Me vs Her.

~Elena

I poured the wine slowly, deliberately, letting the dark liquid swirl and settle in the crystal mug. The soft clink of glass echoed in the quiet room.

I didn’t sit.

I waited.

And she came, Lucia like a whisper trying not to be noticed.

“You requested for me, ma’am,” she said, bowing slightly. Her voice trembled. Her hands shook just enough to amuse me.

I remembered her well. How she used to sneer at me, Elena, the pitiful girl who threw the great Thorne into despair. Back then, I was a shadow, a scandal. A mistake that refused to disappear.

Now?

Now I was her fear.

I turned to face her with a smile, measured, slow, and soaked in irony.

“You have a good sense to be frightened, Lucia,” I said, lifting the mug and swirling the wine like blood in my palm.

She didn’t reply, but her eyes flickered, trying not to meet mine. Smart. Barely.

“You wore disgust like perfume around me, once,” I continued, stepping forward, letting my heels echo with intent. “You thought I was weak. Ruined.