The Arrangement Novels & Stories

The room was darker than usual and as promised, I could see that the maids had my things arranged in the same manner they were before I moved out the last time. “You don’t need me to tell you to shut the door do you?” he snapped and I flinched. He was seated on the couch in front of his bed casually. I couldn’t see his face but I could sense the amusement in them. He was enjoying this, seeing me covered in bruises and dirt. “Why did you have my things moved?” I asked once I shut the door. My voice came out smaller than I had hoped and I reminded myself to sound more confident next time.

Oh crap, so this was how he planned to lay things out—just dump it all on the table and then sort out the pieces. It was the same way he put together a puzzle—zero logic or planning. James was not an outside-edge-first kind of guy, and he never looked at the picture on the box. No part of this scenario could go well. If I thought I could hold my breath during the entire revelation, I would, just so I didn't miss a single word. It was a sadistic kind of anticipation that my husband wouldn't fare well in.

I had spoken to her once, which was only mere greetings because most of the time she stayed in her room. Although she was my age, she wasn’t participating in the championship, not because she wasn’t allowed to, but… “I am participating in this championship on your behalf, Cel. I have no intention of fulfilling optional formalities,” Arran said in a low and slightly cracked voice. He had platinum blonde hair with dark green eyes. “Arran, don’t you think it’s a great opportunity to…” Celadine coughed, covering her mouth with her hands. “Cel!” Arran’s poker face broke into a frown. “You shouldn’t be out here in chilly winds. Let’s go back to your room…”

“But you didn’t know it was me.” “Says you.” She held open the door and went to put the flowers in a vase. These ones were pink roses and they somehow smelled even better than the ones from before. It took her a minute to locate her spare flower vase. If he kept bringing her flowers like this, she was going to run out of places to put them. “What do you think of the apartment?” he asked her, looking around. “Do you want new furniture?” “My furniture is fine,” she told him. She arranged the flower stems to best show off the blossoms. “And the apartment is perfect. The elevator ride is about ten seconds and I have an amazing view.”

But then again, she isn't dressed as she usually is on set, tonight, she manages to look simple and yet so elegant. "You're Arianna Cade!" I blurt out and she chuckles. "Thought you would never figure it out dear." She says good-naturedly. Wait till I tell Chloe and Bloom about this, they are so gonna be jealous. I then remember that I never told them about the arranged marriage in the first place. In my defense, it came as a shock and it didn't even cross my mind to tell them but now that it did, I make it a point to remember to call them and inform them about it after this dinner.

Leaving the remaining rows empty he moved to the fifth row and just placed 'Y' under the column 1. "Each number has its own vibration and its own vibratory influence. That's how these arrangement was founded. Now I don't know it's full origin but this is the format in which the numbers written as a clue that the kid found, should be interpreted from, and it's translation as you can see is, 'look up', just trace the alphabets under the numbers and you will see," Andrew further explained.

What if being his caretaker will dig up old emotions? “Can I think about this arrangement?” I ask, hoping for a little more time. “Of course, Paige. Take all the time you need,” Julian says, his tone softening. “But please, consider it. Dallas needs someone he trusts right now, and you might be the only one who can give him that.”

The word of someone assessing an asset. I had been so much more than pleased. She’d been twelve and she’d gotten it right and I’d felt something so enormous I hadn’t had a clean label for it, and I’d filed it under pleased because the clean label was easier than the true one. Thirty years of clean labels for things that weren’t clean. Celeste’s breathing was shallower than it had been two minutes ago. I moved to the candles first. Arranged them correctly — not the combat configuration, not the summoning circle. The original arrangement, the oldest one, the one the texts described before the formal codification. I’d never set them this way before. My hands knew the positions anyway.

He then returned to the space, used some tables and chairs, and set up a formation. Darryl wanted to deploy a Five Elements Formation in the room as a backup. "You—" Seeing Darryl busy arranging the tables and chairs, Moriri asked curiously, "Are you deploying a formation?" She was smart and knew Darryl must have had a purpose for arranging the tables and chairs. Darryl nodded. "Yes, since we're leaving, we must not make any mistakes." Boom! A loud noise could be heard outside as Darryl was speaking. After finishing the deployment, Darryl hurried to the door with Moriri to see what had happened.

he hesitated. “And?” I pressed. “They were arranged.” His words settled heavily in the room. I leaned back slightly, my eyes narrowing. “What do you mean by they were arranged?” “The bodies were placed in specific positions,” he replied, his voice lower now, “almost like symbols.” A quiet unease spread across the table, I could see it in the way some of the council members shifted in their seats, and in the way others avoided looking directly at me. “Show me,” I said.