Gentle Eyes of Evil

Chapter 27: Cast The Line

Harriet found herself outside on her balcony again that night. She looked up to the dark sky, with not a single star in the sky, not a moon to look at. Thus, her eyes reflected off the clouds, gathering the darkness within them and turning it into something beautiful in her eyes. For once, Josephine was not accompanying her outside. Harriet had made sure that she went to bed nice and early so that she could be alone. A gentle yet excited smile adorned her face, for when morning came, it marked the day of something very special. An event that would change things, forever.

She glanced over to her left side, where she knew Purgatory rested. Then, her eyes drifted upwards to the crown that rested on her head. She reached her hands up and slowly removed it, then pulled it down in front of her to admire it. The crown itself was a deep, pitch black with four spikes at the front, back, and either sides that each pointed upwards and had a red gem at their centres.

"Well...how about that." Harriet muttered to herself with a calm smile, the red glow of the gems lit up her eyes. "I've gotten everything I could want from this life." Her gaze softened as her smile grew wider. "This entire ring...its people, its places, even its money, will all rest in my hands by this time tomorrow." She raised a hand to cover her mouth as the sound of her wickedly peaceful laughter slipped from between her pale lips. Harriet turned back to face the glass doorway that led into her room, the very room where Josephine slept. "Everything I could want..." She repeated in a calm whisper.

Harriet then looked back up and to her left side, back to Purgatory again. "I promise I'll make it worth your while, ladies." She muttered in a stern voice, yet her smile remained strong. Harriet wrapped her fingers around one of the dips in her crown, so as to not impale herself on a spike. She began to turn her head to look back at the door, when she felt the softness of hair on her shoulder. Pink. Fluffy. Hair. She looked down to the figure and quickly moved the crown from view, she put it down to her right side.

"Oh Josephine..." Harriet groaned a little, though still with a smile. Her voice carried a deepness to it, like she was dragging out the last few sentences she could be bothered to say. "You're supposed to be asleep, my darling." Josephine looked up to Harriet as she held her pink dinosaur plushie close to her chest with one hand, as it brought comfort. Her eyes met with Harriet's, her bright and hopeful eyes met with Harriet's dark and confident glare.

Harriet's eyes softened as she looked at Josephine. "What can I do for you?" She asked in a gentle whisper. Josephine opened her mouth to reply to her, but before she could even attempt it. "The pad, darling." Harriet interrupted. Josephine looked down at her hands and seemed almost confused, she then looked back to the room and held one finger up. Harriet nodded and remained stood there whilst Josephine went back to their room.

Whilst Josephine had her back turned, Harriet clicked her fingers to set the crown back under her bed using a quick teleportation spell. Thankfully, Josephine's notepad was on her bedside table on the opposite side of the bed. Josephine made her way back outside and took the pen out from behind her lowered wolf ear, she began to write. "I noticed you weren't beside me. It's not safe to sleep alone. Come to bed with me." Harriet gentle eyes scanned over the page as she processed each word. Her grin calmed into a soft yet still noticeable smile.

"I'm sorry, Josie. I just needed a moment alone to think about some things. I'll be there soon, alright doll?" She replied. Josephine looked a little disheartened as she wrote a response, her handwriting was sloppy and she rubbed her eye mid-writing. "Why not just come now? You can think any other time. You can think around me" Harriet giggled quietly as she took in what Josephine had written. "Oh my darling...these are far more important matters. I wouldn't want to bother you with them. It wouldn't be very productive, trust me. It isn't that I don't want to be around you, It's just...this is a very important time for me that needs at least some of my focus." She responded, her demeanour was still calm and collected.

The girl's faced each other once again, "You do understand that, don't you?" Harriet asked in a quiet tone. Josephine didn't respond immediately, she seemed to have zoned out for a moment. Harriet slowly moved her hand up and waved it in front of Josephine's eyes. "Josie?" She giggled softly. "Don't leave me in the dark now. You understand me...don't you?" She repeated as her hand lowered.

Josephine's eyes met Harriet's once her hand was moved, as if she snapped back into the room. She nodded slowly and didn't seem fully focused on the conversation anymore. "Good...now, off to bed. I'll join you soon." Harriet muttered as she planted a kiss on Josephine's forehead.

Josephine rested her forehead against Harriet's for a moment after it was kissed, she finally made her way back inside. Harriet looked back down to the city below her, and finally felt her stomach begin to twist. "I've gotten all I want...but what if I'm doing the wrong thing?" She whispered to herself, her voice dripped with doubt. She shook her head slowly and took a deep breath. "No...this has to be the right thing. For me, for her..." Harriet paused for a moment and looked back to the bedroom again. "For them.".

Despite her internal conflict, Harriet knew she had a big day ahead. Thus, she turned and made her way inside to Josephine. She slotted herself into the bed, made sure the covers remained neat, and wrapped her arms around Josephine as her eyes fell closed. Before her body fully fell under the wrap of sleep, an almost silent click of her fingers was heard from below the covers. Harriet felt something in her stomach, something new and unsettling. She pushed such a feeling to the back of her mind, and tried to focus on the coronation ahead. 

A coronation that still had to happen, no less. Before the sister's knew it, they had each been thrust into last-minute preparations. Together, of course. The coronation was now mere hours away, and both girls were getting themselves prepared with the help of their servants. The Prince's had their own room where they were being dressed up, and the girl's had theirs.

"So, how ya feelin'?" Eclipse asked Harriet as she got her hair brushed through by a female servant. "I got woken up for this." Harriet replied with a giggle as her dress got fitted on her figure. "No, seriously though. I'm feeling fine. I mean, yes, this is the only royal event our family has actually had in years. Yes, we don't know where Sophie's even gone by this point, and yes, this will add a tone of stress onto me." She finished.

Eclipse waited before responding. "But...?" She prompted. "But nothing." Harriet replied. "I know things will be better this way." Eclipse looked very confused, she raised an eyebrow at Harriet. "But ya just listed a bunch of- ow, reasons why it'd suck? I ain't seein' how any of those will help us?" Harriet sighed quietly and looked over to Eclipse, her eyes were sharp yet not wicked. "This will be a good thing for all of us, Eclipse. Trust me." She muttered calmly, Eclipse found her sister's behaviour strange, stranger than usual at least. She just sighed and gave a half assed reply "Right...whatever ya say, H.".

Josephine looked at the pair in confusion, she had been more focused on the feeling of warm water running down her hair as it was expertly washed by a pair of soft male hands. She didn't understand why the vibe of the room was suddenly so negative. What could possibly have happened in the space of a few minutes?

Despite the negative energy of the room, the Princesses got back on track. Eclipse wore a black waistcoat with a purple pattern flowing through it, with a pair of dark grey trousers and a black belt. Her hair was brushed to look more tame than its usual wild state. On Eclipse's feet, she wore traditional brown leather shoes.

Josephine wore a white corset with pink assets that hugged to her figure, her black wings were able to spread freely due to the specially made design of said corset. Alongside said corset, she also wore plain white thigh-highs and a short white skirt. Her hair had not been touched, as per her request. On Josephine's feet, she wore light-pink, over-the-knee boots with white assets.

Harriet herself wore almost the exact same outfit as Josephine, only in a black and golden colour scheme. A black corset with golden assets, black thigh-highs, black skirt, and black and golden boots. The pink portion of her hair was tied up in a curly ponytail that still held its natural waviness, as per her request.

As the boys were getting ready, Luna felt a worrying sensation in his stomach. It was like butterflies, only the butterflies were all being punched in the stomachs, and had their own butterflies. He shook his head desperately to try and get his head clear of this anxiety, however Jace picked up on it before long. "Luna? Are you alright?" He asked calmly. Luna placed a hand on his forehead, he didn't nod or shake his head. "I...I think so. It's probably just nerves about the change."

Jace narrowed his eyes with a concerned face. However, he didn't want to stir up trouble and ruin what was supposed to be a happy occasion. "Of course...it's a big change, after all." He nodded slowly. "A very...big...change." He muttered, more to himself, as his voice got quieter with every word. "Did you say something?" Luna asked as he rubbed his forehead, he had his eye closed.

Jace shook his head "No, no I didn't. You'll...you'll be alright, Luna. We all will." Luna nodded slowly to him, he then turned to the servant who was brushing his hair and asked for a glass of water for his head. He was determined to get through this. Whatever it was.

Each of the boys wore almost the same as Eclipse, traditional black waistcoats only with blue patterns rather than purple. Their trousers were the same shade of grey, as well as their shoes.

The coronation took place as each piece was said, acknowledged, agreed to. With no one being aware of the royal family outside of their own staff, the coronation was empty aside from staff and family. Not that any of them minded this, however. The moment finally arrived, the moment that casted Lust's entire ring under the thumb of a sassy, overly-confident 20-year-old woman.

The speech was given, and the crown was placed. Finally, it had been done. Before a house of unholy witnesses, and before a non-existent God, rested a new Queen of Lust. Her plan had worked, and her victory was complete.

As with every other event that took place behind the heavily-guarded door to the palace, be it major or minor, a servant had to go and inform the general public of what had happened. This servant was Nova. He stood at the main balcony, facing the empty streets of Lust. As no one was aware of the family, no one had been aware of the coronation even taking place.

Nova had not been told to inform the public of it's happening, as the family agreed that telling people about an event they wouldn't be attending was a bad idea. Telling all of them after said event, when they had no choice but to accept the outcome now, was perfectly fine though.