Post by Lady Hammer on Sept 19, 2007 12:47:04 GMT -5
“Hello, Rori…” She moved a pet curl that was dangling in her face, and gave me a dimply smile. The cold air outside had reddened her cheeks, but all I could see were her bright green eyes staring at me. Staring.
“I’m so glad to see you!” she shouted, in the same high pitched voice I remembered. Dreadfully remembered. She had a thing with white, kind of like Allanis had a thing with bright colors, so Rori was always clothed in nothing but, and tonight was no different. Her completely white attire irritated my eyes. Then again, she irritated my eyes.
“I saw you a few weeks ago, Rori. Calm down.” I began to lead her inside, but when she saw Mariette, she ran squealing and snatched her out of Lazarus’s arms.
“Hello, Mariette! Hi there! Hi!” she cooed, pincering like a crab with her hands. Why did everyone feel the need to talk to her like that?
“She’s three years old, Rori. You can talk like a normal person, she’ll know what you’re saying!” Rhett snapped, grabbing a fancy cracker, caught up in dip indecision.
“Oh, hush-up! You’re twenty-six, and I still have to talk to you like that!” Rori said, messing around with her niece’s hair. That wasn’t a bad comeback, really. I might’ve even thought of it, myself.
A burst of meaty aroma came back into the feasting room, teasingly, as Athen came out with large bowls of mashed potatoes.
“Where’s Allanis?” Rori then asked. Everyone shrugged, except me. I instead gave a low growl.
“She’d better not be redressing…” Up the stairs I went, arriving once again to my baby sister’s room and pounded on her door. What was she still doing in there?
“Allanis! What the hell is going on? What are you doing?”
She opened up for me after a few moments, and I shouldn’t have been surprised, honestly, but I was. She hadn’t changed out of what I dressed her in earlier, but she had felt it necessary to adorn herself with nearly every gold bangle, tassel, leaf, and necklace that she had in her collection.
“Did anyone come, yet?” she asked, her eyes meekly avoiding mine.
“Actually, yes. While you were playing pretty-princess, our siblings came, and won’t stop complaining that you aren’t down there with them! What were you doing?”
“I,” she stammered, “I-I was taking a nap.” She gave me the sweetest smile she could muster. My eyes rolled for what had to be the hundredth time that day.
“Get your ass down there.” She asked for a few moments, and told me to keep an eye on Lazarus and Adeska. That was a good idea. Knowing Mrs. Perfect, she’d be doing everything possible to get her big brother away from the “dark side”. I swear, our problematic family has everything. The sweet, obedient little brother; the arrogant and eccentric little sister; the moody, dark, and glum brother who never shows his face; the insane, bubbly, freakish sister; the flirtatious and incredulous pretty-boy brother; the perfect oldest sister; the semi-passive, ex-masochist brother-in-law; the obscure niece; the jovial oldest brother, servant to the “dark gods of Chaos and evil”, or whatever; and me, the dry bitch. I don’t think dysfunctional covers it.
When I made it downstairs, several other people had arrived. Corin, the “new guy”, showed up with his chatty girlfriend Nancelle, and it looked like Nancelle brought a friend, because an uninvited auburn-haired woman with too-high cheekbones and slim, lanky arms was with her. Not surprisingly, Rhett was close behind. Centa was with another good-looking guy with short hair, a handsome doll face, and the sweetest brown eyes I think I had ever seen! Not that I was like Rhett or anything, but I don’t know… maybe I could have a little fun. Just chat something up. I wasn't the type to fall in love, though, but there was no use in staying isolated.
I approached Centa, Rori, and Centa’s Pretty Boy Friend, an official title as of now.
“Allanis will be down in a few minutes.” They seemed to be content with the news. I then eyed the pretty guy, and noticed a silver earring in the shape of an Aries sign on his left ear. A very nice touch.
“Tizena, err… Tizzy, this is my friend, Phiothilus,” Centa said. Pretty Boy grinned and then shot a playful glare to the man.
“Yeah, but don’t call me that. I’m Phio!” he corrected. So I wasn’t the only one Centa was having nickname problems with. I nodded and shook Pretty Boy’s hand, pleased to meet someone more interesting than the usual guests.
“We were just talking about stuff!” Rori said, nodding almost violently, as if I needed to be reassured.
“One would assume, wouldn’t they?” I asked, nodding with her. She’s an idiot, and I’ve never thought anything more of her, sadly. “So, what are we talking about?” I could tell already by the look on his face that Centa had been the center of the conversation, maybe even unintentionally. The regret and nostalgia emanated from him. And this is where I learned one more chunk that made up the complexity my sister had married.
“We were just talking… about, eh, my family.” Of course, with someone who has habits like him, there had to be a horrible family story. But before he could start talking, the new guy came over to the group.
“Would you guys mind if I stayed over here for awhile?” he asked, glancing behind him, biting his lip. “I don’t want to be around my girlfriend.” I laughed at the irony.
“Interesting. Corin, right? Allanis’s friend?” He nodded and gave a meek little wave to everyone in the circle. There was no use in making him feel more uncomfortable than he already was, so I quickly introduced myself, and helped exchange introductions between him and Centa, Rori, and Phio. Then, there was a round of silence. A long one. I don’t blame Centa for being knocked out of his conversation mood, though, but for a long time, too long, I stood there with them, just sucking up the boredom, when finally… finally… the air of elegance we had all been waiting for came.
Time seemed to stop as everyone looked up at the girl – no, the woman – who stood at the stop of the staircase, her shadow flickering in the lambent candlelight. Her hands embraced the handrails, and her trek began. The olive green and gold-laced train draped down step after step as Queen Allanis stepped over them, gracing each and every one of us with her smile. She looked so much more mature, almost like a different person. The cloak I picked out for her looked absolutely gorgeous, and she gave me an especially grateful grin.
“Good evening, everyone!” Her sweet voice met our ears as she came to the bottom of the stairs. “How are my guests?”
“Fed up with waiting!” I answered, showing her a playful smirk. She put her hands on her hips and stifled a laugh, and then went around the room greeting everyone personally, hugging brothers and sisters and striking up colorful conversation with her High Society members. I stood with Centa and the others, quiet, waiting for our turn to meet her, and eventually, she came.
“Hello, guys! Rori, Tizzy!” she said, giving Centa and Rori hugs. “Thanks for coming, you guys. Especially Phio and Corin. It was nice to have you make it down! And of course, thanks for helping with the party, Tiz.” I gave her a shrug.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. We were enjoying the silence, though!” My sister paused for a second, and then looked around, eyes passing over Centa, and put her hand beneath her chin.
“Where’s Mariette?” Centa suddenly swung around, and I could feel the panic filling him.
“Where’s Mariette?” he mumbled to himself, his head darting in every direction. I looked too, before I remembered where she was earlier. Sure enough, there she was, still stationed by the fireplace, sitting and staring without a clue as to what was happening around her. Centa had one strange spawn.
“Centa, she’s right there.” She was mesmerized by the flames! Still! What was in there? He kneeled down with a worried look, and was about to place a hand on her shoulder, but then stopped, and stood back up.
“What’s the deal?” I asked, folding my arms. He lowered his voice so only I could hear him.
“Adeska told me not to mess with her when she gets like that…”
“So? Centa, she’s been there for hours!” The look on his face was pitiful as he watched his daughter. He wasn’t going to do anything, and I couldn’t believe it.
“I know, but that’s what she told me…”
Silence fell again. I could tell Phio was just dying to start a conversation, but like everyone else, he was too hesitant. He knew better. He could feel the uncomfortable tension.
“Sorry I’m zoning out on you guys,” Centa finally said, smiling softly. “I’m thinking about some complicated things.”
“Such as?” I knew I shouldn’t have asked, but I couldn’t help it. Unfortunately, I was responded to with a disappointed growl, and he walked off a few steps to stare into the fire with his daughter. Then, a hiccup came from the Rori corner of the circle, a wine glass meeting her lips for the hundredth time.
“Phio, can you get us some wine?” I asked, trying to shoe away as many people from our spot as possible. The pretty boy left in search of our desired beverage, and I stood there, watching the glow of the flames reflect off Allanis’s gold jewelry.
“If you’re trying to get me drunk so I’ll talk, it won’t work,” Centa said. Oh damn.
“Come on, it can’t be as tragic as what you told me, earlier,” I reassured. Then again, we were talking about an ex-masochist, so there were probably plenty of surprises to still be had.
“It’s my family, Tizzy,” he said simply.
“You aren’t the only one who has problems with their family! I don’t doubt Adeska has told you of ours.” I was beginning to get irritated with him and his angst. Like he was the only one who had issues. To further fuel my growing anger, Rori hiccupped again.
“You can go on, I’m listening!” Which was exactly what she said when she had no idea what was going on. She probably couldn’t hear a word we were saying.
“If you guys wanted me to leave,” Corin started, “it’s no problem, I—”
“No, no that’s okay! I need to suck it up. You’re right, Tizzy. This stuff was too long ago to plague me now,” Centa said.
So, he told another one of his tales. This one was really disheartening. I learned he was a middle child in a five-child family, two sisters, a brother, and a step-brother. His parents… he never told us their story. His older brother, who was nothing short of a creep, raised the family, and the oldest, the step-brother, was hateful and domineering. Moreso than the creep who raised the family and terrorized the sisters. The sister closest in Centa’s age I heard was a bitch, and had on many occasions attempted to kill him, her excuse being that she never did anything to help her when their step-brother hurt her. Then there was the youngest, the baby sister, and Centa explained to us that she was insane. One day, she got mad at her stomach for making “digesty noises”, so she stabbed herself in the stomach. Seven times. My childhood was butterflies and daisies compared to his.
Conveniently after the discussion, Phio came back with the wine. I really needed to know how he had such perfect timing. Perhaps I could take a few lessons myself.
“Hey Centa! Remember that time during the raid where you, me n’ Cato were all—”
“Shut up!” I exploded in the pretty boy’s face, everyone but Allanis flinching. I pointed, so angry that my finger was shaking, but I wasn’t the only one. My accusing stare had made Phio shudder. But I said nothing more, and took Rori’s glass of wine from her hands and downed it before walking off.
This wasn’t good… I shouldn’t have been getting so angry! What was wrong with me? I turned back to see that my baby sister had made a quick recovery, a smart one at that, and was conversing on her own with Corin. His voice was so quiet, yet when he spoke to Allanis, he was so relieved. Was there something wrong? I decided it was time to scope out this girlfriend of his.
Scanning the area, I could see Athen bringing out the main course of various roasted meats, a handful of guests I wasn’t acquainted with trying appetizers together, and then the one I was looking for. A brunette in a lilac gown being voraciously hit on by Rhett. Rolling my eyes, I came over.
“So… you wear a lot of purple?” Rhett asked, grinning. I simply shoved him out of my way, as he was much thinner than my other siblings, and stood in front of the brunette, not trying to hide my criticizing stare at all.
“Give me a sec, Rhett,” I said, refilling the glass I had taken from Rori with some merlot. The girl looked at me and suddenly gave a ridiculous, cheeky smile. I sipped my wine, terrible names and opinions fluttering about in my mind.
“So,” I began, “who’re you?”
“Nancelle Pura!” She quickly grabbed my hand and gave me the clammiest handshake I had experienced yet. “I’m Corin’s girlfriend!”
“Are you really?” She nodded furiously and took an empty wine glass from the table.
“Yes I am!” The nauseating giggle I was waiting for came, and I eyed the expensive bottle of imported wine she was reaching for.
“Have you had anything to drink tonight?” I asked, tilting my head. I at once put my hand on the bottle and slid it out of her reach. By the end of tonight, she would know exactly who I was, and I would make sure I would be the reason for her turning down Allanis’s invitations in the future.
“No, nothing yet,” she answered. She sure didn’t need to start drinking, then.
“You don’t seem like Corin’s type…” Not that I really knew either of them, or that it was my place to judge these things, but Corin wanted to get away from this woman for a reason. I don’t blame him – I would, too.
“I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean,” Nancelle began, “but you might want to stay out of it.” She gave me the cute little look and the plastic smile, thinking it’d get her a bit of slack, since she’s “so adorable”, but she didn’t know better. She hadn’t learned the one lesson that I instill in every one of Allanis’s guests the first night I meet them: never give me the plastic smile.
“Of course. You wouldn’t have any idea what it means, would you?”
It was all I needed to say. I could tell that as I walked away, she was staring me down with her mouth agape, and that put a smile on my lips. I inhaled deeply, the aroma of sweet, roasted meat pleasing me, but I still scanned for Athen with displeasure. When was he going to bring out the spiced cider? I was growing bored of these wines. Instead of finding Athen, though, I found Adeska, who was in a furious debate with Lazarus. Goddess, why did Mrs. Perfect feel the need to go on her Chaos-blasting crusade? Couldn’t she just gather up him and Rhett on her own and yell at them on her own time? I heard her accusing him of heavily influencing Rhett with his own affliction for dark magic, but neither of the brothers were taking her seriously. Then, she was accusing Lazarus of potentially endangering her daughter. Whatever.
Finally, the brother I was searching for exited the kitchen. I paced on over but, unfortunately, my new nemesis Nancelle reached him first. This innocent little get-together could get ugly, so it was time to go on my own peace crusade. For Allanis’s sake.
“I’m so glad to see you!” she shouted, in the same high pitched voice I remembered. Dreadfully remembered. She had a thing with white, kind of like Allanis had a thing with bright colors, so Rori was always clothed in nothing but, and tonight was no different. Her completely white attire irritated my eyes. Then again, she irritated my eyes.
“I saw you a few weeks ago, Rori. Calm down.” I began to lead her inside, but when she saw Mariette, she ran squealing and snatched her out of Lazarus’s arms.
“Hello, Mariette! Hi there! Hi!” she cooed, pincering like a crab with her hands. Why did everyone feel the need to talk to her like that?
“She’s three years old, Rori. You can talk like a normal person, she’ll know what you’re saying!” Rhett snapped, grabbing a fancy cracker, caught up in dip indecision.
“Oh, hush-up! You’re twenty-six, and I still have to talk to you like that!” Rori said, messing around with her niece’s hair. That wasn’t a bad comeback, really. I might’ve even thought of it, myself.
A burst of meaty aroma came back into the feasting room, teasingly, as Athen came out with large bowls of mashed potatoes.
“Where’s Allanis?” Rori then asked. Everyone shrugged, except me. I instead gave a low growl.
“She’d better not be redressing…” Up the stairs I went, arriving once again to my baby sister’s room and pounded on her door. What was she still doing in there?
“Allanis! What the hell is going on? What are you doing?”
She opened up for me after a few moments, and I shouldn’t have been surprised, honestly, but I was. She hadn’t changed out of what I dressed her in earlier, but she had felt it necessary to adorn herself with nearly every gold bangle, tassel, leaf, and necklace that she had in her collection.
“Did anyone come, yet?” she asked, her eyes meekly avoiding mine.
“Actually, yes. While you were playing pretty-princess, our siblings came, and won’t stop complaining that you aren’t down there with them! What were you doing?”
“I,” she stammered, “I-I was taking a nap.” She gave me the sweetest smile she could muster. My eyes rolled for what had to be the hundredth time that day.
“Get your ass down there.” She asked for a few moments, and told me to keep an eye on Lazarus and Adeska. That was a good idea. Knowing Mrs. Perfect, she’d be doing everything possible to get her big brother away from the “dark side”. I swear, our problematic family has everything. The sweet, obedient little brother; the arrogant and eccentric little sister; the moody, dark, and glum brother who never shows his face; the insane, bubbly, freakish sister; the flirtatious and incredulous pretty-boy brother; the perfect oldest sister; the semi-passive, ex-masochist brother-in-law; the obscure niece; the jovial oldest brother, servant to the “dark gods of Chaos and evil”, or whatever; and me, the dry bitch. I don’t think dysfunctional covers it.
When I made it downstairs, several other people had arrived. Corin, the “new guy”, showed up with his chatty girlfriend Nancelle, and it looked like Nancelle brought a friend, because an uninvited auburn-haired woman with too-high cheekbones and slim, lanky arms was with her. Not surprisingly, Rhett was close behind. Centa was with another good-looking guy with short hair, a handsome doll face, and the sweetest brown eyes I think I had ever seen! Not that I was like Rhett or anything, but I don’t know… maybe I could have a little fun. Just chat something up. I wasn't the type to fall in love, though, but there was no use in staying isolated.
I approached Centa, Rori, and Centa’s Pretty Boy Friend, an official title as of now.
“Allanis will be down in a few minutes.” They seemed to be content with the news. I then eyed the pretty guy, and noticed a silver earring in the shape of an Aries sign on his left ear. A very nice touch.
“Tizena, err… Tizzy, this is my friend, Phiothilus,” Centa said. Pretty Boy grinned and then shot a playful glare to the man.
“Yeah, but don’t call me that. I’m Phio!” he corrected. So I wasn’t the only one Centa was having nickname problems with. I nodded and shook Pretty Boy’s hand, pleased to meet someone more interesting than the usual guests.
“We were just talking about stuff!” Rori said, nodding almost violently, as if I needed to be reassured.
“One would assume, wouldn’t they?” I asked, nodding with her. She’s an idiot, and I’ve never thought anything more of her, sadly. “So, what are we talking about?” I could tell already by the look on his face that Centa had been the center of the conversation, maybe even unintentionally. The regret and nostalgia emanated from him. And this is where I learned one more chunk that made up the complexity my sister had married.
“We were just talking… about, eh, my family.” Of course, with someone who has habits like him, there had to be a horrible family story. But before he could start talking, the new guy came over to the group.
“Would you guys mind if I stayed over here for awhile?” he asked, glancing behind him, biting his lip. “I don’t want to be around my girlfriend.” I laughed at the irony.
“Interesting. Corin, right? Allanis’s friend?” He nodded and gave a meek little wave to everyone in the circle. There was no use in making him feel more uncomfortable than he already was, so I quickly introduced myself, and helped exchange introductions between him and Centa, Rori, and Phio. Then, there was a round of silence. A long one. I don’t blame Centa for being knocked out of his conversation mood, though, but for a long time, too long, I stood there with them, just sucking up the boredom, when finally… finally… the air of elegance we had all been waiting for came.
Time seemed to stop as everyone looked up at the girl – no, the woman – who stood at the stop of the staircase, her shadow flickering in the lambent candlelight. Her hands embraced the handrails, and her trek began. The olive green and gold-laced train draped down step after step as Queen Allanis stepped over them, gracing each and every one of us with her smile. She looked so much more mature, almost like a different person. The cloak I picked out for her looked absolutely gorgeous, and she gave me an especially grateful grin.
“Good evening, everyone!” Her sweet voice met our ears as she came to the bottom of the stairs. “How are my guests?”
“Fed up with waiting!” I answered, showing her a playful smirk. She put her hands on her hips and stifled a laugh, and then went around the room greeting everyone personally, hugging brothers and sisters and striking up colorful conversation with her High Society members. I stood with Centa and the others, quiet, waiting for our turn to meet her, and eventually, she came.
“Hello, guys! Rori, Tizzy!” she said, giving Centa and Rori hugs. “Thanks for coming, you guys. Especially Phio and Corin. It was nice to have you make it down! And of course, thanks for helping with the party, Tiz.” I gave her a shrug.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. We were enjoying the silence, though!” My sister paused for a second, and then looked around, eyes passing over Centa, and put her hand beneath her chin.
“Where’s Mariette?” Centa suddenly swung around, and I could feel the panic filling him.
“Where’s Mariette?” he mumbled to himself, his head darting in every direction. I looked too, before I remembered where she was earlier. Sure enough, there she was, still stationed by the fireplace, sitting and staring without a clue as to what was happening around her. Centa had one strange spawn.
“Centa, she’s right there.” She was mesmerized by the flames! Still! What was in there? He kneeled down with a worried look, and was about to place a hand on her shoulder, but then stopped, and stood back up.
“What’s the deal?” I asked, folding my arms. He lowered his voice so only I could hear him.
“Adeska told me not to mess with her when she gets like that…”
“So? Centa, she’s been there for hours!” The look on his face was pitiful as he watched his daughter. He wasn’t going to do anything, and I couldn’t believe it.
“I know, but that’s what she told me…”
Silence fell again. I could tell Phio was just dying to start a conversation, but like everyone else, he was too hesitant. He knew better. He could feel the uncomfortable tension.
“Sorry I’m zoning out on you guys,” Centa finally said, smiling softly. “I’m thinking about some complicated things.”
“Such as?” I knew I shouldn’t have asked, but I couldn’t help it. Unfortunately, I was responded to with a disappointed growl, and he walked off a few steps to stare into the fire with his daughter. Then, a hiccup came from the Rori corner of the circle, a wine glass meeting her lips for the hundredth time.
“Phio, can you get us some wine?” I asked, trying to shoe away as many people from our spot as possible. The pretty boy left in search of our desired beverage, and I stood there, watching the glow of the flames reflect off Allanis’s gold jewelry.
“If you’re trying to get me drunk so I’ll talk, it won’t work,” Centa said. Oh damn.
“Come on, it can’t be as tragic as what you told me, earlier,” I reassured. Then again, we were talking about an ex-masochist, so there were probably plenty of surprises to still be had.
“It’s my family, Tizzy,” he said simply.
“You aren’t the only one who has problems with their family! I don’t doubt Adeska has told you of ours.” I was beginning to get irritated with him and his angst. Like he was the only one who had issues. To further fuel my growing anger, Rori hiccupped again.
“You can go on, I’m listening!” Which was exactly what she said when she had no idea what was going on. She probably couldn’t hear a word we were saying.
“If you guys wanted me to leave,” Corin started, “it’s no problem, I—”
“No, no that’s okay! I need to suck it up. You’re right, Tizzy. This stuff was too long ago to plague me now,” Centa said.
So, he told another one of his tales. This one was really disheartening. I learned he was a middle child in a five-child family, two sisters, a brother, and a step-brother. His parents… he never told us their story. His older brother, who was nothing short of a creep, raised the family, and the oldest, the step-brother, was hateful and domineering. Moreso than the creep who raised the family and terrorized the sisters. The sister closest in Centa’s age I heard was a bitch, and had on many occasions attempted to kill him, her excuse being that she never did anything to help her when their step-brother hurt her. Then there was the youngest, the baby sister, and Centa explained to us that she was insane. One day, she got mad at her stomach for making “digesty noises”, so she stabbed herself in the stomach. Seven times. My childhood was butterflies and daisies compared to his.
Conveniently after the discussion, Phio came back with the wine. I really needed to know how he had such perfect timing. Perhaps I could take a few lessons myself.
“Hey Centa! Remember that time during the raid where you, me n’ Cato were all—”
“Shut up!” I exploded in the pretty boy’s face, everyone but Allanis flinching. I pointed, so angry that my finger was shaking, but I wasn’t the only one. My accusing stare had made Phio shudder. But I said nothing more, and took Rori’s glass of wine from her hands and downed it before walking off.
This wasn’t good… I shouldn’t have been getting so angry! What was wrong with me? I turned back to see that my baby sister had made a quick recovery, a smart one at that, and was conversing on her own with Corin. His voice was so quiet, yet when he spoke to Allanis, he was so relieved. Was there something wrong? I decided it was time to scope out this girlfriend of his.
Scanning the area, I could see Athen bringing out the main course of various roasted meats, a handful of guests I wasn’t acquainted with trying appetizers together, and then the one I was looking for. A brunette in a lilac gown being voraciously hit on by Rhett. Rolling my eyes, I came over.
“So… you wear a lot of purple?” Rhett asked, grinning. I simply shoved him out of my way, as he was much thinner than my other siblings, and stood in front of the brunette, not trying to hide my criticizing stare at all.
“Give me a sec, Rhett,” I said, refilling the glass I had taken from Rori with some merlot. The girl looked at me and suddenly gave a ridiculous, cheeky smile. I sipped my wine, terrible names and opinions fluttering about in my mind.
“So,” I began, “who’re you?”
“Nancelle Pura!” She quickly grabbed my hand and gave me the clammiest handshake I had experienced yet. “I’m Corin’s girlfriend!”
“Are you really?” She nodded furiously and took an empty wine glass from the table.
“Yes I am!” The nauseating giggle I was waiting for came, and I eyed the expensive bottle of imported wine she was reaching for.
“Have you had anything to drink tonight?” I asked, tilting my head. I at once put my hand on the bottle and slid it out of her reach. By the end of tonight, she would know exactly who I was, and I would make sure I would be the reason for her turning down Allanis’s invitations in the future.
“No, nothing yet,” she answered. She sure didn’t need to start drinking, then.
“You don’t seem like Corin’s type…” Not that I really knew either of them, or that it was my place to judge these things, but Corin wanted to get away from this woman for a reason. I don’t blame him – I would, too.
“I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean,” Nancelle began, “but you might want to stay out of it.” She gave me the cute little look and the plastic smile, thinking it’d get her a bit of slack, since she’s “so adorable”, but she didn’t know better. She hadn’t learned the one lesson that I instill in every one of Allanis’s guests the first night I meet them: never give me the plastic smile.
“Of course. You wouldn’t have any idea what it means, would you?”
It was all I needed to say. I could tell that as I walked away, she was staring me down with her mouth agape, and that put a smile on my lips. I inhaled deeply, the aroma of sweet, roasted meat pleasing me, but I still scanned for Athen with displeasure. When was he going to bring out the spiced cider? I was growing bored of these wines. Instead of finding Athen, though, I found Adeska, who was in a furious debate with Lazarus. Goddess, why did Mrs. Perfect feel the need to go on her Chaos-blasting crusade? Couldn’t she just gather up him and Rhett on her own and yell at them on her own time? I heard her accusing him of heavily influencing Rhett with his own affliction for dark magic, but neither of the brothers were taking her seriously. Then, she was accusing Lazarus of potentially endangering her daughter. Whatever.
Finally, the brother I was searching for exited the kitchen. I paced on over but, unfortunately, my new nemesis Nancelle reached him first. This innocent little get-together could get ugly, so it was time to go on my own peace crusade. For Allanis’s sake.
