Preparations

Shay stared at herself in the mirror, one part bewildered because of how good she looked and one part almost appalled just because she looked that good. Not that she thought badly of herself or was self-conscious, it was more about her absolutely adoring the tough but comfortable look her usual outfit provided while this was something way out of her comfort zone. If she was about to go to training she would most likely choose one of her gazillion workout leggings or black faux leather spandex pants that looked smoking hot but still provided her with the ability to move freely, combined with any crop top that got under her hand. Never the glossy leggings though, the kind that makes you squint your eyes since you reflect the sun like a stained glass when worn…she hated those with a burning passion.

If she had to look presentable, she would just pull the “I’m a soldier” card and show up all “dressed up” in her real black leather pants, topping it up with a white or slate grey tank top or a t-shirt, a belt with a gadget or two reserved for warriors only and last but not least her custom made vintage style leather jacket. God she loved that piece. Everyone in the Coven knew not to mess around her when she wore that jacket cuz she’d be willing to bite heads off for a light scratch on it.

For a more casual occasion she would switch to her light wash blue or dark grey skinny jeans, but keep everything else more or less the same, including either her favourite biker or lace up combat boots. She was a woman best known for her simplicity and straightforwardness and her closet reflected just that, as 99% of it knew only the non-colours….ominous black, lull-you-in-false-chastity white and promise-of-a-storm grey. Only her training leggings had a splash of colour here and there but none of that had anything in common with what was now looking back at her through this large floor to ceiling mirror.

Her maid, Bree, and one of her closest friends, Zoelle, had already dressed her up like a celebrity in a dark green gown adorned with emeralds, not even the Queen of England would take shame on. If it was up to Shay she would not bother with makeup at all cuz the dress was enough on its own, but as it apparently was not her decision to make, Zoelle practically blackmailed her friend into doing her makeup for her.

“Stop throwing a fit like a toddler, Shaylin! Sit the fuck down or I swear I am going to find Markus this instant and tell him you had a wet dream about him!” Zoelle folded her arms over her chest with a victorious smirk plastered all over her face as she watched Shay spit her coffee all over the mirror and almost…the dress. Visibly cringing with disgust as Markus felt more like her true brother then Hendric himself and throwing a displeased look at her obscene friend, Shay slumped down in her white vanity chair and decided to ignore Zoelle’s vulgar threat.

“Remind me again why I had to put my dress on already if you are going to do my makeup now?!” Shay exhaled in defeat.

This was all getting to much for her and the night ahead had better end up turning magical to even try and make up for all the torture she endured, Shay kept grumbling inside.

“One, because you are not usually this clumsy, and two because I knew putting YOU in the dress such as this was an endeavour in itself,” Zoelle rolled her eyes recalling Shay’s constant bitching about this being too tight, that poking her butt, this squeezing her breast and that crystal scratching her shoulder. “Now sit down already,” Zoelle almost whined checking her watch. “We have maybe fifteen minutes left and I need to figure out how to make ‘this’,” Zoelle waved her index finger in front of Shay’s face dramatically in mock disgust, “into a million-dollar-babe”.

Shay couldn’t help stealing glances at her friend every now and then as she was working on her face as fast as she could.

“I am your pet project, aren’t I?” Shaylin asked but received no answer aside from Zoelle biting down on her lip as she was concentrating on the task ahead of her. Not even Zoelle knew that she knew her secret… Zoelle was that idly forsaken beloved that her idiot of a brother rejected on sight, but no one knew about. Or at least most of the people did not, besides her and another unfortunate couple who witnessed the event.

If Hendric did not do that, if he hadn’t rejected her like she wasn’t made for him by the Gaia herself, Zoelle would be smiling still and also in attendance tonight. That would bring Shay some much needed comfort as Zoelle was more natural in these things, always her “wingman” in all they did together.

At 24 years of age, Zoelle was beyond doubt a beautiful, strong-minded girl and the envy of many herself. Unfortunately, not even that could make her brother look past her rank and family and give himself a chance to see what a blessing she would be for him. His pride got in the way and he rejected her but never failed to make a scene anytime any other man would even glance in Zoelle’s direction. Either by glowering at the poor guy or stomping over to wherever Zoelle was, taking her forcefully by her elbow and leading her away from prying eyes, he would try his best to drill into her mind over and over again that just because he rejected her, she was still made for him and him alone and as such she is not allowed to entertain any other man in any possible way. Hendric’s jealousy knew no boundaries but also, Shay knew, even though he would rather die than admit that, Hendric did care about her friend in some twisted way. That unfortunately would never make up for the fact that Hendric was a complete douchebag most of the time and toward Zoelle especially.

“What a shame,” Shay thought to herself, still unable to shake off that deep feeling of loss and grief she felt emanating through every fibre of her friend’s being after she got rejected. Shay was always hopeful she would find her beloved sooner rather than later, but seeing Zoelle after Hendric almost tore her heart out when she knew damn well that between the two of them, Zoelle was always the emotionally more resilient and collected one…it made her doubt her heart’s wishes. Maybe it was a good thing she hadn’t met them yet, she knew she was past the normal age and she was quite alright on her own but she couldn’t help feeling that part of her soul was misplaced

“What if my own beloved would not want anything to do with me?” Shay thought to herself, her heart constricting painfully at the mere notion of it. Would her heart survive?

Not ten minutes later and Zoelle was putting away her makeup brushes as if dropping the mic after delivering some meaningful statement. Zoelle did a magnificent job of honouring who Shay was and kept the makeup at the bare minimum. Accentuating only her eyes with eyeshadow perfectly blended in rose gold and earth tones, topped up with a black winged eyeliner and charcoal mascara on the upper eyelid and just a touch of emerald eyeshadow below her lower eyelashes, the green and amber in her eyes popped like a lightening against the dark night’s sky. The fullness of her lips came out with just a touch of gloss and nothing more. By the time Zoelle finished completing Shay’s glam look for the evening, Bree already took care of the coffee smudge splattered all over the mirror and now Shay was looking in her own reflection she saw every day, only so much better.

The dress she wore tonight was chosen very meticulously to match her eyes as it was an emerald green one-shoulder type of a masterpiece. It was a satin gown in a split mermaid style to show off her long toned legs with a beautiful long peplum detachable train. The overskirt was pinned to her waist in an interesting hide and seek manner in such a way that pleats of the train overlapped with pieces of lace that cascaded off the bodice and hid the part where it was attached to the gown itself. The entire body of the dress, the skirt especially, was covered in thick lace that sort of softened into a sheer mesh toward the waist, only to wash over the fitted satin one-strap bodice and proceeded to cover the entire length of Shay’s left shoulder and arm

The parts of the mesh that cascaded over the pleats of the train as well as the part that covered the bodice and the entire arm were adorned with beautiful leaves and crystal appliques, and with the crystals sprinkled all over the rest of the skirt as well, the gown itself resembled a forest grove in the morning, still covered in droplets of magical morning dew.

It really was beautiful, Shay thought to herself while examining her reflection in the mirror in detail. Her hair, loosely curled and left down apart from a small section on each side that have been casually twisted and pinned together in the back of her head to make sure her face was on show, only added to the ethereal wonder that was the dress.

Gazing at her reflection, Shay’s thoughts drifted and she thought back through the events of the last two weeks following the meeting. Despite all their efforts, no leads on the individual mentioned in the texts had been found in the human city whatsoever, and as waiting for her brother to move his ass and find the altar has been exasperating at best,she decided to try and look for it herself. She had combed through all the places, humans considered holy, but had come up empty-handed. Hendric came through suddenly and instead of going off on her as per usual, for once he was actually nice to her. Thanking her for helping him cross off so many locations of the list, he went as far to praise her because her efforts saved him much valuable time for more in-depth analysis of what awaits them ahead. Assuming the “in-depth” analysis in Hendric’s vocabulary was probably a code word for screwing around, Shay still felt stunned with this sudden change in his behaviour. Knowing Hendric, she could not help but wonder if he had been up to something. The only thing she could not wrap her head around is how would that be possible when he barely left his office in the past few weeks, busy with planning the ball and ceremonies with their grandfather.

Even though no lead was found on that still faceless person they were looking for, Shay did manage to speak to the local human priest in one of the churches. He did not know much, but he did direct them to a noticeably timeworn inscription chiselled into one of the ancient stones on which the church had been built on. They were happy to find out it was a piece of the prophecy that was missing in their tomes, but a riddle in itself. Etched into the stone surface smoothed out by the relentlessness of the passing time, the inscription said:

“At the hour when the sacrifice is made by a fellow undone, only an unselfish sacrifice is required to make two halves, a one.”

That was enough to throw Shay and professor Jackson into overdrive, making them spend the rest of that day inspecting even the tiniest of pebbles there in hopes of finding anything else. They finally gave up late in the afternoon with depleted spirits when people in the church started throwing them suspicious looks during the mass.

That damn hidden seem so eagerly poking at her butt brought her back to the present day with a start. Shay reverted her eyes from the mirror and strolled slowly over to the almost 10 ft tall french window noticing how the sunset colored the skies bright orange and pink just above the treeline. Watching her frame in the glass reflection, she knew she looked beautiful but could not help feeling like an imposter; she much preferred to be in her uniform or her training gear down on the training grounds with her warriors and do something that actually mattered. Instead, she was here dressed up like a princess in her tower, waiting for her Prince Charming to come to rescue.

Standing here in her own room that barely overlooked the treeline and was still in one of the tallest parts of the compound nestled into the firm woody grip of at least a millennium or two old amber tree that towered over every other tree within mile around, she had a clear sight of the entrance to the compound and driveway their guests will be taking tonight when arriving to the ball. Even from this far up she could see the commotion down under the tree canopies and could tell some of the cars had already started pulling up to the first of the clearings from where they had to take a short walk to the compound itself.