Fallen Queen

~ C H A P T E R N I N E T E E N ~

Wolfe

The breeze blocks out the events that had been troubling me. It hits and laps at my face again. The ocean breeze, in tousled updrafts, invites us to raise our eyes toward the denim horizon. It comes in playful waves, washing over us with a sweet and salty essence. I glance at Achelois sideways, who kicks something that could possibly be a shell or a pebble. Wisps of her hair stick to her face, contrasting against the paleness of it. The golden streaks in her bright deep brown-blond hair shine prominently this time- I'm confused whether her hair is a deep blond or a light brown.

"You look like you didn't regret this," I grinned at her and put my hands in my pocket. The salty air seeps into my shirt through the opened buttons at the top. She nods. "Not at all," she smiles, but she's thinking- and I can say it. She has that pinched eyebrow expression with no colour in her cheeks- and her eyes are focusing on kicking random things out of her way.

"Keep moving forward until all your enemies are destroyed?" I chuckle and she returns it, immediately, her eyes snapping back to mine. She nods. "Yeah, Yeager."

"You're still grim over it, ain't ya?" I ask her warily. She shrugs. "No, it's not like that," she shakes her head and the lock of hair strewn across her nose through her cheek falls to the side. "It's just this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach," she laughs nervously, "It's my gut feeling too, at that," she looks at me, but there's something rare and different about it this time. I feel blue fire burning into my eyes. I'm hypnotised by the electric blue in the edges of her orbs, stealthily sneaking towards the centre, covering up the cloudless hue. It's a powerful stare- Achelois would fare well in the CIA.

"What are you initiating, Isa?" I ask, but I know how uncertain and shaky I sound- I'm surprised by how much power her eyes wield. I make sure I'm not touching my hair- Achelois will know it in a heartbeat. She knows me like the back of her hand- however I'd be unable to say the same about her. Her stare doesn't falter one bit- she's been a deep observer like that. Though not a biology fan, Crimson has human psychology on her fingertips.

"Nothing at all, Wolfe," she says too sweetly for it to not be sarcastic, "Why are you so edgy about me initiating anything at all?"

Slip #1 and I have just two more before Achelois's genius mind gets to work and figures it out- but she's unpredictable like that. There is no telling when she decides to put effort into this stuff- she'll know it immediately, no matter how deep my tactics go. That's how good she is at figuring stuff out.

"It's a gut feeling, there's no knowing who you'll suspect, even your own parents," I chuckle and kick a pebble. Diverting her mind is difficult, I realize- but there's always risks I'm willing to take- especially when they come to this crazy woman. I suddenly look sideways sharply- she's lost in thoughts now, halting a few steps behind me. Her hair falls over her face as she looks downways, hiding her face from me. "Earth to you?"

She's almost taken aback- it's obvious. She almost stumbles, but before I can reach back to help her, she has pulled herself up. It's weird how she never wants any kind of help from anybody. She shakes her head and gives me a faint smile. "It's nothing. I'm just having some problems without my-" she reaches out to touch the middle of the top of her nose and blinks rapidly when she doesn't find her glasses, "-glasses. Yeah."

"Yeah, they'd broken when I, you know," I find it hard to describe how I found her. Strewn across the side of her table, coughing up blood richer and redder than her name entails, broken glasses piercing into the side of her cheek where now stays a small, angry scar on her flawless paleness. Her eyes were hollow and closing down, her other wrist holding the affected one in desperation. Yet I'd never be able to describe that satisfied expression on her face, as if she was elated at predicting that bastard perfectly. "I should buy you new ones," I ran my hand through my hair awkwardly.