flowers and crowns-dnf

ten-curtains

90 reads??? thank you so much, ily guys :,)

Clay POV

Dinner was like usual. Formal, peaceful, and very, very, spread apart.

We sat in a big circle, surrounding a table that was draped with some expensive silk Mother always boasted about.

The dishes and silverware were set carefully, nothing was out of its place. Mother seemed pretty happy today. She was smiling, asking us about our day.

Which was quite unusual, to say the least.

"What about you, Clay?" she questioned. I looked up from my plate, my eyes meeting hers.

"Good. Thank you for asking," I replied. "And you?" I asked politely.

Her grey eyes glittered with excitement. "Great! In fact, something wonderful happened today!" she exclaimed. She set down her fork and smiled.

We all stared at her with blank eyes, waiting for her to elaborate.

"We have a ball, two weeks after now, if I remember correctly. Very formal, some other nobles from other kingdoms will be arriving as well. We will start preparing now. Drista, Julia, I will call Miss. Hannah and Miss. Alyssa to help make your outfits for the ball. Clay and Liam, I'll call Mr. Callahan for you," she explained.

I tried to keep my disappointment inside. Don't get me wrong, the ball was fun and stuff, it was a change from the boring daily routine.

But the preparation for the balls was always so dreadful and boring. I spent most of my time picking out outfit colors and fittings. And when we weren't doing costume checks, we were stuck in the library. The main ballroom and the gardens were undergoing decorations and stuff, so we weren't allowed there.

I knew that my siblings loved it, so I pretended to be as excited as they were. They kept chatting about the outfits, the dancing, the music, getting to talk to the other kingdoms.

I nodded, pretending to be interested in their topic.

But really, I couldn't care less.

Three days later:

I sat on my chair, looking at George, who was lying down on the couch in my room.

I was still trying to convince him to talk. It was working.

A little bit.

I rolled my eyes at his stubbornness. "Oh, come on now, I'm getting a little bored with talking to myself," I whined with a fake pout.

He groaned and sat up so he was cross-legged on the chair. He picked a small pillow and threw it at me. He tried to hold back a laugh when I started to complain about his actions.

I walked over and whacked him repetitively with the same pillow. I laughed as he put his hands in the air, surrendering.

"Okay! Okay! You can stop now," he said, laughing.

I nodded, satisfied. "Oh, now you talk." I put the pillow back on the chair and sat beside him.

He shrugged smugly. "Mhm, guess I~" he was interrupted by the knock on the door. His hand flew to his mouth, fear showing in his eyes.

"It's okay," I mouthed, grinning reassuringly. The door opened slowly, a man poked his head from the door.

Oh, it must be Callahan! I thought to myself. Surely, it was. He smiled gently, then waved at both of us. He looked at George, who was tilting his head in confusion.