"Power in the Hands of a Woman" (Miraculous Gabenath)

Chapter XI

-What is this? - he asked, pointing to the wound on her wrist.
-Exactly the same. - she replied, looking at Gabriel's wound. - I'm fine. - She waved her hand carelessly and headed towards the stairs. However, Gabriel made her sit next to him in one movement and said:
-Now it's my turn to take care of you.
-There is no need. - she replied dryly.
-Oh, it is. - he said and bandaged her wrist.
-And how can you hate him when he tries so hard? But I can't let my feelings win again. I haven't achieved my goal yet.

A little later, Gabriel noticed that his assistant had disappeared. She was nowhere to be found, not even in her own room. The man thought that maybe she was in a hiding place, but he didn't find her there either. This worried him.
-Did she run away? - he thought and immediately started searching. However, after searching most of Paris, no trace of her was lost. So he started calling her. Surprisingly, she answered.
-What's going on? - she asked in a bored voice.
-Where you are?
-Is it so important? Don't worry, I'll come home...
-How can I not worry if I don't know what's happening to you?!
-I'm sitting and watching. Is that enough?
-No. Tell me where you are. - he ordered in a firm voice.
-On the ruins of my memories... - she replied mysteriously, and then hung up. But Gabriel guessed what she meant. He immediately went to the next town - the one he destroyed and which was, after all, the home of Nathalie's family. And she was actually there. She sat on an old ruined swing and stared at the empty space, everything around was destroyed. The swing was for two people and the second seat was empty. The man got there.
-Have I destroyed so much? - he asked quietly. Nathalie, or rather Mayura, didn't even look in his direction, she expected that he would find her here.
-You're only seeing it now? - she asked. - This was my home, as a child I loved playing on this playground... - she said, gently running her thumb over the ruined watch that she still held in her hand. - Now everything is destroyed, the entire city is in ruins, it will take years before the inhabitants manage to rebuild it. And it used to be so beautiful here. I remember how happy I was living here and when... - she stopped suddenly, wiping a tear from her face - And it doesn't matter. Why am I telling you this? You don't care anyway. - Saying this, she got up from the swing.
-I'm so sorry. - he said to her with obvious guilt in his voice. He couldn't say anything more. What else was he supposed to tell her? That he promises and swears that he will fix everything - empty assurances.
-We better get back. Tomorrow we will have another fight. - she said and moved towards the residence.

Another fight - another attempt.
-Ready? - Nathalie asked with a sneer to Gabriel standing behind her. Maybe he imagined it, but she was less mean to him than usual. Maybe it was because he dressed her wound there, or maybe it was because he looked for her for several hours, only to find out that he was sorry, which the woman knew perfectly well. But his demeanor was still adorable. Of course, in her opinion, she still hated him and it would remain that way. But you can't hide your feelings, and the hardest thing is to do it from yourself. It's easier to deceive someone else's heart than your own. But in her opinion, love for Gabriel should not happen - this feeling only distracted her from achieving her goal.
When Nathalie uttered these short and yet extremely important words: "Duusu, ruffle your feathers", she began to be covered with a navy blue glow from head to toe. Mayura appeared before Gabriel's eyes. This was sort of Nathalie's dark side, or maybe her bright side? In the past, when the professional and secretive Nathalie turned into a villain, she had closer contacts with Gabriel, she smiled more, and her emotions were visible. And now it probably didn't matter. Mayura, like Nathalie, could explode for no reason or go into a fit of rage after another defeat they had suffered. Sometimes he yells at Gabriel, sometimes he destroys something. Despite all this, for Gabriel she was still perfect - nice, mean, explosive or secretive, emotional or composed - she was the embodiment of perfection for the designer.