Trails of Intertwined Stars: Chapter 74 {Part 1}

~Chapter 113: Sit With the Family~

Rather than going back to the ballroom, Mistress Mohan went to the dining room where all the other guests had been gathered to feast. Nobody was in the ballroom anymore, not even the servants. Jiu glanced up from his plate, noticing the cold old woman sitting beside her husband, who was at the head of the table, nervously playing with cutlery. Henry, too, glanced up.
"Was she sulking?" He asked his grandmother, almost sounding bored by the idea.
"Of course," Mistress Mohan scoffed," When is she not? No matter; she'll rejoin us shortly. She knows she can't hide in that room forever."
The servants emerged from the doorway in a procession of sorts, setting the food down on the table in front of guests. Ironically, Hetty served Jiu his; so the ghost gave her an awkward nod in thanks, and the maid continued to serve the rest. At the end of the parade of servants, was Leora, who had returned at the time that made her look as though she was one of them. True, she still wore that elegant gown Henry had gifted her, but her makeup was smudged and damp in spots, that made her look more peasantish than noble. The powder they'd tried to apply to her face had worn off from her nervous crying, and she'd returned to her sickly hue that Jiu recognised the day before. Her hair was much messier now, too. Henry's smile vanished instantly as he realised the charming spell he'd cast over his family had vanished now Leora looked human, and no longer like his perfect doll of a sister.

Henry scowled," What happened to you? You look as though you fell in the bushes outside."
Leora chose to ignore him and made her way to the empty seat beside Jiu, that was actually designated for Lord Bernard, who had not appeared for the feast.
"What are you doing!?" Henry hissed at her, furiously, under his breath," You're embarrassing me! You are part of the family, so you will sit with the family."
Leora raised an eyebrow, venomously," It seemed to me that Lord Bernard wished to be a part of the family, considering how much of a suck up he is to your foolish, traditional notions. I'm sure we all would prefer it if your admirer sat in my place; no?"
Henry looked as if he wanted to argue further, but then seemed to feel that he, too, would rather keep Leora at bay than to fight fire with fire. He turned away, miserably, grumbling to himself as he spoke to someone he was more fond of on the table.
"Are you alright?" Jiu frowned, concerned; watching as the girl picked up her drink and hurriedly gulped it down.
Leora glanced at him. She was silent for a moment, as if registering his presence. Jiu couldn't help but notice she seemed to study him, almost skeptically, before flashing a weak smile.
"Quite, just a little annoyed with my family is all," She muttered.
Jiu nodded, sympathetically," Family can be the worst sort of pain sometimes, can't it?"
"One you can't quite ever escape," Leora muttered, massaging her temples.

Jiu smiled before casting his gaze at the empty seat that should have been Leora's. Now he thought about it, he hadn't seen Lord Bernard once since the dispute. Wasn't all guests required to be at the dining hall for the Yule party feast?
"Leora; you didn't happen to see Lord Bernard as you came here, did you?" Jiu frowned.
Leora raised an eyebrow," No, I didn't see him."
"That's odd, you should have thought he would be here by now."
"Perhaps he's sulking," Leora shrugged.
Jiu cocked an eyebrow," I highly doubt it, considering he won that argument between us. Should we check on him?"
"We might as well, nobody's paying attention to us anyway," Leora hummed, glancing around the table," Slip out and slip back in, seemlessly. Besides, I'm quite bored of this party; aren't you?"
Jiu smirked and nodded. The two sneakily excused themselves out of their seats and hurried out with the parade of servants, who were returning to the kitchen. Master Mohan cast his gaze down the long table for his granddaughter and her mysterious friend; his face fell when the two had miraculously vanished from sight.
"Henry?" Master Mohan leaned over to his grandson," Wasn't your sister here a moment ago?"
Henry frowned, confused; he glanced down the long table before his expression turned dark, as he gripped his cutlery with a dangerous intent.
"The nerve of them both-!"