Forbidden Mating With The Alpha

Chapter 7: Kiko

The banquet hall had been cleared up and all traces that there was ever a party that was held there last night had vanished. It did not occur to Lucy that the rooms upstairs were soundproof and until that morning, she had forgotten about the banquet. She did have a lot on her mind at the time and her thoughts did not stray away from either Creed or the worries she felt at not remembering her own identity.

Breakfast was laid out on a long dining table in the middle of the room, served with the finest china and silverware that could be made. When the scent of the food filled the atmosphere, Lucy recalled that she had not eaten anything she arrived in Helorith. All of the women skipped dinner due to the loss of appetite they experienced when Layla and Karena began their argument.

And it seemed that the trouble would not be left to the previous day. Lucy was the first one who made it downstairs with Ida and she sat down at a random seat, not realizing that that would stir some trouble later on. She sat at first chair on the left side of the table right by the head, and Ida stood behind a few feet away to await any commands.

"Will the others be down soon?" Lucy found herself asking Ida when the silence became uncomfortable and prolonged. Ida resisted letting out a sigh. Though Lucy was the one who woke up an hour later then the rest did, she hardly took so much time with the preparations. Not that Ida was complaining. She loved that Lucy did not have an inflated pride in her appearance.

"They would like to look their best for breakfast. I'm certain you're aware of this but it's only common courtesy to wait for everyone before you start your meal," Ida explained and Lucy knew all too well about common courtesy. She looked down at the empty plate before her and the silverware that was carefully placed beside it.

The meal dishes were covered but she could already guess what sort of meals they were. They had to be dietary meals but there was no doubt that the chefs had put in their best efforts to make the meals delicious to the taste. While she waited, she opted to taking frequent sips of water until finally someone else came down. It was Karena who was followed by her own maid.

"I had to get out of there as quickly as possible," Karena complained, sitting down opposite Lucy next to the head as well.

"I can't stand that woman. Why does she always have to make everything about herself?" Lucy could tell that Karena was deeply bothered.

"Is it Layla? What did she do?" Lucy asked, watching as Karena tried to compose herself.

"Kiko tied up her hair in a bun and when Layla saw that it suited her well, she decided to do the same," Karena explained and if Lucy had to be honest, she did not think it a great sin to share a hairstyle as either Karena or Layla did.

"Really? Is that so bad?" Lucy asked and Karena looked at her in disbelief before she remembered that Lucy left earlier than she did.

"It's horrific. Layla could have simply tied her her up and left it at that but she demanded that Kiko change her hair. And when Kiko refused, Layla grabbed a pair of scissors and lopped off her bun," and just as Karena explained the story, one of the other women entered the room and it was evident to Lucy the great crime that Layla committed.

Kiko's auburn hair was cut at the base of the bun and when it fell loose, it hardly hung above her shoulders unlike before when it flowed down to the middle of her back. Kiko was beyond furious and her maid tried her hardest to even out the cuts but she was still not satisfied with the bob and fringe cut that came of it. Lucy did not understand why Layla had to go so far to make everything about herself.

"Curse that evil witch to hell!" Lucy heard Kiko curse out loud as she walked behind her to the other side of the table. She did not even think to look up to the scorned woman as she feared meeting her gaze of fury.

"That commander should have cut off her hand when he had the chance!" Now Lucy definitely could not face Kiko because she knew that a part of her was upset at her for having asked Dante to forgive Layla. Had she not intervened last night, Layla would not have been so vicious that morning.

"Don't let her get to you, Kiko," Karena called out to Kiko as she took a sip of her own water.

"Easy for you to say," Kiko huffed, her blood boiling, "I can't grow out my hair like you can heal your face!" Indeed, she was right. For vampires, wounds could heal in minutes but growing out hair was a different story.

"And you? Why are you so calm? She stole your dress!" Her question was directed at Lucy and she was glad Kiko was not as upset with her as she thought she was.

"The day won't end until Layla has made every one of us her enemy. Take from Rosalie and maintain your composure. She'll stop if she realizes her antics don't bother us as much as she thinks they do," was Karena's piece of advice that somewhat made Kiko calm down a bit. There only so much that Layla could do before she would see that her actions were futile.

However, Kiko was still on edge and her fingers could not stop trembling from the anger she felt. She reached over to the one of the dishes and pulled off the cover before grabbing the first thing she saw, a slice of toasted bread. She took a large bite out of it and Karena watched in amazement.

Lucy turned her head to glance at Ida and the maid simply shrugged her shoulders. It was better than hearing her constantly complain about what could not be fixed.

In a few minutes when Kiko had already gorged three slices of plain toasted bread, the other two women came down accompanied by the maids. There was no sign of Layla but it was fairly obvious that she wanted to make a grand entrance. It was only after Yelena took her seat beside Karena and Robin between Lucy and Kiko that Lucy noticed there were only seven seats at the table.

There were now two empty seats, one besides Yelena and the one at the head of the table. Much to their fortune, neither Yelena nor Robin suffered any grievances with Layla that morning.

"How's our queen?" Kiko asked in between bites to Robin, who gave her a sly smile. Kiko's obvious sarcasm amused her.

"As regal as always. Give her a couple of complements and she'll feel as young as the rest of us. No veins will explode then," Robin said as half a laugh. From what Robin said, Lucy concluded that the blue-eyed, silver streak haired, 20 year old's tactic to avoid trouble was to please Layla. Robin could read her emotions like an opened book and new exactly what to say or do at what times.

"You're on the right track," Robin said to Lucy, "... giving her your dress without a fight was the wise choice." Though Lucy thought the same, she did not like the prospect of obediently giving Layla whatever she demanded. Lucy did not feel like starting a fight over dress and that was all there was too it. Should Layla ever take things too far away, she would definitely step up to her.

Yelena had not said a single word since she sat down and neither of the other women thought to say anything to her. It seemed that these women knew about each other long before they arrived at the inn and Lucy's curiosities towards each of them grew.

"So, tell me..." Robin's words trailed off as she spoke to Lucy because she did not know her name.

"My name is Lucy," and Lucy took that moment to formally introduce herself, drawing Kiko's attention.

"Lucy? I thought your name was Rosalie? Rosalie Valentia?" Kiko asked from across the table.

'Valentia?' Lucy mentally asked herself. She had forgotten her last name but 'Valentia' gave off very familiar vibes to her.

"W-Well yes... the truth is, I don't really know what my name is," she answered and everyone became stunned when they heard. Even Kiko put down the bread she was holding.

"You don't know your name? Are you joking?" It was Karena who asked the question and Lucy sheepishly nodded. It felt strange to have everyone, including the maids, watching her in surprise.

"I have amnesia... I think. I don't remember anything from before yesterday." No one said a word for the next few seconds until Robin reached her hand out and pressed the back of her hand against her forehead.

"She doesn't have a fever. I think she might be telling the truth," Robin declared. Lucy did not know what having a fever had to do with telling the truth but if Robin, the one who supposedly could read people better than anyone else, was vouching for her, everyone else believed her.

"You might know more about me than I do," Lucy said next.

"Now that's just tragic," and Kiko said, genuine concern written all over her features. She no longer seemed to have been mad about what happened to her hair.

"Do you have any family?" Karena asked and Lucy quickly shook her head.

"Not as far as I'm concerned," she said. A small frown formed on Karena's face because she could not bear the thought of living in that world on her own.

"Well, you'll have us now. It might not seem like it but we will be one family soon," Robin said from beside her and Kiko let out a laugh.

"I can't imagine a loving family with Layla involved but it's better than nothing." She was bitter but her words were meant to comfort Lucy, which they did. She may not remember ever having a family but she would have one soon enough. It still hurt that she would have to share Creed with the other women but they were so nice to her that the tension in her heart was slightly eased by their friendliness.

But as Kiko said, it would not be a peaceful family because not everyone was on board with the notion of sharing a husband or even the spotlight. While the other women were trying their best to adjust to their situations, Layla made it clear, though not verbally, that she saw them as nothing but competition and she had the full intention of winning.