"Please watch your step, my lady!"
"Excited for dinner, aren't you, Lady Horatia?"
The greetings of the servants throughout the manor could be heard as Horatia rushed through the halls. Occasionally, she would nod at them in reply. However, today was different.
Stopping right in front of the door to the dining room, a hand reached out to stop her as she reached for the handle to open it.
"Was there something preoccupying you, my lady?"
Standing before her was the head butler, Allerton. Glancing up at him, Horatia couldn't help but look away, slightly nervous as he observed her reactions.
He always looks at me as if I'm hiding something! I'm only a couple of minutes late!
"I was only in the library! Mister Ludwell was telling a story and…well…" Voice trailing off, Horatia fiddled with the hem of her dress and silently begged for leniency.
Staring down at her, Allerton scrutinized her appearance for a few seconds before moving his hand away from the handle. "Very well. However, please try to make it a habit to arrive on time." He then also pointed to her antlers. "Furthermore, I believe your father won't be very pleased if he sees those out on display."
Eyes widening, one of Horatia's hands instinctively reached out to touch them as if she hadn't realized they were out for everyone to see.
"Oh…" Reaching out to place both hands over them, she pressed down on them firmly, and they shrank down until they couldn't be seen at all.
Looking over her once more, Allerton nodded in approval before motioning to head into the dining room.
Reaching out for the door handle, Horatia turned it and slowly opened the door. The dark atmosphere of the room made her try to stay as silent as possible as she slowly walked across the polished wooden floor and silently sat in her seat right next to her mother, Marchioness Amara Briedis, who only acknowledged her daughter with a brief once-over before looking back at her food.
Across the table from her was Horatia's older brother Lucian, who gave a comforting smile as he saw her. But it's the person who her brother sits next to that drew her attention.
At the head of the table sat her father, Marquess Elric Briedis, who didn't even acknowledge her presence and instead continued to eat his meal.
And the meal in question wasn't particularly appetizing.
Immediately after she sat down, Horatia was presented with her meal, and it took everything in her not to shove it away immediately.
The food in question was one of the few things a wendigo could eat. All thanks to the work of a fellow wendigo named Gareth Darby, instead of having to eat a human once a month, they could now eat…this.
"Mystery meat.." Mumbling under her breath so as not to be heard, Horatia pierced the cube of meat with her fork and stared at it for several seconds before gingerly placing it in her mouth.
No one knew what it was exactly made of. Whenever Horatia tried to interrogate the kitchen servants, they deflected each of her questions and left her feeling utterly defeated.
As she chewed her food slowly, she wrinkled her nose. It wasn't as if it tasted bad. It tasted like nothing at all. Wendigos didn't have taste buds, so it wasn't a culinary disaster. If anything, it was the feeling of it. That slimy, gelatinous feeling made her shudder, especially when she swallowed and felt it slide down her throat.
Noticing her discomfort, Lucian raised a brow in her direction and made a disgusted expression as he ate another bite of his own mystery meat.
Caught off guard by his antics, Horatia stifled a laugh and tightened her grip on her fork before grabbing the glass of water on the table to calm herself down and to take a sip.
Despite her brother already being well into his teenage years, she was grateful that he was kind towards her, unlike most. Perhaps it was because they had similar interests in reading. Whatever it was, neither of them ever felt awkward around each other and could converse naturally.
Glancing at both her mother and father, Horatia sighed to herself as they both continued to silently eat.
If mother and father weren't made of ice, maybe they would gain the ability to have a proper conversation.
Taking another bite of her food, Horatia couldn't help but think that their relationship was far beyond repair. The only reason they even continued these family dinners was to keep up appearances.
Suddenly, she heard the sound of someone clearing their throat echo throughout the dining room.
Looking around, Horatia couldn't help but stiffen as she realized that her father was the one who had made the noise as he placed his utensils on his empty plate and motioned for one of the servants nearby to refill his glass of wine.
Noticing both her mother's and Lucian's tense expressions, she felt a bit anxious, and the mystery meat in her mouth suddenly felt very dry.
All three of them watched as the Marquess drank his entire glass of wine in one gulp before he placed it down on the dining table with an audible thud.
Why does he even drink wine? It's not like Father can taste the hints of whatever ingredient the vendors talk about when trying to sell him things.
Horatia's thoughts were suddenly brought to an abrupt stop as her father turned his head to look at her. Her!
"Is there a reason you were late for today's dinner, Horatia?" As the Marquess spoke, it was as if everything was happening in slow motion as Horatia looked at her father with wide eyes as he addressed her.
Nearly choking on her food, she quickly swallowed and felt a wave of nervousness wash over her at the realization that everyone was looking at her.
Me? Is he talking to me? Why!? Is it because of what happened at the library or because I was late? This has never happened before!
Feeling her mouth become as dry as a desert, Horatia placed her hands on her lap and fidgeted with her dress as she was unable to look her father in the eye. "I…I was..."
Suddenly, just as she thought she was going to collapse right on the spot, she heard a voice.
"Sir Ludwell arrived at the estate earlier this evening, Father. Because of that, many of the servants' children gathered to hear a few of his stories. And since neither you nor mother was present, Horatia wished to greet Sir Ludwell herself." Hearing Lucian's confident voice, Horatia immediately looked up in surprise.
Sensing his sister looking at him, Lucian quickly glanced over and gave his usual comforting smile before looking at their father again.
As the Marquess heard his son's reply, he turned to look at his daughter for confirmation. "Is that true?"
Staring at her father, Horatia could feel the weight of his gaze and nodded. "Yes. Yes, father!"
Staring at Horatia for a few more excruciatingly long seconds, the Marquess suddenly stood up from his chair, and servants immediately rushed forward to clear his plate off the table. "I see…It seems that you're finally taking some responsibility. Don't disappoint me."
As soon as he finished speaking, he excused himself and walked away, exiting the dining room.
The room fell silent again until his wife and Horatia's mother, Marchioness Amara, spoke in her usual soft but cold voice. "I will be excusing myself as well. Make sure you both finish your meals."
As she stood to leave as well, Horatia couldn't help but furrow her brow and look away from her mother.
She's so mean. She didn't even say anything when father spoke or during the entire meal.
Shoving another piece of mystery meat in her mouth to avoid speaking to her mother, Horatia simply nodded and watched as she left the dining room as well.
It wasn't like Horatia was expecting her to say anything. She wasn't! Though she couldn't help but think that it would be nice if she could converse with her and not feel like her mother was bored to death with every word she said.
As soon as her mother exited the room, Horatia could feel all the stress leave her, and she finally let out a sigh and slumped against her chair in relief.
As Lucian and Horatia are both left alone, she looked up and watched as her brother set down his fork and looked at her with an amused expression. "Well, that was pretty tense, don't you think?"