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nAroura's POV

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nWhen the next day came, Pandora came down the stairs skipping while being glared at the insensitive jerks which were my brothers. As she came downstairs, we made eye contact for a second too long, prompting her to ask in front of all the family and Elaina's too (who had come to our house every day since she had gone missing) a question that sent shivers down everyone's spine.

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"Soooo... Now that I'm not being punished, can I go to the forest again? I have a lot to learn from Juilam and I think he can also teach me how to hun-

"

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"NO!

" everyone old enough to make the decision for her shouted in unison without thinking twice.

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"huuuuh? Why not? I'm more than capable of going out into the forest than most of you-

" she tried to argue before being cut off by my father.

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"No means no!

" he said with with a stern voice he doesn't usually use on us unless he knows we are endangering ourselves

nPandora pouted after hearing our refusal before asking

"Well, will you at least teach me a few things? Like swordsmanship or the basics of magic?

"

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"Again, I agree with your dad in this one. You shouldn't learn swordsmanship until you develop magic. When you turn six we will pick this conversation back up again. Right now you have no friends your age, no childhood memories and no fun in your life. That's why we decided you will be spending time with Elaina and her family to get accustomed a little. Pandora, you know we are doing this for your own goo-

" My mom said before also being cut off by the voice of my sister

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"DON'T GIVE ME THAT BULLS-... I find fun in training with dad, I find fun in playing with big sis, I don't need friends because non of them will be as good as Aroura or Dad!

" Pandora said, clearly stinging my mothers heart at the fact that she was not mentioned.

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"That is exactly what mom means! Sis, we wont always be here for you in the future so you have to get friends of your own!

" I pleaded

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"I DO HAVE FREINDS! I don't need any more! I have Juilam, Keaurin, Throid and Alan, what else do you want?!

"

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"We want you to have friends your own age, not those idiots you call your friends!

" My mother said losing her cool again before regaining it and apologizing when Pandora glared at her.

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"No one is going to marry a noble who acts like you in the future. If you want to have a good life in the future I think coming to my household will teach you a lot. My parents know a lot and are extremely wise people. Argenta here is the closest thing you can have to your older sister in my house and you even have my youngest child who is the same age as you! You can learn a lot from Ambrose too!

" Said Elaina trying to support me and my parents

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"Why the hell would I want to play with kids? Why the hell would I want to get married? Explain Why the fuc-

" She said before I cut her off this time

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"LANGUEGE!

" It was the first time I had ever shouted at her but I couldn't allow her to swear at the guests, nor even swear at all. Everyone's face turned shell shocked for a few seconds before most of them regaining their cool in front of Pandora. To be honest, I had expected her to cry when it came time for me to shout at her, but she stood there with her eyes wide and two eyebrows raised, looking more curious than ashamed.

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"oh... Sorry sis. I got carried away, please accept my apology

" Pandora said with a bow towards me making every freeze for a second and widen their eyes once again.

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"O-oh, I forgive you, just don't swear in my presence again, it makes me feel like a disappointment for not teaching you that your not sup- I mean don't worry about it. Just don't do it.

" I blurted out slightly flustered by the straightforwardness of the apology.

nPandora, for the first time in a very long time looked guilty. Her brows furrowed and she looked down a little before regaining her cool. I knew how much she loved me, and I loved her back just as much. Yet, I did this so her life wouldn't become a sh*t show for her and everyone around her. I wanted to let her live the best life she could ever ask for, the best life a child could dream of, yet that started with this.

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"What I meant to say was I don't want to get married nor will I get forcefully engaged like that b-... man, almost did to my sister.

" She said putting emphasis and stress into the word

"man

" instead of swearing.

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"Well, that is for your parents to decide but I won't argue anymore about it. Will you be coming with us or not?

" Elaina snarled at the young girl cornering her entire family easily.

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"hmm, If Aroura say's I should go, I will. If my dad said so too, then I will due to them both knowing what is best for me. Well that is what I hope anyway. If me going for a few weeks will help my mom recover a little from her greed than I shall abide by what they say. But this doesnt mean you can take advantage of my stay and try to pressure me into anything, because if you do, I'll make the pride of my and your family the least of any of your worries.

" she said while turning monotone at the end.

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"Pandora... Did the beasts do this to you? Why did you change so much? Are you sure your okay?

" I asked while making her look me straight in the eyes as I held her shoulders between my hands. I crouched down to look her straight in her golden eyes before she could answer me.

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"No, I'm just tired of mom becoming a slave to noble society, I'm tired of seeing you worried for me all the time and I'm tired of seeing dad sad whenever he came upstairs to check up on me.

" she replied while kissing me on the cheek and hugging me with enough strength to take the air out of my lungs.

nI pushed her away before she would fold me like an origami and only then did I hug her back, allowing her to feel the full embrace of someone who truly loved her, cared for her and would die for her if it would come to that.

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"oh! By the way, here are the gloves mom had gifted you before.

" I said while pulling them out of my dimensional storage before asking

"do you still have the... What did you call it?

"

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"light brigade? Yeah its right here

" she said while pointing towards her belt region where there was a small blade the size of a hand.

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"Yeah that keep it on you, we will not visit for the first two weeks by the way, but we will visit after that once a week until your birthday, until then, you will be dealing with them for a while haha.

" I said while chuckling a little.

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"yeah sure, whatever you say sis

" Pandora said while looking slightly disheartened, breaking my heart in her stead.

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"okay, shall we get going after breakfast or?

" Elaina asked, purposely ending the sentence early to allow us to make our own suggestions.

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"Y-yes. After Breakfast it is.

" My mom said before going towards the table, looking more sorrowful than I had ever seen her. Clearly, Pandora's child like brain didn't think of the consequence of saying words like that in front of mom, which even after she became mature enough to understand most things in the world, it must have still hard to been really hard to know what the consequences of her own words would have.

nwe ate in silence that would only be broken by the voice of my little sister, acting too naive to understand why we were so silent. She broke the awkwardness and allowed us to talk until the time of her departure. She ran upstairs with an empty suit case just to return a few minutes later without much in her suitcase other than a few clothes and shoes, a brush and nothing else. She wore nothing but a golden yellow and black jacket which actually was her trench coat in disguise. She also wore black pants and black leather shoes.

nShe walked with a brown and black suitcase in her hand and smiled the whole way to the door, almost like she was trying to reassure us. We all hugged and sobbed before she left with the same smile as before and waved at us until she had gotten into the carriage.

nOnly then, did I close the door to allow my mother to breakdown as my father and I tried to console her.

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"She doesnt even trust me. She doesn't trust her own mother's judgement... I thought I was teaching her a lesson but all I was doing...

" she paused before finishing her sentence by muttering

"all I was doing was distancing myself from her. S-she probably hates me, right Aroura?

"

nMy mother looked at me with wet eyes that were pleading for nothing but the answer she wanted.

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"Of course she doesn't, mom. She must feel a bit betrayed, that's all.

" I said while starting to sob as well.

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"Do you think she will be fine?

" my father asked while looking me in the eyes.

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"Of course she will be fine, she is is my sister, so nothing will put her down. She will either change for the best or in the worst case scenario, she comes back the same way she was before leaving for the woods..

" I said while trying to console my father and nullify his worries with no avail.

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