We were allowed in, of course, without any difficulties. I lived here, whether they or I liked it or not, and a servant didn't have the right to refuse me or "Mother".

  I gripped the coarse thread of Amoriana's outfit, still wondering how she comfortably wore it, as I was shown the room. Surprisingly, the room was covered in pastel pinks, and there were toys littered over the floor in one of the corners, with a handheld mirror next to them. My eyes travelled everywhere, from the bookshelf to the window to the ceiling and walls and the bed, anything to avoid looking at the demon.

  I had even tried to focus on the scents around me, the smell of perfumes that was very different from the hallways was stronger, and reminded me of the first moments after I was reborn. I hated it, and never wanted to have to smell this room again.

  "Oh, my baby Lorena." They called, shuffling towards me. I had gotten good at hiding my fear, I imagined. "Happy birthday!" They pulled me into a weak hug, pulling me from my singular comfort.

  "Mother..." My reply was dry, and it felt scratchy. The words of this language never got easier to hear, let alone speak. Nonetheless I let her hug and kiss my cheek as I pushed down my revulsion. Disgusting. Vile. Fetid. I felt like my skin would boil if I didn't wash immediately, but I closed my eyes to bear with it for a few moments.

  Though with my head now on their shoulder, I could look down and see the sister I was being introduced to. Her brown hair draped over her ears and almost down to her shoulders, wavy and curled at the tips. Her blue eyes looked at me in horror, but I couldn't tell if that was because, like the other maids, she was afraid to look me in the eyes, or if she was appalled that another child was taking the affection of their mother.

  Truth be told I didn't want any of her affection in the slightest. My sister could have all of the Demons affection if they wanted it.

  "Lorena, this is your sister, Cordelia. She's one year older than you. You also have an older brother, but he's at school." That came as a surprise to me, and I opened my eyes a bit wider at that. I had a brother too? Looking back at Amoriana for clarification, she also nodded. So it was true... "I hope the two of you get along well, okay? Make sure to play together a lot. Mommy wants you both to be happy,"

  My sister, meanwhile, was walking over to her toys before she went and picked up a particularly large one. As I was set down, looking over at them still, they turned around with a furious and yet fearful look on their face. Stomping over, she lifted the toy above her head and I saw the world slow down as it came crashing down towards me.

  "Get away from Mama, you demon!" Not even halfway through her sentence, their toy beat down over the side of my head, around my temple, and for a moment, the world spun. I didn’t feel pain, just a cold numbness as my body hit the ground. The room seemed to tilt, the pastel pinks blurring together. I reached up instinctively, my fingers brushing against warmth. Blood? My thoughts were disjointed, sluggish, as if they were trying to swim through molasses. Surprise filled me, though. And I was momentarily stunned as I felt the impact rattle my brain. She was awfully strong for a child, apparently. Is this what Amoriana meant by 'energetic and strong'? She was certainly spirited.

  "Lorena—!" "My Lady!" The Demons yell was drowned out by Amoriana's gasp, her worried voice catching me by surprise. I had figured this was the expected reaction between children. After all, my younger brother was like this when I came back from primary school for the first time, and my parents welcomed me back. Then again, I wasn't hit with a wooden toy.

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  The world went quiet for a moment as I continued to feel the warmth on the side of my head, and as I reached to look at my hand, I was interrupted and suddenly pulled into Amoriana's embrace as the Demon went and pulled my sister away.

  Cordelia had called me a demon, and I gave a small laugh. Did she know I wasn't her sister? Did she know that I took over the body of their infantile sibling during their birth? She clearly hadn't known that she was born from a real demon, one that took my soul and dragged it into an infants body, only to torment me with guilt and make me think I was at fault for it.

  Did she know? Could she see through the facade to the fact that I was actually not one of them? The absurdity of it all—this child seeing the truth that even adults missed—struck me like the literal blow they had given me. A giggle bubbled up, unbidden, and before I could stop it, I was uncontrollably laughing.

  "Pffft... pahaha... hahaha!" I couldn't hold back the laugh that rolled out of me. It was uncontainable, and it just kept going. And only when Amoriana held me close did I finally pause, if only briefly. "Amoriana, pfft... it seems my sister doesn't want...snnrk... doesn't want to see me. Take me to my room. Pfffthahaha"

  Slowly, they picked me up, before bowing down to the demon. "Please excuse us, Ma'am."

  I could feel my death approaching in the coming days. I had made a mistake, but I couldn't help but laugh. Would my nightmare come to an end? Would I finally go back and see my parents? My little brother? What about his wife? I never got to properly meet her.

  I felt something inside of me slowly snapping out of place as I began to loudly laugh the entire time I was carried down the hallway, my mouth felt stretched and like it was being pulled in several directions all at once as I smiled.

  "My Lady..." Amoriana's voice pulled me out of my thoughts as I was so quickly set down on my bed. "Please wait here, I will be back quickly." She sounded so worried, but I was fine, and grabbed her clothes.

  "It's fine, pfft... I'm alright. It didn't even hurt." She looked more hurt than I was, and I almost started laughing again. "Amoriana," I called out, letting go of her as she looked back at me. "You're the only thing that can hurt me, Amoriana. Only you." I could see the smile that spread my thin lips far too tight in her eyes. "If you insist on getting the bandages, then go. Hurry back to me, though." And so I let go of them. She stood up and bowed to me quickly.

  "I will take your words to heart, My Lady, but please excuse me." She smiled at me, although it was a more nervous one than usual, as she stood straight and immediately went to move to the door and I covered my mouth with my hand

  I touched my lips gently, feeling the remnants of that tight, stretched smile still lingering. My mouth relaxed, but my mind didn’t. I flopped back onto my bed, staring at the ceiling, a strange lightness settling in my chest.

  "I love you..."

  The words slipped out before I could stop them, soft and familiar. They felt strange on my tongue, almost foreign, despite being the language I spoke the most. I blinked up at the ceiling, letting the phrase hang in the air like gun smoke. Did I really mean that?

  I’d never said those words to anyone before. Not like this.

  "I love you..."

  I tried the words again, this time letting them sink deeper. But the more I repeated them, the more I realized just how hollow they felt. Love? What did I even know about it?

  Yes, my family had held a place in my heart once—a distant warmth I could barely remember. But that wasn’t love. Not this kind. This was... different. This was...

  I paused, thoughts trailing off to the distant memories of a time before all of this. Havardin. I used to think I cared for him. Maybe more than the others. But even he wasn’t... no, it was never love. Just a fleeting connection.

  "I love you."

  The words were sharper this time, more desperate. Who was I even trying to convince? Amoriana? Myself?

  I squeezed my eyes shut, my chest tightening with a feeling I couldn’t name.

  "I love you... Amoriana."

  This time, her name slipped from my lips like a confession, completely undeniable. A part of me, a twisted part, wanted to believe it. Needed to believe it. Because in this world, with all its madness and terror, she was the only thing that made sense.

  The only person I had.