The Siren and The Demon

5

"Kazarina, who..." he asked after he erased the confusion off his face. His expression Shifted towards anger as he finished asking his question: "Who did this to you?"
Kazaring exhaled. "I... I will explain everything to to you. I Just- " She took another step and Collapsed into his arms. She had reached to safety, and she let herself go like he was an casis in the desert She felt his arms around her, holding her tightly. He kneeled with her, keeping her from hitting her head, Then he looked araund in panic, Luckily no one had seen them in that State.
He picked her up and pulled her in, closing the door after to protect them, her, from prying eyes. Then he put her on the armchair.
She was slowly coming back to her senses. She monitored the room, it was Surprisingly nice and tidy for a man. The man in the question however, had dissapeared. She looked around. Where was he?
Then he walked into the bedroom with a glass of water in and a little smile on his Face. Ae sat down next to her and offered the glass. "Here."
"Thanks" She murmured and drank her water.
"Wanna tell me what happened ?" She could never have guessed how soft his voice can be.
"Well I- I got punished. By the emperor."
"Why? What did you do?"
"It was more for the things I couldn't do." She Sighed. "I can't help but feeling underrated in this Job. Honestly."
Gill laughed slowly. "I know how that goes."

Kazarina straightened up. "Which is ridicilous because you and I..." her finger pointed at him and herself "are critical for this team, for this whole establishment to work out. I'm not frying to degrade the others, don't get me wrong. They are important as well. But in the end of the day, everything depends on you and me. Like, imagine we died tomorrow."
"Or decided to resign."
"Or decided to resign, everything would stop. You are commanding the entire army. I have the Stratagizing, the hypnosis, the bio research. Ha, do you know how hard it is to hypnotize all these people? I get headaches every night, I Feel Faint all the time."
"Yes, if you use your powers too much you get Side effects, right?"
"Not if you use them deliberately." Gill leaned backwards. He put his right hand up.
"Look, I have known Barodius since we were both children. He.. he does not show appreciation For the things you do for him if does not get what he wants from you in the end. Because he always got what he wanted, everything was handed to him whenever he asked, And he never had to sacrifice anything for it. This is what he still expects From the world."
"And you?" Kazarina asked slowly, lke she was in a dream. "What did you have to Sacrifice?"
Ironically, the door was knocked on that Very moment. Gill paniced. "I'll be night back." He said as he got up, trying to mask his panic. Kazarina realized that he kept the door mostly closed, and covered the part he had to keep open with his body.
She could hear what he was Saying, but she could not hear the other person, no matter how much she tried:
"Hey, Uh... Actually I have someone in there right now. Is it urgent? No? Great. Yeah, I would like to catch up, it's Just.. Look, here's what we gonna do, you leave the palace, go sit in a cafe and send me the location, all right? I'll come as Soon as I am done here. Okay, bye."
He came back to his seat, much more relieved. He crossed his legs.
Kazarina arched an eyebrow. "Are you comfortable sharing who that was?"
"No"
"Will you at least tell if it is your significant Other?"
"It is not my Significant other."
"OK then, Excuse my curiousity."
"You are excused." He turned his head towards her seat.
"I do not have a significant other."
Kazarina slowly Smiled. "Good for you."
"Do you have one?"
"No." She laughed. "Are you gonna ask me out on a date Gill?"
"Pfft, No."
"That's a shame. Because I was about to ask you out on a date."
"You Funny girl."
"I am serious." She sighed. "They Just let me know that I have won the Minerva award in Biology."
"Minerva Award, like, the Minerva Award?"
"Yes, Gil. The Minerva Award."
"Kazarina, that's amazing."
With a fake humbleness, Kazarina shook her head. "I mean, I was expecting it, sooner or later." She shruged her shoulders. "I was planning on asking the emperor to be my date, but alas."
"I can be your date. I mean, you know- instead of going alone, you can come with me."
"Hmm" She playfully looked at him from head to foot, measuring it. Finally, she thrusted out her hand. "Deal."
"Deal." He said and shook her hand. "Your hand is so cold. Are you cold?" Without waiting for an answer, he took off his cape and put it over her shoulders. "Here."
She was going to regect it. Truly. She was. But she didn't. Instead, she tried to hide the fact that she started to smell the back of the cape's neck. Thankfully, his head was turned to the wardrobe, trying to pick an outfit "What's the dress code by the way?" He asked. "For the ceremony, I mean?"
"Huh? Oh- it's white tie. Really Formal. But isn't it a little early to pick an outfit now?"
"Im gonna go out now."
She got on her Feet. "Oh, right. Sorry I should get going."
"Sorry, I can't cancel this."
"It's fine, I'm So much better now." She made a move to take off the cape but Gill stopped him.
"You can Keep it. I can take it tomorrow."
"OK then."
He escorted her out, they stood on the doorstep. "It's on the day after tomorrow." She Smiled. "You can pick me up at 7pm."
"Consider it done."
After a moment of silence, she hugged him.
"Thank you. "She murmured as she put her hands around him. He Sighed.
"We still hate each other, night?"
Kazarina hesitated for a moment before answering: "I'd still kick your ass."
"I am counting on it."
They Shared a laugh, And as Kazarina walked out the door, She started to blush.

I told to sit in a cafe, not a bar."
Gill said as te den he looked down at the table.
Zenet lacked eyes with him. With the slighest Smile on her Face, she shawed the chair in Front of her with her eyes. He followed the silent order and sat down.
At least she was Smart enough to sit in a table on the garden Side of the bar, so they could hear each other.
Zenet took the cigarete which was standing in the ashtray and dragged its sweet-smelling smoke.
"Are you smoking?!" He asked. He sounded mad.
"Only when I am nervous. " Zenet answered. "I'd offer you one, but I bought Just two loosies."
"We banned the sale of single cigaretles."Gill said. "We also banned the flavoured anes."
"Because you Just have to interfere with People's lives, don't you?"
"We did it so literal children would not be be smoking." He pointed at her.
"Oh, now you are interested in protecting kids!"
Unfortunetly, Gill knew from whom she got this wit. He sighed. "Where did you buy that?" He asked With a much calmer tone.
"Yeah, I am not telling you that." She put out the cigarette steeply. "There, Can we please change the subject?" She took a sip out of her cocktail. "You literally kicking me out could be a great subject."
Gill put his hand up to get the waitress' attention. "Can I have a whisky on the rocks?"
"Coming right up."
Zenet bit her lip and stared at her drink. "Look, I know you don't know where to put me in your life. Hell, I have no idea Where to put you in my life either. But it was straight-up rude for you to kick me out like that."
He leaned on to the table. "Zenet, you know I can't always prioritize you. You know my line of work."
"I know you can't prioritize me, that's why I showed up in the middle of the night!"
"I- Gill Shut his lips as soon as he realized the waitress. They waited in silence as she served him the drink and left.
"You act like you haven't done the Very Same thing." He put his right up on his ear and started to imitate her: "Oh, I can't talk right now. I m with my friends, I'm drunk, Sorry my Friend picked It up instead of me"
Zenet gritted her teeth. "Would you prefer I picked it up in front Of everyone?"
"No. And that's exactly why I Kicked you out. I had Someone in there."
"You could have given me a heads up about your new girlfriend then."
Gill's face expression shifted towards anger. "It was not my girlfriend!"
"Who else could you be hanging out with at this hour?!"
"It's none of your business, Zenet!"
"Fine." Zenet said after a few Seconds of Silence. " If you tend to have such important guests over, I won't show up unannounced again."
"Zenet." Gill sighed. "We can't Just tell everyone that you are my daughter. It will be damaging for both of us. Everyone will think I got you into the team. They will call you a nepo baby, that you are inadequate."
Zenet looked around, pretending to be looking Out for her friends. "There is no one else left to call me that. You got rid of them all to save your own image. That's what it is all about, isn't it? Your image. You dont care about anything else."
"That's not true."
"It is. That's why you left me in that orphanage all those years ago."
"Zenet, the previous emperor was not like the one we have now. He was a bigoted puritian. I-"
"That's why you chose to build... this for yourself. Your career, your position. You Couldn't have both so you chose it over me. Don't look at me like that, you know it is true."
"Is this your idea of catching up? Pointing fingers at me? I was young, I made mistake, and couldn't find a better way to clean up the mess."
She was the mistake. She was the mess that needed to be cleaned up.
"I couldn't let them find out that I had a bas-" He stopped himself. "Illegitimate daughter."
Zenet stered at him blankly for a second. Then she started to laugh. Her laugh became more hysterical with each passing moment untill she forcefully stopped herself. "I am not gonna tell anyone that I am your daughter. Trust me.. Because I don't want you to be my father, to be honest. It is kind of emberassing."
Her expression hardened on her face, her voice got a more serious tone: "You had your chance on building things up to lift yourself to the top. Now it is my turn. And you will provide me with the chance, you at least owe me that."
"What do you want?"
Take me with you on your next mission, instead of Ren."
"That will only shorlen your lifespan, Zenet."
"What do yo mean?"
"You can't manage to do what your teammates couldn't. You'll lose to the brauters, and end up like them."
"Yeah, that's why I need to go with you instead of Kazarina."
"Zenet, you don't get any priviliages Just because you are my daughter.
"What-what do you mean?" She asked slowly. Her eyes widened. "You'll let me die like that?"
Their identical eyes locked and neither of them spoke.
She already knew the answer, and she was terrified of it.