An Empire Fallen

Chapter Three: The Most Normal Girl In the World

The next morning, Luca awoke to an intense throbbing in his head and a dull ache in his limbs. He took a sharp breath as the memories of the night before began to seep into the cracks of his brain, slow and hazy like the fog that would blanket the mountains in the mornings. Unclear as they were, he knew well enough that he had done things he shouldn't have, said things he shouldn't have. Matters of the heart that he intended to keep to himself for the rest of his life, buried deep and locked away. Hidden where it belonged.

He felt the pungent taste of bile rise in his throat as he finally sat up. He worked hard to swallow it down for the time being as his mind worked to discern where he was. The air still smells faintly of the rich wines and sugary desserts from the night before. His hands grazed the soft velvet of the sofa beneath him and he realised he was still in the living room. Not a wonder his body ached as it did.

He moved to get up, wincing when his body creaked. The sight of his reflection in the mirror caused his steps to stutter. In earnest, Luca didn't much like his reflection. There were few things that acknowledged all of his faults quite so directly as it. It wasn't that he thought he was ugly, at least he was told that he wasn't. Rhianna and Conor often remarked on the way his sharp nose flattered his slim face, or how his 'stupid smile' lit up a room in a way no one else's could. Shallow things, trivial things, the kind of benign things you tell a person to keep them sweet even though they hold no real meaning at all. When Luca looked in the mirror he could see beneath the milky skin, behind the blue eyes, to all the ugly that lay beneath, the evil that made his skin itch when it writhed beneath the surface, begging to come out and show the world every disgusting inch of Luca Antonio Valvason.

He turned away quickly, unable to stomach it any longer.

Rather than unpack his emotions Luca decided to go to the training room, something he often did when he was feeling particularly pitiful. On his way he passes Lía's office, as he always does. But today, unusually, the door was ajar. Lía never left her door open, ever. She considered her business her own and no one else's, it was an unspoken rule that no man ever enter her office without knocking, lest ye be skinned alive... It had only happened once before, years ago, and she'd forced them all to watch in a form of deterrence. A final warning of what fate awaited them if they were to cross her.

He could hear Rhianna and Conor's voices, as well as Lía's, and it perplexed him why the three were conversing over what appeared to be business matters quite so early in the morning, and with not a hint of a hangover lacing their voices. He was jealous to say the least.

Luca knew better than to eavesdrop, all things considered, and was truly about to walk away. It was the sound of Olivia's name that gave him pause.

"You two know she still cannot be trusted, we can't simply let her live here for the rest of her life like some pet. Olivia has to go on a mission." Lía stated coldly.

After a moment of silence, Conor sighed, " Lía Luv, please. You've seen the wee girl. She'd be dead in an instant and you know it."

"It doesn't matter. I have something that needs doing, Olivia may deal with it this afternoon. Alone. Just as you all did before her."

" Lía, are you out of your mind? Those rats will eat her alive! At least let her bring a team along...please...just a small one?" Rhianna begged, Luca could tell without looking she had that childish pout plastered across her lips that she often pulled when she wanted something.

There was another lull in the noise in the office and Luca assumed Lía was thinking, he prayed to God she would agree to the conditions, otherwise Olivia would not be returning home tonight. It was a thought Luca found himself unable to bear. Of course, he had not known Olivia particularly long, and they were hardly close, but from the very day she arrived Luca found himself drawn to her. He had seen so much of himself in her that first day. Young, dumb, and frightened. In reality, Olivia McCallister was the antithesis of Luca in every way, warm as the sun with a smile bright enough to rival stars. She lived every second of her life with such joy and treated every moment like it was the most special in the world. She was just so nice. Nice and normal. Platinum blonde hair that fell around her in long waves, huge deep-set hazel eyes that gazed at you with such joy and love that it almost ached to look at them too long, peals of laughter falling from cherry pink lips, tacky striped t-shirts, worn out denim jeans, and converse, for heavens sake Luca had never worn a pair of converse in his life! Olivia Mcallister, the most normal girl in the world. In their world...