๑『CorRUPted』๑

【Chapter Three: Old Friends, New Enemies】

【Chapter Three: Old Friends, New Enemies】

“Darcy, you’re going to the party soon, yes?” I was in my room then, changing into a short white cocktail dress for the party with a nice collar that showed some cleavage. I mean, why not show off when I had it? Might as well make the men of Levigation City like me even more, since it seemed it was mostly the women that idolized me. Bernard was the one who looked at me through the screen of my phone, wearing a white suit of his own. And fixing up his tie. He smiled at me that warm smile he always showed me when we saw each other.

“Yup. I’ll be going there in a few minutes. You?” I slipped my feet into a pair of black pumps with large black flowers at the front to cover my pale toes. Like my high heeled boots, these had titanium heels but they were painted black so no one would notice them. From the screen, I could see Bernard snapping on a gold watch. His eyes strayed over to the screen. 

“I might be a while. There’s a meeting going on soon before the party starts, and it’ll stretch a little over an hour, but don’t worry, I’ll be there as fast as I can. There’s no way I’d miss the chance to see you and the others in former wear instead of that black boring clothes you’re usually wearing.” He grinned, and I couldn’t help the smile that lighted up my face in response to it. Sometimes it was so easy to just trust that smile and to not stop trusting him. No wonder he was known as the nicest of The Corrupted. 

“See you there then.”

“Be good while I’m not there,” was the last thing he said before the screen disappeared. I watched the blank wall for a moment longer before a small tear escaped my eyes. Quickly, I swiped it away. Was it wrong of me to cry when my only father figure was the one man who was in charge of everything? The only man in Bellicose who could wear a white suit? A sigh escaped my lips and I finished changing into my attire. 

After that, was makeup - not that I needed it. It was just that, if people saw me on a regular basis looking “striking” without it, then I had to look “marvelous” in the party with it. After all, I was a sort of inspirational figure to many of the women and girls of Levigation City so I had to look good for them. And the men. I had to look good for them men that would never touch me. 

Once done getting ready, I made my way down the stairs and made sure the glass doors throughout my house were all closed and locked in case someone planned to come in. No way was I leaving my weapons and information out in the public to any Mistake willing to steal. Then, finally, I went to my car, programmed the correct coordinates and let myself doze off a little as the car drove itself to the Zen Ballroom. 

* * * * * *

By the time the car had arrived, the party was already full blown, music blasting from the inside and wafting out to my ears from within the metal barriers of the vehicle. That’s how loud it was. Putting on a gentle smile, I stepped out of my car as I was greeted with a group of Corrector starved photographers. They snapped picture after picture of me with each step I took. If anything, they could make a stop motion movie and still have extra shots left. Luckily, only government issued photographers would be inside the actual party, which meant that ninety-nine percent of the ones outside wouldn’t be able to enter and follow me along. How nice.

Avoiding the light flashes as much as could be possible, I made my way to the entrance of the large, dome-shaped building that held the peace party: the Zen Ballroom. The large double-doors were decorated with an abundance of jewels and diamonds that had been shaped to look like actual peace signs. Whoever hired the designer for the event must not have been in their right mind. Not to mention the fact that the guards each wore a large diamond necklace with an equally large diamond peace sign on them. Oh, how I felt bad for them.