If only you were my sister

In one of the duke's mansion rooms the boy woke up. Two days has passed since the fire, his cast is open and gone. Apparently the doctor confused the bruise for a fracture.

And apparently the duke's brother never told him that his son had vitiligo.

'Well make sense. That would bring shame to the family.'

The boy thought while washing his face in the large sink. Looking at his amber eyes.

'Pretending to be sleeping won't work forever. I will have to open my eyes eventually. Also... no way they think I'm Antonio for real...' He looked at the vast posh room. The brass adorned furniture disagreed.

Nothing was certain.

'They gonna find Antonio and his parents anyway. Alive or...else.'

His eyes jumped from point to another, thinking and panicking at the same time.

'This is some kind of trap? My clothes should've given me away...' He sat on the ground in a corner. Bowl of fruit in his lap, almost bigger than him. Gorging on it.

'Staying here is risky.' He wiped his mouth.

He tip toed in the suspiciously empty hallways, he quickly clocked how the size of this mansion puts the old palace to shame.

Jumping behind the thick curtains when he hears footsteps. Freezing behind it.

"Will his grace be fine?" A servant asked another.

"I hope so, the fever subdued now. "

"I guess the shock was too much."

"What about the nephew? Did he wake up?"

"No time to worry about the son of a commoner now."

"Hey!" They whispered.

"No seriously, even if he was the duke's brother, taking a commoner as a spouse! I'm telling you some noble got pissed at that and planned this."

"Shhh! If you wanna get fire for a stupid theory do it alone!"

Their voice eventually became too distant to be heard.

The gossip was at its peak and the curtains had ears.

"They didn't find any remains yet."

'So? do I let them catch me red handed? I have no money to buy contacts, hell were this mansion is to begin with?' He looked out the window but the garden was all it is there.

At the cover of the night he tip toed with more freedom. Peaking at a slightly open door. Clothes and accessories on the floor.

'They could have contacts right? No if something got missing they would know...would they? If I had this abundance, will I notice I something went away?'

Browsing items in the drawers like a quite mouse.

'What is all these things ?' He sweated. Between the powders and lipsticks and hair accessories he was a foreigner. But words were a close friend. 'Beauty supplies room.' was written on a removable paper on new items.

Dashing around wasn't too seamless between the awake servants who walked in the hallways every now and then. Unlike the doomed palace. But the various gossips were a wore out map of the mansion that did it's job despite being raggedy.

The stacks of labeled drawers in the beauty supply room were a hopeful sign. He observed, hiding behind some hanged silk robe while to maids looked into some drawers.

He was watching behind them. Vision pastel and dusky through the silk. Slowly extending his arms to a coat and pair of shoes near him.

"What do you think of this color?" One asked another, patting the blusher gently.

"You seriously gonna do this? AND no one can tell you in the dark."

"It's the best time to earn the duke's favor, while he's week dummy!"

"As long as you're dump enough to try."

"Come on, don't wanna get better than this?" She asked sincerely.

"Your best success will be a sixth wife title. It won't be better than this." She sighs, taking a lipstick with her before exiting.

"Whatever." She takes the blusher in her pocket, walking to the hanged robes, flipping through them. The creases of the thin fabric covers who's behind them. Although the hands were flipping, closer getting to the robe hiding the culprit.

A drop of sweat ran over his face, breath uneven. About to get louder.

The maid looked down the last robe. Shoes peaking through the silk. She stared at them.

"Come on!" Her companion called in a whisper, shout mutant.

"Coming coming."

She reached for the last robe. Upon lifting it she saw a coat thrown and crumbled in the ground, coving the shoes slightly.

Luckily for him she had her own plans, grabbing the robe and exiting.

He stayed under the coat more for a good measure, till their footsteps completely vanished.

The drawer with 'Lenses' label was filled with small boxes, one difficult to open in the dark, but that was a joke compared to putting those things in one's eyes.

"Ow!" He hissed while his fingers poked his eye.

"Gentler." A voice instructed. His lungs froze mid breathing. Though his heart pounding was almost audible. He slowly turned his head. The sight of an axe in the girl's hands didn't help.

She closed the door before studying him with a look. The contact lens slipping away from his cornea made him look comical, for better or for worse.

"Blink." She said.

Whether he registered it as an order or a threat he did anyway. The lens slipped back to its place.

He just sat there like a cornered prey that knew better than doing something stupid.

"Do you want this?" She eyed the contact box.

He looked at it, not for long.

"I do."

In her room Karaza fought the knot in her hair, giving up she puts the comb down, axe next to it.

She recalls the voices she picked up out side the burning palace. A cry of a kid, and the frantic running steps of a woman.

"Dear we should call help! ...dear?.. Are you okay?"

"Let's go!"

"Go? go where?"

"Any where. We can't stay here."

"It's probably an accident."

"And it could be not." He took a choked sigh. "You two can't live in peace here anyway. And my brother don't need me anyway."

"But if they find us..."

"Brother himself will behead me, let's go!" A sound resembles a hug, perhaps the father carrying the kid, the sound of collapsed walls cover the sound of running foots.

Short months passed before Antonio was in his first high society party with Lester.

"Antonio, this is Karaza. She do other duties but today she is your bodyguard be careful okay, someone tried to assassinate a baron last week." The older instructed calmly. She bowed to greet.

"Karaza... Arabic for Cherry? Crafty!"

It won't be the last time their steps head to the same direction, nor the last time they get sharp glances as the half commoner heir and his commoner of a bodyguard.

He would soon know about the duke's children she's collecting elixirs to heal. He would know, not so soon about how Antonio is alive, or not burned to death to the very least.

But lastly, he would know that they won't walk in the same direction forever.

Eight years later the three kids were having a pillow fight late at night, thuds from below some reached the attic.

"Father would faint if he saw this." Antonio comments, sipping his coffee.

"Yeah." Karaza murmurs.

"You okay, been acting like I first met you lately."

"Yeah, just tired."

He stares at her as she zones out. He break the stare sipping from his mug.

"Are they out of the woods?" He points with his head to the kids below, desperate for a conversation.

"Almost, I need couple more elixirs, could take a year or so." She answers methodically, no room elaborations.

"...And after that? What would you do?" He asked the question he feared the most.

"Beats me." She avoided his eyes.

"Father thinks of giving you a title. " He chuckled, darkness in his voice. She scoffed with the same tone in her voice.

"I would be killed by a servant."

"Nobles won't have time to mock ya."

They laughed, the attic air lightened. A strong thud from below made them choke on air while laughing.

"Although... there is a way. Your contract ends, we just say you're my mistress." The laughter slept and the plotting woke up.

"Ew! I knew you since you were teething!" She censured.

"Of course not like that, just superficial like a political marriage. You gotta do what you gotta do. Also god forbid a guy loses a tooth when he's thirteen, you lost one too around that time!"

She lets him finish, taking the same mug for a sip before putting it down on his side of the coffee table.

"So not all your ideas is brilliant."

"You think I want that? Your my little sister... although the ancient pharaohs-"

"Imma stop you right here."

They look at each other only to burst in laughter upon meeting eyes.

"Seriously though, Fironika would kill you for these things so be careful."

"She knows an alliance between the duke and the second strongest family is no fairytale."

"You would be surprised. Ah speaking for the devil." She cuts herself off, throwing a notebook to him which he catches.

"This is everything I know about her, tell master I want a bonus. I would rather wear cowboy boots than do this again."

"Wow, that bad?" He said before easily reading her chicken scratches.

She looked at him while he dropped into focus, reading the notes. She looked down for a moment in sadness.

"After it's all good, I think I will leave."

The sentence snapped him back, only to see her looking into his eyes with the look of someone who didn't want to bring the bad news. He blinks couple times, closing the notebook.

"I see."

"If only you were my sister, I would've fought you until you stay."