\\Ava Sullivan [D3] [FIN]

{|.Appearance.|}

My fingers brush the knots out of her blonde hair before I separate the silky strands into three pieces and twist them into one long braid. I tie off the end and toss it over her shoulder. She turns her head a bit, fingering the length of her braid, smiling, just two small words reaching my ears. "Thank you," she says, turning to face me, her grey-silver eyes meeting my green-brown ones. I smile at her, my reflection bouncing of her eyes, showing my pearly white teeth. She smiles back at me, and I know she is seeing her smile in my eyes also. "Anything for you, Silvie." I brush a tricky piece of hair behind her ear, just as Missy runs over to add a few sparkly, silver pins to Silvie's hair. She giggles a bit as she adds her little addition exclaiming that, "Oh you look stunning! That was exactly what it needed!" before continuing back to the closet, in search of the perfect dress for a night out. I shake my head with a smile, Silvie shaking her head with me. Missy always gets like this when I tell the two that the family is going out to dinner. And since it's Silvie's turn to go, Missy has resorted to dressing her up, insisting that she may see some boys tonight and there is no way she can go out in her usual attire. As Missy begins hold up dresses to see which one will look best with her eyes, I look back to my dresser mirror.

We all look alike, me and my sisters and brothers. The dark brown hair and dark hued eyes. When I walked into school the yesterday, every teacher already knew who I was. I didn't have to introduce myself once. I did however get asked if I knew how to tell time or if I would break any noses or pour poison into anyone's coffee. I shook my head at each of them, not quite understanding why they asked if I really was all that cruel. When they gave a sigh of relief and patted me on the head is when I introduced them to Silvie and Missy. They both used their manners and said, "Nice to meet you." They all smiled down on me, their eyes gleaming, and giving a little hello to the two of them before telling me I needed to put them in my bag because class was about to start. When I explained to them that they both wanted to go to kindergarten too, they insisted that I had to put them away, that dolls were for playtime. "But, they aren't dolls. They're humans and my friends. And they want to learn too!" When I came home crying, daddy said he would have a little talk with the teachers and principal, telling me that he was certain he could fix it all. That's when he told me we were going out to dinner with the Dewitts, just when I thought I wouldn't ever be able to cheer my friends up. And now I'm sitting in front of my mirror, my hair in it's usual curly mess, rubbing lip gloss over my chapped lips, my nails a pretty pink from when mommy helped paint them, a pink sundress falling over my shoulders, and silver flats on my feet.

"You look beautiful, Ava." I set down the lip gloss and hop off my stool, twirling and smiling. "Well then that makes three of us, doesn't it?" They both giggle a bit before I hear daddy's footsteps in the hallway. I gasp in excitement and gesturing for Missy to hide and grabbing Silvie's hand before hiding behind the door. His feet stop before the door, his fist tapping lightly on the door, his voice mixing with our giggles as he turns the knob on the door before slowly creeping in. And just as I begin to peak out from behind the door, I am scooped up from behind in a flurry of giggles and tossed hair and deep chuckles, Silvie's hand in mine. He sets me down outside the door. "Is my darling girl ready?" He kneels to my level and I nod with incessantly. "We're ready!" And then I take his hand as we walk down the hall, mom smiling at me when we reach the end of the hallway, 'fixing' my dress for me. And we all walk out the door, one big, happy family going out to meet friends. And all I can think is how perfect my family is and how glad I am to be a part of it.

This moment is perfect
Please don't go away

{|.Personality.|}

I don't understand how my brothers and sisters are always getting into so much trouble. I mean, they've always seemed so nice to me. I always offer to help sneak them out of detention or invite daddy to a tea party to distract him, but I don't think they believe that I can actually help. But Silvie and Missy tell me that I must be a better spy than even the ones in the old movies, or in the mystery books, or even the ones that work for the Capitol. I'm always sneaking up on them, accidentally startling them and making them spill their tea. So, I decided to try it out one day. I stole three cookies from the stash that mom keeps above the sink easy as pie - mom was even in the kitchen! When I came back in my room, I set the cookies down on our little tea table where Silvie and Missy were already setting up for our little morning snack. "I know stealing is really bad, but I think these will be worth it." I said, setting down the cookies on the table with a smile. It was the first time I had ever tried to get away with something - and I had actually succeeded!

My brothers and sisters always made it sound like it was so hard, I had thought it would be more challenging. I guess it turns out that I am a natural thief. At least ... I thought I was. But when I didn't finish my supper later that day and mommy kept asking me why, the guilt of what I had done was overwhelming and I ended up confessing everything to her in a flurry of tears. I asked what my punishment was, terrified of being forced to clean the attic (Cleo says that the Midnight Man lives up there and will eat little girls like me.), but instead she only told me to go clean my room. I made it sparkle, convinced that the cleaner the room, the less mommy would hate me - and I swore she hated me now. But she came into my room that night, read me a bedtime story, tucked me into bed, and kissed me on the forehead just like she did every night. Just as she's about to walk out the door, I called to her. "Why don't you hate me?"

She stopped to look at me, a smile on her face, a small chuckle escaping her as she shakes her head. But I didn't really understand - I didn't think what I had said was all that funny, but I guess it had been to her. "Oh sweetie, I will never hate you. You could steal all the cookies in the world and I would still love you. You will always be my little girl." And then I giggled because the idea of always being a little girl to her brought on a funny image of my mommy taking care of me when I am an old lady with wrinkles and dentures. "Will you tell daddy to kiss me goodnight when he gets home from the office?" She nods at me and as she inches out of the room and into the hall. "Of course, honey. Goodnight and sweet dreams." And then she is out the door and I am turning in my bed to face Silvie and Missy who lay next to me. "When I grow up, I want to be just like her." And then they look at each other before turning back to me, sharing a secret communication that I have yet to understand. "And we both want to be like you."

I need you now
And I'll hold on to it

{|.History.|}

Everyone is telling me that daddy is dead. I don't think I believe them, I bet he is just playing a really good game of hide-and-seek and he is just waiting for me to find him, but they are all playing it really well - trying to convince me he is dead I mean. We had a funeral where we all had to dress up in dark clothes and everyone cried except me. Because daddy isn't really dead, he is just found a really good hiding spot. And I will find him eventually. (Although sometimes I forget to keep looking ...) But of course I don't tell anyone that I think he is still alive because that makes mommy cry when I say it to her and all my sisters and brothers get kind of upset with me over it. They don't believe me. They think I am crazy. Actually, everyone thinks I am crazy. But I don't mind much because Silvie and Missy believe me whole-heartedly. They have been with me my whole life, listening to me and telling me their stories and all sorts of things. We are best friends for life and their is no changing that. I'm older now and so are they. We are all growing up together, holding each other when one of us cries and screaming in joy and excitement when one of us gets and A on a test. Sadly, the rest of my family isn't like that with me. I really, really love them and all, but they don't like having me around a lot. They say I'm too young to hear what they are talking about and that I wouldn't understand. But I think I do understand. They have all gone completely crazy with all their talks about how the Dewitts killed daddy and they don't want me to know just how crazy they are so they shove me away from them when they have grown-up business to talk about. Which is okay with me because I want nothing to do with all their craziness.

But one time, I really wanted to listen to them talking, so I hid inside one of the cabinets in the living room and listened to on of their "top-secret meetings." It mostly consisted of a lot of talk about how to kill the Dewitts. It scared me a bit, the way they talked about our friends. Well, they are still my friends, but my entire family doesn't much like them anymore. Alice is always threatening to kill them and Cleo is always telling me that if I don't help them do something the Midnight Man in the attic will come and get me and Arsen is always just scaring me with his talks of poisons and Vivien is always the first to laugh when someone is hurting and really the only one that doesn't scare me even a little bit is Cassander. And Mommy. But ever since Daddy started playing his game of hide and seek she hasn't come to read me stories anymore. Everyone says she is in Daddy's study when I ask them and that I should just leave her alone but sometimes I like to make her letters, complete with glitter and hearts, and slip them under the door for her. I don't know if they work to help her feel better but I keep making them anyway.

Don't you let it pass you by
I found a place so safe

I can remember when our families were friends. I liked it back then. But now, all Mommy and everyone else in my family says that we aren't allowed to be friends with them anymore. I think it's stupid but I can't say that. Not like anyone listens anyway. The only time that the people who live in my house (besides Silvie and Missy of course) talk to me is when they want me to go see what what the Dewitt's are doing. They tell me it's a game and that I shouldn't let them see me and just watch and listen and then when I get back to the house they make me tell them everything I saw and learned before sending me off again. It's not much of a fun game, but I do like being able to hide and not be seen. It's almost like keeping a secret. A harmless little secret. Sometimes I take Silvie or Missy with me too and they help me remember it all when I get back to the house and make sure I don't remember something.

Everyone says that our families are at war. That we are bitter enemies. I hear people at school and through my window. Silvie and Missy tell me so too. They say that we are all trying to kill each other all for some stupid money. We need avenge Daddy's "death" apparently. We need to make sure that Daddy's throne is taken by Nox and not Lux because Nox is the rightful king and Lux isn't. That's how everyone explains it to me anyway. And when I ask why they both can't just share the throne they tell me it's too small for two people. I tried to suggest to them that they just take turns sitting on the throne but they say that isn't allowed either. It's an illegal move. So I don't talk to the Dewitt's anymore. I only watch them, listen to them, to the secrets they let slip as I hide outside their house or in a locker at school when they talk to each other. And I guess I will grow old that way because I don't think this war will ever end. I will grow old sitting in my room drinking tea with Silvie and Missy, watching and listening to friends that aren't supposed to be my friends anymore, playing a game that I don't want to play all that much.