[b][color=red][center]FLASHBACK[/center][/color][/b] [color=lightgray][center][h1][color=D0B4EC]Lottie[/color] & [color=lightsteelblue]Cas[/color] Part 8[/h1] [img]https://i.imgur.com/3xLx2dH.png[/img] [b][color=D0B4EC]Time:[/color][/b] Sola 26th [b][color=lightsteelblue]Location:[/color][/b] Rosegate [b][color=lightsteelblue]Mention:[/color][/b] [@Tpartywithzombi] Violet [/center] [b][color=lightsteelblue]“Charlotte,”[/color][/b] Cas began, his voice lower now. [b][color=lightsteelblue]“Believe me, you’re not the only one drowning in unanswered questions. Ever since I set foot in Sorian, I’ve been wading through a mess I barely understand myself.”[/color][/b] Setting his glass down on the table with a subtle thud, he continued as she frowned at him. [b][color=lightsteelblue]“I get it. You want to do right by your friend. You made a promise, and you think that means you owe it to her to unravel this whole mess yourself, no matter what it takes.”[/color][/b] He exhaled, raking a hand through his hair. [b][color=lightsteelblue]“But take it from me—there are some doors you don’t want to open. Some questions you’re better off not asking.”[/color][/b] He tapped a finger against the table, almost absentmindedly, as if weighing his next words. Then, after a beat, his lips quirked—not quite a smirk, not quite a frown. [b][color=lightsteelblue]“That said… you’re not the type to let things like this go, are you?”[/color][/b] He leaned back again, rubbing his jaw as he studied her determined expression—not with the teasing amusement he so often carried, but with something heavier, something more cautious. [b][color=lightsteelblue]“Alright,”[/color][/b] he conceded, tilting his head slightly. [b][color=lightsteelblue]“You want the truth? I don’t have it all either. But maybe I can fill in some of the blanks for you.”[/color][/b] He glanced toward the flickering candlelight between them. [b][color=lightsteelblue]“But Lottie I…I’m going to need more information myself before I pry this door open that can’t be closed again.”[/color][/b] With a slow shake of his head, he added, [b][color=lightsteelblue]“If you’re dead set on digging into this, be careful. You’re playing a game with people who don’t like loose ends.”[/color][/b] His fingers curled around his glass again, but he hesitated before bringing it to his lips. Instead, his gaze flicked back to hers, something unreadable lurking behind his usual irreverence. [b][color=lightsteelblue]“...And I’d rather not see you become one…”[/color][/b] For a fleeting moment, the roguish charm and easy confidence that usually clung to him like a second skin wavered. His storm-gray eyes, always guarded with sharp wit or veiled amusement, softened enough for her to see something raw beneath them. Concern. Fear, maybe. The kind that settled deep, unspoken, in the spaces between words. In that moment, those eyes looked the most vulnerable they ever had to her. [b][color=lightsteelblue]“So what’s all this about, love… What are you wrapped up in? Tell me what I’m missing and maybe I can do the same.”[/color][/b] Charlotte fell into silence, her gaze lowered, as if tracing the patterns on the tablecloth could help untangle the chaos that had consumed the past week of her life and put it into words. And yet, as the words left her lips, unraveling one by one, she realized just how tangled everything had truly become. And still, the strangest part wasn’t the secrets themselves. It wasn’t the threats, or the disappearances, or the eerie gaps in memory… The strangest part was that, of all people, it was [i]him[/i]—Calbert Damien’s son—who was the first to hear it all. She first spoke of Lorenzo—how she had been trying to protect him since the ball, ever since he had accidentally insulted the sultan. How he had vanished that very night without a trace. How someone had threatened her, warning that if she hadn’t kept him inside… Her voice wavered, but she pressed on. That same night, a party had taken place—one hosted by the Black Rose. And yet, none of its guests had any recollection of it. And on that same night, Violet had been attacked, and some whispered that she had even been murdered. And from that moment forward, everything had continued to unravel. Cassius listened in uncharacteristic silence, his fingers still curled around his glass. He didn’t interrupt, didn’t quip, didn’t deflect. Instead, he let her words settle, watching the way they weighed on her, the way they shaped the determined set of her jaw, the fire in her eyes. A man lurking behind a tree who told her she needed to stop investigating when she had barely delved into anything. The detective group they had formed in secret. The way her friends had been threatened, as if invisible hands were tightening a noose around them all, even when still nothing of value had been yet uncovered. At the mention of the man lurking behind the tree, Cas’s expression darkened. [b][color=lightsteelblue][i]A warning before the game had even begun.[/i][/color][/b] That was no idle threat—it was a sign that someone, somewhere, was already keeping score. And then, as she spoke, another truth surfaced—the one that had started it all. For a year now, she had been grasping for something—anything—that could prove her mother’s suicide was not what it seemed. At first, this web of secrets had felt like an opportunity, a door opening to the answers she had long been denied. But now, standing in the midst of it all, she wondered if she had stepped into something far more dangerous than she ever could have anticipated. Finally, she lifted her head and peered at Cassius through her lashes. [b][color=D0B4EC]“So you see, Cassius… whether by fate or design, I find myself a player in this game.”[/color][/b] She exhaled slowly, her fingers now tracing the rim of her glass. [b][color=D0B4EC]“And when it comes to locked doors…”[/color][/b] Her lips curled into a sad smile, her gaze meeting his directly as she told him with conviction, [b][color=D0B4EC]“I do not intend to stand before them and wonder. I will see them opened—each and every one, by whatever means necessary. I owe that to not just Violet, but to my stepfather, to my mother, and to everyone I’ve tangled into this web.”[/color][/b] Cassius didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he leaned forward, his fingers laced together as he pondered. Meanwhile, her gaze continued to linger on him for every second of silence. The flickering light from all the romantic candles that now lay half-melted after their dinner date, played across his features, deepening the furrow of his brow and accentuating the tension in his jaw. For a moment, he looked almost… impressed. Or maybe it was something closer to resignation. [b][color=lightsteelblue]“I won’t pretend to understand what that’s like. Losing her the way you did. But I do know what it means to be haunted by questions that won’t let you go. To feel like you owe it to the dead to tear the truth out of the world, no matter the cost.”[/color][/b] He hesitated, then added, [b][color=lightsteelblue]“And I know what it’s like to wonder if, in chasing those answers, you’re walking straight into something you can’t come back from.”[/color][/b] His thumb traced absently along the rim of his glass as he considered her for a long moment. [b][color=lightsteelblue]“You said you’ve been searching for proof for a year.”[/color][/b] His voice was careful now, measured. [b][color=lightsteelblue]“That tells me you already know, deep down, that something isn’t right. And if that’s the case…”[/color][/b] He let out a slow breath, shaking his head. [b][color=lightsteelblue]“Then I don’t blame you for wanting to knock down each and every door in your way.”[/color][/b] A smirk curled at the corner of his lips, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. [b][color=lightsteelblue]“Just promise me one thing, Lottie.”[/color][/b] He tilted his head, his expression softer now, though still carrying that edge of warning. [b][color=lightsteelblue]“When you do open them, make damn sure you’re ready for what’s on the other side.”[/color][/b] His eyes narrowed slightly as the next words escaped. [b][color=lightsteelblue]“You mentioned the Black Rose.”[/color][/b] He let the name settle between them. [b][color=lightsteelblue]“Their roots run deep into the criminal underworld, to places even men like me dare not stray. I heard of them long before I ever stepped foot in Sorian. Trust me when I say…”[/color][/b] he leaned in just a fraction, lowering his voice, [b][color=lightsteelblue]“they are not an organization to be fucked with.”[/color][/b] He let that sink in before exhaling through his nose, shaking his head slightly. [b][color=lightsteelblue]“If they’re involved in all of this… if you’ve caught even a whisper of their name in connection to whatever mess you’re untangling, then you’re playing a game where the stakes are higher than you can imagine. And once you start pulling on these threads, there’s no telling what kind of monster is waiting at the other end of the rope.”[/color][/b] He hesitated, his gaze searching hers for something—uncertainty, fear, anything that might make her reconsider her path. [b][color=lightsteelblue]“Pick your battles, Lottie.”[/color][/b] His expression grew serious once more. [b][color=lightsteelblue]“And for fuck’s sake, don’t play this game alone.”[/color][/b] [/color]