Something Like Chemical

START

LONG, DELICATE fingers caressed the stem of a wineglass, trailing upward to catch the small beads of the condensation on the glass. A pair of violet eyes stared at her from across the table. The owner of that eyes is surely intimidating. She knew what the woman's doing.

"Waverly Alaia Knight, that's your full name, right?" the woman started tapping her perfectly manicured nails on the table, leaning back as she stared at her. "I heard so much about you ever since I approved your application in our organization." the authority in her voice is trailing off, "I want you to do something for me."

"I'll do it in a heartbeat, Maman if it's your order." Waverly said and glanced at Maman before she continued, "But I want to know first, what is it?"

Maman, that's what everyone calls the head of the organization that she's in. The woman in front of her.

Maman smirked and clasped her hands. "In a heartbeat, huh." she gave an overly dramatic sigh, "I want you to make a very deadly chemical for me."

She tilted her head. "What do you mean by deadly, Maman?" she asked as confusion filled her eyes.

"A love potion." she said as if it's nothing.

Waverly stared at her with her mouth open, speechless. A love potion? That's too impossible to make! The job is too tricky. She wondered if she can really make it. It's close to magic.

Taking her stunned silence as a bad sign, Maman narrowed her eyes and tapped the table using her long nails a little louder. "Is it to hard? Won't you make it for me? I thought you'll do it in a heartbeat if it's my order."

Waverly cleared her throat to hide the fact that she couldn't snap her mouth shut. She took a moment to close her eyes and took a deep breath. "Maman, I'll take it. Just give me at least, let's say, two months." she said in a trailing hurry voice.

This is a big opportunity, she's waiting for her first big project in their organization, and it's surprisingly given to her by the head herself. She can't just decline it.

Maman crossed her arms, glanced at her, and smiled wickedly, a sly emotion is evident in her eyes.

I just hope I won't mess this up.

"It's settled then, I'll see you again after two months, Waverly. When the potion is made, you also need to give me the exact ingredients and procedures of it. Will that be alright?" Maman said in a calming manner, making her relaxed.

Waverly pursed her lips and nodded. "You got it, Maman. I'll see you in two months time." she replied and smiled sheepishly.

Maman, then, smiled at her and stood up. "I'll get going now, Waverly." she slid a business card in Waverly's side. "Call me, when you're ready." she said and left her alone.

Waverly just watch as Maman walks away until she can't see her figure anymore.

A big project is it, Waverly. It's time to show how good you are when it comes to chemicals. But, still. It's already twentieth century and a love potion is still too much.

THE NEXT morning, Waverly awoke on her laboratory's office. The cream-colored ceiling welcomed her sight as soon as she opened her eyes.

She grunted and scratched her eyes. What a morning for her, indeed. Waverly started her morning routine immediately. She still got an appointment with the FBI commander, he called her last night about their still ongoing project together.

She wore a cream paired suit and a black heels, then, she applied light makeup on her face to finish off her look.

She needs to look presentable enough, especially the commander of the FBI isn't a normal citizen. Furthermore, she took a deep breath before she hopped into her car and drove to their meeting place.

After a mind blowing meeting and a project approved last night, now she has to deal and overcome another one.

She arrived at their respective meeting destination. Waverly took a deep breath and composed her self before she stepped out of her car. A valet and a staff immediately assisted her when they saw who she is.

The waitress by the door smiled and greeted her. "Good day, Miss Knight. Mr. Castiel is already waiting for you." she said before slightly bowed at her.

Waverly nodded and walked towards the VIP room where they always have their meeting.

She immediately saw Mr. Castiel having tea with an unknown man beside him.

She approached them and slightly bowed to show her respect. "Mr. Castiel. You got a company, I see." she said and raised her eyebrow.

Their meeting should be kept confidential between only the two of them that's because not everyone knows that she works at the FBI now, especially that she's the one behind the mysterious newest gun power and grenades.

Mr. Castiel nodded at her and motioned her to sit across them, that she did.

"I'm sorry for not informing you about my company today, Ms. Knight." he leaned on the table and clasped his hands, "I'm retiring next week, so you'll be working with my son starting then." he explained and tapped the shoulder of his son.

The man looked at her before standing up. "I'm Harry Castiel, thirty, I'm sorry again for showing up without further notice, Ms. Knight." he said before he took her hand for a handshake that caught her off guard.

She took her hand back and nodded at him.

They immediately started to discuss their plans for the project. Waverly just recently made another chemical that can help the FBI big time,, and it got the commander's attention when she first sent a proposal regarding that.

She named that project: A man's grief.

After explaining the odds and plans of their project, they continued to talk about their future projects until the commander left for an emergency. She is left with his son, Harry, who seemed scared of her from some reason.

"So, you'll be the new commander by next week?" she trailed off, opening a new conversation because she hates awkwardness.

Harry licked his lips before answering her, "Yes, and I guess I'll be working with you from then on." he replied chuckling.

"Why? Do you feel uncomfortable to work with me?" she smirked grimly.

"For some reason, yes. You just give off vibes of "don't mess with me because I can ruin your whole life." he said as he laughs lowly making her stunned.

Waverly shook her head. "Whatever floats your boat, Mr. Castiel. What name would you give our project now, by the way? The one that we discussed a while ago."

"Agony's revenge."

It fits.

She leaned her back on the chair and crossed her arm. A love potion and Agony's revenge. Two opposite chemicals, I just hope it really worked.

CHAPTER ONE

"CONGRATULATIONS, Miss Knight. Another job well done." Waverly flashed a formal smile, before nodding her head.

"Thank you, Mr. Castiel." she murmured.

"Miss Knight! Congratulations!" her workmates beamed at her happily.

"What do you expect from Waverly? She's a prodigy." one of the investors said when they got close to her.

She smiled humbly, and shook their hands while exchanging greetings.

"Aside from that, She's the daughter of Alana and Poseidon Knight." she heard someone said in their circle.

"Oh, my parents are still the best." she replied, chuckling.

After moments of greetings and meeting the other investors, she's now heading towards her team. They smiled at her smugly.

"Congrats, doll." Reysell said, her second in command.

She shook her head and reached for Reysell's and Dwayne's hand. She squeezed them lightly and smiled sheepishly, "It's congrats to us, you two. A man's grief wouldn't be a success if you aren't present."

The two immediately wrapped their arms around her shoulder while chuckling.

"Chicken and beer?" Dwayne murmured lowly.

She and Reysell exchanged looks before smiling at each other. "Call!"

It's been a long night for her and her team. She was awarded for being the youngest proficient Chemist and her team's new chemical was introduced to the market world.

They called it: A man's grief.

It was a chemical for women to drink, the chemical stays in their body for the whole forty-eight hours and if ever someone penetrated the woman, the chemical will collect DNA from the predator to tell who was it, and it will undergo into the Man's grief partner: The predator's den. It is a type of technology where everyone's file and autobiography is present, when I said everyone, It's literally the whole population in the planet.

But it will only undergo in the predator's den if the woman who drank the chemical will inform them. They designed it that way because the rape crime is totally rising each day in every country,, especially in theirs.

Waverly and her team are planning to make a sister chemical for it, and they will call it, A woman's grief, and it's for men to drink this time. They know that women are not the only victims of this crime, so they wanted to make it too. They will also upgrade the predator's den, so it can exactly tell if the client is telling the truth about being a victim.

There is no room for errors in these projects for them. Everything should be precise, calculated, well-designed, and perfect.

BACK AT laboratory, Waverly fixed her things hastily so can meet her friends who are already waiting for her.

They just texted her about the celebration they organized for her success. She didn't have the heart to cancel it because it's been months since the last time they saw and bonded with each other.

She also took it as her rest day because starting next week, she's going to be very busy again.

Arriving at the place, she feels giddy and excited. She's been stuck in her laboratory for months, she may have Reysell and Dwayne beside her but still, the three of them are deprived of human interaction.

The moment she opened the door, the light turned on and many party poppers and loud voices welcomed her.

She looked around and smiled sheepishly. There's a big banner with "Congratulations, our best chemist!"

Her heart melted that she can't help but to tear up a little.

Carla, one of her friends, walked towards her and hugged her tight. "Aww, don't cry. We're so proud of you, Alaia."

"All of us are proud of you, hermanita," little sister, "The fact that you're awarded at that and your chemical is very deadly. mi encanta." I love it. The voice of her older brother stunned her.

"Hermano?" big brother, "I thought you're busy!?" she said smiling, and she run towards her older brother to give him a hug.

Wave kissed her hair and hugged her tight. "Siempre harè tiempo para ti, little sis," I will always make time for you, "Always, Waverly."

She nodded happily and kissed Wave on his cheek.

The party started, and they are all having fun as they catch up with one another.

Seeing her friends happily like this, she silently wished that she hope it will always be like this, even though it's impossible.

Reysell tapped her shoulder and smiled. "Congratulations, Alaia. After all the hard work, your plan is smoothly sailing." he, then, kissed her temple and left.

Being an Etheridge-Knight isn't easy, everyone kept saying that she's lucky because of these surnames because she gets to live glamorous, but they didn't know the weight and responsibilities of being one.

Being an Etheridge means she's born with a golden spoon on her because she's a royalty, and being a Knight means she's born to be a great chemist.

Her mother, Alana Etheridge is a princess of The Royal House of Etheridge in Riratanian. But things happened in their country that it was split into four lands with four different leaders and now on war. Now, Their family is the highest rank of Riratanian's fourth land, her uncle named it Moravia.

She was crowned as a Duchess of Moravia's Madeia. That's why it isn't easy being her, just like anybody else said.

She has chemicals to work on and a city to rule in her country. She's forevermore in love with Riratanian that when things got messy, she left and settled in the Philippines with her brother, Wave, who never likes to be away from her.

Her father, Poseidon Knight, taught them to be independent and responsible. He always reminded them that whatever decision she makes and made, it has consequences, and she had to accept it and face it head on.

That it is okay to make a mistake as long as you learned something of it and as long as you are not involving someone that you can hurt in the process.

Waverly grew up as she carved her parents words in her heart. That's why she was never angry whenever she made a mistake and in every mistake that she made, she carved it in her heart and mind every lesson she gets from it.

CHAPTER TWO

WAVERLY returned to work on her laboratory after the weekend break she had. She sat on her desk and went over her list to do:

a. Research for the upgrade of the predator's den.

b. Reviewing the ingredients of a man's grief.

c. Calculating chemicals for a woman's grief.

d. An online meeting with the King of Moravia, her uncle.

e. Pick up the new chemicals in the Airport.

f. Buy new clothes.

Her list is updated every midnight by her butler, that's why she never had to call him. She spent her Monday morning researching and analyzing databases for her first job on the list. The moment her fingers started to type, it was like a speed of light, she was able to make new cryptography that will help them, but she isn't satisfied with what she made so immediately, make a way to do an upgrade. And she succeeded.

People was curious why she always succeeds, it was because she's never satisfied. She let her failures dance silently on the sides of her victory.

The loud ringing of her phone made her stopped from typing. She answered it.

"Thank heavens, you answered!" Alana, her mother, exclaimed on the other line.

She sighed and bit her lip. "How are you, mama?" she asked politely.

"I've been calling you for a week now, mija. Are you that busy?" her mother asked, there's a hint of longing in her voice.

She suddenly felt guilty. She's been avoiding her mother for a week because she feels it would be better not to hear anything about royalty.

"I'm sorry, mama. I just," she sighed. "I just don't want to hear any royalty related for a while."

"Are you... are you getting tired with all the royalty stuff, mija?"

Waverly leaned on her chair. "Being a royalty is exhausting, mama, but I love being one. It's just really hard now, you know?"

Alana sighed. "I know, mija. The new system of our country made it harder, but you know our stand on the Late Queen Aretha's mother, right?"

"May Queen Aretha rest in peace," she murmured. "Of course, I know everyone's stand against the New Queen. Everything was peaceful back then, not until the tragedy happened."

"Every Riratan is not in favor of Princess Helenus because of her greediness ever since, that's why her eldest daughter, Aretha, was crowned as the Queen." she continued.

"It's been a year since then, mija. I know how much you adore the late Queen. But you need to move on now, she's not coming back. I'll talk to you again soon, mija. Please, take care." Alana sadly said before she ended the call.

Waverly sighed heavily. How can she come back on her land when all she can see was her memories with her beloved best friend? Her room, her garden, her cave, even her throne, it was filled with the young her and the late Queen's dreams. Their dream of ruling the country and make it a lot better.

She slightly slapped her cheeks and shook her head.

Get yourself together, Waverly!

After a minute of waking herself up, she immediately went back to work.

An hour had passed, she already made many improvements in her cryptography. She put a new software in their den and tested it. It worked amazingly, making her jump in glee.

As she's celebrating her hard work, Dwayne entered her office. He stood in front of her as he huffed loudly, catching his breath.

"What's up with you?" she asked and crossed her arms.

Dwayne waved his hand in front her, signaling her to wait. She frowned at him. "Fine, then."

Waverly went back to typing and as she waits for Dwayne to speak.

"Whoa!" Dwayne lowly shouted and walked towards her water dispenser. He drank two cups of water before turning around and faced her.

"So? What's up, Dwayne?"

Dwayne raised his eyebrow at her. "Have you check the news, Alaia?"

She made a face and shrugged her shoulders. "Why? Is there something appealing in the news? You know, I hate watching the news because it's always about crime and other nonsense blabbing about celebrities."

"Is the news still nonsense if it's about you?" he said in a sing-song voice.

Waverly tilted her head and pursed her lips. "Why would there be news about me? Is it royalty related again?"

Dwayne irritatedly turned on her television. News about her are being aired. It's about her success of being a chemist and others reaction about her success, including a small interview with the most famous chemist in the world.

She sighed in contentment. That's all she ever dreamt about, being recognized for her talent and not because she's a royalty. She loved being a duchess but still, she loves being a chemist more.

"That's good. Thank you, Dwayne, but turn it off now. As much as I love being recognized, I still somehow hate being in the limelight." she said, chuckling.

Dwayne looked at her ridiculously. "I really don't get you sometimes and how you survived being a royalty given the fact that your life is always on in front of the camera."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "That's two different things, Dwayne. Yes, we grew up with the flashing of cameras in front of us. But I think, you should remember why our families are labeled as one of the private royals out there." she said calmly, "We let them know what's happening inside our adobe, but they didn't exactly knew what's happening inside." she explained and winked at him.

"Oh yeah, I'll take note of that, your royal highness." Dwayne replied teasingly before he ran away from her.

He knew how she hated being called "your royal highness" by her close friends, especially if they are outside the castle and her land.

Waverly just shook her head and turned off her computer because she's already satisfied with what she made.

She took her phone out from her purse and booked a reservation from her favorite restaurant, Atlantic's Magic.

She smiled and immediately went to her room to ready herself. It's time to pamper myself after my hard work and food is the best answer to that.