I flip through the last page, a content smile on my lips and close the book.
Ha!
I sigh softly, stretching my limbs under the wooden table. The soft material of the couch dips under my weight as I lean into the backrest to rest my sore backs.
"I'm so glad I listened to Eave." I mumble softly, eyes half-lidden, muscles relaxing to the warm caress of the softness seeping into my aching bones.
I haven't felt more relaxed all week. Yesterday was the peak of the worst things I had to deal with. More importantly, I was able to read again. All my previous concerns be damned. Nothing really was as distracting and exciting as losing yourself in a book.
After yesterday, I needed this more than I could imagine. The gentle puff of hot air from the heater warms my skin, soothing the edges of fatigue wearing down my insides.
Outside my reading booth students… oh well Initiates occupied several booths across the hall. Since Pre-sessions began the traffic in the library shot off the roof. Most of them sat around in groups taking advantage of the two-way seater couches and very few sat alone. Unlike me, they all had the privacy shield of their booths rolled down and honestly even with the numbers the hall was barely noisy.
Even with the glass shield of my booth rolled shut, I could tell that much.
Either way, noise was the least of my problems or reasons for doing so.
The faint rustle of pages and the soft hum of their voices as they conversed in hushed, almost whispery voices.
The fact they act so sophisticated, not allowing their voices higher than a few decibels during what looks like idle chatter disgusts me to my bones.
Always putting up a prim and cultured front, while they were in fact monsters. A bitter sourness fills my mouth at the warm, cozy scene of groups of them huddling over upturned books.
As if on cue, memories from the previous flash violently in a distorted loop and my breath catches at the first signs of panic, tears burning at the back of my eyelids
The warm feeling in my chest fizzles out without a trace and both scenes overlap into a eerie contrast making me shudder under the warmth oozing from the heaters.
No, No, no.
Not now Liliana.
Shutting my eyes as if to block off the scene, the gripping feeling of panic tugging at my insides ebbs away like it was never there. I exhale deeply in an attempt to force the wild drumming of my heart into something more stable.
Hahh
Chuckling bitterly, I look away from the now grotesque view exuding no warm feeling whatsoever.
Panic Attacks.
In all my sixteen years of existence, fear so overwhelming has never engulfed me like that day. To think, it only took Velmora ten days to traumatize me on such scarring levels.
Every time I'm idle, my mind immediately wanders to that moment, to the fear that drowned away every thought leaving me paralyzed on the spot, to the helplessness that override every atom of strength in me, to the inexplicable feeling of panic clawing at my insides while I remained motionless. My mind, a scrambled mess of emotions I never knew could be so strong and overwhelming.
The attacks have been a vengeful ghost since then, springing up whenever I let my guard down.
How I left the safety of my Dorm Complex eludes me.
Maybe, because the hostility was the barest here.
A few glances here and a few more glares there. That's it and everyone's back to their book.
Truth be told, hiding in my Dorm was neither going to help stop my new panic sessions, in fact it only made it worse nor will it get me out of here any sooner.
I need to see Adaera.
Looking from how she appears and disappears as she pleases, locking myself in would be of absolutely no help.
At least, when I'm out she can sneak up to me. Of course, I don't have a death wish. There's no way I would hang around and make myself more vulnerable than I'm already. So, the library was truly my best bet– outside but not in sight. Most importantly, I get to read here, losing myself in a reality that was far better than mine.
Who would have thought they had novels in here. Not Velmora fictions or history. Actual novels with beautiful stories.
Apparently, my new aversion to this place didn't leave their books behind. The sudden tightness that squeezed at my chest the moment I came across one of their twisted ideologies in one of the history books I read to pass time bewilders till me now.
Good thing they had this and not to mention it was a World Best Seller, something I'll never have the luxury to read back at home.
Well, judging from the skeptical looks thrown my way when I headed to that section of the library, they are clearly not fans.
I smile at the thought, pulling my phone from the pocket of my pants and I quickly open the library app to check for the prices.
Getting these books was near impossible due to the financial circumstances back at home but here I had tons of LPs and Velmora certainly won't mind me taking a few fiction books with me, right?
For what Cyra told me, they are clearly unpopular and are here just for the sake of having a comprehensive library.
I swipe through the Fiction Section, my heart beating in excitement at the sheer number of books they had in stock. Best sellers at a LP and about two to five average ones for a LP.
Oh my god!!!
I gasp, excited by the discovery eagerly placing my order.
A flurry of frantic movement catches my attention from the side of my eye.
'What's going on?' Confused by the sudden activity, I look away from my phone. Everyone had their phones in their hands looking through it with a serious look on their faces. Gasps of surprise I couldn't hear spread out across the hall, everyone staring at each other in disbelief.
A sudden stillness envelopes the hall as their heated gazes turn to me.
I blink twice in confusion that I had no time to unravel. A chill running down my spine at the hatred and malice morphing away their once neutral expressions.
Suddenly, the library was no longer safe.
My gaze darts to the glass shielding instantly, a breath of relief escaping my lips seeing it intact, rolled shut without any opening.
I back into the couch till I'm up against the wall under the heated looks in their eyes that seem to pass through the glass.
Malice. Anger. Hatred. Ridicule. Disbelief. Excitement.
A myriad of emotions swirls twistedly in their eyes as they locked on me.
"What's going on?" I ask again, only this time out loud.
They were going through their phones and the next moment they were on me like I was their nemesis.
Right, their phones. Nodding in realization, I tighten my grip on my phone, grateful I could still make coherent thoughts despite the hateful eyes boring into my skin.
Exiting the Library Application, "Eave?" I call out, a bad feeling creeping into my skin
"What's going on?"
"Xite" Eave replies after ten seconds. A foreboding feeling hits me as I register the delay….no her hesitation.
"Xite?" I ask, fingers already swiping through for the application on my phone. Xite was the number one social media app of Velmora. I never felt the need to use it as with the other apps pre-installed in my phone. Something, Eave excitedly chirps about in my free time.
Cold sweat breaks out my forehead despite the warm air clinging to skin and my fingers start shaking in unknown terror. Fortunately and unfortunately, I was already signed in it seems and only had to activate my account with my biometric. I ignore the prompt to change sign-in to password. Going to the home feed, I immediately click on the trending icon for some reason.
'They probably made a scandalizing post out of my breakdown yesterday.' Smiling wryly to comfort myself. However, that theory did not ease the mounting feeling of uneasing scraping it way up my guts.
I watch with bated breath as the feed refreshes quickly to display the latest trending post in Velmora.
#1 The Halecrests are back???!!!
My thumb freezes above the screen and the pit in my stomach seems to dig deeper.
Halecrest?
#2 SK has a daugher???
#3 The Halecrests Or The Kestrels?
# 4 The Sole Heiress is back!!!
#5 Lilliana Halecrest? A Prodigy or Mediocrity
....
My heart stumbles in my chest the moment I see my name and surname on the hashtag top 5 trending topics real time in all of Velmora.
BA-DAM BA-DAM BA-DAM
The drumming of my heart continues shortly, picking up speed like it was making up for the few seconds it lost. I swallow dryly, the foreboding feeling skyrocketing right into my chest and my mouth falls open gasping for air my lungs refuse to take in.
"What the hell?" I whisper in mockery.
"Are these elitists so bored they find pleasure in dissecting my obscure lineage for entertainment?
Under the trending topics, the page finally loads. Sitting at the very top is a post with 976 million views and the counter literalling ticking up realtime every second.
The headline stares back at me on the screen and with shaky figures, I click on the post.
Not Just Rumours! The Truth of Lilliana. Halecrest!!!
My dearest virals, you all know I can't stand the uncertainty. All that suspense was killing me, so I did what I do best: I went digging myself.
AND. OH. MY.
They aren't just rumours. Our newbie fashion misfit really is a Halecrest!
And no, it's not some coincidence or the messy byproduct of a secret side-branch affair.
She's the damn heiress of the whole thing, straight up.
That's right, you read right. No need to rub your eyes or refresh your feed!!
Which brings us to the absolute chaos currently blowing up every single discussion board, forum, server, and thread in Velmora's digital space.
You know it.
I know you know it.
It's a universal truth, we all know who's heading the Halecrest Empire…. and exactly who's standing by his side.
Yes, you guessed right. It's the Role Model, darlings!!!
It's her. The one and only…. Sylvia Kestrel.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah..
Shocking, I know. But right now, it all clicks. SK going completely MIA from the public eye 17 years ago? It totally makes sense now.
The real question is…..
No, no, no….
This has to be wrong. A tear falls on the screen of my phone where my eyes were fixed, wide in horror.
A picture of me in my bubbly yellow gown under fading pink sweaters and a strappy sandal on my feet.
I arrived in Velmora.
But, I couldn't be bothered with that right now.
Because, right beside my picture was a very familiar face.
Her oval face stared at me on the screen. A dark glossy waist-length hair, and pearly white skin, tall, slender frame, soft pink,, sharp-tipped nose, light arched brows and those long, fine-boned legs.
But, it all felt wrong.
Like.. I was staring at a different person entirely.
Other than the satin and silk fabric that adorned her pearly white skin, and the diamonds and gold jewels sitting on her fair, slender neck.
She looked about seventeen to eighteen.
All that was okay.
But, the emotionless look on her face, the predatory glint shining in those emerald orbs, the faint curve of those pink, full-heart lips that were curved condescendingly staring down her straight nose like everything else was beneath her…..
That was wrong…
The similarity is uncanning.
But, the posture, attitude and aura they both exude are worlds apart.
That's not my mum.