This whole Prince bullcrap had been putting them on edge, so much they had not been sleeping more than three hours a night ever since the news broke. Not that Samir usually slept more than five anyway, but those two were crucial to their creativity, they thought.

The third checked over the top side of the bunkbed checking the heavy sleeper Lulu was. Manny was resting with the elders that night, to ease her nerves and their sisters alike. The young girl had a way of making them all calmer that no other had.

After no surprise came from their fourth sister, their mind raced to their next movements.

The Prince himself was within their expectations, it was the moving out part that got them. With so little time before being thrown into the enemy’s den, there was an impossible time limit to anything they could do. And contrary to what her second sister thought, there still were some tricks on their sleeves, things not even she knew about. It was better this way. Samir would have more leeway if they moved alone.

The young dealer tiptoed, barefoot, swiftly but gently holding their coat over their shoulder and picking their spare leather boots strategically hidden in the corner behind the water barrel beside the kitchen pantries.

“Couldn’t sleep as well?” They jumped, scared but with calculated silence.

Samir turned, facing both, their impending doom and the one who brought it: their oldest sister. Dressed in a nightgown that made her look dangerously close to a mirage, Alani shook her head, amused by the reaction Samir would never admit was the standard one once they got caught doing something frowned upon by the eldest girls. “Just like a cat” Gabe had said once, and well, the third girl surely wished she could scram like one at the moment.

“...Gabes said something related to some pills that might be worth the shot against the Prince,” they tried to explain.

“I bet she would argue that it wasn’t a good time to fetch it, though. Mom’s sleep is light because of the excitement,” she sighed.

“Is our sister sleeping lightly as well?” Samir tempted, eyeing her with barely disguised hope as she didn’t shut them down right away. The oldest shook her head again.

“We managed to convince her to take some calming tea a couple of hours ago.”

“... Then, will you stop me in her stead, sister?”

She stared at her, reproachful, but didn’t move closer. The situation would be salvageable then. She watched as The third moved to the step in front the door, putting on shoes with the smoothness only they had.

“How will you even get the money? I thought we pitched in all our savings for the medicine we took this morning,” she kept her voice low, another final indication that the younger one should proceed.

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“... I might have had the chance to save extra money besides what Father gives us,” Samir whispered back.

“You said you keep investing everything you earned through your… dealings.”

“Well, sometimes it takes a while for the right investing opportunity to appear, ” Samir couldn’t manage the courage to raise their eyes, yet she could still feel her intent. After long enough, she gave up trying to go around it, “Are you mad I lied?”

“No. You are a teenager after all. I’m just… Disappointed I guess, “ she sat down, touching her shoulder in theirs, “Sometimes it’s not easy for me not to worry, you know? You are so bright and so passionate that it calls for us, the oldest, to support you and trust your process in finding yourself, but… Well, I guess I believe you’d be more transparent, for us to know when to help when you needed. Gods, I didn’t even know you've ever seen the witch let alone dealt with her! ”

Samir lowered her head, not wholly regretful but still ashamed by her earnest words. The younger one almost said that Gabe did know (or guessed) about most of the people she dealt with, but they knew that would not suffice. Alani was restless when it was about them counting on her. It was just… Samir could handle himself. In fact, it was safer for everyone involved to know nothing of any other part. Their clients were in the dark of other clients and for many years, they were especially in the dark about their family.

What started as a young girl playing runner, became the person you go to when you want to find something too expensive or hard-to-find. Steady hard work and sheer focus put them there, but their appearance helped too. No one was that suspicious of someone that young, and unless Samir fucked up majorly in playing dumb, no one went after them either. Once they had known personally and, most importantly, got known personally by everyone on the web, her silver tongue and amicable demeanor just had to work the rest. Profit ensued, and not many dangers followed.

Regardless, they still apologized.

“I’m sorry, sister,” even if they thought they were in the right, it came rather easily. She knew her sister said things like that because she cared about them more than anything in the world.

She felt their sister's hand on her short hair.

“Again, what I’m trying to say is that you should be careful and let us know what we can so we can rescue you if one day you need it. That's all.”

“I will, sister.”

“Good… and please, don’t do too much. If it’s to protect yourself or our sister it’s okay, but if you have to exceed yourself because of me and this mess I put you all in-“

“None of this is your fault, Alani,” Samir was fed up and time was ticking.

It wasn’t just the fact she didn’t want to marry, Alani seemed to be under the illusion the prophecy itself was because of her.

They wanted to hear no more of Alani’s guilt, because even if that was true, no matter what had happened to her before, while, or after she came to them, not one of those things was a choice she made. The others brought trouble to her, and since they were family, now those were their problems as well. No more.

Instead of saying all that again, they just stared at her, not allowing her to continue that route.

“Be sure to be back soon, sister,” the words weren’t a warning, no, that was what Gabe was responsible for. With Alani, they received a wish and a hope instead.

Samir smiled at the sentence they had heard a thousand times before and leaned to kiss her cheek.

“I’ll be home before the sun comes up,” they promised.