Akali's POV:
Returning to the diva's mansion took the raven-haired teen more than she had initially anticipated. Well, there were multiple reasons behind the delay, starting from the waiting time and ending on a massive traffic jam. Yet, Akali would have rather done virtually anything else instead of going through this passage of events again. After all, it would be foolish and irresponsible for her to delve into such minor and not worthwhile matters before facing her legal guardian. Given that Evelynn rarely openly asked her to talk, it must have been something important, undoubtedly not suited for the public, whereas someone could have – in theory – eavesdropped. All in all, this did not bode well, making her shudder. Yet, no matter what anyone said, her guardian – the so-called siren – was a straightforward type of person who held other people's opinions in low regard.
Nonetheless, the teen quickly concluded that overthinking something she had no control over was pointless. Hence, she took a few additional minutes to steady her mind, forcefully pushing all the unnecessary thoughts out. It helped – to some extent – but nothing could be done about a carefully planted seed of curiosity. It proliferated inside her, forcing her to get to the truth as soon as possible. Well, as people say, curiosity killed the cat. And, as much as Akali would want to deny it, she was the unfortunate feline in the given situation. After all, it would not have been an overstatement to describe the teen as curiosity-driven. And … frankly, it single-handedly affected her decision-making, leading her to bid farewell to her friends and return home much earlier than initially planned.
"I am back," the brown-eyed girl announced her arrival as soon as she closed the door behind her. It was – of course – a pointless endeavour; the older woman most likely had already seen her passing through multiple cameras installed around the estate. "Eve? Where are you?" she asked, realising her questions were seemingly swallowed by the massive house that suddenly felt much colder and emptier than she had remembered it.
"Kitchen, darling. I'm in the kitchen," the diva's velvet-like voice sounded after a long pause, filling the overwhelming emptiness.
"I am coming; give me a few," the teen replied, heading towards the voice origination.
With a temporary goal more-or-less set, Akali removed her shoes and put down her backpack before delving deeper into the mansion, heading towards the kitchen. As she got increasingly closer, her nostrils started noticing a pleasant smell spreading across the establishment. It was surprisingly simple, yet it made her stomach burp. Until now, the girl did not realise how hungry she had become, as if her mind overrode or surpassed the biological impulse, preventing it from affecting her. However, once the effect ceased to exist, she sped up, eager to fill her – by now – mostly empty stomach.
"Hello, Eve," Akali greeted, waving slightly awkwardly when she finally reached her destination.
Evelynn sat by the table, facing the entrance.
"Oh," a soft hum passed between the lawyer's plump and kissable lips. "Good evening, darling," she responded immediately afterwards, flashing a small smile at the teen. Though, at first glance, it was as perfect as always, Akali noticed something out-of-place, simultaneously bothered and curious about what had caused the barely noticeable change. "Are you hungry?" she questioned.
"Eh," the raven-haired girl sighed heavily, smiling embarrassedly. "Kind of," she managed to say before her stomach took the stage, burping relatively loudly. "I am sorry … have you eaten already?" she asked, trying to change the topic as her face flushed up rapidly.
"I think you answered my question," the diva chuckled. "Yes, I've already eaten," she added. "If I had known you'd have returned earlier, I'd have waited. But … considering you left the school with your friends, I honestly expected you to return late," the siren explained, fixating her eyes of molten gold on the girl.
"I mean …" Akali started, approaching her guardian. "If you had not messaged me, I would have certainly come home much later," she finished, sitting opposite the older woman. "But … as you rarely send me messages instead of calling, I deemed it to be an urgent matter. Hence, I came back as soon as possible," she resumed, mumbling, unsure why she was stressing out to that degree.
"Oh darling," Evelynn chuckled once again. "How many times have I told you that I shamelessly adore, no, love this side of yours? When you're conflicted or frustrated, your beautiful face reddens."
"It … it … is not funny, Eve!" the raven-haired girl replied, trying to sound confident and angry, but she knew she had failed in injecting these emotions into her tone when the diva continued chuckling. "I do not … I do not … know what is happening with me today," she confessed in a whisper-like manner a moment later. "Anyway, what did you want to talk about?" she inquired, determined to change the topic to avoid further embarrassment.
"Shh," the magenta-haired woman shooed her protégé. "There's no need to speed up this conversation, dear. So … how about you eat first? After all, you're pretty hungry, as your stomach informed us about. It'll be easier to have a proper talk when your belly isn't burping occasionally," she giggled.
"Eh, fine," Akali sighed heavily, giving up. "What have you ordered?"
"Ordered? No, darling, I've cooked today," the lawyer replied.
"You cook?" the teen asked, baffled.
"I usually don't, yet I thought it'd be a good thing to start," Evelynn said, shrugging nonchalantly before standing up. "It's nothing fancy, but I tried to follow some relatively simple recipe. So … feel free to spice it as you see fit. It was rather good, but nothing compared to what you usually cook," she added, taking a decently sized container from the fridge and then putting its contents onto a pan.
"I mean … the effort is all that matters," the brown-eyed girl commented. "I do think it will be fine. Do not worry; with time, you will become better and better. Perhaps we might cook together from time to time?" she asked, closing her eyes and flashing a reassuring smile.
"I'd love that, sweetheart," the siren replied softly.
Evelynn's POV (a few minutes later):
A broad smile was seemingly engraved on the diva's beautiful face whilst she continued watching her protégé eating. No, this description was far from the truth; she virtually kept staring at the girl. Yet, to her, the sensation was akin to a pleasant relaxation massage session, allowing her to gather her wits whilst simultaneously venting off everything negative out of her conflicted and too complex mind. And … even though her day was terrible – for lack of a better word to summarise it adequately – all that fuss mattered not when Akali was close. Spending time with her was like a blessing sent from the heavens – something that she frankly doubted she deserved. After all, calling the diva a good or even decent person would have been farfetched.
"I am done," after a long pause, Akali quietly said, putting down the fork.
"How did it taste?" the magenta-haired woman questioned before her protégé could add anything more.
"Hmm … it was good," the teen said after a moment of hesitation. "As I said before, your intentions are everything that matters to me. Aside from that, adding some chilli did make a trick in increasing the overall spiciness of the dish," she added, smiling broadly. "The next time you cook, it will be miles better; I am sure of that."
"Kali, please don't try to pity me," the lawyer chuckled loudly. "I appreciate that you want to keep this as positive as possible, but I know that my cooking skills are nowhere near yours, darling."
"Eh, I do not think you did badly," Akali huffed, lowering her sight for a brief moment. "Anyway, what did you want to talk about?" she inquired.
"Oh, straight to the point, heh?" the beauty of golden eyes continued, chuckling. "I guess … there's no point in delaying it, right?" she asked rhetorically, suddenly straightening in her seat.
"Is it that bad?"
"Not exactly, darling," Eve said in such an uncharacteristic, unconfident tone. "You see … this whole situation's kind of a mess, and some pieces of what I'm about to say may sound weird; trust me. So … a few days ago, I received an unexpected call from a man named Jeff Winsome. At first, I tried to conclude the call as soon as possible, but he was rather stubborn. He introduced himself as a supporting executive of Weisshaft Inventions, a software developing company," she added.
"Hmm," a quiet hum escaped Akali's throat. "It is a rather strange situation, to say the least. What would someone of that calibre want from you, Eve?" she questioned, her mobile already in her hand.
"Well … it's only the beginning," the siren commented. "And … unfortunately, it'll only get weirder, believe me," she added, then paused for a few prolonged moments, gathering her thoughts. "Mister Winsome told me that years ago, he'd been asked to take care of his best friend's child in case something happened to him and his wife. And … as crazy as it might sound, he strongly believes you're that long-missing daughter," she whispered, opting to shorten the story, omitting the details requiring further explaining. After all, Evelynn deemed retelling her whole experience that spanned at least a few days pointless.
"Wait, what? You are joking right now, right, Eve?" the brown-eyed teen asked, surprised, clearly only paying attention partially to what her guardian said as she continued checking the names the diva had mentioned, utilising a helping hand from Google.
"I'd not make jokes about such a matter, Akali," the magenta-haired woman replied, sounding serious for the first time since the conversation had begun.
"What do you mean? I do not understand," the raven-haired girl mumbled. "As far as I know, I am literally nobody – a child who lost her parents in a car accident like hundreds of others," she added, trying desperately to make any sense of what she heard.
"Oh … darling, you're far more than you're giving yourself credit for, I can assure you of that," the siren commented, flashing a broad, reassuring smile. "All in all, I can't really say whether it's true or not. Yet … the man insisted on verifying whether you're the girl he's looking for," she added, sighing exhausted.
"Verifying … how?" the raven-haired girl asked, trying not to stand up abruptly.
"He didn't mention the details, but apparently, his friend had prepared a testing method in case of his death," the diva replied, picking her words extremely carefully. "Mister Winsome would want us to come to the original company's headquarters this week. I'm leaving the decision to you, as it mostly impacts you, darling."
"I take you to have his phone number, right? Or … at the very least, a reliable way to communicate with the man?" Akali mumbled, rapidly forming a plan of sorts in her mind.
"I do."
"I'll try contacting Mister Winsome tomorrow, then."
Akali's POV (night, the same day):
The raven-haired teen could not find any solace in sleeping. Even though she tried her hardest to reach Morpheus's realm, going as far as to call the day much earlier than initially planned, all the effort was in vain. No matter what she did or thought of, her mind remained a clustered mess, preventing her from relaxing in any foreseeable way. At some point, she finally gave up, hesitantly leaving her warm bed and standing up. Yet, a new problem quickly arose as Akali realised how weak and trembling her legs became, forcing her to halt for a few prolonged moments for her limbs to return to normality.
With nothing better to do, the teen started pacing around her room, grabbing her mobile from the nightstand beforehand. As boredom and anger flushed through her, she unlocked the piece of technology with a quick swap and entered a rather complex password. Then, the display flashed brightly, blinding her for a mere moment before it adapted to the room's overall luminosity level. As expected, once the internet connection was turned back on, the notification feed started rapidly filling, flooding the display seemingly instantly. Akali tried to go through them all, verifying whether something important had happened or required her attention. And … thankfully, there was nothing that she deemed worthy of that title – a realisation she welcomed with a heavy sigh. However, the moment she wanted to lock the phone, it started chiming, and a too-familiar number was displayed on the screen. As if the teen somehow had unlocked some magical mechanism, Katarina called her.
"What do you want, Kat?" the raven-haired girl said after finally answering the incoming call.
"Evening, love," the redhead greeted cheerfully. "You see … I decided to call my beautiful girlfriend who constantly evades me and tries to ghost me. You know who I'm talking about?" she questioned, faking hurt.
"What do you want?" Akali repeated the question, completely not in the mood to deal with her so-called `girlfriend`. "Go straight to the point. I do not think the matters have changed much since our last call."
"I miss you. These past couple of days without seeing or hearing you were horrible."
"Care to explain what does it mean?" the teen replied, irritated. "Did you not find someone to get laid with? Or … more probable, you still try to lure me into your web like a black widow?"
"Why do you hurt me like this?" Katarina whispered softly. "I deeply care for you … but … I'm not a saint. Pff, in fact, I'm more of a sinner, actually. I know … I have more than a few flaws, but I'd never hurt you," she continued in a plead-like tone.
"Kat, you have a serious problem with your sex drive," Akali replied quietly. "You are a beautiful woman who can have anyone who she deems worthy. But … when you are around me, I am constantly scared that you will try to force me into something I would not want to do. Call me stupid, but I need an emotional attachment to make love to someone. And … now, my mind is a mess – a conflicted battlefield where a constant war wages on. It is possible I would fall for you eventually, of course, given enough time. But … I do not think I can trust you to control your sex drive, that thirst that flickers behind your beautiful eyes," she whispered, allowing some sorrow to taint her tone.
"Can … can I somehow convince you?"
"I do not know. I need time, but it is doubtful you will ever be patient enough to accept it. So … perhaps it would be better for both of us to give up?"
"I don't want to give up on you," the red-haired woman said tenderly. "I wanted to invite you for a weekend trip. Would you accept that invitation?"
"When?" Akali asked, not entirely sure why she so quickly decided to give the redhead another chance.
"Doesn't matter," Katarina said immediately, evidently uplifted by the current development. "Can be this weekend, next one, next month, doesn't really matter. When you're ready … all you need to do is to call or text me."
"I will think about it," the raven-haired girl said, sighing. "Goodnight, Kat," she said before hanging up.
"Goodnight."
Once the call concluded, Akali kept staring at the greyed-out screen, completely lost in her thoughts. It took more than a few moments for her to realise the weight of her decision. She was a fool. A fool who would do anything to be loved, to be with someone. But … if it was her end goal, why did she need to hurt herself to achieve it? After all, it would have been infinitely easier to start a reasonable relationship with Ichika. Why was Akali so damn stupid and naïve to give Katarina yet another chance that she would inevitably squander? Oh … the answer was so trivial, yet she would have tried to lie to everyone – including herself – to hide the truth if she could. It was inconvenient for her, wrought by a sinful desire that should have never seen the light of the day. However, as people say, the heart is not a servant; hence, as much as the teen would deny it, she had unwittingly chosen the red-haired, hot-headed woman due to a small detail that potentially would not matter to many – she was oh-so-similar to her guardian, virtually Evelynn's tad younger version. With that unbelievably sad realisation, she teared up, for deep inside, she knew Katarina was only a substitute as the one whom her heart genuinely longed for, who it truly desired, was out of her reach, bound to remain that way forever.
Akali's POV (morning, the following day):
The next day's journey to school was filled with a deafening silence between the teen and her guardian, seemingly unable to find a topic to start any conversation. Given what had happened the previous day, it could have been reasoned with on many layers, but this ride had something out of place. After all, they had never had problems communicating and finding topics to discuss. But, apparently, today was an exception. So many unanswered questions lingered between them, but neither of them found enough courage to address them. It logically led the younger woman to seal off her mind to think through her current standing.
"Akali?" the lawyer said with a wary and somewhat hesitant tone.
"Yes?" the teen reservedly responded. "Something on your mind?"
"I'm sorry," the diva flashed an apologetic smile, reaching out with her left hand towards her protégé. "It was painful – the silence, that is. Perhaps … we could address what happened this morning later?" she inquired, taking off her tainted glasses, revealing these intense orbs of molten gold.
"My mind is a mess," the raven-haired girl whispered, grabbing the siren's extended hand and placing it on her lap. "I am so sorry. I need time, but … I would love to talk later," she added, mumbling as if she tried to pick her words extremely carefully.
"It's understandable," a quiet response came in, so different from the magenta-haired woman's usual tone. To some extent, it felt out of place. "I can't exactly say I know what you're going through, but … if you need … say a word."
"Thanks, I will keep that in mind," Akali retorted, flashing a smile to reassure her seemingly worried guardian. "But … for now, I think it is time for me to go. It would be shameful for me to be late for my classes. Have a good day, Eve," she added, trying to soak her tone with some optimism.
"Have fun, darling," Evelynn said softly. "I'd kiss your cheek if not for the lipstick I applied. Or … would you want to enter the school with a crimson-red mark staining your beautiful skin?" she asked teasingly.
"I … I … I mean, I do not mind," the teen mumbled the reply. Even though she did not have a mirror to inspect her reflection, she suspected her face was already heavily reddening, exposing her conflicted mind. "However, I doubt my friends and school staff would be pleased with something like that."
"I would have let you leave your mark wherever you wanted," a spicy thought crossed her mind. "But … it would have been a dream coming true to finally taste those intoxicating lips of yours, verifying whether they are as soft and kissable as they appear."
"Don't worry, sweetheart," the lawyer commented. "I'm merely teasing you. I don't think I'd have heard the end to that if your headmistress had seen you with my mark on," she chuckled. "I love it when you redden; if it's even possible, it makes you more beautiful and adorable."
"I will call you later, Eve; bye."
"I'll see you around, darling."
"Would it be that bad for us to drop all of this façade finally?" the diva thought, trying desperately for her emotions not to show upon her face. "If only I knew she reciprocated my feelings, I'd have done anything to make her mine. She's more than worth all the backlash she'd have inevitably faced. But … with Akali besides, would it even bother her? I don't so," the woman allowed the internal conversation to play out.
A few additional moments passed since the teen left the vehicle, yet Evelynn found it increasingly challenging to leave the school area and attend to her responsibilities. As a heavy sigh escaped her slightly parted lips, he finally surrendered. After all, there was not much she could do at the moment. Deep inside, the woman knew that the day ahead of her might be far more difficult than she would have wanted it to be.
Author's notes section:
[2023-09-02]: Hey, here is a preview of the story's next chapter. Please, bear in mind that it is, as mentioned, a preview. Some parts of it might not be included in the final release. I will try to finish this chapter as soon as possible. I would like to clean up some of the tasks in my schedule, and right now, there are many chapters queued there.
[2023-09-22]: Hey, I have a minor update for you.
[2023-10-10]: Hey, I have a major update for you. I'm so sorry that it's taking so long. I will try to finish this piece the following day.
[2023-10-12]: Hey, I have a major update for you that concludes the chapter. I'm once again sorry for the extended writing time.
Don't forget to comment. I really appreciate your feedback.
Note that the dialogues written in italic are thoughts.
As always, I would like to thank you for everything. See you soon :)
Changelog:
[2023-09-02]: A preview has been released.
[2023-09-22]: A minor update applied, focused on enriching the story and developing it.
[2023-10-10]: A major update applied, focused on rewriting the piece and enriching it.
[2023-10-12]: A major update applied, focused on concluding the piece and setting up the stage for the following chapters.
Info: I have included more stories in the schedule as I'm not 100% certain what I want to write next. Please, keep in mind that I might add or remove positions from the list. I might rewrite some of the older stories or extract some of the longer stories from `The story of one lost soul`.
Schedule:
- The shadows can be deceiving (finish the WIP)
- The war call (finish the WIP)
- The silence of the shackles (finish the WIP)
- Bury the light (finish the WIP)
- Hidden in the mountain's shadow (new chapter)
- The rise of the Blood Moons' servants (new chapter)
- Black Diamond (new chapter)
- When the clock is ticking (Warhammer 40k new story)
- Sometimes it's just better not to know (new chapter)
- My home is where my heart lies (rewrite chapter 4)
- The heart not so cold (rewrite chapter 2)
- The family tree (revisit the previous chapters and apply adjustments)
- Will you look past my mistakes? (new chapter)
- The Prisoner of Your Eyes (new chapter)
- Lifetime of war (new chapter)
- Hope is the last one to die (new story in SW universe)
- Sometimes it's just better not to know (finish rewriting the second chapter)
- Life is full of surprises (new chapter)
- Exiled you say? (new chapter)
- Until my last breath (new chapter)
- The family tree (new chapter)
- The story of one lost soul (new chapter)
- See the world through my eyes (new chapter)
- The broken heart (new chapter)
- My home is where my heart lies (new chapter)
- A new story in JJK universe - focused on Gojo/Geto/Shoko/Utahime
- A new story in Bleach universe (potentially a one shot) - focused on Byakuya and Yoruichi
Bonuses' section:
A new story taking place in the Warhammer 40k universe.
Story of one lost soul: The war call: rewrite.
An entirely new story (possibly Akali x [Irelia, Syndra, Katarina]).
A new short story (Vi x Cait).
An entirely original story (possibly even two stories, one taking place in medieval times, the other in the far future)
Bleach story. (Byakuya x Yoruichi / ?)
Naruto story. (Neji x Hinata / Neji x TenTen / Nagato x Konan)
Fairy Tail story. (most likely Erza x Mira)
Maybe some Star Wars?
References:
- Nobody's Fool - Cinderella
*bonuses will be worked on when I don't feel like writing the chapters pointed out in the schedule :D
End of the author's notes section.