Capítulo 71: The sister of honesty is trust
Kiva opened the door wide open without hesitation, causing it to bounce off the wall.
Kiva was hidden behind the shadows. The room was only lit by a lamp on the bedside table.
The woman on the bed squealed from the sudden intrusion. She grabbed her uniform and covered up her chest--- suddenly feeling conscious from the uninvited guest.
Ziloh was above the woman, pinning her down, nuzzling on her neck, and breathing in her scent.
"Uhm," the woman blushed in shame. "Ziloh… someone's on the door." the woman squinted, trying to see the face of the intruder.
"I don't mind an audience." Ziloh trailed soft kisses onto the woman's neck, tracing down towards her chest.
"Ziloh…" the woman slurred, not sure herself if she wanted Ziloh to continue or to stop.
Kiva turned the light switch on, which caused the woman to squint from the sudden brightness of the room.
The woman craned her neck to see the onlooker better. She screamed. "Lady Kiva." She sat up, forcing Ziloh to sit up too. "I'm just…" she hurriedly wore her crumpled uniform and fastened a few buttons.
Kiva rested her fist onto her hips as she tapped her foot onto the ground, her nose flaring with annoyance.
The woman stood up and grabbed her pants lying on the floor, she did not even bother to wear it anymore. "Lady Kiva." she bowed curtly before she scurried away from Ziloh's room, with her underwear in plain view.
"I told you I'll come visit." Kiva picked up Ziloh's shirt on the floor. "I know you wanted me to see that." she tossed the shirt to Ziloh.
"You scared off my dinner." Ziloh combed a hand through his disheveled hair. "I would have killed you had you not been my precious sister."
"Ha.Ha.Ha." Kiva laughed sarcastically. "I know my kind BROTHER won't hurt me." she scanned the room. Admittedly, it was her first time in his room, she's not interested with Ziloh's affairs. "So, is this the infamous lover's room, huh? Is this the filthy place where you brought my Ali, huh?" she stood at the edge of the bed.
He put on his black shirt above his head, saying something, his voice muffled.
"What?" Kiva leaned in closer, not understanding what he said.
"Feeding room." His head poked out of the shirt. "Is the proper way to call it."
Kiva marched at the side of the bed, resting one of her knees on the bed. "Did you?" she grabbed each side of his collar. "DID YOU FEED ON HER?!" her mouth had sunken into an inverted u-shape, her eyebrows turning into a unibrow.
If Kiva could cry, she would have by now.
"What is it to you if I did?" The was no mockery in Ziloh's voice, just genuine curiosity.
Kiva lowered her head. "You can hurt every woman, every man in this doomed world…" she pounded on his chest softly. "But not Ali. She's my friend…our friend…" her hand slid down to her side as she looked up to her brother. "Our only friend." she pleaded to his brother.
The side of Ziloh's lips twitched into a smile. "I'm not your friend," he cupped both side of her cheeks. "I'm your brother." he pinched her cheeks as hard as he can--- making sure she could feel it. "I can do whatever I want."
"Ouwchhhh," Kiva tried to wiggle her head away. "awnd now I'm swuddenlwy youw're sishter?" she managed to free herself. "I don't have a brother that hurts my best friend." she rubbed her cheeks.
"If that's the case," Ziloh stood up and crouched on the floor. "Unfortunately, I'm still your brother." He slid open a drawer, rummaging thought his belongings.
Kiva bounced on the bed, facing Ziloh. "You mean… you did not feed on Ali?" she asked, hopeful of the answer.
"Of course not," He stood up, placing a black linen at the side of the bed. "I'm not a monster you think I am."
Kiva suddenly felt sorry of what she said earlier on the hallway. "I…" she wrinkled her nose. "I did not mean that." she bit her lower lip, hesitating to say the words on her mind. "I'm sorry." she said it. "I'm sorry I did not trust you. I'll trust you from now on."
Ziloh lifted her chin with his finger, forcing her to look at him in the eyes. "You'll trust me from now on?"
Kiva looked at the side and nodded.
"Kiva…" Ziloh warned.
"Yes," she looked down and mumbled.
"Kiva…" Ziloh exhaled. "Look at me."
Kiva followed as instructed.
"Did you mean what you say?"
"Yes." Kiva babbled.
"Do you trust me more than your father?"
"That…" Kiva thought about it. "That would be too much. Maybe…" she bit down her lower lip. "Maybe on the same level? Aren't the three of us family after all?"
Ziloh released her and fumbled with her hair.
"I told you you're my sister." Ziloh walked towards the door. "I never said anything about having a father."
"But you and father get along so well…" Kiva blinked, staring at the black linen in front of her. "Father spends more time with you than me."
"I have to hunt. You scared my meal." Ziloh stepped out of the door. "Change the bedsheet for me before you leave…"
"Ewwwww!" Kiva suddenly bounced off the bed, wiping off her skin from any foreign substance. "Whatdoyoumean change your bedsheet!" she unfolded the black linen. "I won't follow just because you're older!" she shouted making sure Ziloh could hear her.
"Jezz, what a demanding brother…" she said as she began removing the old sheet from the bed. "I think my life would have been better without him." One side of her lips lifted up as she changes the bedsheet to a fresh one.
***
Kiva spent some time on Ziloh's room a little longer after she changed the bedsheet. She inspected the old sheet from any blood stains, which she realized after a while was useless for the bedsheet was black. And if ever she did find some blood, how in the world would she know it was Ali's. Every blood looked the same--- she had forgotten this part. She hasn't bled for years.
After leaving his brother's room, a thought popped on Kiva's mind. She had an idea on how to know if her brother was telling the truth.
But first things first, she went to her father's room to say that she would skip dinner, but she devoured a half-dozen of the Pig brain Maple doughnuts instead.
Kiva and Duke Cliff parted ways in the opposite direction.
Kiva skidded as she walked towards her destination, humming a children's song along the way. Seeing the familiar hallway, she tried to make herself as small as possible, crouching her shoulders and tiptoeing as she headed towards Ali's room.
Standing in front of Ali's room, she pressed her ears on the door--- she could hear nothing. A good indication that the princess was already asleep. She grabbed the knob and turned it clockwise, only to find out it was locked.
Of course, Ali would have locked her room, considering of the recent circumstances. Ali usually does not lock her room, this was a dilemma Kiva had not… well, she actually anticipated it long before. Her insides boiled in anger as she recalled the morning his brother exited from this room. That time, with the doors locked, she could not go to Ali early enough.
Kiva looked sideways, making sure there was nobody around. She tiptoed her way towards the garden and stood in front of an ugly looking plant with a red plot. She surveyed the area once more, once she was sure nobody was watching, she lifted the red pot up and grabbed something on her hand. She then went back on Ali's door, now holding a key. She, may have asked--- maybe bribed--- an attendant to give her a duplicate after that incident with her brother.
She inserted the key, and upon hearing the clicking sound, she smiled. She turned the knob and entered Ali's room.
Ali after all, said to her that she was welcome in her room anytime. Kiva would always be welcomed to sleep over in the princess' room--- Kiva took this to heart.
As she had expected, she saw her best friend, lying on the bed, sleeping with her mouth slightly parted. Kiva tiptoed once more towards the bed, making sure not to wake Ali up.
Kiva was resolute, she just needed to make sure that Ali does not have any punctured mark on her neck. Only if Kiva could make sure of that will she be able to go back to her own room.
First, she placed her sandals on the side. Then she crawled onto the bed slowly, making sure to press on the bed as light as possible.
She hovered towards the princess, making sure she was deeply asleep. Ali' mouth was slightly open, slightly showing her two front teeth.
Kiva craned her neck on Ali's neck, but the collar of her pajama made it impossible to check it. Kiva had no choice, she used a finger to pull the collar away from Ali's neck--- there were no marks on the right side of her neck, neither on her left.
But a nagging thought bothered Kiva. 'What if it's not on the neck?' Kiva bit down her lower lip as she sat beside the sleeping princess. 'What if its on her chest?' she stared at the rising and falling of the princess' chest. 'Or on the stomach?'
Without hesitation, Kiva grabbed the hem of Ali's shirt and slowly lifted it up--- revealing Ali's bare stomach. Kiva squinted hard, making sure there were no puncture marks—there were none.
'On the chest?' Kiva thought as she continued to peel Ali's shirt upwards.
But a hand grabbed hers before she could reveal more skin. "What are you doing?" Ali, fully awake, staring at Kiva.
"Just…erm…" Kiva still held onto Ali's shirt. "Justletmecheck ifyouhave somebitemarks." she said as she tried to lift Ali's shirt once more.
"Kivvvv," Ali sat up, making Kiva to release her hold. "Kivvvv." she rubbed her eyes. "I don't have any bite marks."
"Are you sure? Did you just maybe forgot about it?" Kiva fished for the shirt, but Ali stopped her.
"Kiva, if I had been bitten, I would not be talking to you right now." Ali tried to reason out with Kiva.
"But…" Kiva bit her lower lip. "But…"
"Kiva, I'm safe. I'm not bitten. I'm not infected."
"No, it's not that…" Kiva cannot explain further, there were rules to be followed by the cured.
"Kiva, it's okay, I'm here." Ali held onto Kiva's hand. "You don't need to worry about me, okay?"
"But…".
"Okay?"
"Okay."
Kiva failed the mission and returned to her own room with her head lowered in defeat. She had no choice but to trust her brother's words.
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