Fated To One, Claimed By Four

Red Dress

"See who's not going for an event again." Finn teased as he walked into the living room, all dressed up for Alpha Damien's party, obviously.

"You are only creating attention to yourself, young lady. Guess who will be called bad parents for your absence at the party." My father chipped in, walking in with his wife.

"Nobody cares anyways. Adjust your tie, Finn." She turned to her son and said.

Finn and Dad were dressed in black suits with white inner shirts, while my mother wore a black dress that stopped below her knees, with a black net facilator pinned on her hair.

She had her face well dolled up too. They were all set while I just sat on the sofa, with a pair of shorts and an oversized round neck on.

As Finn adjusted his outfit, he took the chance to insult me again, rubbing salt on my wound.

"Nonchalance is what would make a human being sit and watch TV while they are supposed to be on the mountains, fasting and praying earnestly to the heavens to at least make them relevant and significant. Tsk tsk."

Everyone knew that those words were directed to me. I felt so pained, like a sharp sword pierced in my heart but I did not react or move from my initial posture, I just kept my eyes on the television.

"Stop that, Finn. You don't want to see a grown lady crying." My mother said sarcastically, it was not that she was not scolding him but was rather endorsing his act. My father remained quiet in all of these and I just wished they would all leave already so I could burst into tears and express myself for the umpteenth time.

The bottle would soon be full and the ending of it all would not be good at that.

"By the way, there is a ton of work to keep you busy while we are out, young lady." My mother notified me before they all walked out.

The moment they were all out, I sucked in my lips, trying to be strong for myself. Lily's words played in my heads again. *It will be over soon, soon enough.* I consoled myself with that and just focused my eyes on the TV.

After a while, I started hearing bangs on the door. I was startled at first then I walked quietly to the door to see who it was.

I could see Lily through the small glass hole on the door and one other person.

Furrowing my brows in confusion, I opened the door looking confused.

"Lily." I called, questioning her with my expression.

She ignored me and pushed me aside gently as she walked in with the other lady, carrying a big bag.

I closed the door after they had gotten in and walked in with them. "What are you doing here, granny?" I asked again, looking totally lost.

"Have your seat, young lady, the party starts in two hours and it would take a whole forty minutes to drive down to the Royal Palace." She announced, getting me more confused..

"What are you saying?"

"You are coming with me to Alpha Damien's birthday party, young woman." She insisted. The look on her eyes was not a soft one, it looked like she really meant business.

"I already told you I won't be going, Lily. Don't be so persistent." I objected and she shot me a glare.

"I promise not to take you for any other event, but this one? You must be there."

"Why?!"

"What I see while sitting, you would never see while standing. Elara? Don't be stubborn” she paused glancing towards the woman she came in with.

“She is a makeup artist, let her do her job and then we will get you dressed up. I brought you two different dresses so you can make a choice also."

I scoffed. It all did not make sense. Her zeal to just get me to that party was not natural at all.

She had me sit but I stopped the makeup artist from touching my face. "Tell me why you are doing this first, Lily." I insisted.

Lily brought her tone down and sat beside me on the couch, and started stroking my hair gently. "You must be angry, Elara, are you not? If you are, channel it correctly and you will see results. Tears do not change anything, efforts do."

I picked every one of her words and meditated on it. She was right after all. I had always bottled up my anger and just cried on many occasions. Lily succeeded in convincing me eventually and I became calm and let the makeup artist do her thing. After what seemed like ages, she took her brush off my face and then Lily brought a mirror for me to look into it.

I was not seeing Elara Thorne at all, I could not see my normal self in that mirror but what I saw was a prettier and different version of me. I knew I had always had a pretty face but I did not pay so much attention to doll-ups and skincare like every other lady out there would.

Lily had come with two different dresses like she said, a black dress and a red one.

I crinkled my brows. "The dress code is black, why did you include red in the option?" I inquired and she smiled. There was something about that reaction of hers but I could not pinpoint it. Right, I was a slow one.

"Make a choice, Elara. The ball is in your court." She replied, totally ignoring my question.

While I stared at both dresses, I felt something within me, and of course I could not explain it. Something just made me want to go for the red dress.

"I will go for the red dress." I decided and Lily smiled again, like she was proud that I had made the right choice.

As I was about to touch the dress, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my head. As I closed my eyes as the reaction to the pain, I saw some things flash right in front of my eyes, in a totally different setting.

It happened so quickly and by the time I opened my eyes, they were gone. And I could not remember or say exactly what I had seen.

"Are you okay Elara?" I heard Lily ask as I opened my eyes.

I nodded gently. "I am...okay." I stuttered then I looked up, smiling. "I will go for the red dress." I asserted again and then went in to change into the dress.

It was a long, silky gown with a deep red color. It had a fitted bodice, thin straps, and a V-neckline. It flowed elegantly with a high slit on one side. Then the back was low-cut, adding sophistication to my body, in a way I never expected.

Lily brought a pair of earrings and shoes also, to complete my look. Throughout the while, I could not help but remain confused as to why Lily would go extra miles just to get me dressed up for Alpha Damien's birthday party.

It definitely was not to just go see his face. I had seen him countless times on the television, online and even in the news so it was not about recognizing him. The delicacies that would be served there? That was totally out of the possible reasons.

Another reason why people would strive to attend an occasion like that was to build recognition and connection with the royal family. But who was I to want a connection with them? I did not even give a damn care in the world.

"All set." Lily declared and then finally had me see my reflection in the mirror.

I could not smile sincerely and just had to force one, to thank Lily.

She received a call and turned to me. "A cab is waiting outside." She informed me and I was taken aback for a while.

I had not attended events in my life so this was my first, and I felt so anxious.

I gripped Lily's arm. "Are you coming with me?" I asked she nodded.

"I will just drop by at home and change my dress while you guys wait for me outside." She replied and I felt relieved. Then she turned to the other lady and smiled. "Thank you, Zee. I wired the money already."

The lady thanked her and then walked out of the house, then Lily turned to me. "Chin up, shoulders up, heads up, Elara. You are a queen, and you are going out there to rebel." She affirmed.