𝖛𝖎𝖎𝖎
THE NOT SO WARM WELCOME
How I ended up walking through the empty lobby with the same man addressing me weirdly was still a blur to me. The sole thing I remembered vividly was the moment I was pushed to the door (after the thirty minutes allotted time and I remain idling. Duh, ladies need more than that time to prepare!) between the huge reddish-brown closet and bookshelf which happened to be another walk-in closet, and voila! I found myself dressed into a black V-neck full skirt, reaching mid-calf with a white long sleeve top.
How on earth did I manage to change while spacing out? Well . . . some talent suddenly emerged in desperate times, I guess.
"We're here, milady."
The sound of the sole of our shoes against the marble floor resonated as we stopped before a fancy, huge double-French door with intricate carvings of two Greek ladies strumming a harp on each side, reflecting each other's position. One word echoed in my head as I stared at it. Intimidating. What laid behind that door must be as equally intimidating as it appeared.
At the corner of my eyes, I saw him, Lucas Zarek, my aide as he said yet again earlier, silently assessing my reaction.
"Hold on." I stopped him when he moved to open the door.
"Is something matter, milady?"
I was as though a church bell was struck right next to me, piercing through my poor ears. I frowned instantly. "Could you please stop addressing me like that? It's . . . uncomfortable."
He gazed down at me. Probably perplexed as to why then suddenly nodded his head as if understanding what I meant. "I understand," he said giving me a small wry smile. "But I can't possibly do such thing, milady. It's against the aide's protocol we strictly abide by. Dropping honorifics means we're on the same boat as you all. We can't have that. You're milady," he pointed me with an open hand, "and I'm your aide," and then brought it against his chest. "Status and rankings are given strict importance in Esotera Court. So I deeply apologize, but that can't do, milady."
My right eyebrow arched. What on earth was he blabbering about?
"What kind of system is that? Status and rankings, my butt. I don't care. This is just a freaking hotel, not a palace of some monarch." I huffed, hands on my waist. "Call me that way again and I'll surely give you a good smack in the head. You understand me?"
With an irritating sunny smile, Lucas Zarek replied firmly, "My answer is still no, milady. Don't worry, you'll get used to it in no time. I'll assure you that."
His answer made me frown. I could feel my bottom lip protruding as I squinted my eyes at him. Lucas seemed not to mind at all. He was still wearing that sunny smile of his! Why was he always smiling, anyway? What kind of happy pill was he taking? He might have overdosed himself!
"I don't need any reassurance. Just quit calling me─"
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but you two are in the way."
The side of my lips twitched as I glanced to my right. As I did, my jaw almost dropped at the sight of the most gorgeous porcelain doll I had ever seen in my entire life so far. The thought that it was a human-size doll, though, was swiftly wiped out when it blinked and clucked her tongue.
My eyebrows raised a little when I've had realized that it was a petite lady in red lolita dress with black frills who was standing there with her slender arms crossed against her flat chest. If my calculation was correct, her standing height could be between 4'8 to 4'10 feet. And her complexion . . . Dang! Hers was as white as milk. But what I loved most was her long, curly auburn hair adorned with black interlaced ribbon by the right side of her face cascading down her small waist. It perfectly accentuated her small face and physiques.
Behind her was a man with a neutral expression staring at us. He looked like in his mid or late twenties. And boy, I must say that those sharp square jaws on him were a perfect fit for his tall and lean physiques. If only he could muster even a small smile everything would be perfect. But no, if Lucas always had a smile on his face, this one seemed like he didn't even know the word.
I absentmindedly shook my head at the thought. Talk about opposite poles.
My eyes shifted back to the petite lady and was slightly taken aback by the hard gaze she was giving me.
Her sharp brown almond eyes were locked with mine. For a moment, we were engaged in a brief staring competition before she huffed and clucked her tongue, rolling her eyes afterward.
What's wrong with her?
"Move out of the way, will you?" she said with an air of arrogance while impatiently tapping her black ballet shoes on the floor.
The nerves in my entire system twitched at her tone. It was like a trigger that sent an itching signal to my gut.
I don't like her.
Gut feeling? I should listen to it, then. Vigilance is the key to safety.
"Sorry," I apologized and stepped out of her way. I caught a quick glimpse of Lucas's grim expression, but it immediately vanished the moment he saw me staring at him. "Relax," I whispered lowly just enough for him to hear.
"Tss . . . so annoying," the petite lady spat with such venom in her tone that had me scowling, then turned to the man behind her. "C'mon, Ace."
The man whom the petite lady called Ace regarded us with a quick nod and opened up the door for her, then they disappeared inside.
An unlikely snort escaped me as I put my hands on my waist while unbelievably staring at the door before us. "I don't like her," I blatantly confessed to Lucas who seemed not surprised by my declaration at all. "She's a piece of bad news. I can feel it in my bones, " I added through gritted teeth with one gripping hand gesture. "If we happen to cross paths with her again, cover my eyes or pull me in a different direction, Lucas."
"And why is that, milady?"
I looked up, finding him looking down at me with curiosity. I patted his shoulders and with a forced smile, I said, "I might choke that doll to death. I can tolerate Chaka doll and Anabelle, but not a brat one. Blood will flood this place and I don't want to taint your reputation here, okay?"
"You're being sarcastic, milady," he pointed out, eyes narrowing.
For the first time in a while, I rolled my eyes but said nothing next. Lucas Zarek took this as a cue to open the door and the two of us went inside, with him leading the way.
He explained that 'leading the way' freaking rule to me on our way here, in which the lord, master, or the lady, take the lead while their aide was three steps behind them. Another oh-so-mighty rule that this place has. As for me, since I just arrived here yesterday and obviously do not know the whatnots of this place, Lucas Zarek would first take the lead until I become familiar with the twist and turns of Esotera Court.
Sounds good to me. I just wished they could get rid of this hierarchy thing.
Like hello? We're in the twenty-first century, for heaven's sake!
The clattered of utensils against platters. Glasses toasting clung. Laughter and chatters. All of these died down as we waltzed inside. My eyes discreetly roamed around the buffet hall while Lucas led me to a table by a huge window with the picturesque view of a summer garden.
Six people. Three ladies, including the brat doll earlier, and three men in the same ivory long sleeves, black coat, and black slack uniform like my companion.
"Those ladies . . . are they visitors like me?" I asked quietly, settling down on the red velvet cushioned chair he pulled out for me.
A furtive glance. Lucas answered courteously, "Yes, milady. With them is their designated aide just like me to you."
I glanced at the ladies sitting at different tables. True to Lucas's words, each of them had someone like him, either standing by their side or sitting across them on the table. I was about to turn my gaze back to Lucas when one of the ladies, three tables away from me, waved a hand with a cheeky smile on her face. Undecided what to do, I shot her a small smile in return and she grinned, then went back to talking to her frowning male companion who was drinking a coffee parallel to her.
Well, that was nice.
I turned back to Lucas, but he was nowhere in sight. Instead, another beautiful lady in a pixie haircut was seated across me with her intertwined hands on the table. A pair of fierce black eyes stared right through mine and I couldn't help myself but gulp in place.
Intimidating.
She looked like assessing me and it was downright uncomfortable! Where on earth did Lucas go?
"Name?" she asked out of the blue. Her commanding voice was cold as ice and compelling at the same time.
"Ce-Celestine."
She grimly nodded and stood up without making any sound. She then went back to the table near the spiral staircase far north to my position, where a man in a ponytail and a headphone on─eyes closed─was there seated.
I was left there, mouth partly opened.
Okay . . . what was that?
Just then, Lucas returned with a pushcart. After laying out the plate of three-layered pancake glazed with syrup, and a cup of black coffee, he just stood there - silent.
"Uh . . . You're not joining me for breakfast?" He opened his mouth to answer, but I was quicker. "Don't tell me it's one of your oh-so-mighty aide rules again?"
Lucas smiled wryly. "I'm afraid it is, milady."
This guy. I shook my head.
"Okay, that's enough!" I raised an eyebrow at him. "This freaking thing only happened in movies unless you're some sort of nobility or in a high ranking position of some country─and, I'm certainly just a measly commoner who happened to come here for a vacation. So spare me with your freaking whims and eat breakfast with me, or else I'll shove this thing in your mouth," I rambled, pointing to the pancake. "And quit staring. It's uncomfortable. Thank you."
Void with any emotion. Lucas stood there with such expression while looking at me indifferently. If I angered him or what, I didn't have any freaking idea.
Is this my cue to apologize?
Wait a minute . . . and why would I apologize in the first place? I hadn't done any horrendous crime at all. I simply just asked him to join me in the breakfast. What on earth was wrong with that?
A deafening silence ensued. I thought we were the only ones left, but when I looked around, six sets of eyes were now trained on us . . . on me. Ignoring them, I arched my eyebrow at Lucas who was seemingly collecting his thoughts.
"If that's the case," he sighed in defeat, "I'll take your offer then, milady. But I'll fetch myself something to eat first."
I nodded, quite chuffed of myself from winning our argument. Not seconds later, he came back with a silver tray containing a cup of brewed coffee and a plate of bacon and sunny side up egg. He settled down on the chair across mine and I couldn't help myself from grinning.
"Good. Not so hard, right?"
Lucas only sighed, nodding.
Nothing much happened after. I ate my breakfast while Lucas silently sipped his cup of brewed coffee; his eyes wandering outside the huge window. He seemed to be in deep thought, and I let him be. There were a lot of questions I wanted to ask him, but where should I start?
Perhaps what he was doing here? Or why he hadn't said a word about our countless encounters in the same university where we often exchanged smiles whenever our paths crossed? Or the reason why I had to have him as an aide during my stay here? Or maybe . . .
"Was it you I saw that night?"
The question just automatically slipped out of my tongue, effectively cutting him off from his reverie.
"Pardon, milady?"
I shook my head. Maybe this isn't the right time.
That question might put him under pressure and eventually be the cause of an awkward atmosphere between us. I couldn't afford that. He was the only one I knew here . . . and the sole probable witness of that night.
I can't lose him yet.
Until then, I must stay close to him.
"So, Lucas. This manager you're talking about. What is he or she like?" I asked, trying to sound enthusiastic.
Just then, footsteps coming above the spiral staircase echoed in the hall. Curious, I was about to look over my shoulders when Lucas answered in a rather strained voice.
"He's the worst."
✴