VAIN | Inside the Universe

Chapter Twenty Two • Red Silk

I rose early, just before the sun could have the pleasure in waking me itself. I didn't roll out of bed or wait for the wake up call in the form of two overly eager chambermaids. I rose with the determination of a soldier rushing into war after a lost battle, wounds patched and almost numb to any feeling but that of the wrath towards their mark.

It's time to regroup.

There's a reason I'm here, despite what the palace has told me in their silence. My body woke more charged than it had since I arrived. Whether it sensed my growing weakness or its drawing on its innate need for some chaotic release, the darkness came roaring back to life at my crux, and I have never been more grateful for its timing.

We have until his next reign to kill him, I've decided. There's no knife, gun, or tesseract that could do it. This game would have to be won in a different way and while he plots and hides behind Asgard, I'll find just what works best.

I stretch away any need to rest, any remnants of sleep quickly dissipating into just another outlying burden before I start rearranging the room. It was simple, bordering on pointless, but it just felt crucial to have the wardrobe near the bathroom and the sitting area near the fire—to have something that I've done myself.

It's only until I rearranged my clothes cleverly enough to ensure that the two maids would only have a choice of three outfits that I started towards the shower. It was more of a sweet, polished quarantine that I gladly stepped into. Any doubt that coated my skin pooled itself into the droplets of water and ran itself down my body into the drain, like the ridding of a lethal virus. The water was cleansing in more ways than one and although I thinned myself of any emotional residue that built on my skin, I felt more myself. Much, much more comfortable.

The solace didn't last long. I could hear my room bustle to life from the large, grey stone shower just before Kahlil burst through the door. I tuned him out while he scolded me for leaving him yesterday. He rambled on and on about how he has to avoid Odin and dodge any of his attempts to find him. When I asked him for a razor, he went quiet for just a few seconds before blowing up again. Apparently, I'm not allowed to have any sharp objects, but after pleading my case and going into great detail about how the hair on my legs will look if I don't get to shave soon, he bites.

For someone who had made it very clear he was not an assistant, errand boy, or babysitter, he's been great at all three.

From then, the morning was rather peaceful. My mind was sure, certain, and assured and perhaps it was just that that made the sky look more crisp and clear. Laini and Kari left my breakfast on the side table and found themselves comfortable enough to linger around a bit longer afterwards. Something about how they could act so leisurely in my presence irritated me beyond belief, which made no sense since I was the one who insisted they be more casual. Nevertheless, I couldn't find a reason to think about it any longer and their voices played on my patience as if they were plucking at my every nerve themselves.

I don't know if I could have been any subtler, but they seemed to take a hint when I let my towel fall to the ground and I walked bare over to the closet without even the slightest acknowledgment that they were there. They made their way out as I finished tying the strings of my robe.

I poured two cups of tea and handed Kahlil one of them as he finally came out of the bathroom, undoubtable spending his time trying to find a place to hide the razor. We set out into the gardens, nodding pleasantly to each person we passed by who, at this point, could not care any less about what I'm wearing. Whether they chose to ignore it or had come to expect it was of little concern to me. The fight with Kahlil about it was anything but. After only one debate point, he had come to agree that a robe down to my ankles might as well constitute to me as the Virgin Mary herself.