The Taste of Silver | Fortune's Fool #2

09 | all kicks off

[ a l l k i c k s o f f ]

♥ louisa ♥

"ALRIGHT, I'M GOING to ask just one more time. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Of course, I am. Honey please, I was born ready."

Being born ready did not mean that present-day me still had a single drop of the same readiness. I kept that part to myself though, knowing that it wouldn't help the situation. Pierre had already apologised countless times thanks to what I presume was Lexi's bombshell reaction once I'd left the pair of them alone that day. Walking around the corner of the street and hearing the sound of someone being whacked in the head followed by a high pitched shriek, was a giveaway.

God, I really didn't want to kick him off again.

He had snuck my name on the list with his. I knew that Madame Lafayette would have stopped him had she known; she knew about my past with Forteaux to the tee.

"We've still got some time. It's okay." Lexi whispered, pacing around the floor of her spacious bedroom. It had only taken a few strings to be pulled to ensure that Lexi ended up being my host family. I still hadn't seen her parents yet since a chauffeur had picked me up from the airport.

I knew better than to bring up her parents right now, however.

My mother and father had offered to come and collect me themselves but I'd refused, knowing how much work they had been snowed under, partially because of me.

"Yeah."

"And your dress will be delivered in fifteen-" she began, her already nasal voice raising even further when she interrupted herself. "No, ten - minutes."

Lexi was already ready which surprised me. It had taken her less than half an hour to dress herself up in formal wear and red carpet style glamour. Something about her always screamed 'when I say five minutes, I mean five hours' yet she'd definitely proved me wrong.

"That's what we were told."

"And apart from that, you're good to go."

"Yeah."

Two beats of silence passed before she rushed towards the vanity table stool I was sitting on and clutched my hands tightly. Her nails had blood red and dark maroon painted on them, reminiscent of a fire that contrasted so deeply against the pure water blue of her gaze.

"Why aren't you stressing?!" She shook me gently at the shoulders, eyes wide.

That is a very good point.

"I-I don't know. I am stressed. I think. I'm just- I'm not sure. I don't feel stressed. Is that normal?" I stuttered in confusion, my long dark eyebrows furrowed. The vixen in front of me looked at me as if I were crazy.

"No. Of course, you should be stressing!" She paused for a moment, tilting her head to the side in thought as if reconsidering. "Actually, it is good that you're not. Yes. Yes, let's keep it that way..."

I could have sworn she continued mumbling under her breath, thinking I couldn't hear her; '...because there's probably going to be bloody fireworks tonight and we're going to need at least one person with a level head.'

A throaty laugh escaped me as I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, makeup and hair done perfectly but still clad in jeans and a hoody.

Uh, a rather weird combination, Louisa.

Lexi looked gorgeous.

A fierce red gown with a deep deep v-neck that drew attention to the large, round sapphire pendant in the centre of her chest alongside gold heels that glittered like stars. It was her long tendrils of chestnut hair that made the show. Instead of it being in its usual middle parting style that all were used to seeing, it had been transfigured by the hairstylist Bailey into Hollywood style curls that created the illusion of a living movie star being right before me.