Chapter 3: DINNER PREPARATIONS

"Gods! What in the world was that?!" Ophelia mumbled, raking her fingers through her hair and pacing around the room, trying to process what had just happened to her. She wasn't stupid, of course! Her gut was constantly telling her that it was him, despite her best efforts to deny it because it was simply impossible. Why so suddenly? Why did she meet him in such an unusual spiritual way? She was actually very motivated to kill him right now. Very, very much. Ophelia groaned and fell onto her bead, burying her face in it. "Why?! Why?! Why?!" Her screams were muffled. When she heard a sharp knock on the door, she gasped and raised her head, her golden eyes squinting at the bed board. She was clearly not in the mood to go to the family dinner, she had lost her appetite. "Who am I going to tell about this? If I tell River, he'll pretend to believe me " Another set of knocks cut off her words. She jumped off the bed, frowning, and stomped towards it, opening it with the intention of launching on the person and beating him or her to a pulp. At the level of her current situation, she didn't care if it was one of her siblings or her parents; she just wanted to vent her rage. "Oh my!" Vera, her beautiful and elegant cousin, let out a dramatic scream. "You're not even dressed! You look horrifyingly disgusting!" Ophelia stepped back, her eyes rolling. She didn't want to scar her snobbish cousin's beautiful face, who was a real overdramatic being. "That look you have on your face right now is making you look even worse, darling, so stop it." Vera spoke with a phony elegant accent while disapprovingly waving her hands at her. "Aren't you supposed to be dead or worse?” Ophelia deadpanned. Vera scoffed in disbelief, walked into the room past Ophelia, and burst into an annoying laughter that irritated Ophelia. "Your room is still as plain as ever. You, unlike me, have no taste." Vera, as usual, extolled herself while demeaning others. "I mean, what's with the big book shelf?" She finished with a scoff. "Father invited the entire family huh?" Ophelia inquired dully, turning to face Vera with a completely uninterested expression. "You should cherish this moment because it will be the last time you will see your entire family." Vera said this with an elegant tone and a mocking smile. "Has the dinner begun?" Ophelia asked, a tight smile on her face, suppressing the desire to strangle Vera. "Unfortunately no, you are the only one who is missing, and I was sent here to dress you up." Vera looked at her with disgust as she spoke. Vera scoffed in disbelief, walked into the room past Ophelia, and burst into an annoying laughter that irritated Ophelia. "Your room is still as plain as ever. You, unlike me, have no taste." Vera, as usual, extolled herself while demeaning others. "I mean, what's with the big book shelf?" She finished with a scoff. "Father invited the entire family huh?" Ophelia inquired dully, turning to face Vera with a completely uninterested expression. "You should cherish this moment because it will be the last time you will see your entire family." Vera said this with an elegant tone and a mocking smile. "Has the dinner begun?" Ophelia asked, a tight smile on her face, suppressing the desire to strangle Vera. "Unfortunately no, you are the only one who is missing, and I was sent here to dress you up." Vera looked at her with disgust as she spoke. Ophelia returned the disgusted glare, and as the glares intensified, tension rose between the ladies. After Ophelia had a chance to freshen up. Vera started working her magic on her, relieved that Ophelia's wounds from her earlier training had healed, making her job easier. She dressed Ophelia in a dinner gown that was as black as night that was adorned with silver diamonds. Given that it belonged to Ophelia and was something Vera had chosen for her from her wardrobe, it was ideal for dinner. Vera helped the woman sit down in front of the mirror, brushing her hair until it was sleek, straight, and shiny before beaming proudly. As Vera started applying makeup to her face, Ophelia had her eyes closed and was wondering why she was dressing up so much for a family dinner. She wanted to go back to the sparring ground and train, but still, she didn't want to miss this dinner because it might not happen again. Ophelia didn't get along well with either of her parents. Her relationship with her father was especially strained because she had come to know to him only as "His royal majesty. Ophelia couldn't simply flow with her mother like she was supposed to, despite the fact that her mother was a passionate, caring woman. Her siblings were much closer to her parents, at least to her, and the other relatives were just relatives because she couldn't rely on any of them. "It's cold in here, and there's not enough fire in the fireplace." Vera, who was now applying pink lip gloss to her lips with complete concentration, complained. "It is not my fault that the world is blanketed in eternal winter." Ophelia frowned. "However, your demise will be your fault." Vera snorted. "Why can't you refuse the mission? Do you know what I've heard about him? Ophelia, he is not your average prey." Ophelia laughed. "Stop talking; one might think you're concerned about me." She muttered something. "Psh! Who is concerned?" Vera laughed. Despite their diametrically opposed personalities, Ophelia and Vera clicked perfectly and clearly cared for each other, even when they tried to deny it. "Done." Vera chimed. "Finally," Ophelia groaned, fluttered her eyes open, which had returned to their hazel gray state. She smiled admiring herself as she looked stunning as usual and Vera, had a proud expression on her face. "I have an uncanny ability to make anyone look perfect." She complimented herself and blew a kiss to her reflection in the mirror. Ophelia rolled her eyes, stood up, and put on her shoes. "We should get going. I'm already starving." She said casually. "Yes, yes, no delay," Vera nodded excitedly while still displaying her self-confidence on her face and Ophelia rolled her eyes. With the exception of the continuous sounds of their footsteps, silence reigned upon them as they stepped out of the room and began walking in the bright hallway. Every sound of their unusually synchronized footsteps transported Ophelia's mind back to the darkness she had earlier appeared in. The same darkness where she met and spoke to him. Those crimson eyes filled with bloodlust, his words, his rage... Fear enveloped her once more. Her heart began to race, her lips quivered, her eyes flashed in their gold reptile form, and she barely whispered, "Nikolai Novikov.”