Red Ink

Part 12 - The Prince

This chapter contains content that may be uncomfortable for some readers.

CONTENT WARNING: mild descriptions of violence, blood, and harassment.

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For almost a full minute, the two of them stared at each other.

It was the fact that he was staring that caught her off guard-- Well, she was pretty sure he was staring. The steampunk CC mask of the angular, blank expression sure stared at her. Why the hell was he staring at her?

Does he recognize me? No, that would be impossible. She'd worn a mask the entire night and left his hotel room after he'd fallen asleep.

Is he angry? That could be it. Was she in the wrong room? This was definitely a Golden Lounge, the sign above the door confirmed it, but why was he frozen in the doorway? Had he not expected company from other ticket owners?

She almost jumped when The Prince finally closed the door behind him. In the moment where he turned away, Red examined him. Definitely taller and stronger than she remembered, The Prince looked positively menacing. His shaggy hair was chin-length now, jet black and messy like she remembered, but that could've been from the mask hologram. The suit he wore looked almost villainous: sleek and black, with gold accents to match the mask.

The face was the same as every default CC mask– black, angular, and expressionless, save for the hologram making his eyes glow a brilliant red and a few golden accents near the cheekbones.

With the door closed, he looked up at the corner of the room. Y/N followed his gaze and her eyes landed on a security camera pointed directly at her. There were cameras even in here?

He reached up and pressed a button on the side of his helmet. "Why are you here?"

The Prince's voice startled her. The sound buzzed and warped into something similar to... a broken robot, she thought. So he has one of Mei's new masks.

"I was invited here," Red answered. Suddenly the dress she was wearing felt much too vulnerable. She crossed her arms high on her chest to try and minimize the feeling. "By your colleague."

The Prince switched his gaze from the security camera to her. His head moved up and down slightly, taking in her appearance, which only served to make her feel more exposed. Why the hell did Mei insist she wear this? Did she know The Prince was going to be in a Golden Lounge?

He looked like he wanted to say something, but every time he took a breath to do so, he glanced at the camera and faltered. For another minute, Y/N waited for the masked man to speak.

"Which colleague?" He finally said.

Was it more appropriate to say his boxing name or his real name? Worried about accidentally outing her prospective client, she settled for his boxing name. "Impact."

"Why did he invite you here?" The Prince took a step towards her.

"I'm here on business." When his response was just to stare at her again, Red bit her lip. "I'm sorry, am I in the wrong place? I don't mean to intrude, I only–"

"No," The Prince said quickly with a firm shake of his head. "No, it's alright. I wasn't expecting... someone else to be here. I had this room booked out."

Shame rippled across Red's skin as she felt her cheeks flush. "Oh. I suppose the man who led me here didn't get the memo," She said with a nervous laugh. "I'll go to the next room over. I'm sorry sir." She grabbed her bag quickly and was about to make her way to the door when–