Chapter 1: Prologue
The car bucked as it drove over a speedbump, almost dropping hot ashes onto the legs of its driver. The driver removes the cigarette from his mouth, tapping it into the car's ashtray before returning it. Ivan had been driving for almost a week, and thought it would be a smart idea to send his things ahead, including his extra cigarettes. Taking a glance at the one in his mouth, he blindly rummages around the seat next to him to find his pack. Keeping his eyes on the road, Ivan raises it up into his peripheral vision, opening it with one hand to reveal a lone cigarette in the pack. He grumbles as he drops the pack back in the seat, moving both of his hands to 10 and 2 on the steering wheel. As his fingers grip the steering wheel he notices the ring on his left hand, and grips the wheel tighter.
"Keep in together Ivan, Marianne would want you to move on," He reassures himself, all the while not loosening his grip. The smell of the freshly dug dirt comes back, the feeling of spit on his face. Ivan tries to ignore it, focusing on the road until the memories fade. The attempt to ignore is aided by the sound of snoring in the back seat, prompting Ivan to adjust the rearview to look at his companion. All it reflects is a body under a blanket, no features visible. He sighs audibly, readjusting his rearview,
"You know, for a 'driving companion' you've done a lot of nothing," he lightly taps on the break, jostling the person in the back awake, "But sleep that is." The woman who was sleeping sits up, the blanket being pulled off of her head. Ivan glances into the rearview mirror, seeing her onyx skin reflected, snow white locks falling around her face, and those lavender pink eyes staring daggers into him.
"You really found it necessary to wake me Ivan?" the woman asked from the back, a sense of authority in her voice. He stares into the mirror, in a way into her eyes, and shows no emotion in reply. He takes a drag before setting the half of his cigarette into the ashtray, saving it for later.
"Sorry," He says, "I guess I must've hit a bump in the road." Bringing his full attention back to the road, he smirks as her voice rings out in dispute.
"Bull-fucking-shit! You and I both know that the roads this close to the city are brand new and have no faults in them." She says it as if it's the only logical explanation, with a slight smugness in her voice.
"Huh, I guess you're right Quenna," Ivan pauses momentarily before finishing his thought, "Must've been a rabbit or something." Despite wanting to see her reaction, he decides to keep his eyes forward. He's pretty sure he knows what her reaction will be already, and Quenna's gasp confirms his suspicions. "Oh be quiet, I'm so heartless that I would run over a defenseless animal. For a Dark Elf you sure do care a lot about animals."
"THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH-" Quenna begins to protest, before quickly quieting back down. "No need to be racist, prick. I'm here for you, ya' know?" There's the smugness in her voice again. Ivan sighs, not honoring her with a reply as they both knew very well that despite their attitudes towards each other, Ivan would be dead by now if it wasn't for her.