I won't be the villainess

Chapter 23 - are you ready?

The three Kou nobles, alongside some maids and butlers, made their way to a Manor House. This house has been rented out for Jamison and Anastasia to live in on the weekends, during their stay. Most of their clothing would be here. The house was just as big as the d'Astelo Manor. There was a couple of rooms, two main rooms decorated mildly for Jamison and Anastasia. The others were guest rooms, storage rooms, visiting rooms and rooms for the many manor workers. Faint light shone through the windows, as the darkness become more prominent in the sun's soon to be absence.

They immediately went to prepare for the welcome ball the kingdom of Ainsworth and their royals and nobles were holding. Anastasia's hair was cut back to just below the shoulders, as she donned a beautiful, black dress with an white, blue-tinted lace covering the skirt alongside blue decorations shining in the candle lights. The dress revealed the black ink tattoo that lay across her pale collar bone. Showing off this much skin as a woman in the Kingdom of Ainsworth would be talked about but she had her pride as a member of the Royal Kingdom's Of Kou's Majesty's Table. Her hair flowed freely at her back, straightened out and tucked behind her ears.

Jamison wore a matching white and black suit- a white shirt, black trousers and a black blazer adorned with white and blue gem pins. His straight hair was longer than Anastasia's, tied back in a low pony tail, two short strands let out at the front. They two wore matching black pins of Kou's beautiful, symbolic wolf. The Queen took the most time to ready, many attendants working with her. Marilyn wore a stunning white ball gown, extravagant and contrasting with Anastasia's own, that showed off her own thin waist and figure. The dress was done up with lace of blues and blacks, shining bright in the lights of the manor. Her hair was done up tight in a single bun -two strands curled in front- adorned with blue pins and jewels- a signature style as the Queen.

After a three hour job, they finally made their way to the castle of Ainsworth. They were greeted by the King's personal attendant, who gave them a deep bow and brought them through to the hall where they would greet the people she feared. Anastasia walked the corridor beside Jamison and behind her Aunt Marilyn. They were surrounded by guards, but the feeling of protection wasn't there. Her eyes followed the paintings covering the walls. It was the same corridor she had walked in her exit on the day she had left the kingdom. Her thoughts were confirmed by her passing the door to the throne room on the way to the hall. As they walked on, Anastasia's eyes caught a flicker of red down another corridor. She paused, eyes zeroing in on the corner. The guards stopped too, pausing in confusion.

"Ana?"

She looked back up to Jamison, shaking her head.

"Sorry, I thought I saw something familiar- let's keep going."

He nodded, as they continued the walk to the hall, both noticing the slight slip up where she spoke Korean in front of the guards, who had let slip of their neutral faces for a second, showing their confusion towards the foreign word, before going back to normal.

'There's no way any of them would be out here- if anything they'd be in the hall.'

Memories of the red-head resurfaced. They had run into each other as she left the throne room, and the mere sight of him and had irritated her to the beyond, as someone acting so casually towards her when they had attempted the condemn her at a moment before.

Finally, they came to a large, brown door, engraved with gold lines and designs. Anastasia recognised the door to the Royal Hall, having attended the Royals' birthday banquets yearly before the age of 11. She heard the trumpets play, as a loud voice introduced their entry. She and Jamison stood behind their Queen in a triangle formation. The doors swung open slowly, as she took a deep breathe in and out, eyes looking up with pride and determination as her face took neutral.

It was time for her to face her old enemies, the people that were fated to sentence her doom.

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also I didn't really check over this one so please try not to mind any mistakes until I can go over and edit!!