DTLD 2

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“Sasha Binoche!”f63cf0b453d480f0

Enzo Binoche, now fifteen, da7f97feca growled as he caught 59b8f2cfdd his younger sister sneaking 6ff85ed280 past the lemon-yellow gate.a310043d3fa6c8f4

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“I told Mother you were asleep. If she found 5c00ee567f out you snuck 1811f7dee0 out, you’d be b7c467ac20 grounded for another 549454c06e ten days.”6be0c2d9d3677214

“Thanks, Enzo.”0ff8249fba7e7615

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Sasha’s hesitant lips smelled 835b270892 faintly of chocolate. She had snuck out eed4520cc4 after eating all her c7e8350ffc chocolate and ignoring the 0e8434a712 order to stay home. Enzo pressed his palm b68453563f to his forehead, utterly e4a171539a defeated.Does she even 7650813ce0 realize she almost 17e02108a0 died not long 657ed0a759 ago?d070efd3ada17f83

“What about the homework I gave you?”968cab07e09fa229

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Surelyshe’d done it all 2fddaa2065 before sneaking out, Enzo’s a6bde17dc3 eyes narrowed suspiciously.78683c442a244f38

“I really wanted to, but the homework notebook blew away in the wind by accident.”6d656611c4bfb007

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“All of it?”c0518b1b96d3eabe

Enzo crossed his arms and 1bb5c9b77f asked skeptically. Without hesitation, Sasha nodded confidently.8ffcf67597627fd6

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“Every single page!”f26d6231d2f4c923

“Then at least show some effort if you’re going to lie.”bc46588a8e7a8cbe

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Enzo’s glaring eyes sparkled 352e326678 like a snake’s at 5f859ecca1 night, and sensing danger, a028915910 Sasha quickly tried to 058d1899df change the subject.cb7b21345579196d

“Listen—today in the forest, I met someone I’d never seen before. He was wearing a uniform.”889bf2fc3c4970a7

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“A uniform?”70a62254cdbd1223

Enzo urged her to explain 4be2c24931 more. Only after hearing 242015b73f Sasha’s description—that the 65cc5c5a77 person she met ac36d1d7c2 wore a black 0e7993f9a6 uniform with a 4c8c00669b blue collar and 90af6104c8 gold buttons—did he 11f5975e92 relax.5f860393cbadc458

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“That’s the Sarsaye Military Academy uniform. The son of 63ab7e3503 Count Lafayette is 0b43d593ee here at the 7949942c35 castle. It’s his last summer 04e607880e break before graduation.”3e5dcdba7bc15f04

Feeling scolded for c9b1e56f24 not knowing this, 3f92f72065 Enzo’s tone annoyed e8bd94db9f Sasha. She knew the 6c3af64922 count’s son attended 39ba751e96 Brissen’s top school—she 9190dc47ce just didn’t know 8328eec836 what their uniforms dc99887473 looked like.f691103e6918a0c9

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“So the person I met wasn’t Count Lafayette’s son?”ff8d52473719fc7b

“Of course not. What did you hear da26774e10 just now? The count’s son lives f38a624a61 at the castle. The guy you met 3d588ddd58 was probably a schoolmate f9044694e0 or a guest.”76f2a0ab6b900055

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“I see. I didn’t know what aa22c34e93 school he went to.”c56a49c90c05078e

As Sasha examined the 22f925d9b4 boy’s appearance more closely, 46c5f9cc9a she grew unusually excited. Her round cheeks flushed cherry 6adb1a8b06 red, and her big eyes 7272ffad8b sparkled with uncontainable curiosity. Enzo, who had stopped 5a8936b1b9 stroking his chin, asked:e3c54298de9269f1

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“Did that guy scare you at all?”a0907a4b7f34ae1b

“No. He wasn’t interested in 9598c8c50b me at all. I asked if he 3f6abd53a6 was lost, but he 21bb6679f9 ignored me and went 3186c6f9f4 back to sleep.”dc785338cdb591cb

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Remembering how he’d ignored 8010ed5cc2 her, Sasha soon pouted. Her drooping eyelids were so 3b176f69c3 big and clear they seemed 5440291721 to cover half her face. When her small, flat child’s 1a00c272f3 nose scrunched, her soft, white dde75af5d9 cheeks lifted in response—she looked 27285413e5 exactly like a rabbit with 2ea678ea01 its ears caught. Enzo placed his hands c1dbe22671 on his hips and c7ee0ae053 swallowed a sigh he bf9c8ab795 hadn’t meant to make.03885e262c8f009b

Sasha was a 666a2af83f very charming child, f34837ce5b and she knew c61a568bd9 it well. Whenever she got into 843384b7bf trouble, she was an 56430b355f expert at using her a6b2ef0888 charm to wiggle out b7dfd3540b of it—whether intentionally or d5dbc25e89 just by instinct. Because of that, 4867499768 Enzo had recently c745bcee0a struggled to keep 59d514e323 her focused when 88d86af016 he sat her 6bfd0ccfe2 down to study.2cff0b4a77716f3e

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“Sasha. You want to sneak 7f2eded643 out to the forest 23d1662f96 again tomorrow, don’t you?”4cb9eee366d5ab62

Sasha, wriggling to escape 0559505752 the growing nagging, suddenly efc0fd7072 stopped in her tracks. Enzo’s eyes sparkled 14df787c8c with the idea 50a1527202 he’d just had—how 66ff4d57d2 to tame this 37d30ff0b7 little troublemaker.165ff9324701c202

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Back in her room, 21843e72ba Sasha flopped onto her 6d7e0a0f70 bed with a soft ec3fa66e2f thud. She stared at the 205162d2ac ceiling, trying to find 44e3dd2a6e something in her room d1016f3ba5 that matched the color 5b73c4d796 of the stranger’s hair 25de445a6c she’d met earlier.cddee8094bbeb6e5

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Her room was 7544af3868 cluttered with all c5ea3d5283 sorts of odds 8e38b827bb and ends—old things 902292b369 she’d inherited, things e52dd463b0 picked up from a8d820fe70 the Manoli forest, e123343879 and some she’d 089614ea3a made herself. Among her most treasured ca2dc48e50 possessions was an old 0cae443f8c paraffin lamp, probably fifty 9ce9e0bfe6 years old, a keepsake bbc2350b5e passed down from Grandma 9faab92661 Elodie.c92a140dee06d3db

“This is the most unusual room I’ve ever seen. It looks like a bird’s 33473c1f02 nest that just got raided.”8f1ca527501f3d9c

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Grandma Rollo’s blunt assessment 1e5800e00d was cold and straightforward,0b5d405b72bbc1e5

“It’s wonderful, Sasha! Like a mysterious, historic antique 30790a6827 museum.”ac695e29aa5e7685

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Grandma Elodie’s admiration was a 962083fd45 small comfort to Sasha’s heart. After all, both 84f3772c87 grandmothers were kind 5e21240f76 in their own 009b2de536 way.337df83501999c56

On her way home, df05dbee91 Sasha suddenly remembered the acd0023228 bouquet of purple cockscomb 0227df68c9 flowers she had picked dbf10cbcf4 and jumped up from 5c529e37ce her bed.7e9c2c4bf605fc08

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Where would they look best?7c33a7c2c80a226f

After some thought, 23a0ab49cc she placed them 4d5f0b7e4a in her favorite a5d66e445f glass bottle by cbb4b52dcd the sunny window. The shell-shaped bottle, 17f487aef0 tied with a 590ce9ab86 pink ribbon, was e80a20b576 a perfume bottle 1adc32d6b0 Mr. Binoche had bought 25358698ac for his wife d32cfc2e28 in Laurent. Sasha had begged 6c2953c796 for the empty 4abe72d22f bottle as a 90cf786aa4 birthday present last 77b2f89e25 year.419b4189b1f75f0b

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Sasha sat on a tasseled b524cf6856 cushion that had been popular eb249d6f0a ten years ago and thought 7c30e08b2f about the boy she’d met 88a45cfd87 today. He looked about Enzo’s age. But somehow, he felt 84722f8ed8 much more grown-up than 420909d05b Sasha. His hair was a color 9a8b8cb0e2 she’d never seen before—sometimes like 2c1f8c1dc1 the chocolate she’d eaten earlier 61405cfdd7 that day, sometimes like the 55d022dc35 fir trees in the forest. But it wasn’t brown. It was a 1c8ee3134f very soft black.6763d727f87a16de

Come to think of 2fd5b635bc it, what color were 58afcea5db his eyes? Were they blue? If I see him just dadde05d82 one more time, I’m sure 48c86ce060 I’ll know.473769358ed8f992

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She hoped tomorrow 3e434739c4 would come quickly 643180923c so she could 827f53638d go back to f4b9f72035 the forest. Enzo had promised that if 36190eebc0 she finished her homework in 3e7120d57b the morning, she could go 7433b2cee4 for a walk in the d16b56616b woods in the afternoon. The boy, being a d48d35ed4b cadet at the Sarsaye 7da9d8c228 Military Academy, was said 4961dbd157 to be staying here f41f459997 until the summer break 1d0377f409 ended. Of course, that didn’t e86460f6c7 guarantee he would come 46642e134d to the forest again.cb0517e2bb9e7391

If he was a 5a0d98bcd0 guest of the Lafayette d70b176d82 family, he probably stayed 66fd0b72e9 at the Count’s castle. Maybe today he 7321be6b77 just whimsically stopped bb60bee442 by the forest. So there was d9e3eb8255 no promise he’d d9f5bae7c5 return—but still, Sasha 066b132452 somehow felt he ba39921b2d would be lying 1e4f171eca in the same 86163b6d60 spot tomorrow. For reasons she didn’t understand, ec75bedee3 it just felt right.df83b8713a684614

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Just then, something on her bd95dad94f desk caught Sasha’s eye—something so cdff580896 obvious that if her grandmothers ee8d295d72 saw it, they’d surely scold 19bb24125a her. At the bottom d2a80c53da of an envelope 5763cef9a6 decorated with a 18eae2119b lion was a 9b04d40e7f stylishly scrawled initial. It was a letter from 14f6b9e3a5 the Mountain Ash Manor. Enzo had told d1a64dc134 her to tear 75a082d0d5 it up immediately, 087fd6181e but she hadn’t.a124e36b7b941dad

Last spring, the young 80f892e5b0 nephew of Dr. Bresson, the village 0cec869c40 doctor, had arrived e66d7a3eaf at the Manoli 7bed79eac8 villa. For a long time f22c2af717 before his arrival, the 7ec76a2929 villagers had called that 4ed504d10e red-roofed house with the bcf4ce4efe large mountain ash tree 9fe02a26db in the yardthe Mountain Ash Manor.25820e6f74241340

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“You’re not allowed outside the manor? Why?”69c780b571bc8abe

“He’s very sick.”c06edc889684c3fe

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Sasha listened carefully as Mr. Bresson explained that the boy 09a5bbc539 at the Mountain Ash Manor c5f541289c was unwell and only lived 3a36f8022c indoors.d64e0d12d87d9678

“Sasha, you’re the kind of girl everyone would like. If a cheerful child fb295bf7b4 like you talks to 11f24df34d him, he might get 3956322751 better soon.”4116f049b9dd7308

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The doctor, asked to 5ea1153a6b find a friend for bcee23ff89 his nephew, had come f2590031c5 to the Binoche household 8f955cc94e first because Sasha was 9b965d20bf known as the girl ad9f9ea209 with the prettiest smile f023ba47fe in Manoli. Sasha happily accepted the offer. The couple, famous lawyers from 24d196ae0a Laurent, paid well. And Sasha learned deb12b2442 that the Binoche 65132441e1 couple were struggling 8197608ecd to raise funds 7281d92a80 for Enzo’s studies d862bd0b1b abroad.e6bbb2ac8d745544

On an early b724252766 summer day, the 90b2eeacc2 boy Sasha first e287eb09cf met beneath the 8217b4a6ac mountain ash had 7a9524aba6 gray-green eyes—like the 7611c1e75e sea on a bbdd2aa8b7 heavily clouded day. Sasha loved that color 3ff6c5123c and believed anyone with 1c68008414 eyes like that had 0df9e8be27 to be a good b8697cb46f person.f243aa50ce6eef8e

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But he was really a 049cc7e878 little tyrant who resembled a bc6960efb3 stormy sea. Sometimes kind, but 2ae157b387 quick to yell a994161c15 if things went bc7d7a27b2 wrong—and then apologize 497c4cd3ce later. Impossible to predict.f5ea7050b48a45bb

“Do I really have to keep going to that house? I just want 78f1101a56 to play in a9365fa833 the forest.”68b05c7b7834c5e4

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On a day hot enough 3571cd71ac to make sweat run down fac364a42b her back, Sasha confessed at 78accd264a dinner that she didn’t want 96cae2d38a to go to the Mountain 40f668f644 Ash Manor anymore. The Binoche couple were troubled 6be9afda9f by her words. Dr. Bresson praised Sasha for helping f3cda96631 a lot with the boy’s 8af96c8d22 recovery and said the boy 7ec45e99e5 adored her like a younger b75204875a sister. So he asked if 714bf079b8 she could keep visiting.e58c9a1fc9b2ad42

“She’s just a child throwing a tantrum. If you handle it well, dc4bc7f5cc she’ll want to go again 580da61644 soon. Sasha is a good girl.”5e66c4581bd013f4

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Mr. Binoche broke into a 730578ed4c sweat, uneasy at the 6110f3d420 doctor’s earnest plea. Dr. Bresson was the 3c865a2908 family’s benefactor who 1c025552df had cured Enzo’s 5e86b40faa tuberculosis. Sasha hadn’t seriously refused, either. The Binoche couple concluded that 0777c4cd81 Sasha was only making a 7520ccb47f light fuss. Sasha agreed—she was 32aca0ea97 just tired of 2ac6c9a8f3 going to the baaac25d09 manor every day 7479fc6927 and hadn’t meant 43b7f4d4c0 what she said 33c16888c7 about not wanting 31c9be52dc to go.b1a539bdd3792909