Coven | BTS 🔞

Prologue

Alice had always thought that Sunday was the bittersweet day of the week.

Sweet for waking up at noon, for the softness of pancakes melting on her tongue, for reading a book in the afternoon gleam, and watching specks of dust dance in the streaks of light coming from her kitchen window. Bitter, because it was also laundry day, time for grocery-shopping, and the one day of the week she had to catch up with her studies before starting classes again on Monday morning.

University was a bitch sometimes, but hey, at least she was going somewhere with her life.

And then, there was that one Sunday that changed absolutely everything and had her exile at the other end of the globe.

It was finally spring, and birds were chirping, perched in the apple tree in front of her window. Alice was in her pyjamas even if it was almost noon, watching cartoons and directly eating in the Cheerio box, her legs spread on the coffee table and her long brown hair tucked in a loose ponytail.

The apartment door suddenly burst opened and Alice almost poured the whole content of the cereal box onto the couch.

"Jeez, you scared me!" she cried out when she recognized Megan walking in.

Alice didn't even blink when she noticed the girl was wearing shiny leather pants and a red corset-looking top, messy blonde bob hidden under a long black-haired wig. Her heavy makeup was smudged, streaks of mascara running down her cheeks and she was completely out of breath. The clash of clothing between the two girls was so intense that in another situation it would have been comical.

"Grab your stuff we need to leave now," said Megan, and her serious tone immediately alerted her friend.

"Wait what? What's happening?"

Megan coming home at noon on a Sunday, still dressed in her party clothes from the night before wasn't that unusual, but being in such a haste, with her lipstick smeared everywhere was rather peculiar even for her.

"I got new information this morning. I met my contact and she confirmed to me what I feared," explained Megan, trying to get rid of her thigh-high boots.

"Is your contact a dominatrix?" joked Alice, looking at the girl's outfit, but a severe glance from her friend made her shut up.

"I'm serious! You need to pack your stuff; we need to leave now!" Megan maintained, finally kicking her boots away.

Alice swiftly left the sofa and got into her room to throw random pieces of clothing in a giant suitcase.

"What did Juliet say exactly?" she asked, screaming to be heard across the apartment.

"That your grandmother and her friends would be downstairs in thirty minutes," answered Megan.

"Well fuck!"

Both girls were suddenly in a frenzy, packing all their clothes and as much belongings as they could, leaving most of their stuff behind while Megan gathered their passports and important papers.

They had been waiting for this moment. Of course, the girls knew that eventually, despite their best strategies to stay hidden, they would be found out. It wasn't a secret, however, that they had both wished for more time.

Exactly twenty minutes later, they were done packing. Alice had changed into a pair of jeans and a white shirt, her backpack on her shoulder and her suitcase in one hand; she was ready to go.

"Wait, I need to put the place on fire," calmly asserted Megan, turning her heels around as she was leaving.

One lit match thrown at the curtains, and the fire was already licking the tapestry, swallowing everything in its path. Alice felt her heart clench when she saw the fire approach the potted plants near the window, where the book she was currently reading was opened at a half-read page.

"Do you think this will be enough to erase our traces?" she asked, looking at Megan sideway.

"Who knows. Evanora is smart. At least it will slow them down. Now let's go."

The two girls quickly left their home without another word, running into the hallway before going down the emergency stairs, pulling the fire alarm on their way.

They were just getting inside of a taxi right in front of their apartment block when a black car turned the corner down the street, followed by two identical vehicles.

They didn't know it, but they had managed to escape at the last minute.

"To the airport please!" announced Megan to the taxi driver.

Alice's gaze was glued to the window and she observed for the last time her beloved apartment. She could already see the table burn in the kitchen and her heart sunk further in her chest.

I'm not going to cry, not this time, she thought, while the taxi drove away, skillfully avoiding collisions into the afternoon traffic.

They arrived at the airport shortly afterward. Megan was anxious and Alice could feel it. The blonde was nervously biting the inside of her cheek, glaring behind her like she was scared of being followed.

"Don't worry, we're going to be just fine" gently said Alice, squeezing her friend's hand.

Megan didn't seem to notice Alice's attempt to calm her down.

"Yeah...it's like going on an adventure" tried Alice one more time, "For fuck's sake we're going to Korea!!"

Megan just looked down at her feet.

"I just really hope that this time they won't find us" she sadly conveyed.