Pandora's Box

Chapter thirty-six

It's too late to turn back now. The man on the throne inches towards the twins, who stand frozen on the spot. His grey hair further reminds Sonii of the creatures that night. It's as if they were his.

The man with the scars doesn't move a muscle. His eyes stay glued to the ground and his body sits fixed in a kneeling position.

"My children." The man announces as he reaches the twins. His arms engulfing them into a tight yearning hug. He keeps them close for a moment longer before letting them go. He studies their features as if he's hoping to gloat their similarities to him.

"I would really love to spend time but unfortunately I have some important matters to attend to." The man, their father says. His mood grows fearsome at the important matters he refers to.

The twins are too stunned to speak further so he continues,
"I spoke to your mother for the limited time we had before the Sun completely set and we plan on holding a masquerade ball tomorrow night as a welcoming party since today wasn't much. Your mother hates attending this type of stuff even though her hobby is planning them, that's why it's the perfect event to have at night." Their father sounds excited as if he can't wait to introduce his kids back into the world.

At the thought of a ball, Sonii squeals with joy. She's always been one who loves any opportunity to dress up while Sol, on the other hand, would much rather face the wolves than spend a night dressed up.

"That would be amazing...dad." Sonii adds the last part but sounds really unsure. Neither of the twins have ever referred to someone as "dad" so the word sounds foreign like it's an unknown dialect.

"Perfect! You can sort everything out tomorrow so go and get some sleep. Hunter, please escort my children to wherever they please." Their father's smiles than rushes out. Once he is out of sight, the man that had been kneeling, stands up and walks towards them. His eyes are still low.

For a second, it seems humorous to Sol. The man looks like he hates taking orders and struggles to avoid eye contact.

The man stands in front of them as if he's waiting for their command. Sonii eyes his scar and he notices because he finally meets her at eye level.

"Is something wrong?" His tone isn't the same compared to when he spoke to their father. Now, he sounds more rough and informal which makes Sol glad. He despises being treated like power when he's nothing more than a learner.

"That scar." Sonii studies it and points towards the man's eye just as Sol rushes to pull her arm back. Sonii has a tendency to let her curiosity take over and disregards basic manners like not pointing at someone.

"Oh come on, don't you remember me?" He smirks and waits like he's egging her on. He seems to look for an argument wherever he goes and unfortunately, Sonii always has to have the last word.

"It was you! And you're stupid enough to see us again? It's not like you're going to be showered with hugs and kisses!" Sonii's voice gets louder. The scar on her arm from that night seems to be highlighted by her light clothing.

She pouts and her nose slightly flares so it's obvious that she's not finished.
"You're the one being stupid. I was the one that saved all of you." He keeps strong eye contact. There's no way he'll lose control to a little girl.

Sonii looks as if she has her words backed up and is ready to continue this argument but Sol stops her in mid sentence, "Saved us? You scarred my sister." Sol speaks slowly and sounds skeptical of Hunter but waits for a response.

"You do realize I'm a nighthowler right? Your dad's personal army. Whatever I do, it's with his permission." Hunter speaks slowly like he's lecturing a bunch of delinquents.

"So you're saying our dad told you to hurt Sonii?" Sol comes off at sarcastic even though he's only trying to make sense of the situation.

"I'm saying that your father told us to keep you away from that house for that specific night. It wasn't safe, I even lost one of my warriors and trust me when I say that my army is well trained." His voice gets lower, emphasizing that he won't be saying anything more.

The dash of information the twins have gotten now have set their brains on overdrive contemplating scenarios. With one look, the twins agree on bringing up the subject with their mother tomorrow.

The man escorts them to their rooms but Sol knows his sister will probably sit in his room for a while so they can understand what's going on.

"By the way, just to warn you, don't ever confuse me with those childish daybreakers." Hunter adds before moving to shut the door but stops midway when Sonii's voice cracks as if she's going to speak, "daybreakers?"

"That's your mother's army." He says, leaving the echo of the heavy door shutting as the only sound as the twin stare with wide eyes at each other over the surprising information.