➳ Camille

I turned to find the boy from the painting standing behind me. He was dressed in a loose white shirt with dark green pants. Over that he was wearing a silky black jacket that screamed money. His shoes were perfectly polished and his watch was made of shiny gold.

"Hello," William said, offering his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

As I reach to shake his hand, I notice his glove along with the little bump on his ring finger. Impulsively, I slid the glove off with a guilty smirk playing on my lips.

"A ring?" I ask, noticing the dark colored ring. He didn't look old enough to be married, but you could never be sure with elves.

"Oh! That's nothing," William covered, blushing profusely. He quickly slipped his glove back on. "See you at dinner," he called, speed walking up the stairs.

"That was abrupt," I said, one eyebrow raised as I watched him go.

"He's just sensitive about his ring," Anemone said. "Don't worry about it. It's nothing against you."

Something clicked in my mind. I realized the ring wasn't for marriage. "What does the ring mean? I've read about it somewhere-"

"We'll talk at dinner."

I sighed. We wouldn't have time to eat if Anemone's promise of explaining at dinner was true. But there was nothing I could do; I would have to wait.

"Now!" Anemone clapped her hands together. "Let's go see your room! It's on the fourteenth floor, so we're going to have to walk for a while. I hope that's okay."

"That's fine."

Anemone led me up the stairs. My legs were burning by the time we arrived at the door to the guest room. I hoped that I wouldn't have to walk that much every time I wanted to get to my room. On the brightside, if I did walk that much, my legs would be very toned by the end of the week.

Anemone threw open the door and smiled with delight. "Welcome to your room!"

I stepped into the room and looked around. The room was softly lit and smelled of coffee with a hint of vanilla. The room had floral wallpaper and the floor was carpeted with soft rugs. On the back wall, which was rounded out, a queen-sized bed sat with neatly folded blankets, sheets, and pillows. Around the room there were lots of different pieces of furniture. A small desk sat in the corner of the room with a wide variety of stationery used to write letters and such. A bookshelf stood next to the desk and a closet near the door, but the thing that caught my eye was the large circular mirror that was framed like a painting. The details on the frame were sharp and precise. It must have been made by hand.

"Do you like it?" Anemone asked with a hopeful smile.

I turned to her, grinning as well. "Yes, I love it."

"What do you think about the mirror? It was made just for you. If you move it, you'll find a stained glass window for extra lighting. However, the lamp lights should be good enough for lighting."

"I like the lighting, and the mirror is great."

"Wonderful! Now, I'll let you settle in... Dinner is in half an hour! Oh and, uh, I suggest you wear something... nicer."

"Nicer? Oh yes, sorry," I said, looking down at my clothes.

"No, no! Don't be sorry. It's fine, wear what you want! But..." Anemone pursed her lips. "Just in case, there are some dresses that don't fit my mother anymore on the floor above this one. Just head upstairs and take the dresses you like to the closet here. You also have your own bathroom. It's the room beside you, if you want to change there."

"Okay. Thank you."

Once Anemone left, I quickly took off my trench coat. I didn't need it for dinner since the house was incredibly warm during the fridge weather. I left the coat on my bed and made my way upstairs. I should have thought to wear something nicer to a rich family's home.

I found four doors once I got upstairs. One of them had a door right beside it, so I ruled it out as a bedroom and bathroom. The rest stood alone.

I made a guess and opened a door to an office-like room. In the center there was a desk with an overturned picture on it. I flipped it over to find a female elf with luscious brown hair and piercing hazel eyes. She posed next to William, who had a bright smile. I noticed that William wasn't wearing gloves.

Realizing that I was invading his privacy a bit too late, I pushed over the picture and rushed out of the room. I closed the door behind me and walked to the next door.

Luckily, this room was the dress closet. The closet was the size of my bedroom backhome. I breathed out an overwhelmed sigh and began shuffling through the multitude of racks. Each dress was slightly dusty, but they all looked clean and new. They also looked insanely expensive.

I ended up picking a magnificent navy blue dress with some gold accents along with a flowy, white dress. I also grabbed a few casual outfits. I assumed my usual boots wouldn't cut it, so I grabbed a pair of black heels to wear.

I went to my bathroom and found that the interior was just as stunning as everything else in the home. The same floral wallpaper that lined my room lined the walls of the bathroom. A shower with a golden frame sat near the back of the room. There was also a bathtub, a sink, a few cabinets, and a toilet. A thin silk curtain separated the toilet from everything else.

I looked at my small stash of clothes and chose the navy blue dress with black heels. After I slipped off my clothes and put on the dress, I poked around the cabinets, looking around. Expensive-looking beauty products filled the shelves. I decided to apply some natural looking makeup, but before I could start, I heard a knock on the door.

"Camille? Are you ready yet?" I heard Anemone ask from outside.

"One second," I said, applying the makeup. "I just want to put on some-"

"That's okay! Take your time. I'll wait outside!"

I smiled. "Thank you."

Soon after, once all my makeup was applied, I walked outside to find Anemone in an emerald green mermaid-style dress. She also was wearing a copious amount of makeup with golden earrings and heels.

"You look great!" Anemone yapped.

"So do you."

"Thank you!" Anemone paused. "Are you ready to go?" I nodded in response and Anemone began to lead me to and up the spiral stairs.

Everytime we got to a floor, I hoped we would stop and go into one of the rooms but Anemone didn't stop.

Soon, the stairs stopped, but Anemone didn't. She opened a door to the room, which I thought was the dining room. It wasn't. It was only a short staircase that led to a trapdoor.

It was already unlocked so Anemone simply pushed open the trapdoor and led me outside to the roof. Cool wind met the top half of my body as my legs burned below me.

I hadn't realized we were going to the top of the house, but I held my tongue. As I stepped onto a platform at the top of all the tree, I took a look around. Several branches sprouted and stubs were left where leaves used to grow. Each branch had a walkway or a ladder that lead to another, smaller platform. The white winter sky peeked through the leafless branches and the wood felt a bit unstable beneath my feet.

Anemone led me along a thick branch until William came into view. He was seated on a platform with a table on it. A feast of many meats and fruits laid on lavish looking plates.

I shivered. It was freezing cold. I noticed that Anemone was wearing a white fur coat and William's tux looked well insulated. My dress was sleeveless and incredibly thin. Somehow I'd stupidly forgotten that it was still winter outside.

"Are you cold?" William asked, looking me up and down.

"Just a little. But I'll be fine."

"So sorry!" Anemone said, eyes widening in realization. "I didn't realize you weren't wearing-"

"It's fine," I said, cutting her off. "I'll be fine."

"Okay! If you say so," Anemone said, taking a seat.

"Why are there only three seats?" I asked, sitting down and beginning to chew on a bread roll. "Are your parents not coming?"

"They are having a dinner date- Oh dear. Camille, please, you must be freezing," William said.

"I'm fine," I said, but he didn't listen. He took off his jacket and handed it to me.

"Take it, you need it more than I do," he said warmly. I smiled in thanks and slipped the jacket over my sleeveless dress. Instantly, the cold wind was washed away by the warmth clinging to the jacket.

"Let's eat," William said.

I looked around at the setting. There was medium rare steak, butter rolls, asparagus, salad, and a fancy cheese plate. Drinks of warm tea were already placed near the top of the plates. I placed some steak on my plate with some rolls and a bit of salad.

"So," I said, trying to lead the conversation to the questions I had before. The questions had been buzzing around in the background of my head all day.

"Aren't the stars beautiful?" William asked, gazing upward.

"Yeah," I said, taking a quick look. "But Anemone offered to explain these posters to me that I saw at the station earlier. My teachers let me take a week off of school so I could learn about culture, so... teach me."

Anemone looked at William uncomfortably. I smiled nervously, waiting for a response. I tried to take no notice of the little voice in my head that told me I should have just ignored the posters.

After what seemed like eternity, William opened his mouth to respond.

"Camille, the posters are propaganda," he said.

"For what?" I asked, my eyebrows shoving together.

William looked at his sister before turning to look me in the eyes. "War."