_ Time to meet his eminence

Afina

~~

All through the walk back to the duplex, all that ravaged Afina's mind were thoughts about the strange divine person she just came across.

Never had she seen a commoner so confident and so— ravishing.

His innocent face was nearly angelic and his eyes were as enchanting as his personality. To say he called prince Cargan by name.

Geez, he would get himself in trouble soon.

Wait...

Why was she thinking about that stranger intently and even worried he would get himself in trouble?

That should be none of her business. It certainly wasn't.

"If I am to steal anything today from this line, it would be your heart." his alluring words echoed in her ears.

Should his words still echo in her ears when he was long gone and away?

No was the answer.

So, why was she letting it?

"Arghhh, I'm running insane!" Afina chastised herself and decided on running back to the duplex.

Running would send the thoughts away. Thankfully, she had been able to regain back some of her energy. So, she ran as fast as her legs could carry her.

She would wear the heels soon and she would not be able to run to the prince's palace. It was comprehensible if she ran now than then when her toes would be in a tug of war with the shiny heels mama Xylia had bought for her.

Oh, her mama Xylia. She missed her more than the line misses the presence of ice.

.

Soon, she arrived at the duplex to meet the living room as empty as a freeholder's meeting. The girls were probably indoors rubbing balm over their losses.

Oh, how much Afina could not wait to see the look on Cher's face for being the second to the last position.

In Afina's words, it'd be delightful.

She began to climb the stairs and when she got upstairs, she met most of the girls in their section and the other section in front of their door.

Gia was outside waiting in front of Afina's door too.

Approximately, fifteen of the nineteen girls were outside with their maids.

"She is here." was the whispering she heard at first until she glanced up and saw all of them.

Without blinking, her mouth popped open.

"How did you come about a green qi?"

That was the first question thrown at her.

Just how many more times would she answer to that?

Cher was also present but was mute.

The rolling of her eyes was inevitable.

She was getting tired of that same question.

A rich girl could have a green qi but when it comes to a poor one, all sorts of suspicions were placed on her.

Although, logically, it didn't make sense that she had a green qi.

Not even to her.

"I cultivate on—" Afina was about to explain how she cultivated on holy grounds and her high school teacher's words again when she got interrupted with yet another absurd question.

"Are you some sort of rich girl in disguise?"

Okay, that was absurd!

"Look at her skin. She's definitely a rich girl."

"Why lie you were poor. Was it to get attention?"

"I knew it! No low-class girl could make it to the high house."

"I smelt something fishy right from the beginning!"

The opinions and comments on the girls were nonstop.

It was when Cher spoke that she just had to scoff out in bafflement.

"She is a liar. Rich girl or not, she is a liar. She is just a wannabe who lied to gain attention for herself!" she declared.

Afina wanted to give the girl a piece of her mind. She already had enough of her ludicrousness.

However, the awkward silence that commenced after Cher had spoken gave Afina justice. That was more than enough of an embarrassment that Afina just had to let it slide.

The other girls only glanced at her shortly in the most awkward manner of the year before returning their attention back to Afina.

"Are you the daughter of the immortal prince Bor? I heard he gives birth to newborns every month." One of the girls had blurted.

Okay, this just won the silliest remark of the year.

Daughter of who?!

Someone was ready to throw the girl's opinion in the bin. "No, I heard the prince is a doctor and he only helps women in labor give birth that's all. Not that the children are his."

"Then who is Blue?" an impatient voice let out.

Cher was relentless. "Blue is a liar." she spat

"Why is she silent?"

"Say something blue."

"Are you an illegitimate child of a wealthy family perhaps?"

That's it, she's had enough.

Blue gazed at Gia who looked like she felt all the weight of disgust Afina was feeling at the girls.

"Go in or move," Afina ordered her as she opened the door and went inside herself.

"Are you going to walk out on us?!"

"She is just a proud bitch!"

"This is why Hera is better. At least she won the first place."

Slam!

Afina slammed the door shut and slumped in bed.

Her hands were on her temples.

"Very soon, these girls would be the end of me. Why can they not just let me be!" she hollered at the air.

Gia came to sit beside her and began to massage her shoulders. "That is what being a deity proposes. People would be curious about you. So tell me, are you truly a rich girl in disguise?"

Which was more annoying, the way Gia's slim palms were working on her shoulders as she massaged it or her words?

Afina shrugged the girl away and started to get out of her sweat-soaked workout suit.

The girl was sitting there and gazing at her. She was not going to stand there and watch her undress, was she?

"Get my towel," she instructed.

Did she just order a person?

Only two days in the high house and she was already like this?

The more than happy Gia to work under a deity ran to the closet and came back bearing a pink towel in hand.

"Here you go, my deity." she beamed as she handed the towel to Afina, still gawking at her with puppy eyes.

How much Afina missed the indifferent treatment she receives from the people of SantrySlum.

She draped the towel over her body and went into the bathroom.

Suddenly remembering something, she gave a pause by the bathroom door.

"How many more minutes or hours to serve the prince?" she asked Gia.

Gia glanced at the wall clock in the room.

"You have one hour more but it is advisable you arrive at the palace before that. The prince values punctuality." she supplied.

Afina clicked her fingers together. "Right!" she winked and went into the bath.

"A high house scholar would not do that!" Gia corrected her as she stepped into the bath.

Oh, please!

They were scholars, not princesses.

.

After a refreshing bath and carefully scrubbing all the sweat from the workout away from her skin while carefully applying all the bath fruits into her bath, Afina finally came out of the bath.

Never in her life had she been so careful about a bath but first impressions matter. Afina did not want for the prince's first impression of her to be as a smelly lassie.

.

Gia already had her uniform laid out and they were as straight as an arrow.

As though the girl saw the questioning look on her face, "I ironed them." she supplied.

Right, of course, she did.

"Thank you." Afina thanked her but the girl shooed it away.

"It's my duty and an honor to serve a deity." she smiled again, her round face curling, and gave her face a cute little bunny-style kind of look.

There was a different set of skin care products in front of the plane mirror in the room.

Gia had made sure Afina applied the best and wears the best cologne.

Excitedly clapping her hands, "Now let's dress your hair and you are good to go!" She shrieked.

Afina had sat hoping to hell she looked as good as Gia enunciated but when she saw her reflection in the mirror, an inevitable smile circulated across her face.

Indeed, her skin radiated better than a newly born's.

Just how she ended up possessing qualities even the rich girls did not would forever be a mystery to her.

Or, maybe soon, an answer might toss her way.

Or maybe all her features were just a gift from the heavens. Yes, should be that.

She would settle for that.

Unknown things shouldn't rampage one's days for they are unknown. They remain unknown because they are irrelevant for now and just when it's time for them to be known, they come out in the open without no effort on our part. So why kill the joy of now because of irrelevance?

As Gia dressed her hair in the usual updo— the high house style, Afina beamed at her graciousness in the mirror.

A few moments later, "Done!" Gia announced and her heart did jump.

Time to meet the prestigious prince Cargan.