• 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 | 𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘢

𝟓. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴'𝘀 𝗺𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹

note: hi everyone !! I just wanted to say a quick thank you for all the love you guys are giving this story, I appreciate it beyond words ♡ Also, the cover image has been changed, bc I feel like Louis Icart's paintings kinda embody the whole aesthetic I'm going for in this story...and I absolutely love that piece too（='∇｀=）

anyways, back to the story, as tensions rise between you and Yelena...

༻❁༺

Her face was close to yours, so much so you could almost feel her breath on your stiff, unmoving form. It was no longer caused by fright: your head was spinning with thoughts, trying desperately not to launch your hand towards the woman in front of you.

Luckily, Yelena was quick to straighten up her back, swiftly returning to her previous stand. The two of you had nothing else to say to each other, and the conversation was concluded when she turned on her heels and walked out from the room.

Her eyes lingered on you for longer than you had wanted, before she turned her back to you and left you in peace.

That evening, once you returned to the comfort of your bed, there were series of contemplations from your behalf that left you turning in the white sheets for hours on end. The anger hadn't died down, even hours after meeting the blonde woman, and all you wanted to do was forget it had even happened. And yet there you were, unable to fade into a deep sleep.

This took a toll on you, the appearance of slight bags under your eyes as a result of your restless night. You were all set to take a group jog around the building, as the multiple staircases worked well for maintaining your stamina. Mrs. Henzler was quite fond of trainings like that, however, you had been anything but prepared for it that day.

"Hey, Y/N, you okay?"

A small voice spoke from beside you, and you were only able to give a slight nod as a response. In all honestly, you felt as if you were going to collapse in any moment, your eyes struggling to keep open as your legs forced you to keep on moving forward.

Luckily, there were roughly two hours between training and lunch, so you were quick to hit the sheets and try to recover some of the sleep you had lost. What was going on with you?

"I must say, I'm impressed you weren't caught by anyone"

Gathered around the same table as the day before, you were all having lunch together and, of course, Yosefine's night away from the bedrooms was the main topic. She had managed to get back just in time for training, but it was a miracle she hadn't been spotted by any of the early morning guards.

"I was pretty lucky. I suppose it came with the...splendid night I spent out"

You tried your best to give a smile whenever they broke out into laughter, but it was obvious that you weren't entirely up to the weather. The girls asked you if you were okay once again, and you reassured them that it had just been a rough night, nothing else.

To your dismay, however, you were halted in the middle of the hallway as you were returning to try and get some more rest by none other than Mrs. Henzler, who immediately noticed your withered state.

"I know this may come off as rather insensitive of me, seeing your current state, but I've been called to another meeting with Mr. Yeager this evening. I'm able to attend, but I'm afraid I must ask you and the other consultees to also come along. We will be informed of the next steps we will be taking in trainings"

Fantastic. Put simply, being a consultee, like yourself, meant that you watched over a certain group of women, taking note of their progress and work which would be checked in at the end of every week, back at the tavern. You had been assigned the group that included Viktoria, alongside another 4 women, and there were 3 others like yourself who had their own group to watch over.