01-14-2019, 12:17 PM
/ help i didn't mean for it to get this long
For the thirty-year-old heiress of a multibillion-dollar international business conglomerate, the holidays were hell on earth. Meeting after meeting had all but worn through her high heels, and even her favorite pair of sturdy work boots left blisters on the soles of her feet. Her sleek undercut kept reverting to its natural form of thick dark waves in the middle of the day; ducking into bathrooms to slick it back again ate up precious minutes. She'd begun packing a thermos filled with honey lemon tea to combat the neverending phone calls. It was only a matter of time before spreadsheets invaded her nightmares.
On Christmas Day, she'd returned the well-wishes her mother and sisters had texted her while she flipped through files she'd been poring over since four in the morning. She could still recall the presents she'd sent them. The original of a painting by Chairman Metaxas's favorite Renaissance artist. Money for Lachesis to gamble away. Vicuña wool that Clotho would knit into sweaters for her cats. Seeds from the Rothschild's slipper orchid, which Eunomia's greenhouses had been sorely lacking. A generous donation to the law school from which Dike had graduated. For dearest Eirene, an antique baby mobile, one that her infant daughter would surely enjoy.
"It's lovely, Atropos," her youngest sister had told her in a voice like birdsong through the earpiece she wore while driving to work. "It really is. But are you sure you can't come over for dinner tonight?"
She'd spent the countdown to the New Year with a glass of champagne in one hand and the other scrolling through a tablet computer. From the balcony of her penthouse suite, she had a perfect view of the fireworks dancing over the city skyline, trickling back down, burning technicolor streaks into the night sky. At midnight, her phone vibrated with half a dozen Happy New Year!s, one after the other. As lights exploded above her, she wondered what indulgence tasted like.
Today proved to be slow. She forwarded all business-related calls to her assistants and allowed herself a long soak in the shower. Afterward, she crawled into a sweatshirt several sizes too big and settled down in front of her computer. She clicked the little icon and crisscrossed her legs. As the familiar soundtrack played through her headset, the muscles along her spine loosened, and she let out a slow exhale.
Her pixel kingdom lay on a vast coastline, flourishing in an industry of fishing, glass-making, and pearl-diving. It had only been a few days since she started playing, but she had fallen for this game—hook, line, and sinker. Despite the early stages of her virtual reign, she'd already built up a formidable seaside nation, though she had yet to experiment beyond the boundaries of her territory. Not for long.
Ding. She glanced up from constructing a dozen new houses to accommodate a recent population boom. The chat symbol glowed with one unread message. She chewed her lip. Since starting the game, she had been mostly self-sufficient, accepting only the most beneficial of alliances and rejecting their friend requests. She never had any need to use the chat. Two more rang in her ears, and with them her curiosity grew. She clicked the chat symbol and studied the most recent messages.
Atropos hummed low in her chest, a plan hatching. She checked the map, confirming that her kingdom bordered sxnshine's, then cast a critical eye over her troops. Her lip twitched, just as a fourth message appeared. One look at the user's name startled a laugh out of her, and she watched as they sent sxnshine aid. Her half-smile grew into a full grin.
In a few seconds, a troop of three dozen was marching toward sxnshine's kingdom. They cut down stopputtingxinusernames's paltry assistance with ease and set a second flame as they raided the supplies. No doubt she would lose a few in this endeavor, but this was too good of an opportunity to resist. On a whim, she typed up a brief message.
unturnxble: That's a shame.
She leaned back in her chair, biting back laughter as she ran a hand through her still-damp hair. Hopefully thedxctxr wouldn't figure out how to send their troops anytime soon.
For the thirty-year-old heiress of a multibillion-dollar international business conglomerate, the holidays were hell on earth. Meeting after meeting had all but worn through her high heels, and even her favorite pair of sturdy work boots left blisters on the soles of her feet. Her sleek undercut kept reverting to its natural form of thick dark waves in the middle of the day; ducking into bathrooms to slick it back again ate up precious minutes. She'd begun packing a thermos filled with honey lemon tea to combat the neverending phone calls. It was only a matter of time before spreadsheets invaded her nightmares.
On Christmas Day, she'd returned the well-wishes her mother and sisters had texted her while she flipped through files she'd been poring over since four in the morning. She could still recall the presents she'd sent them. The original of a painting by Chairman Metaxas's favorite Renaissance artist. Money for Lachesis to gamble away. Vicuña wool that Clotho would knit into sweaters for her cats. Seeds from the Rothschild's slipper orchid, which Eunomia's greenhouses had been sorely lacking. A generous donation to the law school from which Dike had graduated. For dearest Eirene, an antique baby mobile, one that her infant daughter would surely enjoy.
"It's lovely, Atropos," her youngest sister had told her in a voice like birdsong through the earpiece she wore while driving to work. "It really is. But are you sure you can't come over for dinner tonight?"
She'd spent the countdown to the New Year with a glass of champagne in one hand and the other scrolling through a tablet computer. From the balcony of her penthouse suite, she had a perfect view of the fireworks dancing over the city skyline, trickling back down, burning technicolor streaks into the night sky. At midnight, her phone vibrated with half a dozen Happy New Year!s, one after the other. As lights exploded above her, she wondered what indulgence tasted like.
Today proved to be slow. She forwarded all business-related calls to her assistants and allowed herself a long soak in the shower. Afterward, she crawled into a sweatshirt several sizes too big and settled down in front of her computer. She clicked the little icon and crisscrossed her legs. As the familiar soundtrack played through her headset, the muscles along her spine loosened, and she let out a slow exhale.
Her pixel kingdom lay on a vast coastline, flourishing in an industry of fishing, glass-making, and pearl-diving. It had only been a few days since she started playing, but she had fallen for this game—hook, line, and sinker. Despite the early stages of her virtual reign, she'd already built up a formidable seaside nation, though she had yet to experiment beyond the boundaries of her territory. Not for long.
Ding. She glanced up from constructing a dozen new houses to accommodate a recent population boom. The chat symbol glowed with one unread message. She chewed her lip. Since starting the game, she had been mostly self-sufficient, accepting only the most beneficial of alliances and rejecting their friend requests. She never had any need to use the chat. Two more rang in her ears, and with them her curiosity grew. She clicked the chat symbol and studied the most recent messages.
Atropos hummed low in her chest, a plan hatching. She checked the map, confirming that her kingdom bordered sxnshine's, then cast a critical eye over her troops. Her lip twitched, just as a fourth message appeared. One look at the user's name startled a laugh out of her, and she watched as they sent sxnshine aid. Her half-smile grew into a full grin.
In a few seconds, a troop of three dozen was marching toward sxnshine's kingdom. They cut down stopputtingxinusernames's paltry assistance with ease and set a second flame as they raided the supplies. No doubt she would lose a few in this endeavor, but this was too good of an opportunity to resist. On a whim, she typed up a brief message.
unturnxble: That's a shame.
She leaned back in her chair, biting back laughter as she ran a hand through her still-damp hair. Hopefully thedxctxr wouldn't figure out how to send their troops anytime soon.