Chapter 2: Silver
A young lady woke up on the cold hard wooden floor. She blinked a little and sat up drowsily before glancing around her surroundings in confusion.
Wasn't she sleeping outside the house? Where is she right now?
She sniffed a little at the cold and hugged her knees together to stay warmer as she continued to survey her current situation. An empty wooden room with only one door, no window nor lights. It looks very similar to the attic that she normally stays in. Or the storeroom that she sometimes finds her parents throwing her into. It was always dark and cold.
Nobody would come and find her until someone actually remembers that there is still a living human being kept in the cellar with no food or water, she is then let out and given scraps of leftovers or expired food.
Did her brother drag her back while she was sleeping?
Tilting her head to one side, she frowned at the possibility that her brother is going to do something bad to her again. She was about to stand up and try to open the door when something bright caught her eye.
Her hands trembled slightly as she combed her hair which was longer than she expected. But it was not the length that frightened her but the color.
She slowly weaved her thin fingers through the silvery hair as she blinks in confusion. She doesn't remember having silver hair.
What is going on? Why does she have silver hair?
Is this one of her brother's pranks again?
She narrowed her eyes in annoyance. The only reason why she is putting up with him was that if she were to complain, her parents would hit her for trying to talk bad about their precious son. If she were to fight back, it would only get worse.
The only hope was for her to endure everything until she reaches the legal age to move out of that household. She wanted to escape this hellish household. She wanted to hate her parents for neglecting and abusing her. She wanted to hate her brother for all the bullying and violence.
But she couldn't.
Because deep down inside her heart, she was yearning for her family's affection. All of that yearning disappeared in a flash the moment her brother pushed her down from the second floor of her high school building though. She didn't die but surely her heart died.
There was not a shred of love left for them after that incident.
The school made it look like she jumped because she wanted attention. Her parents did not visit her when she was at the hospital. Her brother did come, only to deliver food that he knew she was allergic to in front of all the doctors and nurses.
He knew she couldn't eat it without suffocating as her windpipe swell, blocking her airway. Rashes will evade her body for days and her body will be recked in agony.
Not like anyone cares though.
Her heart died and ever since then, she has only waited. She has suffered for 18 years, what is 2 more to her? She stayed out of sight and allowed her brother to abuse her all he wants. She was just waiting for that day, the day where she would be free from all this pain.
Her head suddenly snapped towards the direction of the door. Her sharp ears perked at the sound of shuffling feet coming towards her direction. Her body instinctively tensed up as she backed away to the furthest corner of the room.
There are 2 people coming, one female and one male. She cocked her head to one side as she frowned. The weight of those feet is unfamiliar. She had thought it would be her parents, coming to berate her again. Or the maids but she is familiar with everyone's footsteps. She could not find those footsteps from her memory, who are they?
As she was processing this, the feet stopped before the door and a click was heard. The door promptly unlocked, and an unfamiliar face appeared behind it. An old man, wearing a sharp black suit with leather shoes. His back extremely straight, his hands covered with gloves and he wore a pair of glasses that makes him look fiercer than his original appearance.
A lady wearing a maid uniform stood behind him, her eyes cold and bored. Her uniform was crisp and not wrinkled. Should be a high-ranking maid in the house then because her uniform showed that she does not do housework. She looked like she should be in her late thirties or early forties with the wrinkles showing at the sides of her eyes that even the makeup she has applied could not hide from her discerning eyes.
Makeup?
She narrowed her eyes, examining the maid's face again. She confirmed that it was powder. Though it was not as high quality as what her mother has but still, a maid wearing powder at work? Her mother has always been sensitive about the maids wearing makeup or jewelry at work, saying that it is not professional, but she thinks her mother is more scared that her father would be attracted to one of them if they were to dress up in front of him and seduce him. That is how much trust her mother has in her husband and she doesn't blame her. Her father does not have a very clean reputation, it is normal to be worried given his personality.
The man coughed lightly to bring her attention back to him before he addressed her.
"Lady Adelaide, the Lord has called for you."
Adelaide raised her eyebrows.
"Did you just call me Lady?" She wanted to ask but she knows from experience it is better to keep her mouth shut.
Without a word, she stood up gingerly. Still feeling faint from the lack of food and water, she slowly wobbled over to the man. The man paid no attention and start to lead her towards who she presumes to be her father.
But isn't calling him "Lord" a little too much?
Adelaide couldn't make sense of her situation as she followed the two adults out of a narrow corridor. She saw that the distance between them was growing and took bigger steps but found that she seems to have shrunk after waking up. She is an 18-year-old, why does she feel like her entire body frame has shrunk to that of a 10-year-old?
To top it off, it seems like her ankle was injured, making it hard for her to walk but she knew that even if she called out, they would not stop for her. She bit her lips and endured the pain as she hobbled behind them.
While walking, she surveyed her surroundings in wonder. Wine red walls with huge windows adorned the long corridor that she was walking on. The floors were laid with posh white marble, reflecting the sunlight that was pouring into the house from those big windows.
It was beautiful, but Adelaide did not remember her house to look like this.
Unless her family managed to renovate the entire house in the time when she was sleeping but even then, Adelaide shook her head in disbelief.
They finally stopped in front of a large wooden door exerting a dignified aura. Adelaide could hear steady breathing behind that door. That should be her father behind those doors, one of the people she loathes the most. Keeping her poker face on, she waited for the old man who guided her to open the door.
The old man was looking at her with a surprised expression on his face. Adelaide looked at the door and at him again, giving him a "what are you waiting for?" face.
He coughed lightly in embarrassment before knocking on the door.
"My Lord, Lady Adelaide has arrived."
"Let her in."
The moment she heard his voice, she knew that the person behind those doors was not her father. Her father did not sound like that.
The doors opened, revealing a man of sturdy build. He was also wearing a suit, but it was different from the old man who guided her in. It was black but the sleeves were dark blue. His narrow red eyes stare down at Adelaide and she stared back in shock. Her brain registered that his hair was of the same color as her own, but she was not in a good mental state to process that small piece of information.
Who is this person?
Before she could speak, the man spoke first.
"Adelaide Avington, are you not going to come in?" The silver-haired man asked in a deep voice, deeper than what Adelaide remembers her father's voice to be.
She stepped into the room and the old man closed the door behind her. The sound of the door closing caused Adelaide to snap her head towards the door as though the old man had closed off her only route of escape.
"Adelaide?" The silver-haired man called her, surprised at her actions.
She slowly turned back and faced the man before her before she asked.
"Who are you?"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone