Headache || Wriothesley

15

The three days passed quickly. Too quickly.

Y/n sat in the darkness, her legs crossed, waiting patiently. She had followed Darius' instructions and was now sitting in the Pankration Ring, waiting for him to meet her. She wondered if she should have brought popcorn.

"Y/n," a familiar voice said, breaking the silence.

"Darius," Y/n sighed as relief flooded through her. "You're late. I almost fell asleep."

"How are you?" Darius asked, sitting down across from her.

"I'm good," Y/n lied. "Just been sitting here, contemplating the meaning of life."

"Really? Because I heard about-"

Y/n brought a finger to his lips, like Wriothesley had taught her, stopping him mid-sentence. "We can't talk about that here."

"Okay, okay," Darius said, his eyes darting around the dark room. "I have some bad news."

"What is it?" Y/n asked, her heart pounding in her chest.

"They know about the meeting," Darius whispered.

"Who knows?"

"The guards," Darius said, his expression serious. "It's been cancelled."

"Cancelled?" Y/n echoed, feigning surprise. "That's... unfortunate." She added with a dramatic sigh, "And here I was looking forward to another thrilling discussion about the annual budget."

Darius ignored her last comment. "I guess we'll have to reschedule," he said, his voice filled with regret.

Y/n nodded, standing up and brushing off invisible dust from her clothes. "Well, I suppose I'll head back to my room then. It was nice catching up, Darius."

Darius watched her as she walked away, a puzzled expression on his face. "Wait, Y/n," he called out, but she was already gone.

Back in her room, Y/n couldn't help but smile. She knew Darius was lying about the meeting being cancelled. But she also knew that he was trying to protect her. And for that, she was grateful.

But now, it was time for her to do some investigating of her own. She had a feeling that things were about to get interesting.

Y/n sighed, looking at the secret passage in her bathroom. She knew what was coming next wasn't going to be pleasant.

"Alright," she said to herself. "Let's do this."

She stepped into the tunnel, immediately regretting her decision as she felt the slime squelch under her shoes. "Ew," she muttered, making a face. "Not again."

"Note to self: invest in waterproof boots and nose plugs." She paused for a moment before adding with a grimace, "And maybe a lifetime supply of hand sanitizer."

As she ventured further into the tunnel, she had to duck under a group of fried electric cables that hung low from the ceiling. "Who designed this place?" she grumbled, narrowly avoiding a particularly menacing-looking cable.

Taking a deep breath, Y/n decided to take the plunge. She closed her eyes and started running, her heart pounding in her chest. The sound of her footsteps echoed through the tunnel, drowning out the hum of the electric cables.

She ran until she could no longer feel the slime under her feet, until the air around her felt less damp and more... metallic? She opened her eyes and found herself in a massive room filled with pipes.

Bingo.

She made her way to the big pipe, and clutched onto the ladder. It was cold and hard under her hands, but she kept going, pulling herself up with sheer determination. After what felt like an eternity, she finally reached the top.