The little girl woke the next morning and was understandably afraid of the strange room she found herself in.

“Morning little one.” 669 said as he carefully entered the room so not to alarm her. She was like a frightened small creature to him, so he was mindful of approaching calmly.

He placed the breakfast tray he had been carrying to the small table near the bedroom window, and eased down on the seat. Reddy shortly followed with a fresh set of clothes for her.

The girl huddled in the corner of the bed, wary of the men.

“Don’t worry. We’ll stay here, but I would like to talk, is that okay?” 669 gently asked.

“Yes. I’ll place the clothes here.” Reddy carefully placed the folded dress and slippers on the opposite bed end, then went to pour some tea in a cup.

“The tea is good. It’ll help you.” He offered it to her with both hands outstretched.

The girl took a moment to silently regard the men carefully then eyed the tea cup and contents. She took in a deep breath and made the decision to take the tea: slowly sipping at first, when she realized it was tasty and uplifting, she drank it all in one go then wiped her mouth dry with the back of a hand.

The men waited for her to finish and return the cup before speaking.

“Do you have a name?” 669 asked.

The girl thought for a moment with a frown then nodded and opened her mouth. But her lips trembled with fear when she tried to say her name.

“It’s okay. You don’t need to say it.”

She shook her head with a look of determination: clenched her fists and closed her eyes. With a clear voice she said her name.

“Miki.”

“Nice to meet you Miki. You’re a very brave and strong girl. I go by 669 and this is Reddy.” 669 praised the girls’ courage with his introduction.

Reddy glanced at 669 with feelings of both respect and surprise for the man. People tended to think that this operation’s henchman was shallow and only cared to be promiscuous. But at times like now, Reddy glimpsed at how caring the man was for those weaker than himself and more innocent. 669 had once said to Reddy that his belief of being weak wasn’t having strength to fight back against an oppressor, but rather allow evil urges to take control. So the kingdom tended to have too many weak people in power, which was why there were so many wrong doings going on despite being forced to play by a fate.

“A weak man is an idiot with no control over his desires or emotions.” Reddy repeated 669’s advice in his mind. It was one he resonated strongly with. Although, 669 tended to manipulate the sex drives of those weak men to his advantages: they made perfect tools to satisfy his appetites. Naturally, this was one aspect only 669 could handle. Reddy preferred to live a simple domestic life as happily as possible.

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Miki relaxed her body so she was sitting calmly on the bed. She looked at her empty tea cup and at the pot on the table. Reddy understood what she wanted and poured her more tea. She beamed with delight and drank it down with a hearty gulp, licking her lips clean. She bowed with her thanks when she handed the cup back to him.

“Th—Thank you.”

669 nodded. “What made you scared, if it’s okay to ask?”

Miki’s lips trembled with fear again. She squeezed her eyes closed as she gathered her will to be strong, opened then and slowly explained what she had been running from. They silently listened to her story that begin four days prior.

They learned that her full name was Miki Finch who was the daughter of a water seller named Alder Finch. There was no mother, who seemed to have died when she was a baby, but she had been partially raised by her aunt who sometimes worked at her uncle’s job to earn extra money. 669 noticed her emotions were calm when she told this part of herself, but started to waver with both resentment and fear when she talked about the new woman who had entered their lives.

She happily lived at her family’s rundown cottage just on the village’s outskirts in the forest. There was a lot of fondness for the Sherlock-lambs she played with at the cottage’s pen. But one day her father excitedly came home to introduce a woman as her new mother. Behind her father’s back, the woman was mean to her. But what was most frightening about the woman was the mask she wore.

“What kind of mask?” 669 asked.

Mike dramatically acted out an ugly face to answer his question.

“A holy mask?” Reddy scratched his head with the question.

“Possibly. The Holy Order tend to draw warding sigils on mask images to protect the wearer. Naturally, they have no artistic vision so everything they make is ugly,” 669 loftily said as he whipped out his hand fan and began fanning his face.

“If so, then this woman was from the Holy Order!”

669 gestured for Miki to continue.

The woman had her father wrapped around her little finger: having the man do everything for her without complaint. It was like he had been charmed and slowly losing his sense of self. One day, she had him lock Miki in a cupboard. Something he wouldn’t even have thought about to do before. At first this made her confused then angry, but after a while, her hearing became acute, and she could hear them talking all over the cottage. The woman was bringing in more people: men. And there were weird noises and an eerie feeling came over the place making Miki afraid.

“Could it be that your father locked you away to save you?” Reddy asked, feeling both angry and sad for the girl. And hoping that was truly the case. That even under a charm spell the father was still fighting through to make sure his daughter was safe.

Miki shrugged her shoulders. She said that one night she didn’t hear anyone talking except the woman and an older man who had never been in the cottage before. Then suddenly it went silent.

Her body shivered and curled up in a ball.

“It’s okay Miki. You don’t need to say anymore. We’ll find out what has happened to your father.” 669 calmly rose and reassured her. “For now, you’re welcome to stay here as long as you want. Reddy will take care of you.”

He faced Reddy who eagerly volunteered his services.

“Of course! Let it to me!”

669 turned to leave the room but was stopped by Miki who had got off the bed to hug his waist. He smiled and patted her head. “Get some rest and eat well. Stay with Reddy, he’ll keep you safe.”

Her face lit up with a smile and firm nod. She went to stand next to Reddy who was laying out her clothes for the day.

669’s mind was a whirlwind of thoughts from Miki’s story. If what he was piecing together was correct, this Fairy Blossom needed to be found as soon as possible.