Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.-Chapter 424: In her memories.

Not long after, Dominic left the house to start on the task Sunshine had assigned to him. Like Leah, he was taking a step back from combat to spend more time at home with Ala. It was for the good of their small family.

But they could not completely abandon work, so they were doing small jobs, taking turns to stay home or go out for work. One of them had to be home with Ala at all times.

As soon as he left, Sunshine switched the subject of discussion to a more personal one. "So, how are things with Dominic? Do you still hate him?"

Leah snorted.

Sunshine laughed. "I spoke to Ronda; she told me that Dominic stayed away from Moon and ensured that she did not go anywhere Aliana. The unfortunate things that happened after....." she sighed. "He cannot be blamed for it all."

Leah stood up, "You are as nosy as your Ariel. He showed up here one day with Doctor Flora. Apparently, he overheard your conversation with Hades about me and decided to help."

Sunshine was surprised. "He did!"

Leah was equally surprised. "You were not aware!"

Sunshine shook her head. "That boy is always doing something we don’t know about. Which makes me wonder what is happening in Ala’s room. Perhaps we should go and take a peek."

Leah agreed immediately. Even spending five minutes away from Ala made her feel uncomfortable. She was worried that the Quinn boys were pinching or teasing her little girl.

Meanwhile, in the bedroom which smelled of citrus and strawberries, the curious boys were touring every inch. Ariel was not touring, he was inspecting. The scents came from sachets on the shelves which he sniffed.

There was no single trace of dust on the furniture, and Ariel made sure of this by tracing the wooden surfaces with his finger. He even checked to see of the curtains were clean and symmetrical.

Castiel poked the stuffed dolls on the bed, pulling one by one before shaking it and placing it back carelessly.

Earl looked at the supplements and vitamins on the bedside table. From the combination, he was certain that he could deduce whatever illness Ala had. So far, he was guessing blood deficiency and weak bones.

Ala stood at the edge of the bed with her hands clasped behind her back like a librarian waiting to scold someone for overdue books. She had a little frown that was focused on Castiel and his carelessness.

She cleared her throat when he reached his grabby hands for the stuffed triangle toy. "You are welcome to my private sanctuary," she said, pronouncing the word sanctuary with the solemnity of someone announcing a royal decree. "Please refrain from rearranging the toys. They are color coded."

Ariel raised an eyebrow. "You are three, why are you color coding?"

"Because there should be order in everything," she replied primly. "Also, the medicines are alphabetized. Don’t move them around." She turned her head to Earl who had mixed the bottles around.

"How did you get your color back so quickly?" Earl asked her. "You were pale like a paper when we first saw you. Which of these medicines restored your normal appearance?"

Castiel giggled. "She was pale because she is a ghost."

Ala had already learned what ghosts were from Leah and she was unbothered. She had been called worse. She walked calmly to the bed and rearranged it. Then, she did the same with the medicines.

Ariel was impressed. The room was once again meticulously arranged. The bed was perfect with hospital corners. Colors, pencils and pens were lined up like soldiers. The books on the shelf were sorted not by color or size or ordinary alphabetical order. It was by author’s middle initial.

He arched a brow, smiling stealthily. This little girl was truly something else.

Ariel looked at a drawing on the wall: Fireflies like the ones that he had seen in the video at breakfast. But hers had red eyes and wide wings. "I did not see this type of firefly in the video."

"Mutant species are many," Ala replied. "Knowledge is vast. Seek to learn more rather than limiting yourself to what the eye sees."

Castiel shivered. "I am going to tell mom the weird firefly is looking at me." He ran out of the bedroom as fast as his little feet could carry him.

Sunshine and Leah were peeking inside the bedroom, so Castiel found her quickly. She was already carrying White, and she found herself carrying the little boy as well.

He started crying, pointing at the wall. "Mommy, it’s scary."

Leah laughed and Sunshine carried Castiel away. Earl followed them, asking Leah about the medicines on Ala’s table.

Alone with Ala, Ariel finally felt secure enough to broach a subject that he had been long curious about. "You are not from here, are you?"

Ala walked to the window, touching a potted strawberry plant that Dominic had gifted her on the day she was made a Steward.

"I have heard my parents talking about a door to another world." Earl continued. "White came from there. So did you. So did many of the snacks in our house. Mom thinks we are too young to know anything. Earl and Castiel are, but not me." He walked to the window and looked at Ala much closer. "Where are you from? You can tell me; I won’t tell anyone. Not even my mom."

Ala tilted her head and looked into Ariel’s eyes. She pondered on the matter for over a minute and turned her eyes to the door. It slammed shut, moving on its own.

Ariel did not flinch.

"You are not scared of me." She said, surprised.

Ariel rolled his eyes. "We have a robot at home. My father also has a robot leg. My mom can freeze things or electrocute them. I saw her making an apple rot with just her breath. While the wastage was grossly frowned upon, her actions were rather fascinating."

Ala looked at the green leaves, small, struggling to survive. "Once upon a time," she began. "There was a royal family that sought great power. And then, there was a fire. Everyone was in the secret place under palace. My mother hid me in a cellarcunder the palace, told me to survive and stay quiet. She ran off to help my father and older brothers. Nobody returned."

Her voice was calm, almost too calm like she was reciting a bedtime story she had memorized.

Ariel grew even more curious. "What great power?"

Ala said briskly, "You are better off not knowing. When people know, they will want it. Mother always said it was the greatest curse in the world. It consumes everything."

Ariel looked out of the window. "How did my mom find you?"

Ala smiled. "I survived and stayed quiet. That is how I came here, far away from that terrible place. Now, I have a new family and a new home. I used to have an older sister called Aliana, but she died. Now it’s just me, mom and dad."

Ariel had nothing to say to that. He was candidly shocked by how well Ala was assimilating into the Steward family like she had always been there. He walked back to her shelf, slowly looking over the titles of the books, she had.

Some story books, some books on world history. Books on medicine, world wars and the like. Not exactly what a child would read.

Something crept through his thoughts and he gasped. A part of Ala’s story that he had not grasped. Was it possible that Ala was a princess?