What Have We Here [Eliane, Antonetta]

Oh, wasn't this such a pleasant place? And it was really so easy to come by when she was supposed to be dead, how convenient. Smiling to herself as she walked through the City of Lights, Eliane looked around for the young lady she was seeking out. It was all too easy to keep up with her former employer's goings-on when she was supposedly still alive and well, after all, so she knew that her most fragile sister was here somewhere.

Ah, and there like clockwork, that familiar white hair. Most people could never even think of sneaking up on an Ovide, but Eliane was not most people, and she allowed herself a wide smile as she crept up behind her younger sister and put her hands over her eyes, whispering to her in a voice that was both sing-song and profoundly menacing as she did so.

"Guess who~"

"E-Elly..."

She mumbled, the natural course of action was to retailiate but that voice cut through her thoughts like butter. What was she doing here? Nothing good could come of this right? Even if it made her heart explode with joy at being so close to one of her sisters it didn't change the fact that she had few good memories of Eliane, how many deaths were because of her older sister? How many times had she been sabotaged by Eliane? Situations like this but she wouldn't do that right now would she? What would their mother do if Eliane interrupted this operation?

So she remained in her sundress so tense that she felt her jaw begin to hurt as she hung between joy and terror. The high point of happiness and the lowest point of despair both felt in an instant to compete for the place in her heart. None of them won though, it was curiosity that clawed its way on top as they fought and she stammered out the answer.

"W-W-Wha-what are you doing here, Elly?"

"Oh, just checking up on a few things for business. You know how things are, life is always so busy. I've had more than a few little difficulties along the way."

Of course, she was intentionally being so vague that it was suspicious, and she removed her hands from Antonetta's eyes knowing fully that it would lead to her turning around. The lack of a collar around Eliane's own neck was really all that she needed Antonetta to see, but for now, she was content to continue talking before everything really escalated.

"How have things been going here? Making any progress?"

"They're going alright..."

She answered and turned around hesitantly. She didn't want to sound like she was happy with the turnout so far because then Eliane might eagerly tear up all her hard work and send her home for the equivalent of a stern spanking from their mother, figuratively speaking.

If she said it was going really bad then Eliane would probably do something as well like say she was disciplining or punishing her. So Antonetta looked at the bare neck of Eliane and bit her lip, what did she do to be let off the hook?

What kind of special treatment was this, unless it wasn't but that meant that Eliane had betrayed them as well and that was a terrifying thought that crossed her mind. She should just act natural even though her impulse was to escape. In the game of cat and mouse she was always the cat, except for Eliane. Even she couldn't compete with her.

"Just alright? I would have thought you might be excited to share any news with your big sister, but then again, a smart girl like you isn't going to let something like that spill out in public, right?"

It was all too easy to see that Antonetta had noticed her lack of a collar, and Eliane's eyes lit up at that. She could have hidden the fact that she was glad to see it, but really, it didn't matter to her now. The second she'd come here, she'd had a plan. Hiding the situation was only going to make it take longer to get where she wanted it to go.

"Maybe you should let yourself take a little break, hm? It would do wonders for your health. I've heard Arlette is doing well, even if I'm sure she won't let me see her. And me, well, I think I've never looked better."

Eliane pulled up one sleeve of her coat as she said that, the myriad scars and stitch marks of having been pieced back together still quite clear. Escaping from Claudia had been easy enough for her, even if Arlette had made it easier still. Antonetta was probably in the best possible position to do it.

"R-right... O-kay."

She didn't like the current situation, everything was becoming unravelled and tangled. That nice thing that had been knitted together for her whole short life was in disarry. The little sister stared at Eliane, what did she want? To get back at her or their mother somehow? Is that why she was here to sabotage her in the most natural expression of her older sister's wiles?

"You look... spectacular."

Now what spectacular meant was up for debate but she wanted to remain on her older sister's good side for the moment. If she tried anything funny then Eliane could probably retaliate and make her regret it like many other times.

"Oh, Antonetta, don't try and slide a little lie like that by me. I know you and I have different taste in these things."

Eliane's ever-present smile fell, then, her expression becoming more serious in a way that Antonetta probably hadn't ever actually seen. Studying her 'sister' carefully for a moment, she thought about the situation, about the gentle little creature that never could have stood up to her.

"So. Judging from how long you've been here, you probably haven't had much success. I wonder how long it would take for you being here before Claudia decided you've taken too long. Are you planning to force Arlette to come back?"

It was easy to word all this as if she was simply putting Antonetta over the coals, but the reality was that she wanted to make the entire idea seem like a waste of time. Despair was helpful sometimes.

"I know Arlette better than anyone. She probably wants to see you."

"Don't be silly..."

She answered back, her mother would never cut her off like that. A bit of wistful denial as she smiled through the situation. Eliane was just doing that thing where she toyed with her, the same thing that she did but Antonetta was willingly ignorant of her own habits to manipulate and toy with people. The only people that were people were four other people to her after all.

"It's just.. taking some time. I'll kill Arlette... I have to and then..."

Antonetta insisted with a false kind of resolution, a front to try and play up her confidence in herself that if she saw Arlette then she'd be more than capable of doing the deed. Even if she was the "youngest" and the baby of the lot she could rise to the occasion if she had to.

And then what? Kill Eliane too now that she was looking at her like this. Why was everyone so against being together? Why did they hate each other. They were all related and should love each other and want to be together, so why were they all so driven to tear themselves apart!

"And then what? You go home, with two less sisters? Do you think she's going to bring back Arlette? As soon as she knows about me, I'm sure I won't be back anymore either. You'll be down two sisters, and then it'll only be you, her, and Wolfina."

Eliane knew she was simply crushing her sister's spirits by speaking so bluntly, but that in itself was worthwhile. It was hardly out of the ordinary for her, anyway, to harm her sisters intentionally. This was just a little different.

And, besides. This was the sort of pain that built character.

"I'm planning to visit here now and again. There's just as much family in this city as there is in Italy if I'm here. And I don't quite see Arlette activating that little collar you have on."

Reaching over, Eliane touched the collar, a finger slowly moving as if to go under it. It was just a taunting gesture, of course. She had no intention of setting it off.

"..."

She looked at Eliane with eyes that held back tears, how could she just say such things so awfully like that? She wanted her to stop, so her body had already instinctively tried to make her stop by showing her pain. It worked on plenty of people but not this woman. Tears just made her sister happier.

Happy enough to make her recoil at the finger that dared a little too close to the tool of death around her neck. Did she even hear what she was saying right now? Betray their mother, abandon Wolfina with the same feelings that she felt when Arlette left them and now Eliane too?

"She'll kill me and you, and Arlette and Wolfina. Why are you both doing all this? You're making her mad."