The itch in her throat
Amethyst woke up to rather devastating news. Eris, the house elf, had done the honours of waking her up with the said news. The Athertons would be arriving at the mansion by lunchtime. Unlike Amethyst, Eris tried her best to not put on a sour face. "Stop pretending," the 10-year-old groaned. She continued, glaring at Eris as if it were her fault for inviting the Athertons, "I know for a fact that you hate it as much as I do, if not more." Eris ignored the young heiress' first tantrum of the day, knowing there were more to come. She laid down a dress for Amethyst to wear. "Black. I will wear black," she ordered Eris, looking at the violet-coloured dress the elf had prepared. The Athertons surely did not deserve such a vibrant colour, and definitely not her favourite colour. The house elf would then shuffle around to arrange a black dress. Amethyst wanted to repel the Athertons as much as she could. She hated them to the core. They always had their nose in the Castillos' business. |
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Amethyst hated how awfully similar Cynthia Morrigan Atherton looked to her grandfather. She knew they were siblings, but it would have been slightly better if her grand-aunt looked different. Her grandfather, Regulus Lucian Castillo, was a sweet, sweet man, while her 'grand-aunt' was a cad. She did not like referring to Cynthia as her grand-aunt, but Cynthia was dearly adored by Amethyst's sweetest grandfather, much to her dismay. Amethyst got ready and looked more as if she were visiting a mortuary than a person who was about to greet their extended family. The Athertons arrived at the manor, evil grins spread wide on their faces. They were going to be snarky again. Weren't they? They always were. Amethyst received them with a glare, the same expression that mirrored Jenalyn's, her grandmother's. The only Castillo happy to receive them was Regulus Lucian Castillo. Cyrus Aurelio Castillo, her father, had not even bothered to greet the three of them. Her mother, Adelaide, wore a tight smile, meanwhile. |
| Soon, a hand ruffled her hair, very much trying to mess it up. "So the young heiress is still not grown up, huh?" Dolores Cynthia Atherton mocked and greeted Adelaide Anastasia Castillo and Jenalyn May Castillo with a glare. Dolores' teeth showed a little too much as she smiled at her uncle, or Amethyst's grandfather. Amethyst grimaced, visibly. The Leprechaun gold felt less fake than the Athertons. The lunch table was set, and Cyrus had guided them all to the table. Amethyst couldn't help but remind herself of the painful contrast between Daisy, her grandmother's sister and Cynthia. Daisy loved Amethyst as much as she loved her own granddaughter, Evangeline. Cynthia, on the other hand, despite having no grandchild of her own, despised Amethyst for Hecate knows what reason. Amethyst stabbed the salad laid out on her plate with her fork. The Athertons had killed half of her appetite, and the other half was successfully killed by the bland food on her plate. |
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Amethyst could not help but wonder why Dolores was still unmarried. Marriage would make her make fewer appearances at the Castillo mansion. Wasn't Dolores already twenty-seven? Her toothy white grin vexed Amethyst. Why did they hate her anyway? And why was her mother always under their scrutiny? Why was the hate so centred at Adelaide? Adelaide, Amethyst believed, was too successful. Maybe the Athertons were jealous. But why did her mother never voice out her opinions in front of them? The young heiress had known her mother's tendency of speaking out against the wrong, and the Athertons were anything but right. Why was her mother putting up with them? Why was her grandmother putting up with them? She barely knew the answers to any of the questions. She quickly stuffed her mouth with the tasteless leaves, noticing everyone was almost done. They will be spending the whole evening here, and that meant more futile comments ranging from Amethyst's appearances and eating habits to academics and her as an heiress. Amethyst was loved by everyone she had ever met, and she believed only rotters like the Athertons could hate her. |
The living hall felt dull with the Athertons sitting in it. And then they started talking again. Everyone except her grandfather was fuming. Amethyst despised her grandfather's demeanour at the moment. Were they not their family? How could he laugh when the Castillos were being demeaned? Why was everyone quiet? But Amethyst herself could feel the itch in her throat. It almost made her want to cry. Her chest ached with the words she kept inside. The curses she wanted to throw at them. Perhaps they were just not worth it. It still bothered her. And so the 10-year-old had vowed in the name of Castillos to bring dirt to the name of Athertons. She believed she would find a scandal if she dug in deep enough. She would go to lengths to do that. footnotes.weDolores is @Lenora Grace's biological mother who has abandoned her. Also mentioning Evangeline Fleetwood and her grandmother, Daisy Fleetwood |
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