AQUA

Everyone danced, lifting up their slender glasses of champagne, enjoying every song the DJ played, and being absolutely carefree, unbeknownst to what was meant to happen.

This was all new to her. Annoying loud music, a screaming croud. Both made her want to burn this room down. Along with everyone in it.

As Aqua drifted through the crowds, her silk dress almost getting stepped on, she rolled her eyes at how popular Golden Topaz Hotel appeared to be. No matter how much she desired to make a cynical point, she couldn't deny the lively aura the place possessed.

The hotel on its own was exceptionally modern and innovative in its composition. Despite its high, creamy walls, the intricate designs of its interior and fresh-feel of its exterior becharmed her, but at the same time, managed to pester her. It held far too many similarities to how her castle used to be before it shed all of its glamour. That somehow set alight a long gone flame of homesickness.

Aqua took a seat by the bar, her eyes fluttering close, the music drowning out. She knew this was no time for any sort of feelings to resurface, but an odd vibe overtook her senses. She just couldn't place her finger on it.

"God, Brooke, you're unbelievable." A familiar voice laughed. "But it really is a cool necklace. Just a little... too much vintage."

Two stools away from her, Jayden sat with a girl about his age. Her blonde hair perfectly tapered down to her collarbones, close to which resided a blue gradient crystal that made Aqua's heart thump against her chest.

Her eyes widened, her heart withering further like a helpless rose petal.

She hated this feeling. She hated it with every inch of her being. So damn much. And it angered her so greatly that she found it impossible to keep silent.

Before getting a chance to think properly, Aqua interrupted their conversation, making them turn to her in sync. "That necklace..." Her tone was devoid of any emotion, empty. "Where did you get it from?"

"See, I told you people would love it," she addressed Jayden, a prideful smile on her face. "I found it in my dresser," she told Aqua. "It was by luck, honestly. I never knew I had such a thing."

"It's despicable."

Brooke's grin dropped, "Oh..."

Jayden frowned. "Why would you say that? It's beautiful."

"That was a gift," she whispered to herself, giving the necklace a wistful glance. She rose up, her hands gently clutching her elbows as she withdrew herself from the ballroom and out to the gardens.

"Such a shame."

Aqua sneered and leaned forward onto the edge of the fountain for support, the ripples in the water hypnotizing her. "You. I never can get rid of you. Why? Why do you do this? What more do you want from me?" Her voice, for the first time, trembled at the presence of Igujin.

"You're hopeless. I have done everything to help yet look at you," she growled. "It infuriates me that Ruth is the only one able to make you this vulnerable."

"Don't bring her up." She squeezed her eyes shut, a foreign sting welling up in them. "It doesn't matter anymore... I'll end her. Even if that means you'll end me."