Author's Note-
Heh, yeah my string of quick updates did not last very long. However, now that it's the weekend, I'll probably be able to get chapter 9 in before Monday.
This chapter is told in Maxi's POV. I know that the lot of you are probably thinking, "ABOUT TIME DAMMIT! I AM TIRED OF THIS MARY-SUE! RAWR!" So, I apologize for how these first couple chapters are so centered around her. Don't worry, it is all for a purpose. Once we get on to the more adventure (which will be the main focus of this story and the biggest arc) it will be more Maxi focused.
Anyways, read on! :)
More Arrangements
This was the boy that Esther was being arranged to marry? Maxi shook his head. He seemed charming enough, but the way he constantly talked of "God's love for his children" to those around him gave Maxi all the information he needed to know what Esther meant. The two would not make a suitable match.
Aiden Kahn walked by, dipping his head politely in Maxi's direction. The two had hardly talked, but from what Maxi had seen, the boy was full of, well, sunshine and rainbows. Esther had described him as being a man of religion, and she was right. And from all the scary stories about demons and ghosts she and Maxi had shared in the tavern to each other, she sure as hell would not blend with a light such as Aiden's.
Then again, Esther had finally agreed to the marriage, which saddened him somewhat. It wasn't because he was jealous, but Esther had this fiery sense of adventure that reminded him so much of himself. It made him sad to see that her rebellious nature was being extinguished like pouring water to the flame. She had fought this out with Ophelia for so long, and now , tired of the arguing, she surrendered. He refused to understand her decision, because it all seemed so wrong to just accept the situation.
However, who was he to be skeptical? He too had surrendered to a sedimentary life. Even after two years of healing in this village, permanent damage had been done internally. Sure, he could still handle himself in basic combat and get around on his own, but there were many things he had indeed lost the strength to do. That mere fact had really damaged his morale, and despite the tough front he put up, a fair amount of depression had settled in.
"Hello there!" Leah's voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Hey." He sighed, leaning against the fence. He closed his eyes and felt the warm sunlight on his face.
Leah bounded up to him, her dark brown pigtails bouncing around her shoulders. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing really."
"That's fun." Leah yawned, leaning on the fence space next to him. "I imagine you've heard about Esther getting married huh."
"Yup."
"Yeah, she's not very happy about it. I would side with her, but then again, I'd rather not become my mom's next public enemy."
Maxi laughed. "She probably doesn't want you talking to me."
"Meh," Leah shrugged. "Not as much as she wants Esther to stay away. Besides, my love for you could never be restricted by the wishes of my mother."
"Um..." He took a couple steps away from her and changed the subject. "How is Esther?" Really he was asking if she was angry at him. They had previously had an argument a couple days ago.
"Why do you listen to her?" He had asked, looking at her with a somewhat frustrated expression.
It was obvious even Esther didn't understand her decisions, but she painfully answered him, "Because she's my mother. She knows what's best for me, so, I must oblige."
"She isn't your real mother," He pointed out. "And by taking over your life she's not doing what's best for you. Can't you see that?"
"I do but..." She turned away from him. "I'm tired of debating this with her. In this town, I have to do what she says until I am married. Then, I will officially be an adult."
He sighed. "No offense, but that's a dumb law."
"Yeah, well..." She agreed with him, but she chose to stay with her decision. Fighting it any longer would only result in making the pain worse. "Those are the rules, and I have to follow them."
"You used to be so bent on defying her. What happened to you?"
She closed her eyes, not daring to turn to face him for fear of crying. "Please, understand...this is hard enough for me as it is."
"How can I understand?" His voice raised to disbelief. "You're allowing someone to dominate over your life because what? You don't want to argue anymore? Grow a back bone!"
"Just shut up!" She whipped around to face him, trying to look furious, but the tears streaming from her eyes betrayed her. "You wouldn't understand, you've been a free-lance pirate all your life, more generically, a man. You've never had commitments; you've been free to do what ever you wanted your whole life. You wouldn't know anything about the duties that a woman is bound to in society, so don't you lecture me!"
He frowned, and she immediately pushed her way past him to leave.
Accusing him of having no commitments had indeed stung, but he probably shouldn't have been so harsh. Esther was already in a lot of pain from this, he shouldn't have been stressing the situation by bringing out those feelings from her again. Oh well, it was her decision, and he would have to let her deal with it.
"She's fine. But if you're referring to your argument..."
Maxi muttered. "She told you?"
"She tells me everything," Leah said casually. "If you're wondering, she's not mad at you. She's mad at herself."
He nodded solemnly. Typical Esther; always blaming herself for everything. This was Ophelia's fault, not hers, and that's what made him even more upset. Her foster mother's decision to tromp over the life of someone else in order to "make her happy" was doing the exact opposite.
"Can I see your weapon?"
He looked down at where he kept his nunchaku secured in a sheath around his thigh. He shrugged, sensing that this was just another ruse for her to touch something he had touched, but he decided to let the teenager have the slightest of her fantasies full-filled. He had to admit that it did feel good to be attractive. "Sure..." He handed them to her.
"Sweet!" Maxi knew she made sure to brush fingers with him as she took Soryuju from his hand, not because of how her hand lingered there for just a little too long, but how she winked.
Aye...he thought, folding his arms. Social issues indeed.
"Wow," She said as she played around with them for a bit. "They feel so awkward to me, yet you use them so beautifully."
"Yeah, thanks." He took a step forward. "Be careful though."
Not heeding his warning, Leah became a little more confident in her handling of the nunchaku. In fact, so confident that she decided to start swinging them around. "Wow! These are kind of fun!" Then she hit herself in the face with them.
At first he burst into laughter, but then he had to contain it...somewhat. Maxi couldn't help but smile and chuckle quietly as he took back his nunchaku and inspected where she'd hit herself in the face.
"Ouch," He observed. Brushing away some of her bangs, he saw a little goose bump had formed at her brow. "That looks like it hurts..."
"Yeah," She said. "I should have listened."
"Yep. I told you to be careful."
"I bet if you kiss it I'll feel better-"
"Leah," He heard Esther's voice sigh. "Stop harassing the poor man."
"I'm not harassing him!" Leah protested.
Esther rolled her eyes. "Yes you are."
"Um, it's okay, really," Maxi laughed awkwardly to lighten up the situation. "I let her test out my nunchaku and she hit herself in the face."
It was easy to tell the older girl was trying so hard not to laugh. An amused snicker threatening to be released from her clenched mouth, she replied. "Oh...hmm...well then, Leah, you should go have Mr. Austerlitz take a look at that."
"Yeah, sure," Leah huffed. "You can have him all to yourself. Oh yeah, you can't because you're getting married soon! Haw haw!" And with that, she limped away in the direction of the healer's small hut, the place where Maxi had spent the first weeks of his stay in Grünortschaft.
Esther then turned to face him and looked at the ground. "Sorry about that...God. I take my eyes off of her for one second and she's harassing every good-looking person of the opposite gender in sight."
Maxi teased. "Oh so you think I'm attractive?"
"Oh...um..." She stammered and blushed, and he couldn't help but laugh. She then tried to change the subject. "It's...not that...um...well...anyways, I wanted to apologize for the other day too."
He waved it off. "Don't sweat it. I understand."
"Good." She sighed, her eyes glancing off in the distance. "I still wish there was some way out of this, but I've already made all the agreements."
For a minute, the two of them were silent.
"So...when will the wedding be?" He asked.
"That will be determined after the meeting today."
"The meeting?"
She sighed. "Yes. Later today Ophelia and I are meeting with Aiden's parents to finalize the arrangement and discuss the wedding."
"I see." He commented, nodding. "That's rough."
"Agreed."
Sunset had begun to fall, and Maxi found himself relaxing in the town after doing a couple chores around the farm of the man who was allowing him to stay with. The small town outside of Grünortschaft was a bigger settlement than the village itself, but didn't really have a name. All anyone, even those from different villages, called it was "The Outer Town".
The tavern was usually the first place he stopped. Enjoying a small drink after doing tough work was always nice, and it let him take his mind off of his troubles.
Sitting in the back, he noticed someone walk in the entrance. At first he wouldn't have cared, but then he noticed that it was someone who he would never have expected to come in a place such as this.
Without much further description, and after picking up his own drink, Aiden Kahn found the empty spot next to Maxi. He could only look curiously at him for a bit, but then turned his head to the ground to mind his own business.
"Hello."
Maxi looked back up at Aiden, a little confused, but he replied anyways. "Hey."
"I don't normally do this," Aiden said. His freckled cheeks then burned with embarrassment. "In fact, I've never done this before."
"It's just a drink, don't freak yourself out."
Aiden sighed. "I know, I know."
A moment of silence passed between them.
"Seeing as you are the only one listening, do you mind if I complain to you?"
Maxi shrugged. "Go ahead."
"Thank you, my foreign friend." He looked up. "You see, I'm being forced to do something that I don't want to do."
"Yes?"
"My parents are arranging for me to marry Esther Yelchinov, Ophelia Schmidt's adopted daughter. Do you know her?"
"Yes, she's my friend," Maxi's tone of voice changed as he became more interested in what the slightly younger man had to say. "What is the matter?"
"No offense to you, but I don't think I can go through with this. I mean, she's pretty and a kind woman, but she's not for me."
Maxi frowned, an idea coming to his head. "Do you mean to say you would like to call this off?"
"Yes, I have my heart set on another-"
"You do?!"
"Yes...?"
"Then why don't you just marry her instead?" Maxi asked.
Aiden answered, "Because I don't know if she feels the same way...why do you ask?"
Author's Note-
Cliffhanger! O.M.G. we're all going to die!
Just kidding everyone, just kidding. Calm yo tits.
Anyways, I am currently half way through writing chapter 9, so that should be up soon. Besides, I can't just leave everyone to panic over the cliffhanger! But really, even worse cliffhangers are going to appear so you might want to hold onto your pants.
Please review, it's highly appreciated. Also remember to check out DarkWizard's story, she's an amazing writer and her story is so cute! ;D
