Blood Oath (Ruby Rose/Ares fan fic)

Twenty-four

I fidget on my seat even if Winston's private jet armchairs made of white leather are very comfortable but I've been sitting here for 6 hours and there's still 2 hours to land in Rome. We left New York before noon and that means we'll arrive to the Continental at dinner time, my boss wants to start our business meeting with the High Table very early tomorrow so this will be the last night I'll have to find a solution to this mess, the problem is that I can't think of a credible scapegoat who could deserve the punishment of the Company. I've been mulling things over in my mind for hours and now I've got a splitting headache.

Ares is sleeping by my side, or maybe she just pretends to be sleeping so she can ignore my pathetic whining. She hasn't stopped telling me that everything will be fine but I'm really nervous and I can't help it, I think she's finally given up on me and has decided to let me get desperate alone. In addition to this, pretending that I'm innocent in front of my boss hasn't been easy either and my levels of anxiety have skyrocketed: at least he doesn't suspect anything; he thinks that, instead of being on the edge of a nervous breakdown, I'm just furious because I've had to leave my voluntary reclusion to travel to Rome and also because I've had to leave my cats in the protective custody of another person. To be honest, it felt weird sleeping without them in the loft last night, not hearing their purr, their fights or their claws getting sharpened against their cat tree. The Assassin took them to Nonna, who promised to take care of them for as long as necessary, and came back home with a delicious lasagne casserole that we just had to heat in the oven for dinner.

Pretending that I'm fine got even more difficult during the past hour but Ares told Winston that I was a little nervous about confronting Finn for the first time in person and my boss, who deep inside is a good person and great with the ones he cares about, has tried everything to make me feel comfortable, asking the flight attendant to bring me all the chocolate bars available in the plane along with some magazines, a blanket and a pillow. I've been able to get online with the plane's Wi-Fi and check some data, although I don't like to work with these kinds of unsecured connections just in case someone spies my movements later, and I've called my mum to tell her that I was going to Rome in a business trip... it's not that they care about my life and my work but I promised to buy her some good bottles of olive oil as a present and that seemed to please her till the point that she wished me a safe trip. Anyway, 8 hours of flight have given me enough time to get bored and desperate, to overthink and to argue with my meddling conscience till I got a headache. I just can't stand being here doing nothing...

I get out of my seat slowly trying not to bother Ares that is comfortable sit with her head tilted back on the armchair and her eyes closed. My boss is sitting across the aisle and in his case it's pretty obvious that he's really sound asleep, he's even snoring a little. The flight attendant gets up too from her seat at the front of the plane but I gesture at her to stay in her armchair, I don't need her help. I take my little bag and walk carefully down the aisle towards the bathroom, it's not very big but luxurious, all panelled in dark wood and white marble with a huge mirror that covers the whole wall behind the sink. I put my bag on the little bench that is placed on one side of this rectangular room and I start taking my clothes and my toilet bag to get changed. Ares decided that the best plan was to travel comfortable wearing jeans and a hoodie and then changing my clothes when we were about to arrive, it's still two hours till we land but I'm bored and don't know what else to do. She packed my bag so the dark blue pants made of fine wool, the silk blue shirt and the blue Chanel jacket with tactical linen come out of the bag without wrinkles and in perfect condition. I kick my sneakers off and start undressing slowly...

After rummaging for a minute in the side pocket of my bag I take the purchase I made late yesterday while the Assassin took my cats to Nonna: now that I have elegant clothes it'd be a pity if I wear my granny panties under the fine wool so I bought several new sets of underwear made of silk and lace in bold colours like blue, green, burgundy and purple... they're so pretty that I don't know which one I should choose... I wonder how Ares will react when she sees them, or worse, when she realizes that I got out of her loft to go to a department store without her to escort me. I guess I should choose the blue one since it matches the clothes... I flinch for a second when I hear someone clearing her throat behind me till I recognize the Sandalwood scent, I was so focused on my thoughts that I didn't hear her opening the bathroom door. I look at the reflection in the mirror out of the corner of my eye and I confirm that my bodyguard is standing behind me, with her arms crossed over her chest and frowning while looking at my new underwear... she doesn't seem happy with what she's seeing... "Do something, Nira!" my conscience yells. Acting on instinct, I hook my thumbs in the waistband of my panties and I slide them down my legs, letting them drop to the floor; then I put my hands on my back and I take my bra off while feeling my cheeks burning of embarrassment. I lean forward slightly to grab my new panties but Ares' hands stop me.