Impeccable (Zayn Malik AU)

vii. Just Girls

♡ Odette's POV ♡

I watched from a window on the second floor of the mansion as the cousins' bulletproof limousine drove off, everyone had already said their good bye's at breakfast. The window was quite large, having somewhat of a little perch right underneath it, perfect for sitting and observing the world. That's exactly was I was doing, just sitting with my back perfectly straight, and watching life go by for the birds that flitted across the sky and the maids who ran back and forth among the hallways from the cousins' rooms with various cleaning supplies in hand.

I was tremendously bored after about fifteen minutes of watching the world actually living and moving, my attention soon becoming focused on some white lace layered over a purple dress Falene had picked out for me to wear today. My dark hair was twisted up into another one of Falene's creations, too elaborate and complex for me to wrap my mind around.

I still hadn't quite comprehended the fact that I would probably never have to do my own hair ever again, and that I would never choose my outfits, meals, or even when to wake up again. Everything was done for me, and I feared a sluggish laziness would start growing in my bones from not having to really do anything. Now that I thought about it, all I really had to do was marry Zayn and then sit around and look pretty.

I would be a pampered and pretty wife, always by Zayn's side, always polite and clean-cut. I wasn't too sure if the idea thrilled me or bored me.

Maybe I was going to live my life always being bored like this, like a child, wondering when someone will come and play with me or entertain me for a little while. I shook my head in anger at this. I wasn't a child. I was sixteen for God's sakes, I could entertain myself in a huge mansion like this.

I hopped off the windowsill, straightening my pastel purple dress that stopped at my knees, and set out looking for something to do. I wandered through the long, endless hallways, trying not to get in the way of any servants as I explored. The servants nodded their heads at me, since I was possibly Prince's fiancé, and let me go on my way. I felt strangely awkward as they acknowledged me that way, was I supposed to nod back? I only smiled, not sure of what to do, and kept walking briskly.

Eventually I was met with a pair of old double doors, maroon in color, with golden trimming on the edges. There was no one guarding the door, and it wasn't locked, so I decided to open it, finding hundreds upon hundreds of bookshelves inside. So this was the esteemed Royal library?

I quietly closed the doors behind me, not wanting to bother anyone reading. I wandered around the huge shelves, my fingers gently trailing down the spines of old, leather cover copies of timeless classics. I did like to read, but it hardly had time to when I was younger and Mom was busy sending me off to manner lessons and tea parties to impress high standing young men. I guess in a way, her hard work paid off.

I heard the distant flapping of pages, careful and gentle, coming from somewhere in the library. My trained ears picked up on the tiny sound, following it until I found a mountain of books stacked on a dark wooden desk, a studious girl with jet black hair in her pajamas flipping through the aged papers. Ivy was reading through the books rapidly, small bags beginning under her flitting eyes. Apparently she hadn't noticed me, and I almost wanted to keep it that way. However, Ivy was dangerous, and once I slipped on my heels a little, I noticed her dark eyes immediately fix onto me.

Her gaze was almost suffocating, paralyzing my joints and body until the only movement from me was my uneven breathing and frantically beating heart. My eyes noticed small purple marks beginning to form where her bags were, almost like she hadn't slept in a long time.

"Could you kindly not bother me?" She muttered before flipping through her books again. I didn't say anything, only watched as Ivy ignored me and forced herself to read endless paragraphs of tiny text in the old leather bound books. She was hunched over herself, so much so it looked almost painful for a human to bend that way. She would yawn after a minute or so, her eyes slowly drooping shut before she would wake up suddenly, jolting up in her chair.