Seraph

Texas 1935

The strange woman didn't even acknowledge Juana and kept her eyes on Serafina. It wasn't a kind look. Even the council members felt uncomfortable. Serafina didn't like the feeling this woman gave her. She was very suspicious of her actual reason for being there. She raised her brow at the strangers questioningly.

Juana cleared her throat to gain the stranger's attention, "Miss Goode, is that correct?"

"You're correct. That's what I said. But I'm sure you know by now that it was all just a pretense to lure your monster out. The bigger the project, the more likely the monster would have to hear the terms. We'll free you all from her corruption. She will no longer impose her rule on your town." Miss Goode and the two men immediately stood and threw little pouches at Serafina.

Serafina stood and easily caught them. Upon her inspection, she noticed they were sachets with a strong scent she hadn't smelled before. It seemed to be a combination of different herbs. She couldn't help herself and took a sniff to try and figure out what it was. That was when she realized her mistake. She felt different. She began having a coughing fit and felt dizzy. She wasn't sure what was happening and swayed on her feet. Stopping herself from falling by gripping the arm of her seat, she dropped the sachets to the ground. But she still couldn't control her coughing.

"Hurry and finish her! It won't last long!" Ms. Goode ordered the two men, who immediately went into action and headed toward Serafina while pulling hatchets from under their suit jackets.

"Stop! What do you think you're doing?" Juana shrieked, "guards! Police! Help!" she and the other council members immediately stood and tried to block them with their bodies to protect Serafina. Juana ran back to Serafina to help her escape the threat in the room.

"What are you doing? The herbs' effects won't last long! We must destroy her now while she's weakened! This is the only way we can get rid of her!" Miss Goode argued.

Juana ignored her and helped Serafina exit from her separate entrance, "Doña, are you alright? I'm sorry. I didn't know she wanted to hurt you. I promise. We would never allow someone like that into town." She stated while gently holding her arms and walking her to a safe spot towards the back of the building. She sat La Doña down in a chair and carefully moved her veil from her face, "Doña, can you hear me?". She was going back to holding her hands while she waited for a response.

Serafina gritted her teeth, her flames had burned the foreign substance from her system fairly quickly, but she didn't want the people to see her eyes. They had seen them glow in the past, but they believed it was a sign of her anger. She wasn't upset with the council. She knew it wasn't their fault. She didn't want them to fear her, thinking she would harm them for this incident. She waited, then once she knew her eyes were fine, she opened her eyes. She looked Juana in the eyes and smiled, "it's alright. I'm alright." Although the people knew of her red eyes, they were still startled at the sight, so Serafina used one hand to put her veil back down and patted Juana's hands to signal her not to worry. She then stood and started making her way back.

"Wait, what if she tries to hurt you again?" Juana tried to stop Serafina.

"The police subdued them," she smiled to Juana as she kept walking.

Juana looked at her, confused, unsure how she knew. But soon, an officer came over and announced the same. That all three had been subdued. They walked back into the meeting room, and the council was glaring at the trio. They had been cuffed with their hands behind their backs to the chairs they were currently sitting in and dragged away from the table. The police removed any possible weapons from the men and placed them on the table away from the trio. But the male officers stepped back, unsure what to do about the woman. None felt comfortable frisking her, especially in front of La Doña. They looked at each other, confused about how to proceed.