Why don't you try and leave me?

Poison in my veins

The next couple of days were hectic to say the least. Around a hundred representatives were forced to attend presentations, one after the other, since their arrival three days ago. The presentations were primarily focused on the policies the government was set to enact in the upcoming years and the rapidly intensifying list of consequences that would fall upon one, should they dare to rebel.

Contrary to her nightmarish expectations, none of the officials she had encountered resembled anyone familiar. Definitely not anyone from that wretched school which was the origin of all her troubles. But it brought no relief to her anxiety ridden mind. The premonition of the inevitable had seeped deep into her flesh, a poison inflecting her blood, streaming down her veins without a spot left untouched.

With every passing day, her blinding apprehension augmented in strength. Even after three days of uneventfulness, her intuition screamed at her that the worst was yet to come. This was just the calm before the storm.

And it was.

*********

It was a wonderful winter morning, possessing a mysterious beauty that enshrouded the danger luring behind the glittering exterior. The cold breeze that struck her was any other yet it carried with it a sense of trepidation and brought an uncontrollable chill down her spine.

She would have loved to lie in bed all day, escape this foreboding of the inevitable.

But destiny had other plans.

*******

Chaos was a fantastical thing to behold, especially when it was orchestrated in this scale. Panic painted the pale faces of the crowd with a disgusting texture, reminiscent of a nasty red stain on a plain white dress. Their features were marred with debilitating anxiety, overriding their fragile self-control.

The words that had inflicted such catastrophe seemed to reverberate across the conference even though the speaker was long gone.

A fragment. Frozen in time.

"Representatives, you will be pleased to know that all of you gathered here would have the utmost honor of meeting the Supreme Leader and his cabinet of ministers today. It is a privilege not experienced by many. Consider yourselves lucky. They should be here any moment now. Please assemble here in ten minutes after a brief break."

After the first wave of shock, receding footsteps were soon to be heard, every representative grappling with their neighbour to reach the door first. The fight was pitiless, leaving no rules unbroken. Moans and groans echoed in the darkened room as nobody could make progress in this perpetual struggle.

In the field of mayhem, there stood a lone observer.

Her deep blue eyes staring ahead, staring past all that unfolded before her. So elusive, so free of revolting mess of survival instincts that had overwhelmed everyone but her.

Her posture, nonchalant as she stood, observing the view like a queen upon her throne. Amusement was plastered in her smirk, as if she was glancing at a bunch of ants crawling all over a leftover crumble.

She couldn't bring herself to care.

But sadly, for them.

Time was trickling down fast.

Ten minutes was barely a heartbeat's worth, when trapped in such a pointless struggle.

It was then the door on the upper floor snapped open.

Everyone held their breath as stunned gasps resounded across the room. All heads turned to the corridor, leading to the stairs, like honeybees transfixed at the sight of a fragrant flower.