Beneath the Fountain

12. Black and White

I fight not to roll my eyes as mother gushes about the wedding plans she is quickly making while Mr. Daniels talks just as excitedly about them in return. I can't tell if he is genuinely excited, or if he is just feigning excitement to please her. Knowing him the way I do, I'm guessing it's the latter. But then again, he is much more willing for this union than I, so it's hard to say what his true intentions are.

While they giddily converse about my wedding that I don't wish to attend, I gaze around the dining room with its overly long table that normally sits just my mother and I, and I am now realizing that having a third person makes it seem no less empty, especially since I don't like that said person, and I feel like I'm not even here in this room since my mind is in other places. The tall, intricate windows allow the sun's warmth and light to enter the room, making my skin feel as if it is glowing under its golden rays. Nile and Helena stand against the wall, silent, as they wait for an order from either my mother or Mr. Daniels, since I would never degrade them in such a way.

While they may just disappear into the gray wallpaper to my mother, they are very evident to me even in the corner of my eye, and they don't deserve to be treated the way that they are. They are people, not tools as mother seems to believe. Mr. Daniels is seated in the seat to the left of me while mother sits at the head of the table to my right, and just when I happen look in his direction during my inspection of the room, he catches my eyes with his dark ones, immediately causing me to look down at my plate as chills spread throughout my entire body. How can one man make me react in this way? Whenever he looks at me, I feel as if I was just thrown into a tub of ice.

To warm my body a bit after my latest encounter with Mr. Daniels' cold, unfeeling eyes, I absentmindedly pick at what remains of my lunch, trying to act too preoccupied to discuss plans or to even feign excitement with them, but then the room grows strangely silent, and I feel two pairs of dark eyes on me. When I look up from my plate, they are both staring at me expectantly, and by the expression on mother's face, her patience is wearing excruciatingly thin. Mr. Daniels is looking at me condescendingly, but that's nothing out of the ordinary. Honestly, I'd probably be more worried if he wasn't because then I'd have no idea what is going on in his mind. Most people's eyes are windows to their thoughts, but not his; his are covered by the thickest curtain possible.

"Yes?" I ask sounding bored since I'm not letting her warning glare faze me. Mr. Daniels' looks annoyed, and I can't help but internally smile at my small accomplishment: the two people I dislike most in the world aren't happy with me.

"The colors of your wedding," mother says slowly through gritted teeth, "I was thinking they should be red and gold. They would give the whole event a very regal feeling."

"Mother, this doesn't need to be a regal affair, and you know how I despise the color red anywhere but in a sunrise," I say flatly since I'm slightly annoyed myself.

Judging by their stone-like expressions, they are both unhappy with my answer, but Mr. Daniels still manages to say with a hard, fake smile, "Mrs. Sinclair, I am fine with whatever makes my beloved happy."

I nearly get sick because of how he just called me his beloved. I am not, and never will be, his beloved. Still, though, with fists clenched beneath the table, I have no choice but to kindly say, "Thank you, Mr. Daniels." Even though I must have manners with mother around, I don't have to make an attempt to be act as lovey towards him as he acts to me. All I have to do is be amiable, and I can hardly do that most of the time. I try to treat him the same around others as I do when we are alone, but the same can not be said for Mr. Daniels. Some people can be very deceitful, and he is one of them.

"Then what do you want, Sage?" Mother asks stiffly. Her voice is so cold that I feel frozen for a moment. Then her fiery gaze centers on me, thawing me from my paralyzed state.