《Her Five Protectors》THREE
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Athena looks up at this person in fear. He is tall more like huge with his 6'8" frame and he have few tattoos here and there. His physique is well built but he just have that blank almost dead type of look on his face that was scaring Athena. He looks down at her in such a way like he is a God himself. Athena gulps and averts her gaze back on the nice looking floor. It was so clean that Athena could literally see her own reflection in it.
"Alexander! Go and cool off. I will call you back when you will be needed here." Alexander inwardly just rolls his eyes at his older brother's words but immediately walk past him upstairs.
"Vincrenzo!" Luciano nods at him and looks back at Athena who is looking down. Luciano looks at her trembling shoulders and his heart clenches. He wants to comfort her but now is not the right time in front of his older brother.
"Don't go too harsh on her, Vincenzo! She's just a kid and just look at her she has gone through so much." Luciano pleads to his older brother. His older brother is an head of Italian Mafia and a heartless person. He is not used to show softness and kindness. These words were unfamiliar in his dictionary. But Luciano knows that inwardly this tough mafia boss has stored so much love in his cold heart for his siblings. Especially the youngest Ariana. He adores her secretly but from outer shell he is a toughest one to crack.
Luciano takes his leave leaving Athena with Vincenzo. Immediately tears fill in her eyes. She wants to tell him to not to go and not to leave her with him but he already went out of her sight upstairs. She looks up at Vincenzo who is watching her with interest.
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"Ariana! Follow me." He says before turning his back to her and making his way upstairs. Athena freezes at her place. On the fifth steps, Vincenzo stops too.
"I won't repeat myself again." That makes her run. Not behind him but outside. She needs to escape. Her mind isn't working properly and the headache is ready to explode her nerves. She just runs like a track star without looking at her back.
But immediately her way is blocked by two guards. They gently drags her back inside by using a bit not much of their force. They settles her down on a chair in front of Vincenzo. The guards leaves after shutting the door.
Athena looks at Vincenzo. He is signing some documents without even lifting his face to look at her. Athena just continues to shake in fear just by looking at his emotionless face. This man is not even trying to look scary but still he is scary. He looks up after few minutes when he finally finishes his work. Seeing her trembling body and teary eyes, he motions at the glass of water in front of her.
"Calm down Ariana and have some water." He doesn't even sounding commanding but still he sounds so bossy. He isn't even looking at her in anger, he is just calm very calm. Emotionlessly calm! Panicking, she grabs the glass with shaky hands and gulps down the water in one go.
"Very good." He praises her blankly as she sets the empty glass down softly.
"Now I won't waste my time asking you irrelevant questions. We will directly talk about your punishments! Now listen to me carefully because I don't believe in repeating my words. You are grounded until you turn 18. That also includes no school for you! You will be homeschooled until you graduate highschool. You have lost your every privilege of electronics. In the vacant time, you will do your chores that basically includes in cleaning your room on your own! There will be no special maids assigned for you from now on. I have decided to increase the time period of your self defense training with Alexander. Make it for three early hours in morning and every day."
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Athena just stares at him wide eyes. Her mind is a mess right now and the killing headache just wants to eat her nerves.
"Have any questions?" He asks her. When she didn't reply just stares. He dismisses her.
"Go to your room and take rest for today. From tomorrow the new rules apply on you."
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NOVA INTERIT.US
It's 2063, and the town along with much of the nation are in disarray. The decay started years before the Great Event. Our town still had hope thanks to the five families, who'd created a blockchain based water distribution system for the locals, a valuable secret hidden from the Global Water Commission and their network of mercenaries. Earlier in the mid-2040's, right after the state secessions of Idaho, Montana, and Texas, the Global Council of Water Commissioners made their deals and moved into towns throughout the country. They called it "the integration." The Commission and their contractors integrated with municipal water departments, using their organized network to invade like parasites on local services. It all coincided with the 29th Amendment to the United States Constitution, later referred to as the Regional Trident Plan. Nova is a story about survival, power structures, the turning of relationships, and the networking between people and the systems to which they belong. It’s about A.I. blockchain possibility, and its potential for human betterment versus our detriment. It’s about the question of whether or not we need to be saved from ourselves, and by who or what? The Great Event at the end of the first chapter might just be what actually saves us. The epilogue will take place in 2517. This scene is fully sketched and the full arc of the novel is set. I expect to finish Nova Interitus by summer of 2023. This is realist hard-sci-fi dystopian fiction. I hope you find Nova to be a challenging and consuming story. This is not something I planned to write. It all came to me in a dream and I haven't been able to stop writing it. This Royal Road posting is basically a beta test with chapters and drafts to get some feedback and see if there's any readership for this narrative. For the full experience read Nova on Substack. I will be narrating a podcast version later this year there. https://novainteritus.substack.com/
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The Queen. The Jack. The Reporter. The...? Remi, Blyke, Isen, and (y/n) are inseparable. The four marauders. The barbershop quartet. Okay, not really. None of them can sing. Especially Blyke. But they always seem to be in the midst of trouble. What can they say, trouble always seems to find them. Okay, that's not true either. The world is wild, and they're ready to take it on. Story rankings: #50 magicpowers, #346 trouble, #36 remi, #203 webtoon, #33 isen, #36 blyke, #72 unordinary
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