It's Always You

Chapter 27: Party

She looked upon the Villa, her clammy palms sticking to her leather gloves. She had woken up in the middle of the night from one of her dreams. These weren't like her usual set of repeating nightmares, these ones were always different in some way. She remembered everything down to the smallest detail. The most common people she saw in those dreams was Lex and Donna. 

For the first few dreams, she tried talking to Lex because it all felt real. The pain of Lex punches and scratches was always there when she woke up. Every attempt would start the same, Lex would claim not to know her, saying she never had a sister before it escalated to violence. After the first five attempts, she stopped trying to speak to Lex and would instead watch from afar as Lex frolicked with her new family, leaving her in the past. It was like each time she came back, she forgot about her.

Was she really that forgettable? Was Lex really happier without her?

Shaking her head, she got off of the motorcycle she had been fixing up. She found it a week after taking over the Factory along with a letter for Donna the he had written before the Ceremony. At first, it was intended to be a birthday gift but after being approached by the BSAA and Ethan Winters, he stopped working on it to focus on preparing for the Ceremony. She brought the letter along with her and the bike as a way for Karl to finally give his sister the gift he had been working on. It was the least she could do.

She brushed her hair out of her eyes, adjusting the collar of her wrinkled dress shirt that she had put on backwards at one point when she was half asleep. At least she was able to find a pair of black jeans that didn't have motor oil on them or with burn damage before needing to leave in order to arrive at a decent time.

The Villa was located a few hours away from the Village near a town about twice as large as the Village she was use to. She adjusted the strap of the bag she was carrying that had a leather jacket in it for Donna.

Anxiously, she made her way to the front door and banged on it, waiting for it to be answered. After about a minute of two, the door opened to reveal a nice looking older man. He looked up at her curiously for a moment before speaking. ''Hello young lady, might I ask what you're doing here?''

''I received an invite for an engagement party being held here.'' she said, flashing him the invite. The man squinted at the letter before his face lit up.

''Ah, yes, you must be Lady Miroslava. I know a few are eagerly awaiting your arrival. Please, come in.'' he said, opening the door wide and gesturing for her to enter. With a bit of hesitation, she stepped inside, taking a moment to look around. It had an expensive feel to it, almost like if she touched anything it would instantly lose it's value.

She followed close behind the old man, passing by maid and butler alike who bowed their head to her, stealing glances at the white hair near the end of her braid. She was use to the staring and didn't mind it, but when the old man noticed, he'd give them a light scolding about how they shouldn't stare.

Finally, they made their way into the courtyard were she heard familiar and non-familiar voices laughing and chatting happily. As she got closer, she saw them sitting on a picnic blanket. Moreau, Angie and the man named Markus were chatting while Donna leaned against a woman she had never seen before but she assumed it was the Dollmaker's new fiancée. Lady Dimitrescu was sipping on a glass of wine with Rue while Daniela and Cassandra were playing with a two-year-old. That's when she saw Miranda beside the man who delivered the invite to her, sitting and watching the two-year-old.

She stopped halfway, not wanting to get too close. When the old man didn't hear the woman following, he turned back and asked what was wrong, which got the attention of the Dollmaker. As soon as their eye locked with each other, Donna's lips parted slightly in surprise which caught her fiancée's attention.