All eyes had been on her that night, and every night before. Every shining glance was stuck on her being; her face, her dress, her hair, and especially her escort. The handsome, famous prince Schneizel, with his golden hair and diamond clear eyes. Euphemia s brother. That night, like every night before, he had taken her arm gently and lead her carefully, showing her to everyone in attendance. She could feel the weight of their gaze on her shoulders, some in awe, surprise, respect and some that tried to burn though her with jealousy. Beautiful, brilliant, talented Nina was the object of jealousy. The thought made her insides roll happily. After all her years, working quietly in the basement of her school, tagging along in the shadow of her more popular friends, envying the giggling girls and their boyfriends. When the weight became too much, Schneizel had merely to mention the late princess Euphemia.
She would always hold herself proudly and with grace. he whispered at her side, and Nina felt her confidence swell. She held herself like Euphy would have, worked hard like Euphy would have, and had arrived where she was. Schneizel would sometimes take her to dinner, or to the gardens, or even simply to observe her new inventions and ideas. And sometimes when no one could hear he would lean in just a little closer and murmur just how much she reminded him of Euphemia. And that was all she needed to hear to move her forward. All those eyes had been for here, all that jealousy had been for her, and those praises had been for her and her alone, because she had everything at last.
So when her hand smashed into the polished glass display, she sharply startled herself. She pounded twice more and was only rewarded with a crack across the screen. Her entire body shook, from the fist she had pressed on the fractured glass, down to her feet wrapped in tailored and polished boots. It was as if every tendon in her body had suddenly pulled tight, and she could not tear her eyes away from the screen below her. She bit her tongue and tasted blood as she raised the volume on the broadcast.
With the smile of an angel and a face Nina could never forget the woman on the screen set her every fiber on fire. Her voice was bright and cheery, and she seemed so at home on the screen. She had a flavor for the theatric and though you might not know, she could plan a party like no bodies business, and loved nothing more than to see people smile at the events and surprises she planned. Nina had always stood in her shadow, stood behind her bright personality, always keeping out of the way of her. Her friend , her class president, Milly. She was shallow, selfish and weak. She had no ambition, and she thought she always knew best. Milly had always treated Nina so carefully, was always sure to include her because she felt sorry for the girl.
With clenched fingers she let it ring through her mind. The weak and spineless blonde had, at one point, had the audacity to pity her. She had dared to smile the cool friendly smile at that party, the last time they had spoken, and dared to offer her support. Milly, who didn t even possess the courage to leave the school she had fought to hide within. She was nothing like Euphemia, the princess, the goddess. She was nothing like the kind, beautiful, brilliant scientist Nina.
So why did it make her burn to see her smiling on the evening news? She could hear the warm ringing voice, always pretending to be kind to poor quiet, less beautiful Nina. But when it all came down to it, Nina knew that Milly was just a scared little girl hiding behind her noble name and school. A girl with no extraordinary talents, no ambitions, and a pathetic fear of the future. Nina ground her teeth as painful emotions scorched her insides.
When she had told that wisp of a woman, Milly Ashford, exactly how she felt Nina had not lied. She had finally called out the pity, the lies, the hateful kindness. And yet here she was, coming into Nina s life once again, how spiteful. With a raised palm, ready to strike again she lost her breath as a man appeared next to the Ashford girl. His dark hair and dark smiling eyes made Nina shiver with a torrent of different feelings. The way he looked, the way he walked, the way he spoke, and the name that appeared below his face on the screen gave everything away and made her blood boil.
He was an Eleven, a number, a useless, dangerous animal of a human being. They couldn t be trusted, Nina knew. They were worthless and ungrateful beings who even refused the kind nature of the goddess Euphemia. No, instead they turn greedily to that demon of an Eleven who calls himself Zero.
The cracks over the screen spread as she pressed heavily against the glass. Every last one of those filthy creatures was to blame for the death of Euphemia. None of them could ever be trusted, none of them should be allowed near decent human beings. Honorary Brittanians, like the one who was grinning over the evening news, were just as much poisonous trash desperately trying to taint the rest of society. They were dangerous... and she had to get rid of them. For the memory of Euphemia she would take retribution from the godless demon Zero and all of the vicious Elevens.
Milly... Nina could never forgive her for this. Appearing like this, with an Eleven, she just couldn t stop taunting Nina. Disrespecting her idol with this man, smiling and laughing as if Nina didn t matter, what a joke. It was all a humorless joke, the blonde woman standing there laughing, playing the beautiful, popular, funny girl, it was all the same crap. No, Nina had everything, the admiration of Brittanian nobility, a handsome and famous prince, and the recognition she deserved for her genius.
A manic smile pulled at her face as she watched the lights. She violently shut off the console and tore away from the smashed screen. She was the image of Euphemia, the prince had told her once, and it was her duty to recover her honor. Nina turned on another computer and tore into some new calculations. She would turn Milly s mockery into something great. That woman with no depth, and only the mind to tease Nina would finally understand when the world saw the destruction of Zero and the Black Knights. She was the best, she would come out on top because the goddess Euphy was with her.
Prince Schneizel smiled down from the darkness as his little darling worked. The found genius who would work for such simple words of encouragement. He would lean close and whisper to her You remind me of Euphemia.