Content Advisory: Trauma flashback (about sexual assault)
◈Chapter 13: An Audience with the Parents◈
"Okay it's so much scarier up close," Zyaire whispered urgently as I led him through the castle gates. "It really does…loom…doesn't it?"
"There's no reason to be freaked out. Don't think of it as coming into a castle to meet the king and queen. You're just coming over to my house to hang out with my parents and me," I rubbed his arm comfortingly.
"No house I've ever visited had armed sentries out front…" he muttered fretfully.
"It's homier on the inside, I promise." When we stepped inside, his jaw dropped and he stared up in awe at the grand paintings, candelabras, and thick, velvet curtains that decorated our foyer.
"Welcome to the Tigelaar stronghold," I said dramatically with a sweeping gesture of my arm.
"You live here?" he asked in a hoarse voice, his eyes now focused on the crystal chandelier above our heads.
"Yes, I live here," I confirmed. I pointed off to the left of the foyer. "Through there is the Council Hall, that's where we have our horrid meetings with the councilmen and women. Not much to see there except a big table. Come along…" I pulled him along.
I gave him a quick tour of the first floor. Ballroom, kitchen, dining room, library. He stayed quiet for the majority of the tour, but every so often he would gasp, or simply chuckle tensely as he rubbed the back of his head.
"And the upper floors are made up of bedrooms and offices for the most part. There are three more ballrooms though—"
"You have four ballrooms!?" he blurted out with a flabbergasted look.
"One on the second floor, two on the third," I confirmed. "We usually only use the main one on the first floor, the others are kind of small. But sometimes we use one of the smaller ones for different sized functions. On very special occasions we'll open all four at once for people to meander throughout, but those are only for really fabulous gatherings with tons of people. I love those events."
"Oh, sure…"
"Come on, Mom and Dad should be waiting for us in the living room by now," I said quickly, pulling him along before he could talk himself out of it. I noticed him square his shoulders and take a deep breath in order to prepare for his audience with my parents. "Hey…just be yourself. They're going to love you."
He looked back to me and exhaled slowly before nodding. I gave him a reassuring kiss on the cheek before leading him into the living room. Mom and Dad were sitting on the sofa together, voices raised as they engaged in a spirited yet lighthearted debate. They didn't notice us right away and I vaguely overheard Dad saying something along the lines of 'alright Fae, let's settle this with a thumb war'. I cleared my throat and Mom finally spotted us. She nudged Dad with her elbow and they quickly stood up off the sofa, hoping to make a semblance of a good impression after being caught in a carefree quarrel. They were both dressed in casual clothes for which I was thankful. I couldn't imagine how intimidating it would be for Zyaire to meet them in any sort of royal regalia, and I hoped that their approachable appearance would put him more at ease.
"Mom, Dad…this is Zyaire Andris," I introduced. I realized that I wasn't sure how to describe him in relation to me. He was my friend, my best friend, but he was obviously so much more now. I wasn't sure I could call him my boyfriend yet, but lover was far too scandalacious a term to use in front of my parents. Mom was the first to extend her hand to shake his.
"It's a pleasure to officially meet you, Zyaire. I'm Poppy's mother, Elphaba. This is my husband, Fiyero."
Dad reached out to shake his hand firmly.
"Your majesties…it's an honor," Zyaire said in a voice that suggested his throat was very dry.
Mom scoffed at the term and rolled her eyes. "Poppy, didn't you tell him not to use formalities with us?"
"He's just nervous," I grinned, nudging Zyaire with my elbow. He shot me a look.
"Yeah, he looks nervous," Dad observed, putting his hands in his pockets. "What did you tell him about us to scare him so bad, Poppy?"
"Only the truth," I laughed.
Zyaire and I sat on the loveseat and my parents returned to the sofa across from us. Zyaire was very quiet and tense at first, but as we got to talking, his shoulders gradually loosened up and he seemed to at last unclench his jaw. Mom asked him questions about where he went to school, about his family, and about where he used to live.
"I love The Emerald City," she sighed wistfully. "That's actually where Fiyero and I eloped. Our son Liir, Poppy's brother, is living there right now with his boyfriend."
"I met him, actually! I attended his panel on Vinkun culture, it was very fascinating," Zyaire told her.
"Oh yes, both of our children are very talented in their own way. We're very proud of them," Mom bragged on us, causing me to roll my eyes in subtle embarrassment.
"Now I just need to find my own talent," Zyaire chuckled. "I play a bit of mandolin but—"
"You do? I play the guitar!" Dad blurted out excitedly.
"Correction—he thinks he plays the guitar," Mom amended. "I got him a guitar for Lurlinemas years ago and he's picked it up maybe twice."
"Well looks like someone isn't getting serenaded with a beautiful guitar solo later," Dad griped. "Okay, but I do play the ukulele."
"That is true. Credit where it's due, Fiyero does play ukulele quite well. He has since college," Mom confirmed with a nod.
"And Fae sings and plays the piano beautifully," Dad boasted on Mom's behalf.
"Just a little," Mom dismissed modestly. "Though I did teach Liir how to play. As for Poppy…"
"You don't need to say it," I rolled my eyes. "Goodness knows I don't have a scrap of musical talent."
"Well…I—I wouldn't say no musical talent," Mom searched for the right words. "When you sing it just—"
"Sounds like a dying Cat?" I filled in for her.
"You know I don't like jokes about Animals," she scolded, though I could tell she was stifling a smirk at my appropriate analogy. "Oh honey, you're just so talented at…so many other things."
"Maybe we can get together and jam sometime? Ukulele and mandolin style," Dad said, animatedly pretending to strum an air ukulele.
"You don't have to say yes to that just because he's the king," I quickly assured Zyaire under my breath before changing the subject. "Speaking of Liir, his event is actually where Zyaire and I ran into each other again."
"That's right, Poppy said you've lived the majority of your life in The City?" Dad questioned.
"Yes, my mother moved us both up there when I was about a year old and I've lived there until very recently. My dad is from here, though. I actually met Poppy when I was staying with my dad for a summer a few years back," he explained.
"Until his mother picked him up with no warning," I interjected bitterly. I still wasn't over it. I would never be over it.
"He's her friend from that summer, remember Fiyero? We had that dinner party and Poppy left in the middle of it? I'll never forget when she came home crying that her friend was moving away," Mom recalled.
"Mom!" I blurted out, feeling my face redden.
"Wait, you cried the night I left?" Zyaire asked me.
"Oh, you're that kid?!" Dad exclaimed in recognition, his eyes brightening as all of the potential ways to give me a hard time started coming to him.
"Yes, dear. I told you that, remember? He's the one she had her first kiss with," Mom added with a wicked smirk, looking over at Dad conspiringly. I hated when they worked together.
"That's right, I remember that now! She said something along the lines of…what was it, Fae? How she'd never ever see him again?" Dad chipped in, clearly trying to push my buttons.
"Do you two live to humiliate me?" I groaned, putting my hands over my face.
"Poppy, it's okay! Look…I may have even shed a tear or two on the train ride back to The City that night if that makes you feel any better," Zyaire admitted.
"You did?"
"So, we can be humiliated together," he offered. I responded with a hesitant smile and the moment I did he nudged my shoulder jokingly. "But seriously, I can't believe you cried over me! Fifteen-year-old me!"
"I hate you. All of you," I muttered under my breath, including Zyaire in my contempt.
"You know…my Great Grandmother Alusia wouldn't believe it if I told her where I was sitting," Zyaire mentioned, gesturing a bit to the room.
"Oh yes, I remember her. She was very kind," Mom recalled. "Fiyero, his father owns that repair shop in town. The one that fixed your watch."
"Repair shop! That's why you brought up the—" he blurted out, looking my way in understanding of why I had brought up the pickle jar incident the other day. I shot him a look and shook my head, pleading with him not to continue.
"I mean—I hear that's a fine shop!" Dad cleared his throat, thankfully changing course as he held out his wrist to show off his watch. "Your father certainly does a masterful job with his repairs."
"Thank you, sir," Zyaire nodded.
"You know what's funny? I think my great grandmother was named Alusia," Dad thought out loud to himself, only now registering the name Zyaire had mentioned in passing.
"She's named after her. My family was really into naming people after—well—people in your family I guess," Zyaire explained with a hint of embarrassment. "My great grandmother has lived in Vilnius for her entire life and she's…kind of obsessed with the Tigelaar family."
"She's a captivating person, Dad. Funny too," I mentioned. "She's told me all of her stories of growing up in Vilnius. She has stories galore about Senelis Indigo." (Grandfather Indigo.)
Dad raised his eyebrows and his face softened a bit. "Truly? She remembers when my dad was king?"
I saw Mom delicately take his hand in hers and squeeze it. I knew the fact that his father had died when he was too young to remember him was one of my dad's greatest sources of sadness in life.
"Well—I simply must meet this woman," Dad decided. "We'll have to have her over sometime."
"Well, I can promise that she would love to meet you," Zyaire responded with a chuckle. That was quite the understatement.
"So! What motivated you to make the big move to Vilnius?" Dad asked curiously.
"It just seemed like it was a good time for a change. I wanted to be closer to Dad and Great Grandmother and…I don't know. As much as I loved The Emerald City…Vilnius is different."
Zyaire's eyes flicked over to my direction and I couldn't have warded off the warm smile that graced my lips if I tried.
"Good man, Vilnius is different!" Dad agreed heartily. "I've been all over Oz—"
"Because schools kept kicking him out," Mom interjected.
"As I was saying before my beautiful wife rudely yet accurately interrupted—I've traveled all over. I graduated college in Gillikin, fought a war in Fliaan, did business in Quadling Country. Hell, I married a Munchkinlander and, as she said, we got hitched in The Emerald City!"
"Please don't hold where I was born against me," Mom muttered under her breath. She hated Munchkinland.
"But there's just something about The Vinkus," Dad concluded.
"Dad, you may be just a bit biased," I pointed out good-humoredly.
"You're one to talk, daughter of mine. You may love The Vinkus even more than I do, and that's saying something!" Dad responded.
"I didn't say I didn't agree with you!" I laughed.
"All I'm saying is, welcome to Vilnius, Zyaire. I hope it brings you that change you're looking for," Dad offered.
"Thank you, sir. I think it will," he nodded once, a ghost of a smile creeping to his lips.
I was heartened to see Zyaire feel more at ease as our conversation moved forward. My parents had that power. One could either feel completely at home around them or incredibly tense, and they could expertly skew a conversation whichever direction was more advantageous for them. They could be intimidating and downright terrifying powerheads, or they could be who they truly were. Hopeless, bumbling idiots who loved each other and their kids more than anything.
After a while, they had to return to work so I led Zyaire out of the living room to show him some other parts of the castle. A few staff members glanced our way as we went by, but I wasn't stressed about it. Part of their job was to be discreet about the personal lives of the royal family. We toured some of the more interesting rooms on the upper floors, such as the window lounge and those extraneous ballrooms, before we ended up in my bedroom on the third floor.
"It's still exactly like it was when I was a teenager. I've been meaning to redecorate since I came home from college," I commented as we walked in, moving to go sit on my bed. "But this is it."
"It's kind of fun seeing your room like this," he commented, looking at some of the knickknacks and picture frames I had. I saw him chuckle and shake his head in wonder when he spotted the basalt on my nightstand.
"Thanks for showing me around," he told me as he moved to sit beside me on the bed.
"Thanks for not panicking too much," I replied wittily.
"You know you were right. Your parents are just like…normal parents. Your dad is just like you," he observed.
"I get that a lot," I grinned.
"It's weird to see parents getting along," he chuckled.
"They get along almost too well sometimes," I rolled my eyes.
"I think it's sweet. My mom would sometimes say that The Emerald City wasn't enough distance between her and Dad."
"Well, regardless of what your parents think of each other, I think you still turned out pretty great," I said truthfully.
He smiled at me softly. "Thanks."
Then, we both leaned in and gave each other a gentle, lingering kiss. However—the sweetness of the moment was viciously wiped away as an unwelcome memory burst into my mind. Jokubas kissing me on this very bed on my sixteenth birthday, his hands groping at me despite my protests. Him yelling that I had wanted it because I had brought him up here—
I pulled away from the kiss suddenly and scooted just a few inches away, tucking my hair behind my ear anxiously.
"Is everything alright?" he asked me, clearly a little confused at my knee jerk reaction.
"Yes...it's just…I really did just want to show you my room. I didn't want you to think I was trying to…seduce you or anything," I explained uncomfortably.
"Oh—I'm sorry if the kiss came on too strong. I wasn't going to try and take things further," he assured me at once, putting his hands on his knees to give me space.
"No, you didn't come on too strong. You didn't do anything wrong. I just…never mind," I shook my head, laughing faintly.
I wasn't sure how to explain why I had said what I said without getting into the whole story, which I did not feel up to at the moment. Maybe ever. He looked at me as if he wanted to follow up with more questions, but thankfully, he did not.
"So…what do you want to see next? The watch tower or the catacombs?" I changed the subject, standing up off the bed and offering him my hand.
"Wait…this place has catacombs!?"
