[center] [url=https://fontmeme.com/fonts/great-vibes-font/][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/240329/84481ce1e9322bbbd2ee69adc32fdfb6.png[/img][/url] [img]https://i.imgur.com/vz3gTHR.png[/img] [center] [sub][url=https://i.pinimg.com/564x/50/99/60/5099604dbf00ac70058fd32cb85e9668.jpg][i][sub][color=9e5e6f] dress ♖[/color][/sub][/i][/url][/sub] [/center] [sub][color=7F6B5D]A M U S E M E N T P A R K | E V E N I N G[/color][/sub] [sub][color=gray]I n t e r a c t i o n s : M e n t i o n s :[/color][/sub] [/center] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/CaVsNWr.png[/img][/center] [indent][indent] [color=gray] [color=silver]“Your Grace, Lord Monet has arrived,”[/color] Zarai tore her gaze from the wall and glanced back at her mother. The Duchess sat at her desk, surrounded by neatly organized piles of papers, books, and scrolls, each containing important business regarding the Brustad territory. These documents had always been alien to Zarai, sparking no interest just weeks before. But now, an insatiable curiosity gnawed at her, and her fingers ached to dive into the documents and devour their contents like a madwoman. [color=dd9562]“Send him in, Zarai you can go.” [/color] Zarai pushed herself up from the floor, her knees aching as she resisted the urge to limp out of the office. Just as she reached the door, it opened, and Lord Monet was ushered in. He smiled at her, revealing yellow-stained teeth from years of drinking coffee, or wine, or smoking. The stench of his breath made her nose curl in disgust. She’d been mad to think she could actually marry him, even for a short time. [color=2e2c2c]_______________________________________________________[/color] [color=93a477][center]『 °*• ❀ •*°』[/center][/color] Zarai had changed into a more suitable outfit that allowed her to move more freely: a white blouse with billowing puffy sleeves and fitted black breeches. Her hair was styled into two neat braids, tucked neatly at the back of her head. She didn't wish to draw attention tonight. She desired a quiet evening alone, with some entertainment and good food, and Sir Barrios discreetly tagging along from the shadows where she couldn't see him. Fate had other things planned. Miss Crane—Claudia—there she was, standing by a ticket line. Her chestnut hair was elegantly curled and wrapped around the back of her head down her back, adorned with twinkling pearls that caught the light. Zarai could see the gentle curve of Claudia’s soft cheek and how it plumped up when she smiled. [color=black][I]Roll.[/i][/color] [color=black][I]Roll.[/i][/color] Claudia had an uncanny ability to lift Zarai's spirits, no matter the circumstances. Even after long, grueling hours in her mother’s office, Claudia would appear at just the right moment, armed with the perfect words to cheer her up. Despite the aches in her arms and knees, Zarai couldn’t help but smile in Claudia’s presence. A gentle kiss on her forehead, a warm hand holding hers, and a reassuring look in her eyes as she whispered that everything would be okay. Every whisper, every kiss, and every embrace and gesture made Zarai’s heart skip a beat. Not this time. This time, her heart didn’t skip. It sank. Sank down to the pit of her stomach, twisting her insides into a painful knot. It felt like she was going to be sick like she was falling endlessly with no sign of a landing. Gods, it was unbearable. Had she ever felt this way before? [color=black][I]Roll.[/i][/color] [color=black][I]Roll.[/i][/color] There she was, Miss Crane, standing next to a man. Their arms intertwined so naturally that it seemed as if they had been together for years. She laughed at something he said, a laugh more genuine than any she had ever shared with Zarai over a funny drawing or a joke about someone’s poor taste in shoes. Overwhelmed by a storm of emotions she couldn’t name, Zarai’s eyes became unfocused. Her shoulders felt heavy, her face burned, but her back was cold as ice. Her chest ached, and her heart raced so fiercely it could leap out of her chest and flee. Flee across the sea to Alidasht, across its deserts and jungles, and over another sea to Catalonia, where it would bury itself deep within a rainforest, far from the source of its pain. [color=black][I]Roll.[/i][/color] [color=black][I]Roll.[/i][/color] [color=black][I]Clink.[/i][/color] Zarai flinched as her thoughts were yanked back to reality. She looked around, trying to pinpoint the source of the sharp, clear sound, but found none. Her gaze returned to Claudia, who had just purchased her tickets and was now staring directly at her. The hand looped around the man’s arm loosened as her grip on the tickets tightened. Claudia's mouth moved, but the roar of children and adults and laughter around them drowned out her words. Then Zarai looked at the man. [color=black][I]Clink.[/i][/color] She flinched again, either at the sound or at the sight of the man’s face. There she was, Miss Crane, standing with Viscount Nielsen. [color=93a477]“Ha… ha… hahaha!”[/color] Zarai burst into laughter, pointing at them as she clutched her stomach. The aching in her chest was replaced by a searing rush that had only one way out. Miss Crane gasped and moved to stand in front of Viscount Nielsen, but he gently pushed her back and faced Zarai. [color=white]“Well, if it isn’t Puerto Vira’s biggest harlot–”[/color] Zarai punched him square in the nose. He staggered back, stunned both by the audacity of the punch and its force. [color=white]“What do you think you are doi–”[/color] She delivered another punch, this time to his stomach. [color=93a477]“You little piece of shit,”[/color] Zarai growled, her voice dripping with venom. [color=93a477]“If I hear even a whisper of you saying my name, I will have your head. I don’t care if I have to pay someone to do it or if I have to do it myself; I will have it and display it for all of Varian to see what a low-life liar of the highest degree looks like. [I]Bitch[/i].”[/color] She spared a glance at Miss Crane, her brows furrowed and eyes brimming with tears. Without waiting for a reaction, Zarai shook her head and rushed away from the couple, leaving them stunned in her wake. [center][color=b8860b][I]((please do not interact, collab coming. reactions are welcomed))[/i][/color][/center] [/color][/indent][/indent]