Page 15 of The Last De Loughrey Dynasty (The Legacy of Aquila Hall #1)
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
DOROTHEE
“Bloody hell, you look stunning, Doe,” Jesse announced as he stepped into the bedroom Maisie and I shared.
“The word you’re looking for is hot, Jesse. She looks hot,” Naomi corrected him, unhooking her arm from his.
They caught my eye in the mirror, and I analysed their gorgeous costumes.
Naomi wore a black V-neck dress that hugged her slim figure all the way down to her ankles. The sleeves were bell-cut, and from the look of it, the fabric seemed to be velvet. The dress appeared to be tailored specifically for her.
Her costume was completed with deep red lipstick and dark eyeshadow. She was the epitome of mesmerising.
Jesse wore a normal black suit with subtle stripes in a dark grey shade decorating the fabric. The bloody tie was the exact shade of his companion's lipstick. But when my eyes finally found his face, I had to cover my mouth to stifle a laugh. His normally curly hair was gelled back, and he wore a fake moustache.
“Oh, she looks temptingly attractive, but I thought it might be inappropriate to mention the looks of another woman, considering I have my date next to me,” Jesse said, his voice trying—rather unsuccessfully—to mimic a fifties film star’s Mid-Atlantic accent. It sounded hilarious.
Naomi, who was standing beside him, rolled her eyes and crossed her arms above her chest. “I declined your request for a date, I only accepted the couple costume because my part of the costume was practically made for me.” A grin tugged at her lips as she moved forward, adjusting his crooked tie. “I do hope you’re not too disappointed that I look like your best dirty fantasy, and you won’t get your filthy moustache near me tonight, Jesper.”
His gaze softened from amusement to frustration when she turned away from him. “You could have just pretended to be my date. I mean, it would have been genius for our costume. But go on, ruin it, I don’t mind at all.”
“They would have known anyway. Besides.” She turned to look at me through the mirror. “Doe, did you by any chance think Jesse and I were a couple during your time with us?”
Before I said anything, I turned around in my chair, taking a moment to look at them. The answer appeared on my tongue almost immediately. “You’re a great Morticia and Gomez, but there’s no love beyond friendship, from what I see.” When I turned back around, I used a handful of hair clips to make sure my diadem didn’t fall off and ruin my sleek bun, which had taken me twenty minutes to perfect. I was used to doing my hair by now, knowing that its length and thickness required time, but my arms still ached every time. I wished I could feel comfortable enough in my own skin to wear it open more often.
Naomi sank onto my bed, supporting herself with her hands as she leaned back, beaming a contented grin at Jesse.
“You’re sad now, Mon Cheri ?”
“Heaven knows, I’m miserable now,” he replied, leaning dramatically against my closet.
“Did you just quote The Smiths?” I asked with a laugh.
Jesse waved me off without even looking at me, fixing his tie again as it kept slipping out of place. “The Smiths wrote all their songs dedicated to the great Jesper Anthony Berkshire, so technically, they quoted me.”
“ Technically , the song you just quoted was written years before you were even conceived,” Archer, who had just stepped into the room, said as he closed the door behind him. That was something I’d noticed over the past month—Archer Kingstone hated open doors. Why, I didn’t know.
He wasn’t in some fancy or elegant costume. He wore blue jeans and a white shirt that was covered in blood—his face and hands were similarly splattered. His black hair was styled to look sweaty or wet, with loose curls hanging in his face.
“They channelled my soul to write these lyrics, but what am I telling you? You wouldn’t understand, mate. You have no taste in music.”
Archer didn’t argue with Jesse, he just looked around. His eyes met mine, and I could feel my cheeks burn slightly as his gaze travelled down my body the second I stood up. It wasn’t his eyes on me —it was the costume. The corset highlighted my chest, and I wasn’t sure if I was even allowed to walk around the school like that. The version of the ballet costume Natalie Portman wore in the film Black Swan would have been far too uncomfortable to stand, walk, or sit in, so my mother (or rather, the designer she hired) had created a more comfortable corset similar to the original dress, paired with a skirt that was easier to move and dance in.
Naomi jumped up and approached Archer, smiling sweetly at him. “What do you think, Archie? Do I look sexy as Morticia Addams?”
Archer’s eyes flicked from me to her. “I won’t ever think about the words ‘sexy’ and ‘you’ in the same sentence,” he replied, clearly uncomfortable with the thought of doing exactly that.
At first glance, it might seem like Archer and Naomi could be a couple—both stunningly gorgeous, forming an admirable image together. But after a while, it became obvious that their relationship was more sibling-like. Naomi just enjoyed annoying him.
“Boring,” she sighed, eyeing him with a frown. “What are you supposed to be?”
“He’s Billy Loomis from the original Scream film,” I answered before he could, earning a questioning look from Archer.
“You like horror films?”
“My oldest cousin forced me to watch them with him when I was thirteen. I grew fond of them.”
I missed Elijah. He was my cousin on my father’s side, and we only saw each other when our parents pretended to be a happy family for Christmas or other occasions.
Archer couldn’t respond because the door to the bathroom opened, and Maisie stepped out with Nathaniel behind her.
“You two are like rabbits, isn’t that exhausting?” Naomi cringed in disgust.
The two were dressed as Romeo and Juliet from the nineteen ninety-six film, in the angel and knight costumes. As an extra touch, there was streaked nude pink lipstick around their mouths and on Nathaniel’s throat.
“You two got something… like all over your faces,” Jesse gestured to his own face, causing Maisie and Nathaniel to look at each other. My roommate gasped quietly before she softly giggled. She walked over to her desk, grabbed a makeup wipe, and cleaned her boyfriend’s face.
“I apologise, my love,” she whispered, still laughing at the outcome of their ‘getting ready’ situation in the bathroom.
Nathaniel looked at her like she was his whole world, but he didn’t say anything.
“But I must say, the lipstick suits you, lad,” Jesse joked, walking over to pat his friend's shoulder. Nathaniel just glared at him. “That was a compliment,” he defended himself.
Maisie cleaned her own lips before walking over to her bin and tossing the makeup wipe away. There had always been a certain grace in the way she moved, but in that white dress, she looked almost like the reincarnation of an angel. Tiny wings were strapped to her back, further cementing that thought.
“Doe, you look gorgeous!” She commented blissfully, rushing over to me to inspect my costume up close. “The makeup, the hair, the diadem, the dress! You’re drop-dead gorgeous!” The thought of hearing someone speak about me like they truly saw me lifted my spirits in a way I couldn’t describe.
“You look so beautiful, Nathaniel must be a lucky guy,” I smiled at her, squeezing her hands in mine.
“Indeed, I am,” Nathaniel replied from the other side of the room. Maisie let go of me and hurried over to her bed as best she could in her heels. She grabbed her white purse and hooked her arm through Nathaniel's.
“We should hurry down to the ballroom before all the good snacks are gone,” she remarked. The others didn’t hesitate before making their way out of the room.
I was the last to leave, switching off the lights and locking the door behind me.
To my surprise, Archer had walked slower than the others, which was a blessing because the corridors felt different today— frightening.
Taking a few quicker steps, I caught up with him and could feel his eyes on me as we continued walking together.
"I might prefer you in lighter shades of colour, but you look remarkably beautiful tonight, Dorothee."
I was about to say thank you when I remembered, so I straightened my posture and gave him a tight smile. “The corset suits me excellently, and I must say, the style of your hair makes your high cheekbones look outstanding. A rough but suitable look for you, Archer.”
To my astonishment, I received a sincere smile in return.