WAR OF HEARTS ➵ scarletfrost

thirteen.

- CHAPTER THIRTEEN -
❝ ON AGAIN, OFF AGAIN ❞

"Can I get you anything else, my Lady?" The man sat besides Wanda asked politely, leaning over the wide variety of dishes neatly placed upon the table. It was almost intimidating, the amount of people sat around the table, the towering chandelier, the glistening walls. She felt out of place, but then again, she technically was.

"I am okay for now, thank you," she responded, a tight smile on her face as he nodded at her before sitting down again. The doors at the front of the room swung open, announcing the arrival of the man who had offered them to stay the previous night, Howard Squalor.

Immediately, the idle chatter in the room died down out of respect for the owner of the house as he approached his chair and stood besides it, a warm smile on his face. "As I am sure you are all aware, we have some new guests joining us today."

With a small smile, Wanda tried not to cower away from all the gazes staring at her and Loki at his announcement. God, they really did not need more attention right now, she was already paranoid that her every breath would be suspicious. Having everyone's attention on them was not helping her cause. Instinctively, Wanda leaned in towards the trickster sat besides her, missing the way his gaze shot to her, before immediately turning back to the head of the table. Sure, she didn't trust Loki, but he was the only person around the table that she knew. Safety in numbers, right?

"We all wish you a very warm welcome and hope you enjoy your stay here," Howard concluded, nodding at them with a grin before declaring to everyone that it was time to eat, and sitting down. With a sigh, Wanda let the tension seep from her shoulders as she picked up a knife and fork with the guise of eating. In reality, food was the last thing on her mind, in fact, the thought of it made her stomach churn. Instead, she just moved around items on her plate aimlessly with the fork.

Apparently, that wasn't a very smart idea.

"Are you quite alright, my Lady? You've barely touched your food," a woman besides her questioned five minutes into the meal. Stunned, Wanda quenched the urge to look over at Loki, how was she supposed to answer this. With that, she composed herself, she had not fallen so low that she couldn't answer a simple question without Loki's help. She had hit a new low, sure, but not rock bottom.

Clearing her throat, she looked over at the woman, waving a hand out dismissively as she replied, "I merely have a headache, that is all, please do not worry about me."

"Ah, such horrid things they are, headaches, would you like anything to soothe it? A cool cloth, perhaps?"

"No, no, it is okay I assure you," Wanda reassured, and the woman seemed satisfied with the answer as she simply nodded sympathetically before returning to her food. If Wanda had expected that to be the end of having to talk to people that breakfast, then she would have been sourly disappointed.

"So, Lady Maximoff, where were you returning from when you were lost?"

Racking her memory for the lie they had told, Wanda hastily replied, "A ball my sister was hosting, an awful shame that such a wonderful evening was ruined by our lack in sense of direction," she ranted, pride swelling in her chest as she drew a few bouts of laughter around the table. Maybe she wasn't so terrible at this.

Mary perked up at the sound of that, "What a coincidence , we are having a ball tonight! Surely, you will be attending."

At this, Wanda had found herself stumped. They needed to find a way to get home, every second they wasted here was another chance for another universe to tear into their own. But then, a thought wriggled in her mind, they had no idea how to get home, or how long it would take. Sensing her answer was staring to become too delayed, she stammered out, "We really should be searching for a way home, but I-"