Nice To Meet You

Nicolette held onto the chaperone's arm, trying to distinguish the voices around her.

"Excuse me," she turned her head toward the direction of the voice.

"May I help you?"

"I'm Ein Wolfier" this was the man she was looking for!

"Oh! Then you must be the one I'm going to marry" Ein blushed slightly.

"Uh y-yeah, I suppose so."

"I hope me being blind doesn't bother you. After all, I suppose in your world; it would be a major flaw and lessen my beauty."

"No, no, no! Not at all, you look perfect blind or not, and the bandana compliments your outfit," she laughed.

"Relax, I'm not here to pull on your strings. I was just messing around," he sighed in relief.

"My father said women can be scary if you anger them or upset them."

"He's not wrong, but sometimes we like to joke around and get a reaction out of you," he nodded.

"So I suppose my reaction is what you wanted?"

"Oh, definitely," she smiled.

"I know we don't know each other that well, but may I dance with you?" He held out his hand.

"Umm, you know what? Sure, but I must ask, are you holding out your hand? I can't exactly tell."

"U-uh, yes, I am sorry, force of habit!" He took her hand in his leading her to the middle of the ballroom. The other ball members stepped aside, allowing them to have the floor. 'Everything is going well so far,' Nicolette thought to herself. She placed her hand on his shoulder, holding his hand with the other. She could sense the number of people watching as she felt herself begin to move following his rhythm.

"Have you danced before?" She asked curiously.

"I have. My father made me and my siblings take dance lessons, so we, and I quote, 'don't embarrass him at events, ' which I think is just ridiculous, but where did you learn to dance? You're doing very well."

"Oh, I learned to dance at my school," he cocked his head.

"Which school?" Crap! What was she supposed to say!?

"Harvard! I went to Harvard!" 'Oh yeah, like that's totally believable,' she thought. She would have to contact her team and let them know what she said so they could add it to her fake background.

"Harvard? It's tough to go there. You must be quite intelligent," she laughed out loud nervously.

"Yup, I am so smart. In fact, I was top of my class!" She wanted to hit herself across the face. The lies she told would come to bite her in the ass one day, that she was sure of. She listened to the crowd clap as they came to a stop.

"I can imagine you're tired from your trip here, so I'll have someone take you to your room to rest for the evening" she heard the shuffling of feet as the butler approached her carrying her suitcases.

"Follow me, madam" she wanted to stay and see if she could learn anything else, but she couldn't risk telling any more lies, especially before her team could reach out to her. Hesitantly she followed the sound of the butler's footsteps and noticed they went quite a ways away from everyone.

"Umm, excuse me?"

"Yes, madam?"

"I'm sorry to disturb you, but why am I so far away?"

"The old master and old madam think it's best if you have your own space for the time being" was she not staying in his room for the night? How would she get any intel or gain his trust if she couldn't be near him?

"I think it's best if I stay with him. After all, I will be married to him tomorrow."

"Sorry, madam, but I do not go against those that I serve" she heard his footsteps come to a halt, and she assumed they had found her room.

"Seeing as you are blind, we added some things to help you around, especially since the estate is so big" did they prepare for her arrival that quickly?

"Uh, thank you, I appreciate it, but I'm sure I can find my way around just fine" she felt a cold, wet nose touch her hand, startling her "what was that!?"

"Madam, this is Koda, the master's German Shepherd. He is trained to do many types of service, including being a guide dog, so we thought he would be of good use to you" did they think of her as weak and helpless? The dog was cute, but she felt a little insulted.

"Thanks, I guess" she walked past the butler into her new room, feeling every corner she could find. She has a great memory, so if she could learn where everything was, she wouldn't have a problem. She could feel Koda's hot breath that absolutely reeked. She turned Koda's head the other way.

"Ok, you're cute, but your breath isn't. It's like something crawled up and died in there," she gagged, thinking about it. There was a knock on the door "come in!"

"I know we haven't met yet, so I thought I could introduce myself. I'm Tony Wolfier. I'm going to be your mother-in-law" her mother-in-law? Maybe she could get some information out of her later on.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Nicolette. May I ask why do you call yourself Tony? If it's not rude, that is"

"It's fine! I don't exactly like my real name, and I feel more comfortable being as close to a male as I can don't really feel like being a woman is what's best for me."

"So you're transgender?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," she thought about it for a moment "yeah, I am trans, but I don't mind people calling me by any pronoun" Tony smiled. "Anyways, I hope the room I picked out is to your liking."

"Yeah, it's not bad from what I can tell" everything went silent for a moment.

"I actually have met you before."

"You have? Where?"

"I knew your mother before and after you were born" her mother never said anything about this.

"How do you know my mom?"

"I met her back when she was dating a man named Nicholas. We met at a cafe, but things didn't go well with Nicholas, and Atlas, who is your father, rescued her" was it true? She knew little about her mother's past as it was mostly kept a secret. She had heard of Nicholas briefly, knowing he was a businessman and one of the wealthiest men in the city.

"If it's alright, I'd like to relax right now."

"Alright, well, if you need anything, don't be afraid to ask" she nodded, listening to Tony's footsteps get farther away. There was a lot she didn't know about this family, and it concerned her. Making sure nobody was around, she felt the walls listening for any of the music from the ball. She could feel Koda walking next to her as his fur brushed against her hand a few times.

"I'm sure you're excited about the wedding happening tomorrow" was the wedding happening so soon? She poked her head around the corner, listening. "We have many plans for this event that will most likely last all day long" she felt pain in her feet at the thought of wearing heels all day. This voice was deep, so it must be Ein's father, Thomas, the one her dad warned her about.

"We hope that despite the sudden news, we have everyone's support for my son's and the mafia's future. After all, this is not the end!" Cheers erupted in the ballroom, and she quickly covered her ears, not liking how loud it was getting. Now that she knew her first marriage was happening tomorrow, everything hit her all at once. She thought she had more time, but it seemed like they were rushing for something.

Her smartwatch went off, signaling that her team was finally contacting her. She swiped left, allowing a hologram of the team's leader to show up.

"Nicolette, how are you adjusting."

"Not too bad I'm just getting a quick dose of reality."

"I'm sure it's a huge shock, but if you successfully complete this mission, you'll become a top-rank assassin in no time" a top-rank assassin was her goal since her first year at that school.

"What exactly is my mission? You haven't laid out the plan for me or anything, which is quite annoying."

"Once the wedding vows are said and done, we'll tell you. Just keep in mind you don't have to kill him yet."

"That's a relief- wait... yet? What do you mean yet!?"

"Don't worry about it; you'll be fine" the call ended, and Nicolette frantically tried to call them back.

"Those assholes!" Knowing that she had to wait till tomorrow made her anxious, not to mention they hinted at the possibility of putting her life at risk to kill him later on.

"Thomas! It's been a long time!" That voice... she recognized that voice. She felt the hot tears form as the memories started to come back. She reminded the unbearable pain he put her through. The way he mercilessly killed her mother, framing her father for the murder. Why would he be here?

"You're not welcome here, William," Thomas said through clenched teeth.

"Awe, why not? I heard your son is getting married. I thought I could meet the lucky lady" her body went rigged. Would they turn her over to him?

"Nobody is meeting my son's wife, not until she's comfortable. Even the wedding will be private."

"Such a shame. I'm sure my son and his children would've loved to be here for the wedding, especially that girl."

"You may be able to fool others or make any situations you caused go away, but it won't get past me. Security escort him out this instant."

"No need, I can leave on my own," he grinned "by the way, Nyx seems like a very interesting name," Ton glared him down, not amused, as William left the ball. The hot tears streamed down her face, some soaking into the bandana. It seemed like her grandfather was already suspicious of the name. She needed to go out and get some air. Koda, sensing the tension, jumped up, licking her face.

"Ew, Koda, come on! Dog breath!" She scratched him behind the ears and smiled. "I always wanted a dog, but dad said you guys were too loud and shed way too much" she kissed his nose. "I don't know what I'm going to do, Koda. This mission just got a lot harder," Koda barked, but she didn't think he could understand her.

"Are you alright?" It was Ein's voice.

"Oh, I'm fine, just sitting here with Koda. He's cute and fluffy" he sat down next to her.

"You heard him out there, didn't you..."

"Yeah, but it's not a big deal. A part of me knows you guys will protect me. I mean, I'm supposed to be married to you tomorrow."

"That's true. My dad has been making me read up on all these books lately."

"What books?" Ein blushed red.

"Nothing! It's uh biology books!" He said, flustered by the question. Koda barked and rolled onto his back, exposing his stomach.

"I know your family has a lot of expectations when it comes to me, and don't worry. I'll make sure I meet all those expectations" she got lost in thought for a moment before leaning over and resting her head on his shoulder. Ein slowly wrapped his arm around her, pulling her a little closer as Koda sat at their feet.

"I know you're the girl from 8 years ago."

"And you're the boy who ran away screaming."

"Hey! I had two prison guards chasing after me. What was I supposed to do!?" She laughed, feeling better about the situation.

"I'm still glad you decided to help me out that day. I don't know what would've happened had you not been there or decided to bring me back to my grandfather."

"I could tell you were desperate to get away from the hospital, and it wasn't my place to ask questions even tho, trust me, my brain was full of them."

"Still, regardless of the fact that you ran off screaming, I thank you. I was able to get my father back and my siblings as well," he smiled as she relaxed, closing her eyes.

"Your welcome, Nicolette."