A/N: This was written as a birthday present for the wonderful S-Puff, and also as a fic I meant to write ages ago to celebrate 100 followers for my tumblr, based on a prompt Lueurdelaube gave me, which was arranged marriage AU with a magical undertone.

Enjoy!

Maka jolted awake as her mother shook her. She glanced at her, and her mother's expression was a mix between apologetic and resigned frustration.

"We're almost there," the Lady Kamilla Albarn said by way of explanation.

Maka nodded and blinked the sleep sand out of her eyes as she adjusted her position so she was no longer leaning against the padding in the side of the carriage and was instead sitting up straight. She glanced out of the carriage window to look at the rolling fields below the late afternoon sky.

She was brought back to herself by her mother leaning forward and tucking a few loose strands of her ash-blonde hair back into her ornately done bun. The dress she wore—a beautiful red bought for the occasion—too was not left alone as Kami tugged and straightened it. When her mother was satisfied, the older woman leaned back in her seat and stared out of the window, ignoring the man seated beside her.

"You look lovely darling," the Lord Spirit Albarn said after a moment of silence.

Maka followed her mother's example and ignored her father. If it were not for him and his habits, she would not have to be in this position. Practically selling herself off to marry a man she did not know just so she could have some sort of financial security from her father's rather considerable collection of debts. Well, no, that was not quite true. While her father's debts had severely restricted her choice on the matter, she might have ended up marrying her potential fiancé anyway, given the powers she possessed and the problems he had. Still, it would have been nice to know she was entering an engagement out of her own will and desire instead of out of necessity.

"There it is," her mother said suddenly, starting her out of her thoughts.

Maka leaned forward so she could see out of the window in the direction they were travelling, which was to her back. Indeed, they were approaching a grand house, bigger even than the one her father owned in the country. Her momentary excitement at seeing the place for the first time was soon gone when she noticed a few people standing on the front balcony and she pulled her head back into the carriage.

As they neared the house, and finally stopped, Maka felt like her heart might leap out of her chest. With so much of her father's money gone, and still to go into paying his debts, a substantial amount of her future happiness depended on her securing this engagement. Her mother gave her a look and her heart beat faster. She did not want to disappoint her mother.

Spirit left the carriage first, soon followed by his wife, and then by Maka. With on hand to hold her skirts, and the other holding the stone bannister, she followed her parents up the stairs to meet the family of her future husband.

Lord and Lady Evans were as elegant as London gossip said, as was their eldest son Wesley, and his wife Elizabeth. The youngest son, the one Maka was to be wedded to if all was agreed, was indeed elegant, but his blank and indifferent expression made him look far more severe than his welcoming brother or father.

And this was not the only difference between Soul Evans and the rest of his family. While his mother and brother were fair blonde, and his father had dark hair, his hair was so fair it looked white, or perhaps silver. His eyes too, looked red, not the brown or blue of his relations. Still, she met his gaze unflinchingly when they were introduced, before curtseying to match his bow.

However, despite the indifference in his expression, he was not ungentlemanly. When their parents entered the house, followed by his brother and his wife, Soul extended his arm to her, which she took, though it felt stiff under her hand.

She could feel the discomfort rolling off his spirit to accompany it.

Supper was early, since the journey had left Maka and her parents tired. It was an awkward affair, as all by the youngest Mr Evans tried to make polite conversation and the Albarns' exhaustion did not make for entirely stimulating talk.

Once Lady Evans and Elizabeth had shown them to their rooms, Maka undressed and fell straight to sleep, though her dreams were filled with anxiety and a piano melody she could not recall once she awoke.

The next morning at least, Maka was far more awake and lively, eager to make conversation with Elizabeth and Wesley.

"Would you mind taking a tour of the garden with me, Miss Albarn?" Elizabeth asked once breakfast had been cleared away. "The flowers are in bloom and it's very beautiful to see.

Although a little surprise, Maka said, "Of course."

Wesley and, after a signification look from his brother, Soul joined them too.

Arm in arm, Elizabeth, or Liz, as she insisted on being called once they had left the house (to which Maka insisted on being called by her first name too), guided her around the vast gardens. The gentlemen fell a little behind and after glancing back at them for a moment, Liz leaned in close to her and spoke in a low voice.

"Don't pay my brother much mind, Maka, he's just a big grump, and very shy around new people. For the first month of our acquaintance, I was sure he despised me." She smiled and continued, "He just need to get used to you."

Her smile became mischievous.

"Wesley, my dear," she called back to the gentlemen. "Come walk with me?"

The man in question mirrored her smile and quickened his pace to catch up to her. Taking his wife's hand, he pulled her forward, leaving Maka on her own with Soul trailing behind her.

Maka blinked after the couple, surprised they would leave her with her potential fiancé, virtually unchaperoned, with their backs to them and steadily moving out of earshot. She turned back to Soul to find him having stopped.

She was just about to ask him to walk with her when he spoke first.

"The grounds are better when viewed alone, so, I'll leave you now, Miss Albarn," he said, and bowed stiffly. She barely had time to curtsey before he had turned on his heel and walked away after murmuring a last "good day".

She would have been insulted if she did not have the power to see spirits, and she felt how anxious and scared he was at the prospect of being alone with her. In his defence, she had been rather anxious at being left with him too. She was not the only one with a lot riding on their connection. His very sanity was at stake.

The official reason for their visit was the annual ball the Evans family held for the top of English society, and it was as wonderful as all had claimed. All the ladies present were dressed in their finest, and all the gentlemen looked extremely handsome. Especially, in Maka's opinion, Mr Soul Evans.

His dark jacket highlighted his broad shoulders and tall person, contrasting with the bright colour of his hair. She was conscious of the looks they both received when they danced the first two sets together, but he disappeared shortly after and she did not see him for the majority of the evening.

For the most part though, she was diverted by the introduction of Liz's sister, Patricia Thompson, and her guardian, Lord Mortimer Death the Second. Lord Death was an interesting young man to talk to, and Patricia was sharp and amusing with her comments on the various people present for the ball. However, every so often her thoughts drifted to her absent fiancé—for the arrangement had been settled and the wedding was set for January—and she occasionally searched for his spirit, to check up on him.

All the times she looked, he was alone, and his soul often fluctuated between indifference and distress. She yearned to know what it was that affected him, for if she was to help keep his sanity in check with her purifying soul, should she not know his triggers?

Eventually, she gave in to her curiosity and slipped away, following the pull of his spirit until she found him on a balcony on the other side of the house, leaning his elbows on the stone balustrade and cradling his head in his hands. His bright hair looked wild, like he had been running his hands thought it in agitation. His spirit was buzzing, and she hesitated for a moment before knocking on the balcony door.

He jumped and whipped round, looking almost ready to yell at her, but upon recognition, he forced his face into composure, and bowed.

"Miss Albarn. You startled me," he said with a faint sigh. "The party is on the other side of the house, if you would like me to escort you back—"

"Thank you for the offer Mr Evans, but I am perfectly content here," she interrupted hurriedly, before he could go on. She took a deep breath of the warm summer air and said, "May I ask what brings you out here, so far away from company?" She walked a little closer to him, keeping her hands clasped in front of her and ignoring the nagging voice in the back of her mind that warned of impropriety.

They were engaged after all, there would be very few consequences if they were caught alone together.

He turned so he was looking out from the balcony and leaned against the balustrade again. "I needed a little air. Sometimes the commotion of a ball makes—" he gestured with his hand, waving it towards his head, mouth moving silently. He took a deep breath and let his hand drop. "I just needed a little break. I thank you, but you did not need to check on me." His voice grew quiet and tired as he spoke, as though he had reached the point of exhaustion where he was now simply resigned to his fate.

"Perhaps I wished to talk to you, so I could get to know you better. "She smiled a little when he glanced at her in surprise. "I'd rather not marry a complete stranger."

A small, sad—or perhaps bitter—smile graced his face. "I did not think you would agree to the match."

"I confess, I did not have much of a choice but—"

"You always have a choice."

The intensity in his voice surprised her, as did the stern look in his eyes.

"Do not—throw yourself away simply because you feel that you must. You are too good to deserve such a fate." He lost the intensity in his gaze and seemed to slump in on himself some more. "I may not offer much as a partner, but I promise, I will always give you the chance to choose, even if it is to take me as a partner in the first place, no matter what happens."

She smiled a little again, feeling sad for him, and said, "But do you have a choice, Sir?"

He scoffed and shook his head. His lips moved as he said something under his breath that she could not hear, but she was sure it was something along the lines of "ridiculous woman".

"Mr Evans—"

"Soul."

She blinked, words caught in her throat in surprise.

His eyes met hers from under his wild hair. "Please, call me Soul, at least when we are alone."

The smile on her face was warm now, as she felt her heart flutter for the earnest look on his face. "Then please call me Maka."

He nodded and swallowed. "Maka."

"May I stay with you for a little while?"

His lips tipped up in a dry smile, making a sound that was somewhere between a scoff and a huff. "If you wish."

They stood in silence for several long moment before Soul moved, standing up straight and turning to her.

"You said you wanted to get to know me better, yes?"

She nodded and agreed.

He took a deep breath and said, "Then I suppose you should hear my music. That will show you what kind of man I am."

Then he turned and walked back into the house. Maka followed shortly after him, moving quickly to catch up. They walked down the corridor until they got to a room with a piano forte in it, at which Soul sat.

He opened the cover and placed his fingers on the keys, the paused, retracted his fingers, and turned to look at her.

"If you wish to leave at any point, then do so. I will not be offended. My music is not the most pleasant thing to hear."

She raised an eyebrow. "I doubt you can frighten me off."

He grinned, thought it did not reach his eyes. His fingers settled on the keys once again, and then he began to play.

His song was a roiling, intense thing, swelling and growing until it became a cacophony. But, there was beauty in it as well as discord, a great, dangerous beauty, like that of a stormy sea. She felt his spirit swell with the music, pulsing and dancing to the dark melody. It went on for what felt like forever, until it finally slowed and quieted, ending on high notes that hung in the air and echoed in her soul long after they had died.

Soul turned to her, and she grinned at him, clapping.

"That was wonderful," she said, and he scoffed but could not hide his smile. "I confess to not being musically inclined, but I know beauty when I hear it. Thank you for letting me listen."

He seemed to bit his lip before saying, "So you still wish to marry me, after hearing all that darkness?"

She approached him and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Your music was indeed very dark, but there was light in it. And there is light in you too, I can see it. I can feel it. So yes, I will still marry you."

"Then—" he said, taking her hand "—I hope we can be friends, good friends, by the time we are married."

"As do I," she said. Deep in her soul, there was also the hope that might grow to love him by then too.

Maka sighed gratefully as she entered her London home, pulling off her gloves and handing them to a butler, who also took her coat from her. She adored her brother and sister in law, and she loved visiting them, but sometimes Liz's teasing got a little too much and she felt the desire to retreat into a book. She glanced at the butler to ask him where her husband was, but he beat her to it.

"The Master is in the music room, Ma'am, though he asked not to be disturbed."

Maka nodded and thanked him, before taking off up the stairs.

After two months of marriage to Soul, she had learned nearly all of the hidden meanings in his words, and that, for the most part, she was an exception to all the rules he had.

Down a corridor, she could hear the sounds of the piano forte her husband was working. She walked carefully, so her footsteps were quieted. The door to the music room was open a crack, allowing the music to leak out and granting her a view of her husband playing.

Unlike the first piece he had played her, the day their engagement was finalised by their fathers and the day before it was announced, this tune was light and, dare she say it, romantic, though still incredibly intense. It made her heart swell when she peeked at his spirit and saw how happy the piece made him.

After a few moments more, she decided to let her husband know of her presence by opening the door all the way and exclaiming, "What is it you do so secretly Mr Evans?"

She took delight in his startled and flushed face, laughing a little when he scowled.

"You're a cruel woman, Mrs Evans, startling me like that," he growled, but his scowl gave way to a smile.

She shrugged a little and walked closer to him. "I must find my entertainment somewhere, and what better amusement is there than scaring the wits out of one's husband?"

Her amusement grew as she approached and Soul hurriedly rearranged the sheets on the instrument, so that the ones he was reading from were hidden. She met his eyes and smiled teasingly, which made his cheeks flush again.

"So, how is my brother?" he asked, clearly to try and change the subject, but she let him.

"He is well, although Liz has been a little ill for the past few days."

"Oh, I hope it is nothing too serious," Soul murmured.

"Well, I suppose that depends on how serious one thinks children are." Maka laughed at Soul's shocked face. "But do not let Wes know, Liz had not told him yet and, in truth, we are both only guessing, it might turn out to be nothing."

"I wish them the best all the same," Soul said with a nod.

She hummed and placed a hand on top of the piano, noting how her husband tensed. She glanced at the sheets of music, but decided not to pry. He had promised no secrets on their wedding night (and that he would wait until she was comfortable with consummating their marriage before he touched her in any way), so this was likely a surprise rather than secret. And so she took pity on him, retracting her hand and watching him relax.

"I'll go arrange for dinner," she said. After a moment of thought, she leaned down and pressed a kiss to her husband's head, the first kiss since the one to seal their vows, before turning to leave.

While she had desired to become friends with her partner, and perhaps even grow to love him, she had not anticipated falling as much in love with him as she had. Though he did not give himself credit for it, Soul was incredibly kind and intelligent, and she had found herself quite in love with him soon after their wedding. Now, she could only hop her charms would bring him to love her as well, so that they might have a full and happy marriage.

As the door shut behind her, she was unaware of her husband's longing gaze after her as his heart beat frantically in his chest. Lord, he hoped she liked the song he was writing, it was written in love for her after all.