Chapter 20 : Shout
An elderly woman stood near the window of a large mansion, watching patiently as raindrops hit the glass and slid down until they disappeared behind the windowpanes. Her hands were tightly clasped behind her back and her slightly graying hair reflected the light of the large, crystal chandelier that hung from the ceiling. It was quite the peaceful scene and would have remained so, if not for the unnecessarily loud slam of the room's double doors hitting and denting the walls.
The woman sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose tiredly before turning and looking over at the green haired male that had so disrespectfully entered her abode. "Envy." She greeted him. "Must you always be so loud?"
The male just scoffed rudely, looking like he'd rather be anywhere but where he was now, and the woman thought she had a good idea of where, or rather with whom, he'd prefer to spend his valuable time. The thought made her already existing headache throb and she rubbed her temples with her hands before gesturing to the nearby leather couch. "Sit."
At first Envy looked like he wanted to refuse, but he'd heard the command in her voice, a certain underlying steel that he knew better than to cross, and so he complied, letting himself fall on the couch with a reluctant huff. The woman smiled in satisfaction before sitting down on the sofa across from him , back straight and hands folded across her lap primly.
It remained silent for a while, Dante observing the stubborn homunculus pouting on her couch and thinking of how to handle the current situation. Earlier that evening another of her servants, Lust, had come and complained about Envy's increasingly obsessive behavior regarding the Eldest Elric child. Dante had known of this of course. She had even predicted it up to a certain point. The boy was meant to be Envy's replacement after all, it would only be natural that the homunculus would be curious.
Never would she have thought that the boy's obsession would go any further than the destructive behavior he'd been showcasing since the beginning though. But now it was turning him against his fellow homunculi and, more importantly, her. This was unacceptable and, looking at the green haired homunculus' fidgeting he seemed well aware of this fact. There was a certain stubborn set to his jaw though that she didn't like and it wouldn't surprise her if he continued to defy her.
No matter, if she couldn't change his ways she'd just have to dispose of him. She would lose a valuable asset in doing so but she couldn't allow Envy to run unchecked anymore. He was far too dangerous for that. Her decision made Dante turned back to the somewhat nervous homunculi, glaring at her from the couch. To anyone else he may have seemed completely at ease, angry maybe, but relaxed, not frightened at all. Dante knew better though, the green haired male might have been a masterful actor but she'd known him for centuries and she could see his agitation. It was in the tense set of his shoulders and jaw, and in the way he kept crossing and uncrossing his legs while he waited.
She suppressed a satisfied smirk, before deciding to finally break the tense silence that surrounded the pair. "I trust you know why you're here?" She asked, though it was more a statement than anything else.
Envy apparently noticed as well and chose to remain silent.
Dante didn't let his silence stop her though and just continued. "Lust told me you almost killed her." She said. "And all that for an Elric no less. Why?"
"Tchh. Who said I did it for the Elric? Lust was just being annoying, that's all." Envy replied. "I'd kill the brat in a heartbeat if we didn't need him."
"Well that's good then." Dante smiled, a mean little smirk that showed just how little she trusted Envy. "Because that's exactly what you're going to do."
It remained silent for a while, just a few seconds longer than a normal silence but enough to show Dante how much she'd shocked the green haired male.
Envy composed himself quickly though. "I thought we needed him?" He asked, careful to keep his voice neutral, though his eyes still showed some conflict for those who knew where to look.
"We did, and now we don't need him anymore." Dante smiled another cruel smile. "Since I know how much you've wanted to kill him I figured I'd give you a chance."
Envy grinded his teeth together angrily, knowing he had no chance but to accept now or else Dante would get even more suspicious. After taking a small pause he managed to nod his head jerkily and finally muttered out a thank you.
Dante smiled benignly and nodded her head, watching as the usually so graceful homunculus rose jerkily to his feet and bowed slightly. "Will that be all?" He asked, looking almost like it pained him to remain polite and keep his anger in check.
"Yes I do believe so." She replied and Envy nodded once more before turning sharply and heading towards the large double doors. Just as he was about to pass through them Dante called out to him for the last time. "Oh and Envy? Don't disappoint me." The 'or else' remained unspoken, though it was clear enough to both of the room's occupants. Dante watched as the homunculus paused and his already tense shoulders tensed some more before he slammed the doors open and left.
Dante looked after him for a minute, expression pensive and calm, before she smirked again and gestured to the shadows in one of the corners of the room. Out came a woman dressed in a long, floor-length, purple dress, with long, perfectly manicured nails and a voluptuous figure.
Lust looked at the double doors, that were still swinging slightly on their hinges from where Envy had closed them with just a tad bit too much force, for a moment before turning her naturally smoldering gaze on Dante.
"You believe he will actually go through with it this time?" Her usually sultry drawl colored with disdain as she thought back to how Envy had turned against her before.
Dante scoffed in response, shaking her head and turning back to the window just in time to see a green haired figure storming of into the distance through the rain slicked glasses.
"I don't." She stated curtly. "How could I ever, when I know the extent of his obsession?"
"You can't." Lust answered simply, thinking back to her own experiences with the volatile homunculus when the objects of his 'affections' was threatened. "He becomes completely unreasonable when that boy is near."
The older woman nodded sagely. "Exactly." She said, the slightest hint of regret coloring her brittle voice, though whether from regret over losing a great asset or from losing the one who had once been her son Lust could not say. Dante's grey orbs hardened though as she continued,
"That's why you are going after him, to make sure he does as he's told this time."
Lust nodded, a small vindictively satisfied smile pulling at the corners of her full lips.
"And if he won't?"
Granite met amethyst as Dante replied, not a hint of doubt or regret present anywhere in her countenance. "I have no need for a child that refuses to listen."
The smile became a full blown smirk as Lust nodded her head in understanding and husked an 'Understood' before turning and walking from the room at Dante's dismissal.
Neither of the women heard the startled gasp that followed the end of their conversation and, more importantly, the conclusion they had reached. Just before Lust reached the doors a shadow separated from the other shades behind them and ran away unseen, not even the barely there sound of hurried footfalls betraying its existence.
AN/: And that's it for now. My most sincere apologies for the wait. As I mentioned before I had my finals (they went well ) to study for and then I went away for a week to Portugal with my friends (which I did forget to mention xD). Upon my return I found my computer had decided to give me a little welcome home present in the form of a blue screen of death every 20 minutes that managed to delete all my writing progress . So yeah, It's a bit later than planned but I hope you'll all have enjoyed anyways A big thank you regardless to all of you who read, faved, alerted and reviewed in the mean time!
Next time we'll get back to our beloved Chibi and his traumatic realizations (Which I know yr all waiting for but since I'm a cliffie loving bitch you'll still need to wait), see you then! xXx~Mai