𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑'𝐒 𝐃𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐑, luke castellan

𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞

Keira remained motionless in her bedroom, her gaze fixed upon the package from her mother nestled on her bed.

She had patiently waited the entire afternoon for Rosie to leave the room, granting her the opportunity to finally open the package. When Rosie eventually went to dinner, Keira, attributing her lack of hunger to the time difference, decided to stay behind and reveal the contents of the package. Rosie, familiar with her roommate's quirks and considering her excuse pathetic given that the time difference with New York was only three hours, didn't bother questioning further and left as usual.

As Keira carefully opened the box, she discovered a handwritten note. Thankfully, her mother had thoughtfully chosen to write in Ancient Greek, sparing her eyes any additional strain as she read the message.

𝓓𝓮𝓪𝓻 𝓚𝓮𝓲𝓻𝓪,

𝓣𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓲𝓼 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓽𝓻𝓾𝓮 16𝓽𝓱 𝓫𝓲𝓻𝓽𝓱𝓭𝓪𝔂 𝓰𝓲𝓯𝓽. 𝓘 𝓱𝓸𝓹𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝔀𝓮𝓪𝓹𝓸𝓷 𝓘 𝓬𝓱𝓸𝓼𝓮 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓵𝓲𝓿𝓮𝓼 𝓾𝓹 𝓽𝓸 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓮𝔁𝓹𝓮𝓬𝓽𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓼. 𝓣𝓸 𝓾𝓷𝔀𝓻𝓪𝓹 𝓲𝓽, 𝓾𝓼𝓮 𝓢𝓱𝓪𝓭𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓭𝓰𝓮.

𝓟𝓻𝓸𝓾𝓭 𝓸𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓜𝓸𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻'𝓼 𝓓𝓪𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝔂𝓸𝓾'𝓿𝓮 𝓫𝓮𝓬𝓸𝓶𝓮,

𝓐𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓷𝓪

Keira retrieved Shadowedge from her pocket and transformed it into a dagger. Following the note's instructions, she broke the unique wrapping of the gift. By its shape, she already had an idea of what to expect inside. Nevertheless, as she observed the figure that had been concealed for so long, she couldn't help but hold her breath and widen her eyes in excitement.

At that moment, the sound of the door opening again caught Keira off guard. She muttered a quiet "Fuck," and hastily, she perched at the edge of her bed, making an attempt to conceal what lay there, even though she was aware that it was large enough to be seen regardless.

Rosie rushed into the room, mentioning that she had forgotten her jacket. Upon seeing Keira sitting on the bed in such a suspicious manner, she furrowed her brow. Keira closed her eyes as her roommate's gaze landed on her, anticipating the need to provide a highly unbelievable explanation. 

Surely, after this new episode, Keira would finally get what she had desired all these years: to have a room all to herself at school. After witnessing what Keira had on top of her bed, Rosie would probably no longer want to share a room with her and would likely request a change to the authorities.

As Rosie's gaze fell on the figure on her roommate's bed, she widened her eyes in admiration, and her lips parted in astonishment. Keira was a bit thrown off by her reaction, as she had expected fear instead, and perhaps a few startled screams.

Mesmerized, Rosie reached out toward the gift as if to grab it, completely hypnotized by its shape. Seeing her advance with determination, Keira became alarmed and quickly took her by the forearm in a brisk and determined move. Her roommate looked at her disdainfully, clenching her jaw and rolling her eyes.

"I wasn't going to steal it," she defended, freeing herself from Keira's grip and stepping back, visibly upset by the blonde's reaction. "I just wanted to see the tag to know where you bought it."

"Where I bought it?" Keira repeated, frowning.

"The scarf, duh," Rosie responded, as if it were obvious. After all, it was the only thing visible on the bed at that moment. "I've never seen one in that color, so bright."

"Oh," Keira exclaimed, understanding dawning on her face. "Um... It was on sale in H&M."

After Keira's explanation, Rosie nodded begrudgingly, a hint of irony playing on her lips, still irked by Keira's peculiar reaction when she reached for the scarf. It seemed that her roommate's eccentricities knew no bounds, leaving Rosie unfazed by yet another odd encounter. With a resigned sigh, she snatched her jacket and exited the room once more.

Keira glanced back at Athena's gift, her mind drifting to the stark contrast between what she was witnessing in that moment and what Rosie must have perceived through the Mist. 

While her roommate likely envisioned a beautiful and lengthy scarf, Keira, beside the shattered eggshell struck by Shadowedge, beheld a breathtaking golden snake with mesmerizing emerald-green eyes.