Undesirable

Chapter 20

It has been a month since Luca left and I'm as settled into my new life as I think I can possibly get. My riding has improved, not that it could get much worse, and I sort of know my way around the villa without getting lost.

Though, I haven't gone outside of the estate since I got here. I don't know anyone who I can meet up with, and Cesare is working most of the time, so he's too busy to go out or entertain me during the day. We do talk to each other, but only in the evenings and before we go to sleep. He makes sure that we eat our last meal of the day together when he gets back, but it's only small talk and I don't learn that much about him from it. We are just very stiff with each other at the moment; I wish that we could become closer friends, someone who I could talk to about anything I wanted, without it just being surface level.

With Luca gone, I don't have anyone like that at the moment. Hopefully, that will change when Cesare and I go to the Harvest Festival with each other today, maybe we will bond more, or I'll meet someone new who will take pity on me and invite me into their social circle. I know the wives aren't the best company, but they would be better than none.

In true Higher Tier tradition, the Harvest Festival is a spectacular celebration. There's music, dancing, and massive amounts of food that could feed every mouth on every Tier. There must be thousands of people here. Everyone is smiling, chatting, and enjoying themselves, it's nothing like the Harvest Festival back home. Only one household at a time would go to the temple of Ceres with their offerings, say their prayers, and go back home to eat with their families. It doesn't even compare to this.

Couples that pass say 'hello' or give us a simple nod, whilst others actually stop us in our tracks to congratulate us on our marriage and wish us well. One or two even state their excitement for us to start having children, which is not a conversation I expected to have with strangers, but everyone acts as if it's completely normal. Thankfully, Cesare takes the lead in most of these discussions, saying that we are both very excited by the prospect as well. At least one of us knows what we are doing. I fear if I was by myself, I would have become too overwhelmed by everything and everyone. It's a lot to take in.

"Don't let them get to you," Cesare says, as we walk further into the marketplace. "People tend to be nosey around here and you are a new face. They don't like that they know nothing about you."

I want to get to know people, and for them to get to know me, but it is proving difficult to decipher who wants to be friends and who just wants information to spread in the gossip circles. I constantly find myself second-guessing everyone's intentions.

An hour in, and I swear we have spoken to everyone in the Sector. I recognise some faces from the wedding, but I must have seen another thousand new ones since we arrived at the festivities. The sheer size of the crowds has blown my mind, I didn't even know a Sector could hold so many people. You would think that with a crowd so big, you would be able to avoid anyone you didn't like, but that is proven to be nothing more than false hope when I spot Kanan's face in the distance. He is glaring straight back at me, smirking, smug that he has finally been able to catch my eye, revelling in my attention.

Next to him stands a plumpish lady, covered in hundreds of glittering jewels that sparkle underneath the hot sun. I don't notice it at first, but she is wearing a small golden crown on her head, and my jaw nearly drops when I realise who she is.

Queen Octavia.

I have never seen portraits of her before, never mind seeing her in person, so the sight almost stuns me. She is wickedly beautiful, just as I imagined, and once I lay eyes on her it's hard to tear them away. Unlike her son, she has pitch-black hair, that forms waves around her head, and a smile that puts the jewels around her neck to shame. However, she has the same venomous eyes as Kanan, no doubt with the similar ability to strike fear into any living soul with just one glance. I would hate to be on the receiving end.