Chapter 18 - A Perfect Plan
"I disposed of the water before leaving. You put the water in that bucket," Idalia snapped at Ann on the second night of her allowance back in the mansion. She couldn't believe that she was fighting over a bucket of water but that bucket had brought so many consequences to her, that it certainly felt more than that now.
It even carried more weight now that she knew how politics worked here.
Ann had successfully avoided her all of yesterday, and this morning. But the more she avoided her, the more rage boiled in Idalia. Now, she was beyond annoyed.
"What?" Tears were already in her eyes. "Why would I—"
"Cut the act. No one is here."
Ann looked around the room, it was only them, Rosabel had left at the first light. Her gaze lingered on Arik for a moment before she laughed. "Of course. I shouldn't be doing all that performance for a baby. Neither should I do it for you."
Those words felt like cold water over her skin.
"Because," Ann took a step forward, the water clearing from her eyes. "You are not important, Julie. I thought you were. But all those things about you being scentless at the auction were certainly not true. If it were, one of these vampires would have noticed."
Idalia blinked. What? It was stupid of her not have thought that the words at the auction would be remembered by some of the people who were rescued. Not everyone had been unconscious. She had not thought of the consequences of that, but the Silver Hunter definitely did.
"And, there were rumours, you know. Many said you were special. That the Grand General had personally given you your baby. That he had attended the Selection because of you. Dots have been connecting and I needed to know if you were someone I had to associate with. But I couldn't risk myself."
Ann's hand inched forward, till she swept some of Idalia's locs off her shoulder, pushing them behind her. "But you were punished, a lot. And fuck, the Grand General did not come. I heard he came around two days ago, still nothing has happened to Ms Gwendolyn or even Madam Fion."
A soft chuckle slipped past Ann's lips.
"You are not special. You are not useful to me."
"Useful for what?" Idalia was angry but she wouldn't let her rage get the best of her. Since Ann couldn't shut her mouth and carry out her evil plan in silence, she might as well make the best use of her stupidity.
She wanted to be heard.
What a desperate sight.
She would lend her own ears to her then, and ensure an incident like that bucket issue would never happen again.
"To help me get out of this fucking place, of course." She pushed her fingers into her hair, frustrated. The blonde colour, a sight against her fair skin. "All I have ever wanted in my life was to find a way to get out of the fucking place I always find myself fucking stuck in! Getting out of the slums of Cedar to the slums of Centra-city, from one slum to the fucking next! It must be different here in Echelon. And you," she pointed at Idalia, "let this end here."
"If I had been special," she arched an eyebrow. "Do you think I will suddenly forget the bucket issue and just help you accelerate up the ranks?"
"Oh, you would. I can get pretty convincing when I want to. You should ask Kinet and the many people I have fucked over. They always take me back until they are nothing else to do anything." For emphasis, she added something else, a twinkle in her eyes. "Kinet's head can testify."
The image of the Kinet's head flashed in Idalia's mind and she clenched her fists at either side of her.
"So you've fucked over so many people," the curse tastes bitter on her tongue.
Humans and their strange foul words.
"And you are still at the bottom no matter what. Don't want to be the one calling out the obvious, but, Ann honey," Idalia poured as much sour sweetness as she could into her voice, as she placed her hands gently on Ann's shoulders, "I don't think you are destined for anything great."
Ann yanked herself away from her. "Fuck you. Just fucking stay out of my way. Or I will crush you. Besides, you have a baby." A sinister look crept into her eyes. "Imagine what will happen to him if you don't stay in li—-"
Her words were cut short as Idalia grabbed her hair, turned her against the wall and pressed her to it aggressively. "You do not ever, Ever, threaten my son! Do you understand?"
Ann nodded jerkily. "I understand. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
It was only then that Idalia let go. Ann left the room hurriedly, but as Idalia watched her slam the door behind her, she couldn't help but feel that Ann was still going to play at something else.
——
——
It had been two weeks after Idalia had found Alpha Kalio's message on the wall. Two weeks since Grandpa Alfred's death.
At this point, Idalia was convinced that the term "forgotten" that Madam Fion had used at the orientation referred to all of them and not just the humans. How it would apply to her without them knowing that she was a werewolf, she couldn't figure it out. Or maybe it was just the fact that Alpha Kalio or his searchers couldn't make it into Echelon because of the presence of the Silver Hunter and the Military Midline Boundary.
But most especially the Silver Hunter.
It had been a full week since Idalia didn't have to look around in fear of being caught by Alpha Kalio's searchers and many good days since she didn't have to bother ever running into the Silver Hunter. Ever since she had seen him leave, he hadn't returned. Even more was the fact that the test result hadn't been given to her. She didn't know much about technology but she knew that if he had known what she was through the test, then the Silver Hunter would have killed her already.
But nothing had happened.
So she had peace.
This peace had given her time to think and make vital decisions.
First, whatever was in the mansion was none of her business. Secondly, to be forgotten by Alpha Kalio gave her more peace than she felt she deserved. Thirdly, if being forgotten would help her stay hidden here in Echelon till it was time for the prophecy, then it was perfect.
The most important one though was the problem that faced her squarely.
The Silver Hunter.
He wouldn't stay in the dark forever. She could just feel it. She had to find a way to kill him before then, also, she had to find a way to rescue her kind. The corpses had never been found after all, maybe he was hiding them somewhere, using them for something.
Two things: Get rid of the Silver Hunter, rescue her kind. Simple enough.
What could go wrong?