The Children Of Cleopatra

Chapter One: Manipulate

"Fair is foul, and foul is fair." - William Shakespeare, Macbeth, 1.1

Chapter One

"Julius! You can't give up on me! Please!" Cleopatra VII Philopator pleaded, beautiful and desperate.

Julius Caesar looked at Cleopatra, eyes without sympathy and lips drawn in a firm line of disobedience. His stare, strong and furious, told Cleopatra that he was disgusted and it pained her to watch him leave. His hands were curled into fists at his sides and life slowed down for a brief moment, before he spoke between clenched teeth. Cleopatra's heart thundered in her ears and she only scarcely caught the sentence, brought her by the rough baritone of his voice.

"Abomination."

Frightened, Cleo Makinson found the striking brightness of the conscious world and a wave of indigo strangled her in its cold grasp. She dropped limp against her bed for a few more brief moments, inhaling and exhaling as much oxygen as her lungs would allow, until the horrible nauseating feeling of indigo subsided. Cleo looked at the wall she was facing, plastered with hundreds of posters of different bands, musicians, actors and actresses, poems, short-stories, drawings and photos she had done, and so much more which reflected her interests. She found it comforting, looking at the largest poster which decorated the wall, the one of her favourite musician, Kanon Wakeshima.

Cleo staggered out of her bed, tripped over several items conveniently arranged around on the beige carpet of her bedroom, and into the bathroom, joined to her spacious bedroom. The first thing she noticed as she pushed the bathroom door open, was the dishevelled and grayish appearence of her reflection. Cleo couldn't remember the total of times she had woken and found that she had lost the beauty she had been proclaimed to be blessed with, and knew that she looked a lot worse the last time it had happened. The visions that haunted her dreams, weren't frequent, but each time they decided to grace her with their presence, they would take huge toles on her physical being.   

"God. I'm tired." 

* * *

"Attention." Mrs. McNaughten called, striding into her classroom.

Mrs. McNaughten had thick red curls, twisting and rolling around her head in bright coloured wisps of hair. She had large lips, coated in bright red lipstick, much too big for her face, while the rest of her facial features were too small for her bulky frame. Her chubby ankles wobbled in the high heels she wore, and the floral pattern dress that she wore, was much too tight. The pearl necklace that was the only piece of jewelery visible on her, looked fake and out-dated. 

"I'd like to announce that we have a new student in our midst. I'd like to introduce, Jordan Sole."

Jordan Sole followed Mrs. McNaughten, hardly a step behind her, and then faced 10MN, wearing a composed expression. In a single instant, Cleo had wrapped her arms around herself, attempting to suppress the chills that hesitantly climbed up her spine. She'll admit, Jordan was probably the most beautiful male she has ever seen, but there was something foreboding and strange about him. However, she wondered if that would make much of a difference, because the dark aura which seemed to coil and writhe around him, seemed to allure Cleo more than his pleasant features.

"Jordan, would you please tell 10MN about yourself?" Mrs. McNaughten inquired, hesitant.

"I don't see why not." He replied, pushing his straight, charcoal-coloured bangs from his eyes. "I'm half-Egyptian, I lived in London until I was seven. That's when I moved to Cairo. I moved to New Zealand, because my dad got a new job here."

Jordan rambled on, informing 10MN small snippets of his life, but never elaborating into much detail. Cleo didn't hear much of his brief explaination about his life, or the questions which had been asked, she was much too distracted from her observations of his physical appearance with depth. Jordan's rust-coloured irises complimented his sun-kissed complexion, which stretched over his high cheekbone structure and taut chin. His haunting coloured eyes were rounded with the thick twirl of black eyelashes, naturally curled and long. His hair was charcoal coloured, and cascaded across his forehead and partially covered his ears and eyes.