Dinner with the Lord

Seraphina finished her breakfast with a frown on her face. She didn't like the dinner invitation and neither did she want to go wearing this dress.

But what could she do?

Just like how the night flew, the day was quick to run and it was already the time of the evening that Seraphina dreaded.

Now seated on the dressing chair in her room and her hair being styled by Marissa under the supervision of her mother, Seraphina wished for nothing but to disappear.

"Add more golden pins on her hair," Came Lady Lydia's command.

"And the colors too, add more to her cheeks."

"Apply more paint on her lips. The rose one."

"Her eyes need more liner. Just a little will do."

The orders of Lady Lydia came one after the other and soon Seraphina was free to stand.

Her brown hair was parted in the middle and coiled and folded by the sides with the golden pins keeping the foldings in place. The golden pins were paired with golden jewelry and bracelets.

She looked at herself in the mirror, her beauty now more enhanced by the makeup and her dress doing the job of showing her assets as Marissa called it.

The dress showed her cleavage and not only that, it highlighted her shape. Such a dress shouldn't be worn by her!

Soon the carriage of the Castiel household left through the gates carrying Mr. Castiel, Lady Lydia, and an unwilling Seraphina in it.

Seraphina's hands were placed on her lap as she fiddled with her dress. Anxiousness slowly crept up her body. She stared out of the small window of the carriage and watched as they passed several houses belonging to her fellow town's people and soon they entered another town.

The sound of the carriage's wheels moving on the concrete floor of the town was enough to let Seraphina know that they had entered the town of Lord William. The town of Winter.

And as she had read, Lord William was one of the wealthiest lords among the twelve lords in their empire. And with wealth came power.

She didn't see a reason why she would leave such a rare opportunity and wait on someone who had not promised her his future. But then she didn't even know which son of the Lord she was going to marry. And not to add, the little discovery of them she made seemed to be a warning signal that was enough to make her back out of the marriage.

On a second thought, if she went ahead with it, the status of her family will surely elevate and their debts cleared. It was not all about being a peace bride. At least it came with undeniable benefits that she was not sure Erix may not give her.

She was not an artificial woman or was she a gold digger, all she wanted was to live a peaceful and comfortable life. It was not as if she could make whatever amount it was that her family owned the Lord that would suddenly save her from the marriage.

What decision was she going to make? Everything seemed hard and difficult to choose from.

Let fate take its course. Again the thought came to her mind.

The carriage turned and pulled into the mansion of Lord William that from a distance loomed over her from the small window of the carriage.

Seraphina felt her heartbeat accelerate and the resolve she made a while ago fly out of her mind and window.

She felt an ominous dangerous feeling wafting from the mansion that made her former resolve to cancel the marriage stronger than before.

She didn't know why, but she got a very bad feeling about the place, and the moment they stepped out of the carriage when the wheels finally made a stop, she felt an unmistakable jolt of fear craw into her body.

Her feet remained transfixed on the ground not attempting to make a move. All the nerves in her body sent warning signals that made her want to run back home and cover herself in the warmth of her room and away from the world.

"Seraphina," Lady Lydia called and brought Seraphina's mind back to reality. "Let's go?"

"Yes," Seraphina took a deep breath to calm herself before she followed her mother and father who was in front.

She wouldn't give up on Erix yet. Wealth without love was nothing. But did Erix love her? Came the next question in her mind which she brushed off quickly.

Seraphina stared at her surrounding to stop her mind from wandering and thinking of the worst.

The mansion was more than large to be called a mansion. It was fit to be a castle because of how big it looked. The landscape from her view showed the beautiful garden that had different beautiful flowers that were all trimmed and well-kept.

Then there were two big fountains at the center of each side of the garden separated by the walking lane.

Several lights spilled from the windows of the mansion casting a warm glow over the mansion, and the evening made it look more enchanting.

Before Seraphina could check and admire more of the mansion, they had already arrived at the entrance where a man in uniform who she guessed to be the butler appeared.

The man was lean with pale skin but what Seraphina caught immediately was the red eyes.

Vampire.

"Welcome, Mr. and Mrs. Castiel, Ms. Castiel. You may call me Azazel, I'm the butler of the mansion." The butler Azazel introduced and continued in his neutral tone, "The Lord and his family are in the sitting room, please follow me."

Mr. Castiel, Lady Lydia, and Seraphina followed the butler inside the mansion and Seraphina marveled at the beauty it held.

The mansion was even more beautiful than the outside. Everything shone and sparkled in the golden lights of the chandeliers and wall lamps.

Not long, Azazel brought them to the sitting room where Lord William and his family were seated.

His wife sat beside him and another man she guessed to be his second son sat a little far from them, and there was his silver-haired son who sat on a separate couch.

Their eyes locked and Seraphina immediately looked away from him, and from the corner of her eyes, she saw him tilt his head to the side obviously amused.

Lord William and his family stood up to greet and Welcome Seraphina and her parents asking how their trip to their mansion was.

Seraphina momentarily paced out and looked around the room and somehow her eyes landed on Lancelot again. This time, she didn't avert her gaze and neither did he. They stared at each other for a long time subtly having an eye battle.

"Please sit down, Mr. Castiel, Lady Lydia, and Lady Seraphina." The voice of Lord William brought a stop to the intense gaze going on between Lancelot and Seraphina.

"Thank you, Lord William." Mr. Castiel replied and occupied the next couch with Lady Lydia and it was left with Seraphina who had no choice but to sit next to Lancelot.

Immediately Seraphina sat down, Lancelot bent towards her and whispered, "I thought you weren't going to sit beside me."