Page 6 of Maxim

It makes my heart hurt. Alek used to be more like Daryna. He was blissfully unaware of the horrors of this world.

Father has been calling him away at times now though. I guess he’s decided that Alek will be his heir and should learn the ropes of the business. Seven years old is far too young to witness the shit my father does, but my hands are tied. All I can do is try to comfort him when he comes back to me.

He won’t tell me what Father does with him, but his comments make me think that he knows the evil he is capable of.

Daryna starts to sniffle. “I missed her. You don’t have to be so mean.”

“Shh, it’s okay. Everything is fine. I had to go out, but I’m here now. What did I miss?” I whisper.

“We played outside until dark. Then Miss Melnyk fed us dinner and put us to bed early,” Daryna says.

I look over at Alek, but he doesn’t meet my eyes.

“Alek, is that what you did as well?” I ask.

He glances at me with guilt on his face. “Father had me sit in on a meeting with him.”

I frown. “What meeting? What was it about?”

He gives me a sad look, shaking his head.

Whatever it is must be bad. I don’t push him further. Father likely has the place bugged. I would hate for him to get into trouble.

“Why are you still in your rooms? It’s a nice day. We could play outside again,” I tell them.

Alek shakes his head. “Father has company and told us to stay in our room.”

Daryna looks up at me with sadness in her eyes. “The guard didn’t even let me get Muffy. Do you think Muffy will be okay?”

My heart aches for her. Muffy is her stuffed bear that I bought her when she was a baby. I never wanted her to know that it came from me, though, so I told her it was a gift from her mother. She doesn’t need to know the woman left or whatever might have happened to her. It’s a piece of her mother she can keep with her to help comfort her, even if it’s fake. I did the same with Alek, but he doesn’t use his anymore. Father threatened to toss it once. That was the last time I saw the stuffed dog.

So I understand Daryna getting upset about her stuffed bear. It’s the only possession she owns that she cares about.

“I’m sure she will be fine. Where did you leave her?” I ask.

I can’t hide the wince on my face from her answer.

“Outside Papa’s office on the table.”

If Father hasn’t seen it yet, it will still be there, but if he noticed it? It’s already gone.

I won’t let him take anything else from her.

“I’ll go look. You two stay here,” I tell them.

“Yay. Thank you, Sissy,” Daryna says.

“It’s not a good idea,” Alek whispers.

“I’ll be careful. Take care of Daryna.”

He nods solemnly as I step back outside their room.

Heading down the hall, I listen carefully for anyone wandering the halls. There’s no one, though.

Father knows we wouldn’t dare leave. Not with his reach. The guards only stay outside the house to protect from threats coming in.

With practiced steps, I go down the stairs, dodging and weaving to miss the creaky steps. I’ve learned the path well over the years.