A BEGGING TO BE BELIEVED

the  broken  vase  lays  on  the  floor  between  them,  twin  laughter  having  gradually  died  down.  they  have  spent  the  last  minute  on  a  battle  of  whose  fault  it  was,  neither  wanting  to  take  the  blame  for  the  ruined  relique.  sutara  turns  towards  nirav,  furrowed  brows  and  mouth  open  in  indignant  laughter.    ❝  ah,  both  our  faults,  is  it?  I  don't  recall  having  been  the  one  to  bump  into  it.  ❞    though  she  could  have  been  at  fault  for  a  friendly  little  push.  almond  eyes  look  towards  the  door,  before  returning  to  the  shards  on  the  floor,  head  tilting  to  the  side.    ❝  we  should  find  someone  to  fix  it…  or  hide  it.  ❞

a  girl  is  a  machine.  methodically  built  to  take  what's  thrown  at  her.  with  the  training,  sarakit  has  been  programmed  from  an  early  age  to  never  question,  never  fail,  never  let  her  emotions  get  in  the  way.  however,  the  girl’s  frustrations  burned  inside.  the  family  she  had  pledged  to  protect  had  held  a  meeting  with  the  family  that  made  her  into  a  knife,  took  out  what  was  human  and  left  the  weapon  in  its  place.  hands  tightens  and  retightens  the  fabric  around  her  fists.  sara  doesn’t  bother  to  look  up  at  the  sound  of  the  other  woman’s  voice,  simply  dismissing  the  suggestion  by  positioning  herself  at  the  mat  again.    ❝  no  need  to.  ❞    she  couldn’t  act  out,  couldn’t  barge  into  the  meeting  room  and  pull  apart  that  family,  member  to  member,  limb  by  limb.  so  instead,  she  shifted  her  focus  elsewhere.  worked  and  trained  tirelessly  throughout  the  day.  and  now  by  night,  she’d  train  some  more.    ❝  you’re  welcome  to  join.  or  else,  leave  me  to  it.  ❞

the blonde girl clears her throat,  nodding softly as liv explains her past interest.  she reaches to the pile of fabrics,  taking a better look at them.  being called a designing prodigy wasn’t exactly right,  she was more like the daughter of one.  growing up under the guidance of one meant that giselle was still as good as one,  however.    “  sure,  I can help out.  no need to throw them out.  uhm,  do you have any project in mind?   ”

with   a   deep   breath,   sarakit   focus   on   the   man   in   front   of   her.   he   has   the   tired   eyes   of   a   pawn   of   the   big   men.   anything   he   does,   it’s   merely   out   of   duty.   it   reminds   her   of   her   a   little   bit.   but   that   doesn’t   matter   in   this   situation.   at   the   end   of   the   day,   he   was   just   stone   in   sarakit’s   way.      “   I   don’t   want   to   hurt   you,   but   I   will   if   you   keep   getting   in   my   way.   I   need   to   finish   this   and   it   won’t   be   you   who   will   stop   me   from   it.   ”

“   ooh,   thank   you.   ”      the   girl   is   happy   to   indulge   herself   in   taking   the   vegetables   kit   turned   down.      “   you   know,   the   world   would   really   benefit   if   we   all   ate   more   of   these   and   less   of   those.   ”      she   points   towards   the   meat   based   hamburger   in   front   of   the   boy,   an   slight   frown   on   her   face.   layla   tries   not   to   pester   her   friends   too   much   about   their   animal   based   diet,   knows   it   can   get   a   bit   annoying,   but   growing   up   with   a   mother   who   could   literally   talk   with   these   same   animals   that   were   being   consumed   left   and   right   made   it   a   bit   difficult   to   just   not   mention   it.      “   anyway,   it   is   senior   year   and   things   are   bound   to   get   more   jammed.   do   you   have   any   resolutions   for   this   year?   I   have   a   few   already,   but   more   might   be   added   eventually.   ”

frustration   burns   inside   her   chest.   dragon   girl   wants   to   let   it   all   out,   release   the   fire   on   her   throat   on   all   of   those   men   and   women   of   society   who   can   only   look   at   them   with   snide   and   whisper   among   themselves.   but   lady   of   the   court’s   friend   mal   can   not,   for   evie’s   sake   she   swallows   it   down.   for   so   long,   mal   had   been   a   terrible   friend   towards   the   blue   princess,   if   she   could   have   even   been   called   that.   but   now,   the   four   of   them   got   their   freedom   and   evie   got   her   fairytale   dream,   it   wouldn’t   be   fair   to   any   of   them   to   screw   it   all   up   because   she   can’t   control   the   beast   in   her   belly.   the   dragon   heiress   takes   deep,   controlled   breaths   and   nods,      “   okay,   okay.   yeah,   let’s   go.   ”      her   voice   is   a   bit   shaken,   like   it   always   get   when   she’s   too   frustrated   to   even   put   up   a   strong   facade.   not   like   she   needs   one   anymore,   they   shouldn’t   have   to   be   emotionless   any   longer.

trying   not   to   fidget   too   much,   onyx   makes   herself   smaller   in   her   seat.   the   cold,   metallic   chair   just   an   uncomfortable   feature   of   this   unpleasant   situation.   eyes   look   down   at   the   picture   displayed   in   front   of   her,   and   she   feels   sorry   for   the   girl   on   it.   if   what   garcia   says   it's   true,   that   she   was   sent   to   that   hell   house,   then   she   might   as   well   be   looking   at   the   picture   of   a   ghost.   onyx   can't   help   but   chuckle,   humorless,   at   the   detective's   plea.      “   she's   not   coming   home.   ”      the   hard   devastating   truth   that   onyx   knows   is   the   farthest   thing   from   what   the   woman   hoped   to   hear.      “   you   say   it's   been   four   months?   she's   long   gone   now.   they   wouldn't   wait   around   that   long,   especially   after   us.   if   you   go   digging   around   now,   all   you're   gonna   find   is   bones.   or   worse.   ”      her   voice   turns   somber,   what   must   sound   like   a   difficult   teenager,   unwilling   to   cooperate,   is   merely   a   warning.   the   girl   had   found   first   hand   sometimes   there   were   some   things   worse   than   just   death.

for   the   record:   judith   ford   was   a   firm   believer   that   most   great   relationships   consisted   of   one   person   seeing   the   cup   half   full   and   the   other   seeing   it   half   empty.   for   most   of   their   relationship,   or   rather,   most   of   jase   and   natalie's   relationship,   she   had   been   the   half   empty   cup   person.   she   couldn't   help   it,   too   intertwined   with   who   she   was.   and   jase,   oh   sweet,   wonderful   jase   had   too   much   sunshine   in   his   soul   to   see   the   cup   anything   other   than   half   full.   however,   due   the   terrible   events   that   led   them   to   this   situation,   there   had   been   a   drastic   change   in   his   personality.   it   killed   her   as   much   as   it   annoyed   her   right   now.      “   ugh,   come   on.   ”      her   words   drag   on,   choosing   to   ignore   what   was   probably   a   harsh,   but   fair   dig.      “   where   is   your   sportsmanship?   your   sense   of   fun?   ”