The Mariposa

Chapter 21

Maeve

Kalon and I hadn't spoken since we got back to our rooms. We changed out of the overly fancy dresses into still overly fancy loungewear in complete silence. All I could think about was what I had learned earlier about her. I knew so little about her, and as a result, had to fill in all my own imaginings for who she even was. Today however, flipped those perceptions on their head. Could she really expect me to just ignore that?

Huffing, I jumped onto the bed across from hers, my legs crossed. She regarded me with a short look, before going back to straightening her items in her bag.

"We should probably plan on leaving soon, now that Elyas is safely back. We have no place here. Where we can go, isn't certain, but as long as we're here, we're putting both him and us in danger," she said gruffly, shoving her personal items into her bag. 

I wanted to retort that he would still be in danger of The Mariposa if we left, only moreso if we weren't there to protect him, but our leaving was not an argument I currently was prioritizing.

"A brother, huh?"

Kalon froze, her actions halted at my mentioning the elephant in the room.

"Not just any brother, but he looked important. Like he would be a businessman, a high tier," I pressed. Please, Kalon, give me something. "I know in The Mariposa, it was seen as taboo to talk about our pasts. I understand that."

Kalon turned, looking at me as she settled down on the bed. To my relief, she wasn't quite glaring at me yet. Just looked hesitant, guarded. Like she always did.

"But we're not in the Mariposa anymore. All we have is each other at this point, Kalon. We have to look out for one another, I promise you, I will look out for you. But it would help, if I knew who all I am trying to protect you from."

She was beginning to open up until I mentioned protecting her, at which point, her eyes darkened and she was now definitely glaring at me. "I don't need your protection."

I crossed my arms, unbothered by her stubbornness. "I know you don't need it. But you want it. Just the way I don't need it but want it. That's why you and I became such fast friends after fighting each other in the trials. You don't have to let the world be there for you, but one person can't hurt, right?"

She was silent a long moment, staring at me, considering. Finally, her expression softened, and she sighed.

"My parents were very absent from my life, both of them heading a corporation to this day I don't know the details on. My brother and I were expected to follow in their footsteps. There was... many consequences if our grades weren't satisfactory, if our hair wasn't perfectly so in meetings, our steps not just right in a ball. I resented every part of it. But my brother... he wanted to earn his parents' love. So, he followed their every demand. I couldn't do that. So, I left. And I never looked back."

My eyes were wide at her admission, hearing from the story from her mouth. It made her make a lot more sense, the way she could be so uptight, so poised at times, while so reckless in others. The way she was her own worst critic in training, training longer in the day than anyone else in the Mariposa, training until her movements were perfect.

"So, your parents? You have no clue where it is they work? What they do?"

Kalon shook her head. "It was all very hush hush. My goal, in the Mariposa, was to find out what it was and put an end to it if I saw fit. Azriel was aware of this goal and had promised me he would find out for me... If he ever did, he never told me."