I waited for the rebuke when I brought out my mask and placed it on my face. But there was silence. I opened my eyes that had been shut and peered at my new family. They were staring at me. We had finished breakfast a few minutes ago, and the others had left for a meeting in the great hall, a continuation of last night, and probably the finalization of the engagement. Not that I cared. But it was the same place Laura and Peter were going to, until they had seen me bring out my mask dramatically. “What are you doing, Maya?” That was Peter, slow to comprehend my reason for this, as I could see that Laura and Diana had caught onto my reasons. Their eyes were shrouded with anger and then pity; hopefully the anger was toward Adam and his brothers. “Please call me Dora, Peter. That’s the new name. As you know, this is my pack. I'm sure of it. The surroundings are familiar. I don’t want them to know it is me, until I find out what had happened to me. So, until then, I would don a mask
“So, you think that your boss is a young dude?” Diana asked whilst on our stroll. I had asked her first if it was possible for magic to make someone younger, voice and all. She had nodded, but had admitted that she didn’t know anyone in the community that did that. It’s a banned magic actually, since it involves sacrifices of human blood to stay young. I told her then of the call. She still found it funny. She believed that either I heard wrong, or the person speaking was the secretary, one of the assistants in the store I would be working in. “But he sounded like the boss, a young boss.” I said, not adding that the voice had sounded so gentle that I had wished to get a glimpse of the person speaking. Patience young warlock, you are a worker there after all. I smiled at the thought, then frowned. What was I doing goofing over a man’s voice? Seriously Maya, you don’t ever learn, do you? “So, where are we going first?” Diana asked, obviously giving up on trying to convince me of
“Dora, hi…I thought you would be joining us..” Noami started, when I fully faced her, my hand still clasped with Diana’s. “Don’t worry about the strictness of their faces, they are quite cool, especially the boys. I have seen how you catch their attention, and I think they will be pleased to see you, and know you…your mask..” I watched her stutter, like she hadn’t seen the mask that covered my face, like she was just seeing it now. “It’s something I have to wear.” I answered stiffly, probably because I didn’t want a conversation about the mask, or most probable because I hated that she had classified that crowd as cool. Yes sure I didn't know the queen’s children upfront, but from the tales of Laura, and I know she couldn’t lie to me, I was sure that they weren’t any good either. Just a bunch of entitled assholes and egocentric jerks. The triplets and Claire were entirely on a next level. Those were bastards, wicked bastards. Why was Naomi with them? Why did she find them a good
“This girl is just so full of herself..” Claire stated. She must have noticed that I was appealing to Adam. Took a second. “What else would I be full of, Claire, shit? Apologies my dear, but not everyone is like you. I, specifically, refuse to be full of that.” I said, without waiting a beat. Naomi cackled first, then the rest joined, including Adam. I rested back on the pillar, feeling a bit content, after that. Diana jabbed me lightly, but I knew she was happy that I was getting along, or rather pretending to get along. Claire was red in the face. She stood up sharply, attempting to walk toward me, and maybe, I don’t know, throw out a slap or something, but Adam held her back. “It was just a joke, Claire. You don’t need to get worked up about it.” I watched her deflate and sink back to her position on the pavement. Her anger wasn’t totally out, but it was diffused now. The power of Adam. Sickening. To think I had been under the influence. By this time, Duke has taken advan
“Dora, wait!” Noami. She was the one speaking, and I wondered why. Shouldn’t she be with her friends? I mused, turning around to glance at her, my hands still fitted in with a Diana whose lips haven’t yet gotten rid of the smile. She had been so proud of my comeback to Duke. Yes, it had been an empty threat, but she believed it was a sign of growth on my part. Diana thought I should keep up the act, perhaps become a bully to the bullies, since my identity to them was unknown. I stayed silent, till Noami got to me. She was breathing deeply, and exhaling the same, like she had run a marathon, despite the fact that it hadn’t been up to three minutes since we had left the shade. I waited for her to speak, pretending to be aloof to her ploys that we be friends. Partly because it would suit my new persona, and partly because I wasn’t sure if her loyalty had really laid with me when I was still the bullied Maya. What if all her friendly gestures had all been part of a big plan? To des
This must be a new one. I thought, as I looked at the sign that was placed on the restaurant’s top. “Do they cook as nice as they look?” Diana asked, and I held back a chuckle. Naomi couldn't though. “Of course,” She managed to say whilst chuckling. She held the free hand of Diana—typical Noami—to the surprise of the little one, and led us into the restaurant. It was bustling already, the bustle easing when they took note of us. There were a few from the mage community, but most were of the werewolf’s clan and they couldn’t understand what a masked girl was doing in their eatery. The party was over for god sake. They must be thinking. “Don’t mind their stares. It’s not everyday that a masked beauty pays them a visit.” Naomi said, and I nodded, willing myself not to smile sheepishly at the title. Masked beauty? I might get used to that. We found a table that was close to the door. Diana had picked that one. I was not sure if it was because of its closeness to the door. “Let me
When had he gotten here? I wondered, not bothering to turn aside to look at the human that had come to stand beside me. Why was he here? Obviously he had heard the content of my mock speech to Raul, but who said he could join the discussion? Well, what do I know, this place was his territory. “What are you doing here?” Nice question, Raul. I thought, making taps on the table with my finger, as if a question hadn’t been directed to me earlier. “I don't remember passing a remark to you, wizard..” Okay, that was a low, Adam. What the hell was he doing? Was he that petty to pick a fight with Raul just because I had mentioned that Raul was more handsome than he and his brothers. How right could the word bastard be at this point? I watch a server advance towards us, with our order I presume, her eyebrows furrowed, probably wondering why Adam was at our table. My eyes found Claire and Rachel too. They seemed to be conniving wordlessly on how to throw me to hell. This wasn’t good. It
Diana broke the silence first, with her laughter. Raul followed next. “Raul!” His twin shouted, but dude couldn’t be bothered enough to stop. “Little Adams? God, Dora, you are so funny.” He said, not stopping to catch a breath. I liked his addition, so I pretended not to see that he was close to Diana now. I hope the dude wasn’t planning on following through on his mother’s plan though, else this camaraderie would be lost soon. “How dare you? Who do you think you are? Since last night, you have been…” Noah was saying, when Adam stretched his hand in front of his face, probably telling him to match a brake, because the red faced dude stopped speaking. However, I decided to finish it, in my own way, with my own ingredients. “Since last night I have been what? Dodging your sexual advances? I don’t get it. You trio haven't taken rejections before?” “Okay, that’s it, young woman. I think it's time you left this place.” That was Timothy. Nice of him to join the party. “And who are yo
As I walked away from Adam, my mind spun with confusion and frustration. However, I hadn't gone far when his strong grip closed around my arm, pulling me back into his embrace. My heart pounded erratically, torn between the comfort of his touch and the turmoil within me."You're doing a stupid thing," I muttered, trying to pull away, but he held me firmly. His eyes searched mine, pleading for understanding.“I know you mentioned that your hatred stemmed from the wicked activities of my brothers and I. And even though I have no recollection of what you were talking about, the past twenty minutes has shown that we can be friends. We can be much more. I’m sure I’m not the only one feeling the tension between us.”I shook my head in denial. “I don’t know what you are talking about, Adam.”Adam piqued an eyebrow, and enclosed me in his arms. There was no distance between our lips. “You promised not to touch, unless I asked…” I grasped for the last straw left, sighing in relief when his ha
Staying close to Adam on the tree, I couldn't help but breathe in his scent. It was intoxicating, making my head swim. I fought against the urge to press my lips to his neck; the desire was strong, but I knew I had to maintain control. I also knew that we couldn't just be friends; not with this much tension between us. I sensed Adam's heart racing, even though he tried to hide it, to still it. His feelings for me were undeniable. He was feeling the same way I was feeling.Then, he made it worse, by swerving to look at me. His words which had been on the tip of his tongue—for he had turned to speak to me—got lost entirely. He just stared at me, stared at my lips intensely. And when he moved tentatively to close the distance between our lips, I gave no indication that I wanted out. Well, because I wanted in… But then the Queen came into the clearing, catching my attention. So, instead of sinking into the goodness that was Adam, I drew myself away from the romantic suspense, and point
"Congratulations Dora. You really did well tonight." I shook a hand.“Congratulations Dora. I hope you win.” I shook another hand.“Congratulations Pretty Dora.” I maintained the bland smile on my lips, and shook another hand.“Congratulations Dora. Don’t let them push you down! You hear?” I nodded at the more than hundredth person that had met and shook hands with me. My hands were getting sore and sweaty now.Couldn’t they settle for waves? I wondered, gesturing at Diana with my eye, that she extricated me from the seat where I had been asked to stay in, to shake hands with those who were pleased with my success. There were so many unfamiliar faces I had to shelve into a part of my memory for remembrance. No member of the Queen's family had come to congratulate me, however, not even Raul. I wasn't sure how to feel about his choice. I had thought he would have a better understanding. Seemed he was one that kept grudges. He should keep up with that. I might blow his head off should h
It was a crazy deduction to make, not minding that the fact was staring at me from the mirror. I looked like the first Queen, from the color of my eyes to the angular line of my face. Could it be that…? "Dora! Oh my goodness! What did you do? How did you…" Laura spoke finally, finding her voice; her words dragging my attention to her. When I turned from the mirror, she was in front of me. She checked out in awe, the studs on my gown, the effervescence of golden light that surrounded me; I had thought I was the only seeing it, but it was seen by my family. My significant other had really outdone herself. 'You should tell me your name already…' I couldn't keep addressing her as my 'other.' 'Call me El, then.' El? What manner of name was that? It sounded like something that just fell from her mouth at that moment. But El was better than 'other.' 'Okay, El. Thank you.' "Dora, you look otherworldly." Diana spoke next, her eyes shining with amazement. Slowly, she made her way to me,
Today was for the beauty contest. The contest for physical beauty. I was currently in one of the back rooms of the hall that had been chosen for the event, for the runway. Today was Wednesday. And for the past two days, Levina had really gone all out to make me win. I wouldn't know if her efforts had paid off until the results were out. Currently I was being fussed over by both Laura and Levina, while Diana and Peter sat on an L chair watching us, or rather watching them fix my make up. I would soon be called out to walk the runway. "Laura, be calm. You will be done with making me up on time." I tried to quiet the noise in Laura's head. She had never stopped blaming herself because she had arrived late, courtesy of being involved in the Queen's experiment; something I wasn't privy to yet. "But you will be called soon…" She pointed out, however, she was calmer now, she breathed easier now. However, she was right. I would be called soon.Even though I was the last person on the list
Today was Monday. The beginning of the week that had been been chosen for the contest. The school buzzed with excitement at that knowledge—students chattering in the hallways, because teachers were nowhere to be seen. There were no lessons either, except magic classes. All efforts were geared toward the contest, either winning the contest, or campaigning for the contest’s contestants.But my mind was far from the festivities. I watched from the sidelines as Levina, ever the supportive friend, handed out flyers urging students to vote for me. Her enthusiasm was infectious, but I couldn't muster the same excitement.Instead, my thoughts wandered back to Adam and his unexpected visit two nights ago. His presence had shaken me to the core, stirring emotions I had long buried beneath layers of fear and uncertainty. I replayed the moment he stood in my room, the moment his eyes searched mine with a tenderness that made my heart race, the moment he ravaged my neck with his lips. I recalled
Noah sighed at my question; the first sign that showed he was aware of my presence. But Adam and Daniel remained as they were. Noah’s sigh spoke of irritation. I hated it."If you are so irritated with me, Noah, then take your half baked self and leave with your people. Why do you even bother to come here when you know how selective I am with people?" I questioned, folding my arms across my chest, wondering what happened to the fear from before. My moods were similar to those exhibited by females during their menstruation period. Noah gave me no response, not even a glance. He just stared ahead, into space. I hated to be ignored, but I will be caught dead before I admitted that, or reflect that in my face.I looked at Claire. She was just staring at me blankly. "Who the hell are you? Daniel told me the assumptions you had made about them the last time they were here."Instantly Adam and Noah glared at their brother who tried not to squirm under their gazes.Well well well. I see w
As Levina announced that my old friend was here to see me, my heart sank like a stone in water, only because I knew that if Naomi was here, then the triplets were already at the Queen's palace. Before I gave into my fright mode, I noticed that Levina's eyebrow was piqued; she couldn't believe that I had another friend, especially from the pack."Do you know her? Is she your friend?" The emphasis on friends spoke of her unbelief and mild jealousy. This would be the first. Levina is jealous over friendships, but now magic?I gave a slow nod.She shrugged her shoulders. "Well, they are waiting by the counter?""They?" Raul asked, echoing my thoughts. They had come with Naomi to this place? Daniel must have been their director then.Fear gripped me instantly, squeezing my chest so tight I could barely breathe. The memories flooded back without hesitation– the cruel words, the relentless bullying that had haunted me for so long, despite being kept at bay by my sense of 'I have magic now,
Levina darted her eyes between I and Raul, wondering if it was a good choice to leave the drama that was about to unfold. When she stood up, I was sure that she had made the choice to hear a drama she wanted to happen, from me; for if she chose to stay, it might not happen. It amused me. I watched, keeping the amusement away from my face, as she sauntered away from me, to the door. She was about to leave when Raul suddenly called her back, drawing my attention to him for the first time since he had come into the store room. "What's my mother delivery doing here?" It was then I realized that I was still squatting by the carton. Oh god. I mentally palmed my head, since doing that physically would only toughen the uncertain situation we were already in. How do I convince Raul that I had not touched the carton? "I don't know. We had been offloading the cartons when we had seen it." Levina's confidence was something to be envied. Raul looked at her, and then at me. I had stood up imm