Envy's Sorrow

Viktorija walked around the giant library that was her Mind Space; she hadn’t been surprised when Aldona and Azuloas told her it was her safe space. No one touched her in the library and the librarian didn’t care for people and left her in peace. The only thing that ruined the peace was two cages; one for Lynne’s soul and the other for the Snake of Envy. The only good thing that Viktorija found in the situation was that no one would know which was which, since box cages had glowing snakes on the side. They were basically the same at first glance. She had touched the iron bars of both cages; the metal was cold underneath her hands. It had been three years since she discovered that the bite on her wrist meant that Hyacintha could enter her Mind Space at will. The first bit that Melanthe had given her allowed her to do the same thing. Melanthe and Hyacintha joined her Mind Space to Azuloas and Aldona, but she also knew that one of them had be there for them to enter each other’s minds. Meaning, Viktorija couldn’t contract her cousins this way unless they wanted to talk to her first. Aldona had a theory that Melanthe could do the same with Jakoba and Montgomery. None of them were keen on testing out said theory. “Melanthe, Aldona,” Viktorija greeted. “It’s Dona, Torija,” Aldona told her walking up to her to pull her into a hug, Melanthe flying around her Mind Space. Aldona told her that Melanthe had a habit of checking on the Fox of Greed, so she wasn’t surprised that she’d check on the Lynne’s soul and the Snake of Envy. “Dona then,” Viktorija agreed. “Azu is coming back in less than a year,” Aldona told her, smiling as she sat down next to Viktorija and put her arm around her. “I miss him, this is the longest we’ve been apart.” Viktorija didn’t know what to say to her; she didn’t really have anyone that would she miss if she was away for a long period of time, she was far too use to be being on her own and wondering about her own safety only. “He’s training with Taavetti is almost over then?” Viktorija asked her after five minutes of silence, it almost made her want to cry. She remembered when Azuloas had first told her about his training trip, she had never met Taavetti. But she made sure to run into Azuloas as much as she could, they had spared a few times and she always made sure that she left before Taavetti came back. It was for his own safety; she didn’t want to see the man who tore Aldona and Azuloas away from each other. Who tore Dvesma and Azuloas away from each other; she listened as Aldona told her about the two and she thought they would be good for each other. Not that she would do anything about it, Azuloas would feel in love with who he feel in love with. “Grandfather and Aunt Jenica isn’t happy with him, he was meant to be sending them updates and he hasn’t,” Aldona told her, Viktorija looking at a book that was labelled; Majestueux; four. Everything she had seen, read and heard in her life; written down into books that anyone in her Mind Space could read. “Don’t we give them updates?” Viktorija asked her. “We’re not Taavetti; Torija, we’re not meant to do his job for him,” Aldona told her, before shacking her head. She didn’t know if Azuloas would join them, it depended on how tired he was and if he needed some time to himself. “That and we’re nicer to look at, at least, if we’re quoting Jakoba anyway. That man’s keeping my brother up too long.” “We stay up once a month,” Viktorija reminded her. “Yes, but that’s something we can’t do anything about.” “Azuloas is also old enough to tell Taavetti to go f**k himself.” “Azu, Torija, Azu. And he’s too polite for that.” “I’ll remember that.” “Finally told Taavetti to go f**k himself and to let me sleep,” Azuloas told them as he walked over, Hyacintha quickly joining Melanthe in her routes around Viktorija’s Mind Space. “Kept me up past Midnight, Moon Training my ass.” Viktorija looked at Aldona with a small smile on her face as Azuloas sat in front of his twin sister, their feet leaning against each other. “Dona, you said something about him being too polite to tell Taavetti to go f**k himself?” “You’re a horrid influence Torija,” Aldona told her. “Lynne pushes Launce and I to that twitch a month,” Viktorija told him. Azuloas grinned at her, “it was that bit of information that allowed me go to sleep.” Viktorija smiled at them. “Happy Eighteenth birthday,” Aldona and Azuloas told her, they did this every year since she had turned sixteen. Which was two years ago, she had been with Lynne for almost three years ago and that was three years of her life gone. Viktorija didn’t even blink at it, she knew Justus had wasted five years of his life on a mission for the royal family. Aldona also told her that another two of her and Azuloas’ adopted siblings was due to come back to Sashan in the next two years. “How does it feel to be eighteen?” Azuloas asked her. “Don’t know, how’s it feel to be nineteen. A year away from being in your twenties,” Viktorija shot back. Aldona grinned at Azuloas, “she got us there Azu.” “You’re only a year younger than us,” Azuloas reminded her with a fake scowl on his face. Viktorija knew it was fake, so she only grinned at him and he rolled his eyes and grinned back at her without a second thought. “Besides, you two are eighteen. You already know what it’s like,” Viktorija told them. “Another two months and you’ll be nineteen.” “How are you?” Aldona asked her. “Fine,” Viktorija replied. “Torija, we know that’s a lie,” Azuloas shot back, a frown on his face. Viktorija knew she was being pushed to far by keeping Lynne’s men healthy. She was the only medic in the entire compound, and it was putting a strain on her chakra reserves. “Taavetti and I have seen Launce, when Lynne sends him out on a mission and his bags are going to have bags soon. You’ve passed that point, Lynne pushing both of you too hard and it’s showing.” “And Taavetti isn’t?” Viktorija asked him. “Nope, he’ll push me,” Azuloas told her, putting his hand on her knee and take her hand into his own before squeezing. “But he knows that overly pushing someone while training, does more harm than good.” “Anyway, we need a plan,” Aldona reminded them before taking her other hand into her own, pulling her head onto her shoulder. “And information to pass along to Grandpa, Sashan should be ready to remove Lynne from the map; Mother of Mercy knows everyone’s given Nestanha enough time to get off their asses and do it.”