The dress that Anna had forced her into was too tight for comfort, and it was necessary for her posture to be perfect or she wouldn't be able to breathe at all. Her breasts were too exposed for her liking, and the way the men ogled at her made her want to use violence to solve it the more it occurred. But Anna had a tight grip on her, this was all part of the plan to help Marise win, and Aeryn had been pulled into it without her consent. And the fact that they hadn't done it to any of the other girls bothered her.
When she had asked about it Anna just told her that she was enough and went back to the conversation that she was having. Aeryn sighed deeply and looked into the crowd again, if anyone could save her at this point it would be Jonathon. She wouldn't say no if he asked to leave early this time, she was more than willing to get away from all the attention she was getting, it was making herself conscious. It was a relief when Gordy took his place at the front of the stage and let them now that it was about to start.
Aeryn gave Marise and her mom a tight smile of encouragement before she was free of them at last and could move at her own pace. The pins in her hair were starting to hurt and she wanted nothing more than to go home but was stopped from going in the direction as she spotted a figure standing in the middle of the path that she would've taken. It was the hooded figure from before and again she was unable to make out any features. She could almost feel its gaze on her and took a step towards it and froze once again. It had turned and started to head down the path.
Aeryn was well aware of what happened to the girls that went in search of strange sounds and people that hid their faces. It usually didn't end well for them. But she was hardly a girl that wasn't capable of taking care of herself. And she supposed that she had a slight advantage. Her powers were usually strong enough to get her out of dangerous situations. Plus, she was bored again. Being used as a pawn for someone else's victory didn't sit well with her, so she set out to see if by doing so her night might become a little exciting.
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Aeryn had been walking along the quiet path until she realized that she was no longer following the hooded figure, but being stalked herself. She hadn't realized how exactly that came to be, but the feeling of being watched overcame her and she paused. She was a little ways away from her home at that point, and could've continued, but the situation becoming dangerous stopped her from going on, and she feared that the menacing presence that was stalking her might put Isla in danger.
She took in the growing darkness, her surroundings soon to be bathed in moonlight and felt the first trickle of panic hit her. Why had she gone looking for trouble again? To cure her own boredom? She would have to rethink her self-preservation skills the next time she wanted to do something so stupid, if there was a next time, she added angrily. Her fear heightened when the gravel gave way behind her, and the sound of someone approaching slowly filled the night.
She tried to calm her breathing and made a point of reminding herself that she wasn't as helpless as she felt, the unknown just had an advantage against her that she didn't quite like. She was about to spin around to confront whoever was stalking her, going over what she would say in her mind, but her body tensed as something pressed to the small of her back. The feeling that filled her made her gasp in surprise.
It was a feeling of utter submission. Starting small and then spreading throughout her body like a tidal wave, consuming all of her thoughts, making it hard to deny whatever the person desired of her. It wanted to see how powerful she really was, to what extent her magic could reach until it burned out, and she was sure she would've given in if a burning anger hadn't filled her at that moment. She wouldn't let anyone other than Isla become familiar with how much power she really had, and the anger gave her strength to defy the numbing fog that consumed her mind.
