The Mask Of The Monster - Chapter 104

(From Ella’s Perspective)

I did not know when fell asleep while crying. Perhaps I had been even crying my sleep. As I looked into the mirror, I found my eyes swollen and red.

‘Eh? I cried this much…?’

“Ella, come down and have your breakfast,” Dad said from downstairs.

Back at home, it was Mom who would do this. And it was not just calling me for breakfast, it was more like yelling. But Dad’s voice was calmer and more reassuring than hers.

“Yes, coming,” I yelled.

Who knew what Dad made this time? I just hoped that he did not burn the kitchen down or something.

I wore the dress I always wore while going to work. I tied my hair in a long braid. It had grown too long. Perhaps I would just cut it.

I handed him a letter that I wrote for Leandro this morning. That was why it took me a while to go downstairs for breakfast.

Hey there,

I know it’s too early to send a letter, but here it goes anyway. After you left, Dad tried to cook us dinner. Well, he put the kitchen towel on fire and was even trying to put if off by jerking it. I mean, really? So, I told him to rinse it with cold water. I mean, normal people would do so at first, right? Anyway, I am getting along with Dad better than I thought. We went to a nearby diner to have dinner.

The mashed potato was really creamy and buttery. And the steak was good as well. It was a bit spicy but really amazing.

He asked me how what I used to do living with you. I told him about it that you would take care of me most of the time. And of course, you never let me go near the stove, blah blah. He asked me if we did it. I mean, if we slept together. I said no. He thought you would force yourself on me. Really? Doesn’t he know you at all?

I told him that everything I did was because I wanted to. Later when we came back, I found him reading a newspaper. You traitor, you never told me there were newspapers in this world! I thought you guys found out about news from the people near you. I mean, just like how a rumor spreads.

I asked Dad if he loved Mom and do you know what he said? He bluntly said no. It was slightly surprising. I mean, he could wait for a second or two to answer it.

Well, I talked a lot. The thing I actually wanted to say is- I miss you. I have a lot of things to say to you. It seems I was an idiot.

Can we meet? Just for a moment, I just want to see your face. I know I am the one who suggested that we live apart and perhaps we even needed to since you need to go away for work and I can’t live alone in the cave. But can we meet now? I just… miss you a lot.

Yours,

Ella

“Please send it to him,” I said.

“Alright, what is there to write to him? I don’t under… What happened to your eyes?” he asked, grabbing my face. Since I did not see him as a threat anymore, it did not give him any kind of pain when he touched me, unlike the first time.

“I am fine…,” I mumbled.

“You don’t look fine at all. Your body is quite hot as well. Do you have a fever?”

“Dad,” I said, “I am alright. Don’t worry.”

“Then why are your eyes swollen? Did you cry?”

I did not say anything. Even I could not believe that I cried. It had been a long time since I last cried. I thought I truly had turned into a monster.

He sighed. “I will send the letter to him as soon as possible. I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t like seeing you cry.”

“Thank you,” I smiled.

“You really do look like me,” he muttered to himself.

Dad did not look much old. He even looked younger than his actual age. And more importantly, we looked too alike. For some reason, I felt really relaxed when I was around Dad. It was not as uncomfortable as I thought it would be.

I had always wanted to meet the person who made me. Perhaps because, deep down, I hated him. I hated him for leaving Mom. But after I met him, for some reason, I did not feel the hatred anymore. It was not like I loved him, but I did not hate him either.

I did not even notice that there was another guy sitting at the table. He was perhaps of Leandro’s age and had dark red hair.

“Dad, who is this?” I asked.

“Ah, this is Jasper,” Dad said. “He is one of our members. Since I can’t cook, I asked him to do it.”

“I see,” I said.

“Your daughter looks just like you,” Jasper said. He had light brown skin and was kind of tall. But Leandro was taller than him. He had silver eyes that shone very brightly like diamonds.

“She does,” Dad said.

“Thank you for the food,” I said.

“No problem,” he nodded. “I heard you work at the palace.”

“That’s right.”

“Then she can work as our spy,” he said.

“Never!” Dad protested quickly. “I won’t let my daughter be in any kind of danger. And besides, she is quitting as well.”

“There is no need to get so worked up on this. I was just suggesting,” Jasper said. It did not look like just a suggestion to me though… “I don’t understand this. How is your daughter even here?”

“Someone opened the portal and she got in. Since she has shifter blood, she could see the portal and also get through it,” Dad said as I had started eating the omelet.

“Why would you get through such a strange thing?” he asked, looking at me.

“I was curious?” I said, chewing on the food. “It’s good. Did you use tomatoes as well?”

“I did,” he nodded.

“Perfect,” I said, giving him thumbs up.

“Pfft… What the hell?” he laughed suddenly. Was he making fun of me? I just praised him because he did a good job with the food.

I pouted and looked away. There was no need to talk to someone who would laugh for no reason, especially when it seemed he was laughing at me.

“You have a bad sense of direction, don’t you?” Dad asked.

“I am not a sea captain,” I said. “Every direction confuses me. And north, south, east, west mean nothing to me. If that’s what a bad sense of direction is, then I have it.”

“She is funny!” Jasper laughed again.

He was irritating me. Why was he laughing this much? It was not like I was making any high-class jokes. Only angels would laugh at this kind of lame joke. But no matter how I looked at him, he did not look like an angel. More like a man with many masks.

I had a feeling that he was someone who would look pretty normal at first, but had a different side to him, kind of like a manipulating person.

“Then Jasper can take you to the palace,” Dad said. “He is going that way anyway.”

“Yeah, I am going that way,” he said.

“Alright then,” I said. It was better if someone took me there since I had no idea which way to go. And moreover, it was not the same way that I used to take to go to the palace from the cave. It would take me a while to remember the way properly. But perhaps I did not need to do it since I was quitting anyway.

“Drink some water,” Dad said, handing me a glass of water. Why was he behaving like Leandro? Did that guy tell Dad that I did not drink much water? He would always nag me about these kinds of things after all.

“Let’s get going then,” Jasper said. As he stood up, I could clearly see how tall he was. He was perhaps an inch shorter than Leandro. But I still looked very little beside him. “You’re really tiny, huh?”

‘You don’t have to tell me that…’

I looked around, trying to remember the way as we walked together. His strides were pretty long and he did not even bother to slow down a bit for me. What could I have done? My legs were shorter than his. I had to run to keep up with him.

“You really are too slow,” he muttered.

“You’re too fast,” I snapped. “Isn’t it because your legs are as long as two bamboo trees?”

“And you’re slow cause your legs are as short as a person’s life.”

‘Whoa, that’s pretty mean! I don’t think we will get along….’