21
Toxic
Silvestre's office was not always empty. Yes, she had always often accompanied her best friend to engagements or preferred to walk through her department's office when she wasn't doing paperwork herself. Right now, it was empty because her daughter had asked her to come by.
By the tone of the voicemail, it either meant that she was pregnant or a better actress than Silvestre anticipated. Fortunately, it turned out to be the latter.
"Summarise that for me." Silvestre sighed. She was sitting with her daughter and Sam who was constantly opening new screenshots on his phone and old emails.
"Mayli Yi is my ex-girlfriend. We dated when she was fourteen and broke off when she was sixteen."
"Because she is a toxic, abusive bitch." Rihanna added agitated.
"Language."
"You need to get her out of the Selection before she does even more damage!" Her daughter added.
"Causing some girls to have a cat fight is not that much damage." Silvestre reminded them.
"Mike told her about Emilia, and the next day, it was online." Sam remarked.
"Rihanna told you too, on exactly the same day. What makes you more trustworthy?"
"Mike and Sam have been best friends for four years!"
"Four and a half, actually."
"Details. They're best friends – and Sam cares for Emmy too. Why would he do that?"
Silvestre eyes Sam. She didn't trust him – she never did. His background was… lacking information. Questionable. Not secure. She lived to know where people came from, and with Sam, she only knew that he attended a high school in a ghetto. A miracle that he had gotten into uni, probably onto Mike's costs. The three friends cared too much for him. Who said that their relationship wasn't the opposite of what Sam said? He accused Mayli of stealing money from him, but on his own comments, he barely had any.
No one asked the question she posed. Rihanna was visibly angry – she didn't like to see her friend (who obviously didn't like to talk about his past relationship) interrogated like Silvestre had just before. Her questions were detailed, her journalist habits came out. Sam on the other side remained calm, but with an expression of worry and sadness on his face. He bit his lip, glancing at the screens rather than looking at her. He was nervous, she concluded.
Silvestre sighed. "If that is the case, talk to him."
"You know how stubborn he is, mum!" Rihanna exclaimed. "Sam tried, and what we got was 'shut up, I don't wanna hear this'. I don't even think that Emmy would have a shot." She wouldn't.
"I will not force Michael to throw anyone out of the Selection." Silvestre concluded. "You're free to talk to him – you're doing that otherwise – but I won't do anything biased."
"Mum, she-"
"Miss Lorde," Sam began speaking politely. "by all respect." Was he trembling? "I do not believe you have ever been in a relationship where you are led to believe that you love your significant other, and that they do not mean to be evil, but whenever it happens again, you find yourself shattered even more. I do care for Michael, genuinely. Otherwise, I would not tag along to clubbing nights every second night despite knowing that a drop of alcohol might reinforce my, now dry, alcohol addiction." Sam's voice was cold, void of any emotions, but he clutched his fist on the table's edge; he clearly cared. "I understand that your opinion of me is not high, and I absolutely accept that, but Michael's mental health is not perfect in the first place, and Mayli might push him further down the spiral. I will not let this happen. I do not care if you want to help us, but it would be greatly appreciated, because he is falling for her trap. If… You already have the mess around Emilia to deal with. What if this becomes public knowledge? That a person who has been abusive towards their boyfriend in the past is participating in the Selection?"
"You could lose your job." Rihanna added, impressed by Sam's composure.
"Are you threatening to leak this?"
"No. Not at the moment." Sam paused. "But I do not, under any circumstances, could imagine Charlotte to agree with this."
He was playing this card now, huh? He seriously cared, Silvestre thought. Otherwise, he wouldn't risk bringing up the late queen – especially not with Emilia's impending death.
"… I can try to talk to him too, but if you two didn't have any success, that won't help."
"What about digging dirt on her?" Rihanna suggested. "There have to be more people."
"I'll ask Scarlet. She'll love to get that in exchange for some insider info." Silvestre sighed.
She didn't want to do this.
But Sam was right. Charlotte wouldn't have agreed to this.
* . * . *
Of course, Rihanna told the girls about their success in pulling Silvestre on board, but otherwise, the following days were a bore. Their lesson – media training seemed to be almost over – ended, when Silvestre (having waited at the door), approached them.
Africa noticed Rihanna's hopeful glance. All of the seven girls wanted to know more; the situation with Mayli hadn't changed at all. She hadn't even looked at them.
"Rhosyn Reynolds?"
"Yes?" Rho, as confused as everyone else, looked up from her medicine book (which she had taken out the moment class ended).
"Would you mind to talk to me for a moment?"
Rhosyn didn't mind, and left with the organiser. Theories raging between 'Some family emergency', 'there's an actual emergency and they need Doctor Reynolds' and 'Rho is eliminated' where discussed between the remaining six, but Rhosyn soon returned to them, looking quite happy.
"So? What happened?" Africa asked.
"My mother is visiting Angeles, and Silvestre heard of that through my father, who is part of the team that cares for Emilia." Rhosyn began to explain. "They – my parents, brother and sister-in-law - are invited to the palace, as a thanks for the service they've done to Emilia."
"That's sweet." Tilly smiled. "You'll see your family again!"
"Didn't you say that they forced you into the Selection though?" Katherine wondered.
"Yes, but I still love them, and I haven't seen mum in forever." Rhosyn smiled genuinely. Isadora puffed. "They'll have a formal dinner, too."
"Uuh!" Rihanna clapped quickly, visibly happy. "We get to dress up!"
Africa joined the cheering. "I already have ideas. Leave your outfits to me."
"No, thanks." Isadora rolled her eyes.
"Everyone but Isa, leave your outfits to me." Africa had learned her lesson by now – Isadora did her own thing. Fine – she had six girls to style; more than enough.
* . * . *
Alongside the Reynolds (Carianne (mother), Jason Senior (father), Jason Junior (brother) and Katerina (sister-in-law)), many other hospital staff members, and their families, were invited – instead of the room where the thirty-five girls usually ate (and often were joined by the King and the Crown Prince), they ate in a much larger banquet room.
The air was less 'official' than at the welcome banquet, but the hospital staff soon mixed with the Selected; apparently, they had bets placed on who'd win, and wanted to confirm their chances. Most girls mixed and chatted too, but for now, the seven friends kept to themselves.
Rhosyn was clearly looking for her family, and Kath tried to help her. Aside of Isadora, Africa hadn't been allowed to dress the medicine student either (much to both's dismay; Africa only got to do her hair and make-up, Rhosyn wasn't a fan of the dress). Rhosyn's mother had 'asked' her to wear the white lacing dress and the black high heels, she had given her. Rho wasn't over or underdressed, but the dress her mother had made her wear…
"Sorry for being late!" Rihanna was visibly out of breath. "I just had to finish something."
"Somebody, Silvestre will make lateness a reason for elimination…" Africa remarked chuckling.
"Yeees, but this is more fun." Rihanna answered, pulling her phone out. Whereever she had been storing that, Kath wondered. None of her dresses had pockets. "Look at this."
Her phone displayed the photo, Tate had taken of Rhosyn earlier – but edited. A second later, all girls were happily giggling – Rihanna (with surprising good accuracy and skill) had cropped Rhosyn out of the photo and pasted her into a decorated church. Alongside the cover of the book, Rhosyn was reading, and the caption "I pronounce you book and reader."
"I think that fits perfectly well." Rihanna laughed.
Kath nodded. "Yeah, it does. Good work!"
"Don't let my mum see that…" Rhosyn, trying to hold back her laughter said.
"I was gonna post it online." Rihanna joked. "Or give it mum for the broadcast. I'm sure she can give it to the team and they'll fit it in somewhere."
"Please don't!" Rhosyn, embarrassed, called out. "That's embarrassing!"
"Rhosyn! Dear!"
All seven girls, curious, turned around to see who had been calling their friend. Katherine recognise a young woman in a bronze dress walking towards them – going by her age, probably Rho's mother. Carianne Reynolds, a cardiologist, was accompanied by her husband, Dr Jason Reynolds, who in return seemed to signalise something to his son and Rho's sister-in-law. All of the Reynolds seemed well dressed and friendly, Kath noted.
"Mum! Dad!" Rho smiled brightly. No doubt, Kath though. She cared for her family a lot. After lots of hugging (with Rho noticeably ignoring her brother's wife) that was filmed by a camera nearby, Rhosyn began to introduce her friends.
"These are my friends here; Katherine, Tatiana, Isadora, Africa, Othilia and Rihanna."
"It's a pleasure to meet you all." Carianne smiled. "I'm glad to see that you've made so many friends, dear."
"Rho is a sweetheart." Katherine answered. "And she's really intelligent. It's awesome that she's studying medicine."
Rho, next to her, blushed. "You're the one who already graduated, Kath."
"Do accept the compliment, Rhosyn." Carianne reminded her. "It's nice."
"Yes, but…" Rho was still blushing. The women laughed.
"You need to tell me everything that has been going on. I was visiting Augusta – do you remember Miss Bracknell? - and everyone is absolutely fascinated by the Selection. It's such a sweet idea to revive this old tradition, isn't it? And it's so romantic."
"Yes… Absolutely romantic." Rhosyn nodded awkwardly. None of the girls (except maybe Tilly, Kath thought, she seemed to have a bit of a crush on the prince) believed into the lie that Michael was actually looking for a wife.
Thinking of him, Kath looked around herself, scanning the room for said prince. It took her a moment to find him, but the blonde was standing nearby the musicians, talking to a few people – with Mayli by his side. Of course. This girl had somehow gotten all of his attention. Kath bit on her lip in frustration. She wasn't gonna give up that easily – she wasn't a loser.
"Well, my name is Doctor Carianne Reynolds." Carianne, with a smile (that made Isa puff; probably fake, Kath thought), said. "This is my dear husband, Dr Jason Reynolds – the older one – and our son, Doctor Jason Junior Reynolds." Jason politely nodded while his father remained stern. "And this is Katerina, my son's lovely wife."
"It's nice to meet you." Katerina spoke. Isadora breathed in sharply, grasping her glass stronger. Kath glanced to her, worried, before realising what was going on. Isa came from an upper-class family too, but unlike Kath (who had, primarily, escaped through her studies), she had been pulled in all that socialite life. She probably knew Katerina. "Yelyzaveta, how nice to see you again." Katerina added – her smile was cold.
"Yes, what a pleasure. Especially since you can pronounce my name, for once. Finally learned how to read?" Isadora hissed. Carianne rose an eyebrow, but she remained silent. Katerina's family was probably less influential when compared to the Bonovich's tech empire.
"We should talk soon, shouldn't we? It's been such a while."
"No, thanks, I'm fine." Isa waved it off. "I am sure you have many other friends to watch up with." The sarcasm was real.
Carianne and her husband stayed for a chat, but Jason and Katerina both excused themselves. Kath glanced to the restless Isadora. She didn't want to care – Isadora was exactly one of these snobs she had to deal with at school, and she wasn't interested in befriending with one – but she couldn't help but wonder whenever she was fine.
As the conversation went on, Katherine realised that Katerina too was a student from their school – but in the grade between Kath and the others; she had to repeat a year at some point, as Isadora coldly remarked. That was where her comment came from, Kath realised. Going by Rho's expression, that had to have happened before everything else – the school probably wouldn't have let that happen otherwise.
Carianne was quite interested in Katherine and Tilly's studies, and when Rho's parents left the girls, Isadora was gone.
"She's probably just annoyed by all the upper-classness." Tilly remarked, knowing that Isadora wasn't a fan of it. Kath agreed. She'll be fine, she thought.
* . * . *
Isadora did walk off, and Tilly had been right – she had more than enough of the snob chat, and apparently (no one stopped her when she left the room), wasn't required to attend until the formal dinner. Fortunately.
The blonde wasn't sure where she was heading. Maybe to her room, maybe just outside. Whatever, Isa didn't care. Maybe she could just sneak off completely, and if someone asked later on, she didn't feel well? Unlikely – she had used that excuse to often by now.
Her mind elsewhere, Isa didn't notice that she was running into someone.
"Hm? Don't stand in the way." She complained without looking. "People are walking."
"I apologise, Miss." Isa briefly glanced to the man – Rho's brother, she believed to remember. "Say, would you mind showing me the way outside?"
"Pretty sure you can find your own way." Isa, snippy, responded.
"I can't." Jason chuckled embarrassed. "I've walked in a circle once already."
"Congratulations."
"And, it seems to me that you seem to be avoiding the event as well – so you'd have a good excuse?" He added hopeful.
"…" Isadora blinked. Was it that obvious?
"And even if not, would you please?" He begged. "I… My mother expects me to socialise, but I'm not… Your average medicine graduate who spent years in books and not socialising."
"… What." Isadora blinked. "Sorry, I don't know any medicine graduates."
"It's… kind of a 'thing' to say that you don't have a social life when studying medicine, because you always-"
"Yeah, nor do I." Isadora shrugged. "Last time I checked, I don't study medicine."
"Yes, but…" Jason trailed of. Nervously, he ruffled through his hair, avoiding Isadora's cold glare (which, mainly, existed because she was confused of the sudden change to medicine). He glared around the hall, awkwardly dodging Isadora's focus. Fast forward what seemed like an hour of awkward silence. "So… Uh… Can you show me the way out?"
Isadora sighed. "Yes. If you leave me alone then…"
"Thank you." Jason sighed. "Finally..."
By the time Jason was starting to walk, Isadora was already on the other side of the corridor, waiting annoyed. "Come on." She called out.
For a doctor, Jason was stupid. Very Stupid. The garden was nothing but a walk around the corner away – he certainly should be able to make it that far without Isadora playing tour guide, but when they stepped out under the cloudy night sky, Jason thanked either way.
"Would you do me another favour?"
"No." Isadora turned around and started to walk off.
"Wait!" Jason called out, sighing. "I just need to get a message to Rho without my parents hearing. They're super fuzzy about anything that doesn't go their way." He paused, Isa stopped. "My mum's a control freak."
Oh, she understood that. How well she understood that. Yet, Isadora didn't turn around; she stood alone in the door frame, trying to decide between listening and walking off. Instinct and habit said 'Walk off!', curiosity wanted to stay.
"Please, just tell her that Gia is pregnant. She'll get it."
Curiosity killed the cat, satisfaction brought it back. Isadora walked off without another word. She'd need to talk to Rhosyn. She wanted to get her satisfaction. Not that she cared, but if Jason needed a secret messenger for this, it better be good, she thought.
* . * . *
"So, tell me."
The dinner itself was over, but many people were still standing and talking – among them were the Reynolds. Rhosyn was sitting with her parents at their allocated place; her mother was nipping on a glass of champagne.
"How is the Selection going?"
She had made some really nice friends, had grown closer to a friend from university and finally done the Angeles sightseeing – thanks to Tilly – that she had been wanting to do for forever. She enjoyed the food but wished to be able to go to university, rather than just studying a whole year ahead. She was involved into a terrible cat fight that Mayli Yi had manipulated and knew that the whole Selection was a breach of human rights.
"Good." Rhosyn smiled.
"Please, honey, tell me more." Dr Reynolds insisted. "How have things been going between you and Michael?"
Their 'date' (which she had played as a nice afternoon for the cameras) had been an excuse for him to visit Emilia, and he knew that her parents were basically threatening her career. She expected to be thrown out of the Selection after the first elimination – especially after the YouTube video – but had learned a few personal stories of the prince.
"He calls me Raisin."
"Raisin?" Her mother repeated with a frown. She was trying to figure it out.
"He's terrible with names, and 'Rhosyn' isn't your average name," Rhosyn began to explain. "so he started to call me Raisin."
"That's sweet." Her father said. "He must have put thought into that."
"I'm sure it just came from the similarities in the words, and everyone being a bit tipsy."
"… Tipsy?"
"We went clubbing together."
"We?" Her mother inquired.
"Uh… Isadora Bonovich, Africa Oaks, Rihanna Lorde, Othilia Joyce, Tatiana Loveren, Katherine Rhodes, Michael and Sam who I know from uni."
"Beautiful." Carianne spoke, but it was clear that she didn't mean it. "What about the date?"
"We went to a park." Rhosyn repeated. "Nothing special."
"Something must have happened." Her father insisted. "Honey, this is the greatest chance of your life. Take it seriously!"
Rhosyn sighed - which just gained her another angry glare of her mother. She knew that her parents weren't like this usually. They pulled her along to the 'social season', but they coped if she stayed in the background. They knew that Rhosyn wasn't that social. But this? "A chance in a lifetime." She had to take it seriously – but did her parents ever consider that she and Michael were polar opposites? Well, even if he could spend all the time with his pets, they still were far too different to be compactible…
"Hey Raisin. Hey Raisin's family." Rhosyn looked up from her internal monologue, to find the crown prince (for once not in casual clothes) standing next to her. Her mother curtsied, and immediately began chatting with the crown prince. Polite chatter, nothing interesting – just about the architecture of the room and how nice the food was. Rho turned her attention away and began looking for her brother.
"… I hope that Raisin is doing well. I mean, she looks… alive? She's terribly often behind books, but I'd probably not understand a single word from them."
"Oh, my little girl is always studying, yes." Carianne chuckled. She was trying hard. Too hard, Rho thought.
"Well, I want to be a doctor." Rhosyn answered with emphasis, hoping her mother would get the message.
"You are from a family of doctors, right?"
"Yes. We have been helping people for generations." Carianne smiled. "I, for example, am a cardiologist."
"… And that tells me nothing." Michael commented after a dramatic break. "Yeah, I guess we all should be happy that I'll never do medicine."
Rhosyn chuckled. "Yes, absolutely."
"I once heard Sam talking about some psychology terms," Michael remembered. "And I genuinely thought he was speaking another language. Spanish or German, maybe. I don't know. I'm terrible with languages." Carianne laughed politely. "I sked Emmy to translate, but… yeah. She didn't study psychology either." He shrugged. "Rho and Sam are friends." He told Carianne. "Which, I guess, is cool."
"Sam?" Carianne repeated, as if she had never heard the name.
"Samuel Jones; my best friend. He's also studying at Angeles University, and Rho knows him."
"Oh, what a fun coincidence."
Michael was good in overlooking Rho's mother's obvious lies. Genuinely Carianne Reynolds loved her work and helping people, but ever since her husband – who always had been interested in social climbing – had invited her to the 'social season', she had found her childhood dreams of ball gowns and cake – and made it her goal to climb too.
"If you tried, I could see you being a good vet though." Rhosyn remarked; her mother glared at her. Right. Michael was the Crown Prince. He wasn't going to work as a vet anytime soon. "You have passion for animals, and passion for something is the thing you need most to be good at something."
Michael shook his head. "I don't think I could do what vets do. I couldn't put an animal to sleep – when Bacon, the dog I had before Rock, had to be put to sleep, I couldn't handle it either."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Rhosyn nodded. Yeah. Michael probably really didn't have the nerves to do that. But he nonetheless would be a good helper, she believed.
"Well, it was nice to have met you, Dr Reynolds." Michael smiled at Carianne. "See you later, Raisin."
Carianne politely said good bye too, and Michael disappeared – probably walking into the direction of his father.
A minute later, Rhosyn received a text message.
Michael Schreave: Did that do the job? Did she stop annoying you?
Rhosyn smiled.
Rhosyn Reynolds: Yes. Thank you.
Michael Schreave: No worries.
* . * . *
While the event was going, Silvestre kept away from the cameras. Not that she minded them – no – if that was the case, she was in the wrong profession. She was waiting for a good old friend who was invited too, thanks to her wife working at the hospital.
Silvestre Lorde and Scarlet Hunter had a long history, starting with working together as interns and a career in the Angeles Times (although both worked in different teams). Silvestre had ultimately gone to work for her best friend, Scarlet had stayed. Nonetheless, the red head was a little sister to Silvestre.
"It's been a while." Scarlet approached her from the side, wearing an elegant, dark blue evening gown.
"Except that you recently talked to one of the girls, yes." Silvestre nodded.
"I have something interesting, as you requested, but it's not what you were looking for." Scarlet responded, handing Silvestre an USB stick that promptly disappeared in Silvestre's own, grey dress.
"What do you mean?"
"Mayli Yi has connections. I don't know what connections, but they are good."
"From what I know, her parents aren't even fluent in English…?"
"Some people say that her 'connections' are of adult matters." Scarlet answered. "I'll dig into it, but I haven't found anything yet. The people who knew her had good things to say. Too good things, in my opinion."
"What do you mean?"
"It's like there are two Maylis. One that is known in my circles, and one that can be traced back through school and jobs. One girl that lives in the business world and one that comes from a poorer family and has gone to a school with bad reputation, because of that lack of money."
"We can trace back the bad family reputation, and that goes along with my story."
"You haven't told me yet why you want dirt on her." Scarlet remarked, slightly annoyed. "Sure, the stuff you gave me will make money, but you never do this. You don't play dirty."
"… I don't want to see this anytime soon in the news."
"Well?"
"Off the record, and only when the situation is resolved."
"You have my word."
"Your word means nothing."
Scarlet pounded. "How long have we been friends?
"Round about thirty years." Silvestre shrugged. "What do you have?"
"Proof that Rhosyn Reynolds' sister-in-law is cheating on her affair."
"… Cheating on an affair?"
"She's got at least three confirmed ones – maybe more."
"How is this of interest for me?" Silvestre asked. "I don't deal with socialite business."
"Yes, yes, but look – if this comes out, Rhosyn will be in the spotlight too. Katerina isn't nobody. Not at all. Plus, I'm sure this will somehow prove useful." Scarlet paused. "Also, she seems to be leading a very rich life style for an unemployed woman whose parents want her to 'stand on her own'. Probably on her husband's money."
"The only positive effect I could see is having Rhosyn's brother being placed in a victim spotlight, and Rhosyn getting part of that."
"That'd solve the issue around the YouTube video?"
"Do you have anything on that?"
"No. Just a one-time account. Uploaded the video, never online again."
"Someone has to have found it first."
"Reddit."
"… Anything else would have been too easy." Silvestre nodded. "Thanks for the info, but it's nothing I'm looking for."
Scarlet sighed annoyed and glared to her friend. "You don't see how vital this can be."
"Not for my intentions, no."
"If you'd tell me why…" Scarlet trailed off in a hopeful, encouraging voice.
"I will, once I get the situation in order and you give me the info I need." Silvestre started out equally friendly and sweet, but turned cold midway through. Scarlet shivered.
"Alrightie. Alrightie." Scarlet sighed. "Tell me if you want me to publish the dirt on Katerina."
Silvestre absentmindedly nodded. She'd probably tell Rhosyn and see what she'd think. She wouldn't leave any real information in the brunette's hands, but at least taking her opinion into consideration seemed adequate.
* . *. *
Rhosyn's decision to stay with her family for the night had been widely accepted, but Silvestre wanted to catch her before she left with them. Certainly, it wasn't the nicest thing to tell her before she'd spent time with her parents and brother, but Silvestre had other things to worry about.
"Rhosyn." She spoke, loud and firm, when she found the brunette talking to her friends.
"Miss Lorde?" Rhosyn turned around, surprised. "What can I do for you?"
"I'd like to talk to you alone for a moment." Silvestre explaining, giving Tatiana and Katherine the subtle hint that they weren't invited.
"Uh, sure…?"
Her office – which was Silvestre's preferred place to talk – was too far away, but she didn't want to risk anyone hearing them. At least yet. Thankfully, one of the smaller rooms nearby was lockable – although she just closed the door.
"Did anything happen?" Rhosyn asked worried.
"Yes and no." Silvestre answered vague. "Your brother's sister in law,"
"Katerina?"
"Yes." Silvestre nodded. "What do you know about her? Be honest."
"Uh… She… has many friends?"
"More than just 'friends'." Silvestre finished.
"Yes…" Rhosyn, quietly, agreed, looking away. She had been told not to talk about this, Silvestre concluded.
"A friend of mine, a journalist of a gossip magazine, has proof of multiple affairs of hers." Silvestre answered, pulling out the USB stick. Hopefully Scarlet didn't lie – but why would she? Silvestre had more influence than the red head had. She could blacklist her anytime. That thought wasn't too calming, but it helped.
"Oh…" Rhosyn blinked. "Yeah, I know of them."
"Scarlet seems keen on releasing them, but for the moment, I have my hand in it. She won't, unless I give her the OK." Silvestre explained, and paused, awaiting a reaction.
Rhosyn clearly wasn't sure. She glanced towards Silvestre's expression – a trained poker face – and the black USB stick in her hand. What was she thinking? Was she considering it? Silvestre didn't know her relationship to Katerina, so who knew? Maybe she wanted the USB stick destroyed? No. That wouldn't help. Scarlet always had a copy.
"I genuinely couldn't care less about this. Either way – it's nothing I'll need to deal with, unless you win." Silvestre answered. "I'll leave the decision to you."
"I don't think I should be the one deciding." Rhosyn answered. "Jason knows too, but he doesn't want to do anything. I think it's my mum who wants to keep the influence, Katerina has, but…" She trailed off. "I shouldn't be saying this."
Silvestre nodded. "Alright – it's up to you. Tell me if you change your mind; I'll tell Scarlet."
Poor girl, she thought. Almost like Charlotte.
* . *. *
Author's Note
Help. I wanted this event to be fancy-dress, but also not too fancy dress, and feel like I completely failed. Welp. I can go all out next chapter, yay. This chapter was written on the day I came with the Halloween Ball, so guess how I solved my problem. It's been a while, hasn't it?
Bonus points to the people who know what I was referencing. ^ _ ^