Darkness' Touch

Chapter 58: A Favor for A Favor

"Perhaps, you should consider celebrating your seventeenth birthday, mi'lady. Duchess Valentina seems to be in high hopes that you will host a party."

"Of course, I'm celebrating my birthday. But there is no way in hell I will make a big deal out of it. Who am I gonna even invite?"

Avy and Clerivan strode down Blackwell District, blending into the civilians quite well. Avy could not help but roll her eyes at her knight as though he just requested her to do something ridiculous. In her opinion though, it was indeed ridiculous to celebrate like a princess when even the original owner of the body never did. Aside from that, no one in the Arkwright family really did enjoy parties. Avy shivered, imagining her icebergs for a family surrounded by sparkling glitters and dances.

The topic was brought up by her grandfather during dinner, pointing out her positive changes throughout the months that passed. The old lord wondered if Avy wanted to throw a big celebration for her seventeenth year of being alive which she turned down without hesitation.

The last birthday party she could remember was when she was seven. Her mom told her to invite her classmates over to their house to celebrate with them, and Annie being Annie, did not tell a single soul about it. In the end, only Lucy was the one lucky enough to be told by the snob of a child who was Anastasia and the upcoming years of her life just consisted of small dinners with her family, of course, Lucy included, whenever her birthday came around.

Growing up, the acquaintances she had that were familiar to her enough were teachers and professors, and perhaps a few other students who shared the same interests as her. However, she did not consider them really close to being invited to her house for any celebration. Her parents, mostly her mother who was a fashion designer, on the other hand, was a people person. Definitely the opposite of her husband who passed on his serious personality to their daughter. Annie had enough of strangers greeting her a happy birthday through her mother who was quite well-known in her field.

She figured it would be the same if she threw a party as Avy. She did not know anyone and a party would not be a party without guests hence it would be a certainty that the duke and the lord, perhaps, even her uncle Alistair and her brother Ashton, would invite their own acquaintances to be witnesses to her celebration. It did not excite Avy a whole lot.

She did not want her birthday-although not really hers-to be a day where she would be forced to smile at people she did not even know, for an entire night. It could even be a whole day! That would definitely ruin her entire week. It was not happening.

"Did you instruct the servants as I told you?" she asked her knight, hoping to redirect the topic to another, not wanting to entertain the request any further.

"Yes, mi'lady. The carriage has more likely arrived in the place you requested it delivered," Clerivan answered.

The walk to the diner was another parade for the knight, in Avy's opinion, as they were greeted by almost every shopkeeper they came across. Still, she welcomed the hospitality that she was given due to the fact that Clerivan introduced her as his cousin. Indeed, connections work best when you have nothing.

The whole time was quiet as well, without the usual presence of Ares who never chose to shut his mouth whenever they were outside. Avy was of course, under the protection of her other curse who seemed way more composed than her first one who just loved acting like a child, contrary to the time he had spent with the living. She supposed having Andras guarding her felt more like having an older person stuck with her, who, on the bright side, cared less about reprimanding but rather only filling her in with things she needed to know.

"My lady! I hope you did not encounter problems on your way. You informed us of your visit hours ago."

She was greeted by a smiling Emerald when Clerivan opened the door to the diner. Once again, she noticed not one single person occupied the tables inside when it was already almost afternoon and it should have been a busy time, preparing for lunch. By the looks of it, and the sign 'close' that hung in front of the diner, the woman must have not opened her business after receiving the notice of her arrival.