Scarlet

30 | Confrontation

"I don't rise from the ashes. I make them."

♢♦♢

Day Fourteen

The sun had bid a farewell to the sky. All the oranges and pinks and yellows had dissipated, to then get replaced by a blue so dark it looked black. Occasional stars would shimmer in the sky, and the moon peeked from behind the clouds. It had gotten to be eerily colder today, as if the universe knew what Scarlet planned on doing.

Following the exchange with Gray, Scarlet had spent the entire day in her bathtub as she waited for night to approach. She had changed out of Red's clothes and worn her own, to then try to drown herself in her own bathroom.

Everyone else in the house was aware of her
return. They were all under the impression that she was here to spend her one-day break. Even 'Father'. He firmly believed that after it's over, she'd return to Davon's house and lure him out to hand him to Richard.

Scarlet hadn't bothered to change out of her drenched outfit. She had grown accustomed to the cold. So much so, that she could walk down the cool and dark hallways of the house without trembling. There was no evidence of any tears on her face, nor was there any emotion. She looked like she had always been; nonchalant. Uncaring. Blank.

A sense of deja vu pricked her when she walked down the poorly lit corridor. One of her hands held a dagger whilst the other trailed along the wall, not because she was incapable of seeing in the dark, but because she wanted to relive her childhood memory. The only difference this time was that she was now darkness's dear friend, and she was on her way to take the life of the demon that became her unfortunate parent.

The second her fingers felt the familiar ridges of his office's door, she stopped her steps completely. Unlike every single time, no amount of anxiety touched her. Not even when she knew she may lose her life too.

But then again, what was the point of living for her? She had finally gotten the will to stay alive after decades, but when she had to obliterate it, what else was there to live for?

Scarlet sucked in a breath to pace herself. She brought a hand up to knock three times on his door, and not more than a second later, she heard his aged yet gravelly words.

"Come in."

She clenched her teeth upon hearing words. Everything came rushing back to her, and her grip on the dagger tightened absentmindedly. But even still, she complied and opened the door. She had to.

Upon entering the room, Scarlet made sure to lock the door behind her. She then saw the faint glow emanating from the lamp that sat on his desk. At first she loathed it, but felt relieved afterwards when she realized she could see his face. She wanted to see the expressions she'd put on his face with her words.

The man was leaning against his chair, with a hand up while it held a lit cigar. Smoke danced around his face, and when he registered that it was Scarlet, an endearing smile formed on his lips. He leaned forward to rest his elbows on the desk before him.

"You're back home to enjoy a break from your 'job', I assume?"

"Yes."

Scarlet didn't know how she responded without letting her anger seeping through. She was far more in touch with her emotions now, and seeing the apparent love on Richard's face sparked up an unconventional rage in her.

She stepped forward to stand a safe distance away from his desk, and she grabbed her other wrist behind her back to remove the dagger from his view.

"Good. But besides that, is that man close enough to you? Do you think you can bring him to me?" He questioned, and she nodded in return. She couldn't verbally respond. Her anger had gotten to be nearly blinding, and she was sure she'd give herself away if she spoke.

"I may feel extra generous tomorrow. Perhaps, I might let you take part in the... activities that I plan on doing with him. I don't know, you can have the honor of sending one of his fingers to his father. Or maybe his entire hand, if you'd like?"

For a moment, she wondered if she should just swing the dagger from behind her and simply pierce it through his ugly heart.

Though tempting, Scarlet knew that was a complete waste. Truly, what was the point of killing him if he didn't know why? He had to know that she planned on destroying everything he had built over the course of his entire life.

"Ah, I'll stop with the questions. What is it that you want to tell me, my dear?"

Richard could notice Scarlet's wet appearance, but he didn't prod further about it. Nonetheless, he wasn't wary or cautious in the slightest. He felt that today was a day like any other, where she had come to his office because of her insomnia.

How very, very wrong he was.

Scarlet knew her upcoming words would change everything as she knew it. He wouldn't remain seated with a cigar in his hand that he took occasional puffs out of. Richard would show much he truly loved his daughter based off of his reaction.

And so, Scarlet uttered the forbidden words.

"The day you assigned this mission to me, was the day you dug a grave for yourself."

All of the endearment crumbled off of Richard's face like sand. Slowly but steadily, his smile fell. The apparent kindness from his eyes dissolved as well, and momentary disbelief captured him. He gaped at Scarlet as her words echoed in his head countless times.

Scarlet now felt a bit lighter. The tiniest of weights was lifted from her chest after her declaration. She tipped her chin up as she watched him struggle to make sense of her words.

After living with her for twenty-seven years with no issues, to then hear her say such a thing- Richard was struck to say the least. He stared at her in complete silence, before he recovered all of a sudden.

"I think I'm losing my hearing." He chuckled with a shake of his head. His brain refused to comprehend what she had said. Richard brought the cigar to his lips for another puff, and after exhaling quite a bit of smoke, he spoke again.

"Could you repeat what you said?"

"I'm here to fuck you up. More than you already are, anyway."

The gravity of Scarlet's threat befell on the old man, and that's when his true nature bubbled to the surface. An ugly snarl twisted his lips, and his eyes surged with a newfound rage. He slammed his hand down on the desk, and his form began to shake with anger.

As for Scarlet, a sinister grin pulled on her lips. Her eyes were filled to the brim with insanity. She let go of her wrist from behind her to let her arms rest by her sides. Her knuckles had turned white with how deathly their grip had gotten to be, and her sharp line of sight was locked onto him.

"I'm here to send you back where you came from."