"Remind me why we are in the kitchen at four in the morning?" Iris groaned as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
Zarah scratched the back of her neck nervously before answering, "Because I have something to tell you," she whispered. "At other times, people might eavesdrop, so… uh… I really need to tell you this… thing."
She was stumbling over her own words, unsure how to begin.
'Get it together, Zar!' she thought, lightly slapping her cheeks, 'You have to tell Iris this. You can't back out now.'
Iris stared at Zarah and let out a sleepy yawn.
"Okay," she said skeptically, raising an eyebrow. "If you're done slapping yourself, do enlighten me. What was so important that you basically dragged me out of my oh-so-lovable warm bed at four in the morning to the kitchen?"
Iris sounded irritated – and that only scattered Zarah's nerves further. Iris loved her sleep, and Zarah had ruined it… all because she planned to tell her that she was the daughter of a murderous Grand Duke who had killed Zarah's parents.
And that Zarah herself was a soul from another world.
'In what world did I think this was a good idea?' she thought, facepalming.
Zarah took a deep breath and began, "Iris, I–"
Before she could finish, someone interrupted her.
"What are you two doing here, seniors?"
Aria had walked in, carrying cleaning supplies.
Aria was from one of the younger batches. She was thirteen years old.
Zarah and Iris exchanged a look.
Zarah gave a small shake of her head, silently signaling that she didn't want anyone else knowing she had something important to say.
Iris sighed, exhaling deeply. "We were hungry," she lied smoothly, though her eyes glared daggers at Zarah.
Aria nodded in understanding. Even she got hungry at odd hours during her time of the month.
'Maybe one of them is on their cycle?' she wondered.
"Well, since both of you are here," Aria began, her voice overly sweet – too sweet to be trusted, "do you want to help your favorite junior out–"
Before she could finish, the two older girls had already slipped out of the kitchen.
Aria stared at the empty spot where they had been standing moments ago and groaned in irritation.
Meanwhile, Zarah and Iris were running down the hallway, laughing as they escaped before the younger girl could finish her request.
They finally stopped running when they reached the front veranda and sat down on its steps.
Iris's sleepiness had vanished completely, her stomach aching from laughter.
Zarah was still heaving with laughter as she lay back on the veranda floor.
The sun had slowly begun to peek over the horizon.
The air was chilly, cold winter winds brushing against their skin.
Winter sunrises had a beauty of their own.
"So, what did you want to say?" Iris asked, turning to glance at Zarah.
Zarah looked at her for a moment, carefully weighing her words. "I ate the last piece of cake you secretly saved," she finally admitted.
"What? My gosh! This is what you dragged me out of bed for?" Iris looked scandalized as she lightly smacked Zarah on the shoulder.
Zarah stuck her tongue out and lightly bit the finger Iris was using to poke her cheek while calling her a cake thief.
Zarah didn't know how Iris would react to the real truth, and she wasn't ready to drop it on her just yet. So she decided to lighten the atmosphere first.
She finally sat up and looked at Iris, who was still grumbling about how cold the morning was and how Zarah had woken her up over cake.
"Say, Iree… what if one day you find out I'm not who you think I am?" Zarah asked softly, her voice so low she was sure Iris hadn't heard her.
But Iris was already staring at her quietly.
"Why? What are you – a sleep-stealing monster?" Iris teased.
Zarah gave an indignant scoff.
"I am being serious, Iree. Come on, don't joke," she said, nudging Iris with her shoulder.
Iris rolled her eyes. "Well, whoever you may be, you'll always be my sister," she replied without a second thought.
"Unless you're hiding something big — big enough that we're of noble blood and can easily get out of here. Then I won't talk to you for a week as punishment," she teased.
Zarah looked away, her heart thumping with guilt.
Iris didn't know how close to home she had been.
Zarah's breath faltered as she gripped the skirt of her dress tightly, her nails digging into her palms.
'Did Iris know? No… that wasn't possible. How would she know?'
The thoughts raced through Zarah's mind as she felt herself spiraling.
Iris noticed Zarah had gone still and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey… what's the matter? Why so tense, Zar?" she asked, trying to lighten the mood.
Zarah turned to look at her. She forced a smile, attempting to reassure Iris.
Iris didn't buy it.
She flicked Zarah's forehead. "Seriously. What is it? Why are you acting like this? What's this big secret you want to tell me? What — don't you trust me anymore?" she burst out, her voice edged with hurt.
Zarah had been acting strange since yesterday, ever since they'd heard about the new girl. Iris had noticed it in her expressions, in the way she kept opening her mouth as if to speak, only to stop herself. She'd let it go, thinking Zarah would tell her when she was ready.
But seeing her hesitate like this…
It made Iris feel like she wasn't someone Zarah trusted anymore.
If Zarah truly trusted her, why was she holding back?
Zarah panicked when she saw Iris getting angry.
A part of her had already decided to take it back – to swallow the truth and pretend nothing had happened. Because, if she was honest, she was being selfish.
She wasn't willing to lose the person who felt like the sister she had once prayed for in her past life.
But seeing Iris hurt like this – hurt because she didn't know the truth – twisted something painfully inside her.
She didn't want to keep lying to Iris.
"I'm from another world," Zarah confessed quietly, her head hanging low as she avoided Iris's eyes.
Iris huffed, crossing her arms. "Really? Now you're joking, Zar?"
Zarah shook her head quickly. She looked up, panic flashing across her face, and grabbed Iris's dress sleeve. "I'm not joking, Iree. I swear by Goddess Aelthrya – I'm telling the truth."
Iris froze.
Her breathing turned shallow. Her eyes widened as she stared at Zarah.
"What?" It was barely a whisper.
She swallowed hard, trying to process the words. "What are you saying? Another world? Where? How? We grew up together…"
She didn't even know what she felt – disbelief, hurt, betrayal, or fear.
Iris slowly loosened her grip.
She knew what swearing by the Goddess meant.
In the Caelthra Empire, an oath in the Goddess's name was sacred. No one questioned it. And no one dared lie while invoking her.
"What? You're lying by the Goddess's name to joke with me now?" Iris asked.
Her hands trembled as she looked away.
Zarah reached out her cold hands and grabbed Iris's arms. "Iris, no – listen to me, please," she pleaded, her eyes stinging with tears.
Iris felt how cold Zarah's hands were.
As betrayed as she felt, Iris couldn't bear to see Zarah cry.
She cupped Zarah's face and wiped her tears with her thumbs. "Stop crying, you crybaby," she said, pinching her cheek. "You're still my sister. Even if you're...uh... an alien."
Zarah let out a broken laugh at that and lunged forward, wrapping her arms tightly around Iris.
And then she told her everything.
About the webcomic.
About dying in the modern world and waking up here. Iris had ended up crying during that.
About being the Zepher child.
About the new girl – Melody – the one destined to kill the Empress.
She told Iris about her plan to save Ines and shut the brothel down.
Iris was skeptical at first. But the oath sworn in the Goddess's name weighed heavily on her heart. And Zarah had promised her words would soon be proven true – once the new girl was introduced.
So Iris chose to believe her.
Some doubts lingered, but her trust in Zarah outweighed them. She promised to stand by her side. To help her.
After tears and tight hugs, Iris's stomach growled loudly, breaking the heaviness between them. The girls burst into laughter before walking back toward the kitchen, hoping Aria had finished cleaning – considering it was nearly five-thirty in the morning.
Zarah had told Iris almost everything.
Except one thing.
That Iris was Grand Duke Alexander's daughter.
She was selfish. She didn't want even the smallest possibility – not even half a percent – that Iris would leave her for her biological family.
She would tell her one day.
But not today.