บท 5: WHAT NOW?

"Are you ready yet, Hua-" Mei with her lips parted, gasps as she eyes Yue head to toe, scrutinizing every inch of her attire.

She stands in uncertain astonishment, her tiny hands over her mouth, enacting a consternate expression.

"You look so enchanting!!" she advanced towards Yue, her enormous ball dress knocking down the table lamp in the process, to which she heeds no attention, as her eyes remain glued on the now gracefully dressed younger sibling.

"I never knew my sister could manage a mature, alluring look." She smiles and in her smile is a genuine affection, of a doting elder sister.

Yue's eyes accumulate tears, an unprecedented affliction, clusters in her chest. 'What is this feeling so foreign? Is this what it feels like to have a sister?'

"But collating with you, I could never compete, sister." Yue proceeds with the dialogues, against her own willingness, as the scene from the novel sets in motion.

"I am sure, the prince will straightaway have his eyes on you." Mei chuckles shyly in response, as she hits Yue's shoulder playfully in accordance to the script.

"There's little chance for that happening, but I truly hope he does." She pats Yue's head gleefully and gently.

"Come on now, we wouldn't want to arrive late at such a monumental proceeding now, would we?" Mei peppily forges ahead of Yue, towards the door, ceasing in her steps standing against the nominal frame of the door, waiting for Yue to catch on.

So, Yue takes in a deep breath, as she too, proceeds in her direction, and alongside Mei, head towards their loitering carriages.

Yue's eyes light up with a blend of contrasting emotions as they stand before the uncommon vehicles.

Nervous exhilaration to traverse in a queer archaic traveler. Yet perturbed about the foretold account of events to take place momentarily, which might be conclusive in her imminent death.

Yue gulps nervously as she advance towards one of the smaller carriages, not making any haste. They aren't any longer prevalent in present times.

The coach has a suspended, enclosed body, with a roof forming part of its framing, and two inside transverse seats facing one another, for carrying four or six passengers, yet these will accompany a single human each.

Mei being the first born has a fancier, slightly larger in size, carriage, where as Yue's or rather Hua's is comparatively smaller and less magnificent in appearance, but the difference is negligible.

While Yue stood in a capricious mood of awe and consternation, Mei ceased her movements of stepping onto her own carriage and turned lightly to face Yue,

"Oh Hua, this would be your first ball," Mei ambles towards her, as indeed it would have been Hua's very first ball, as she is younger than Mei and has only this year, acquired the legal permit of being eligible to attend one.

Yet woefully, she'll die without ever witnessing one, due to foreseen circumstances, of her tragic doom of death.

Yue sighed internally, continually fretting over her own situation now.

"I want you to travel in my carriage instead." A heartfelt gesture of a loving sibling yet again, they had to make the main-lead so kind, didn't they?

"You're the best sister in this entire wide world, Mei Mei." Yue reluctantly embraced her into a hug, and it was all so corporeal, that Yue had begun to neglect the fact that this in fact, none of it was a reality.

Mei's embrace is mellow and homely, Yue hitherto being reluctant to indulge in it, now refused to let go, for once. But she had to as the story must go on. Had the carriages not been replaced, Mei would have died instead of Hua.

That was the foremost thought of surviving that had flashed across Yue's mind, but she was for some reason, reluctant of letting Mei die, despite having taken countless lives in the past.... Images coruscate in Yue's head.

A dark abandoned lane, the dampness of the weather added to the horrible conditions Yue layed in. She could see through the darkness in her mind, she could see herself slumped against the wall, her head in her own hands, and both head and hands smeared with blood, a gun lying at distance from her. She sees herself throwing it out of trepidation and fear, fear of what she was turning into….

But quickly Yue shakes her head again out of the distressing thoughts, she will do whatever it takes to finish what her parents strived to, she will expose that scumbag and bring about an end to his world of the mafia.

She gets on the more ostentatious ride. It was absolutely a struggle to move with the gigantic dress, not saying that it was not the most beautiful attire Yue had ever put on herself. Yet in a scenario like this one, of escaping death, it wasn't the most appeasing.

The horses neigh, jumping lowly and striking their horse-shoe against the concrete floor, the snap of the leather belts heralds the commencement of a horrendous journey.

As the carriage initiates it's expedition, trundling in its tracks, Yue leans back in the soft, sagging velour seat, feeling the warmth that the insides of the vehicle had to offer, as the carriage rocked back and forth and back and forth, which could have been a comforting rhythm of wheels on tracks but alas she had another plans for herself in to-do list.

As the carriage settles in its pace to a constant and languid motion, she hurriedly picks the tules of her heavenly ball gown and brings out the knife tied across her upper thigh. She had covertly managed to swipe a knife across the kitchen counter, on her way towards the main gate.

"Here goes nothing." Yue puts the hem of her elongated gown in her mouth as she holds it midway with her right hand, and set in action the trimming of the dress and pruning it into a favorable, conducive attire. She knew she was short of time to be able to perfectly convert a voluminous ball gown into a mid length frock but she coped to weather the storm.

In a matter of a few minutes, as it seemed, she had successfully contrived an advantageous outwear. What she now wore, was far flung from the conventional notion of an elite ball gown. It was now, a modified outfit, which suited her to her complex circumstances. A triumphant beaming smile surfaces on her formerly frowned face upon the first step in her survival plan accomplished.

The front of the ball dress has now been truncated up to her upper thigh, just above her knee-caps, while the back is nevertheless as extensive as it ever was, to begin with. She had removed the countless layers of tulle on the petticoat, they were nothing but an obstacle to everything, except sitting or talking while standing motionless.

The horses unexpectedly neigh, not politely or conventionally the way they occasionally do, but in frantic frenzy way.

Yue's eyes widen in a preconceived dread of the eloquent death scene nearing by the second. The carriage tumbles and her weight is shifted along with it, to the left, then to the right, to and fro continually.

This wasn't going as formulated, Yue was to instantly leap out and roll down the grassland on the left. But she didn't expect this scene to play out so soon….

With a few seconds, supposedly left before the carriage stumbles down the hill, she must make an attempt, or she might as well actually die. Yue adamantly, endeavors and flies open the carriage door, which was unexpectedly heavier and it was an utter combat to unlock it with the unwavering carriage, that kept tilting and bouncing, detrimentally.

This was an absolute do or die situation, "My life's on stake, not saying it hasn't always been."

On triumphantly orifacing the ride, her orbs dilate in dismay and utter trepidation, as all she could see was a steep slope of hill, advancing into vast tracts of forest.

Strong gust of wind pierces through the door, making it nearly impossible for here to hold her stance. She had miscalculated the door facing the land area. Yue stared in dread at the ceaseless fort of trees in the damp shadows below.

'What am I to do now!? '