A long time ago, long before the witches were hunted, long before the wars even began to terrorize humanity, few humans discovered the existence of witches and shifters and other supernatural entities.
The fact that other entities also resided in this world scared them. The unpredictability of the future was enough to make them want to get rid of the supernatural. So, they schemed and even sacrificed one of them to start a war against the witches and all the supernatural.
Thus, the Greek War of Independence happened.
After years of devastation, another treaty was established.
This time, it was a treaty between humans and the supernatural. It was aimed at protecting humans from the supernatural. The treaty also stated that an organization will be formed from the human side to help hide the existence of the supernatural.
At that time, the humans who knew the secret were aware that the rest of humanity is not ready for the supernaturals.
So, the organization called CUSTOS was established. Though, now, it is known by its English name, Keepers.
Unlike Trillium which is only in charge of keeping the peace between witches and shifters, Keepers were in charge of hiding the supernatural's existence from the rest of the world. Most of the time, Keepers and Trillium worked with each other to avoid any more conflicts.
This was the reason Ava immediately recognized the man who was asking to meet Matthew. She had seen the man before with Samuel. A tall, balding man with a bulky body that he must have gotten from extreme workouts made Mr. Green intimidating. However, contrary to his fierce appearance, the man was actually one of the nicest members of Keepers that she knew.
Sadly, Matthew asked her to wait for him inside his office as he talked to his unexpected and unwanted guest.
Bored, Ava started reading some books. She carefully flipped another page of the book that contained the history of Lycan's involvement in human history. The words weren't detailed, but it was enough for someone like her to conclude that the Lycans were pretty much involved in everything that happened to humans.
From killing important figures to creating some drugs that changed human history.
The Lycans' history showed their resilience. They were just like… humans.
"Miss Woods?" It was another shifter. The man walked inside the office carrying a tray. "Mr. Graydon told us to serve you the best tea… " Before he could finish his words, another two men appeared. Then they went inside the office and started lining up.
"With the best teacups that we own. Would you like to choose which one you prefer?"
Ava blinked. Her eyes scrutinized the others. Yes, all of them looked neat in their black-and-white uniform. All of them had trays in their hands. Then she let out a sigh.
She had told Matthew that she was kidding.
Just why was that Lycan so weird?
"Give me anything."
"No can do." The man shook his head. "Apologies Miss Woods, but Mr. Graydon specifically told us to let you choose."
"Alright."
As if on cue, everyone lowered their trays and showed her the teacups that they were carrying.
"Uh…."
"This one had the accents of gold. If you look at the bottom, it was signed by— "
"A Princess…" she gasped. Earlier, she was honestly joking about the teacups. Who would have known that Matthew would take her words seriously and would even show her a teacup signed by the late Princess Diana?
"Yes. Princess Diana."
"This is made of ruby and was carved by hand. That one is made of jade, and the other one is a Chinese gilt silver tea set. That one is a rare Japanese tea set, and that is a porcelain one that was made in the eighties. That one was embellished by diamonds and…"
Speechless, she turned towards the tea set that was near her. It looked simple, but elegant. She knew it was clay just from one glance, but the pottery style looked very unique. "This one…" To make it easier, she just chose the simplest of them all. The clay.
"Wonderful choice!" The man lifted his left hand, and the others left the room without saying a thing, leaving the one carrying the clay tea set.
"As expected, Miss Woods has good eyes. You just chose the most expensive of them all. The master was indeed right."
"Huh?"
"The dragon tea set was created by a master ceramist in China way back in the Han Dynasty. It was rumored that the piece was owned by the Phoenix, the previous empress at that time."
Hearing this, she couldn't help but give a smile that didn't actually look like she was smiling. Instead, it looked like she was trying to hold her bowel.
A master ceramist?
Didn't she just choose it because it was the simplest?
She actually thought it was the cheapest!
How come it was more expensive than the ones with diamonds and jade?
She looked at the older man, who was explaining the history of the tea set. Unlike the others who were normal shifters, this man was a Lycan.
She could feel a different vibration coming from him.
It had the same authoritarian vibration as Matthew's, but was considerably weaker.
When the man finished speaking, the information that he gave her was already enough for her to write a short novel.
Yes, the teacup went through a lot of wars and assassinations. Yet, it's still here. It looked simple, yet resilient. She quite liked it.
However, Ava couldn't find herself drinking from a teacup that is actually worth close to a million dollars.
She would rather have it displayed in a museum than actually use it.
"Is there any problem? Miss Woods?"
"Oh, no… it's just that… I don't usually like tea."
"Ah, Master already said the same thing. Which is why we brought its equivalent cup we can use for coffee…"
She faked a smile. Why does it feel like Matthew is… trying to bribe her with these expensive things? She already agreed to work for him, no?
Everything that he provided her was already way more for the job that she was supposed to do. After all, she would only work for him if he needed a powerful witch. In return, he is going to provide her a monthly salary, autonomy in her actions, and most importantly, protection from her enemies.
Of course, she didn't fully trust him, but it was better than being in the open without any allies. Plus, she also had to find out why Samuel wanted her to work with the Lycans in the first place.
It was a win-win in her favor.
So… why was he being nice?
"Don't think too much." Her stupor was interrupted by Elizabeth. The woman eyed the teacup the moment she walked inside the office. Then she snorted. "Matt is only doing this… because you are useful. He will find another more powerful witch and move on. So…" Without any hesitation, Elizabeth picked up a teacup, examined its design, then she added, "Enjoy the attention while you still can, witch."
Without warning, Elizabeth suddenly let go of the teacup, letting it drop to the floor.