[center][youtube]https://youtu.be/NOJMJqYSHKM?si=bedlTy0Z8geXTne8[/youtube][/center]

[h1][u]Ciara Ventura[/u][/h1]
[i][color=gray]Wingram Academy, Girls' Dorm[/color][/i]
[@Nanaya] [@Psyker Landshark] [@Sifr]
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She stared in horror at the monstrosity written across the scroll. It was as if the pen tried to give life to the depths of the hidden, darkest corner of her mind, scribbling out the word in a perfect, scrawling mess. The knock, in an analogy's sense, had woken up the demons of the house and enticed them to play.

[i][b]"Miss Ventura, do tell, within your own comforts, what your intentions are."[/b][/i] Said the Undermage, sharpness in her words.

[i]"This is bad. This is really bad."[/i] Ciara thought, looking for a way out of this mess.

There was a scoff somewhere in her head. [i]"Relax. Don't you prefer it when they look at you in fear than pity?"[/i]

Flashes of faces seeing the poor orphan girl on the street, begging for coins.

Ciara gritted her teeth. [i]"I hate both."[/i]

[i]"My, my, does [/i]princess[i] want to throw a ball while she's at it? You don't get to choose what you want in this world."[/i]

[i]"I have as much choice as anyone else."[/i]

[i]"Look at their expressions and tell me that. Be honest with yourself, little Hunger."[/i]

She stared at the Undermage, Iraleth, and Hildegunde, all in turn. She had never felt so exposed. The monster was supposed to be under lock and key. That's how she lived her life after she got dumped on the doorstep of her first orphanage. The monster wasn't supposed to surface, [i]ever[/i].

Alas, things never went in her direction. She had been found out repeatedly, in how she spoke to the Voices when she was younger, in [i]how[/i] she eradicated plant essence. It caused her caretakers to shun her at every turn, and she had to carve out a future for herself, leaving the orphanages altogether.

This would be no different.

At the futility of trying to hide who she was, a slow, bleak chuckle emanated from Ciara's form.

[b]"What my intentions are, Head Advisor...?"[/b] She said softly.

[i]"Will you hide your Hunger, little one?"[/i] A Voice rasped in her head.

[i]"I want to be here. They will throw me out if they know the truth."[/i]

[i]"Or not."[/i]

[i]"A million times I have done this charade. The moment people figure it out, I get the boot."[/i]

[i]"But don't you want to see the fear in their eyes when they see who you really are...?"[/i]

Ciara was silent at that. 

[i]"Don't you want dominion of this place, just like how you were unchallenged in Vaal Kastrix?"[/i]

Ciara scoffed, immediately thinking of Gulliver and Valen. [i]"I'd love to wipe the smirk off their faces."[/i]

[i]"It starts by building a rumor. A rumor of power. This could be the place to start."[/i]

[i]"We're not doing that."[/i]

[i]"But you want to. I'm merely suggesting your own thoughts, little Hunger."[/i]

She swallowed painfully. What would she do? The Voices had more sway over her than normal, all due to the secondary emotion filling her stomach.

[h3]Dread.[/h3]

Beyond her burning hunger, the thought of even being slightly exposed brought an overwhelming sense of dread, written hastily on the scroll. She considered simply walking out and sleeping on the roof of the dormitories for the rest of the year. But alas, she imagined the winter months were cold.

No. She couldn't walk away from this one.

She took a deep breath, narrowing her eyes resolutely at the Undermage. [b]"Head Advisor, with all due respect, you have no right to ask me about my intentions. If you want answers..."[/b]

She stood from her seat, rising to her full height. 

[b]"You'll have to duel me for them."[/b]