Nearly two weeks blinked by as Syllis pondered the contents of this ‘event’ she was invited to.

While she herself was not technically invited, practically Anahita was ensured that she would go. It was a witty tactic, giving an extra invite to the supporting family instead of Syllis herself, this was a unique way of feigning interest.

Over this week and a half, Syllis found herself shaking slightly at times. There was a bothersome thought that kept resurfacing.

‘How exactly did Anahita know that I was contracted? No, that is straightforward, how did she know that I live in the Boorne estate? I mean, it’s natural for Clark to flaunt me as a contracted kindred but why would he state my residence as his estate?

‘Anahita could not have told Clark of her interest to invite me, that would give her motives away. Does she know of my poor background and only assumed that I lived in the Boorne estate? That does not seem like the in depth method the ruling family would employ…’

Syllis scratched at her head as she pushed her arm through a tight sleeve. She was currently struggling to put on a dress that Dalea had tailored for her.

Originally, Syllis had been inclined to wear her typical clothing of a white or black shirt tucked into a pair of black pants. Clark and Dalea convinced her to choose otherwise. As a contracted kindred under them, it would be bad for their reputation if their employee was attending the event out of dress code.

As for what Syllis gained… There was less of a chance for Anahita to pick her out of a crowd, she was worried what the pure nymph would do if she found her. Over the last week and a half, Syllis had been informed of various feats accomplished by the heir to Asanoch.

Some accomplishments were relatively unassuming. The sort that Syllis was sure she could accomplish. Others though… There was one particular rumor about Anahita defeating a kindred with six anathema. That was unfathomable to Syllis. She had entertained the thought of Anahita herself having a dozen anathema, but that was a joke. After hearing this perpetuated rumor, Syllis could only believe it might be partially true.

‘Maybe she has six herself…’

The dress that had been tailored for Syllis was a pure midnight blue color. It had long sleeves and were not able to be tailored, hence the difficulty fitting her arms into them. The top of the dress flowed seamlessly into a connected skirt which fell just past the midway point of her shins.

It was not an airy dress or a flattering one that tightly hugged her body, highlighting her figure and accentuating curves. Not that the secare nymph had an extraordinary figure anyways. She had always been at a disadvantage in that regard, due to her nymph lineage, they had evolved to be very aerodynamic. This did not matter to Syllis though, she was plenty happy with her attractive facial features.

Syllis was glad that it sat somewhere in the middle. The moderate tightness of the dress allowed her to move and breathe comfortably.

As she finally finished pushing both arms through the lengthy sleeves, she turned to the black boots that Dalea had recommended.

‘These are pretty nice… I wonder if she’ll let me keep them?’ Syllis hoped before turning to the mirror.

The large, embedded mirror within the black wardrobe reflected a polished, secare nymph. Her wavy, cerulean blue hair fell to the midpoint of her chest. It popped when layered overtop the midnight dress. Her seafoam eyes were also accentuated, being the brightest part of her person.

Though, her whole appearance and relatively cold demeanor to the unassuming would inevitably cause her—already snow pale—skin to look even more ghastly.

A maid knocked on her door before Syllis let her in.

Dalea had sent her to Syllis’ room to do her hair up. Clothing was not the sole part of a noble appearance.

‘Yes, exuberant hair is the staple.’ Syllis nearly hissed at the thought of her hair being puffed up and riddled with curling rolls—which were one of the core concepts she’d learnt about high-society due to Dalea strolling around with them in her hair.

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“Alright, what is my hair being turned into?”

Syllis listened as the maid described the idea. After she was finished, Syllis was pleasantly surprised. It was apparent that Dalea had considered the fact that she was likely not comfortable with grand changes to her appearance, so she had chosen a simple hairstyle.

The maid and Syllis both conversed as she fiddled with her hair. It had not taken long, the style was simple.

She dismissed the maid and turned to face the embedded mirror.

Now, her beautiful, cerulean blue hair was no longer resting on her chest. Instead, it was tied up into a low ponytail, her bangs still covered her slightly large forehead. Overall, she was relatively pleased with Dalea’s choice, her hair looked pretty.

After thinking through a few scenarios, Syllis finally decided to move to the front yard. It was nearly time to attend the Laurier’s event.

As she stepped outside, Syllis immediately felt a slight breeze. ‘Ah, we’re truly on the cusp of winter. I wonder, if I was still on the outer ring, would I have experienced this winter? How much longer could I have dealt with life on the outskirts?’

Syllis shook her head slightly, there was no use thinking about the past, or at least her past. There was nothing happy, hopeful or remotely worthwhile to look at. ‘Perhaps with such a horrible and tragic past, the future is destined to be great.’

She laughed slightly before moving towards the gate that enveloped the estate. Obviously looking at her past had no way of determining her future. There were those favored by fate, and as far as Syllis was concerned, she was not one of those people. Instead, she was perhaps hated by fate, destined to be beaten down over and over.

‘I’d better enjoy this while it lasts.’ She smiled, slightly happy and somewhat self-deprecatingly.

Syllis saw both people she would expect, and those she did not. Naturally, Clyde, Clark and Dalea were each outside. However, they were accompanied by Aura, her parents and Korman.

In an instant, Syllis could already guess what happened.

‘Anahita sent an extra invite to the Thermans to not look suspicious for sending the Boorne family an extra. Korman’s father is a slight wildcard so their family was not invited. So, Aura of course gave the extra invite to Korman.’

The parents were conversing and the young kindred spoke to each other a few feet away.

A portion of Korman’s—longer than average—hair was tied in a small ponytail. He was also fitted in a suit that was slightly too large, it was entirely black and had a thick black tie around the collar.

Clyde had his hair mostly slicked back and was dressed in a similar suit. Although, his was properly fitted and was partially white.

Aura by far looked the most stunning though. Her pin-straight black hair was delicately weaved in between a couple of light green decorations in her hair. Her curvaceous figure was beautifully wrapped in a black, off-the-shoulder dress that fell just past her knees. Parts of the dress were ‘torn’ out and replaced with a mix of black, light green and dark green meshes.

Syllis could not help but take a second to admire the group of beautiful kindred. Each of them would fit as a prince or a princess.

“Syllis!” Clyde called out, causing Korman and Aura to look over.

Syllis only shook her head and approached the attractive group. Her gaze fixated on Aura in particular, the design of her dress was almost mesmerizing.

Aura quickly turned her head as the secare nymph approached.

Korman looked at her indifferently.

Clyde met her pace, stepping towards the woman. He raised his hand high in the air.

Syllis met his hand, causing a loud clap to ring out, pulling the attention of the two sets of parents.

Clyde shot them a guilty look and he received a questionable look back, no words were exchanged.

He turned back to face Syllis. “So, are you ready to see the heir to Asanoch, the most powerful kindred in the city?”

Syllis' eyes widened, her pupils dilating. ‘Did I hear that right?’

She laughed slightly before asking. “Juvenile kindred in the city, right?”

Clyde’s gleeful expression fell, as though he was reminded of a tragic past. “I wish. But unfortunately no, Anahita is the most powerful kindred in Asanoch.”

“Seriously? Isn’t that a little absurd, she’s only a year or two older than us right?”

Clyde’s face turned even more solemn as Aura stepped over.

“It’s the truth, as much as no one would like to admit it. So we had better step into our fable soon, if he’s going to have a chance to keep up with her.” Aura spoke with great disdain, she had great pride in her strength.

“It must have taken a lot for you to admit that, Aura.” Syllis chuckled slightly, placing her arm around the—shorter than her—human’s shoulder.

Korman and Clyde exchanged a couple of quick glances, as though confirming an unbelievable sight.

“Yeah well, it’s the truth. She is the ultimate after all.” Aura sighed deeply.

‘The ultimate?’ Syllis' eyes widened again, the seafoam coloring wavered.