Bloodbath of the Fallen Crown

34

There are nights in my life that are still plagued with nightmares. Sometimes I wake up sweating and crying, sometimes I'll scream myself awake. And rarely, my mind torments me to the point I have to follow through to the end. The mornings after those types of nightmares tend to not lead to much. I usually just stay in my bed for the whole day and not do anything about my life, unless really have to. Lately, though, nightmares have given me a break, and stayed on the low scale in terms of appearance and terror.

Usually, I am able to differentiate between make believe and reality. I have had to, in order to not let the fears consume me. The monster in my dreams in nothing more than a mortal man in real life. I had proved that by killing him. At times he was blonde, at times a raven, sometimes a brunette. It varied by the concept of the dream. Rarely do I ever find myself in the situation where I don't know what is real and what is fantasy. Like right now.

I had been pinching myself for the past hour, or hours or days-- who the fuck knew? Point was, it had been quite some time. I was staring at the painting that hung on the wall across the room. A bunch of naked people surrounded by snakes. I had no idea what it meant or what she intended with it, but I didn't care. I just knew she wanted me to see it. It was framed, big and centered in the wall. Katerina meant something by it, but I didn't know jack shit about art and was sick of her games.

SOME TIME AGO

"I know you said you wanted to talk and I know I agreed to it," Katerina stood in front of the door, looking at me as she spoke. She was wearing the same trench coat and boots, so it was possibly the same day. She looked calm, relaxed even. "It's all I've been going for since my first attack towards Veronica."

I felt my eyes narrow. "You mean since you attacked my parents and Giovanni. I know that was you."

Her calm expression changed slightly, showing a little confusion. Her head tilted half a centimetre and her eyebrows furrowed marginally. Her eyes fell out of focus as she blinked a few times, before gaining some composure. "Oh, yeah... yeah, yeah that was me." Her face eased back into a relaxed expression, a smile playing on her lips. "Kind of hard to keep up with everything I involve myself in nowadays. How's your mother doing, by the way? Was the baby born alright?"

I raised my head, feeling disdain. "I'm not going to speak about my mother or brother to you, Katerina. You've been bluffing and stalling and I'm growing tired of it. I came here to do business with you, not hang out. If you don't have the means or the capacity to be at my level and the level of my organization, then say so now. I have no interest in wasting my time on people who aren't worth it and don't value it."

She hung her head and took a step forward. "You're right. I have been stalling. Not too professional of me, I must admit. But just as you cannot waste your time on someone incapable, I can't risk mine on someone untrustworthy."

I scoffed, feeling amused by her way of turning it back on me. I would never show it, or openly admit it, but Katerina and I were truly on the same level. As deadly and powerful as the other. But in this world, only one number one can exist. There is no room for two at the top. "I allowed you to drug me and bring me here. If you expect me to kneel to you, I'll let you know it'll never happen."

She smiled in a way I'd dare to say was admiration. "I'd never ask you to kneel to me, or anyone for the matter. What I need to know is that you'll be able to make them kneel to you."

"They already do," I answered back. "You might think something changed by trying to turn my allies against me, but what you don't count on is their fear of me. Many of them dislike me for the way I am, for my gender, or for the way I came into the business. I am not ignorant to that. Still, they are able to rebel from afar, but the moment I show myself at their doorstep, they'll fall on their knees and lick my boots. Without a word, I can have them begging for mercy."