You shoulda crowned her
Cause she's a goddess
— Goddess, BANKS
➵
Ari woke up from a dreamless sleep.
It was disorienting, at first. The usual sheen of sweat across her forehead, the smears of blood on her palms from digging her nails into them, and the pounding of her heart against her rib cage was absent. Instead, she woke up slowly, with sunlight streaming through cracks in the blinds from the window across the room, no kinks in her neck or back, a plush pillow tucked beneath her head. She winced as she sat up in the bed.
Bed.
With a startled jolt, she jumped up off it, the blanket falling away from her and pooling at her ankles. The floor was cold on her bare feet. Bewildered, she stared around the room with wide eyes. Its pastel yellow walls and flower print bed sheets were an entirely unfamiliar sight. It looked like a child's room, and this assumption was only further confirmed as she stepped over several scattered toys on the floor and crossed over to the window, lifting up the blinds to look outside.
From what she could see, she was still in Grenwich. There were the familiar rise of skyscrapers in the distance, where Omega's headquarters were located, and the endless expanse of the ocean stretching beyond. She had a slight hunch as to where she might be right now—the buildings nearby indicated that she might be close to the old, abandoned warehouses, though there was no way to be certain.
With a sigh, she looked down to see that she was wearing the same clothes as the night before. Spotting her boots in the corner, dirty and incredibly out of place in the bedroom, she slipped them on.
There was a sharp pain at the side of her neck. She brushed her thumb over it, and suddenly the events of last night came trickling slowly into her thoughts. She remembered Dagger, remembered the slums, remembered blacking out. She must have been shot with a tranquil dart. Cursing herself for being so damn stupid, for letting her guard down in the slums, she rubbed her neck again. The dart was gone, obviously, but there was a slight bump where it should've been. She winced at the sting.
Had she been kidnapped? She had no idea, and somehow that was more disconcerting than anything else. She was used to being in control of whatever situation she was thrust in.
A sudden noise outside the room she was in startled her. She felt for the knife strapped to her leg, smiling in triumph when she realized it was still there. Holding her breath, she turned the doorknob, blinking in surprise when it opened. Making sure it didn't creak, Ari headed towards the source of the noise, knife in hand.
The sounds of clattering filled her ears. She made note of her surroundings as she passed by them. It seemed as though she was in an ordinary house. It clearly belonged to a family; there were multiple framed baby pictures plastered on the walls. It seemed like the last place her kidnappers would inhabit.
Though she had to pause and reconsider this for a moment—if she was really kidnapped, shouldn't she be tied up? At least the room she was in should have been locked.
Maybe it was a tactic to disorient her. Expect the unexpected—it was a motto she had learnt during her time at Omega, a motto she had always lived by.
The noises led her into what looked like any ordinary kitchen. With a start, she saw a man standing at the stove, his back to her. Before he could move, Ari had already slipped behind him and held the knife up to his neck.
"If you don't tell me where I am and what I'm doing here right now, I will not hesitate to—"
"Ow, Ari! What the hell—" the man yelled, clawing at her hand around his throat. His voice was familiar, and with a sudden dawning of realization that morphed into extreme annoyance, Ari let go of him, stifling a groan.
