"I've always wondered how my life was before my emancipation. It's one thing that I was at the age one would remember such things seeing as the king freed when he was a teenager and we're in the same age grade yet for some reason I have no recollection of my days in the slave camp or market.

Did I have parents? Or was I born in slavery? Well, the possibility of the latter is low, so where are my parents?"

Qaya wright sighed as she closed her diary and stretched.

For the past five years, she'd been using her wages to investigate her parents whereabouts.

"If only that stupid king let me take other customers, I'd be rich enough to afford more extensive investigation" she pouted and took a gulp of rum and squirmed

"It's lost it's fire"

Just then Melinda walked in, the air seemed stiff and everyone became awkward.

"Don't tell me you're still angry about the article"

Melinda watched her roommate in shock "you slander my name, ruin my integrity and expect me to just whine for a short while and forget about it?"

"So you want to whine for a long time?"

"You know, you're despicable right"

Qaya shook her head "okay, I'll take it down just tell me why on earth that man gave you power of attorney? It's...even if you're are very cordial it's insensitive to his children"

Melinda scoffed "I'm telling you this to satiate your curiosity but the power of attorney is for ten months, I convinced him I will stop the nonsense the Harbinger is pulling but really... that's a lie"

Melinda chuckled and collected the rum bottle in Qaya's hand and poured it's content away into a plant pot, Qaya frowned.

"You say you can pull the article down when you didn't put it up on your own accord in the first place"

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"Well, you underestimate the influence I hold..."

"Shut up" Melinda cooed "since you itch so much, the journalist in you just wants gossip I will let you know, I don't like what you're doing with the king, so I approached his number one antagonist for support, to be honest I don't really care for Sir Milton's beliefs, they are quite suffocating"

Qaya cocked her head to the side, she was confused as to why Melinda was acting like her wits had been exchanged with that of a chimpanzee but she watched on at the other's dramatic play.

"I went to meet the king today..." Melinda paused as if choking on saliva or tears "he is a heartless man but do you know what I heard him say; he said you were more than a sister to him,your relationship transcends blood relationship" she ended the sentence in a high pitch, scoffing

"Tell me, why will a heartless man say that?"

Melinda was now sitting down and looking at Qaya inquisitively

"He lied, if he indeed saw me that way he wouldn't make me do what I did"

Melinda adjusted in her seat "let me rephrase the question, why would someone reputed to be heartless and insensitive choose to put on such facade?"

Qaya rolled her eyes "why are you asking me? Couldn't you ask him yourself or where too scared?"

She stood up to go, she didn't know or care about what came over Melinda but she couldn't tolerate her weird and stupid actions. But Melinda would not let her leave she viciously held her back, both of them now standing

"I couldn't talk to him...not after what I heard"

Qaya looked stupefied "and what does that have to do with me?"

"Do you realize that you never once apologized for slandering my name" now her gaze had darkened

"Has the deadline for an apology passed" Qaya answered nonchalantly. She winced as Melinda's nails dug into her flesh

"Well, I have no need for your apology, I will get my revenge...I will bring your name and everyone associated with it to ruination"

"Let go off me" Qaya did not want to admit it but she was getting increasingly scared of Melinda's actions

"Why should I? You're a horrible person. now I'm asking you to take responsibility for your actions and what do you do?"

She reached to her pocket with her free hand and brought out a knife.

"Oh is this your secret? That you're not a kind person"

"No" was all Melinda muttered

"I thought as much, because if it was, I would have told you that you did a real bad job hiding such a secret and then that means my speculation of your secret is right after all" she said with a smug look

"What?"

"Oh you didn't think I knew about your 'big' secret" Qaya feigned a gasp putting on airs.

She then inched closer to Melinda and whispered in her ear. The other shook at Qaya's words.

Qaya drew back to take a good look at Melinda.

"I reckon that my speculation has become a fact, with this reaction. Now that you know I know your little secret, trust that I see you in a different light and will cooperate with you. I won't cause any more trouble, so let go of me. How are you so stron..." The sentence was cut short with a sharp gasp, Qaya's eyes widened at the pain she felt. She looked up at Melinda's apologetic look and down at the knife protruding from her.

And slowly, she fell to the ground.

Melinda heaved. A wave of relief and anxiety blew her. For months she'd been fighting her hatred for Qaya and Awin. She wanted so badly to snatch from Awin what he held a valuable asset, then the veil over his eyes would remove. She so wanted badly to see him in pain, so she could be the one to take it away, she wanted to see him vulnerable, defeated, weak and useless and then give him a new purpose. She wanted to shatter this deity and make him nothing but a man chained by emotions.

As she looked at Qaya's body lying on the ground, she stared apologetically

"I did no wrong this is just the repercussion of your actions"