Chapter 188: Imagine A Fairytale

"Please tell me that, for once, you actually have an outfit you can pull off for this party, Aria," Trisha said.

They were still in the living room, trying to plan for tonight’s rendezvous. At least this way, they could keep each other company instead of slowly dying of boredom.

"I don’t," Aria told them straightforwardly.

Trisha and Brittney groaned at the same time.

"Can you blame me?" Aria immediately defended herself. "I thought the beasts would be inviting us to funerals, not parties!"

Even if she hadn’t expected Bestiaris to be one long fight for survival, Aria still wouldn’t have packed much in the way of party clothes. She had been the ostracized freak back in Westmoor Province. Nobody had exactly been lining up to send her party invitations.

"So you’re trying to tell me that somewhere deep inside you, there wasn’t even a tiny part that wondered if this whole thing might turn into some ridiculous fairytale?" Brittney asked. "You know, come to Bestiaris, discover the beasts aren’t as terrible as everyone says, fall madly in love with one, attend glamorous parties and live happily ever after?"

Aria’s brows drew together as she actually considered the question. To be honest, she had never consciously thought about it, but perhaps there had been a tiny part of her that hoped things would somehow turn out that way. That one might fall in love with her, protect her, take her to parties, marry her, and give her many, many children. They would live happily ever after, and she would never have to worry about anything again.

But Aria was far too practical to entertain fantasies like that, which was probably why the thought had never fully formed in the first place. Happily ever after belonged in fairytales, not in a school filled with creatures capable of killing her with their bare hands.

She had survived this long because she’d never allowed herself to forget what the beasts were capable of. Who knows? She might have been one of the dead humans if she had let the fantasy convince her otherwise.

"I’m sorry, but no," Aria confessed. "My only goal was—"

"Survive Bestiaris Academy and get back to my sister," Brittney interrupted, doing a surprisingly convincing imitation of Aria’s serious voice. "I’m not here to party or have fun because humans and beasts cannot possibly coexist, and unlike the rest of you fools, I have priorities." Her grin widened. "I swear, I can read you like an open book now."

Aria could only shake her head. There really was no point arguing with Brittney when she got like this.

"We understand," Alek assured her. "I don’t even know what came over me, to be honest. I only packed one or two party outfits myself."

She shrugged. "I think somewhere in my mind, I figured that if I was eventually going to die here, I might as well look good at least once before it happened."

"That’s the spirit," Brittney said approvingly.

"That’s a terrible spirit," Aria corrected.

"Don’t worry," Trisha told her. "I’m sure Brittney has enough clothes to dress you, or..." A grin slowly appeared on her face. "We could always add an outfit to the list. I’m sure Maverick wouldn’t mind spending money on his woman’s clothes."

"Ooh, that’s a good one." Brittney’s eyes lit up. "Now I’m actually curious to see what he’d pick for you. The beasts have shopping malls downtown, right?"

"No, no, no." Aria shook her head. "Don’t do that. I’m not having a guy buy my clothes for our first party together."

"I’m sure he wouldn’t mind," Trisha reasoned. "You’re his mate, and in the circles I’m used to, it’s perfectly normal for a man to provide an outfit for the woman accompanying him."

"Unfortunately, I didn’t run in your circles, and in mine, pride matters. If I could leave the academy right now, I’d rather go shopping for the outfit myself. But I don’t want to start depending on a guy to the point where he’s already buying my clothes when we barely just began whatever this is between us. I’m sorry, but that’s not me."

Brittney opened her mouth to argue, but Aria continued before she could.

"I’d rather borrow something from one of you because I know I can return it afterward, and I trust none of you would ever shame me for needing it. I might not be as rich as you guys, but I’m genuinely content with what I have."

For a moment, an awkward silence settled over the room before Trisha nodded. "Okay. No buying you an outfit, then. We’ll just badger Dimitri with everything else we need instead."

Aria relaxed, grateful that they had respected her decision. Perhaps there would come a time when she’d be comfortable letting Maverick spoil her that way. She couldn’t deny that the idea was appealing, especially after seeing how freely he seemed to give. But definitely not for their first party.

"Speaking of which..." Trisha reached for her phone. "We should probably make that list before Dimitri comes to his senses and realizes agreeing to buy whatever we need was a terrible mistake."

Alek immediately frowned. "Can we please remember that the person you’re planning to torture is my mate?"

"Precisely," Brittney said. "That means we have an inside connection."

"That is not what I meant, Brittney." She groaned.

Aria laughed as Trisha opened a blank note on her phone. "Okay, what do we actually need?"

"Hair spray," Brittney said immediately.

"Setting spray," Trisha added.

"Bobby pins," Alek contributed.

"Hair ties," Aria said.

"Lash glue."

"Nail glue."

"Fashion tape."

"Safety pins."

"Wait." Alek held up a hand. "Why do we need nail glue? Don’t we already have some?"

Brittney stared at her. "And what happens if we run out?"

"How much glue are you planning to use?"

"That’s irrelevant. Put it on the list."

Trisha dutifully added it.

"Your loyalty to my mate is truly inspiring," Alek muttered.

"Cotton pads," Trisha continued, ignoring her. "Makeup remover, body lotion, deodorant..."

"Perfume," Brittney added.

"You have perfume," Aria pointed out. "A truckload of it, actually."

"We have perfume for regular life. Tonight requires party perfume."

Aria stared at her, stunned. "What’s the difference?"

Brittney looked genuinely offended by the question. "Everything. Tonight’s special. Not to mention, we’re using this once-in-a-while opportunity to stockpile. I would not be living my numbered days without smelling nice."