. "I'll hunt for revenge."

I hear the car door opens and he places me in the seat. He grins and pats my head, "Well then." he then approves and added: "Use those burning feelings inside of you to kill for your own good."

Ξ ✿ Ξ

"My sympathies, little Wallace." Mister Twain's wife tells me while leading me to bathroom.

My dress is full of blood, and so as to my skin. Mistress Twain undresses me and puts me inside the tub.

The blood starts to mix with the water and it slowly becomes red.

I look at her, she is giving me a warm-motherly smile. Only if Mom is still alive, she would still smiling like that.

My eyes start to water as I sniff. The ghosts of them are still spinning around my mind.

"Oh, dear." She utters bit hysterical, "Did I say something horrible?"

"No. I'm sorry for worrying you, Mistress Twain." I respond and remove my tears.

"I know it hurts and I understand, Shanaiah." She speaks, "Also, please don't call me that, hija. You can call me Aunt Quinn."

I nod and agree to her. Aunt Quinn starts to soap my skin, and then shampoos my hair. Later that day, I finish taking a bath and Aunt Quinn lends me the clothes of Natsumi.

"Mom said." I say out of my mind. I miss Mom, I can recall all the memories of Mom to Aunt Quinn.

"What is that, sweet lass?"

"Mom said that she carries a child inside her tummy." I state with my shaky voice. "But the baby died along with Mom."

"God, child." She expresses with sorry tone and hugs me tightly. "You're too young to experience this. I hope, I can ease your pains."

Ξ ✿ Ξ

I keep on staying inside of the room. I don't want to be alone.

I am grateful because they respect my wish.

I'm not doing anything. Just lying on the bed. Staring at the ceiling, all the memories are playing inside my mind. It is like a movie.

Happy days. Sad days. I don't care whatever kind of days are they. It still makes me cry.

I hear something throwing pebbles in the window. I reach for the handle and open it.

I see Nathan up on the tree, exactly he throws a stone. And it lands on my forehead.

"Holy crap!" He exclaims. "I'm so sorry, Shan!!"

I groan lowly and touch my forehead. It hurts. Tsk. I look at him bit irritated.

He smiles sheepishly while scratching his hair, "Well, uh, Shan . . . Let's play?"

I sigh and shake my head. I close the window and mouth the words, 'I'm sorry' to him.

As I sit on the bed, someone knocks on the door and then it opens.

"Shanaiah, dear?" It's Aunt Quinn. She enters the room while bringing some snacks. "I brought you these, I assume that you're hungry."

I smile slightly to her and nod. She places the tray on the table. "By the way, Shanaiah."

I gaze to her, waiting to her next words.

"There will be a man coming here, and he will visit you this evening."

"Okay, Aunt Quinn." I tell her. She pats my head before she leaves.

Ξ ✿ Ξ

"What do you wish, Lady Wallace, for your parents?" This man, named Ian Heijima asks.

Aunt Quinn tells me about the man who'll going to visit this night. And here he is. He says, he's a lawyer. But it's not obvious, because of his face is funny.

Not funny because he has a hilarious face. It is just, his attitude. As for his appearance, he is a good-looking man. He just really have a lively characteristics.

"What's it, Skhy, huh? What are you thinking?" He asks, smiling widely.

"Skhy?" I repeat. "Why do you know my nickname?"

Suddenly, he turns his back and then cries. I raise a confused brow. What it is his problem?

He continues crying, "How dreadful, Skhy. You're so heartless!" He proclaims and weeps, "You forgot me already! I visited you when you were three!"

Three?

"Are you nuts?" I abruptly blurt. How can I possibly remember the happenings when I was three?

"Wah! She calls me nuts. How horrendous!"

Sheesh. I can't deal with him. Is he really a lawyer? Well, I don't think so.

"Back to business." His voice suddenly becomes serious. He fixes his spectacles and says, "I'm aware and worried about what have just happened this morning, Shanaiah. And it is really horrifying. Your parents and I used to be really close, but now, we lose them."

I stare at him. I can trust him. He is sad also, like me.

I hear him sigh, "I'm glad you're alive, Shanaiah." and grins gently, "You're not harm, only emotionally down."

I gasped silently. He's right.

"I will be fine." I tell him in firm tone.

He smile sideways, "That's it. You really a Wallace." He remarks, "So, what's your plan for your parents?"

"Please bury them in the middle of our garden in the manor." I request.

"That's good idea." Mister Heijima concurred. "No more?"

"And lastly, please plant the whole place with roses full of thorns."

He eyed me with a shock expression, but immediately changes it with a gentle smile. "Your wish is my command." He allows my requests. "And yes, I heard that you want to be an assassin?"

"Yes, sir. Mister Twain agreed with it."

"Oh, I see. But you're going to enter is not easy as you thought." He warns.

"I'm willing to take the risk." I say sternly. "Besides, I have already killed someone . . . with these hands. I'm already a sinner, a killer. B-But, I have the blood as killers since I was born, so . . . I-I'm-"

"Hush, Little Wallace." I look at Sir Ian, he's smiling. A smile that is comforting me. "What is the last thing that your Mom and Dad told you?"

"Dad said that he was sorry. While Mom, she told me to live even if I need to kill."

"You don't understand, Shanaiah?" He inquires.

"Understand what?"

"That Eve told you to live, even if you kill someone. In other words, killing is not a bad idea." He grins. A grin like a demon.

My face etches in fear. I stare at him while my eyes draw wide open. "Y-You mean . . . No. You're wrong! Are you teaching me that killing is all right?"

"What's wrong with that, Sweet Shanaiah? You asked Niel to teach you how to kill."

"No! No! I don't want to kill! I've made a wrong choice!" I protest. Right. I need to tell Mister Twain that I don't want to kill.

"Oh? But you've killed someone, have you not?"

That struck me. Yes. I killed the man who murdered Mom and Dad. "B-But . . . I did that to protect myself."

"You got it!" And then he laughs. "You killed him to protect yourself, didn't you?"

I nod my head. "Are you trying to convince me to kill? To take lives? To be a real murderer? Was that my Mom and Dad wanted?"

"Consider the word that your father said. He said sorry, didn't he?"

"Yes,"

"It basically means that, he was sorry, because he didn't succeed to bring you out of this world. In this world full of bloodshed; in this circus of danger."

I grin helplessly. "So I don't have an escape?"

"Yes." Sir Ian stands up, and goes where I am. "You can still change the course of your life Shanaiah. Yes, there is no escape, but you still have options."

"What options?"

"Three choices." He states enigmatically. "First, kill them and you will never be killed. Second, kill yourself instead, (though you can consider that as an escape, but that is a coward's way of escaping). Third, hide forever, but you will always be haunted."

"Those are no options."

"Right?!" And then he laughs again. Ridiculous, but full of hopelessness. "Well, I am sorry for being a jester who doesn't know how to joke."

"Tell me, Sir Ian." I say in low and lifeless voice. "If I kill someone just to live, is that the right thing to do?"

"I don't know, Missy." He answers, "I can't tell if killing just because you want to live is a sin."

"Oh, okay."

"So it's decided." Yes, it's decided. I have no choice. "I'm sorry, Young Wallace. This is the reality that we have acquired. And in this place, we are going to shine."

"I understand, sir."

"Lastly, young lady, we'll be having for our flight tomorrow morning to America."

"America? We?" I mimic confusingly.

"I'm sorry, I forgot." He chuckles, "You'll be under my care at America, as you study the purposes of assassination."

"Huh?"

"Yes, dear. Our fates really intertwined to each other." He grins broadly. "Good night, Skhy!" He says and goes near the door. "Let's meet tomorrow again!" Then opens it.

I lie on the bed. What will happen to my life?

"Oh, hello, Natsu-chan!" Mister Heijima suddenly says, and that surprises me. I sit up again as I sight Natsumi. The Hime kid.

"Tito Yan, my name is not Natsu." Replies Natsumi.

"Yes! It's not Natsu! It's Natsumi, right?" He laughs, "Beautiful Summer, isn't it?"

"It is, Tito Yan." She smiles slightly to him. Mister Heijima bids goodbye and leaves.

I gaze to her. What does she want? She doesn't like me, right? As I recall.

"I know what happened." She says in sympathetic voice.

"Yeah." I respond in low tone.

"My condolences, Shan."

I'm bit shock when she calls me 'Shan'. I decide not to reply and just listen to her.

"Nate says that you're kind." She states first. "I'm sorry, because my first impression to you is not that good. So, here." She shyly shows her palms with five pieces of strawberries. "My peace offering."

It suddenly makes me smile. Nate once asked my age. And I'm three months older to them.

"Natsumi," I call her and she gazes on me. "I'm sorry, I don't want to be rude, but, I don't like strawberries."

"Eh?" She complains, prolonging the sound of 'eh'. "What do you want, then?"

"I like apples." I tell her while grinning.

"Apples?" She repeats and I nod. "Here, hold these." She says and hands me the berries. "Don't eat those, strawberries is my favorite fruit. I'll go get you an apple." Then, she dashes outside.

I don't know, I don't like the taste of strawberries. I just shrug and wait for her. After a minute, she comes back with a red, glossy apple.

"Here!" She declares, raising the apple with a bright lively smile. How jolly she is. We exchange fruits. "I washed the apple." She tells me and grabs her berries.

We start eating and the apple is so sweet and juicy.

While eating, Natsumi goes to the window and opens it. "Ah~ I love the night." She announces and looks above.

I have no idea if I still love the heavenly bodies. A lot of memories happened under the sky, and all of the heavenly bodies are my witness to that.

"Do you love stars, Shan?" She asks.

I went beside her and stare above. "I don't know."

"How about the sky?"

"Maybe." I answer.

"I love it." She speaks, "There's a wonderful feeling when I gaze at the sky."

"Wonderful feeling?"

"Well, you can see the sky everywhere, right?" I nod to her as my response. "No matter how far you can get, you can still feel that you're connected somehow."

"Mm."

"And I like the night sky most of all." She's smiling while telling me this, "I love the sky at noon as well, but the night sky is the best, where I can see lots of stars above; it's like wherever you go, someone is guarding you and you will never feel that you're alone."

She's right. I smile secretly. I'm in the point where I almost hate everything. But thanks to her, she makes me realize that I am not alone. And I guess, I really love the sky.