𝐆𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢 (𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐙! 𝐟𝐟)

𝙲𝙷. 𝟺𝟿 ☯︎︎ 𝙲𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚁𝚎𝚍

♊︎ Year 5067, Month 8, Day 13, Time 2:56 pm ♊︎

☯︎︎

The woman sits in her office chair, a size too big for anyone, made of a black, snake-skin leather that appears to be the perfect movie prop for a villain. A perfect coincidence-- she thinks. She's reclined in that leather chair, her cherry red heels propped on the coffee-brown desk. They shine expensively under the bright lights of the office she's in whose high ceiling and expensive decor would have her fooled if she didn't know the truth behind where these luxuries came from.

In her hand, she twirls a pen, watching the clock on the farthest side of the room tic and toc when the computer in front of her chimes. She slowly moves her eyes to the screen, reading the notification that popped up.

[INFORMATION TRANSFER COMPLETE]

Taking out the USB connection to the computer, she studies it for a moment and purses her lips. She then sticks it into her pocket and takes out her handheld mirror instead along with her favorite lipstick. She notices the eyebags that have grown noticeably larger even with her makeup and the tired look in her eyes. It won't be long before she can no longer hold up the facade. 

It had been a while since she had felt this way. Tired, exhausted... desperate. So desperate for a way out that she's willing to put everything she's worked for on the line just to escape this reality she calls hell. It reminds her so much of where she came from that it's almost comical.

She left everything behind to start fresh-- to escape the mental torment with her child only to repeat the cycle.

And now she needs to get out.

Getting out of her chair and putting on her infamous crimson trenchcoat, she makes her way out of her office and begins walking down the hall. As she passes through the walls of the building she feels her left pocket where the USB resides getting heavier and hotter which makes her palms sweat and her legs tingle.

She feels like running out of the building as if it had caught on fire-- which it had in her head-- with danger. She's almost at the elevator which will take her down to the first floor when she comes across two familiar faces.

"Isla! My lovely sister! Where have you been?" Ismael calls to her first, walking over to where she stopped in her tracks with his son right behind him. She eyes them, responding in an even tone.

"I was in my office finishing up some paperwork Ursula had left me. What do you want?" She responds rather brusquely. Although she'll never admit it and would rather be shot, her heart is always content to see her twin happy to see her.

"Nothing, I was just curious. Are you going somewhere? You seem to be in hurry." He notices, not letting up his smile. Her heart beats slightly faster which she's glad no one can hear but her.

"Yes, I was going to meet a client." She lies through her teeth and she's sure her twin can sense it but he doesn't comment anything. Her eyes drift to wooyoung who's holding a cup with some sort of lemonade which piques her interest, suddenly becoming very thirsty. "And you, what do you have there?"

"This?" Wooyoung lifts the cup innocently. "It's a strawberry lemonade but I'm not sure I want it anymore. You want it?" He offers it to her and she takes it suspiciously.

"Well, I'm sure you'd love for me to stay and talk to you both but I am meeting someone soon so I need to get going. I'll see you later today." she excuses herself, reaching the elevator and stepping in. Isla looks down at the cup in her hands once again, wondering what it was that made Wooyoung change his mind about the drink but ignores all warnings in her head.  She takes a big gulp, feeling the sour and sweet of the drink hit her tongue in perfect balance which cools her nervousness down. She sighs after she takes another sip and wipes the edge of her mouth, throwing her cup away at the nearest can.

Isla makes it to the first floor, feeling better already, lighter even. She strolls casually out of the building and into the parking lot, heading to her car when she's met with another call.

"Meister!" A voice calls out and she whips her head in the direction of the man calling to see Yunho running up to her out of breath. She furrows her brows,  standing up straighter and pushing her hands into the pockets of her trenchcoat to appear more put together.

"Yunho..." she looks him up and down, confused to see two of Kurenai's ex-teammates at the same place at the same time.

"Meister," He repeats out of breath once more, catching it quickly to speak to her. "Ursula called us all in for a meeting today. Aren't you supposed to be there?" The question catches her off guard, not knowing there was a meeting scheduled for today.

"I didn't know Ursula was calling you in." She states flatly, slowly feeling the outside sun become too bright for her eyes which makes her squint.

"That's odd. She said you would be there as well to discuss some important matters." He stalls even more. She feels her head get lighter and lighter which pisses her off because she can't seem to find her balance.

"Look, kid, I don't know what you're talking about but I can't stay much longer." She tries to wave him off and step around him when she suddenly lurches forward, feeling the world spin around her at 100 mph. Yunho catches her before she can fall to the floor and helps her stand with a hand hooked around her shoulders.

"Ma'am, are you alright? Do you need me to take you to the hospital? You look pale." He begins to probe her making her even more irritated.

"N-No, just take me to my care. I can handle it." Isla meant for the words to come off a lot harsher but in her state, it sounded like a peeved-off chihuahua. Yunho quickly carries her to her car and puts her into the passenger's seat.

The fact that her car was unlocked without her even touching her keys makes her question what's going on but her head is spinning too much to even ask. She sees Yunho get into the driver's seat next to her, curling her hands into balls as best she can but her limbs feel like jello.

"Yunho, what's going on...?" She slurs her words, seeing him turn on the engine with no reply. Her eyes drift lazily to the rear-view mirror where she sees the last person she expected. "Kurenai?"

The side of Kurenai's lip curls into a smile lifting her hand to wave her fingers at the Meister through the mirror. The Meister's eyes widen and she opens her mouth but it's soon covered with cloth. A strong smell burns her nostrils, causing her world to spin and turn pitch black.

☯︎

Hello!! I'm so sorry for the delay it's been about a year I believe since I've updated and I haven't kept through on promises to update more often so I won't make any going forward! But do know I have the story planned out. Thank you everyone for being patient with me lol.

- Venus <3