A Time For Sacrifice [Inamorata Fan Fiction]

Chapter One: So We Beat On

She stared at the mirror warily, two fingertips pressed against her dry skin. The lined wrinkles etched across her face were supposed to be mementos of her trials and tribulations, or at least that what other women told her. Who knew what they said when her back was turned? That she looked like an old hag with faded red hair? That she was nothing compared to—

Caroline turned away from the mirror sharply, staring back at the restroom stalls where she just wanted to lock herself. Be alone with her thoughts. Alone…when she was a child, alone with her lunch until she fought to become strong. She tried being strong, but being strong meant hiding her innermost fears. Pushing too much emotion inside her became a leaking faucet that would eventually burst. She felt a heavy rock form in the pit of her stomach as her eyes began to burn. 

Her swirling thoughts became one of her meaningless marriage, then Steel leaving home to start a new life of independence. But at the thought of her son, her heartbeat steadies. Her son was salvation. Her son was everything. Then she felt ready, ready to leave her cloud of misery behind her…just for now. 

As she entered the conference room, she saw David and Nightingale standing side-by-side, fingertips barely touching. She felt like she was intruding on a ritual even more intimate than sex. That woman and David… Her husband. What a strange foreign word: “husband,” foreign and so far away. He wasn’t hers. Could never be hers.

Before her cloud of grief could return, she straightened her shoulders and threw Nightingale a hard look.

“Are we finally done the 411 on our mission or are we going to stare at documents until our eyes bleed?” Caroline broke in. 

David brushed past Caroline. “We’re ready for drive on.” 

They were standing close enough that Caroline could breathe in David’s balmy scent. “Copy that,” she replied, ashamed that her body reacted to him whenever he was close, which was rare.

Reminded, Caroline glared at Nightingale as Nightingale got her things ready before heading to drop off. 

You know I’m not the type of woman to take that sort of thing lying down, Caroline thought, forcing her thoughts onto Nightingale, trying to make her understand. Would Nightingale ever understand? A woman so flawlessly beautiful, the goddess Aphrodite herself would be envious. Now that Caroline thought about it, wasn’t there an Inamorata named Aphrodite? 

Nightingale’s eyes swiveled to hers, unflinching, almost expecting Caroline’s aura of wrath whenever “the wife” was around. A wife in words but not in heart.

“Anything you want to say to me, Caroline?” Nightingale challenged.

As usual, Caroline felt a strange mixture of pity and annoyance whenever she was around Nightingale. She couldn’t help but think of Steel at times and the sexual violence had to endure through most of his life. It was only a few years ago, he was in Nightingale’s shoes. That thought completely nauseated her.

Caroline tried to hide the weakness in her voice. She thought she could retort with something witty or respond with something a sharp-tongued heroine would say in a novel, but her reply was simply a small, sad: “No.”

After hours on the airship, she propelled down a zip line to get to the ground floor of enemy headquarters. This would be the toughest mission yet, and one that held the greatest risk. As she darted from the shadow to shadow, trying to gain cover from the guards, the briefing replayed over in her head…what the terrorists’ organization of scientists and engineers invented could end civilization itself. 

She had to destroy the base so no one could get their hands on the device. It was her mission. Her duty. 

Suddenly, the light beams flashed on and shone all over the surfaces.