The Sixth

5: Anxious

Darlin went straight to her room when she returned. She locked the door behind her and dropped the storage ring in an empty chest, where the gem finally shattered, and her winnings appear in a small flash of light.

Her laugh was weak and shaky. "I... I thought I wouldn't make it." She bent over to lean on her knees, exhausted from how fast she'd speed walked to her room.

Red eyes are slight with the shine of what could pass for a pirate's sunken treasure, the rest of Darlin's features curling into a weird look of delight.

Darlin was always taught not to emote without courtesy or reason, leaving her squirming in place as a buzz of excitement rings through her nerves.

With a shake of her head, Darlin reminds herself this is not the time to be flippant in her caution.

She shut the chest, securing the lock with a magic charm she got in exchange for a brooch Heinrich apathetically gave her for her fifteenth birthday. It was a thoughtless gift as Darlin is not fond of breast pins— She wouldn't even be shocked to discover it was picked out by a servant.

Heinrich would never notice if Darlin used it or not, hence, the receiver treated it with the same measure of affection as the giver and traded it in for something that could forward her goals.

A magic circle beams from the lock, static lines curling around the chest, then disappearing in the blink of an eye. Darlin gave the chest a light kick, grinning when the thump of her action did not sound.

"An inaudible object might be a little suspicious, but it will do for now." Certainly more favorable than someone hearing the sound of coins clinking and stealing her money— or worse, her parents get their flagrant hands on it.

The seething anger cooled fast, leaving Darlin tittering at herself. "Oh dear, whenever did you get so greedy?" She wanted to play off the gnawing apprehension, but how could she when it is so real, and so probable?

From teddy bears, to clothes, and even her fiancé, very few things were left in Darlin's ownership, and there's no telling when Flora might want for them.

Darlin's hands began to tremble. Is it truly mine if I can lose it at any time?

Thinking back, she questioned if she has ever known what full possession of something feels like?

Heinrich's face flashed in her mind, drawing out a sound of disgust.

In her first life, when Heinrich was promised to her, Darlin thought him hers. Even as he fell for Flora, she clung to the promise of their marriage, only to learn you can't truly have a person if they don't give themselves over.

Sure, he married her as obligation demanded. On a piece of paper their names accompanied each other.

But as for everything else— Heinrich's heart, body, presence, mind, attention— they were Flora's.

Darlin's gaze washed over with a dim despair, a conundrum rising in her mind; How does one come to own something?

"If there's no one to take it, maybe..." The thought is quickly abandoned with a scoff. Darlin hates Heinrich too much to want him, and regardless whether Darlin is able to kill Flora without getting caught... Hmm... She tapped her finger on the corner of her lips thoughtfully. "Why should I let you off so easily?"

Isn't death too merciful in comparison to the sufferings of her past lives?

Without knowing how many more of these horrid cycles await her, Darlin saw fit to take some reprieve in dealing out as much anguish as she can. 

Although, no one will remember come her next life... "What a stale victory."

In spite of, it's all Darlin is going to get. There's no other option, after all this could be the first life where she gets as close to happiness as she's ever been.