The Path to Love

Chapter 12: True Colours

"Sonia, get up here now!" My mother commanded. At her request, Sonia, rushed upstairs and I felt sorry for her already. Caterers had arrived and I could hear the shuffling of feet as I proceeded from the basement to the ground floor. Our house was grand enough, with its high ceilings , chandeliers and spiral staircase. So, when I bumped into multiple men and women, with decorations in their hand, I was surprised. They held paintings, flowerpots and other table decorations.

"Claire, there you are ! My mother exclaimed, inspecting my appearance from head to toe. A slight frown made its way to her face before she spoke. "Well, you have looked worse. So, that's something." She remarked.

"Excuse me Madame, where do we keep this painting?" A young brunette man in a blue uniform asked. My mother gave him some directions and left Sonia to take care of the rest. Before she had a chance to dictate what I was expected to wear for the dinner, I practically ran up the stairs.

 My closet was divided into multiple sections. My favorite section was the casual wear section, full of baggy pants and plain tops. My current outfit, a grey top and blue baggy pants was chosen from that section. Why dress up on a Saturday in one's own home? It made little sense to me.

"Alright, let's get to work." My mom said, as she barged into my room.  Sonia followed her from behind and discreetly sent me a nervous smile. After protesting against many outfit options, too revealing for my taste, my mother threatened to call my father.

"I dare you." I gritted through my teeth. She looked taken aback and did her best to remain composed. Sonia stood in silence as she remained a spectator to the scene before her. After my door was slammed shut, my mother walked up to me, a proud and determined look on her face.

"We will be receiving important guests who we must impress. You, in particular must impress Griffin Roberto." She smiled as she pushed me into my dressing table chair. She aggressively yanked my hair multiple times as she styled it. " As a woman, you must dress the part and look beautiful in order to impress any man. You should know that by now." As she calmly spoke, it felt as if my hair was being ripped out of my skull and I struggled to control my anger.

"Sonia, bring me the makeup." She ordered. Sonia nodded and acted in submission. " You will not ruin this dinner by being ugly and unladylike. You will sit straight, smile and speak when spoken to."

Her unflinching gaze met my infuriated ones in my mirror. There was nothing I could say or do to avoid my seemingly inevitable fate. She yanked me to my feet and dragged me into my walk in closet. "You will be wearing this." An off the shoulder burgundy silk  dress I never knew I owned,  was flung at me and I quietly collected it as a dull ache began in my lower back.

I did not speak as my face remained a blank canvas being painted. My mom's words faded somewhere far away as I remembered the beings that killed Oscar. They could have been vampires or lunatics. A part of me doubted that they were lunatics . Concurrently, I doubted that they were vampires since their existence was too difficult to accept.

As Sonia helped me zip my dress, I shuddered at the thought that vampires roamed the city. But I could not erase the image of their lightening speed and sharp teeth. I could not also erase the images of Mr. Augustus levitating, Whintar's powers and Luna's children's remarks at me being a human. Children do have a deep sense of curiosity and wild imagination but the manner in which they spoke arrested my attention too profoundly to be ignored. Puzzle pieces remain scattered all over my mind. The struggle is connecting all the pieces. 

The sound of the doorbell distracted me from the flow of my thoughts. " Do not mess this up, Claire." My mother hissed before walking out of my room and down the stairs. My stoic expression was my response.