Part three : Stepping out

(This is part 3.5 and 2 of my original story "The Boss" which is in my profile stories. Please read and enjoy (though you might want to read part one first))

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I wake up, just like I did the last couple of times but this is somehow different. I sit up and feel the surface underneath me, it's soft and cushiony. I turn my wrist and to my surprise, there are no chains bdining them. What happened this time? This is one of the reasons I hate passing out; it takes forever to find out what you missed. With that being said, where am i? I try to gather my thoughts together, soft cushions, a really nice curtain and window behind me and a rosey scent all around me. Wait- is this a palace bedroom?

“Like it?” A familiar voice asks, startling me. I turn to my right to see a boy my age sitting in a very fancy armchair beside me. The Boss? What is he doing here?

I don't respond to him right away. Instead, I slide out of the bed and realize I'm not in my jugular tattered jeans and t-shirt. An elegant shirt and lounging pants laced with silk and fiber and a robe is wrapped around me. With all of this, you would think a girl would be encased in joy. Not me, I find this utterly disgusting. The clothes are nice and smooth and all, but that is not really the problem here.

“The clothes are fine I guess, but how come everytime I meet you or one of your servant people I somehow get knocked out. And when I wake up, it's always a different place. It's giving me a headache.” I ask, feeling annoyance rising in me. “Can't you just pick one?”

He looks surprised for a second but then he goes back to his smirk. TB shrugs his shoulders. “I think waking up in an elegant room is 10 times better than waking up in chains and a cell. Don't you agree?”

“It would be better if you would just tell me what you want so I can leave this god-forsaken place,” I snap, almost forgetting who I am talking to. TB cocks an eyebrow and heat rises to my face. I stumble back and sit back down on the side of the bed, not making eye contact.

“Sorry, I didn't mean…” I trail off, not knowing quite what to say. I mentally slap myself. If I'm going to get my sister back, then I'll have to be more careful. He is the leader of “Vipers” afterall, one command and I'm done for.

I expect him to accept my apology - or at least say something - but he doesn't. The silence is deafening. I glance at TB and I see him staring at the ceiling. My hands start to sweat as I wonder if I screwed things up with my chances of saving Evie. I still have no idea if she made it out of the fire. It's been constantly worrying me and almost driving me insane.

“You sure do care about your sister a lot, don't you?” TB asks me with a smirk. My eyes widened again as he once again read my mind. Is he some kind of wizard or something. Or could the rumors be true? That magical people are still alive to this day? It's an old legend passed down from almost every family in the UK. There was once this group of people who had extraordinary powers, they called themselves The Mysterians.

“How do you keep doing that?” I ask, unable to contain my curiosity. TB raises an eyebrow at me and I blush and stumble for words. What am I even doing, I scold myself. Why does he make me so nervous, he's only human after all.

“Doing what?” He says to me, changing his position. Now he's sitting with his elbows placed on his knees and his face laying on his palm. He had a playful expression on his face.

“Like, it's almost as if you are reading my mind, knowing exactly what I am thinking?” I respond

“So… you think that I am a mind reader? Like the ones in the stories?”

I expect him to tease or make fun of me but instead when i look up, he is looking at me expressionless. He clears his throat.

“Do you believe in The Mysterians?” He asks and I almost choke on my saliva. I was so shocked.

“T - the Mysterians?” I calm myself down and talk clearly. “I… I'm not sure if I really trust them exactly. But, I do believe that there are still a few of them left. Like great grandchildren or something.” 

HE nods in understanding and stands up. TB starts to slowly walk around the room and I wonder what he is thinking about. I watch him intently and remember something that I should've asked way before now. I mentally slap myself.

I stand up quickly and turn to face him. I open my mouth to ask him but then decide against it and shut it. He notices me and stops walking around. He leans against the pillar in the middle of the room. 

I have to be careful of how I present this question, otherwise this could turn out badly. I take a deep breath and choose my words carefully. Remembering the correct way to address someone in high power, I bow down in front of him and address him by his title.

“Boss of Viper,” I start. I can see him flinch a bit in surprise. “I don't know what exactly you want from me and how long it will take but I will cooperate. But please, allow me to see my sister,” My eyes start to get water and I wipe them away. “It's just been the 2 of us for most of our lives so I know she is probably alone and scared right now. I beg of you, please let me see my sister, even if it is only for a couple of minutes.”

I am unable to stop a few tears from falling out of my eyes but I don't care. All I want is to see my sister.

A warm hand is placed on my shoulder and pulls me up. I avert my gaze away from his eyes (I've heard of the things that happen when you look him in the eyes. Some say that if you do, with a wave of a hand your head will be cut off.) TB wipes away the tears on my face and studies me. I can't help but take a glance at his deep blue eyes and wonder what that nightmare really meant. Is he really what my nightmare showed me, or is he something else completely.

After a little while he steps back and clasps his hands behind his back.

“Okay then, let's take you to your sister.” He tells me and I feel my whole body light up with joy.

I bend down again, “Thank you so much,”

He nods and heads for the door. He walks with such passion, like he knows exactly who he is and what he's doing. I wish I were like that, I'm always constantly second-guessing myself but he seems to make up his mind just like that. As he is about to exit the room, he stops with his hand on the doorknob.

“Tracella,” He looks back at me with his eyebrows furrowed. “The favor I want to ask you won't take very long, but I have to warn you there is a chance that you won't come back.” I feel my fingers go numb and I look back at him.

“What do you mean?”

He blinks and shakes his head. A soft smile rests on his lips. “``Now, we will have this conversation after your visit with your sister. Which is in 30 minutes.” 

“30 minutes?? Like t- today?” I stammer.

“Yes, today.” He winks at me, “Your clothes are inside the bathroom to your left. I'll see you soon.”

The door closes behind him and I stay there unable to move. The shock is still coursing through me and my brain can't really comprehend what I just heard.

I'm going to have to do a mission that might end my life, the miserable side of my brain says. But, I do get to see Evie after what seems like forever, the positive side of my brain argues.

I decide to go with the positive and race to the bathroom to get changed.

I told you Evie, we will see each other soon. I think to myself, a big smile plastered on my face.

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As I begin to wonder where I can find my clothes since they were not in the bathroom, a knock sounds from the bedroom door. I walk over and turn the knob to let the person in. Is TB back to tell me something? I ask myself while swinging the door open. I blink in surprise - and confusion - by who is standing in front of me. Lets just say, it's totally not TB.

A girl a little younger than me is standing in the doorway holding a large bag which seems to be some kind of makeup and accessory bag. She smiles kindly at me and sticks out her hand in front of her.

“Hello, my name is Rosa. I am your PD for today.” She tells me. I cock an eyebrow. What in the world is a PD? She sees my confusion and laughs, her laugh was hearty, like a spring fountain. I found myself admiring how pretty she looked. for someone so young she could be one of the top models.

“Sorry, PD means ‘Personal Dresser’. I will be helping you dress up for any occasion with the Boss.” she explains, “I am also here if you need to talk about anything, i heard what happened with you and your sister. It might not seem like it now, but the Boss is a very good person.”

I snort and roll my eyes, which I realized was very unladylike but I never really cared about that stuff.

“Sure… the guy who separated me from my sister is super kind and generous.”

“Of course, he is allowing you to see her right? For everyone else their family would be dead or in the torture chambers.” She says and my heart stops. Tortue chambers? Was Evie in one of those?

“Wait, does that mean my sister, Evie, went in there? Is she hurt?” I start panicking and Rosa calms me by putting a hand on my shoulder. Warmth spreads through my body and my heart begins to slow back down.

“Calm down, I'm sure she is fine. As far as I heard, he didnt put your sister in one. She is one lucky girl I tell you.” She chuckles, “But now we should probably start to get you dressed. May I come in?”

I blush forgetting my manners and open the door.

“Sorry,”

“It's no problem, now we don't have a lot of time so let's go into a rush session. Not as relaxing as the others but this will get the job done quickly and neatly.” She tells me and leads me to the dressing room.

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A few minutes later I am in a self belted black and white striped top, with leggings and a simple - but very nice - pair of white high heels. There were a few other accessories with the outfit; a pair of hooped earrings, a small bag and some makeup. This seems a little much for just going to see my sister but i guess i want to make sure i look okay. But not to the point that I'm enjoying myself without her, which is the very opposite.

I admire myself in the mirror and realize this is the first time I felt so… pretty. I blush as Rosa looks at me with a look of approval.

“Absolutely beautiful,” She compliments me and I mumble a thanks.

Rosa helps me fix my shirt a little bit and by the time we are done we have 4 minutes left to spare.

“It's a good thing we got done so fast,” She says while packing her things. “The Boss is known for being pretty early to things so he should be here-”

A knock comes from the bedroom again and she smiles to herself.

“Right about now,” She exclaims and hops to her feet and gestures to me to follow.

When TB opens the room he nods in greeting to Rosa and turns to face me. His mouth halts mid-greet as he stares at me. 

“Hmmm, speechless are we sir? I guess we should take that as a compliment.” 

HE blinks twice and looks from me, to Rosa and to me and back at Rosa. Folding his arms behind him he starts to speak.

“Amazing as always, Rosalyn,'' he says, looking me over. I'm still not comfortable with these new clothes and him here doesn't exactly make it any better. But even so I straighten up and look forward. He studies me and smirks.

“Ready to go?” TB asked me and I nodd. “Okay then, let's head out”

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As I step out the door, I admire the beauty of the hals around me. All over the ceilings are beautiful chandeliers , very artistic and abstract paintings are plastered on the walls. Exotic flowers and plants are neatly arranged against the wall. A gasp escaped from my mouth as I traced my finger across the designs on the wall columns.

Wait- i jerk my head upward to the ceiling again.

“Is that real gold?” I ask in wonderment. TB looks up and blinks like he is seeing it for the first time.

“Yes, and a little bit of silver and ivory too I believe,” He responds and my mouth hangs open. TB reaches his hand to me and closes my mouth. “I am assuming you have never seen something like this before?”

I nod, unsure of what he was implying. Is he calling me poor, I ask myself and anger bubbles up again. I try to contain my anger. I really need anger management classes.

We continue walking down the halls and with each turn they get more and more amazing. The two of us haven't said much to each other but I do catch him glancing at me from time to time. Maybe he really was speechless when he saw me. I know I look pretty good, but enough to impress him? I kick myself, why do I always have the urge to impress this guy? I barely even know anything about him, like his real name, likes and dislikes, none of that.

I come to a stop when we get to the 20-something hall. In front of us is a walkway-like hall covered in nice pavement and encased with nice marble. Pillars covered in beautiful vines wrapped around it with flowers bloom on them. But what really caught my eye was what was outside the hall.

A large waterfall is outside the window holes in the hall. The water falls into a serenity pool. The pool sparkles in the sunlight and I see fish swimming happily. I walk closer and rest my hands on the fence bar that separates us. I'm hypnotized by the view and I could stay here forever.

“Azamaing, isn't it?” TB’s voice says next to me and I jump back. I totally forgot he was there.

“It really is,” I agreed and looked at him. He walks over beside me and opens his mouth to say something but then closes it. He looks over to check his watch and tsks.

“As much as I would love to stay here and enjoy the view, you have an appointment with your sister to get to. Right?” 

Evie, I forgot about that too. I slap my hands to my face to get myself right in the head. TB looks shocked but doesn't say anything. We continue walking and by my estimate and by what TB told me, we should be there in about 3 or so minutes. My palms start to sweat. I wonder how Evie is doing right now. I still have to ask her how she did that mind trick, it's freaky but could be really useful. Well, unless I was just hearing things which I really hope I wasn't. TB stops in front of a large wooden door sparkling with jewels and green vines . I assume this is where they are keeping Evie. He steps back and gestures to the doorknob. 

“This is where I stop, I'll see you when you're done talking with your sister. Rember, 20 minutes is all you get and then you start your mission.” He says and then he vanishes right before my eyes. 

I blink fast and rub my eyes but when I look around, he's not there. I am about to go look for him but I shake my head. Evie is my top priority right now, I will deal with all the other weird stuff later.

Taking a deep breath, I place my hand on the knob and swing the door open. I step into the light and the door vanishes behind me.