Chapter Text
Michelle had risen from her blissful sleep when she heard a loud crash come from her kitchen. What the fuck. Someone was breaking into the brownstone that she was currently occupying. The brownstone hadn’t made the slightest dent in the numerous bank accounts that she owned. She was extremely thankful that there hadn’t been many questions from the previous owners. She had initially been very worried about not being able to buy her own home through numerous housing agents across the city. Michelle had never made the face-to-face contact with anyone that she was buying anything from, in the fear that one day she would come face-to-face with her past.
How ironic that now her past was right below her in the kitchen. Reaching under her pillow, the tip of her fingers brushed against the reptilian handle of her dagger. During her younger years as a viper, she had been taught various stealth tactics from the higher up teachers. Why was she afraid now? Why was her heart beating out of her chest ? She didn’t have answers for her questions so she got rid of all of her doubts. As soon as her feet touched the cold hardwood floors of her bedroom; her whole demeanor changed at an instant. She crept out of her room with square shoulders and a locked jaw. Rule number was to never let the opponent see your fear; to be fearful is to be weak. Michelle was not weak , not anymore .
The dark hallway made Michelle more unedge than it usually did. The soft words were more distinctive now that she was closer to the source. The one thing that Michelle knew for sure, was that there were two voices; two people in her house. When Michelle started to walk down the stairs, the voices grew louder the closer she got to the kitchen. She recognized that words were being exchanged in, both, Russian and German. The first honeyed voice was one that Michelle knew instantly because the seemed to speak with a panicked rush and the other voice was modulated as if trying to calm the other voice down.
Michelle’s feet came to a stop when she saw the two figures in her kitchen. Michelle practically shivered when the hair on her arms rose on edge. Her past was definitely coming back to haunt her. Whatever the past wanted; it wasn't good. As Michelle walked closer and closer, her nervousness disappeared. In the darkness, she continued to watch as the two people, females, conversed with one another.
“What will we say to her when she wakens, that we were in the neighborhood and wanted to stop by and catch up,” The brown skinned girl asked furiously towards the redhead that was standing across from her.
“Yes, we need her help and she’s our sister,” The redhead said sharply towards the curly-haired girl indicating that she had ended whatever reservations that the girl may have had before.
Michelle couldn’t take listening to the girl's exchange words anymore like she wasn’t there. The light switch was turned on and there stood Michelle in her full glory. Headscarf wrapped tightly on her curly head and glasses pushed up on her frowned face. Not even eight hours of sleep could fix the permanent bags under Michelle’s eyes, from what both girls could tell.
“Minerva, you look well,” Both girls said at the same time like they rehearsed what they were going to say to her, with smiles that barely touched the corners of their full lips. Michelle was almost amused when she saw that both girls were wearing clothes that were supposed to make blend in. She stopped being amused when she finally saw the bruises, cuts, and blood that cacked their faces.
“I go by Michelle now,” Michelle said making her way towards her tea kettle without a second thought. She didn’t need to be looking at the girls to know that they had both exchanged looks with each other. Water from the sink rushed into the tea kettle and then she placed the kettle onto the kitchen counter. The fridge opened and Michelle looked for food that they could eat quickly; they probably were hungry.
“Minerva look-,” The brown skinned girl started to say but then stopped herself when she saw the uninterested look that Michelle gave her.
“No, go shower and get yourselves together and then we will talk about the reason you’ve both found me,” Michelle said and motioned the girls towards the steep steps of the apartment. Thankfully, neither girl said anything before walking calmly up the stairs. Michelle let out a breath that she didn’t know she was holding, as she heard the soft clicks on two bedrooms opening and closing.