Twelve years later,
A chestnut brown-haired girl was looking at the courtyard from behind the window. There were many children in that area, about fifteen of whom ten were her own age. The beauty smiled as if she had found something valuable because it turned out that they were playing there.
“I want to play with my friends. But… will they shun me again?” she muttered slowly.
A young virgin was silent for a moment, as if she was in doubt. Before long, she moved away from her original location, and afterward walked towards the door. Upon arriving there, the chosen one opened it as soon as possible and went outside the orphanage building, which had been her home for twelve years. The cool morning air as soon as possible hit her skin, especially the facial area. She continued walking towards a group of children still playing not far away.
Some children who were playing seemed to notice the presence of a young girl who had entered the early stages of adolescence, so their gaze now turned toward that special girl who was walking toward there. Meanwhile, the other orphans looked at the same section as their friends who had done it first.
“Why is Alexa even here?” asked a green-eyed girl, frowning.
That girl could not hide their horror and annoyance, as if the target was causing trouble. However, several other children who were there seemed to disagree with these words.
“So, what if she comes? Alexa is also a child who has lived in the same orphanage as us for a long time,” said a red-haired boy with many freckles on his face.
“You-”
Before the interlocutor could continue speaking, the hazel-eyed young girl had arrived in front of her friends. The atmosphere became silent as if everyone there dared not continue their activities. “Hello. Can I join?” said Alexa, friendly.
“No!” said the curly blonde-haired girl.
The face of the first daughter of the couple, Tristian Varden Writh and Lavena Isolda Keira, became somber. She felt rejected so blatantly that she was speechless. The atmosphere became tense, seeing such a moment. Alexa felt alienated from the children in the orphanage and wanted to leave that place quickly because she felt no one wanted to be friends with her.
But, before she left that place, suddenly… “Alexa, come here! Play with us!”
Those words made everyone’s eyes turn toward the source of the voice. They saw that there were four teenagers, comprising two boys and two girls, waving to Alexa. They were about ten meters from where he was standing. The girl smiled a little, then walked over to it. Meanwhile, the others were annoyed, as well as wary.
“Why did you even invite the witch to play?” the same girl rebukes.
Alexa, who heard this, felt sad, but the four teenagers kept waving as if inviting the young girl with a sharp nose to ignore the condescending words. When she arrived at her destination, the fat boy looked at the other person who had cursed him. “She is our friend, and she is not a witch!”
“Can’t you see she is different, Sam?” asked another boy.
The young man was tall and looked older, about fourteen years. The brave boy shook his head again. Alexa had gathered with her four new friends who were standing around her as if they were protecting her. “So, what if Alexa is different? She did nothing bad to us.”
“You will regret being friends with her!” another girl said.
“No, I do not regret it. Alexa is a good friend. Do not disturb her!” said Sam fearlessly.
The boy who had entered his early teens turned his face to the poor girl her parents dumped when she was a baby. Meanwhile, eleven people not far away looked cynically at the children who were with Alexa. The situation around them became awkward because no one had opened a conversation between the five children.
“Do not be scared. We are here with you,” said a black-haired girl, smiling gently.
She seemed to try to calm Alexa, who still looked pale. When she heard these words, the quiet girl nodded. A smile appeared on his thin, naturally pink lips. “Th … thank you,” said the young woman, who still has royal blood.
“Hello. My name is Aiden.” A handsome silver-haired youth introduced himself while extending his right palm toward Alexa. The envoy of the Goddess Magia was flabbergasted and then looked at the other person.
“He-hello. My name is Alexa. Nice to meet you.” The virgin shook her new friend’s hand tightly. In less than a minute, the girl ended the handshake. She smiled awkwardly as if afraid something bad would happen to her.
“Do not worry. We are not the same as them,” Aiden said calmly.
The grey-eyed young man seemed to be able to know the hearts of the opposite sex. A smart girl was instantly stunned for a few seconds because she did not expect to get such a reaction. “Ah, th-thank you,” said Alexa, stuttering a little because of the nervousness that hit her.
“You are welcome. Alexa, now let me introduce these girls to you.” Aiden pointed at the two girls who looked like each other. Alexa tried to smile at the other person because the wallflower girl was still trying to be friendly to the four children who had welcomed her with open arms. “Yes, please,” Alexa replied kindly.
Finally, I have new friends now. They seem like good kids. Hopefully, this is a good start and will last forever. After a long time, no one wants to be friends with me, Alexa hoped in her heart.
“This one is Aileen. Aileen Mzatkha.” A girl with short black hair reached out to Alexa.
“Hello, Alexa. You can call me Ai.” They shook hands, and then they let go of the position. Before Aiden introduced someone again, Alexa had already looked at the girl next to her new friend and felt attracted to both of them.
“Are you twin? Your faces are similar to each other.” Alexa asked, full of curiosity.
Aileen and a girl next to her laughed. They nodded. “You were correct. We are twins. But unfortunately, we did not know who was the older,” replied the girl who first met Alexa.
“I have never met both of you. What floor do you live on?” The hazel-eyed girl asked again because what she saw really caught her attention. Meanwhile, the two boys who were standing near Alexa just watched the conversation that was taking place between the three young girls, with no intention of joining in.
Without the five teenagers realizing it, they became the center of attention and objects of cynical views from other children around the area. However, Sam and his friends, except Alexa, feel this way. However, they chose to ignore it, as if nothing had happened and were engrossed in conversing with the girl the other children in the orphanage shunned.
The fat boy wearing a shabby light brown shirt accidentally looked ahead. He glared at a blonde girl who had forbidden him to accept Alexa there, so the opposite sex snorted, then looked away elsewhere.
“We live on the second floor. By the way, what floor are you living on? We rarely see you, but we only heard about your story from the children in this orphanage.” Ai answered the interlocutor’s question. She slipped into a new question and an astonishing piece of information, which made Alexa’s heart beat faster.
“Really? What did you hear about me?”
The Queen of Witches always protected the girl until she forgot that she had not yet met the twin sister of Aileen. However, this did not become a problem for her because the curiosity that began to arise in her heart seemed to demand to be resolved because she did not expect to receive such news from her new friend. Meanwhile, the white, pale-skinned girl seemed hesitant to answer because she felt uncomfortable with Alexa.
“Hm… actually, I heard that you were-”
***