Chapter 24

JADE~~~~



I groaned as my stomach rumbled for the umpteenth time today. My strength was already failing me and I could barely talk anymore. I was growing weaker by the second but yet my mom hasn't even attempted to come see me. Is she actually trying to kill me now that I know about my actual race? That seems a bit too excessive even for her but I'm losing my trust in her rationality. If I'm to believe what Jaden and Johanna said, she killed them both because she wanted to remain the strongest so killing me wouldn't be such a difficult thing for her, especially since she wouldn't be doing it directly. She might just leave me here until I starve to death.

"Is it that bad already?" Jaden asked.

"Aren't you a little too weak?" Johanna added.

"Shut up, Johanna," he scolded. "Your sister was never trained as a witch unlike you. You can't compare yourself to her who has always lived as a human."

"Humans fast though," she said. "I've heard about them fasting for religious reasons."

"Mom isn't religious so I've never had to fast," I informed her.

"Obviously," she said. "I also heard those religious humans hate witches. They believe us to be bad people."

"Not exactly our race but yeah their idea of witches isn't good," I said between groans.

"Stop talking and preserve your strength," Jaden said.

"Yeah, you'll be even weaker if you don't," Johanna said. "You might even die."

"Johanna, stop it," Jaden said.

"Dad we have to be honest with her since there's nothing we can do to help her," she said. "Mom would easily let her die since she's killed us already. She only lets her in here because she doesn't know we exist so my sister is the one who would avenge us if she ever escapes this place. She needs to know how weak she is and how much she has to work in order to even think of revenge so that she doesn't confront mom in a stupid blind rage."

"Hmmm, you're right," Jaden said. "Doll you must never confront your mother if you escape from here. Go far away from her."

"I plan to do just that," I groaned. My stomach rumbled again.

"Wow, she's really hungry," Johanna commented.

"No shit," I retorted.

"Dad, she's swearing again!" she yelled.

"You still can't," he laughed. "And you should cut back on swearing, doll."

I ignored him as I closed my eyes and focused on my hunger. My stomach felt like it could tear open any second from now and I feel like I could eat anything as long as it was edible. I've never felt hunger this bad all my life and even though I've gotten used to the darkness, the fact that all I can see is black is doing nothing to help me cope. Jaden and Johanna's presence helped a little bit but there's only so much their company can do. At this rate, I think I might actually die in this place.

"I hear something," Jaden said suddenly, making my weak eyes flutter open with great effort.

"I don't," Johanna stated.

"My senses are far sharper than yours," he replied. "Someone's heading here and the person is not your mother."

"That's impossible though," she said. "Mom is the only one who knows about the dark room except for Jade. Jade, did you tell anyone about the dark room?"

"N-no," I whispered weakly. That was the best I could do now to preserve my strength.

"Then it's impossible that anyone knows of this place."

"I know what I'm saying, Johanna," he insisted. "Doll, can you sit up? Try propping yourself on a wall."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because whoever it is can't see in this dark even if they open the door, but you on the other hand understand this place," he said. "I want you to lure whoever it is in here and escape outside even if it means crawling. Hopefully, you can find a way out once you are outside."

"How are you sure the person is coming here though?" Johanna asked. "For all you know he might be a repairman who mom contracted to work here."

"Hopefully the person isn't," he said. "And I think the person is a woman and not a man."

"Then what if they're a friend of mom, or an assassin sent to kill her so mom doesn't have to do it?" she asked. "Even if she leaves here, she can't escape from mom on her own when she's already too weak to even walk straight."

"We can at least hope," he said.

"I don't want her to go!" Johanna yelled, surprising both me and Jaden. I stared into the space where her voice seems to be coming from with hurtfully surprised eyes. "Don't look at me like that!"

"Johanna!" Jaden yelled. "What are you saying?! Your sister could die if she stays here any longer."

"I don't want her to die either," she sobbed. "I just want to be with her. I didn't have enough time with her when she was younger and I could never talk to her all these years. Now that I can, the time is too short. Call me selfish but I still want to be with my little sister. She hasn't even called me sister yet. She doesn't think of us as her family yet. It hurts that she would be leaving me before I can actually be a family to her."

The noise outside got loud enough for even me to be able to hear as some voices started chanting and the feeling of chaos which I have learned to sense started to surround the room.

"Seems like they did come to save your sister," Jaden said. His voice had a hint of sadness mixed in with relief. "Doll, get ready to leave. I would advise that you don't trust whatever witches are breaking you out of here. Our race is a very cunning one."

"Sister," I called Johanna. "Don't say that you aren't my family. I've lived with mom all my life and yet I only felt like I had an actual family in the time I spent here. You and dad deserve to be called my family more than the mom who threw me in here to die just because I did something she didn't like. It doesn't matter where I go, you are still the family I would remember. So please don't think that way."

"I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I'm really sorry for being so selfish. I know I shouldn't have wished that you didn't leave. I just didn't want to lose a sister I just got."

"You aren't losing me," I said, forcing a little laugh with the little strength I had. "You would always be with me in my heart. I would never forget you."

"Don't laugh like that," Jaden warned. "The voices are getting louder. I can also feel our existence weakening."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I told you we are not creatures of chaos and we retained our souls out of our sheer will, right?" he asked.

"Yes?"

"This dark room was originally a punishment tool compulsory in every Yuki household," he said. "We retained our souls here because the chaos within was sufficient to help us survive for a while even if it nibbles on it. In simple terms, we are vulnerable to chaos."

"What does that have to do with anything?" I asked, confused.

"No one unless a Yuki can open a dark room," he explained. "Those witches out there are trying to break into the dark room which would need a tremendous amount of chaos. We would cease to exist when that door opens."

"What?!" I did my best to yell while Johanna sobbed even more. "T-then.....!"

"It's okay," he said. "I'm happy I got to experience my daughter grow even though it wasn't the ideal way I would have. I also got to talk to my grown-up daughter. There's barely anything more a dead man like me could ask for."

"Dad....," I sobbed.

"How sweet it is to hear you call me that," he laughed. "Please don't ever forget us. I love you, my little doll."

"I love you too, little sister," Johanna added and those were the last words I heard as light flooded in to expose a silhouette standing at the door.

"Yo!"

The caravan opened up, the silhouette becoming clearer as my eyes adjusted to the light.

There she was, standing in front of me was the last lady I had expected to see after being thrown here by my mom for so long that I can't even remember.

Gaia.

She stood there in all her glory with a big goofy smile on her face.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper as my throat was parched.

"I came to get you," she shrugged. "It's time to get our revenge. "

"What revenge?" I asked confused.

"We're hitting back at the southern kingdom."

"Why?"

"They killed your mother."

"What?!" my eyes widened.

"How long has it been?" I asked.

She gave me a puzzled expression before realization hit her.

"50 years."