Chapter Text
Caitlyn looked at her phone and saw it was late at night. She knew that she had to be up early in the morning, as her mother was forcing her to attend family yoga. But she really didn't want to wake up early, as she was still sore from the day before, her muscles aching from the training at the gym. So she grabbed her phone and got out of bed, doing a couple of stretches, then heading to the bathroom.
"Aw bullocks... I ran out of toothpaste again..." She mumbled as she looked at the thin tube. Groaning and dragging her feet, she walked towards the door of her room, opening it to the hallway. This wasn't something she liked doing this late at night, because of all of the alarms in the estate. "None of you better go off." She quietly cursed as she looked up at the sensors on the walls.
Doing her best to maintain a quick pace, she made her way to the guest room, as she knew there was a set left for when guests visited. And as things were going in her life, she couldn't care less for anyone else. She just wanted to get ready and read her Twitter timeline before being forced to stretch her sore body once more. Thankfully, the guest room was nearby, so the trip wasn't as long.
After making her way into the room, she quickly entered the bathroom, nicking the toothpaste and leaving. The trip back to her room was uneventful, as none of the alarms went off. Now standing in front of her mirror, she turned on the water, splashing her face with the cold. It forced any remaining sleepiness she had to disappear, as she was now wide awake.
Brushing her teeth, she thought of what the rest of her day looked like, and how boring it was going to be. Despite being the daughter of the famous Cassandra Kiramman, she wasn't as glamorous or as proper. All of the etiquette that was forced upon her never stuck as she desperately tried to remain herself. The idea of being someone else, or being forced to be something she was not, to her was worse than death.
From her childhood to now, it was always disapproving stares and glances from all the people in her family. She thought maybe if she proved herself by doing something she actually liked, then maybe their looks and expectations would change. But when they found out she was taking classes towards becoming a detective, the bullying and challenging remarks only got worse.
Everyone in her family followed in taking over the family business, her mother and all their mothers too. Running the family business was in her blood, and when she showed that she didn't want to follow that path, all she got was scorn. For the most part, she didn't have to interact with her extended family, as they didn't visit much anymore. This was mostly due to family drama between her mother and one of her grandmothers.
Washing her mouth out with water, she stared at the toothpaste go down the drain, thinking about how easy it must be to be toothpaste. Toothpaste didn't have many expectations; all people wanted from it was to clean their teeth, then once that was done, it was allowed to leave. It served its purpose, and nothing more was thought of it, simply letting it be without criticising its functions. She knew it was silly to compare herself to an inanimate object, but she always felt like one when it came to her family's expectations.
Looking back up at her reflection, she looked at the crow's feet under her eyes. This made her decide to take a shower, if not because of habit, then to make her look less dead inside. So she went to grab her phone, putting on the true crime podcast she's been listening to, then slipped out of her pajamas. After setting the water to hot, she tested it with her finger, feeling the water wet her finger. It was the perfect temperature, just enough to burn her body red, but not enough to do any damage.
Stepping under the water, she let it run down her body, feeling the heat spread across her. The feeling was therapeutic. She then stood there as the podcast played, and the water poured down her back. Listening to the two women talk about an infamous killer in London, it took her mind off of her life and into the world of crime. This world she hoped to break into one day, solving cold cases herself and bringing justice to those who never got it.
All these years, she always focused on detective media, from M.I. High to Sherlock. Pretty much her entire personality was sleuthing around her school and estate, finding lost objects or stolen treats. Because of this mindset of hers, it led her into a lot of trouble, as multiple times she tried to expose unfair treatment in her classes. Almost daily, her parents were getting calls from the school, as they didn't like Caitlyn's actions.
Caitlyn chuckled to herself in the shower, as she rubbed her body with soap, thinking about a sting operation she did on a teacher.
Hiding behind a bookshelf at the back of the class, she waited until Ms. Baker had arrived. She knew that Ms. Baker had been meeting up with another teacher, and she was never given a truthful answer when she asked about it. So she planned to find out exactly what was going on; she had her little camera in her hands, ready to snap a photo for proof. If she was going to get answers, she needed irrefutable proof.
So as the lunch bell rang and the rest of the children went to the cafeteria, she stayed back in the classroom. And just like she thought, not long after, Ms. Baker entered the classroom, going over and sitting at their desk. Ms. Baker took out their phone, typing out a message on their flip phone, then looked up with a smile. A few minutes later, Mr. King stepped into the classroom, closing the door behind him.
Caitlyn quietly held her camera up to her eye, ready to snap a photo and reveal herself. But as she watched the two adults for a few seconds, she realized this was different from what she expected, as they started making out on Ms. Baker's desk. For the most part, Caitlyn had thought that Ms. Baker was doing something like giving away class secrets, or something similar to what she saw on the tele.
But it turned out to be much more serious, because she knew that both Ms. Baker and Mr. King were married, but not to each other. She had met Mr. Baker before; he was a lot nicer than Ms. Baker. So she knew she had to bring them to justice, and with a click of her camera, the proof was secured. The only problem was that she forgot about the flash, as in the mostly dark classroom, bright light flashed from her spot.
Both Mr. King and Ms. Baker looked at Caitlyn on the other side of the room in shock. In the moments before the flash, Mr. King had unbuttoned Ms. Baker's blouse and was slowly bringing it down her shoulders. But now, like a deer caught in the headlights, they stared at little Caitlyn "troubemaker" Kiramman, who held evidence of their infidelity. They both scrambled to get themselves in order.
"I knew something was going on with you, Ms. Baker! But this is beyond my expectations." Caitlyn said with a smug grin as she waved her camera in her hand. "I will bring you to justice! Detective Kiramman on the case!" Then, before Mr. King could chase after her, she ran out the back entrance and started making her way to the main office. Her face was full of glee that she could finally prove herself and solve a case like her heroes on TV.
Washing her body and hair, she thought of the aftermath of the situation. She remembered those adults being fired, as the school didn't want a public scandal. While she had tried to keep her camera, it was confiscated by the principal; then she was suspended. She remembered that in this rare case, her mother defended her actions. It was a rare moment of acceptance that she thought would last longer than it had.
But nothing lasts forever, and from that point on, she was banned from taking her camera to school. She remembered fighting with her mother about it, trying to make the point that she couldn't do her "job" properly with her camera. Despite all her attempts at trying to appeal to her mother, nothing worked, and she had it taken away. To this day, she wished she could've taken it, as all of the cases she tried to solve afterwards fell to the wayside as she had no solid proof.
Finishing up in the shower, she grabbed her towel and wrapped her body and hair. Grabbing her phone, she headed back to her room, where the morning sun was peeking through the high windows. Drying herself off and looking at her phone, she saw that she had no service. The podcast then timed out and shut off, which left her in the silence of the morning. Huffing from the annoyance, she got dressed in her yoga pants and sports bra.
Starting the day without checking her feed felt like losing key information, even if it was mostly filled with thirst traps of women she followed; she just needed her daily fix. Turning off her phone, she walked over to her blinds, opening them fully and letting the sunlight shine on her. Feeling the morning rays shine on her skin always made her feel good, like she was recharging for the rest of the day.
But all those nice feelings were ruined by the fact of what awaited her. Luckily, because the service was down, it meant that she could head down to the yoga room on her own time. As usual, her mother would annoyingly blow up her phone, constantly telling her to come over. Which made this small problem seem like a blessing in disguise: sadly, no hot women but also no annoying messages; she'd take what she could get.
Leaving her room into the hallway, she noticed something odd, as all the sensors were off. She took out her phone to take a picture, but when she tried to turn on her phone, it was completely dead. Her first idea was that something bad was happening in the estate, so she quickly ran towards the yoga room to see if her parents were okay. To her relief, they were completely fine, talking amongst themselves.
Both Cassandra and Tobias stopped talking as they saw Caitlyn arrive, out of breath. "You rushed over here quickly; are you finally warming up to the idea?" Tobias asked as he walked over, grabbing a water bottle from the side and handing it to his daughter.
Taking the water bottle and taking a sip, she caught her breath, studying her mother and father for anything strange. "Not yet, but that isn't why I'm like this." She walked over to the light switch in the room, flipping it on and off, but the lights didn't turn on. "I think some sort of electromagnetic pul-"
Cassandra cut her daughter off mid-sentence. "It's probably some faulty wiring; I've already called a mechanic using the landline." She watched her daughter huff in annoyance, so she turned back to the mats. "Not everything is some puzzle for you to solve, dear. Sometimes the problems are simply solved by asking the right people. Something you would learn if you decided to finally give up this hobby of yours."
Caitlyn looked at her mother sit down on the mat, followed by her father, as they both started stretching their bodies. They looked up at her, motioning for her to sit down and join them. So against her better judgment, she would get this over with, then search for the answers herself. She knew that things weren't adding up, and it was eating at her.
The hot shower did wonders for her, as she knew that if she did this without it, she probably would've collapsed from the pain. This whole yoga situation was born from what she thought was her mother's attempt at trying to repair their connection. It was pretty obvious to her that her strained relationship these past years was getting to her mother.
In the past, her mother didn't get along with their mother, as Cassandra wanted to pursue a different path, outside the family's business. But Cassandra eventually just gave in and took over after her mother. Leading to a strained relationship and eventually to cutting off contact completely.
The whole reason Caitlyn was allowed some freedom growing up was because of this barrier by her mother and the rest of the family. Even if her mother disapproved of her choices, the fact that they let them happen in the first place was something she always appreciated.
After taking a quick water break, she checked her phone again. It felt hot in her hand, so she quickly let it go, dropping it onto the mat. Then, just as suddenly, all the lights in the room turned on and started flickering. Her mother and father looked around in shock.
"I told you something was wrong; this isn't just some faulty wiring." She pointed to her phone on the ground, then up at the lights around the room. "Earlier I was in the hallway, and all the sensors tied to the security system were off."
"Okay, maybe you're right, but what do we do? All signal has been cut off, and we called the repairman an hour ago." Tobias said as he grabbed his wife's hand protectively. "We should go check the breaker; maybe one of the maids let in another squirrel."
"It's that Seraphine, isn't it? I could swear I ordered her to stop feeding that rabbit animal." Cassandra furrowed her brow, rubbing the bridge of her nose with her other hand. "Well, I guess we can put this off for now. But don't think you're getting out of this tomorrow, Caitlyn." She gave her daughter a stern look before getting down to roll up her mat.
Caitlyn just rolled her eyes, then went to pick up her phone again. It was surprisingly cold to the touch, which confused her as it had just burned her hand moments ago. But she took it and cleaned up her space before heading into the hallway. Her parents followed shortly behind her.
All the lights in the massive hallway were flickering, with it getting more intense as they went further down. It seemed to be leading them somewhere, as around the corner the lights were completely off. The area it led to was where some renovations were happening, as her mother wanted to make the dance studio more modern.
Opening the door to the large room, Caitlyn peeked her head inside, seeing only the light shining through the small windows near the ceiling. It seemed that most of the work was done, aside from the flooring. So she walked inside, trying to figure out why this room was the only one in darkness.
As she got to the center of the room, she noticed something odd, as all the mirrors on the walls didn't have her reflection in them. Behind her, Cassandra and Tobias filtered in, both on edge since the room was currently unfinished.
"Caitlyn, be careful; this room is dangerous. It's still being worked on, so watch where you step." Cassandra said as she looked around the room.
Caitlyn pointed towards the mirror, as she saw her parents' reflections but not her own. "Mother, Father, am I hallucinating here? Why am I not in the mirror?" She saw her parents' confused faces as they looked at her through the mirror.
"Are you feeling alright, dear?" Tobias walked up behind his daughter, then turned her to face him, putting the back of his hand on her forehead. After feeling no sign of fever, he looked at her more confused, then looked back at the mirror, seeing nothing wrong.
She softly swatted his hand away and turned to face the mirror. Something about the lack of reflection drew her in, as this was something she couldn't make sense of. So she walked over to the mirror, stopping just in front of it. Her parents looked at her worried, but she didn't pay them any attention.
Hesitantly, she lifted her hand and went to press it against the mirror, but once it made contact, something about it felt thin and moist. The sensation of the material was completely wrong, sending danger signals in her head, but she couldn't stop her curiosity there. She needed to see this through, and applied more pressure against the surface.
Slowly, as if the mirror were a thin membrane, her hand stretched the surface, deforming around her hand. She turned to look back at her parents, as they looked at the sight with fear. "I think something is off with the mirr-" Then the surface snapped, and she fell in.
In the few moments before darkness, she saw her mother and father running towards her. But then she felt like her body was being pulled in, and in moments she was gone.