Learning to be Strong Alone // Jeraphina Fanfiction

PT 2; Prologue: For Now

"At the back of my mind
you sit and wait.
But I cannot find you.
I am no more than
an empty blank slate."
...............

Valarie chuckled as I tilted my head side-to-side in the barbershop chair—watching the reflection of myself in the mirror as it copied me exactly.

In the 6 weeks I've built my memories up, I don't think I've ever seen a mirror—only the faint reflection in the windowpane of my room. I never knew what I looked like as the room contained no mirrors.

I never thought anything of it, really.

I was aware that my hair was black and skin was pale, but I had no clue that my eyes were gold.

They blinked in the mirror as I blinked in real life, my moment of discovery being cut off by the feminine voice I've grown accustomed to.

"Do you like your new hair, Alden?" Valerie asked me, sitting upon the countertop just in front of the mirror, the back of her suit being reflected, "I had it done to be the same colour as mine, you may've noticed."

My head hesitantly nodded—too focused on the reflection of my hair to turn to her direction.

The hairdresser took off the bib-like thing from the back of my shoulders as I stood up—still not taking my eyes off the blond head of hair I now had.

"Yeah, I noticed," I spoke to her, peering at the colour of her hair and back to mine. "We also have the same- . . . similar eye colours," I stated, only now noticing the similarity in colour.

"We do," she said, standing up and walking over to the black duffle bag she had brought with us, zipping it open and leaving me to stand there glaring at the mirror.

I've decided I don't like mirrors.

Mirrors are weird.

Before I could comment on the revelation I just had about my dislike of mirrors, Valerie handed me what looked like a folded suit—clean and brand new.

Holding the suit in my grasp and eyes grazing over the seams in its well-made material, I noticed that it was a similar version to hers.

My brow cocked as I became more and more confused. "Why did you give me this?" I asked her, sceptical of her reasons for giving me a suit so similar to the one she wore.

Valerie neatly laced her arms in front of her chest and smiled at me—looking proud of who I now was. "I want you to join me in my briefing today," she said to me, running a hand through my recently bleached hair.

"Why me?" I asked her, confused as to why she would choose me for anything to do with her job. "Why not somebody more capable?"

Valerie dropped her arm down from my hair and took the tie from on top of the pile, wrapping it around my neck, leaving it to hang there as she stood back.

"You're effortlessly charming, intelligent, and with a seemingly powerful ability," she told me, physically listing them off on her hand as she did so.

Valerie smirked, pinching my cheek with her manicured hand, "Not to mention you're a bit of a looker."

I let out a scoff—still smiling as I did so, her hand falling from my face, "The great qualities of every leader, I'm assuming," I joked.

"Yup," Valerie nodded at me, taking a card from her wallet and wandering over to the cash register to pay for my hair bleaching. "Almost every single one," she stated as she walked away.

The pin she typed in I could hear—beeping noises being made with each click, the man at the counter thanking her before reaching a hand out toward the bathrooms.

"Now," she said, wandering back over to me, "that man has let you stay a couple more minutes in his shop to get dressed into your official uniform," Valerie told me, pointing toward where the man had directed her just before.

Her hand reached down to the suit, tapping it three times with her nail and sitting back down on the counter. "Let's see if it fits."

"This suit- . . . blazer is heavy; how do you wear it all day in the hot sun?" I asked her, tugging at the tie around my neck to straighten it out.

Valerie sighed, "We learn to live with it," she stated to me, leaning slightly closer to fix the tie herself, "And I think it brings a certain professional etiquette, don't you?" She asked.

My shoulders simply shrugged at her question, when she had done, looking at myself in the large mirror and twisting to see how it fit the rest of my body.

"You know," she started, more speaking to herself than anything, "I was actually going to give that suit and job to my nephew," she said as she turned back to me, "but I think you'd be a better fit, for now."

For now?

Our conversation paused before I frowned at her—lips pouting and eyebrows furrowing to rest on the lids of my eyes.

"Hey, Valerie?" I spoke to her, "What position in your job do you have?"

The lady looked back up from the phone that she held in the palm of her hand. "Excuse me?" She replied, not properly hearing what I had said.

"What's the position that you hold in your job?" I repeated my question-face still sitting in a glower. "You seem to have hired me without consulting any sort of higher up."

An understanding smile came to her face, turning her phone off and patting me on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Alden, I have," she stated, eyes wrinkling with her wide beam, "And he says that he looks forward to working with you."

I dipped my head once, sighing and following her out the door to where her driver had parked the car.

He looks forward to working with me?

Why?

................................................................

START OF PART 2. LEZ GO

991 words excluding ^^
Edited: