Lucy's look for the chapter ≈
CHAPTER XXXVIII
❝ Why aren't you getting ready for the Pageant? ❞
"I'm sorry for yesterday."
Stefan, being the most wonderful and truthful friend he was, had called her the very next day to apologise for the day before.
"Yeah. It's fine. You needed Elena out of there. I get it and forgive you as well. By the way, how is she now? I heard from Bonnie that the hallucinations stopped."
"She's doing good now." Stefan nodded to himself.
"That's nice. But you don't sound too good. Is something bothering you?"
"Me and Elena, we broke up." Stefan sighed.
"That sounds bad. Are you okay?" Lucy asked, genuinely concerned.
"I don't know. I genuinely don't know whether I am or I am not. I even talked to Caroline about it this morning. According to her I'm sublimating, and after that there's insanity. I honestly don't know how to react. Ever since Elena turned into a vampire, she's been different and more inclined to Damon. Her feelings have been highly amplified. I need to cure her."
"Wait a second-? What do you mean 'cure her'?"Lucy asked perplexed.
She heard Stefan groan on the other before heaving a sigh and finally disclosing the real matter to her.
"All this hunter drama, the mark, it all leads to a cure. A cure to vampirism. That mark is like a map, an unfinished map, whose other half is engraved into a sword of the first The Five. Klaus got it from Italy."
"So this was the work he needed to do in Italy?"
"Yeah. We both want it for Elena. Me, because Elena is no good as a vampire and; Klaus, so that he could go back to creating his hybrids."
"Oh my god." Lucy held her head in her hand. "So this is what's been going on since so long? A cure for vampirism. I've never even heard of it. Do you want me to search on it more?"
"Yeah, it'll be nice. And listen, I needed you to do some protective spells on Elena. Jeremy is having nightmares of killing her. He could attack her anytime."
"Where are you right now?"
"I'm out." he answered shortly.
"Uh-huh. Okay. Why aren't you getting ready for the Pageant?"
"I'm not going." he said simply. "I'm not in the mood. Are you going?"
"Yeah. I am getting ready. Actually Tyler asked me to be his date."
"Tyler? You serious?"
"Weird and shocking, I know."
"Then who is Caroline going with?"
"I honestly have no idea. Maybe you can accompany her? Pretty pleaseeee.... It will be fun and a mood freshener for you."
"Okay." he assented, making her grin to herself. "I'll 'think' about it."
"That's too good." she said excitedly. "I'll get a suit ready for you at the Lockwoods. You can just drop in and change. I'll even carry makeup for you."
"O-kay. I'll 'try'. Don't get too excited."
"I'm telling you it'll be so funnnn. You should come here at the parlour, get your hair done and eyebrows maybe. It'll be nice."
"You're at a parlour talking about vampires and the cure? Are you serious?"
"Well, I'm in the changing room. Staring at myself in the mirror." she sighed extravagantly. "And talking to you. No one can hear us. And please tell me you're coming."
"Elena will be there. If I go then it'll be way too awkward." he sighed, making her frown.
"If she is the problem. I can handle it. Make sure she is not there. Put her in a sleep or something." she offered innocently.
"No." Stefan chuckled. "No need for that. She should enjoy the party. I'll be fine by myself."
"How does she get to enjoy the party after the break up and you get to wallow in guilt? That's not fair."
"Lucy, you know it's just the way I am. I wallow in guilt, always. Yet, now, I have hope that everything will be back to as it was before, as soon as Elena gets the cure. So I guess I will think about coming today."
"That's fine by me. No pressure. If you feel like it, then just text me. I will make sure Elena is nowhere near you. And if you don't then that's s'okay too."
She hung up the phone and exited the changing booth to reacquire her seat next to Bonnie's who was currently getting her hair done and was looking gorgeous clad in an exquisite amber ruffle midi that hugged her body perfectly.
"How was it?" Bonnie asked, giving her a quick glance.
"He's worried about it being awkward if he sees Elena at the party. But he says he will think. Which means it's fifty-fifty. I even said that I'll get everything arranged at the Lockwoods for him to get ready. He might come."
"That's something. And something is better than nothing. I'll text Caroline, she will be thrilled."
Bonnie pulled out her phone, careful to not spoil her freshly painted nails and texted Caroline with such swift typing skills that even Lucy was impressed.
"She says she can get him the suit. She is ready and all the arrangements are also done for the Pageant." Bonnie informed her.
"Fine by me." she shrugged. "But just ask her to buy something new. Black is just so boring now. Gives funeralish vibes."
"Sure." Bonnie hummed, typing the message before dictating her reply, "She says she will be at the shop in 15. Will send the pictures and then we can choose."
"Well, who are you taking as your date?" Bonnie asked, putting her phone aside as the parlour assistant did the final touches of her hair.
"Well, actually Tyler asked me to be his date for today. So.." she trailed off awkwardly, looking over at her.
Bonnie almost wanted to say that she had thought Lucy would be taking Klaus to the Pageant, but she opted to not comment.
"Oh, but does Caroline know?"
"I have no idea. Maybe Tyler told her? Should I tell her?"
"I honestly don't know if you should. I think they broke up after the whole drama regarding that friend of Tyler from the mountains."
"You mean Hayley?"
"Yeah."
"Oh," Lucy said softly to herself, being new to this information. "By the way, who are you taking? Jamie?"
"Yupp. He's gonna meet me at the Lockwoods."
"Okay, how do I look?" Bonnie beamed at her, standing up, perfectly ready for the occasion.
"You look absolutely gorgeous." Lucy grinned at her. " Jamie would be stunned, just the way every single person would be when they see you."
"Thank you." she grinned back, giving a fancy bow in Cinderella style.
"So, what do you think? Straight or curly?" Lucy asked, sighing deeply as she peered at herself in the mirror in front of her.
"You usually keep it straight, so I'll say curly. But not big curls, something coily or maybe tight curls with your hair up. It'll look so sexy."
"Okay, that's final then." Lucy beamed at her as the parlour assistant began working on her hair.
◇◇◆◇◆◇◇
Parties, get-togethers and fancy dinners. All these things didn't used to be so appealing to Lucy in the beginning years of her life. Because at that time, there was nothing too enjoyable, just constricting tight dresses that made breathing impossible and watching the men make all the decisions and have political debates while the women were made to stay quiet.
She was allowed to give her opinions only after she had acquired a deep place in her father's hearts, when they started considering her family, but before that it was just her sitting quietly in a corner seat on the dining table and listen to all the philosophical knowledge the sea-men (keyword 'men'), who came to settle various deals, used to show-off.
The Stygians were different from the rest of the world. Too advanced in some things, too backward in others.
This trend was kept up in the early years only, but as the rest of the world started enjoying scientific and medical advancements, they started merging with the rest of the world, no longer acting like the cultists they were and letting its members build a facade of living a normal life like normal people.
If one was to look at a Stygian and a normal human today, they wouldn't be able to tell who was who. They had managed to conceal their identities over the years with great perfection.
Steve and Richard Wright didn't wish for the rest of the supernatural world to know of them. They wanted to live as a folk story, a whisper of fear, something that many knew existed but had no proof of. They wanted the word 'Stygians', and the word 'Wright' to be feared among the witches, something that made them tremble and beg for their lives. They wished for witches to think of them as the unspeakable, the ones that dealt with those types of magics that were darker than what any soul knew of.
They quite succeeded in doing so.
But, alas, this reputation got tarnished just a little bit when the Steve Wright died and the news of the great feud between the Richard Wright and his Koruyucular daughter spread like wildfire.
Lucy had lost regard for this reputation, but Richard was just too proud to tarnish this image he had built up over the years.
If even a single person were to stop fearing them, then it would become a domino effect.
If even a single person were to stop believing in their power, then it would be a domino effect.
If even a single broken person were to stop admiring the power they could get by joining them, then it would become a domino effect. Then where will they get their recruitments from?
Thus he tried to suppress the news spreading across the witch community. He didn't wish for it to reach the rest of the supernatural community.
Lucy reacted by going her separate way to consult witches across the world to try to bring her father back. Richard hated the fact that she was going to witches outside the Stygian circle, it enraged him despite knowing that it was all to bring Steve back.
Lucy's life turned melancholic, full of failures. While Richard's turned more political.
This was perhaps the lowest she had ever been in her life. So hopeless, despaired, making relentless efforts to do just one thing : bring her father back. But she kept her exterior indifferent, no matter how much she broke inside.
Hell, if someone was to look at her at that time, they would've thought of her to be a humanity-less vampire. Nothing mattered to her at that time but bringing her father back. She hurt many, broke them, killed them, spilled their blood at the altar, indifferently. Without batting an eye at the damage she was causing. She appeared to be the scariest she ever had been.
But then a bomb was dropped, almost a decade later, shattering her shield of indifferenceness. Something that filled her with rage, hatred and revulsion.
The dimly lit room, made of nothing but shining black marble, almost camouflaged the numerous black-cloaked figures sitting cross-legged in a tight circle around a salt symbol, their half-covered faces illuminated by the bringing candles scattered around them.
They remained unbothered as a heavy metallic door at a deep corner of the room creaked open and a lean masculine figure stepped in.
He cleared his throat, "There is a telegraph for you, miss."
From among the black-cloaked figures, one woman opened her eyes and urged him forward wordlessly.
He stepped a little further, hesitating slightly, and handed over the piece of paper and quickly left.
The woman retreated from her place, careful to not disturb the other black-cloaked people, and unfolded the parchment to read its contents under the dim candlelight.
'Uncle Richard requests your presence at the Qatar Headquarters.'
She sighed, crumpling the parchment and turned to the rest of the people occupying the shady room.
"I will be back by midnight. You must continue. I will be hoping for something productive by the time I return."
The woman swept out of the room, shedding her billowing cloak in the living area and draping herself in a warm coat before stepping out into the chilly winter air.
Climbing into the first taxi she could spot, she made her way to the Qatar Headquarters.
It took almost an hour to reach but finally there she was in front of the extensively large bungalow heavily guarded by tons of bodyguards. It almost looked like a mafia drug centre.
"Lucia Wright." she stated calmly at the entrance as the doors were opened at once and she stepped into the looming darkness that threatened to consume the peace of her mind.
The inside of the bungalow was a heavy contrast to the dull and sombre looking walls and entrances seen from the outside.
Glass chandeliers hung, casting golden lights so bright that it nearly blinded her for a moment; marvellous art pieces adorned the walls dipped in various colours, brightening the room entrance, making it look so lively.
"Lucia!" a voice exclaimed happily as a gentleman, perhaps thirty, came into sight, clad in a pulchritudinous formal suit.
"What a pleasure to finally have you here!" he continued, moving his hands around in excitement. "I've been waiting for so long. Did the telegraph get disrupted?"
"No." she said calmly. "And thank you for the welcome. Now can we get to the real matter? I'm late for somewhere."
She seemed unaffected by the whole ordeal, perhaps hiding her emotions even when her father entered the empty ballroom with Dietrich Daldron.
"Lucia. I'm happy to see that you've finally responded to at least one of my invitations. Don't worry, it won't take too long." Richard Wright began patronisingly. "Just a simple piece of news for you, everyone else already knows, obviously."
"Ah, don't behold, Richard. The sooner she knows the better." commented Dietrich, passing a smile to Lucia which she didn't return at all.
"Well, I was just building the suspense. But, if you say so. So, Lucia, Dietrich will, from now on, lead us Stygians with just the same amount of responsibility I do. His son Casper, of course you know him, will be the second in line as the successor in case of any mishappening."
"I know, Lucia, this is so random. You must be so shocked." began Casper. "But believe me ...."
But she was no longer listening, she couldn't exactly focus on what was going on around her. She could just focus on one thing : the rage building inside her. How could her father do this? How could he move on so soon? He couldn't possibly be replacing Steve and giving his position to somebody else.
"So you mean Mr. Dietrich will be replacing Steve." she snapped, her whole body filling with fury. "Steve, my father, your lover? Remember him? Or is he just a part of the past now?"
"Lucia, that has nothing to do with this-" Richard began, with much discontent at her tone.
"Yes, it does. It has everything to do with this. I will not tolerate you replacing my father with this, this person." she threw a disgusted look at Dietrich who just stood calmly, watching the scene unfold.
"Do you even realise what you are saying, Lucia?!"
"Of course, I do, father dearest!" she exclaimed sarcastically. "I'm completely realising how you have found yourself a replacement. Very impressive. I figured you would just move on, but this early? Pathetic. I'm utterly disgusted right now. I don't even get it! How could you?!"
"This man, or creature perhaps, what did you even see in him?" she sneered in Dietrich's face. "Oh, wait, don't answer that, I don't even want to know. God knows what black magic this vile creature had done on you! I mean, he actually does specialise in these types of spells, doesn't he? I wouldn't be surprised! He used you to get all the power he could by getting control over us Stygians! I mean, the way to a man's power is actually through his pan-"
That was the first time she had been slapped by Richard. It hurt, it really did. Physically and emotionally, both.
She threw a huge tantrum after that. Broke the chandeliers, threw things, hurled curses, had a screaming match and all that.
But Mr. Dietrich Daldron stood by quietly, just watching it all unfold by stages. All those things she had didn't really affect him. He didn't let her provoke him.
Because, after all, he couldn't just spoil his image in front of Richard and Casper, can he?
━━━━━━✰━━━━━━
A/n:
I just realised that I do this weird story telling session randomly. And coincidentally it's always been on a party day.
First the Mikaelson Ball, then the Decade Dance, and now this Pageant.
Hell of a coincidence 😂😂
Anyway, this Pageant is gonna be hell long, probably two-three chapters in all. And trust me it's gonna be so full of drama. (just coz I found some gifs in this outfits which made me plan all the drama)
Also, I just can't wait to bring Richard and Dietrich in the actual story. I'm very excited!!
Until then,
Ripahhhhhhhhhh.
Word Count : 2779