𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐅𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐈𝐍 𝐌𝐘 𝐁𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐓𝐔𝐁 | acotar

𝐎𝐍𝐄

Stella loathed messes and so she cleaned.

She would go on for hours doing such things. Scrubbing at floors until her hands bruised and dimmed scarlet. Walls were washed down and countertops polished until she viewed glimpses of her reflection. This was a triumph that no one could quite comprehend about the woman.

When she was an adolescent she resided in a cramped grimy, polluted apartment. But Stella made a promise, that is when she had the opportunity to move out, she would consistently be a untainted, polished mortal. She would make sure if her own appearances could not be (to which it nearly was), that her living spaces would describe perfection.

It was a dreadful habit of hers, and she had not meant to make it into a business. After all she had desires to be a chef surprisingly. But unfortunately life took certain turns for her that she didn't necessarily steer. Cleaning up after others was what she did for a living.

And after her services of completing laundry, scraping dishes, sweeping and steaming she would take her pay and go home to which she shared with a greasy roommate, Leah- yet another diversion of her craved lustrous-faultless life.

The sun was long gone by the time she reached her compact home, and all she wished for was to scrub her skin spotless. It had been a demanding day simply because with most of the houses she cleaned they had cats or dogs. And Stella loathe those tiny creatures. Yes they were endearing, and pettable, but only for a trivial timing. They were mucky, and caused unnecessary chaos. She almost had a heart attack when her roommate haphazardly determined to rescue a pup months ago. Stella life has been in shambles ever since. 

When she unlocked the door to the home she started her everyday clean routine; which were mental notes she would make and check off to ensure she was at her cleanest. There are three very important steps.

First on her list was to decontaminate the floor. Now this one was a bit tricky for her. Following unlocking the door, she took off her work shoes, making sure not to combine outside groundings with the inside groundings. At this time she would have to walk on the carpet throughout the house to get to where she needed which was the bathroom. The bathroom was close, but still the thought of her treading along the carpet made her convulse. She did not like the first step, didn't enjoy that her sullied, moderately sweaty feet had to touch such unmarked carpet. She tried not to stress it, after all she would clean it after she was done with her bath.

Second task was easier...unpolluted in her opinion and compared to the first. Upon entering the bathroom Stella would thankfully be off the carpet onto white chilly tiles. She would scrub the tub from any scum and dust collected throughout the day. When finish she would run herself some steaming hot water. Oh, and she had to add bubbles; It just made sense, because who really gets into a tub without bubbles.

As the water flowed for the bath, she would take off her clothing piece by piece. First her pants, making sure to take it one leg at a time so that her foot would not touch the tile.  Next was her panties, shirt and lastly her bra. She immediately place them in her washing machine to wash; They would be done before she went to bed. And yes, she made sure to place the washing machine and dryer in the bathroom. IT JUST MADE SENSE OKAY.

Lastly it was her time to slip into the boiling waters, and de-stress. Her roommate and that bitching dog of hers wouldn't come back until about two hours later, so she enjoyed the small moments she had to herself. This was arguable her favorite task of them all, but she would never admit that. Never.

Stella loved the way the hot bath made her feel. Like she was cooking, but in the best way possible. She sunk her body further down into the tub until her head was the only thing visible. She closed her eyes, listening to the water and bubble music. It was splendid and peaceful.

But the peace did not last long, she shot up from the tub as her ceiling came crumbling down on top of her inside of the moist room. Her screams invaded the night as she witness the three people who had fallen from the sky into her bathroom. She noticed the knives first when they stood straight from the landing, unharmed, unscratched. Somehow.

She screamed even harder when she saw the expanding wings. They almost took up the entire space. Humans don't have wings! And most importantly, humans with wings shouldn't be loaded down with weapons and knives!

Without thinking or viewing faces she jumped completely out of the bath, pieces of the roof sliding off of her and onto the floor, along with her bathwater. She didn't care that she was naked, she had to get the hell out of there. She tried running out of the bathroom all bare and slippery. She had almost made it. Almost. But she slipped, which led to her hitting her head on the end of the sink counter. Needless to say, she was falling into a deep unconsciousness. The last thing she hard before going, was...

"Cassian, you idiot!"