Chapter Ten: Amorette

Dizzy has her back to me as I walk in, and though I don’t particularly care I immediately know that something is wrong.

‘What do you think you’re doing here?’ she asks coldly, not turning around. She stares out of the window in front of her, standing there rather soullessly.

‘I wanted to ask you for a favour,’ I say, approaching her slowly.

‘A favour?’ she repeats. This grabs her attention because she finally turns to face me, her expression one of confusion and almost disgust.

Dried tears leave tracks on her cheeks, and her lips are pressed into a thin line. She takes a shaky breath, then looks up at me, her eyes bright and steely.

‘Uh… yeah?’ the doubt starts creeping in, and I almost regret asking her because her expression is dead serious, the angle of light from the window casting a shadow over her face.

We stand there in silence for moment, the eye contact between us becoming intense very quickly. Then, out of nowhere, she bursts out laughing. Like, properly laughing. She doubles over, clutching her stomach and wheezing hysterically. This goes on for a few minutes, and I can feel my patience waning with each passing second. After what feels like an eternity, she finally stops, and stands up straight, wiping a tear from her eye.

‘Whoo!’ she says, getting her breath back, ‘Oh, that was funny. I didn’t know you had so many jokes up your sleeve. A favour!’ she chuckles quietly to herself, ‘Well, I never. That is not what I was expecting.’

‘I’m being serious,’ I say, irritated.

‘I’m sure you are, sweetie.’ she says, her emotions more contained, ‘But let’s be realistic, I’m the one who asks favours of you, not the other way round.’ She steps towards me, grabbing my cheeks in her hands, ‘And don’t you let your pretty little head forget it!’

‘Get the fuck off me,’ I snarl, pushing her away.

‘Oh, not this again,’ she sighs, ‘Always with the overdramatic reactions. I’m not paying you to act, sweetie, so you can cut it out.’

‘I’m not being overdramatic,’ I protest, ‘I just don’t appreciate you touching me like I’m a fucking child. You already… control me, what more do you want?’

Dizzy doesn’t say anything, she just looks amused. Unbothered. I sigh, and continue.

‘Look, I’m not here because I enjoy your presence, or whatever shit you’ve come up with in that delusional mind of yours,’ I say, a sudden determination to succeed rushing through me, ‘I’m here because I want you to me a favour. And it’s nothing big. All I want…’

Her eyebrows raise in curiosity.

‘…is for you to let me go.’

My suggestion hangs in the air, suspended in time as everything stops. Dizzy stands very still, completely unmoving for what feels like an age. I stare at her hopelessly, wondering if there’s a chance she’d consider doing me this favour.

‘No.’

Her voice is no more than a whisper now, and she gazes out the window again, lost in her own world.

‘But why?’ I ask.

‘Fuck no!’ she seems to come back to herself, her smile of twisted joy reappearing on her face, ‘You think I would sacrifice control for your freedom?’ she laughs, a harsh laugh filled with venom. ‘That I would ever for a second think to stop your suffering so you could be happy?’

To prove her point she flexes her fingers, and my body is consumed with anguishing pain. I drop to the floor, feeling as though my limbs have been ripped from my body. Crying out in agony, tears fill my eyes and roll down my cheeks. Still, nothing changes. Even as I gasp for air, my chest tightening to the point I can’t breathe and my vision becomes increasingly blurry, she just stands there. Stands there laughing maniacally, as my body, almost lifeless, lies on the ground.

‘You’re wrong,’ she says, and the pain vanishes in an instant, ‘I would never give up my power for a human,’ she spits out the last part, emphasising her disgust.

Dizzy walks over to me, bending down to be at my level. Grabbing my cheeks, she pulls my face up to hers, and looks me dead in the eye.

Our lips are so close together they’re almost touching, and for a second my heart stops. I get scared that she might spit on me when she talks, but quickly realise it’s a stupid idea. As she looks at me I can’t help but notice the flickering colour of her eyes, the blend between gold and red and the speck of orange in between, as if her emotions are changing constantly.

She’s beautiful. And if it weren’t for the fact that I hate her guts, I might’ve kissed her.

My heart continues beating again, and Dizzy looks away from me, her cheeks slightly rosier.

‘You’re pathetic,’ she says, standing up, but her voice carries less force than before, ‘You forget that I’m in charge here, and you don’t get a say in – well, anything really. Which is why I want you to do me a favour.’

I look up at her, surprised that she would propose such a thing. She usually looks like she has everything under control. Why would she need my help?

‘You saw me get humiliated back there. By Unova.’ She doesn’t elaborate, and quite frankly she doesn’t need to. ‘Look, next week, there’s a dinner party. Being hosted by our queen, Seren. Knowing Unova, she’s going to use that event to make a bigger fool of me than she did earlier. And I can’t have that happening.’

‘What has that got to do with me?’ I ask, not quite following her train of thought.

‘What’s that got to do with you?’ she chuckles, ‘My, I overestimated you. You’re still as thick as the day we met.’ I scowl, but she doesn’t notice, and continues, ‘You’re going to come with me to the party. As my puppet, and as a power symbol.’

I freeze, struggling to comprehend her words. I don’t want to go to a fancy schmancy gathering with more people like her. It would be so much worse than things are now. And things now are awful.

‘What if I don’t want to?’ I say finally, daring to see her reaction.

‘You don’t have a choice, darling. You’re mine, whether you like it or not, and so you have to do as I say.’ She goes to sit behind her desk, organising files of paper and other items cluttering the space. ‘See, with you there, Unova wouldn’t dare to pull any of her bitchy tricks, because I’d be the only one – or one of the only ones – who’d have someone to show the extent of my power. Someone she doesn’t have.’

She watches as I get to my feet, mild intrigue painting the expression on her face. ‘Do this for me, and I might consider your… proposal.’

I lock eyes with her, and when her eyes flash a dangerous red I know I have to agree.

‘Whatever,’ I say, and suddenly another idea comes to mind, ‘But on the condition that I don’t kill anyone else in the build up to this event, alright?’

‘Oh, so you have figured it out,’ Dizzy replies, voice filled with amusement. ‘Well done. But do I really have to keep reminding you how things work around here or –’ she pauses, considering her next words for a moment.

‘You know what,’ she says, speaking slowly, ‘because you’re so ridiculously obsessed with getting your way, even when the odds are clearly stacked against you, I’ll agree. No more murders for the next week.’

My eyes widen in surprise, but I quickly control myself, trying not to let my emotions escape me. ‘Is there a catch to that?’

‘No catch. But if you want this agreement to last then I suggest you get out of here before I change my mind.’

She rises from her desk in an almost menacing manner, so I turn and start to walk away. My footsteps echo across the clean, delicate marble floors, and I wish they wouldn’t because I can feel her eyes boring into my skull, and I want to get out now more than ever, just so I don’t have to be in her presence. I finally reach the door, and as I wrap my finger around the handle the sound of Dizzy’s voice rings out across the room.

‘Remember to dress formally,’ she says, but I don’t reply. Suddenly she appears right next to me, and slowly, I turn to face her. ‘I look forward to it,’ she whispers, sending a chill through my bones. She’s either genuine or she could mean something very sinister.

I wrench open the door and rush out, wanting nothing more to do with her. Sighing a breath of relief, I walk away, before quickly realising there’s not really a way out. Fucking damn it. I look around frantically, trying to see if there are any signs that might pinpoint me to the right direction, but my efforts are in vain. From the corner of my eye I spot the fat man who assisted Dizzy in court, and I make my way over to him, hoping that he might be of some use. I’m within spitting distance of him before my surroundings shift dramatically, a small wave of nausea washes over me, and I find myself outside my flat, keys in hand.

I glance over my shoulder, and I’m met with the sight of stairs, some windows, and doors to other flats. The whole court seems to have just… vanished.

I unlock my door and step inside, kicking off my shoes and throwing down my keys. I traipse to my room, the exhaustion finally settling in, and collapse onto my bed. It’s not long before the comforting darkness of sleep finds me, and I welcome it with open arms.

I can finally sleep without someone’s blood on my hands.