Astrid Blu: Orion's Curse

Pretending

His voice was even grander than his whole presence. The bass of his masculine voice pierces the awkward silence in the whole room. It was loud and clear. He would never need a microphone, ever in his life. The echo of his voice still lingers in the room.

Astrid slowly tries to retreat her small hands from Arthur's big ones. But, his hold tightens, much to her dismay. Arthur's legs are glued to the ground, while his hands are strangling her's. She tries again to take her hands away, resulting in the grip to get tighter than before. He is nervous. He is constantly gulping.

He suddenly looks at Astrid who was looking down at their linked hands. He suddenly bows down, dragging Astrid along with him. She squats abruptly. This is the most embarrassing curtsey Astrid has ever witnessed in her entire life. She awkwardly smiles after straightening. While she was busy trying to free her hands from Arthur's large ones, he decides to speak up.

"This...is Astrid." That's all he says. Why isn't he saying anything else?

His smile disappears. The whole room suddenly shrunk. Now, only containing Arthur, his father and Astrid, who is sweating uncontrollably. The man who seemed like a kind Santa Claus, now looked like scary man ready to shout at her. Him without his smile was scary enough. Then him being angry would be beyond her imagination.

"Well, I've never heard you talk about someone named Astrid before. Care to explain?" He asked.

Now Arthur was totally freaking out beside her. His hand, enveloped over Astrid's hand, was now sticky with sweat. And his hold was getting tighter and tighter by the passing seconds. He opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closes it after. This repeated for a few seconds. Astrid's gaze shifted from Arthur to his father, multiple times. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Katherine, desperately trying to hold her laughter, looking at the panicking Arthur. His father's eyebrows rose up sensing the ever increasing tension in the room.

"William..." A sweet voice that almost resembles a warm morning with the sun falling over every inch of our body, giving a sense of relief and a feeling of being safe. Warm and cool at the same time.

Arthur's mother.

Her voice broke the never ending tension in the huge room. Her gaze was directed towards the king-like man sitting across from her. A smile playing on her wrinkled, delicate features. That look was enough to calm the king-like man. He signs and directs his gaze towards the plate in front of him.

"That's a rude way to treat a guest, William. And especially a lovely girl like her." She looks directly at Astrid. Their eyes met. The old lady gives a smile which resembled the maid from before, Mary. It was motherly and warm. Affectionate and full of care. How can all these people be nice to strangers, so easily? Astrid has never even looked at a stranger, let alone smile so sincerely like this. Her smile seemed very, very familiar for someone she's seeing for the first time. It was the same as of Arthur's. The same little curve at both ends of the lips. The same pull of the lower lip to the right side. The same crescent eyes and tinted cheeks. For a moment it felt like Arthur and his mother were the same person. It almost felt unreal. How can someone resemble someone like this? It was unique and beautiful.

"Come on, dear. And also, Arthur wouldn't just bring random people for breakfast at his home, like this. She must be special." She says, with a knowing smile on her face. Now, the old lady looked like a reflection of Katherine. Her playful smile and squinted eyes. Her elegant way of always choosing the right words at the right time. Everything was the same. There was no doubt that this beautiful woman not only gave birth, but also raised both her children with her own two hands. For a moment Astrid thought, whether she was like her mother too. Whether her mother had the same way of speaking like Astrid. Whether her mother was also silent and matured like herself. Or if she had her smile. She wanted to know. Anything at all. She wanted someone to tell her that, she was just like her mother. That would be enough for Astrid to only love herself for the rest of her life.