THIRST ➴ Illumi x Reader

EIGHT ♔ 𝒐𝒉

I followed Illumi and his father in silence. I knew I was ill prepared for a hunt, and I feared the worst. Not only that, but I only had with me a small knife, hidden in the folds of my dress. Would they provide other garments, or would I have to do with the impractical but classy high heels I had chosen for myself? Everything seemed like a bad idea, even this ongoing wedding, it felt too rush, detached and dangerous. We are taught to fear the unknown for a reason, as there is nothing more crushing than the despair of not knowing how to face it... I digressed, my mind seemed to have abandoned all the cunning survival skills I had. Did I even have any? Wasn't I playing a rigged game, preying on weak victims and considering myself larger a fish than what I actually was? I pushed all those thoughts away and decided to focus on my surroundings. 

Wide stone corridors seemed to go on endlessly, I couldn't keep track of its twists and turns. It did seem odd, however, that we kept turning right and the halls, mats and trinkets changed, even though we had seemingly completed a full circle. I couldn't help thinking we were moving downwards, the air felt stiffer, with a hint of humidity and dust that is not unlike the smell of underground tunnels. 

I shuddered as a drop of sweat, cold as ice, trickled down my side without mercy. The gravity of the situation settled in, I found myself out of my comfort zone, an understatement, I was so far from it that I didn't even know right from wrong. There was no one to look for guidance, no common sense or societal norm would help, no rule book was provided, and I felt like the prey, the weakest link. If there is no confidence in my actions, they'll know how much of a hoax I am... I had lived by that rule, I had thrived in my confidence, real or fake, but I couldn't muster any. Not in the face of deviants far beyond my wildest boundaries. 

Illumi seemed unbothered, and I couldn't help the fury that overtook me when I looked at him, two steps ahead, literally and metaphorically. I knew I would have to play alone, as I always had, but it would've been nice to have a partner in crime... I blinked, flabbergasted. How far had I fallen to have started with the sentimentalism? My future husband was not, and would never be, on my side. 

Unable to externalize my distress in any way, I focused on keeping my walking pace. My lips curled pleasantly whenever their eyes fell on me, and I tried my best to maintain the appearance of nonchalance.  My heart panged in my chest, my insides seemed to be sinking into quicksand, slowly feeling the pressure of what was to be, unable to escape. 

Why had I done this to myself? What could I possibly hope to achieve after reaching the wealth I had so long desired for? Would I never be satisfied? Was this my fatal mistake? I had flown too close to the sun, and it was now my turn to fall. While this situation was partly my fault, I hadn't reached it alone. I was on a tight spot, even if I hadn't realized it, and I was fooled by the appearance of such a convenient solution to some of my problems. 

Marrying this eerie beautiful assassin was a rash and dumb decision... quite sadly, my life was on the line, and now there was no way to backtrack on it. The game had been started, my word had been given, and my life was on the line. How high were the stakes! It was useless to allow myself to wallow on my situation, it simply was what it was, and as there was no avoidance possible, the next best thing would be to find about all the benefits I could get out of this. 

As if searching for the perks of my situation, my eyes scanned the corridor, none of the peculiarities and oddities displayed along the corridors caught my attention, not in the deep state of alertness that I was in. My dry eyes caught every shadow, every step, every glint of their clothes, every rise of my chest, every of my sonorous steps and the absence of theirs.

We reached a large metallic door, ribbed by thick slabs of a darker metal. It was much like the ones that locked large safes in banks, except the material looked... rich, deeper, stronger.  The silence was so tense that my ears were ringing, trying to fill the void that was only cut by my breathing, which felt a tad too quick for the relaxation I was trying so hard to exude.