Blooming Vendetta

Chapter 5: Wrath of the Vollino Family

Sharp and Mabel were making their way through the streets in an efficient manner. Sharp could no longer sense that they were being followed, and Mabel was surprisingly cheery despite all that happened the day before. The pink moth girl happily takes Sharp to her childhood home, the pair entering through the large gates together.

As they walked through the halls, the servants of the house seemed to start whispering to each other. One a maid left the room, and reported their arrival to the estate, which prompted the leader of the house to come out personally. Enter LaRissa Vollino, a beautiful young woman minty blue moth wings, a pair of black antenna, as her arms and legs were covered in a black exoskeleton. Her hair was black with minty blue highlights, a butterfly hair clip ornament on the left side of her hair, and her eyes were emerald green. Her clothes were very regal, and very obviously insect inspired. She wears a black short dress that becomes minty, then back to black and red at the very end. The top half of the dress was tight fitting, and blended into her sleeves with a cleavage window, and a fuzzy collar topping it off.

"Ah, Mabel. There you are." She smiles, and turns her attention to Sharp. "And who might that be? A...boyfriend, perhaps?" She asked with a bit of a teasing tone.

"Boy—?! N-No! That's not right!" Mabel flails her arms in embarrassment, making her twin laugh softly.

"Hehe. I merely jest, sister." She says. "I was wondering if you would come by. Arefus told me that you ran away immediately."

"Wait... Arefus? You mean THAT Arefus...?!" Mabel asked, a bit panicked.

"Yes, him. Why? I thought you two were quite close as children...?" LaRissa wondered.

"Uhhh... I hardly even recognized him, so I ran... I thought he was gonna kill me! He changed so much..." Mabel explained.

"Ahh, I see." She smiles.

"If I may ask." Sharp speaks up suddenly. "Your subordinates aren't exactly the most friendly. When I found Mabel running from this Arefus, it didn't seem like he was simply going to escort her." He says. "Not to mention, the two others tracking us spoke of us like criminals rather than visitors."

LaRissa's expression suddenly turns serious, as she tilts her head up slightly, as if looking down on them. "Is that so...?" She wondered, but flipped back to a friendly looking smile. "I see. That was my bad. I suppose they need a bit more discipline."

"Seems this is where Mabel gets her ability to switch masks so easily..." Sharp thought to himself, and soon backs off.

"Well, now that you're here, we can finally get down to business." LaRissa claps her hands together, as the maids shut the door from the outside.

"Sister...?" Mabel asked, a bit concerned now. Just before she could ask what was going on, a loud crash sounds directly behind the pair, as Sharp is suddenly slammed in his side and into the wall. "Sharpie?!" Mabel shouts in surprise, but is suddenly grabbed at her neck by the same man they escape from the streets, Arefus Vollino. "Arefus...?! What are...— Gaahh?!" She tried to ask for answers, but the stag beetle man simply tightened his grip around her neck, then slammed her into the floor.

"Sorry Princess. Lady LaRissa's orders." He says with a wicked grin.

"Wh-What are you...talking about...?! LaRissa...?!" Mabel pants as Arefus slams her again, causing the floor to crack from the impact.

"Just keep your mouth shut!" He growls aggressively. Just as he was about to slam her again, he gets shot in his side, which made him loosen his grip for just a moment. He turns to look at Sharp, who was already right in front of his face and punches him.

"I'm sorry Mabel. But with you still alive, the Vollino family is at risk. See, with you in the picture, some will start to question whether or not I'm truly meant to lead. And I can't have that." LaRissa says, as she takes her sword in hand and starts to hover off the ground. "Not to mention the fact that you brought HIM here." She growls and swoops right at Sharp. He takes a shot to get her to lose momentum, but she expertly dodges and continues on her path, slamming her sword into Sharp's side. He managed to stop it just before it hit him at full force, but the impact cracked some of the bones in his arm and hands. He grits his teeth from the pain as he kicks her away from them.

As LaRissa gets sent back, Arefus appears again, and slams his arms down on the back of Sharp's head, sending his face crashing into the floor. He is then picked up by the head and tossed away, slamming into the doors of the estate. Arefus turns back to Mabel, and picks her up as well. "I'm gonna enjoy crashing you, traitor...!" He chuckles, as his grip tightens once again.

Mabel's eyes widen as she starts to squirm her legs, kicks and flailing while also grabbing at Arefus's hands to try and pry his grip off her neck. But it was no use, as he was much too muscular to give way. Her body soon starts to stiffen up, her face blue from the lack of oxygen heading to her brain as she suddenly goes limp.

"That's enough, Arefus." LaRissa speaks, which prompts the giant man to loosen his hold on her again. "Save it for execution day." She tells him. "For now, take them to the dungeon. Melly." She calls.

"Yes, madam?" The Allrune suddenly appears from the ground and bows to her mistress.

"Take him away. I will personally see it that he suffers the consequences." She instructs, pointing to the unconscious Sharp.

"Of course, milady." She bows, and uses vines to drag him away. Meanwhile, Arefus takes Mabel away to the dungeon below the estate.

———

"So... It has come to this." A woman's voice speaks. A woman who looked much like LaRissa, but instead of minty blue hair, she had a mix of blue and light pink. She sat at her vanity table, looking down in the mirror in front of her, a man in a white suit, pale skin, but blue hands.

The man doesn't say anything. As if detached from everything, even life itself. Yet he hasn't pulled the trigger yet. As if waiting for her last words.

"I suppose you're waiting on me to say something. Very well then... If I have your attention, I have a simple request to make." The mature woman says. "My little girl... Promise me that she will live a long, and happy life..."

"You say that as if...we will meet again." The man says in a low voice.

She puts up a gentle smile, not turning around to meet her attacker. "Yes... I know her fate. Once all of this is over, my child will run away. She will many people, make friends in whole new places unseen, and eventually..." The woman trails off, and takes a deep breath. "And eventually, she will bring an end to the Vollino Family..."

"... ... ..."

After a long silence between the two, the pale man takes a breath himself, and presses the gun to her head, as if asking if she was done.

"Haha... Yes. I am finished talking. Do what you must." She says, leaving her head back into the gun barrel. "This Family that I had made... Just where did it all wrong...?"

Once he knew she was done, his finger slowly pressed down on the trigger, as the shot rang out loudly throughout the estate.

———

The dream he had experienced was so vivid. It was as if he was actually there. Sharp groans loudly as he sits up. Or at least, he attempts to. He soon realizes that he was chained down to a table. He could hear the clanking of heels on the stone floor, as LaRissa turns the corner.

"Finally awake, are you? Murderer?"