Sevda closed her eyes and listened to the rain pound against the roof of their manor. If only there was thunder to match it... then maybe the whole party would be canceled. But she knew such thoughts were foolish. Even if a hurricane was blasting through the city, every last guest would be sure to arrive. After all, it was her 'debut into society', as her mother liked to call it. What a silly thing.
Lifting up her chin, Sevda imagined the rain falling down upon her face and the beads rolling down her body. It felt refreshing, sweet, and natural. Until, that is, it reached her tail. Opening up her eyes, she remembered why she had made her way to the corner of the library in the first place. Her mother, the spiteful lady that she was, banned her from returning to her room until the end of the night. But the moisture in the air from the rain weighed down her tail and she needed to do something about it.
If only she was like all the other girls. When she was little, Sevda used to watch them from her window. She'd imagine they were all together, playing with dolls and chasing each other around and daydreaming about boys. But that was a luxury she never got. It was a risk she could never take.
Sevda reached back and started readjusting her feathers, still deep in thought. She would give anything to not have her tail anymore. Nobility, wealth, power—none of it mattered anyway. She had no friends, no love, no trust. Not even her own mother seemed to appreciate her. Nobody at the party would understand. They would all tell her how lucky she was to have a mother that would spend so much money and time planning this event. Every little detail was worked to perfection, from the invites to the sweets to the outfits. The party was, without a doubt, a masterpiece.
But it wasn't a masterpiece for herself. While it might be under the pretext of her debut, Sevda knew it was just an excuse for her mother to gain respect amongst other nobles. Even still, she had to play the role of the pretty and polite porcelain doll. If only they all knew about the long crack hiding under the stifling clothes.
A voice cut through the silence of her thoughts and Sevda couldn't help but let out a squeal. Her hands rushed to smoothen the back of her emerald green dress as she made sure her tail was fully covered. Somehow, in the midst of her thoughts, somebody had entered the library without her even noticing! And, she realized, had heard her just squeal.
While every one of Sevda's instincts told her to hide farther and farther into the corner until she simply vanished, she knew such a thing wouldn't be possible. Instead, she took a deep breath put on a dignified demeanor. Jude Armand... well, she could have been discovered by someone worse.
Sevda curtsied and politely replied, "I apologize, I was just putting away one of my books. I hadn't realized that guests were already arriving." She was tempted to just leave, but she knew that her mother would get mad if she wasn't at least a little agreeable. "I am Lady Sevda Rowarti... and you are?"