Relic-Verse: Champions of Hope

Chapter 35

-- Part 1 --

Juliet stood in front of the large doors to her mother's mansion, the aforementioned woman standing next to her and gripping her hand. The doors had two sets of stairs that curved around a large fountain and down into the driveway, where dozens of cars were parked bumper to bumper, with a plethora of finely dressed people stepping out and preparing to enter the estate. Lights mounted along the inside of the fountain lit up the front of the house, showing off the deep red and gold colors of the three story tall building.

The hero in training scanned the growing crowd of people, her heart beginning to hurt slightly as she couldn't spot any of her friends. However, amongst the crowd, quickly making her way to the front, was Aster. The star was dressed in a hot pink thigh slit dress with a hole cut out in the center of the chest to show off her heart. Juliet's mother spotted her in the crowd, and quickly bent down to brush down Juliet's outfit, a dress with a rainbow spiral design. Her mother then proceeded to fix her own dress, one extremely similar to Aster's, but lacking the chest hole and instead having a much more vibrant rainbow pattern than Juliet's.

"Aster! It is a pleasure to see you here!" Her mother bowed gracefully, digging her nails into Juliet's wrist and prompting her to bow as well.

Aster nodded and returned the bow before looking out towards the crowd, "I would trust your house is capable of hosting this many?"

"Oh absolutely! I have entertainers scheduled for the entire night, and my kitchen staff have been preparing for this since it was announced!"

"Well that is wonderful. Now, Evangeline, are you ready to begin?"

"Eve is fine- and absolutely, miss Aster!" Juliet's mother quickly took flight, letting go of Juliet's hand to hover over the crowd. "The doors are now open for all visitors to enter! Dinner will be served in half an hour, and our musicians are already set up and awaiting our arrival! Please, enjoy your stay at the Jules Manor!"

Aster watched Eve for a moment, before looking down at Juliet and waving, "You must be her daughter. Anything you can tell me about your mother?" The screen on the right side of her face displayed the words "This won't be held against her in voting".

Juliet shifted her weight from one foot to the other, feeling her voice begin to fail under the gaze of the celebrity. After a few seconds of shared silence, the words vanished from Aster's screen and she smiled warmly, "Oh don't worry, I get that reaction a lot. Not many are used to seeing me in person. Then again, you yourself are quite popular. Any words to say regarding that?"

The girl struggled to find her voice, but just as Aster was about to turn away she spoke, "It's uh- Well... I..." The celebrity bent down to get eye level with Juliet and rested her hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, sweetie, we can talk later. Deal?"

Juliet simply nodded and quickly averted her gaze as her mother landed between the two. "Well, let's start letting people in! Juliet, you stand here and greet our guests!" Her mother quickly turned towards the doors and snapped at a pair of nearby servants, who hastily opened them. "And smile, it makes you look prettier."

Aster rolled her eye at that and followed Eve inside while Juliet stood stock-still and waved at people as they walked into the estate, a shaky smile on her face that none batted an eye at. After a few minutes of waiting, she heard someone shout.

"Juliet! Oh my goodness it is so nice to properly meet you!!!" Juliet was tackled to the ground by a floating girl in a black dress, who had a massive excited grin and red eyes.