Page 53 of The Omega Archives: Part Three

I nodded. “Fate.”

What a ridiculous word.

Chapter

Seventeen

ELLA

Standing in front of the closet mirror in my nicer uniform, I knew this wasn’t what they meant as formal attire for the next event of courting which instead of a calm picnic fashion, was now upgraded to a dinner and dancing situation from what I understood.

And my wardrobe was not up to par for dinner and dancing. At all.

I adjusted my top.

A soft knock echoed through my room.

“Ella?” Lidya’s voice sounded muffled as she walked into our dorm room.

“Hey,” I said, swallowing thickly.

“Hey,” she repeated, her eyes darting around from my outfit back up to my face. She raised an eyebrow. “Are you getting ready?”

“I… yes,” I said. “I am ready.”

Her eyes widened. “You can’t wear that to the courting dinner.”

I sighed.

“You need a dress or at least to let your hair out from that bun or something.”

“I don’t have anything else to wear, Lidya. This is literally all I have in case you haven’t noticed in the closet that I have…” I looked back inside. “Three different outfits. Two are the same loose trousers that make me look like a man.”

“No.” Lidya looked me over again with a vehement shake of her head. “Absolutely not.”

“I don’t know what you want me to do, Lidya,” I complained. “I don’t have anything else to wear. You let me borrow a blouse last time, but unless you have some sort of professional dinner dress hiding in the wardrobe, I think this is the best we got. And I’m… okay with that.”

Why shouldn’t I have been? Oh, besides the fact that tonight was the night when I should’ve been getting my plan in motion.

I was going to do courting, properly, and hopefully, it wouldn’t end me up in Ben’s arms by the end.

At least, not for now until I could think of a better plan to get out of here altogether.

Lidya clicked her tongue in disapproval before her expression softened. “I have an idea. Just give me a moment.” She hurried to stride across the room, leaving me to fidget nervously with the hem of my shirt as she rifled under her bed.

“Lidya?” I called after her.

She shook her head again and looked me over from head to toe.

“You might not have anything to wear, and we can’t stop tonight. But that doesn’t mean that I am going to let you go down into that lion’s den looking like that. You might not have anything to wear,” she repeated, as she showed me what was in her hands. “But I do. I mean, I have to right? My mother who had always been over-prepared before she practically disowned me, had me ready for this moment. There must be a dress hidden around here somewhere. And here, ah ha! Here we are.”

I don’t think I’d ever worn something so nice before.

One minute I was standing, prepared to risk more than a little embarrassment and probably a scolding from Benjamin when I arrived in my uniform (not that he thought to provide me with something Davinson approved to wear), and now…

Now I was not.

Looking in the mirror before I left with a smooth line of eyeliner and lipstick on my face, perfectly applied thanks to Lidya, perhaps I really could play the game in the lion’s den that I planned to. I hope, somehow.

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