Ares.
The moment Alora ran out of the store I felt a piece of me follow her out.
Seeing her scars had reminded me of mine, the shame and embarrassment of having them in the open, visible to everyone. Even though this wasn't the first time I was seeing her scars, it didn't make accepting them any easier.
The first time I had seen Alora's scars was when she had been naked in my room, pulling her knees against her body to shield herself from me. The fear in her eyes weren't missed and the slight shaking of her body as my eyes peered over every cut, bruise and mark on her pale beautiful skin.
She had been so scared, so broken right there and as she folded herself closer, pressing against the wall. It reminded me of myself.
I needed to find her.
Standing up abruptly, the store owner walked up to me. She was an annoying little thing who I had noticed didn't like Alora one bit and at the mention of how disgusting her scars were, I hated her and wanted to rip off her tiny head from her body.
She was human after all, they were weak and useless.
"Why did she run away like that? Ugh, I hope she doesn't ruin the clothes." She said, and I turned to her angrily, there was a flirty smile on her face.
"Is she your girlfriend? She doesn't suit you at all." She said, eying my chest as she bit her lower lip and stepped closer to me, making me frown.
"You should totally go for someone like me." She said, reaching for my bicep when I slapped her hand away.
"You're the one who's disgusting. Throwing yourself at me is the most pathetic thing I've seen all day." I said as she scoffed and stepped back in disbelief.
I wasted no time as I took out a wad of cash from my pocket, flinging it at her as they sprayed over her face before falling to the floor, then I turned away from her store, walking out into the busy hallway.
I looked around, there were people everywhere and Alora was nowhere in sight. A man holding a crying baby passed me and I frowned at the noise.
There were a lot of people with black hair making it hard to find Alora in the midst of it all so I walked further. I saw the escalator up ahead but I knew she couldn't have gone downstairs because she was scared of it.
Turning away from it, I eyed the panda mascot Alora had been looking at earlier. Could she have gone in there?
I walked to the shop and approached the panda who was doing some weird dance moves to attract passers-by.
"Have you seen any girl running around here? Black hair and violet eyes?" I asked, glancing inside the shop but it was packed with kids and their parents as they pointed at different toys. But there was no sight of Alora.
"Violet eyes?" The panda asked and I nodded quickly. "I'm not sure I got to see her face but a girl who was crying ran there." He pointed to the opposite hallway and I turned away, not muttering a thank you.
As I wondered where Alora could have gone, my heart thumped loudly in my chest as I became somewhat worried. While I couldn't understand what emotion it was, I could feel jittery on my veins making me walk faster as I looked around the hallways.
I pulled open the door to a nearby store, maybe she could have come in any of them. I ignored the stares of the store keepers as I walked in, eyes frantically looking around the store for her but I couldn't find her in any of them.
I sighed, glancing at my watch to see it was past one already and my meeting was by three. I had two hours to finish this up and I hadn't even started.
Even when I found Alora, I didn't know which store to visit except that Tafi's Closet was off limits. And it was already obvious Alora didn't like revealing clothes, no wonder she had always worn long sleeves and long dresses to cover up her scars.
Alora's violet tear filled eyes flashed in my mind and I sighed, looking around the hallway in frustration.
Where could you be?
I couldn't even scent her, and I knew it was possibly her doing. It was an ability she had, to mask her scent so no one knew where she was. I growled, clenching my fist angrily.
Suddenly, I heard the soft playing of a piano from far away and I froze, straining my wolf ears to listen to it again.
There. A soft melody filled the air and it was somewhat similar. The same tone that had been playing when I had gotten home drunk out of mind to see Alora in my piano room.
Since then, that melody has been stuck in my head and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it.
I followed the sound of the piano until I came towards the musical instrument part of the mall where various instruments were sold and it didn't take me a second to find Alora.
She was in the last shop to the left and as I neared closer, I could smell the faint scent coming from her and I peeked into the shop, hiding so she didn't see me and became scared of me.
Alora was sitting in front of a grand piano, her hair over her shoulders like soft waves and a few bangs that had been loose against her temple dropping down her cheeks. Her eyelashes were long and black as they rested on her soft round cheeks.
Her eyes were closed as she played the piano, that same melody sent chills down my spine as she hit each note perfectly and I unconsciously took a step further making sure to stay away from the door as I peeked in, watching her in awe.
Alora played the piano beautifully, like an expert in a show with a thousand eyes watching them. Each note left a resonating feeling in my guts, digging into my heart.
But the moment Alora opened those beautiful pink lips to sing, I felt all the back of my hair stand at the sound of her voice.
Her voice was like the swift gentle flow of a river. And I felt my heart jump out of my chest at her voice. I had heard Alora sing before, but back then she had been crying too but it had been beautiful and she had stopped almost as immediately as she had started.
This time was different, while it was obvious she had been crying earlier, this time even as there were no tears falling down her cheeks. I could hear the pain in her voice, her grief, sadness as well as anger that I never thought she could feel.
Her voice was broken, telling a story of the pain she was currently enduring. And when I heard the lyrics flowing from her lips, my heart sank.
"There's a little girl, never told she was beautiful,
She's seen a drawing of her, it was beautiful,
But she was told she was nothing like that,
She was ugly, stupid and dumb.
That girl sits in the lonely forest,
A broken piano between her laps,
Her tiny damaged fingers pressing each key,
That girl wanted love.
She wanted peace.
But she's just another broken toy,
Just like the piano,
That girl was me."
Alora sang beautifully, each word rolling off her tongue with so much emotion. I stared at Alora, her face was calm and there was a sad smile on her lips.
I looked down at her fingers against the piano. Her fingers had tiny cuts on them and her wrist was visible to me, scarred and bruised. But despite the damage that had been done to her fingers, each time she pressed the keys, a beautiful melody rang after it.
How could such tiny fingers with so many scars and cuts produce such beautiful music?
How could a broken slave sing so beautifully?
How could someone as beautiful as Alora be this broken?
She was so sweet and innocent and naive to everything around her. How could anyone take such a person and break them beyond repair?
My heart clenched and I raised my hand to my chest, looking away from Alora as I rested against the wall.
It was hard to think. It was hard to move. I stood frozen against the wall as Alora's music filled my ears, tearing me apart from the inside and healing me just right again with its beautiful melody.
A lot of emotions were rushing through me at once that I could hardly know what each meant. Emotions I didn't know I could feel, surging through me like a thousand pins all at once.
My stomach knotted and my blood ran cold under my skin. I was feeling everything all at once, every pain in Alora's voice, her sad smile playing all over in my mind. Her scarred body flashing in my head.
And just like before, the sound of the piano drowned me in another memory that I had tried to forget.
Zeus had always been interested in playing the piano since he was five and it was no surprise that he had gotten one for his six year old birthday.
"Come Ares, I'll show you how to play it." Zeus said, his hand waving at me as I stood at the end of the door watching him play beautifully.
I nodded, offering him a shy smile as I stepped into the piano room. It was bright, clean and Zeus' favorite place.
"Am I allowed here?" I asked softly as I picked my fingernails, making Zeus chuckle.
"Of course, you're my brother. Come on, sit beside me." Zeus said, shifting and providing a space for me on his chair before he pushed his blonde hair away from his face.
Unlike me, Zeus had bright blonde hair and deep blue eyes that were filled with so much happiness and joy as he stared down at me.
"So just place your hand here." He said, taking my fingers and placing it against the black and white keys.
"Good. Now this is the C Sharp and this the D, then E.." Zeus was saying as he pressed each key with my finger.
I smiled at the sound of the piano. There was something soothing about it and it made my heart flutter with each sound of the key.
"See, it's not that hard. You just need to start making beautiful music with each note. Just watch." Zeus said before I pulled my fingers away from the piano and he smiled at me then started to play.
He was brilliant with it, making such beautiful melodies despite not being able to sing. Each note made me smile as I watched Zeus play.
The piano was Zeus' favorite instrument and after he died, I had locked up the room.
He played it for me everyday and I couldn't bear looking back in there.
It reminded me of so much, it reminded me of the pain it brought with it.
I opened my eyes, looking up at the bright light from the hallway. Then I brought my hands to view. The deep scar that ran down both my wrist was just as a result of it.
Alora's melody and voice filled my head as she still played obliviously to me standing just a few meters away. Listening to her.
Each note reminded me of him. It reminded me of so much, each scar that had healed opened up, leaving my heart bleeding. And making me vulnerable.
I frowned. Dropping my hands.
That was the exact reason I had locked up the piano room. To prevent such bursts of emotions, to never hear the sound of it again.
No matter how Alora made it sound so beautiful, so alluring and magical.
It brought back memories that I had pushed aside. Memories that had scarred me and caused me so much.
The piano reminded me of pain and I couldn't bear listening to it any longer.
So I stormed into the store where Alora was playing.
This was so painful to write and we are finding more about Ares. The piano reminds him of his brother Zeus and it's painful because he's dead now and Ares doesn't want to hear the sound of the piano anymore. Now he's pissed. What are your thoughts on this chapter? Do you think Ares is just as scarred as Alora? What do you hope for these two? What do you think of Alora's song? Let me know in the comments. Follow my instagram @chimdi_jane_samuel. Jane♥️