Iniquity [HS]

Chapter VIII.

Rays of sunlight hitted Celestria's shutted eyes with an evil power. It stung her vision even with her eyelids fallen over her eyes. Sheets started being warmer and the air colder. Celestria pulled the blanket over her head hoping the feeling will go away in a rush, followed by her worst headache. Unlike any other times when she had one, this time the headache stayed with her longer.

Children of Bladeshire were cheering outside her window with their parents, jumping and laughing at everything their little eyes caught. Their elders sitting all around a table and drinking the finest red wine Bladeshire had to offer, enjoying the first day of autumn. The leaves already started to fall, the clouds were meant to give them rain that morning but instead Celestria received a headache.

She struggled for seconds, and gave up after a minute. It was time for her to get up. Not even a total eclipse of the Sun could keep her in bed. Not even if she wanted to stay under the warm sheets, it would have been impossible. The blanket that was on top of her head a little while ago was now at the other edge of the bed tangled around her bare feet, reveling Celestria's cold half naked body. Her satin robe was laying on a white chair. She wandered across her room to get it and immediately placed the velvety material on her body.

Celestria extended her opened fists and opened the heavy windows to welcome in children laughs and screams and a strong stench. She crunched her nose, disgust covering her features. She turned around just to face her unorganized room. Looking exactly like it has  just escaped from a war. A war between her clothes and books. Perhaps none of them won. Celestria considered listening to music that morning. To her surprise, not Mozart nor Tchaikovsky were playing. Instead, in the distance—from the living room— the Elvis Presley vinyl record she gifted to her mother, one of his biggest fans, was doing such a good job blessing her ears.

Celestria was always a classical music admirer and never really listened to any of her mother's favorite songs, admitting more than once that they wer 'a waste of words'. She confessed she would rather listen to Lacrimosa a thousand times a day than Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson. Words which offended her beloved mother ironically sometimes, however they would end up listening to what her daughter wanted, but what her mother could ever do? She loved her dearly.

Celestria found herself dancing with no hesitation while Devil in Disguise was playing along in the background, somewhere distant yet close enough to her ears just so she could dance with the words properly. As she was cracking her eggs open to make breakfast, she used her hand to make an invisible microphone to help her sing alongside the lyrics. 'Heaven knows how you lied to me' came out of her mouth followed by 'You're not the way you seem'. A little louder than usual, Celestria was carolling the lyrics to her mother's favorite song. She moved her fingers and tapped the rhythm on the kitchen counter, as she opened the fridge to check if she just ran out of orange juice again. "Thank God." She whispered with relief at the sight of an almost transparent bottle of orange juice.

She poured herself a little in her favorite mug. A white one with a blue flowers motif.
Celestria was cutting vegetables for her morning salad when she almost burned her eggs, but that was nothing. She somehow, was enjoying burned eggs. As she continued dancing along on Trouble that was now playing, Celestria moved across her entire kitchen and spread some of her salad on the ground while doing so. She approached the closed windows and opened one of them just to admire the children playing outside again. Celestria smiled to herself and sat down at the round table in her kitchen.

Even if her ears were blessed by the music and her eggs ended up burned, Celestria considered thinking this was her best day since her mother has passed. Not only because autumn just made its phenomenal appearance and was about to storm out any sadness her grieved soul was hiding, but because Celestria never felt this way before. She wished she could feel the rhythm of other songs too without being judgemental. Or make burned eggs and actually enjoy them without lying to her mother, admitting she loves them that way. Celestria wished she could feel alive before. She unfocused her eyes for just a few breathes. Electing to enjoy her breakfast with windows open, an awful stench stung her nostrils again with much more power this time.

Concern covered her expression. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as the hand she was holding a fork with slowly started separating from her mouth. Celestria inhaled a few times to check if she is paranoid. She wasn't. At the third inhale, she tossed the fork on the kitchen counter and left the house through front door.

Children and their elders outside savoring the daylight, caught in sight their neighbor looking in every corner of her garden. God knows what those people were thinking about. What kind of madness had they diagnosed her with.

As soon as she could not smell the strong stench anymore, Celestria knocked at her cousin's door. Her hand was now placed on the door frame, helping herself breath normally. Her heart skipped a few beats when the door opened. "Finally Joe. There is,' Celestria spoke as she looked up. Her mouth stopped and her eyes rolled. "Of course." She whispered to herself. "Never thought someone could be more annoyed to see my face than the ladies who sell candles." Harry admitted. "Where is he?" Celestria blurted out.

"Joe?" Harry yelled, looking behind him. His hands were supported by the door frame, his hair laying on his shoulders. Harry was well structured and tall, a thing which annoyed her but could not stop her from entering her cousin's house. Celestria ran under Harry's supported hands and started looking for Joseph.

"There you are." Celestria tapped her cousin's shoulder. "We need to have a serious talk." She blurted out as she felt Harry's hand on her. "Calm down. What happened?" Asked Harry. "Do you need some water?" Joseph continued the conversation, concern written deep in his eyes.

"No." She responded plain. "I need to find whom is doing this." Her tone was higher than usual. Joseph and Harry turned their heads and stared at each other for a good second, confusion filling their expression. Silence formed between the three of them, as Celestria leaned her head forward.

"Whom is doing what?" Joseph approached his cousin, kneeling a little to reach her. "Do you think you can explain to us?" He nodded gently once. "Yesterday, I was on my way home. I was about to cross the road and my sight caught a sort of foreign thing moving. I did not gave any importance to it until I saw a woman laying on the ground."

Celestria spoke in a rush, words followed by a few breathes leaving her mouth. "I couldn't see if she was unconscious or not, but when he,' She stopped and licked her dry lips, then continued. "Killed her, she was very conscious because I heard her monstrous screams." Celestria whispered the first word.

Her gaze fixed on Harry with his eyes already on her for a long time. He was biting the inside of his bottom lip, eyebrows slightly furrowed. She could sense his heavy breath and the distant fright hidden behind his flesh. However she just looked down at the hardwood. "He caught me looking and I had to hide behind a car." Celestria moved her lips hurriedly.

"When I checked again he was not there. And nor was the poor woman. Instead a long trail of fresh blood was going deep into forest, perhaps left by that woman's perforated corpse." She finished her horrific story and looked up at both of them. "Now there is this disgusting stench that has been entering my house since this morning." Celestria admitted the reason why she was bothering his cousin early on a Monday morning.

Joseph stroked her head and placed it on his chest. "It will pass. It's just a coincidence." Harry added, speaking for the first time since Celestria started her story. "Perhaps they were rehashing for the Halloween party we know very well the chairman of Bladeshire and his children will organize."

Joseph looked down at Celestria and smiled warmly. "Speaking of parties, my dear." Her cousin spoke, grinning at Harry, a thing he followed as he crossed his arms and supported his back on the kitchen counter.

"I'm throwing an enormous party tonight." Her cousin continued. "But your house is empty." Celestria sounded confused. "The emptier the better. There is space for more people. Also," Joseph stopped and whispered. "Dress nicely tonight C. Amazing looking and hot boys will be here." He pointed discretely with his thumb towards Harry.

She froze and just gazed into his green eyes. Celestria mimicked some words to her cousin, words which looked like a fuck you more than anything else. She moved her feet and left the house with a surprisingly loud echo coming from the door the moment she closed it behind her.