t w e n t y - s i x

102K 4.4K 390
                                    

When Remi awoke the next morning, she wasn't surprised to find Killure gone. In fact, she hardly gave it a passing thought.

He often disappeared to go on walks. She'd told him early on that he didn't have to ask, so long as he was back by breakfast time.

On her way down the winding staircase, she saw little Kareem crawling up the stairs, his chubby arms and legs trembling with giggles.

"Reem!" Remi half-whispered, laughing lightly. "Are you hiding from your nanny again?"

He put a finger up to his lips and shushed her, a wide grin on his cute, round face.

Remi nodded and smiled to silently let him know that she understood, and that she'd be quiet.

The nanny was nearly sixty years old already, and had looked after both Remi and her older brother, as well as their cousins, at times, when they were much younger.

To their nanny's dismay, nearly every child that she'd been tasked with taking care of had put her through the ringer. Blue was the one good child who didn't give her grief because he rarely did anything other than sleep and eat.

Remi began making dramatic eating gestures with her hands.

Breakfast wouldn't be ready for another half hour, but that didn't mean they couldn't sneak into the kitchen and try snatch up some food. Also, it would probably be one of the last places Kareem's nanny would look.

Kareem bobbed his head up and down excitedly, obviously thinking this was a good idea.

Remi grinned, scooping him up into her arms and tip-toeing down the stairs. She crouched down and glanced around, ducking her head when the nanny scrambled into the lobby area from one room, and frantically disappeared into another.

She didn't even notice them.

Kareem began giggling, before stopping himself short. Even then, his body still trembled with silent laughter.

Together, they darted into one of the many corridors in their maze-like house and crept along, darting into one of the rooms or other corridors branching off from the corridor they were in whenever they heard approaching footsteps.

After a few more minutes, the delicious aroma of buttered toast, freshly-baked waffles and fruit dusted with sugar wafted through the air.

"Almost there," Kareem spoke into her robe to muffle his voice a little. She easily returned the grin he sent up to her.

A few twists and turns later, the two of them were in front of the kitchen doors. They were made of some sort of flexible rubbery material so that the cooks and servers could come in and out with ease, and not have to stop to turn a knob in order to take dishes from the kitchen to the dining area.

There was a translucent plastic near the top of the doors that served as windows, so Remi quickly stood into her top toes and peered inside.

Cooks in white uniforms bustled around like bees in a hive. Remi quickly spotted Safire bouncing around inside, cheerfully giving everyone a job and occasionally checking on the food. Her brilliant smile seemed to bathe the kitchen in joy.

IndomitableWhere stories live. Discover now