Sirius Zero: Building A Corporate Kingdom After Being Expelled

Annette entered the dining room to find a steaming plate of stir-fried vegetables, alongside a small risotto of potato and rice, garnished with a sprig of coriander and thyme.

Alongside the main plate, was a tall glass of mint lemonade, and a saucer of cucumber slices.

In another tall glass filled with water, was a single white rose, with a note pinned to it.

Curious, Annette carefully detached the note.

"Captain Hawkins and I will finish our dinner and join you, I hope you like the lemonade. It is all right to like pretty things. Bon appétit - Mikaela," read the note in an elegant cursive script.

"No, Mikaela. You’re wrong. This is a prison, no matter how you slice it," growled Annette, crumpling the note.

She grabbed the tall glass that held the rose, went to the kitchen and tossed the flower into the trash, before she drained the water in the sink, and with a lot of self-control, forced herself to carefully put the glass away instead of smashing it.

She then grabbed a plastic spork, sat down at the dining table and started to eat, ignoring the stainless steel silverware that had been laid out for her.

"OK, it’s not too bad. Would have preferred something simpler though," she grumbled, as she mechanically chewed through the perfectly cooked vegetables and rice.

She took a massive swig from the glass of lemonade, and accidentally swallowed an ice cube and a mint leaf.

"Fuck you, Edward! Stop trying to make me into some prissy society girl!" she raged, as she coughed and sputtered from the combination of ice, mint and lemon burning her throat.

She got up from the dining table, and unceremoniously tossed the rest of the lemonade down the kitchen sink.

"No, no, no! You did not just do that!" she snarled as she looked in vain for her box of magnum wine bottles.

A howl of frustrated rage escaped her lips as she sank to the kitchen floor.

"I. Am. An. Adult!" she snarled, picking herself up from the floor, and marching towards the living room.

She snatched up her car keys, and marched out the door, not bothering to close it behind her, before she got into her car, and drove off to replenish her stock of wine.

---

"I had a feeling you doing that was not a good idea," said Edward, as he watched Annette drive off from across the street.

"Either she comes around, or she goes ballistic and lands up in the loony bin. Either way, it’s a win-win for me," said Mikaela, shrugging as she set Edward’s table with his best plates and silverware.

"And we are going all out on the fine dining experience because?" asked Ruth who was watching Mikaela carefully measure the distances between the plates.

"Because I want to know what it feels like. And how hard it really is," said Mikaela, as she carefully placed wine goblets at the three places.

"OK, but I hope you don’t make this a daily ritual. I don’t think I can keep up," chuckled Ruth.

"I won’t, but when I do decide, I expect you to rise to the occasion. Now go put on something prettier than that suit," said Mikaela, shooing Ruth with a delicate gesture.

"Jeez! Maybe Annette has a point about pretentiousness," grumbled Ruth.

"Fine! Join my Mom and her veggie dinner next time! I didn’t even get a fancy Thanksgiving dinner thanks her bullshit!" snapped Mikaela, glaring at Ruth.

"Hey, hey! I was kidding! Sorry! I’m going and getting changed," said Ruth, backing away from Mikaela’s fierce look.

Mikaela kept glaring at Ruth’s back as she fled up the stairs.

"Mikaela. The table looks amazing. How about you go get changed as well? I’ll do the plating," said Edward, gently laying a hand on Mikaela’s shoulder.

Mikaela calmed down, and took a deep breath.

"OK. Thanks, Captain Hawkins," she said, and went up to his spare bedroom to change.

---

"OK, this actually looks and smells pretty good," said Ruth, as she came down to find Edward ladling dollops of mashed potato onto the plates, that already had large sizzling steaks swimming in a dark and rich sauce, alongside zucchini and mushrooms.

"You’ve cleaned up nicely too," said Edward, his eyes roving appreciatively over Ruth’s deep red figure-hugging dress and sleek black pantyhose.

"T-thanks," said Ruth, blushing as red as her dress, and moving to sit at the table.

"I’ll be right back," chuckled Edward, and went to change for dinner as well.

Ruth was fidgeting nervously and looking at her hands, until the slow clip-clopping of high heels made her look up.

Mikaela had just entered the dining room, dressed in a sleek black dress with a fitted bodice and a wide flared skirt, making her look almost aristocratic.

It was paired with dazzling white pantyhose, and The Feminine Professional’s signature sleek black leather pumps with stiletto heels.

She too, was fidgeting nervously with the hem of her skirt as she looked at Ruth.

"I’m sorry," they both said together, before chuckling nervously.

"I’ll start first. I’m sorry. I know how hard it has been for you. Doing this on occasion is nice," said Ruth.

"I’m sorry too. I know you were just trying to not let me get carried away, but I’ve been wanting to know how this feels for a while now," said Mikaela.

"I know. You’re looking very pretty in that," said Ruth.

"So are you," said Mikaela, coming to sit at the dining table.

Edward entered just then, dressed in his black Navy dress uniform.

"Looking sharp, Captain," said Mikaela, taking in his appearance.

"That’s the idea behind the dress uniform," chuckled Edward.

"Is that a sword?" asked Mikaela, eyeing the ceremonial sword at Edward’s hip.

"Yeah, it is. Thought I’ll go all out," said Edward.

"Can I see?" asked Mikaela, her eyes wide.

"OK," said Edward, after a moment’s hesitation, and he carefully drew the sword.

"It looks beautiful," said Mikaela, as she watched the blade gleam and shimmer under the dining room lights.

"Yes well, it may be ceremonial, but it still is a sharp blade," said Edward sheathing it, and coming to sit.

"So that’s how you sit with it? I always thought they were too cumbersome to sit with," said Ruth, eyeing how the sword stayed out of the way of Edward as he sat, and the scabbard just grazed the floor.

"It depends on the chair. That’s why I got these. Armchairs and sofas won’t work obviously," chuckled Edward, patting the leg of the wooden dining chair.

"Let’s eat. I’m starving. Itadakimasu," said Mikaela, clapping her hands over the steak.

"Itadakimasu," replied Ruth and Edward, and they started to dig in.

---

"So disappointing, but at least she didn’t come over and try to cause a scene," sighed Mikaela, as she and Edward entered Annette’s house, to find her slumped over the dining table, an empty magnum bottle at her feet.

The stench of cheap wine, mingled with Annette’s sweat filled the air.

"You know, what Captain? I’m officially done. Let’s move my stuff to your house," said Mikaela, her fists clenched.

"OK," said Edward, and together, they slowly and quietly moved Mikaela’s computer, books, and other odds and ends across the street.

"Whew! I think that’s the last of it," said Mikaela, flopping down on the bed in her room at Edward’s house.

"You sure this will not backfire?" asked Edward, still a little uncomfortable with how cold Mikaela was becoming towards Annette.

"Like I said earlier. It’s a win-win. Either she comes to terms with who I am and what I want, or I finally get to stay with Daddy. From the looks of today, she basically learned nothing," said Mikaela.

"OK. I’ll stop asking," said Edward, trying to hide the fact that Mikaela’s tone had sent a shiver down his spine - exactly the same way he had felt when he first met Ivan.

Mikaela heaved herself out of the bed.

"I’m going to freshen up and sleep. Have to hit the books for the St. Ignatius entrance test. Goodnight, Captain," she said.

"Goodnight, Mikaela," chuckled Edward, and left her room.

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