Dark Matter

Chapter Thirteen

Author's note: so yeah I kinda fell out of this thing and I know it's been over a year and honestly? I'm not sure if I'll update after this but I saw this in my drafts and thought it'd be best to publish this even if it's super short and incomplete and I don't know if I'll continue so yeah, enjoy! (even tho it's kinda cheesy and crap)
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Author's note 2: i published the last part of this story a very long time ago, but just got back to it and decided to edit it a bit. sorry if it's a bit disconnected but i felt the need to correct my favorite part of this story. i'm not coming back to this but i just wanted it to end on better writing skills. thank you all for reading this and cheering me on. i'm sorry i never managed to finish it but i give you all free reign to finish it however you want yourself. this story is in your hands now. i love you all so so much. take care of yourselves <3

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I'd never seen the maids before. At least not for long. But now they're here and they've been here for the good part of the past two hours. I've been expected to stay still while they do who-knows-what with my hair and face. Make up, they call it.

I try to tilt my head to get a glance at Julian, who is casually sitting in the corner reading a book. I feel like giving him a piece of my mind, but bite my tongue and wait as patiently as I can.

I have to admit that the air smells nice. A combination of sweet perfume and a powdery product I don't recognize. I try to savor the scent. I'm used to the smell of sterility but this kind of imbalance, this kind of sweetness is unfamiliar for me.

"My lady, please open your lips," a short maid squeaks out and I do as instructed. She begins to rub a dark red stick on my lips and while every survival instinct in me shouts to do something, I stay still, my eyes following the young girl's hand movements. When she's done she takes a step back, possibly admiring her work. I offer her a grateful smile and mutter a "thank you". She merely nods and moves to my eyes.

The operation doesn't last much longer and before the clock strikes their third hour of stay, the maids leave, allowing me to take a look at myself in the wide mirror of my room.

At first I have to double check. Is that truly me? But every facial expression that I make, the reflection repeats and I am convinced the person I see, is in fact, me. My lips are a dark red color, as if I'd just drunk the reddest of wines. My hair is perfectly straight, as if it'd never seen a day of entanglement. And my eyelids are dark, as though a dark cloud surrounds my eyes, or a shadow.

"Julian, why-"

"Because you're a Jacos now." he's practically beaming when I turn to look him in the eyes. I can't help but hold a smile myself. He walks forward and I realize for the time that he's carrying a box. He sets it down on my bed and walks forward, hesitating for a second and then engulfing me in a hug.

I wrap my arms around him as we hold on tightly to each other, neither of us saying anything nor pulling away. Finally he pulls away, only to lean down and place a soft kiss of my forehead.

"I'm proud of you (Name). So so very proud." With one last kiss on top of my head he turns around, walking in the direction of the door and I can feel the tears threatening to fall down as I realize just how badly I'll disappoint him.

It won't get to that. I'll make sure of it.

***

The box Julian left on my bed contained a sparkling black and gold dress. It had long sleeves that were black with golden stripes at the hem. It extended up to my feet with a fluffy black body. The top had a beautifully designed cut and the whole dress fit perfectly. It took a while for me to find my way around it, but when I wore it, it felt a lot more comfortable than I thought it would. A pair of black high heels were included in the package, which I wore reluctantly. The pair was also more comfortable than it seemed but I remained wary of them as I stepped outside of the room and  clutched onto Julian's arm while he practically carried me to the ballroom .