Valerya arrived home, exhausted. She had been unsettled since Auguri Anna's August visit, but the uncertainty was replaced with a calm resolve. She knew who she was messing with, but she was certain that if anything ever happened to her sister, she would kill whoever hurt her, before gladly dying. She would choose her sister over herself in a heartbeat and would protect her with her life. Like she has always done.
As she turned on the light, she was stunned to see the dining area tastefully decorated, and Sebastian waiting for her with a smile on his face and flowers in his hand.
"Before you say anything, I got the key from Lilliban. She didn't care either way, as long as it meant her staying in the palace a little longer."
Valerya rolled her eyes and set her bag on the floor. Lilliban took any excuse to remain in the palace. Ever since the fallout with Davys weeks before, Lilliban had been stuck in the middle because of the bond she had formed with him. She had wanted to stay behind, while Valerya would go back to her new apartment alone. Valerya was having none of it though, but Lilliban stubbornly stood her ground. In the end, a compromise was reached that Lilliban could stay there as long as she liked, but she must spend the nights at home, with Valerya, a decision she always tried to flaunt, not wanting to give up the comforts of the palace and the friendship with the president.
Sebastian pulled out a chair for her, and they ate in silence, trying to ignore the elephant in the room. After dinner, Valerya poured them both wine, and they sat on the rug in the living room, talking about nothing in particular.
"Thanks for the dinner, Sebastian," Valerya said. "It was a kindness I desperately needed," she stated sadly. She tried to focus on a particular spot on the wall, trying to keep her tears at bay. She began to breathe more rapidly, and her silent tears soon became full-blown sobs. She cried bitterly, feeling some sort of reprieve. Trying to rid herself of all her frustration and the unfairness of her situation through her tears.
Sebastian said nothing, just simply drew her to his chest while she cried. "I really loved him," she sobbed bitterly. "Why did this have to happen? It's so unfair." Sebastian did not reply, he simply held her tighter to his chest. After what felt like hours, she finally fell asleep on his chest.
Valerya woke up slightly disoriented. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep on Sebastian's chest. She inhaled a whiff of unfamiliar cologne, and there were strong arms wrapped comfortingly around her. She was slightly taken aback by two things: the first was that she was laying on the couch with a bare-chested Sebastian who was clearly still asleep and the other was an angry-looking Davys glaring at the both of them.
Valerya got up quickly, startling Sebastian enough that he did the same. "How dare you?" Davys asked Sebastian. Slightly taken aback, Sebastian still stood his ground. Ignoring protocol, he replied recklessly, "How dare I what?"
"Lay your filthy hands on my woman."
"For the last time, Mr. President, you're a married man. You should be enjoying the company of your wife. Whatever I do with a single woman is completely my business because we're not going against any empire laws."
"You're fired," Davys said.
"This is between me and you, Davys. Don't bring him into this. Besides, nothing happened," Valerya defended.
"No, let him. He knows he would never be able to compete with me like a real man withou-," but his statement was cut short as Davys threw him a punch. Sebastian fell back on the couch but got back up quickly, facing off against Davys, but not daring to touch him.
"You know what, Mr. President, this just makes me want her more now. Firing me just won't be enough."
"Yeah, I'd love to hear you say that six weeks from now when all your accounts would be frozen, your landlord would kick you out, and no single citizen in the empire would be allowed to either hire you or house you. Even the vermin who live under the bridges wouldn't permit you to stay with them. You'd be treated like a plague, Sebastian. Let me hear you say that then," Davys said coolly.
"And you," he continued as he turned to Valerya. "Resume back to the palace first thing on Monday morning. It is a presidential order."
"I'd rather be fired entirely, Mr. President. I told you why I would never work for you again. You're not the man I thought you were," Valerya said. At this point, Sebastian walked in the direction of her room, to give them some privacy.
"You think the former president was faultless? What do you think happened to your parents?" Davys asked.
"I don't understand."
"The experiment I told you about. They knew about it. At first, they helped him, but when it began to turn sour, they backed out. They promised they weren't going to reveal the secret, but he was not satisfied. The former president was a very thorough man. He had them secretly executed, and had their details scrapped from the record, like they never existed."
Valerya sank down on the couch, but Davys continued, "Why else did you think they were just removed from history? Revered scientists that they were? They knew more than they should have, so they had to be killed."
"When did you know?" she slowly asked.
"About your parents, only recently."
She tried to gauge her words, trying not to give too much away, "It changes nothing. Two truths can coexist. The former president wasn't a good person, but that doesn't mean you have to be a bad person too. I won't come back," Valerya said resolutely.
Davys got on his knees, grabbed her head and kissed her before she could protest. She held his head and kissed him back passionately. When his guard was down, she bit down as hard as she could on his lip. He backed away from her, wiping at the blood on his now bleeding lower lip with his hand.
"Goodbye, Davys," she said.
He nodded as he stood up and walked towards the door. Sebastian came back to the living room with two coffees and stood beside Valerya. Davys turned back, looked Valerya dead in the eye and said, "In just a week, you'd be begging for my mercy. That is my promise to you." And to Sebastian, he said, "I undo my order. You're no longer fired. You'll be sent to level three to continue your duties as second maestro. I heard the mines needed reinforcement."