Glass

*Posted by : White\_Caribou on Apr 16, 2018, 10:18pm*

- August 20th, Corbet Estate, Highholm, Evening -

A few moments passed after the First Citizen had delivered the news and left the estate. Stella stared down at the floor of the dining room where she had been seated contemplating everything he had said. A door to her left opened and Westley slipped out with a look of concern. He'd heard it all.

"The Council is surely better off without me," Stella spoke, briefly glancing up as he took a seat at the opposite end of the table. "But if I don't accept there's no one else they approve of in the same way to take his place. It hurts to admit but they hate you, especially after what you did today." He simply nodded with a grim smile as she continued. "Josiah said you have no place in Highholm. You're a target now more than you ever have been and if I do get on the Council it'll be easier for them to--."

"Don't make this about me. Right now is when such a massive choice as this matters... " His tone became soft. "We have a lot to talk about still but there's big changes coming to Dusk. I fear if I'm around you now it'll only jeopardize your reputation and survival."
She wanted to say 'to hell with that'. Her rep and her appearance to the city were all that mattered despite how many times she tried to ignore it.

"So you're just going to leave?" her eyes narrowed.

"What else do I do? You said they hate me and if that is true they're going to want me out of their hair one day. I can't raise anymore alarm around you so I think it's best if we separate for now. I don't want you to be threatened because of the things I do. I know you understand."
Stella pursed her lips and looked down before giving him a nod. She was holding Josiah's empty wine glass in her hands, a finger traced the top. Once again she was alone but he had a point. "I have to meet with the First Citizen tomorrow and I'm afraid it conflicts with the will reading. You'll have to attend alone I'm afraid."

Westley furrowed his brow at her silence, he needed to change the subject. There were so many subjects he could've chosen like that of how she murdered her husband. They surprisingly hadn't spoken much on that but it's not like it bothered them that much. He was out of the game.
"The Council is full of men with all sorts of views for the future but they won't stop until Dusk is a portrait of what they want. I'm not sure if having you as the first woman to join them is in that image. All I ask is that you play it safe and smart and everything else is up to you. But trust me when I say this, Stella. They're going to eat you alive."

"I'm doing it," she nearly cut him off. "Maybe I'm just what they need and maybe it's the right thing to do. But we'll never know if I don't try. And damn them if they think I'm helpless." The thoughts had buried her so deep that she didn't feel the empty Citizen's glass shatter in her hand with hidden fury. Thin strips of blood lined the shards and she remained nonchalant at the site.

- Late Evening -

"Draw me a bath will you?" Stella ordered digging the butt of her cigarette into the plate in front of her. The girl dropped what she was doing-- attempting at sewing the stained, tattered party dress -- and went into the bathroom.
It was a fairly large room with the walls a deep crimson, red was the common theme. The porcelain tub had tall sides and could fit at least two people side by side. Jessy ran the warm water for a bit before placing in the rose petals and lavender soap her boss had enjoyed so much. To Stella it was the most luxurious room in her house with shelves and mirrors lined with gold; it didn't matter if the gold was fake either. Everything was so romantic and elegant when Stella decorated but she usually shot for darker colors in interior design.
Before her bath Stella had eaten a rather simple dinner consisting of bread, rice, and some green vegetable Jessy hadn't seen before. Compared to other meals she had asked for prior this was something people of her class would consider slop and toss to the poor. Compared to what was served at Daybreak this was a delicacy. Other than the meal one other thing was stuck in the back of her head. Jessy had overheard Stella mumbling something before she touched her bread. With little knowledge she had she could only pick up a few syllables and words of the phrase.

*"Blessed are you, Lord our God, the King of the world, who bears bread from the earth."*

With further lessons from Mister Solomon she might be able to decode what the woman said under her breath from time to time; there was a reason she did so. Blessed. Our. Earth. At the moment it made no sense. Jessy went back to where she was mending in the kitchen. It was almost time for her to return to her hell-hole.

Stella stood from her chair with a sigh, wincing as her bandaged hand aided in untying her robe. Now that it came to mind, she had quite a few robes. More than what anyone would normally need.
The water felt silky as she stepped in like a pool of the finest lotions in Dusk. The tension held in both her chest and her body were almost instantly released as the water engulfed her. Stella closed here eyes and rested her head back.
Tomorrow she would read David's will alone. Tomorrow she would confirm her choice for the Council even if there was no way she'd make it up there.

*“And so you are ready for your first lesson Ms. Corbet... none of us do.”*

But on the other hand if the Council, The First Citizen and the High Inquisitor all supposedly knew nothing, the state of Dusk made sense now; Josiah had admitted it himself. His power was staggering ever so slowly and the city was changing. She was changing too. Perhaps Dusk had met its match... or she had met hers.
Stella submerged herself into the water to think.

Tomorrow could be one of the greatest mistakes of her life.