Welcome to the Theatre of Domination | Kalpas ff

XXVI

"OOF!" I rolled over something fuzzy and stopped painfully hard on my back. My vision was blurry, so I could barely make out whatever I was laying on.
I sat up and glanced around. Only to find a puppet's legs standing before me.

"Poor little girl. Are you lost?" A sudden voice said.

I rubbed my eyes, making sure my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. There was still puppet legs. Again, I rubbed my eyes.I Only to find the same puppet from the judge panel, standing before me with her blonde head creepily tilted. Lips pulled into an unsettling smile, a smile that would send anyone running for their lives.

"AAAAH!" I backed up away from her in fear.

"What?" Her disturbing smile was replaced with a frown much to my relief. "Am I too ugly? Is that why you're scared?"

"Well... you are one ugly puppet... but that's not the point! You're Isabella! The puppet pulling the strings behind all of this, trying to sabotage my relationship with Kalpas!"

"Tsk. And I thought you wouldn't spot a minimal difference. You're a smart doll, why not become our executive?" Isabella pointed to her head.

I stood up and crossed my arms as I glared fiercely at her, "I know what you're trying to do, and I'm not falling for it."

"Are you sure? Kalpas doesn't seem to like you anymore. Did he say any comforting words to you? Why did he not apologize to you? Why has he not answered your texts?"

My shoulders slumped. Does she have to rub it in my face? Isabella was making me feel very uncomfortable. Mainly because she was invading my privacy and those are my problems. "Well, he's probably still reflecting...?" I questioned, uncertain.

"No, it's because he doesn't share the same feelings you have for him. Kalpas doesn't love you, Y/N. He loathes you."

No he doesn't! I began to bite my nails. "That's not true! Where did you get that? Where is the proof? Hm?"

Isabella began ticking off her plastic fingers, "First, he almost threw you in jail-"

"He only wanted to get me a HOMU plushie," I interrupted.

"But he humiliated you in the process, didn't he?"

"No he didn't," although it was humiliating, I wouldn't blame it on Kalpas. He merely didn't know how to play claw machines.

"Second, he made you poorly burnt pancakes..."

Is she attempting to demoralize me? Because it's not working. "Actually, the pancakes tasted good. Probably better than anything you've created."

Isabella clenched her fists, breathed in, and yelled angrily, "Would you stop interrupting me?! It's annoying! This is not how theatre works!" She furiously scowled at me.

"Would you stop demoralizing me? It's not working at all!"

"Then why are you trying to justify what Kalpas had done to you?"

"Because... cause..." I tried to gather my thoughts, but nothing came out of my mouth. I glumly sighed.

"Because you love him. You want him to requite those tender feelings, even if it's just a teeny tiny bit. But, he explicitly doesn't return those feelings," Isabella finished, smirking at my head drooping down to the floor. "See? This world is a cruel place. This is reality. We are not needed by it. Our existence together is a mistake. The word doesn't love you."

"That's not true," I protested, my eyes drooping as I sat down on the floor in evident defeat.

"What makes it not true? I think I've given you enough proof. And I have one more question for you."

...

Isabella waited for a response, but the empty silence irritated her and she continued on anyway, scowling.

"Do you know how your father died?"

My eyes widened in shock. "Why are you asking that? How do you know about my father? Where are you getting all this information from?" I asked.

"Why would I give up information so easily?" she smiled. "Anyway, do you know how he died?"

-Flashback-

"Mother/(M/N), what was the cause of father's death?" I questioned.

"Dear, I can't say. I received a letter from a company your father works for informing me that he passed away. They did not state the cause of his death," m/n said.

"So, you're unsure?"

"Mm."

Liar. There's something in that letter about father.

-End of flashback-

"No. I don't know the cause of his death. My mother kept it as a secret from me. And I never found the letter," I replied. My heart was racing. What was she going to tell me next?

"Ohh, really?  I thought you already knew."

Thump! Thump! Thump! "I do!?"

"Isn't it obvious?" I watched Isabella move to my side and whispered in my ear, so quietly I almost couldn't hear. I closed my eyes and listened:

"Your father died during a surgery for The Fire Moths."