And I said, "What about Breakfast at Tiffany's?"

Ella was terribly fretful as she headed down to the Banquet Hall with Morgana and Dawn. She had trouble understanding why the two girls had invited her down to breakfast with them. It didn’t make sense. Were they really interested in getting close to her?

If so, why?

“Thwap!”

Ella snapped the rubber-band on her wrist in order to regain her focus, and took a few deep breaths. She was starting to get anxious again, and that wasn’t a good thing.

“Are… are you okay?” Morgana asked timidly.

“Huh!?” Ella jumped in surprise, not expecting to be addressed like that. She nearly slipped and fell against the elevator railing, startling Morgana.

“Sorry!” Morgana gasped. “I just, um… that rubber-band… doesn’t it hurt? Why are you snapping it like that?”

Ella shivered. She bit her lip and shook her head. What kind of question was that?! Not one that she could answer, obviously. If she told Morgana and Dawn the truth about her rubber-band, then she’d have to explain all the other stuff to them as well. And she couldn’t do that.

But can I really hide it from them forever? Ella wondered. Cinder had already taken hold of her several times now. She was ****. And maybe it would be better, if the others were prepared for her. Should she tell them the truth?

But then… what if the way they looked at her changed?

Ella didn’t know the full extent of what Cinder did when she was in control. That was the frightening part- the not knowing. Cinder could be doing all sorts of terrible things, and there was nothing Ella could do to stop it.

She didn’t want that, either.

Finally, she came to a decision.

She wouldn’t tell them.

No matter how much she wanted to be absolved and how much she wanted to make real friends, she just knew that if she told them the truth about herself and what Cinder did, that would just drive the girls off.

At least, for a little while… she could pretend that everything was normal.

The elevator came to a stop and let them off on the ground floor.

“We’re here,” Dawn said, breaking the awkward silence hanging in the air. “Come on, Ella. I think you’ll like the stuff they have here!”

Ella’s face brightened and a sigh of relief escaped from her lips. Dawn was being very considerate of her, and that meant a lot. It almost brought a smile to her lips, in fact. Her hand hung limply at her side, rubber-band untouched.

The girls headed down the hall, and Dawn wore a sly smile on her face as she pushed the door to the Banquet Hall open.

“Whoa…” Ella breathed, her eyes widening in amazement.

Ella had never seen this much food before.

There were mountains of it! Tables and tables stretching out from one end of the room to the other, each piled high with delicacies. Fruits and vegetables, egg dishes of all sorts, crisp bacon and juicy sausages, a volcano of mashed potatoes with magma gravy flowing down into a sea of hash browns, everything a girl could ask for when it came to breakfast!

Her eyes started to water. Was she actually crying?

“I… I’ve never seen so much food,” she sniffled, and rubbed her stomach. Last night, Ella had been so flummoxed from everything that had happened and had been so flustered trying to adapt to her new life that she didn’t even attempt to eat dinner or anything like that- just the sweets that Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin had given her. So she was especially hungry right now. She’d gone to bed hungry many times, but something inside her knew that wouldn’t be the case anymore, and she eagerly licked her lips in anticipation.

On the topic of Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin… she was in the Banquet Hall right now. And her presence made Ella freeze in place.

Not that the slender girl was paying her any attention. No, she was too busy facing the woman who was chewing her out.

“I told you, it’s imperative that you learn to read! I understand how awful it is to not be able to speak, but you cannot use that as an excuse to avoid communicating!” Amelia snapped, slapping her riding crop down on the table.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin rose to her feet and placed her hands on her hips. She cocked her head to the side and rolled her eyes in an act of obvious dismissal of the other woman. While this was happening, the girls who had gathered around them were all starting to fret.

“Come on, Amelia, is this really a big deal?” Sylvia asked, her smile frozen to her face. She was trying to deescalate the situation, but she wasn’t doing a very good job of it.

Amelia growled. Yes, this WAS a big deal. If Sylvia couldn’t understand that, there wasn’t a lot Amelia could do to help her, or anyone else, see reason. The teacher ignored the other girl, and pushed forward.

“I have encountered defiant young ladies like yourself in the past,” Amelia said calmly. “And without fail, they have all learned their lessons. You are no different.”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin crossed her arms over her chest and cocked her hip to the side. Her face twisted into a defiant sneer that said more than any words she could have spoken did.

“What about Vivian?” Carly asked, butting into the middle of the discussion like a dumbass.

Amelia’s eye twitched. “What about her?” She breathed, causing the temperature of the room to drop a couple of degrees. Nick’s stepmother might not have had any ice powers to accommodate her Ice Queen transformation path, but it seemed she didn’t need any.

Ella shivered. This was exactly what she didn’t want! A stressful situation like this was just the worst; she felt like she was going to scream, or maybe start crying. All she’d wanted to do was get a nice breakfast and eat all this delicious food, but things were quickly escalating in a direction she wasn’t comfortable with, and she could already feel Cinder pushing at the edges of her consciousness.

Not seeing any other solutions, she grabbed the rubber-band on her wrist and snapped it again to try and soothe her nerves.

“Thwap!”

But even if Carly’s question had raised the temperature in the room quite a bit, the question itself was still valid.

What about Vivian?

Well… that question would be answered in a slightly-unusual way.

The door to the Banquet Hall clicked shut behind the girls, and even if it was quiet and gentle, it still made Ella jump with fright. She whirled around with wide eyes and a few of the other girls looked over as well to see who had come down to join them.

A glimpse of silver-white hair was enough to answer that question.

“…Good morning,” Octavia greeted the others with a cool expression and a slight bow of her head. Everyone looked at her in surprise.

“Octavia? What are you doing here?” Dawn questioned, approaching the taciturn butler.

Octavia cleared her throat. The squabble between Amelia and Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin was put aside for the moment as everybody turned their attention to the newcomer.

“Miss Carrington has woken up,” Octavia responded. “She requested that I bring her breakfast in bed, so here I am.”

“Huh? But can’t she just ask one of the faeries for that?” Dani asked, confused.

“Yes,” Octavia replied, doing an excellent job of keeping the frustration out of her voice. “Miss Carrington is fully aware of that.”

Gina held her hand over her mouth to suppress her laughter while Dawn winced sympathetically.

“If you don’t mind, I will proceed with my task,” Octavia said, her voice firm and brooking no arguments. The irritation was palpable in spite of her professionalism. She approached one of the tables, the one loaded with sweets, and began to pile them onto a tray.

“…You know, I feel really bad for Holly, seeing Octavia work like that,” Carly said, shaking her head.

“Can you maybe spare some of that sympathy for me?” Kim asked, laughing a little. “She’s not the only one who has to do some services she doesn’t enjoy.”

That was certainly the truth.

While Octavia was getting Vivian her breakfast, Amelia returned back to her original task of getting Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin to consider learning some kindergarten-level reading and writing, like maybe just the alphabet.

But the dark-haired assassin was nowhere to be seen.

“What!?” She snapped, looking around. While Octavia had kept everyone distracted, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin had used that as an opportunity to sneak away unencumbered.

Amelia **** down a scream. That was definitely not how she was supposed to be showing her emotions to others.

“The breakfast you requested, Miss Carrington.” Octavia entered the Garden Suite with a tray of food in hand and a calm expression on her face.

“Ah! Octavia, my sweets!” Vivian clapped her hands together with glee. In spite of requesting “breakfast in bed” the young heiress had taken a slightly different approach to things. She was up and about, and had changed into one of her nicer outfits.

Because of the climate, she couldn’t wear any of her heavier clothes. But she still loved fur trim, so she’d taken one of her specialty outfits and made some adjustments. She wore a nice hoodie made of light fabric unlike most sweaters, with a fur rim along the hood. The sleeves had been cut off for breathability, while the rest clung to her model-thin figure. For bottoms, she had considered going with some shorts again, but felt like that would be too redundant. So she chose a swooshy skirt that danced around her upper thighs, showing off her legs, one of her best features, and the fancy heeled boots she’d picked out for the day. No hat this time; and no sunglasses, either. She’d chosen for a more natural look, to fit the theme of the suite.

Still, as comfy as this place was, Vivian was excited at the prospect of having access to all the outfits in that other room. If she was a good contestant, maybe the audience would see fit to reward her with a room change at the end of the round.

For now, though, she had breakfast to eat! She took the tray of food from her butler and flopped down on the bed, and started devouring her meal gleefully.

“Mm, say what you will about this place, but the cooks here are some of the best I’ve ever tasted,” Vivian said as she wolfed down pastry after pastry. She snapped her fingers. “Oh, Octavia, if you would, please?”

Octavia walked over to her charge and removed a handkerchief from her breast pocket, which she used to wipe away the glaze that covered Vivian’s lips. Vivian smirked in amusement, enjoying the power she had over the other woman. Oh, certainly, she was more than capable of taking care of herself if she wanted to, but it felt a lot better to make Octavia jump like a trained monkey.

Served her right for all the ways she made Vivian’s life back home intolerable. What sort of monster insisted that Vivian not go riding until after she’d called her father?

Still… Vivian was a considerate mistress.

“Are you sure you don’t want one of these?” She asked, offering the tray up to the other woman. “I promise you’ve never had anything better.”

“Thank you for your consideration, milady,” Octavia replied, holding her hand over her chest and bowing slightly. “But I will eat at a later time. For now, my purpose is to serve your needs. Is there anything else?”

Vivian looked a little miffed, but let that feeling pass. “Yes… tell me, what do you think of this outfit?” She asked, standing up and posing for the other woman.

Octavia tightened her lips into a fine line and shook her head slightly. “Milady… I do not believe my taste in fashion could ever be compared to yours, I’m afraid.”

Vivian rolled her eyes. “Yeah, of course not,” she scoffed, shaking her head. “That goes without saying. But you know what daddy says, when you’re planning to make a pitch, always make sure to get a second opinion.”

“…A pitch, milady?” Octavia raised her eyebrow. Was Vivian planning on doing business here? That would be rather unusual.

“Yes…” Vivian walked into the bathroom, which was the only place with a working mirror. She checked every detail to make sure she looked perfect, without a single hair out of place. “I tried to entice Nick yesterday, during our time together, but he was resistant… I was wondering if there was anything I could do to win him over…”

“…I see,” Octavia nodded. She should have anticipated it would be something like that.

“So? What do you think?” Vivian turned back to her butler and posed again. “Don’t I look fetching in this?”

“Remarkably fetching,” Octavia calmly replied, her voice carrying not even the slightest whiff of emotion.

Vivian didn’t seem convinced.

“Octavia, have you ever actually seduced a man before yourself?”

“I’m afraid that my experiences with the opposite sex cannot hold a candle to yours, milady,” Octavia said apologetically.

Vivian smirked. “Ooh, saucy. But you should know better than to spread such scandalous rumors, what would daddy think?”

She flicked her butler on the nose and giggled. “Hmm… but I think you may have a point about experience. I’m not exactly a master seductress, after all…”

In spite of Vivian’s flirty demeanor and playful nature, she was a remarkably focused woman. While other girls of her social standing might go to fancy, exclusive clubs and play around with boytoys while flaunting their wealth and wasting it on “party favors” she had done her due diligence and worked on building a fashion brand from the ground up.

Amelia liked to chasten Vivian as a troublemaker, but honestly, she could have been a lot worse.

Unfortunately, that could be a liability given that the task at hand was seduction.

“I need to start working on a plan,” Vivian said, pacing the room as she stroked her chin. “Nick’s got several women wrapped around his little finger, among other parts. He’s definitely got all the sex he could ever want, and a loving wife who dotes on him. I mean, have you seen that Mary girl? She’s practically angelic! No, no, a conventional seduction attempt will fall flat on its face. No, I’ve gotta offer him something that he can’t get anywhere else…”

There had to be some in for Vivian. Nick was a decent guy, if a little passive. She’d seen his type before. And it was nice to have someone who couldn’t instantly be bought with her money. Just the thought of that made her want to squirm with delight.

“He’s like an adorable little puppy!” She cooed. “If he falls for me, he’ll be completely obedient! Ooh, I just can’t wait!”

Octavia resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

Then Vivian snapped her fingers.

“First thing’s first!” She decided, turning to her butler. “I made a big impression on our boy yesterday. I can’t let him forget about me too easily, no, I need to capitalize on that and keep myself in his thoughts. Otherwise, I’ll just end up as another one of ‘his girls’ and… I would find that just intolerable.”

Vivian wasn’t some random floozy or a side-piece. She played to win. If she was going to seduce Nick, then she was going to have a position of power in his life and in his harem. Maybe not his first wife… it seemed pretty clear that Mary had that title locked up, at least for now.

But she was going to make the redhead work for it, that was for sure. Because Vivian played to win, whether in the board meeting or at the shooting gallery.

And nothing got a fire going quite like showing up to a boy’s room first thing in the morning.

“I’ll be off now, Octavia! Don’t wait up!” Vivian sauntered towards the elevator. Octavia sighed, finally able to breathe again.

Vivian didn’t notice that. She was too busy thinking about her game plan. She wasn’t so naïve as to think that she could just pop over to the Master’s Suite and win Nick over with a coy smile and a couple flirty lines. No, if he was the type of guy who could be seduced with something as simple as that, Vivian wouldn’t have set her sights on him in the first place.

Besides… there was no chance he was alone in there.

Mary was probably with him. And that other girl, the maid, Holly? Not to mention the fact that Nick had been vanished by the host, Dakota, to spend some time with one of the twins. Vivian still didn’t know Carly from Marley, but whichever one it was, she’d spent the night with him, and was probably still there.

Although Vivian had yet to see the inside of the Master’s Suite herself, she figured that it must be pretty fancy. With a title like “The Master’s Suite” it kind of had to be, right? She was sure looking forward to it. And she knew that if she was staying up there, then there was no chance she’d come down and mingle, not if she had Nick for company.

No… anyone who had spent the night up there, the chances were they’d still be spending time with him. It’s what Vivian would do, after all. Lie back in bed and get pampered all day.

You know… if she didn’t have a harem to seize control over.

She took the elevator up to the Master’s Suite, and when she stepped out into the entryway she was already pretty impressed.

“Wheew, fancy,” she whistled, strolling through the nicely-designed mini hallway. It reminded her of being home. Splendor comparable to that of the Luxury Suite surrounded her, and if the entrance looked this nice, then the suite itself must have been something special indeed.

With a smirk, she knocked on the door, and it cracked open to reveal a face that caught Vivian by surprise.

Rose gasped. “Ah! You… Vivian Carrington!?” She stammered in shock.

Vivian raised her eyebrow. Now this wasn’t what she expected. A French maid? Oh-la-la, now that was something spicy. Nick certainly has good taste, she thought, feasting on Rose’s choice of outfit with glee. She studied the blonde’s figure with a practiced eye, and started wondering what outfits the other woman would look good in.

That was a bit of a difficult ask. It would have been an easier job to figure out what clothes she wouldn’t look good in.

But business before pleasure.

“Can I come in?” Vivian purred seductively, leaning forward and resting her arm on the doorframe. She batted her eyelashes seductively and made Rose’s heart go all twisty in her chest with admiration.

“Y-yes! Of course you can!” Rose stammered, quickly opening the door.

Vivian sauntered past her and gave the girl a flirty wink, even as she mentally dismissed her from consideration. Rose may have looked good in a maid outfit, but no self-respecting servant would allow someone into their master’s residence without checking to make sure he was okay with it. No… Rose as a maid simply wouldn’t do. Once she and Nick were together and she had to staff their mansion, the blonde would be given a role far more appropriate for her skills.