Rain drizzled from the starlit sky. Emily pulled her hood over her head. The air smelled of wine, nature, hormones, and baked bread. Decorative masks clung to citizens' faces. A harpsichord plucked in D minor from a gazebo, nestled between a noble manor and vineyards.
"So, where are these associates of yours, Arthur? I want to leave as soon as possible," Emily asked, as she followed.
"Oh, don't be like that, Emily. Make merry, drink a little... have some fun. We only have about a week before things get messy," Arthur said as he grabbed a glass of champagne.
"And we are going to a party instead of preparing?"
"I have to agree with Arthur on this. Live life like it's your last," Rachel insisted, grabbing a glass herself. A smile stretched across her face when she noticed a table with cheesecake. "Oh, my PRIME... they have my favorite food!"
"Bleh."
"How could you not like cheesecake? Cheesecake and wine are Leonore's specialties," Arthur asked while he cut himself a slice.
"Are you really going to eat that whole cheesecake?"
"You judging me?" Rachel replied.
"Absolutely not. In fact, I wish Emily had the same enthusiasm you do for Leonore cuisine."
"Maybe if I wasn't living on the street, surviving off bread... I would like it more," Emily replied. "Got plenty of food to feed the rich but not a speck to feed the poor."
"There will always be-haves and have-nots," Arthur replied. "Some people rise; some people do not."
Emily rolled her eyes. "Please, as if everyone starts on equal footing," she said, then grabbed a glass of champagne. She swirled it with a sour expression, then chugged it.
"Well?" Rachel asked.
Emily shrugged. "It's alright... kinda sour."
"Like you?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Rachel shrugged.
"Whatever...it's good. Happy?"
"Arthur, go on ahead... we will meet up with you and your associates once I get Emily... less sour," Rachel said, then grabbed Emily's hand.
"Please take your time... we've got all night. Enjoy yourselves... might not have another opportunity after all," Arthur replied, then walked to the manor.
"Where are we going?" Emily asked.
"We are going to find where they hide the good stuff," Rachel replied, dragging Emily towards the manor. "You've never been drunk, have you?"
"Can't say that I have."
"Good... then let's get you drunk."
Emily glanced up at the golden chandelier hanging overhead as Rachel pulled her along. The lights flickered like a faulty lightbulb. Acrylic paintings shifted in color scheme when Emily walked by. Classical music echoed in her ears. Nobles danced on the marble ballroom floor. Butlers handed drinks to the chosen and the elite.
"Surprised to see you here, kid," Elijah said, leaning on a wall.
"I could say the same thing to you," Emily replied.
"I am here to check out the competition," Elijah explained, then lit a cigarette.
Rachel gestured towards Shiyu, who was speaking with Sarah.
"Oh, if it isn't the musical prodigy herself," Sarah said. "Are you performing later tonight?"
"Absolutely not," Emily replied.
"Why not... we could do a duet? We would be the talk of the party."
"I would find that absolutely terrifying."
"What she means is that she needs a little something to take the edge off first," Rachel interjected as she nudged Emily. "Let's find this wine cellar."
She swung her arms around Emily's neck.
Emily's face flushed. Her heart raced as she smelled Rachel's floral perfume.
"You two do that... think I am going to get some fresh air before this storm hits," Elijah said, noticing the chandelier's flickering lights.
"Hey, what gives?" Emily asked when Rachel escorted her away.
"Time to raid the wine cellar," Rachel replied. She pulled Emily down the hallway toward the basement.
Wooden floorboards creaked under their shoes as they descended a flight of stairs. Caskets of wine lined the brick walls. Everything smelled of wood, fermented grapes, and rain. Shadows crawled on the walls. Thunder echoed outside. The ceiling lights struggled to stay on.
̶R̶a̶c̶h̶e̶l̶'̶s̶ ̶s̶h̶a̶d̶o̶w̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶s̶y̶n̶c̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶b̶o̶d̶y̶.̶
"Perfect," Rachel said, stopping at a wooden liquor cabinet nestled between caskets of wine. She examined the vintages. "They always keep the good stuff in the cellar.'
"˙ʇı̣ɥs˙˙˙˙ʇı̣ɥs˙˙˙˙ʇı̣ɥS"
"Do you drink often?" Emily asked.
Rachel picked up a bottle of wine.
"I guess you could say that. The empire loves its vodka, but my family also imports wine from Leonore. They never drink it, though. It's just to show off to guests."
She uncorked the bottle and then started drinking from it.
"I used to sneak into my parents' cellar all the time for a glass of vodka on rough days, but they kept the imported stuff locked up tight."
Rachel handed the bottle to Emily.
"Just like how Leonore makes it impossible for people like me," Emily replied as she took a sip.
Rachel sat down, back against the wall. "Unfortunate that your life has been challenging so far."
"Not getting any easier either."
Emily handed the bottle back to Rachel.
"You would have thrived in the empire," Rachel said, then handed the bottle back to Emily.
"I doubt it," Emily replied as she took a big swig. "Still would have been an orphan."
"The empire doesn't care about that; it only cares about talent and power. Those who are strong rule over the weak; those who are talented earn their place."
"But who gets to decide who is talented and who is weak?"
"Competition, of course. The empire doesn't gatekeep. If you got what it takes, prove it through competition," Rachel explained as she finished the bottle and grabbed another.
"Sounds like a big game of whose stick is bigger."
"I dream of a world where everyone can prove their mettle fairly, and when I am PRIME... I will make it so."
Emily smiled, but didn't reply as Rachel handed the bottle back to her. Every muscle in her body relaxed as she glanced down at the bottle and chugged the rest of it. Shadows danced on the wall; her vision started to blur.
"What's your dream, Emily? What would you do as PRIME?" Rachel asked, watching Emily grab another bottle.
Emily shrugged. "Never thought about it...you would make a better PRIME than me. At least you have a dream... I just want to survive," she replied.
Her notebook dropped out of her hoodie pocket.
"Oh, let me see!" Rachel said as she reached for the notebook.
"Nope, my eyes only," Emily replied, snatching it from the ground.
"Now I am even more intrigued. ̶W̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶s̶e̶c̶r̶e̶t̶s̶ ̶d̶o̶e̶s̶ ̶E̶m̶i̶l̶y̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶L̶e̶o̶n̶o̶r̶e̶ ̶k̶e̶e̶p̶ ̶h̶i̶d̶d̶e̶n̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶p̶a̶g̶e̶s̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶d̶i̶a̶r̶y̶?̶"̶
"˙ƃuı̣ɥʇou puɐ ƃuı̣ɥʇʎɹǝʌƎ"
"It's mostly lyrics," Emily replied.
"So sing me something... don't act like you don't have chops. I know you do."
Emily sighed, then looked up at the ceiling, fixating on the flickering light overhead. "I don't think my lyrics are... happy stuff... would kill the mood."
"And what mood is that?" Rachel asked, grabbing the notebook from Emily's hand. "Let's see what we have here."
"Ay... give that back!"
"I've got sunrise colored dreams in my eyelids. Sewn with threads from a bright star's dress. You paint our future in hope and kisses, but the static hum's what I suppress," Rachel read before Emily snatched her diary back.
"This is good stuff."
"Wait, what?" Emily replied.
"Yeah, I like it."
"No, I mean the lyrics," Emily replied, looking at what was written on the page.
"₩Ɇ'ⱤɆ ₣Ⱡł₵₭ɆⱤł₦₲ ₣Ⱡ₳₥Ɇ₴ Ø₦ ₳ ₵ⱤɎ₴₮₳Ⱡ ₮V ₴₵ⱤɆɆ₦."
"Đ₳₦₵ł₦₲ ł₦ Ⱡł₲Ⱨ₮ ₮Ⱨ₳₮'₴ ₥ɄⱠ฿ɆⱤⱤɎ ⱤɆĐ"
"ł ₣ⱤɆɆⱫɆ ₮ł₥Ɇ."
"₳₦Đ ł'VɆ ₦ɆVɆⱤ ₴ɆɆ₦."
"ł'VɆ ₦ɆVɆⱤ ₴ɆɆ₦."
"ⱧØ₩ ₮Ⱨł₴ Ɇ₦Đ₴."
"ⱧØ₩ ₮Ⱨł₴ Ɇ₦Đ₴."
"You alright?" Rachel asked.
Emily's eyes dilated as she turned the page. "I... I don't remember writing these lyrics down."
"That's because you're drunk, Emily."
"No... I didn't write these lyrics."
"₴ⱧɆ'₴ ₵Ⱡ₳₩ł₦₲ ₳₮ ₥Ɏ Ɽł฿₴ ,ⱠɆ₮ ₥Ɇ ØɄ₮!"
"₴ⱧɆ'₴ ₴₵ⱤɆ₳₥ł₦₲ ₮ⱧⱤØɄ₲Ⱨ ₥Ɏ ₴₭ł₦, ⱠɆ₮ ₥Ɇ ØɄ₮!"
"₮Ⱨł₴ ₥₳₴₭ JɄ₴₮ ₲₳VɆ ₱ɆⱤ₥ł₴₴łØ₦."
"₣ØⱤ ₩Ⱨ₳₮ ₳Ⱡ₩₳Ɏ₴ ⱠłVɆĐ ₩ł₮Ⱨł₦."
Emily threw her notebook. "I didn't fucking write these lyrics," she said as her hands quivered. She looked up as the lights hummed like a brood of cicadas.
Rachel put the bottle down, then looked up at the lights flickering. She then walked over to the notebook, wiping off the wine that had splashed on the cover. She opened the notebook as Emily curled up on the wall. "There are no lyrics, Emily... you're drunk," Rachel said as she showed that the page was blank.
"What?" Emily muttered as Rachel handed the notebook back to her.
"ℒ𝑒𝓉 𝓂𝑒 𝑜𝓊𝓉."
Her heart skipped. She turned the page.
"ℒ𝑒𝓉 𝓂𝑒 𝑜𝓊𝓉."
Each page she turned was the same thing. Sweat trickled down Emily's forehead as she balled up in the corner. Her ears rang with pulsating bass.
The lights started to glow in an intense mulberry hue.
"Hey, stay with me," Rachel said as she shook Emily.
"Ⱨ₳Ⱨ₳Ⱨ₳Ⱨ₳Ⱨ₳₳Ⱨ₳Ⱨ₳₳Ⱨ₳₳₳₳!" Emily cackled.
Rachel stepped back when the light overhead shattered. A mulberry aura erupted around Emily. Items seemed to glitch in and out of existence around the aura as Emily's head twitched back and forth.
"₴ⱧɄ₮ Ʉ₱, ł'₥ ₦Ø฿ØĐɎ, ł'₥ ₦Ø₮Ⱨł₦₲!" Emily shouted to herself as she pulled at her hair. Her voice pitch shifted into tones and frequencies that were not human. H̶̡̢̹͙̼̐̈́̓̏͛ͮͮ͜A̢̨̲̹̬̜͉̣̬̤̿͑ͩ̎͑̽̆̇ͦͣ͢H̥̞͓̠̩̘̏́̀̌͠A̶̡̛̛͙̫̳̞̞͎̖̺̣̖ͭ͊̎̅͒̈̂̌ͪ͐̂̄̓̽̄̆̊͠͞͝H̷̙̞̤̖̻̜̪͖̉͌̔̔̉ͩ͘A̵̢ͭH̫̥̣͍̯͍̐̄̐ͫ̉͟͠͠͞Ḁ́͋͂Ḩ̵̸̸̸̴̷̶̸̧̥̝͎͕̩̲̗̩͓̳͉̼͓̦̀͛͛͋͛̀ͫ̎̄̄ͣ̽͑̒͗ͮ̉̌̚ͅA̴̧̛͇̻͉̣͑͐̎͊̈̉̄͜_̷̡͕̞͖̝̞̼̪̹̼̩̝̀̈́ͬ͂̉ͩͥ̓̚͟Ḩ̝͎̤͓̫̰ͦ̆̅H͎̗͔͎̭̤̙̥̮̽̈́ͭ̿̑̉͐͞_̵̠̟̺̱͔̯͈̀̽̈ͩA̶̡̢̨͕̤̙͔ͥ̍̔ͩ͐̓̇̆ͅÂ̦̙̳̻͖̒ͩ͛ͣ͡Ḫ̵̶̹̠̜̞͖ͬͭͮ͛̏̇͂͜͠_̫̫ͭ͞A̯̱͙͌̏ͨͮ̐ͮHH̵̦Ḁ̞̰ͥ͠A̷̛̰̍͟͢Ḩ̞̱̞̗͕͔͙̙̹̹͍͍̦͉ͬͣ̄͂ͨ̆̐̇͗͐̀ͦ̅̐̾̄̕͝!"
Emily rocked back and forth. Her eyes flickered from emerald green to mulberry. Mulberry flames started to shoot out of her eyes. ̶R̶a̶c̶h̶e̶l̶ ̶r̶u̶s̶h̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶o̶w̶a̶r̶d̶s̶ ̶E̶m̶i̶l̶y̶.̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶n̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶r̶y̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶w̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶b̶l̶a̶c̶k̶.̶
Rain drizzled from the starlit sky. Emily pulled her hood over her head. The air smelled of wine, nature, hormones, and baked bread. Decorative masks clung to citizens' faces. A harpsichord plucked in D minor from a gazebo, nestled between a noble manor and vineyards.
Emily stopped in her tracks as rain drizzled on her cheeks. She then looked up at the ENGINE hovering above. Déjà vu lingered in her mind, but the memory of what had happened faded into the void.
"Everything okay back there?" Rachel asked.
Emily looked back at Rachel. "Yeah... just feel like I forgot something," she replied as she threw her hood up.