The Capital
Kallum, Ciondo
833 P.C. [Post-Collapse]
Before leaving, Zayne warned Kira about his fiancée’s loyalty, and that wasn't something she'd forget. Not even while she reclined next to Mellie on a massage table in a home spa that she'd had set up for the day.
Captivity brought with it surprising luxuries when business took Zayne away to the territories.
A masseuse rubbed warm oil into each of their shoulders that smelled of lilac and berries.
“I needed this,” Mellie said.
“I feel bad you brought all this here.”
“Nonsense. It was my surprise, and this is way better than going out. We can gossip and not worry about who hears. These two exclusively work with high-ranking families.”
Neither of the women massaging them spoke or reacted, like they weren't even there.
As wonderful as it felt, Kira also found it hard to relax. She'd never been to a spa and wasn't used to this.
Mellie started telling her about her favorite shops in town. The world she lived in was too foreign, and so Kira just smiled, not really taking any of it in.
It gave her time to think about her drone and anything she may have overlooked. In three days, Zayne returned, so she should send it to her associates before then.
“Tell me you really don't mind that I style you. It's an obsession of mine.” Mellie looked at Kira expectantly.
“I'm excited for it.”
That sparked a new aspect of the conversation, with names Kira didn't recognize. Designers, makeup, perfume.
Mellie's skin care routine likely costs what Kira made in a year. She was stunning with or without all the work she put into her image. Enough that lying beside her in a towel sparked insecurities Kira thought she had conquered years ago. Growing up, Kira hated the thickness of her thighs and refused to even look at her stomach. Bad. Best to ignore. But Elijah loved her curves, and that showed her how poorly she'd treated herself. So, she learned to appreciate her figure.
Today, she felt like too much. Too much body. Too much insecurity. Too much space.
Too much compared to Mellie, who fit so well in her towel with her shape toned and perfected. She definitely worked out. Probably bonded over that with Zayne because there was no guessing how much of his life he devoted to honing himself for war. He looked like he'd personally sculpted every inch of himself the way an artist did a statue, with the same cutting discipline and penchant for suffering that drove everything about him.
The two of them saw any extra shred of fat as weakness to be trimmed away. Weakness of the body and soul.
It shouldn't matter what two loyalists thought. Why did it sting?
“You're carrying stress in your shoulders,” the masseuse said. “Try relaxing.”
Just relax and forget about the hundreds of lives at stake if her mom talked. Nothing to worry about. Warm oil and deft fingers continued the fight against the tension in her body.
“Are you very close with your cousins?” Mellie settled her head on her arms to look at Kira.
“Not at all. Adelle is the one I'm here for.” Not much of a lie.
The other woman frowned. “Then you don't have any words of wisdom to help me with Zayne.”
A laugh broke free. “No, not at all. I think he hates me.”
“It's hard when you come from a family of status. I can't talk to anyone about it and risk rumors.” Mellie groaned. “Adelle warned me that when he came from war, he'd be distant, but it's worse than I expected.”
Pity wound its way into Kira's chest. “Was it better before?”
“Yes,” Mellie said. “He's secretly sweet, you know. I'm sure Zayne will truly come home soon.”
