To say that preparations for the party were not going as well was an understatement. We had been at the Dukes house for almost 11 days now, and the party was in two days. We had even all learned the ballroom dancing skill which helped us greatly. I was aware of what Kaelen did, I agree with our decision, but as Selene danced with Aiden, and Jax with Thalia, I found myself paired with our instructor, who while being nice about the situation, made it difficult due to their constant attempts to take control of the dance and show me the minute movements to make my dance perfect.
To make it worse, Kaelen was still allowed to roam the halls, though he was confined to the house, and always had staff with him in case he tried to do anything. Yet every time we passed in the hallways, he gave me a look of betrayal that a few times almost made me apologize before I remembered what he had done.
Today however was a day where things could change, because today was dress shopping day!!!
Aiden and Jax had been dragged off early from dance practice as Instructor Lily said
"Boys are often resistant to aspects of dressing up, so I find that dealing with them earlier in the day is better for getting it done sooner."
Thalia, Selene and I all looked around the room for a moment in silence as Thalia asked.
"Does that mean we go through the motions without our dance partners, or?"
Instructor Lily shook her head as she sat down on the dance floor and invited us all to sit with her. As we did, she reached into a small bag she had carried all day and pulled out a couple of small sandwiches on plates.
"To dance on one's own is such a fickle thing, instead let us rest and recover."
Instructor Lily said as she bit into her own sandwich and laid back. We all looked around awkwardly as we each grabbed a sandwich and started to eat slowly. It could have been boring if not for the occasional tortured screams emanating from the dressing room. Jax almost escaped one time, and they even put him in a set of pants before Thalia tied up his paws, and he got dragged back.
"TRAITORS!!"
Jax cried out in a rather pathetic way as he was pulled into the dressing room again. As we sat there, I saw Selene looking over at the dressing room with a worried look. Then again, I couldn't blame her. Aiden had apparently gone to someone who gave him a recipe for a way to potentially cure Selene's condition, so it was no wonder she would occasionally sneak glances at Aiden every now and then when he wasn't looking, hell Aiden would have probably been brewing already if he had the tools. I don't know all the details, but there was something about expensive apparatus.
However, glancing at Thalia, she and I seemed to be in the same boat. Thalia had been paired up with Jax, who was never going to do things for her, and I had been paired up with Kaelen, so we all know how that went.
"You all have been distracted since the scene in the garden with your old friend, can you tell me what happened?"
We all turned to Instructor Lily as she looked at us down her bill. We looked between each other before Thalia let out a long sigh like she had been holding her breath.
"There is only but so much to say, he never told us what he did, and when we confronted him, he refused to take responsibility and blamed everyone else except himself."
Instructor Lily nodded along as she held a wing up to her bill as if holding her chin before she turned to me.
"It seems rather cut and dry, and yet you still seem conflicted."
I turned, a startled look on my face as I held my hands up as if I was waiting to have something thrown at me.
"Hey, I don't agree with what he did, I sure as hell blasted him yesterday!"
I said looking to the others as Thalia and Selene nodded.
"I didn't say you look like you're feeling guilty, I said you look conflicted, like you are unsure of something about what happened."
At that I found myself looking at the ground as an uncomfortable feeling swirled in the pit of my stomach as I looked to our instructor.
"Well, I think what we did was right, he did something bad and wouldn't even apologize, but every time I have seen him since, he gives me this look like I betrayed him, and I know it's stupid, but it just makes me feel like there was something we missed."
Selene gave me a worried look as Thalia gave me a small nod. Instructor Lily took a moment to think before she looked to me.
"How long were you traveling with him before you all arrived here?"
"Uh, around a month or so."
"Have you considered that you are thinking about Kaelen of the past, back when you all could laugh, get along, and entrust each other to keep each other safe? Your guilt isn't from anything you did incorrectly, it simply stems from you feeling like you could have done something to save that version of Kaelen and now feel like you could have done something to cause such a switch."
We all stared for a moment; our jaws open as Instructor Lily chuckled.
"It's my soul skill Psychoanalysts(D), by learning about people I can get a glimpse into their mental state."
Before we could say anything else, the dressing room door opened. Jax stepped out first, his legs shaking like he had been running all day as his face seemed aged somehow. He wore a simple formal suit, a small white shirt with a long coat, a set of trails running down the back of the coat and trailing to almost the end of his tail. Beside him Aiden stepped out, he had been given a new set of glasses after his current pair broke, and he came stumbling out. He wore a more ornate suit nobles would wear, it was blue in color with several patterns, as I noticed that Aiden's waist was oddly slim.
"Since *huff* when does *gasp* guys formal wear *huff* have corsets-built in."
He said, his voice sounding light from lack of breath as the two stumbled out and back to the dance floor. I would be lying if I said they didn't look good, and glancing to look at Thalia and Selene, I could see that they agreed. Instructor Lily clapped her wings as she turned to us.
"Ladys, I believe it is your turn."
Nodding we stood up and began to make our way over to the dressing room as I found myself still deep in thought. Is it because I feel like I could have saved the old Kaelen? It could be, it makes sense logically, but it felt off, maybe it was because I felt like Kaelen didn't actually understand and feels like we were attacking him for now reason.
"Hope you're ready."
Came a voice from behind me as I only just realized I was in a courseeeEEEEEEAAAAATTTT!!!!