Wilting Violet (Part 1)

Chapter Ten Manaics

November 15, 2015, 12:50 pm,

    'Unable to determine Itzal's motivation for appeasing the Heirs. Avoiding Camile for daring to touch him without explicit permission... and having Leonard withdraw from me made my only option, Victor. Not one night, two, or three... but four Rituals in a row. I stopped counting for Camile's Ritual day streak, and Itzal's almost reached a month... but I never thought Victor could coexist with me for forty minutes without throwing me out a window. But besides the naked hugs Victor seems fond of, he isn't touching me. He is almost sweet.'

    'Then, of course, I'll accidentally mention the other Heirs, and he will glare at the water for the duration of my foot soaking. But when my ticklishness kicks in, he seems unable to hide his grin... which I exploit because... he becomes something almost familiar. Someone still bossy but playful.'

    I yawn as I wake up, look around my empty room, and then frown. 'They must have left in the middle of the night. I instigated it. I can't say I didn't... I liked being in the middle of a Victor and Itzal sandwich. Victor is still nice to me in the dead of night despite us not being in the bath. Only when he wakes up he loses playfulness and becomes controlling and debatably pretty mean. Itzal only slipped into my bed two of the four nights stating he was the Watcher. Leonard got the second night and threw a massive fit when Victor told him he could sit next to the bed but not in it. By fit, I mean yelling about Balance, all of them leaving if he had to, and punching Itzal in his jaw with a sharp thud.'

    'That wasn't exactly shocking, but Itzal dragging him by his shirt collar, forcing him to sit next to my bed, and making him look at me...without any aggressive retaliation, that was. It confused Leonard so much that he calmed and remained there all night. But it made me try to choose anyone but Itzal. This led to me picking Victor again, and Itzal got Watcher somehow. Then, last night I went to sleep with Victor holding me to his naked body with Camile sitting in my eyeline, blatantly staring at me.

    "But they aren't here... because it's Sunday," I say to myself, and I feel odd about that. 'I wonder, did they slip out at six AM or right after I went to sleep?' I think as I make up my bed and then enter the bathroom to use it. When I finish, I exit my bedroom and walk across the hall to my Living Quarters. 'Itzal took me shopping for it, and I picked up the décor I had already purchased online. He seemed like he found it odd how fast I wanted to be in and out, but I was ensuring he didn't buy me something from outside my allowance and then demand some form of payment.'

   My eyes settle on the outfit hanging in the opened closet's rack. 'A black ruffled top, a basil-colored pencil skirt, black stockings, knee-high boots, and a white trench coat. There are other clothes in the drawers that Itzal seems to fill in the middle of the night, considering they are never in there on Saturday, but the Heirs always hang an outfit in here for some reason. It never goes toward one Heir's style. It is like they actually got together and agreed on something for once. I have never worn the suggestion, but this one isn't half bad.' I look at it for a long moment and shrug, 'What the hell.' I think and strip out my clothes, fold them in one of my chairs, and then dress in the outfit minus the coat and shoes. I adjust the stocking, look at myself in the mirror, and smile.

    "Not too bad," I say and giggle, then turn and go to pose when I hear something shatter and a door slam. I freeze and wait for something to happen, but no other sounds come. I tip-toe to my door and look at it and then hear an argument building from further away. 'That isn't odd for the Heirs, but they have stood by my not seeing, hearing, or feeling their presence anywhere in the house during my free days... Maybe this free day is going to defer to Wednesday.' I sigh and debate taking off their outfit, then just roll with it and walk out of my living quarters with my shoes in one hand. And my other hand is pushing my phone into my skirt's back pocket.