Chapter 4 Party

The carriage Jia had sent for her clattered to a stop in front of the Will manor and Ammy had barely a second to brace herself before the door was forcefully opened and Allen's excited face was grinning at her. She tugged insistently at her arm.

"Oh, Ammy, hurry, hurry! This is so exciting!"

Ammy rolled her eyes but gave her a fond grin and jumped out, pulling her closer with her arm around her shoulders. The sun was setting, casting an orange glow upon the manor and Allen's black, glossy hair was loose and soaking up the fading light. Ammy tugged on a thick curl and frowned.

"It's just a party, Allen. You look ready for bed, are you not coming as well?"

Allen made a small, disgusted sound, placing her hands on her hips and tilting her head up imperiously.

"Just a party? Ammy, this is the beginning of the rest of your life! I can't believe you are being so cavalier about this. Well, lucky for you, I'm here to help you look irresistible to the alpha gentry."

She ran a hand through her loose hair, twirling the ends between her fingers, pouting.

"I'm not invited. Mother says it's not 'appropriate' for me to attend until I'm older. Whatever that means, I'm an adult!"

Ammy grinned at her dramatics and cupped her face between her hands.

"I bet Jia is just concerned that your beauty and charm will ensnare a hapless alpha. You're too young to marry yet, best to have pity on those foolish knotheads. Just imagine the hearts you would break tonight."

Allen scrunched her face and drew back, lightly punching Ammy's shoulder and leading her into the manor. Ammy caught the movement of a shadowed figure in the upstairs hall window, but it disappeared before she could identify its source. The warmth of the manor enveloped her and Ammy lost herself to its familiar embrace, a feeling of home reaching out to cradle her.

"Yes, yes, alright. Since I can't go, I have appointed myself your stylist for the event! This isn't what you are planning on wearing, is it? No matter, Mother wasn't lying when she said your wardrobe is still here. A few seasons out of fashion, mind you."

Ammy grimaced and glanced down at her clothes. They were more than serviceable but Allen was correct, they were hardly Society ready. Allen ushered her up the long staircase to the next floor, where the family rooms were, chatting at her the whole time. She didn't try to keep up, letting her excitement wash over her. She was far too nervous to respond.

Ammy had gotten little sleep in the few days between reuniting with the Will's and now. Three nights of tossing and turning, pacing her small room and refusing to eat much. Lillian had hovered over her more than usual, offering comfort and forcing her to eat what she could but even she was a small comfort in the face of what was coming. This party would decide the rest of her life. She would either be received well by society under the Will's sponsorship and attract suitors or she would somehow completely mess this up and be rejected, mocked, and spurned. The Will's would turn their backs on her to avoid further shame and Ammy wouldn't blame them. She was a curse to all those who knew her and surely even they would grow tired of how pathetic she was.

And what of this mysterious Alpha Jason? Would he be as welcoming as Jia believed? He was a close acquaintance of Sebestian, perhaps all of the Will's. Would Sebestian's distant demeanor extend to his friends as well? Ammy could only pray that she would meet a nice, innocuous alpha at this party. She only wanted a respectful husband who would give her pups and a warm hearth. Ammy didn't need lands or titles, summer homes or apartments in the city. She would attend this party, be quiet and respectful and show as much as she could that she was hardly trying to reach beyond her worth.

They reached her old rooms and Ammy stopped short on the threshold. It was one thing to be told that her rooms were the same and another to experience it. Ammy paced slowly around the sitting room as Allen passed through to her bedroom. She could hear her moving hurriedly around and she peeked inside at her as she passed the open door to see her bent over, picking up and discarding clothing and muttering to herself. She smiled softly and continued on, running her fingers lightly over the decor and the few personal belongings she had left behind.

Optimistically, when she had been called to return to her father, Ammy had been sure it would be temporary. The Will's would fight for her to be given back to them so why take all of her things with her? The disappointment she felt when she heard no word from her adopted family echoed in her now as she stopped by the glowing fireplace.

A plush, maroon reading chair sat facing the fire and a book was sitting on the side table. On top of the book sat a small pair of reading glasses, poised as if the reader had set them down in a rush, barely balanced on the edge. Ammy reached out as if in a trance, to lift the glasses up to the flickering light, turning them back and forth, shocked and confused. She cleared her throat and called to Ammy, her voice pitched to be as even as possible, hiding her tumultuous emotions, her heart beating loudly in her ears.

"Allen, are these...Sebestian's reading glasses?"

Allen called back but her voice was muffled, and Ammy gripped the glasses as tightly as she could without crushing them, feeling the metal make indents in hir skin. She picked up the book next, her hand shaking and tipped the cover to the firelight to read the title. She drew in a sharp gasp, her fingers growing lax, and the book started to slip. The book was her favorite, one she had left behind, unwilling to have it fall into her father's grasp. Most of her books had been taken and burned by his father as a punishment for a perceived sin, her father needed only thin excuses to leave Ammy bereft. So Ammy had left her most precious books with the Will's, wanting them safe.

"What did you say, Ammy?"

Allen entered the room, brushing her hair over her shoulders, looking a bit rumpled. She saw the glasses and book and waved her hand.

"Oh, yes, that dumb brother of mine is in here all the time. Sebestian, that is. He says it's quiet, he can think better. Though why it needs to be your room when his would suffice..."

Ammy felt dizzy. Sebestian spent time in her rooms, alone? These rooms clearly belonged to Ammy, even now. They held her most precious belongings, her clothes, her books, all the sketches that Allen had given to her of the family were clearly displayed and Ammy was at the forefront in all of them. Why would Sebestian do that and then treat Ammy so coldly?

Ammy shook off those thoughts. It didn't matter in the end. Ammy was only here temporarily and then she would leave again this time to her husband's house and Sebestian would continue to politely ignore her. Perhaps there was no other reason for Sebestian to be in here other than the silence and privacy it offered. Perhaps Ammy was so far beneath Sebestian's notice that the traces of Ammy in this room were easily ignored. Ammy carefully sat the items back to their original positions and turned her back on them, entering the bedroom.

Allen grinned brightly and pulled her further in the room, bouncing on her heels. She clasped her hands together and nodded at the clothes she had laid out on the bed.

"I left you a few options. Which do you like the best?"

Ammy approached the bed, her eyes roaming. She reached out slowly and laid her fingers on a deep blue dress. The material was soft, and it seemed to absorb the light, making it shimmer. Allen made a satisfied sound behind her.

"Oh, good, you chose the right one!"

Ammy rolled her eyes, looking at her over her shoulder.

"Why give me the illusion of choice, Allen? Just tell me what to wear and be done with it."

Allen scoffed and picked up the dress, holding it up to Ammy and stretching it around her chest. She hummed.

"Well, I want you to feel included. Oh! I can't believe these will still fit you, Ammy! You've barely grown since we last saw each other."

Ammy gave an exaggerated pout.

"We can't all be giants like Sebestian."

Allen laughed and gathered the rest of the clothing, shooing her behind a changing screen.