The lion and the witch

~chapter 3: Moons and mischief~

Rhians POV~

Nobody had uttered a single word since dinner had arrived to the table, in fact, the silence so loud, that at some point it had made Rhian shrivel in discomfort.

He glanced to look at his captain in formal clothing, very much different to the type of armour he wore during the day. Although Japeth had strongly disagreed to Rhian's invitation, the king had insisted upon Kei joining them for dinner. Even then, the captain seemed uncomfortable with Japeth directly across from him.

Rhian's brother was clothed in his liege uniform, although his scims were still in contact with the material of the outfit, covering Japeth from the neck down to the very bottom of his pants. He had a poorly-hidden snarl lined across his face, consistently looking at the clock in the room, glancing back at Rhian in the same gesture. 

Unsurprisingly, Sophie hadn't arrived yet, even though Japeth had reported to Rhian that he had made it explicitly clear she was to come to dinner without a choice. 

At one time, Kei had suggested to search for her, even check if she was okay, but Japeth had ordered him to sit back down, leaving him scowling.

Rhian's brother stared at him before slowly, yet aggressively, pushed back his chair, the legs groaning against the wooden ground. 

"I warned that She-devil to appear in this very room at this exact time, yet she has decided to point out otherwise," Japeth said, somewhat chuckling, although it was nowhere close to kind. "Let me be your guest and remind her to stay in her place"-

"No need," a voice simpered in the shadows.

Rhian looked up to see Sophie posing against the door, golden locks bobbing at her chest with every breath she took, black eyeshadow neatly spread across her eyes, a dark shade of lipstick plastered across her lips, diamond earrings hooked on her ears. 

Rhian thought she looked extraordinary, up until the point he glanced down at her dress, staring in disbelief, small smile fading. Japeth too, was gawking, his face blooming into a ruby tint. 

It appeared that his mother's dress was clothed against Sophie's body, as asked. But instead of the beautiful, pearly skirt that billowed down to the ankles, she had hacked it short until it hugged every curve of her body, right until it reached her knees, a slit across the side, a sudden grey-shade fading into the white at the bottom, butterfly pattern still visible. 

However on earth Sophie had managed to rid of all the skirts to form into the old dress, Rhian had no idea. 

He had to admit, she was beautiful.

Japeth's teeth were gnarled back, hands fisting, whilst Kei just sat there silently, unknowing of what to do.

The Snake leaped back out of his chair, hands slamming the table once again. "Where is our mothers dress?" he asked, not a slither of kindness used in his tone. 

Not that there needed to be.

Sophie studied her nails, black heels changing position. "It's on me at this very moment, if you had common sense to actually look," she cooed, acting as if none of them were in the room. That was, until, she wickedly looked up at Japeth. "Evidently, even more proof how much you lack in that category."

The paler twin grimaced, growling low in his throat, more like a wild cat then a dangerous snake.  "We'll see how much 'common sense' I have when I figure out what to do with your friends in the dungeons once we find them."

As much as there was a nasty grin on Sophie's face, Rhian watched her flinch a little at his words.

"Well, good luck on that," she snorted. "Aggie is more clever than she looks, as much as how idiotic Teddy is alongside her."