“Knock knock.” Lidan was grinning at her after making a knocking sound with his voice instead of knocking on the already opened door. “Shall we go eat, Levy?”

As soon as he appeared, Pel and Sheila began to move in search of their own business. Levisia stood motionless, nodding in defeat.

“Yes, I supposed we should.” She sighed, as now that everyone knew that she was around, there was no excuse for her to not eat with the Imperial family.

“Have you been eating alone up until now?” Lidan asked as they walked down the stairs to the ground floor where the dining room was located.

“I did whenever Elizabeth and Merril ate together.” Levisia replied, giving nothing else away. Just because she was walking with Lidan did not mean she had to indulge him in conversation.

As she walked alongside him, making sure to keep her distance, she noticed him looking at her from the corner of her eye. “Why are you looking at me like that?” She spun round to face him, hands folded. Lidan looked at her as if he was a beast and he felt a sense of pity for the rabbit he was stalking.

“That face you just made was cute, Levy.” He said with a smirk and a shrug. Levisia scoffed and rolled her eyes.

Levisia didn’t bother giving him the satisfaction of an answer and continued to walk down the stairs. As soon she hit the ground floor, she encountered Merril and Siaphyl, who had obviously been waiting for them.

“It’s nice to have a quality meal, one that is not made in the middle of a campsite. Right, Levisia?” Merril smiled at her. Levisia nodded at her, and that seemed to be enough to satisfy her. She scuttled away as Lidan and Siaphyl began questioning Merril over something she could not make out. She let them talk amongst themselves as she heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

Coming down one step at a time was Elizabeth. As soon as reached the ground floor, she took one look at them, turned her back, and started walking away. Levisia, not wanting to be near the other Kraidens, trailed behind Elizabeth like a lost child. Not that it mattered, as soon she was surrounded by them as they all piled into the dining room.

Inside the dining room, which had been buzzing with activity, Levisia spotted that six spaces had been laid out for them. She lurked in the background as someone got to their feet and bowed to each of them all. They began to greet them all in turn, before Lidan interrupted them and gestured for them to sit.

He settled at the far end of the table, almost as though he had eaten there before and was familiar with the spot. He pulled out the chair next to him and waved for Levisia to join in.

“Come here, Levy. There’s a seat right here for you.”

Levisia hesitated, as she loathed to sit beside Lidan and his creepy remarks against her. But she didn’t have much in the way of luck, as both Siaphyl and Merril were dragging her around and trying to get her to side with them. The only Kraidens not fighting over were Elizabeth, who was watching everything unfold from the sidelines, and Cassian who was already in his seat and avoiding eye contact with everyone.historical

Levisia pulled away from Merril and Siaphyl and ended up sitting in the first seat she came across, which happened to be next to Cassian. At least he would avoid her whilst she tried to wrap her head around her thoughts. There was something off about the people within the manor. She couldn’t quite place her finger on it, but the way everyone, save for the Kraidens, were looking at her was making her feel uneasy and on edge. The Kraidens, once they had finally found their spaces at the table, were talking to themselves. They were animated in their gestures, and their faces were full of different emotions.

Everyone else, by comparison, seemed to only have one emotion: sadness. The way their heads hung down low, and their hands resting on the tables. On the occasion they did look up, Levisia could see that their eyes were empty and vacant. Not to mention the dark circles under their eyes, indicating that they were not getting enough sleep.

Levisia looked down at her empty plate, not wanting them to maintain eye contact with them for much longer than she needed. The sooner the dinner was over and she could escape their dead eyes, the better.

She prayed that the food was at least better than the company, and her rumbling stomach seemed to agree with her. She would work out what was happening after a substantial meal.

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