Retribution

The Progeny

"Vengeance is Mine, and recompense; Their foot shall slip in due time; For the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things to come hasten upon them." – Deuteronomy 32:35 (NKJV)

Johan adjusted his glasses to properly sit on his face, the silver metal frame cold on his white skin. He examined his dirt brown trench coat from top to bottom, 'There must not be a single spot or tear, or else the mission will be unsuccessful' he thought. He applied a clear slimy gel to his hand before he slicked back his jet-black hair. He took a few steps forward in his small, almost empty room to the large mirror that stood next to his door. His eyes then wandered up his body and unto the long scar that ran across his forehead and the pain of that night flooded back in. The bodies, the pandemonium and that woman all filled his mind; his eyes filled with rage at the thought of that woman. She had used him as her plaything and discarded him when he had outlived his usefulness. He hated the smile she seemed to always possess; he hated her ethereal blond hair the anthesis of his own; he hated her reflective grey eyes which he himself bore. He clutched his forehead with his right hand, covering his right eye in the process revealing a tattoo on the back of his hand. It was four arrow-like marks in the shape of a circle, with a small triangle in the centre, all of which as black as his hair.

"I'll kill her even if it costs me my life" he spoke, hatred and anger oozing off every word, his face contorted into a disgusting visage. "I will have my retribution, mother."

  _________________________

'This should be the place' Johan thought as he stared at a large, rectangular building made of entirely grey bricks and a red tile roof. The only thing that made it stand out from the buildings around it, was a large sign above the door that read, 'Coffee House'. Johan entered the building, and his senses were immediately bombarded with the smell of roasted coffee, sugar and milk. There were customers at nearby tables deeply engrossed in their conversations, some were workers from the nearby factories. Some were women casually conversing with friends, as the sipped tea. Yet there was a lone woman sitting at a table near a window, peacefully looking out. She had strawberry blonde hair that extended to the middle of her back; she wore an almond brown Spencer with a floral design and a white dress below it. Johan walked towards the table where the lady sat and mustered a smile.

"Hello," Johan spoke politely. "You must be Mira."

She then turned and began to analyse the giant that stood next to her. She started by taking in the major details like his piercing gaze or slightly muscular frame. She then moved on to the minute details, like the rigid way he stood, monolithic in nature or the perfection of his smile as if it were practiced unfailingly.

"And you must be Johan." she replied with a rich, radiant smile befitting a queen.

"May I have a seat?" Mira simply nodding in response.

Johan slightly lifted his trench coat before sitting down, slightly slouching and looked directly into Mira's sky-blue eyes.

"It's rude to stare monsieur."

"But what if the woman I am staring at is far too beautiful to turn away from?" Mira's face could easily be mistaken for a tomato. Johan noticing this began to stand, and asked, "Shall I buy tea for the both of us?"

"No. No!" she exclaimed practically jumping out of her chair, "I'll do it!"

She turned around and giddily walked towards the counter where the barista was taking orders. Once Mira was waiting in line Johan's smile changed to a frown and he reached into his right pants pocket and removed a small, black book, tattered and dishevelled. 'Disgusting' he thought as he quickly flipped through pages of poor handwriting and black and white pictures before stopping on a specific page. At the top of the page was written, "The Primworth Poisoner" and a black and white picture of Mira, was directly underneath it. 'Strawberry blond hair, sky blue eyes and a Frescian accent, everything matches up.' Johan thought whilst scanning the page. His eyes landed on a specific scribble which supposedly said, 'Approach with extreme caution'. 'Seventeen victims all dead from an extremely rare poison within the span of three months, that would be practically impossible without the use of alchemy. I think I fully understand the scum I'm dealing with.' Johan thought whilst reading, making sure to take in the most minute of details. Once he was finished, he closed the book and reinserted it into his pocket before once again putting on his smile as Mira approached the table with two porcelain teacups.