At this point, she was seriously contemplating ripping out her hair. The pain would be trivial to the pounding agony between her eyes. She had read the same sentence three times over and was no closer to comprehending its meaning. A part of her wanted to simply collapse upon the table and forget the book even existed. She was certainly tired enough to fall asleep on the spot. The text wouldn’t read itself, though, and she needed to know the information before her exam. She groaned, preparing to read the sentence again, a part of her hoping that Dayanara would cut her string there and then, when an envelope was slammed down on the page she was reading. The table creaked at the sudden force put upon it.

  She jumped back, her eyes widening as she looked up to see a tall figure slowly swim into view. “Seriously, Keller? You could have broken my nose.”

  Keller smirked. “If your nose ended up broken, it would be because you collapsed at the table. You’re exhausted.” She leaned against the wood edge, her hand still covering the textbook.

  “Yeah, well, I need to study.” Patia reached forward to tug the textbook closer. She glared up at Keller as the other girl put even more weight on the book.

  “You need sleep. Even your glare is lopsided.”

  “This is an important exam.”

  “And you’ve been studying for weeks.” Keller's voice was deadpan. She tilted her head, staring Patia down. Patia avoided her gaze by looking up at the ceiling. The sound of their other sisters’ steps echoed from the floor above them and Addie was hard at work in the kitchen, a soft tune floated into the dining room as she bustled about. Keller tapped the envelope. “This is for you. Well, both of us.”

  Patia glanced down at the envelope obscuring her textbook. With a sigh, she reached for it. Keller removed her hand, crossing her arms as she watched Patia examine it. The scent of the already broken wax seal floated under her nose. The brunette pulled the card out of the envelope, rubbing her thumb across the thick cardstock.

  “Aubrey Devans hereby invites Miss Patia Gellim and Miss Keller Gellim to a ball,” her eyes scanned the card, “on Wahdree 13th.” She furrowed her brows. “Keller, that’s today.” She glanced up at her sister, her eyes wide.

  “I know.”

  Patia turned her eyes back to the envelope, turning it over to see the scrawled writing. “This invitation was sent over two weeks ago. Why am I only hearing about it now?”

  “Because I knew you’d say no.”

  Patia’s expression turned to one of exasperation. She tossed the invitation on the table. “Of course I’d say no. Why don’t you take Juana or Minerva?” She gestured toward the books scattered in front of her. Her shadow scurried across the table as she moved amidst the afternoon light. “I’m busy.”

  “Because you’re due for a break.”

  “Why do you want to go, anyway? You always say they are so dull.” She slumped back in her chair, allowing her hands to fall to the wrinkled folds of her dress. The tree outside the window fluttered as a light breeze danced through the branches.

  Keller shrugged. “They have their uses. Mom says that if I am to take over the company, I need to make some connections.” She smoothed her bodice, a swift action that Patia had long learned to associate with her sister. She still managed to look poised even though she was leaning on the table. Despite her exhaustion, Patia felt a flicker of envy deep in her chest. She didn’t think she could remember a time when she had seemed as put together as her sister, and she certainly wasn’t at that moment with her frizzy hair and rumpled dress.

  “Why don't you just go on your own? I’ve got work to do.” She pulled her book closer, studiously ignoring Keller as she attempted to get back to her reading. The paper crinkled as she ran her finger across the page, trying desperately to force her brain to memorize the text.

  She gritted her teeth as the words jumbled together before her eyes. Her brain refused to interpret even the simplest of words. Keller simply watched her as she furrowed her brow and tried again and again. With a groan, she flopped back in her chair. “Fine, I’ll go.” She gestured in frustration at her book. “It’s not like I’m making any progress anyway.” She slumped down, rubbing a hand across her face. Despite not having moved all day, her muscles ached with the movement.

  Keller gave her the faintest of smiles. “Good. You ought to go upstairs and rest for a while. I’ll wake you when we need to get ready.”

  Patia opened her mouth to argue that she would be fine, but the room swam with the movement and her jaw snapped shut. She sighed, and stood, leaning on the wall as she made her way toward the stairs. Her whole body felt heavy. The floor never looked more comfortable. She was only kept moving by the promise of her warm bed. Now that she was away from her books, she was certain she would be asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

  ~~~

  Patia awoke to Keller and Juana talking as they lounged in their respective beds. Their voices were a familiar sound, like a lullaby that soothed her mind. She rubbed her eyes, sighing delightedly as she burrowed further into her pillow. The warmth of the fabric lulled her further into that blissful place between sleep and wakefulness. She should have done this days ago. She had completely forgotten what it felt like to be well-rested. The chatter on the other end of the room disappeared as she allowed her eyes to fall closed again.

  “You better get up,” Juana called as she got out of her own bed. Her cheery voice was as loud as always, full of energy that grated against Patia’s sleep-addled mind. The floorboards creaked as the younger girl’s shoes tapped across the floor. She leaned over Patia’s bed. “The ball is in about two hours.” Her voice was full of excitement as she spoke.

  “She’s right. Addie needs to know what dress you’re going to wear so that she can press it.”

  Patia grumbled lazily as she registered the amusement in Keller’s tone. “It’s so comfy, though.” She pulled the blanket closer, sighing as its weight settled around her. It felt like a warm embrace that she was well and truly convinced she’d never want to leave.

  “I’m thinking of wearing those dangly silver earrings we got at the market last year. They might look good with the gown I have picked out.”

  Patia peeked an eye open, staring at Keller from across the room. The other girl was nonchalantly analyzing her sleeve, her thumb smoothing out an imaginary wrinkle. Juana, the traitor, giggled beside her, the floor creaking beneath her as she leaned back on her heels.

  “You wouldn’t dare.” Her groggy voice undermined the threatening words.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Keller returned her gaze, leaning back against the wall and smirking. “I might.” She looked entirely unperturbed. In fact, there was a flicker of mirth in her purple eyes.

  “Fine,” Patia groaned, throwing the blankets off of her, “I’m getting up.” She rolled her eyes at Keller’s self-satisfied expression. “Are there any specifications about what we should wear?” She pulled open their wardrobe. She sighed as the scent of clean clothes tickled her nose. Her fingers curled around the cold metal of the handle as she analyzed her options.

  “No, just the usual.”

  Patia hummed her acknowledgement. She reached forward, her fingers trailing over the different fabrics, feeling the differences in their texture. Each was a different shade of her signature pink, making the clothes stand out against the dark wood. Her fingers stilled as they landed on a gown made of a light fabric. She pulled it out and brought it to the mirror, pulling it up to her chest and twisting a bit to watch the way it moved. “What about this one?”

  “It’s pretty,” Juana said, making her way to the vanity, “and it’ll look good with your earrings.” Her eyes were sparkling as she admired the dress.

  “What did you pick, Keller?”

  “The dark red gown with a pair of white gloves. Addie is pressing it now.”

  “Alright, I think this will match well.”

  “We don’t need to match, Patia. We’re sisters, not brainless lovers.”

  Patia made an exasperated expression in her mirror. “Still, we’re going to the ball together. It won’t do if our gowns look garish when we stand next to each other.”

  Keller rolled her eyes, slowly getting out of bed and making her way toward the other occupants of the room. She gently pulled her hair out of its typical updo, grabbing a brush from the vanity to brush out her cascading curls. “Fine, just get it to Addie so that the poor girl isn’t rushing around to get it done before we leave.”

  The next hour was spent in a flurry of movement. The girls scurried around the room as they put their hair up and picked their shoes. When their dresses were returned, they put them on, ensuring that the delicate fabric didn’t snag as Addie buttoned them up. It was a procedure that they knew well, having been out in society for a couple of years now. Juana, still new to it all, helped Patia put a flower ornament in her hair and decided which accessories worked best with Keller’s darker dress. Her excitement was practically palpable as she seemed to bounce around the room. She looked like an exuberant puppy, practically shaking with delight.

  The air was filled with the scent of floral perfume, and the candle situated on the vanity caused the light glinting off their jewelry to dance across the room. They moved from task to task fluidly, working together with the ease only sisters could master. Soon, they were just about ready and the hustle and bustle had calmed down.

  “Why don’t you come with us, Juana?” Patia tilted her head as she adjusted her earrings. The silver flowers shimmered as they dangled in the low light of the candle. She glanced into the mirror to see her younger sister sitting on her bed.

  “Mom says Ms. Devans only invited you two.” Juana’s legs swung with unspent energy, the movement of her bright red skirts caused shadows to dance across the floor.

  Patia turned around in her chair, laying her hands in her lap so that she wouldn’t mess up her hair by playing with it. “I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you came.”

  Keller moved toward the vanity, grabbing a perfume bottle and dabbing some onto her neck. “It would be rude to bring guests the host is not prepared to accommodate.”

  Juana groaned and flopped back on the bed. The pink blankets surrounding her puffed up with the movement. Her hair splayed out around her.

  Patia sighed, leaning against the back of her chair. “She could go in my place, I need to study that treatise on Jeanes Syndrome anyway.”

  Juana quickly shot up, her face flooding with horror. “No way, you’re going. You’ve been driving everyone crazy studying for that exam.”

  Patia rolled her eyes and smiled good-naturedly at her sister. “It can’t have been that bad.”

  “You nearly ran into a wall while reading yesterday.”

  “The table has been covered in your notes,” Keller added.

  “The little ones said you managed to make their bedtime story about stomach aches a few nights back.”

  “I had to beg you to run a brush through your hair.”

  “Alright, alright.” Patia waved her hands around. “I get it. I’m stressed. I mean, do you know how many things could be on that test?” Her brown eyes widened as a panicked edge entered her tone. “Goodness, I forgot to study Bettons disease. I’m go-”

  “You know what, if this is going to be your entire night, I’m happy I’m not going.” Juana hopped off the bed and made her way to the door. She clasped Keller on the shoulder as she passed and whispered, “Good luck with dealing with that all night.”

  The two older girls watched her leave before Keller swung around to stare at Patia. Her dark red skirts floated about her feet with the movement. She crossed her arms and furrowed her brow.

  Patia cowered slightly under her gaze, reaching up to tug on her hair, only to stop at the last second. “What?”

  Keller leaned towards Patia, her hand coming to rest on the vanity. “What are you truly afraid of?” Her purple eyes stared down at Patia unflinchingly.

  Patia squirmed in her seat, her earrings shivering on her earlobes as she moved. She wished Juana would return to save her from their sister’s piercing eyes. “Failing the exam.” The statement sounded more like a question. She bit her lip to hide her nerves.

  Keller leaned even closer. Her white gloves wrinkled as she grasped the polished wood beneath her palm. “Try again.”

  Patia opened her mouth but closed it again when Keller raised an eyebrow. She licked her lips and looked away, her brown eyes scanning the wood planks beneath her feet. “I’m afraid that I won’t be as good as you.” The words were an ashamed whisper. She winced as they fell from her lips, leaving a sour taste on her tongue.

  Keller’s brow furrowed. “What?”

  “It’s stupid, I know.” She dragged her gray slippers across the floor, watching them disappear under her pink skirts. “We’re not even going into the same field.” A broken laugh accompanied her words. “It all seems to come so easily to you. You pick up whatever Mom tells you so quickly. It’s like you know what she’s going to say before she even gets the words out.” She slumped. The light fabric that made up her sleeves fluttered around her shoulders.

  “Meanwhile, I read text after text and study for hours and hours and still struggle.” She looked down at her lap, squeezing her hands tightly together as she avoided Keller’s eyes. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment over the admission. If only the floor would swallow her whole.

  For a moment, Keller simply blinked down at the other girl, before she kneeled and took Patia’s hands within her own. She gently rubbed a thumb over her sister’s knuckles. “You know, I envy you too.” The words sounded heavy on her tongue, struggling to make themselves known. “I envy how easily you show that you are stressed and afraid. I envy the fact that you’re okay with admitting that sometimes everything is not okay.” She took a deep breath. “Do you know how many times I’ve wished I could convince myself to be as open as you?” Patia peeked at her, her lips still drawn in a thin line. “I might be better at learning on the go, Patia, but your capacity for emotional expression is something I will always cherish, and you know what?” She leaned in a little closer, a small, gentle smile overtaking her face. “I think it will make you an amazing healer, too. It makes you empathetic and warm, soft and gentle. Sometimes, Patia, that’s what patients really need, someone who can truly see them.”

  Patia sniffled, blinking tears out of her eyes as she met Keller’s gaze. A soft warmth flooded her chest. The taller girl’s smile widened, and her purple eyes softened all the more. Patia flung herself forward, wrapping her arms around the other girl and sniffling into her neck.

  Keller wrapped her arms around her sister, rubbing her back gently. “You’re going to read your books and study hard. Then, one day, you’re going to use that endless well of empathy to become the best healer this city has to offer.”

  “Promise?”

  “I don’t need to promise, somewhere deep inside you know it’s true.”

  Patia didn’t respond immediately. She simply held her sister all the tighter, her fingers curling into the fabric of Keller’s red dress. The sweet words had unfurled something in her, like a taut string finally being cut. Her muscles relaxed as the sensation flooded through her. For the first time in weeks, it felt like she could breathe.

  Eventually, she whispered into Keller’s neck, “Thank you.”