The Mafia's Bride and Groom's (fxmxmxm)

Flashback: The Birthday

Today, Nya turns seven. 

She waits till midnight and watches the clock hands turn. She listened to the bells that signal today is tomorrow, and today she turns seven in the house of strangers. 

She goes to sleep soon after midnight. It is dreamless and long. 

When she awakes and walks through the mansion and it is silent. She doesn't see the maids, the keepers, or the Helgrim's. She doesn't see a soul and it makes today almost impossible lonely. Lonelier than it was at midnight when she watched the days turn all by herself, when she watched herself get older but didn't feel it. She doesn't feel anything today. 

She finds breakfast. She later finds that the staff are all out on errands, that Ms.Helgrim is on a plane headed to New York, and that no one has time to take care of the children. Nya is told to stay out of the way, and she can't argue anyway, so she does what she's told in a silent haze. 

The afternoon rolls around and time seems to go slower and slower as the seconds pass. It's like walking through honey, like syrup filling and leaving her lungs over and over with every breath. 

"Aww," a voice says behind her as she sits on one of the stairways, playing with the carpet fibers. "Someone looks less chipper than they did yesterday." The boy, Angel, sits on the stair above her and watches, a Cheshire smile painted across his face. 

She doesn't know how she feels about him finding her. About the fact that he could sneak up on her so easily. He still looks like a stunning little girl, dressed in a long skirt and a white blouse, diamonds sparkling from his perfect ears. His hair is tied up atop his head, a white ribbon dangling as he tilts towards her.

"What's wrong, mon cheri?" He says, placing his delicate face in the protection of delicate hands as he takes her in, as he looks right through her. 

She looks at him one moment but he doesn't know sign language, so she turns back to the carpet and continues to run her hand up and down the stair. He'll get bored and go away.

"You really are mute," Angel says under his breath as he slowly scoots down the stair till he's next to Nya. He observes her, pondering about what he should do next, looks her up and down and makes a decision in his head. Nya stops playing with the carpet and watches him as he takes a phone out of his skirt. 

"Here," Angel holds the phone out but she doesn't take it. "Ugg," he grabs her hand and shoves it between her thin fingers. He's not gentle or kind as he does so. "So you can respond to my questions idiot.."

Nya holds the touch screen in her hand for a moment. The notes app is open and the keyboard looks familiar but still foreign. Nya's never really held a phone before. 

"Well?" Angel askes rudely and nudges his way closer to her. He's a little taller, and even though they are both thin and boney, he still has an intimidating air around him. Like a big floating sign above his head that reads, I am god and you are not. Nya's not impressed though. Not that much. 

Looking at the sleek phone shoved at her by the rich boy, Nya's suddenly very tired of the way she's been treated all day, and in an act of defiance, she started to type on the phone's keyboard. It's slow as she searches for the right letters, but she gets the hang of it quickly, and soon she is handing the phone back to him. 

You are the rudest person I have ever met. I think you should go away before I find another painting. 

It was a threat and Angel liked it. He read the message several times, his smile getting wider and more wicked as he did. "Wow," he replies looking up, looking her straight in the eye. "You can spell a lot of words for a six-year-old. Good for you baby."