Payment

Art show?

Note: Rewritten but not triple checked for spelling and grammatical errors. If you see any feel free to comment.

"After breakfast everyone needs to get prepared to leave! I have an art show a few towns over and we must go! I have our train tickets already." Kana cheered out of the blue. For the past few minutes since we sat down to eat nothing but an uncomfortable lack of conversation hung in the stifling air.

"Kana! What have I told you about notifying me in advance? What if I already had plans?" Dominik barked, his big fist colliding with the table. It shook like a coward beneath the blow, the vibration meeting with my glass and making it shake. It was evident she did things such as this often. And by the chugging of his wine as if it were water, I could also tell he didn't like it.

"Do you? No, because I've already checked with Vera and I know for a fact you have the entire day free." She giggled brushing off his obvious frustration.

Quite a pair they are.

I was just about to open my mouth and speak but Dominik cut me off before I could even start. The words sat awkwardly on my tongue as I watched and waited for a break in his rant to ask her about her hobby.

"Is Giovanni and Renee going to be there?" He asked in a way that indicated he was holding his breath.

"Giovanni, yes! But Renee is back in Paris shopping in my place, so he can not make it. How long has it been since we were all in one place? Ah, good times." She sighed dramatically, reminiscing in the past. But her words didn't seem to incite the same feeling in Dominik. Rather his expression went dark, his eyes brooding in a way that seemed darker than I'd ever seen them.

"I don't think Roza should go then." Dominik hissed taking a huge bite of his food in a wild, angry way, like he wanted to take a bite right out of his fork. But that's not what caught me choking on my food.

My silverware dropped from my hands, clattering loudly onto my plate when my name rolled so effortlessly off his lips. He had never said my name before, not in the eighteen years I'd barely known him. A sweet, unexpected chill crawled down my spine ever so slowly. It filled me with such a warm flood of excitement I was stunned out of conscious action and literally groaned. The sound slithered off my hot tongue to silence the room.

My eyes opened wide, my body going rigid. Maybe it was me but that single sound, as quiet at it might have been in reality, seemed to bounce off the chandelier and ping right back to my ears. What made it worse was the fact they both stared at me for a long moment, they're eyes equally shocked and intrigued. Or at least that's what I expected, for Dominik to mirror Kana's expression. I wasn't actually sure because I couldn't muster the strength to look in his direction.

Even without looking at him my face blister with a heated embarrassment.

"May I have more wine please?" I tried to act as if nothing had happened, hoping they would just forget about it entirely. As if trying to give my cover a little assurance Vera came to pour me some more wine despite my glass being nearly untouched. She even went as far as giving my shoulder a gentle rub in support.

"Giovanni and Nik have been enemy's since we were young. Our parents were business partners and now that role has passed onto these numbskulls. How our golden name has risen, I am shocked." Kana couldn't seem to keep the laughter from radiating through her voice like sunlight through clouds. It was obvious she knew more about my reaction than I did.

"Must she go, Kana?" Dominik asked, his frustration less evident now that I had embarrassed myself.

"Yes! You know I must have my way." She laughed sipping her wine, satisfied with the turn out of the conversation.

"Art show? Your art, Kana? And why would you want me, of all people, to accompany you?" I asked, happy to finally get the words out of my mouth. It was also nice to be a part of the conversation rather than a joke at the back of their minds.

"Yes, my art. Nik didn't tell you? I sculpt. And why wouldn't I want you to come. I want to be friends with you. Not only are you living in my brothers house but it would also be nice to have a girl friend around to make this place a little more fun." She smiled like it was the simplest thing in the world. But the truth was, I had never had a friend before. At least not a human one.

I found myself smiling harder than I ever had before. It seemed as if my life was finally beginning, like every day I'd lived outside this castle was slowly slipping away to nonexistence. For the first time in my entire life, I had hope.

I took my newly topped off glass and rose it as high as I could without spilling it. "To friendship."

All three of us touched glasses to make a meek clink before taking a deep sip. The funny thing was, my chest was already warm and buzzing before drinking the wine. And as I looked at each of them, I was filled with such a feeling of satisfaction, I could barely contain myself.