by Diana Winchester 6th July 2019, 1:04 pm
-On the streets of Bellum-
Diana weaved through considerable foot traffic as she walked towards Mr. Necargie's house. Her thoughts kept turning back to people she had met on various jobs, people like Andrew and Maria, the brother and sister in Hargeon Town. She also thought of Veronica, the lonely heiress to her parent's shipping company in Hargeon Town. Jasmine DuClare of Capital Crocus came to mind; the brunette was perhaps a bit too much into Diana, but she was another lonely person who had come to see the blonde as a friend.
Diana had never really had friends, not since she was forced into her life in the shadows. She was used to hiding who she really was and wearing a mask of detached politeness, but her encounters with those people who had treated her as a friend had planted the seeds of doubt in her mind. Was she really meant to spend her life in the shadows?
Diana had thought that working in the clandestine guild of a multibillion-Jewel company would be the answer to all her woes. She would have a place to live and steady work, but more importantly she would have protection from enemies. Diana had once thought that accepting the invitation to work for them would be a panacea, but it was not what she had expected.
The blonde lived in what was a glorified hole in the ground. She hung around with people whose murderous propensities were less restrained than her own and whose loyalties were unknown. She never knew if they would sell her and the guild out for the right offer, so she was not sure if they were trustworthy. Perhaps her co-workers felt the same way about the blonde who kept others at a distance and who frequently took solo jobs.
Diana was amused at how her thoughts were running. Who was she to judge her co-workers? It was not like the blonde ever had the moral high ground to begin with.
She took morally questionable contracts just like them. She killed for money just like them. Most importantly, she had accepted the invitation to join the clandestine guild just like them. Who was she to judge?
Diana made her way through foot traffic without really paying much attention to where she was or what she was doing. She knew that she was in Bellum and knew that she was heading for the Necargie Mansion, but other than that she was drifting on autopilot. The blonde never knew that she could be so... introspective.
Knowing that she was in no condition to focus on walking, Diana opted to take a safe approach to reaching her destination. She walked over to the sidewalk and hailed a cab. Within little over a minute a yellow taxi with a black-and-white checkered pattern on the side rumbled up beside her and honked the horn.
"Where ya going?" The cabbie asked Diana. The mage turned and looked at the source of the voice. It was Tony, the same dark-haired cabbie with the cab that smelled of pizza who had taken her to Mr. Necargie's mansion in nearly record-breaking time.
"Hello Tony." Diana politely greeted the driver. His eyes looked at her face and he recognized her.
"Oh, it's you! The lady I took to 1020 Auric Street awhile ago!" He said to her. Diana nodded.
"Need to get there in a hurry?" He asked, shuffling the pizza box off of his dashboard and into the passenger side floorboard, which was not much of a cleaning because the floorboard was filled with pizza boxes and empty plastic soda bottles.
"Yes, please." Diana answered.
"Have a seat and we'll get going." He said to her, flipping on his light to indicate that his cab was occupied. Diana obliged, getting into the back seat of the cab. After she shut the door the cab rumbled into motion and the blonde was on her way to the Necargie Mansion.
-1020 Auric Street, fifteen minutes later-
"Here we are. 1020 Auric Street." Tony said, slamming the brakes hard and almost causing a collision with the rear of another cab. The driver of the other cab turned around and gave a one-finger salute while shouting obscenities. Tony returned the gesture and then turned to Diana.
"Sorry about that, lady. Frank can be a real asshole. His grand-dad owns the company, so he thinks he's hot stuff. Thinks the whole road belongs to him and no one should pull in behind him." Tony explained to her that the two cabbies had animosity with one another. Diana took it in stride as the taxi in front of them rumbled off in search of another fare.
"It is no problem. How much do I owe you?" Diana inquired. Tony turned to his meter and glanced at it. He then turned to her.
"Same rate as last time. 2,250 Jewels." He answered. Diana handed over the required amount plus a 500-Jewel tip because he had gotten her here rather quickly. She had no problem tipping generously for good service.
"Thanks lady. See ya later!" He said as Diana exited the cab and got onto the sidewalk in front of the mansion. Tony then raced off and left the scent of pizza lingering in the air. Diana was glad to be at the home of one of the only real friends she had in Bellum. Mr. Necargie and his niece Madeleine had been faithful friends of hers ever since the whole secret war with the Shadow Collective had started. Diana had to end the war before they got hurt.
[Word Count: 950]
[Total Word Count: 1,700/3,000]
Last edited by Diana Winchester on 7th July 2019, 2:11 pm; edited 1 time in total