Chapter 8 : Sweet Revenge

Astra sighed as he stepped into his room, still recovering from the absolute humiliation he had suffered earlier. His feet dragged across the floor as his mind replayed the scene of Kael and Vael laughing at him.

"Ugh. I need a reset. A full reset."

Then, his eyes landed on something unexpected.

Neatly pressed and folded, a fresh set of clothes sat on the edge of his bed. His fingers ran over the soft fabric as he picked them up. The scent of lavender and something vaguely expensive clung to them—so unlike the worn-out, battle-stained rags he was currently wearing.

"Who had left them?"

He glanced at his reflection in the mirror—his current clothes were in absolute ruins. Torn at the seams, stained with dirt, and bearing the evidence of everything he had just been through.

Astra wrinkled his nose.

"Yeah… I definitely need a bath."

He clutched the fresh set of clothes in his hands and sighed, dragging himself toward the bathroom.

"At least after this, I'll feel human again."

He turned toward the bathroom, taking a step—Then immediately stopped.

"Wait"

His eyes darted back to the fresh clothes, then back to his own.

"What if...What if Vael and Kael were planning something? What if this was part of a cruel joke? What if—he was walking straight into a trap?!"

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the folded fabric.

"It looked normal. But so did Kael before he opened his mouth."

Astra cautiously poked the shirt. Nothing happened.

He lifted it, checking underneath. No traps. No hidden notes that said Haha, suffer.

"...Huh. Guess they are just clothes," he admitted.

Feeling victorious over his own paranoia, he turned on his heel and strode confidently toward the bathroom.

Astra stomped into the bathroom, closing the door behind him with more force than necessary. He wasn't mad. No, mad wasn't the right word. He was humiliated.

"Stupid Kael," he grumbled, peeling off his dirty clothes and tossing them into a corner. "Stupid Vael. Stupid mental preparation—ugh!"

The moment replayed in his head, the way they had laughed at him like he was some kind of joke. {*And the worst part? It was kinda funny. Lmao*}

But that wasn't the point! He had lost! And Astra hated losing.

Standing in front of the mirror, he pointed at his reflection. "This isn't over. I will get revenge. Mark my words."

His reflection looked unimpressed.

With a huff, he turned toward the large, luxurious bathtub. The water was already warm, the scent of fresh herbs and something ridiculously fancy filling the air. This wasn't just a bath—it was a rich person's bath.

He sank into the water, feeling his muscles relax despite his anger.

"Maybe I'll swap their pillows," he mused aloud, staring at the ceiling. "Yeah... Switching their pillows with lumpy, rock-hard ones would make their night miserable. They'd wake up groggy, and cranky"

"No, wait. That's stupid. They'd just switch back."

He frowned. "Think, Astra, think!"

He thought deeply, about something evil.. then it hit him.

He grinned. "Soap."

Astra bolted upright in the tub, excitement buzzing through him. "I could just replace their regular soap with something... unpleasant. Maybe something that smelled horrible. Or something that made their skin itch. Or—ooh, what if it stained their skin a weird color?"

Astra smirked to himself. "Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant."

"Hmm I should replace both the pillow and the soap hehehe" Astra stepped out of the tub, still fuming as he grabbed a towel and began drying himself off. His mind was working overtime, spinning with possibilities.

"Alright," he muttered, rubbing the towel over his damp hair. "If I want to ruin their night, I will have to do it!!! I will take my sweet revenge!"

Astra smirked he clenched his fist, he wrapped a towel around his waist, and made his way out of the bathroom. His lips curled into a mischievous grin. "Something that would turn their skin a weird color. Or make them smell like rotten fish."

"Or," Astra whispered dramatically, "I could mix both."

His laughter filled the room, a true villainous cackle. He was going to make sure Kael and Vael suffered.

His body buzzed with excitement as he worked out every detail in his mind. "Yes, it was perfect! Foolproof! Nothing could go wro—"

He suddenly gasped.

"This is it!" he shouted triumphantly. And then, in his moment of victory, he did what any overly enthusiastic person would do—

He jumped in excitement. His foot slipped.

And before he knew it—

*THWACK!*

His balance betrayed him. In a panic, he reached out, grabbing the first thing his hands could find—

The curtains.

With a loud RIIIP, the entire set of luxurious, expensive, definitely-not-meant-to-be-yanked curtains came crashing down.

And so did Astra.

Flat on his back, tangled in fabric, he lay there staring at the ceiling. His mind blanked out for a solid three seconds.

Then, very quietly, he muttered:

"…I regret everything."

The sound of hurried footsteps echoed in the hallway.

"Astra?" Vael's voice called, his concern clear.

"Nope," Astra wheezed, still pinned under the heavy drapery. "No Astra here. Only curtains."

The door swung open.

Vael entered, standing a few feet away holding a cup of tea, staring directly at him.

Astra didn't move.

Vael didn't move.

A tense silence stretched between them, for a moment, there was silence.

Then—

Kael walked into the room and patted the back of Vael. "Hey, I heard a noise.. what's going on—"

He stopped and his gaze landed on Astra.

Vael opened his mouth, "Ast—"

"Don't ask any questions," Astra cut in, voice dead serious.

Vael blinked. His mouth shut.

Kael, on the other hand, was thriving. He crossed his arms, grinning down at Astra as if he had just won some sort of lifelong competition.

"Don't worry," Kael said smoothly. "No questions—just observations."

Astra groaned, already regretting everything.

Kael squatted next to him, poking at the mess of fabric. "Observation one: You look like a tragic main character after a failed escape scene."

"Observation two," Vael chimed in, now unable to hold back his laughter, "Those curtains were very expensive."

Astra sighed dramatically, still sprawled on the floor. "Great, rub it in. Just go ahead and send me a bill while you're at it."

Kael hummed. "That can be arranged."

Astra shot up immediately. "I TAKE IT BACK!"

Vael, still chuckling, leaned forward and stretched out his hand toward Astra, silently telling him to get up. Astra, sighing in defeat, grabbed Vael's hand and let himself be pulled up.

And then—

*Fwump*

The towel that had been barely hanging onto Astra slipped right off.

Astra froze. Vael froze. Their eyes looked in; a pure shock written all over their face.

There was exactly one second of heavy silence before—

"PFFT—HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Kael doubled over, clutching his stomach, absolutely losing it. Vael immediately turned away, covering his eyes in sheer second-hand embarrassment.

Astra just stood there, wide-eyed, horror slowly creeping in as he realized.

"OH MY— STOP LOOKING!" Astra shrieked, diving back into the fallen curtain pile to shield himself.

"Too late!" Kael howled. "The damage is done!"

Vael, still politely turned away, cleared his throat. "I didn't see anything," he said, voice carefully neutral.

Kael, wiping a fake tear from his eye, grinned. "I did."

Astra, now a fully wrapped burrito of shame, screamed into the fabric. "I HATE THIS HOUSE!"

To be continued….