System: Challenge

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"Welcome back, mister! I didn't expect ya to turn up just a few days after our meeting a few days ago!" With vigority, a young girl, seemingly at the age of six, came rushing at his master. She jumped high and directly landed on Settia's master, crushing him in a tight squeeze.

The young girl is an albino, going by her light colored skin and hair. Even her eyes were uncommonly seen; with the lightest shade of blue Ai has ever seen.

"Stop playing around, Mel! You should go back to bed! You're still si-" a booming voice yelled from where the little girl, presumably named Mel, came from. The man frantically looked around, before spotting both Settia and his master with Mel latching on the latter. Glaring mostly at his master, the man opened his mouth to coldly declare, "You're unwelcomed here, leave."

Dismissing the man and placing his attention on the young girl giving him a death hug, Settia's master bribed the young girl to release him with candy before she aversely yielded, c.o.c.king her head the next second to look at Settia; a person she did not know. "Hi, pretty mister! My name's Pamela Vergano, but ya can call me Mel, for short!"

'She really fits the clametis pamela flower, doesn't she, system?'

>

Pamela took out her hand, indicating for a handshake. Ai gingerly glanced at his master, waiting for an indication if he should accept or decline which he got in less than a second. He gladly received the handshake after kneeling on both knees to match her eye-level. "Hello, little flower, call me Settia, okay?"

"Okie dokie! D'ya wanna play with me while the a.d.u.l.ts talk? My daddy says whenever mister's here-" she pointed towards Settia's master, but didn't break eye contact- "am not supposed to be around."

She didn't even wait for a response when Settia was pulled towards her room.

When Settia first stepped inside Mel's room, he was gobsmacked with the color pink.

Everywhere he looked was pink.

Thankfully, it wasn't only one shade of pink but a combination of different tints of pink, so while the color scheme wasn't his favorite, the hues colliding still gave him aesthetic p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e.

"Oh, I know! Let's play dress-up!" Mel directed Settia to her walk-in closet filled with mostly pink frilly dresses. "You dress me up, okay-y?"

Looking at her eyes scintillating, Settia couldn't find it in himself to say no. Left with no option, Settia answered with a quiet 'okay.'

"Goodie! I'll wait here while you pick out clothes!" Saying so, Mel hopped towards her bed and was lying on her pink bouncy princess bed.

Settia cracked a tiny smile, sighing at the girl's spoilt nature and checked around for a tasteful dress. Going around, Settia finally saw one that caught his eye, but it was situated in a dusty unlighted corner. He hurriedly took it and appraised the dress. It was an off-shoulder white chiffon dress with a pamela flower emblem on it's left c.h.e.s.t. It was a elegant-albeit a little chalky-but exquisite nonetheless.

Settia left the closet and chuckled at the sight of Pamela dancing and humming a tune to herself. Waiting until Pamela was finished with her little session, Settia made his presence known with an applause.

Twirling around, Pamela gave a bow, immediately running towards Settia with a happy smile on her face before she saw the dress.

With tears in her eyes, she sniffled, staring at the dress with helpless rage and deep insecurity. "Am I that ugly to you?"

She gazed abstruse in Settia's eyes, searching for something she dearly d.e.s.i.r.es. When she couldn't find anything, she resigned herself to her fate. Her tears kept falling as she closed her eyes, her brows wrinkled together. "Does my disgusting blue eyes scream deception? Am I a liar?"

She pulled on her hair, desperately trying to remove it from her scalp, a few strands already falling from her harsh pluck. "Does the whites of my hair make me look like an old hag? Is it better if I shave it all off?"

"Is my skin-" she lifted her hands, but was kept in place when Settia abruptly hugged her.

With every word she spoke, she seemed to be recalling the words of those around her, asking the same question to Settia if he was on her side or not.

Settia tenderly petted her head as a way to soothe her. Pamela stopped weeping, but she didn't dare open her eyes.

Settia took a deep breath, determination flashing in his eyes. "You're beautiful and I feel no need to say why, but if you need it, so be it. I need you to open your eyes for me, little flower."

Settia gave himself and Pamela a short distance, enough for him to be able to see Pamela's eyes while still being able to hug her tiny body.

"Eyes are the windows to the soul, and I know, for a fact, you aren't deceiving me, nor do you have a reason to. The blues of your eyes captive me. It shows me the freedom of the sky, the brightness that encompasses the world when awake."

"The whites of your hair don't make you seem any less older or younger than you are now. Rather, you could say it's like snow; it makes me feel like you have ever-lasting beauty."

"You have such fair and delectable skin, don't blemish it ah. You know, girls would die for your skin," Settia chuckled, brightening the dampened mood.

"You're better than my sister and my mother! They just keep saying mean things, but you don't!" Pamela smiled a huge smile. One filled with gratitude, basically placing Settia as her salvation. "Welp, it's been fun but am gonna pass out in-now."

Pamela fell in the open embrace of Settia, already snoring slightly. Settia broke into a Lilliputian beam, laughing faintly before tucking in the child in her bed, covering her under her quilt.

Leaving the room and closing the door behind him inaudibly, Settia headed towards his master who's assumingly in the living room by the loud noises coming from there.

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