Confused Ariel

Ariel wasn't happy.

She lay on the plush carpet in her playroom, staring at the ceiling.

How could he?

How could Daddy leave her behind?

She pouted and then started rolling on the carpet again.

When she reached the end, she rolled back and then did it again.

Pip, who was standing quietly at the corner, watched this silently, her heart was wrenching.

Obviously, Ariel was throwing a tantrum but unlike most children, she didn't wail or stamp her feet or anything of the sort. She simply rolled about on the carpet, her face scrunched up in displeasure and sadness – something Pip found to be extremely amazing.

To have two different types of expression in one go.

As much as she wanted to go over and comfort her, Pip could not.

Mr. Kyle had left strict instructions to let her be.

Let her vent out her frustrations and not indulge in her tantrums.

But how could this possibly be called a tantrum?

It looked more like a lonely, dejected little soul that was reaching out and no one was connecting.

It broke Pip's heart.

How could the normally pampering father be so firm so suddenly?

That was the question that vexed Ariel as well.

She lay on her back, staring at the ceiling again and slowly put her thumb into her mouth absent-mindedly as her immature mind seemed to be overworking today.

She had always … ALWAYS … gotten her way but today?

No.

Not a bit.

Not even a tiny bit.

In fact, all her tricks had failed miserably.

Well, it wasn't really tricks … not to Ariel anyway … but all her words and actions and even pleading didn't work.

How could this be?

What had happened?

Ariel was perplexed.

She rolled to the other side of the carpet, despite her thumb being in her mouth.

Pip was aghast at this – even though the carpet was vacuumed twice a day, and shampooed every three months (due to the fact that they had pets in the house), Pip could imagine the dirt and germs that must be flying about into her wet little mouth.

Just as she was about to go over to Ariel to stop her from this, she noticed Ariel sighing deeply then sitting up; with her thumb freed. Her quivering lips were slightly wet and her thumb was glistening as well.

Ariel reached out and started hugging Kitty, who had walked over curiously to see what the little human was doing.

Ariel stared at Kitty, holding her up by putting her hands under the front paws 'armpit'. Kitty stared back, not flinching or protesting.

She just let Ariel hold her up like that (though her legs were touching the ground) and in fact, tilted her head a bit to look at the little human.

Ariel sighed again, noting that Kitty, as usual, was obedient and didn't struggle no matter what she did.

Look, even Kitty was still under her thumb, so to speak.

Kitty was Daddy's first cat, that he had brought back after studying in Country M. She was old now, and all of her off-springs had been adopted by other people. Only Kitty and her 'husband', Aki, had stayed.

Kitty was really, really close to Daddy and even now, she would be stealing his underwear and hiding it whenever she could. Aki would help her once in a while, as if pampering his 'wife'.

Ariel put Kitty down, who then rubbed her head on Ariel's leg before leaving. As if consoling her.

Ariel just watched her go until she couldn't see the figure anymore then looked at Pip.

"Pip … doesn't Daddy love me anymore?" Ariel asked, her voice quivering.

That did it.

Pipi, who was steeling her heart and kept chanting 'be strong, be strong, don't go over'; just broke down. She could practically feel her heart breaking and for the first time, she weakened and disobeyed her Boss's orders.

Order be damned, she even thought to herself.

Orders were dead, humans were alive.

Pip rushed over towards Ariel and quickly scooped her up, hugging her tightly, "Oh no, how could you even think that, Rie?"

Ariel wrapped her hands around Pip's neck and buried her face in the crook of her neck, "But … but … Daddy … he … he …"

She sniffed, and Pip patted her back, soothing her, "There, there. Your father just had something to do today, so you should understand. It isn't you."

Pip was mentally scolding Kyle at that moment.

Ariel, even though was very accommodating and good, was still a very young child. She couldn't truly understand situations like 'have a meeting' and 'can't bring you' when sending her elder siblings to school on the first day had been a 'tradition', so to speak.

Ariel nodded slowly but didn't lift her head, the dejection seemingly pouring out of her pores and forming a cloud above her.

"How about some ice-cream, Rie? Would you like that?" Pip asked, tempting her with her favourite dessert.

Ariel nodded, then shook her head, "No no .. Daddy would get angry. I shouldn't have sweets in the morning."

Pip kissed her forehead and whispered, "Just a little bit, it won't hurt. We keep it as our secret, shall we?"

Ariel lifted her head and looked at her worriedly, "Is it really okay?"

"Yes, do not worry, Rie," Pip said, "You're not supposed to have sweets before mealtime because it would spoil your appetite, or have too many sweets that it can spoil your teeth – so having a little bit right now to soothe you is fine."

Ariel looked like she was thinking hard and finally nodded, putting up her hand and showing a small distance using her thumb and forefinger, "Just a liiiiitle bit."

Pip smiled and got up, carrying Ariel, "Yes, Rie. Just a little bit."

Ariel leaned on Pip and took a deep breath, feeling slightly better.

Well, this certainly showed that she didn't lose her touch.

In fact, it was a really good thing.

Pip was normally very strict and followed Daddy's instructions without any exceptions; so Ariel didn't push her boundaries too much. She was just testing Pip and it worked.

Pip would actually break the rules for her.

So why did it fail with Daddy?

Why didn't he let her follow him to send Brother Alex and Sister Rory?

Just what happened?

If only Mummy was around.

Maybe she could tell her why.

Ariel pouted again and was about to put her thumb into her mouth again when Pip stopped her. She held Ariels' little hand, which was now formed into a fist, and placed it on her chest.

"Be good, Rie," Pip said softly, coming back to her 'strict' nanny mode.

Ariel didn't mind.

She was still getting her ice-cream.

Meanwhile, back at Retsu Primary School, Zue was watching Isaura silently in the dark.

First, she had been clinging to Alex like a baby. Now, she was sticking to him and staring at his back as they lined up for assembly, listening to the principal droning on.

There was a slight sneer on Zue's face … though if one could truly see her face, one would also notice there was intense jealousy.

Not for the first time, Zue felt dissatisfied that Isaura could live in the light, while she had to hide in the dark.

Though the dissatisfaction was fleeting.

It would come and go, like waves at a beach – but sometimes, things were left behind. In this case, slight resentment though most of the time, it was pain.

Zue observed for a little bit longer before retreating.

Watching these things would just hurt her but it also made her stronger.

Which was why, occasionally, she would come out silently to observe and withdraw just as silently.

Isaura was both her salvation and cause of damnation.

It was a delicate relationship and one that her father monitored strictly.

She was allowed to keep her so-called friendship so that she had some semblance of normalcy but at the same time, she could not reveal anything so that Isaura wouldn't really know the truth.

If her father ever found out she would come out once in a while to observe, she would be punished severely.

Just as Zue retreated back into her little shell, she couldn't help but lament over the injustice of it all.

Why could Isaura …

The resentment and pain that was left behind this time were stronger than before.

So the pain that hit her was intense.

Not physical pain, but a deep wrenching pain within her psyche.

Zue took several moments to calm herself and chose to block out everything around her at the moment. The pain was too much and she needed some relief.

At that same moment, Alex stiffened and quickly turned and grabbed hold of Isaura before she fell to the ground.

The sudden movement caused a little bit of panic around, as the children started screaming for no reason.

Alex's face scrunched up as he showed his annoyance at the commotion that was caused, simply because Isaura had fainted.

He had caught her and he was holding her up by putting her around across his shoulder. Aurora and Ziad had reacted quickly as well, with Aurora making sure people did not crowd around while Ziad took Isaura's other arm and placed it on his shoulders.

"What happened? Why did she suddenly faint?" Ziad asked, not really expecting an answer. It was more of asking out loud.

Alex knew this, so he didn't bother to answer but he looked at the rather pale-faced Isaura while they waited for a teacher to come to them.

It wasn't long, of course, and Isaura was carried by a teacher to the school's infirmary. Alex, Aurora, and Ziad were not allowed to follow and could only watch Isaura being taken away.

They lined up again, and the assembly continued.