"You all will be sent on a mission in Wales to receive a file, or, rather, a particular piece of information from Estella Morretar. We do not know currently whether the information is stored digitally or on paper."

The words enter my mind, but they barely have any meaning to me. This can't be happening. Can't be happening again.

"Which is why we think the best way to carry out this mission is to get the information from Morretar herself. Do you understand?"

I nod, dazed. I guess it does kind of make sense. A little.

"You will be on your way to Wales tonight."

Avery, Devyn, and Julian bow. Avery elbows me in the side and I bow too, but I almost fall over. My mind is full of clouds. My mouth is open, slightly, but I make no effort to close it.

Devyn and Julian walk out. Avery grabs my arm and leads me out. "This isn't real," I whisper quietly to him, "right?"

Avery wraps his arm around my shoulder. "I'm afraid it is, Delfi." I shiver. The door closes with a click behind us. But the words keep ringing in my head.

~

A flag with a red dragon on a green and white background flutters in the sky. The four of us turn to look at it. A snowflake lands on Devyn's eye.

Julian is beside me. He has curly black-streaked-with-blue hair and dull, plain brown eyes (not even hazel or chestnut or something. Not honey brown that looks beautiful in the light. Just brown. Like a piece of bark).

"Doing okay?" he asks softly. He kind of treats me with fear and admiration, ever since he found out I had been on a mission before and survived it.

I scrunch up my nose. "Yeah. Fine." I had time to piece myself back together on the trip to Wales, and I'm okay now. Mostly.

We're supposed to get to a resort - a fancy one - and meet Estella Morretar. Get her trust, and get her to tell us information about the crimes happening back home. Kill her, if necessary.

"This is it." Avery stops, holding out the map. All of our eyes trail to the building in front of us. Devyn sucks in a breath.

Woah.

It looks kind of like a palace. It's a tall building, with a crown like shape on top of the main building. There are two towers next to the main building, with a similar crown shape. All of it is painted gold.

Avery motions to the glass doors. We step in. There's a coffee table in the middle, surrounded by velvet couches and seats and pillows. There's a fancy, wide counter.

There's a huge logo as well - a big, gold, glass M, followed by OETHUS in smaller, but also gold and glass letters. Below that there's 'RESORT'. Plain glass.

"Hi, we'd like to book two rooms?" Devyn says to the lady at the counter. Her silvery hair is yanked into a ponytail. She looks to be in her early thirties.

"Of course." she smiles at Devyn, "would you like the luxury suites or a normal one?" Devyn jerks his head to us, then back at the lady.

"One of each, please." Ah. I see where this is going. Devyn gets the wi-fi password, key cards, and other pamphlet thingies.

I jump in quickly and say, "dibs on the luxury suite with Dev."

Avery and Julian groan, but it skids to a stop when they realise that a normal room at this resort is probably awesome enough. 

We go to F7. The luxury suite is 712, while the other is 718. Quite close to each other. Me and Devyn walk down the hall to the room.

I swipe the key card. It beeps and clicks, and I open the door.

Double woah!

The first thing I notice: it's at least twice the size of our dorm room; maybe thrice. And my dorm is big. There's a bathroom near the entrance (complete with a bathtub, two toilets, and a huge marble counter.

There's only one bedroom, but there are two queen - sized beds on the opposite sides of the room. There's another counter, and behind that is a window with a great view.

I reach for the free basket of snacks (filled with tons of Snickers bars, Milky Way chocolate, Mars Bars, Sour Patch Kids, and Twizzlers) when Devyn slaps my arm.

"Focus. We have to find Estella Morretar. I'll wander around the floors, you go down to the lobby. 'Kay?" Devyn orders.

"Mmhmm." I slip the key card out of the slot. Devyn takes out the second card and follows me to the door. We step out into the carpeted hall.

I press the elevator button while Devyn wanders off. It dings and I get into the elevator with two other people. I scan them, but none of them fit the physical appearance of Estella Morretar.

The elevator dings again, I walk out, the elevator doors slide close behind me. I walk confidently to the counter. "Hi," I say to the lady.

"Do you know Estella Morretar?" I ask her, as kindly as I can. She doesn't seem suspicious, and I mentally sigh in relief.

"Oh, yes, she came in two days ago. I'm afraid I can't tell you her room number, but I do know she's going to be at the ballroom party tonight, in Ballroom Seren, at seven."

I mentally cheer, but I keep my calm face in front of the lady. Adjust my leather jacket. Tuck my hair behind my ear. "Thank you," I say.

I drum my fingers on the counter, then turn around to leave. This time, I take the stairs, since I don't feel like waiting for the elevator.

The railings are gold, too. Fake, most probably, but glittery and fancy all the same. I climb up them quickly, almost running.

Devyn rams into me. I rub my forehead, wince, and ask him, "any info?" he shakes his head, flips his hair out of the way.

"Nope. You?"

"Yeah. Going to be at a ballroom party tonight, in Ballroom Seren. Seven PM." Devyn checks his watch.

We start walking back to the room. "It's already five. We should get ready." I shrug and point to Avery and Julian's room, raising my eyebrows.

Devyn goes to their room and tells them about the ballroom party, and they reacted with a variety of responses ("Does this mean I get to wear a tux?" "Only a place like this would have ballrooms.").

When Devyn and I get back to the room, we start getting dressed. We've packed outfits for every single occasion (even scuba diving, don't ask) and it's no problem to find something fancy.

I put on a dark blue top with an off-shoulder neckline and black lace. I pull on a matching, floor length skirt that trails behind me.

"You should do something with your hair. Do you need makeup?" Devyn asks from behind me.  I turn around. "Oh, wow. You look great, Delfi."

I smile, considering what do with my hair. In the end I just pin some of it up with a decorative blue flower pin. Devyn's already ready.

"You look nice, too," I admit. He's wearing a black jacket over a white collared shirt, and a light blue tie. His hair is pulled up into a short ponytail again.

He draws a grey chair over to help me put on makeup. I sit on the bed, trying to stay still. He keeps telling me not to move.

He grabs his eyeliner pencil thing (I don't understand makeup. Like. At all) and starts scratching it on my eyelid. It tickles and I try not to laugh.

When he's done with the top part, he moves onto the bottom of my eyelid, but when he starts, I scoot back.

"It'll only take a while, Jesus, Delfi." Devyn throws his hands up, annoyed. I laugh into my hand and move to sit in front of him again.

But the itching is so weird that I have to giggle and fidget again. After several minutes of commenting from the both of us ("STAY STILL!" "But it tickles!") he's finally done.

"Okay, just a few more stuff." he brushes over my face with blush and some other stuff, then he applies this cream thing.

"Done." he scoots the chair back, and I stand up to go look in the mirror. I look great. He also did dark blue eyeshadow which makes me look great.

I turn around. "Thanks, Dev. I rarely feel this gorgeous." 

He gives me a thumbs up. He opens the door and walks out, reminding me to switch off the lights and take the key card.

I do. I follow him out of the room and down the stairs, to the Seren Ballroom, where we're supposedly going to meet our corpse to-be. Hopefully.

~

The ballroom party is already filled with chatter and classical music, but I haven't seen our victim yet.

Devyn is beside me, and we're walking through the ballroom, searching. Suddenly, I feel a slight shove from Devyn. Someone had pushed him.

"Oh, sorry," Devyn apologises, "sorry to waste your time, but do you know Estella Morretar?" he asks boldly. I almost panic.

The man nods. He points in the vague direction of the bar and wiggles out of our sight. We sigh at the same time and go to the bar as slowly as possible.

We both order a glass of  Merlot red wine. The bartender disappears into the back. Then I see her - Estella Morretar. And she's gorgeous.

Wavy, blush blonde hair trailing down her back. Moderate brown skin. She turns to look at the bartender, and I see her eyes are ice blue. She's wearing a celeste blue sweetheart neckline top and a cadet blue maxi skirt.

"Oh, hi. I take it you need something?" she asks, and I blink a few times before I realise she's talking to me. I flush bright red.

"Um... Are you... Estella Morretar?" I blurt out. She nods and smiles. Her lips are glossy and pink. I fidget with my fingers.

"Oh, yes." she laughs. Spins the empty wine glass in her fingers. Asks for another glass of wine from the bartender as he slides me and Devyn ours. Everything she does, she does it elegantly, and I can admire that.

I take a sip of the wine. It tastes like cherries, kind of sweet-sour, with a tinge of bitterness. Estella moves closer to me.

"So, what brings you here..." she trails off and looks at me expectantly. I take another sip of wine (I've never been a big fan of it, but it's nice enough).

I answer slowly, not hurriedly. "Delfi. Norton. Delfi Norton," I answer. I keep my first name, change the last. Just in case she's heard about it.

"So, Delfi," she starts slowly, "what brings you here?"

Another sip of wine. And another. "My friends and I like travelling. We've been almost everywhere in Europe but Wales, so..." I spread my arms, as if to say, here we are.

She drinks all of her wine, then asks for another glass. She's gone through three glasses, but she doesn't seem fazed at all. Her gloved hand reaches up to tangle her fingers through her hair.

"Interesting... Have you been to Hungary?" she asks, as if she's testing me. But I've done my research, and I nod confidently.

"Yes, of course. The Danube River was beautiful. Great view from the Freedom Bridge," I reply breezily, "and the Eger Castle. Its past... so interesting."

Estella raises her eyebrows then nods, like I've passed the test. The bartender hands her a glass of wine and she sips it again, smacking her lips gently.

Suddenly, a loud "DELFI!" soars through the air. It's Avery, with Julian next to him. He smiles and waves at me, but then something happens.

Someone bumps into Julian. Since he's holding a glass, in surprise he trips forward and the glass rockets past the crowd of people, past the bartender, onto Estella.

"Oh..." she says quietly, holding up her skirt. I rush to help her, but she steps away. "It's fine... really. If you'd like to meet me again, I'll be waiting at the Breakfast Hall at 8 AM."

Then she twirls her wet skirt around and flutters to the double doors, her blue high heels glittering, like Cinderella at midnight.

I whirl around to have a go at Julian, but he's disappeared. With a sigh, I wrinkle my eyebrows and run to the double doors, not caring that people might see that I'm only wearing simple black flats with one of the rhinestones missing.

The hallway is empty. I can still hear the classical music faintly through the ornate golden doors. I press the elevator button with the 'up' arrow.

When the elevator doors slide open, I step in. I'm alone. Good, I guess. I swipe the key card against the scanner and press '7'.

The elevator dings when I get to the seventh floor. Nobody is out of their rooms. My shoes make a thudding noise when I walk to my room. When I swipe my key card on the scanner it beeps and clicks, and I go in.

As suspected, Devyn's not back yet. I shower and change out of my formal wear into a light blue t-shirt and pyjama pants. I settle into the gigantic bed. The blankets and sheets are soft. The mattress is perfect. The pillows are heavenly.

It's almost like everything in this place is perfect. The food, the drinks, the bed, the rooms.... and the people.

~

The view from our room is beautiful. When I woke up at half past 5, my immediate thought was too see the sunrise. It's pretty blend of pink and orange. It's cold, so I sip some warm coffee.

I should probably get ready. It's already 6 now. But my eyes are glued to the remains of the colours of the sunrise and the traffic below and the tall, Victorian buildings in front of me.

"Hey. You should get ready." Devyn yawns, echoing my thoughts. I nod in reply and manage to turn my head away from the window.

So I go to the bathroom, considering what to do. My clothes - a dark red plaid jacket, black elbow sleeved shirt, and short jeans over black leggings.

I look at myself in the mirror. I apply the concealer that Devyn bought for me (to cover up my scar, and I say Devyn bought it even though I paid for it because he did all of the work picking the shade) and some lip gloss.

It's not the best, but I don't look so bad. I yank some of the hair trailing down my face back with a pin. I grab the key card and put on my black leather boots before going down to the breakfast hall.

It's on the second floor, next to the swimming pool. It's kind of dome-shaped, and a chandelier hangs from the ceiling. On the wall, there's a sign in cursive.

𝓣𝓮𝓶𝓮𝓽 𝓝𝓸𝓼𝓬𝓮
"𝓚𝓷𝓸𝔀 𝓣𝓱𝔂𝓼𝓮𝓵𝓯"

I spot Estella by the pastry section. I wander over to her, and she smiles at me. "I was wondering wheter you'd turn up."

"Yeah, well..." I trail off, "hey, you know for a Welsh resort, it's kind of strange they have a quote in Latin." I point to the sign.

She beams at me and I take a seat. "You recognise the language? I don't meet many people who know Latin. I'm quite good at reading and writing, but speaking? Not so much."

She looks elegant, as always, even in a simple red crop top and knee-high black skirt. Her hair is in a high ponytail.

"So, what do you do in your free time, Delfi?" she asks me carefully, cutting the french toast on her plate into neat little pieces.

"Oh, um..." I flush, "I like listening to music... and reading." the organisation's library is right next to me and Dev's dorm. Still, it wasn't the best library.

Estella perks up and sets her fork down. "Really? What's your favourite book? I love The Warden's Daughter by Jerry Spinelli."

I search in my mind. I vaguely remember a title similar to that. "Is it about... Cammie? The girl whose mother died?" I question hesitantly.

"Yes! I loved it. The end was so.. bittersweet. I almost cried when Eloda left. And I did cry when I read her diary! Oh, it was so well-written," she muses dreamily, making animated hand gestures.

I take a bite of french toast. Amazing. Perfectly buttery and sweet. I hurry to stuff a strawberry jam tart in my mouth. Equally perfect.

"I know, right?" Estella jokes when I look at her in amazement, "the food is great here. That's to be expected, of course, considering the price - if I didn't get good food when I pay a million each month - well, I'd be mad."

I stuff my face with eggs, sausages, steak, cherry scones, apple and blueberry pie, pudding, cinnamon rolls, Eclairs, Red Velvet cake, and salted caramel ice cream before I collapse into my seat, still marvelling at the quality of the food.

Estella laughs when I plant my face into the table. I feel so full I can barely walk. Totally worth it, though. The blueberry pie was worth more than Avery and Devyn combined.

"I have a feeling you need some time alone," Estella mumbles through her laughter, "see you later, Delfi." she gets up, smiles at me again, and walks away.

I stand up to go after her, but I can't go that fast without my stomach hurting. I think I just doubled my weight.

Worth it.