Her hair sat coiled on the top of her head. Loose hairs falling in strands, sticking to the sweat on her skin. She didn't have gloves, so her hands were coated in dirt. She wasn't much of a beauty at that moment.
“What are you doing?”
Alex looks up at Kandi. A halo of sunshine framing the dark haired female. “Cadenza has a summer cold. Despite needing to rest, she was more upset about her roses than her health.”
“Do you want any help?”
Alex shakes her head. “You don't need to get your hands dirty. It's my sister.”
“Nonsense.” The moment of shade disappears as Kandi sits alongside the blonde, pulling weeds from the roots and setting them in a nearby pile. Alex eyes her, confused. “Soap exists for a reason.”
Cadenza cared greatly for her roses. Alex didn't understand it. If anything, she believed Cadenza should've had a deep hatred for the flower. In Meteli, their garden was filled with red to be exact. They reeked of irony, but they were beautiful if you could look past it. Perhaps it was something the two sisters bonded over, their love of roses. Despite disagreeing often, this was something they bonded over.
“I suppose so,” Alex says, sighing. She looks under her nails to see them caked with dirt. That was the part that annoyed her the most.
The silence became thick between the two females, somewhat uncomfortable. Alex simply ignored it, but Kandi couldn't help but notice the change in Alex's attitude.
“Have you and Cadenza always had a good relationship?”
Alex recognizes the small talk. She wanted to ignore it, not embrace it. In all honesty, Alex was still annoyed with Kandi. And while it was selfish, it was like an itch that wouldn't disappear.
“Cadenza and I have had our ups and downs. I suppose it's to do with our ages.” It was true Cadenza and Alex weren't always on the best of terms. Laurance understood Cadenza more due to them being far closer in age than the two sisters. “She hit every milestone before I ever did. Hell, I haven't even reached some she has. Otherwise, she's my sister. . . What about you? What is your relationship like with your brothers?”
Kandi overlooks the plural form of “brother” and focuses on Garroth, keeping up her facade. Alex listens intently, seeing if Kandi picked up that she knew.
“Garroth and I? Well, we've always had a good relationship. He understood me when my father didn't, and he was there for me when my mother couldn't be. I'm thankful that our relationship is still strong to this day.”
Alex hums, disappointed. “I said brothers, Kandi. What about Zane and Vylad?”
Defeat surrounds them both. “You know?”
Alex goes quiet, dropping her gaze to the dirt. “Laurance is dreadful with secrets.”
°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
“What was your mother like?”
Sometimes Alex didn’t have a filter. She asked what came to mind, little thought coming before. It would be afterwards that she realzied what she said may require rewording. Vylad, used to Alex’s impulse, shrugged off the sting that could come with her words. He let her lay on the group, cloak creating a barrier between her and the earth. He sat up, watching the world around them.
“My mother?”
“Yes, your mother,” Alex says, rolling her eyes. She begins to sit up, adjusting the dress across her thighs. “The great Lady Ro’meave. What was she like growing up?”
There was a sense of sincerity and curiosity to Alex’s words. She didn’t often ask such questions. Childhood wasn’t something that was a common conversation.
It was a bit of a sore spot for Vylad. He missed his mother greatly, but he couldn’t bring himself to go back to O’Khasis. The only thing he missed regarding O’Khasis was his mother. He didn’t want her to know the monster he became, so he preferred she remained under false pretenses. . . even if it meant she thought he was dead.
“She was everything you could want in a mother and more. She cared for everyone, kin or not. Wanted only the best for us, and it upset her when hardship came our way. With Zane. . . I think she blames herself for who he has become. I can only imagine the thoughts that run through her head now regarding her children.”
“Why don't you go back? You know, for a visit.”
Vylad stares at Alex blankly. He knew she didn't know, but she should've gotten the hint after Garroth and Kandi.
“She thinks I'm dead. It's better this way.”
“But–”
“Just drop it.”
Alex stops, offended. She didn't understand, and that's what angered her. “Fine,” she sasses, turning away from him. She looks into the water, seeing her furrowed brows and lips shaped in a pout.
A heavy silence overtakes the two. Alex considers getting up and leaving. Vylad sighs, dropping his head for a moment. He tries to place words together to fix the situation.
“She was a good baker.”
“What?” The sass was still evident with Alex. She looks towards Vylad, finding his sudden words to be stupid and random.
“My mother. She was a good baker. My siblings and I would fight over the first piece. She found this silly, but she was flattered nonetheless.”
Alex's face begins to soften, realizing this was his way of fixing the harm done. She smiles, turning her full attention towards him. “What was your favorite thing she baked?”
“Chocolate cake. I swear, you could taste the love she baked with it.”
Alex nods her head. She liked to bake, but Zianna and Kawaii~Chan sounded hard to beat.
“Do you ever miss your mother?”
She stares up at the green eyed male, eyes dull. “I have no memories of my parents. They died when I was a baby.”
