Saskia flinched as the intruder’s voice pierced through the silence, her head twisting sharply in the direction of whoever had had the misfortune of witnessing what had just transpired. Her eyes briefly widened in recognition; she had seen the fierce-looking blonde somewhere before. And then it clicked in her head that she had seen her in the pageant, during the first round. Clare, she supposed was her name. Although comparing the woman from her memory to the one currently standing a few feet away from her, it almost seemed like it had been an entirely different person during the pageant. Saskia sobered from her surprise, however, when she recalled that while some had been forced to participate in the godforsaken competition, others had been enchanted or influenced somehow to participate. All while completely believing that they were participating in an ordinary beauty pageant, or Saskia supposed that was how it had worked out.
As the surprise faded from her eyes and the reality of her current predicament settled in, Saskia’s gaze dropped to the backpack on her lap; open wide with crumbled papers sticking out of it, an image of her blaring with the bitter truth on one of them, distorted from how she had crumbled it and faded from the way it had probably been a decent while since that poster had been hanged on the wall. Her shoulders hunched forward, almost as if they were sagging underneath the weight of everything that had happened to her. Her hands were still shaking and she could feel resentful tears prickling the corners of her eyes as she took a deep breath and then exhaled a breath that sounded so tired, so resigned to her own ears that her chest ached from the exhaustion that suddenly gripped her.
Staring passively at the papers strewn all over her lap from the way they had spilled out of her backpack, Saskia registered the mocking words with which Clare had made her presence known and she could feel the weak embers of her former rage sparking back to life. A show? Had that woman really stuck around to watch Saskia’s outburst as if there had been anything entertaining about it? As she interpreted the blonde’s emotions, Saskia couldn’t detect any mockery. She only sensed a strange mix of curiosity and … something akin to excitement. Steeling her expression, she slowly inclined her head in Clare’s direction, taking in the confident posture of the woman’s body and the way her eyes sparkled as they took in the scene, as if there was something good about what had just happened.
Saskia took a deep breath, not willing to give the other woman the satisfaction of witnessing her losing control of herself once again; she wouldn’t allow it a second time. She didn’t try to conceal the distrust lacing her voice as she responded, voice coming out weak and slightly hoarse, “Nothing you need to concern yourself with.” The words were clipped and curt; she didn’t find herself obligated to explain what had just happened and Clare had no right to know. If this horrendous occasion ended well for both of them, Clare would let it go and walk away and Saskia would continue with her mission to dispose of the posters.
Looking away from her unwanted companion in a way that she hoped indicated that the conversation was over, Saskia proceeded to shove the crumbled and crooked posters back into her backpack before attempting to zip up the bag with fingers that trembled so hard, it probably took her a good minute or two to get it done. The tears were still stubbornly pushing their way into her eyes but she clenched her jaw and kept them at bay; not willing to humiliate herself further than she already had, and in front of a stranger, no less. She gathered the bag in her arms and weakly stood up before she looked around in obvious search for an exit, still not acknowledging Clare’s presence.
This was all too rich. Clare often could sense when her words sunk right in and got under someone’s skin, even when it wasn’t so obvious. This time she didn’t even have to wonder. The way Saskia tensed, the anger behind her eyes, the signs were all there. It was amazing having that kind of power over someone; that sort of control. It gave her the upper hand by a long shot. Not to mention the rush.
“Nothing you need to concern yourself with.”
The tone was biting, to say the least. It was lovely. The pieces were fitting together here nicely. Clare suspected right off that Saskia knew who was in those posters. The defensiveness confirmed it, and now that Clare was closer, it was clear that Saskia was the person in question. It was all too delicious. When people wore their emotions on their sleeves it made them so much more malleable. Clare could read them without even putting forth the effort. The whole situation was just handing itself to her on a silver platter. What kind of person would she be if she refused?
Clare inched towards the other woman while she fumbled with her pack. It was precious that Saskia thought the conversation was over. As if she could escape this so easily. Plus, it was never her conversation to end, as much as she likely wished it were. “You can leave if you want,” Clare said cooly, approaching ever closer. “I certainly can’t keep you here by force and I would never be able to catch you in heels.” It was beyond difficult keeping the smirk off her face at this point. Her prey was cornered and she didn’t even know it. It was almost too easy. “But I do have a couple of contacts on the ACPD. I’m sure they’d love to hear from me about what I just saw.” By now, Clare was just in front of Saskia. Though she wasn’t taller than the other woman, she felt like she was looming over her all the same. It was the rush of power.
“I’m sure they’d also be very interested in the tape from the security cameras I have set up to monitor the area around my building.” God knows she’d never turn those in to anyone since she wasn’t entirely sure they were legal for her to have set up. That hardly mattered, however. It sounded threatening and that was all that mattered. Plus, if the cameras were an issue she was sure she could pay someone off.
“Now I would really rather not bother them, especially at this time of night. They’re so overworked as it is. I’d be willing to keep this between you and me.” Saskia wasn’t physically pinned to the wall but at this point she may as well have been as far as Clare was concerned. “Under the right circumstances.”
