"Oh, my! Miss Olivana is quite the daring one, isn't she?" Michael laughed, clearly amused.
"Absolutely! I go after what I want, and right now… it's him!" I replied, a broad grin lighting up my face. His brows knitted in intrigue, but the hint of a frown never fully formed. The air between us buzzed with excitement!
"Whoa, a bold confession in broad daylight! Dom? What's your take on this?" Michael leaned in, his voice a conspiratorial whisper as he offered me a lifeline. I couldn't tear my eyes away from Dom, my heart racing as I awaited his response.
"She's not worthy to be my woman," he shot back, his gaze fixed ahead, completely ignoring me. The tension hung thick in the air, electrifying the moment.
"Oooh!" Michael let out a sound hinting at my rejection which got him a glare from me.
"And why do you deem me not worthy sir Dominique?" I exclaimed with a funny British accent as I fell to my knees dramatically which fetched Michael's resounding laughter. I must admit I knew how to put up a show at unwarranted moments.
"Because you are not" he replied nonchalantly clearly not taking me seriously. On an ordinary day, I'd probably get mad but instead, I saw it as a challenge… a challenge that gave me thrills just by thinking about it.
"20 days!" I declared my pitch a little higher than usual. His raised eyebrow revealed his interest.
"Give me 20 days and I'll prove to you that Olivana Harkin is worthy of Dominique umm… Dominique!" having no idea of his surname I could only make do with his first name.
"Well for that to work, you need to stay with me right?" he asked a smirk forming on those thin lips. Not even thinking twice as I nodded vigorously.
"Good…but I warn you, you'll get your heart broken," he enunciated each word clearly as if trying to remind me I was taking a risk. A risk I was willing to take even if it meant plunging into his darkness.
"Well If I don't take this gamble, my heart will be broken either way," I said firmly, my gaze resolute and unswerving.
The statement was broken by Michael's whistle, Which successfully gained our attention.
"Well Olivana in as much as I am rooting for you, I must say Dom is a hard nut to crack…so at the end of the day even if you don't manage to prove your worth to him, you shouldn't feel bad cos as far as I know, Dom's approval to woo him is already a big feat" Michael let out, ostensibly trying to pacify me in advance like he was already sure I'd fail.
"You finally dropped the miss?" I asked one of my eyebrows raised with a small smile playing at the edge of my lips. If he was smart enough, he'd know I disregarded the rest of his words.
"Oh well, what can I say?" he said as he chuckled, hopefully catching the meaning behind my words.
"That being settled, it is time to speak about other things…like my powers!" I suggested as my gaze switched from Dominique to Michael, pressing for answers.
" What kind of powers do you have?" Michael asked his expression of that of cautiousness. And Dom just staring at me probably sharing the same question with Michael.
"I don't know, apart from my ability to heal immediately. The ones I accomplished here were newly discovered" I said in a serious tone referring to the mind manipulation while Michael and Dom exchanged glances.
"I was normal till I went up a mountain and touched a glowing flower" I added particularly aiming for clarification on this.
"What kind of flower?" Michael asked with confusion. I knew I could only Identify the flower by showing them the tattoo on my back but it'd be weird just pulling off my shirt right?
I backed the two men in the room and slowly pulled off my shirt, gradually revealing my back-covered tattoo.
"Woah that's some intricate image of a flower! Can I touch it?" Michael exclaimed.
"Um sure I guess," I said my mind on Dominique's reaction, not daring to turn around due to my naked upper body, I could only give consent to Michael's request.
"F*ck!!" Michael cussed behind me. Still confused as to what might have happened, I heard him complain
"What the hell was that?!" he asked, pain transparent in his voice.
"What's wrong?" I gently voiced out my concern.
"The tattoo charred my skin! Like it's f*cking blazing on your skin!" he exclaimed his anger brewing. I could tell he wasn't exaggerating, so how unbearable was it for him to exclaim?
"Move aside" Dominique's low voice reverberated through my body sending a tingle down my spine.
"Dom! Don't even try it… I can't even Imagine what it's going to do to you knowing your nature" Michael said still in pain. Dominique not even bothering with Michael came towering behind me, instead of fear it gave me a sense of security. How ironic!
"Dominique I think you should listen to Michael and not—" I was unable to finish my words as a creeping sensation began to flare on the surface Dominique touched.
"Guys what's happening? I feel funny… Dominique what did you do?!" I raised my voice in panic my composure crumbling as quickly as possible.
I felt the sensation spread through my body and like a volcano erupting, the light emitted its strong beam onto the distance almost blinding but yet discerning.
My body became light and felt like I was transcending, my whole body illuminating like it was on fire. Gradually the light settled and I was on a field of dandelions. Witnessing such a surreal occurrence was my first, yet oddly it felt familiar.
I looked around trying to figure out what was going on but shock soon sufficed slowly ebbing my overwhelming feelings. A pale-skinned girl, tall and slender with silver hair extending past her waistline. Her brightly colored lips were a stark contrast to her dull eyes revealing her pearly white teeth. She was smiling sweetly while running around the field, dandelions flowing with the wind.
"Domique Domique, come on! Come catch me!" she said in between her sweet giggles. I felt blood gradually leave my face as I stared in horror-like astonishment. This girl was a complete replica of me!!
She couldn't see me and it felt like I was just in a piece of memory, quietly watching by the side. I glanced at the direction she looked when she called for whoever domique was, yearning to see who it was, a brooding feeling swelling inside of me seemingly at the thought they Domique was similar to Dominique.
"Vana! Watch out" I heard a voice call out in warning as I saw an arrow going straight at her. With little time to evade it, she got shot on her shoulder, the arrow piercing through her skin, with bright red blood spilling out.
Falling backwards like I was hit by the arrow too, I winced in pain, the same expression visible on our faces, I couldn't see the guy due to the grasses surrounding them but he felt familiar. I watched as he held her while pacifying her in words only they could hear.
I let out a sad smile as everything gradually dispersed around me. With the fire-like glow diminishing I collapsed, the world slowly turning dark. Before that I felt Dominique holding unto me, saying things I couldn't quite fathom or was it just a fragment of my imagination?
yet this scene felt similar to the one I witnessed moments ago.