The Flaws In Everything

13 - Statues, Men, And Their Differences

Chapter 13 - 'Statues, Men And Their Differences'

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She was done for. Everything had been calculated perfectly according to her plan, and yet she was done for. The timing was thoroughly thought through. It had to be in the afternoon because she knew that half the school would be returning from their excursion to the town centre, and the more chaos she created, the easier it would be to slip away undetected. The floor plan was on point too, with Mr. Lipshitz classroom being closest to the back exit into the forest, which, she had stolen the spare key to in one of her last machinations. And of course, her detailed plan barely had room for error, although even then she was excellent at winging it.

But in spite of her planning, there were two vital flaws in her plan.

One - she did not anticipate that Mr. Lumberfarm would actually fall and break his coccyx in multiple places, causing him to be paralysed from the waist down and unable to shift ever again. Whoops.

Two - she did not expect to, upon her grand exit, to run straight into one of the most influential figures of the town, Council member Delta, who was also an avid Lyre hater.

And thus, she was done for. For good this time.

As they wheeled a squealing Mr. Loonybin away after the monotonous drone of the alarm had finally ceased its... monotony, Lyre was dragged from the tip of her ear by the powerful she-wolf, all the way to the principal's office. Currently, Lyre was tied to a chair with lazer eyes glaring into her from two directions. The principal's, and Council member Delta's.

"What in all of the immortal realms were you thinking, retched hellspawn of a child?" The principal said in a way that almost seemed false. He usually wasn't too bothered by anything that happened in the school, but the arrival of a council member had drastically upgraded him from a C minus to a B plus in the arts of student scoldings. He still had some revision to do, but progress was progress!

"Well, I was thinking that the Immortal realms don't exist, so there are no consequences to my actions. You can punish me, because I really don't care." Lyre smart mouthed, although the principal had no clue what she was talking about.

"Surely death is consequence enough? Because surely you know that that's the way your punishment is heading?" He retorted. Delta stayed silent, saving her wrath for later.

Lyre sighed, trying hard not to face palm. "You know what, I've had enough of this. None of you uptight idiots understand!"

"Understand what?" Delta finally said, eyes narrowing. The council member entertained the thought of Lyre actually having a reason behind her deceitful actions for a mere moment, before dismissing it. Still, she let her talk, for she wouldn't be talking for much longer under her watch.

"I'm dying anyway. Today, tomorrow, it doesn't matter because my life is inconsequential." Now this shocked Delta. It shocked her that this child had the audacity to claim such a thing for pity. To save her own skin. Lyre truly was a wild thing, and a dangerous one at that. She would have to go.

Delta scoffed, "Lies do not look pretty on you, child. Don't add fuel to the fire if you're already burning."

"W-what? I'm not lying to you! The healers told my parents when I was a child, many of them, so did the oracle. I have a degenerative disease that is probably going to kill me in the next year or so."

"If you were dying, your father would have made it clear. Now stop with your nonsense because I'm taking you to the dungeons. The town will decide what to do with you shortly." Delta said, calling in the two guards that stoically came towards her.

And that was that. No questions asked, they didn't even entertain the possibility of her truth. They didn't - they wouldn't believe her. Perhaps it was Lyre's fault anyway. She had never been the most truthful, always having a mischievous bone in her body. Or many.

But there was a small part of their rejection of her confession that made her crumble even further, like a final hope in humanity that they had stomped on and mocked. At least it made her all the more certain of what she wanted. And that was to leave this place, one way or another.

The journey to the cells was horrid. They bound her limbs together so tightly that the ropes cut her blemished skin, gagged her unnecessarily with a dirty cloth, and patted her down to check for weapons in a very ungentleman-esque way. She hated the way the men's grubby hands lingered, but she tried not to squirm. It only made them smirk, letting them win with satisfaction, and Lyre was anything but a loser.

The cells weren't much better. They shoved her inside the stone cold room, already inhabited by two unrecognisable figures. Lyre knew that they must have been rogue trespassers for they were certainly not from the coven, and she wondered if one of them was the man that murdered the pregnant shifter from their coven a few months back, completely in cold blood. She sincerely hoped she was wrong.

Hours passed without food, water, and most importantly news. She was certain that they had decided to hang her, although she knew that once they did at least one of her enemies would come to gloat. Perhaps her crimes may have seemed petty to you for such a drastic punishment, or perhaps it may have seemed befitting, but either way she was but a child, and undeserving of death.

Regardless, the coven hated her. A manifestation of her father's prejudice against her from birth. To this day, Lyre was still uncertain whether or not her entire family truly cared for her, whether they loved her or whether they would be indifferent to see her hang. Part of Lyre hated herself too. It was the eve of her 18th birthday, and what did she have to show for it? But she couldn't help that she felt as if she never belonged in this world. She was too different, too much, and she wanted out.

By nightfall, indicated only by sheer boredom and the small, barred window up high, her two cell companions were asleep. One of them had spent the last hours staring at a blank space on the wall, whilst the other spent his time spitting insults, and then dirty compliments, and then insults at Lyre. The one thing they all had in common was the boredom, but to Lyre's luck the other two had eventually dealt with it by sleeping.

Lyre too drifted off at some point, curled into the corner of the room that smelt of piss and neglect. She didn't cry herself to sleep, but she wished she could have, to prove that she cared enough. It had been the third time that she had almost entered the land of dreams again when she felt it.

The energy. It was electric.

She wanted so badly to touch whatever made her feel that way and she slowly crawled towards the bars, towards the warmth that she wanted to keep forever. Once she reached the bars, she slowly pulled herself up. It was not until her eye line hit a sturdy chest, that she realised the energy was not from an unnatural source, but from a person.

She trailed her gaze upwards. Muscular arms and broad shoulders that sculpted up towards a sharply cut jawline. Dark, poreless skin that settled upon a perfectly symmetrical structure. Coloured, chapped lips with a valley of a cupids bow, organically bringing one's gaze past the nose and up to his eyes.

His eyes. The colour of night just before it fell, exactly. No more, no less. His entire being was the most precise and detailed materialisation of night, of darkness, that no one could be clever enough to conjure into their imagination. And yet, he seemed so familiar to her.

Lyre's own eyes wanted to explore the rest of his face with each curve and crevice, but so was so locked into his gaze that she scarcely remembered to breathe.

All until he said, "Don't you remember me, little mortal? I know I look better in person, but surely you recognise my statue? After all, you did come quite close."

And then her awe for him quickly turned into a perfect equilibrium of anger and fear, which the god of night couldn't help but revel in.

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A/N - Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, it means so much to me!

It would be amazing if you could vote and comment, as I'd love to get my story out there a bit more, but it's really difficult haha!

Us unknown writers have to help each other out, so if there is a book of yours that you want me to check out too, hit me up!