kristina8
We were made of stardust, at least that's what I'd always been told. But tonight, I didn't feel billions of years old. I didn't feel like I was once bright, or that I once was billions of degrees hot. I just felt small. Small, lonely, and insignificant.
We threw open the doors to the embassy, and exactly eighty-three heads turned to look at us.
Only one word escaped my lips: "Dragon."
It would just be a quick visit, I told myself. Open the door, fulfill the necessary duty, and leave. I didn't have to stay and see all the other lonely old people, or smell the sickly sweet smell of almost death pushed back further by medicine.
I was a nobody. Just leaning against the wall, taking in the scene. Loud music, loud people. Too much sweat and heat and general stickiness. Why was I here again? Oh yeah – because that was my job. Blend in and be a nobody. That way the attack is a surprise.
He was the cutest baby I'd ever seen, and that was saying a lot. Big fat cheeks and glistening blue eyes, all topped with wisps of dark brown hair. Little hands and feet waved in the air as he greeted his mother.
I avoided the loud tables at the restaurant, looking only at the customers at the corner tables. I knew that's where he would be; that's who he was. Sitting at a quiet table alone with a glass of wine, maybe. I didn't expect him to come up and tap me on the shoulder.
It was just part of his personality. The sudden mood shifts, like dropping an ice cube into cold water. Quick and painful. Hot and cold. Shocking. Everyone around him always smiled and said it was okay, but it wasn't. They were afraid.
"This is my dealer, Avery."
"Avery? Doesn't sound like the name of a high-profile arms dealer."
Jack grinned at me, "She's not your typical high-profile arms dealer. Just wait."
We waited. And waited. Until a little old lady stepped through the door, her face breaking into a smile. "Jack!"
"Avery."
He was the emperor, and he made sure everyone knew it. Not just his subjects, but all the countries around him. Wars and trade and subterfuge were everywhere, and there was a healthy amount of sex and torture as well. His wife just sat there and looked pretty, everyone said. But no one knew the truth.
I sat at the window sill, gazing out over the moor. It was rainy and clouded outside, but all I wanted to do was walk through the gardens and smell the roses. I just needed a little bit of escape from this stuffy house and insipid people.
load more entries