yeah, u guys (well, lady serna) were wondering why they would do that...well, think. sandry, even if she follows most "rules and regs," is independant. briar is a street boy, and has been exposed to this kinda stuff since early childhood. so...
and besides, its part of my plot, and u cant change that...haha...im just a power hungry goddess over my stupid characters...or tp's, whatever...evil laugh...
k im nuts...bye
oh, and i released my email! you can write if you wanna...its sorkarobinton@yahoo.com...so original, rite?
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"Sandry!" Briar hissed, shaking the girl. Mumbling, she rolled over and groaned.
" 'S morning yet?" she mumbled, burying her face in the pillow.
The boy peeked out the window. "Sandry-love, i got to go, before someone finds out. Its sunrise!"
In surprise, Sandry sat up hastily. "Oh, gods!" Within a few minutes, they had Briar bundled out the door.
Luckily, no one caught Briar leaving the young noblewoman's chamber in the early hours of morning. If they had, he would have been sure the Duke would sentence him to some horrible punishment...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Sandrilene," the Duke introduced, "this is Pedrin." The young man, his hair greased back with what seemed like pounds of oil, smiled simperingly and kissed her hand.
As blandly as possible, Sandry greeted him. "Hello, Pedrin." The duke ignored the pleading glance his niece gave him, pretending not to see.
For the next fifteen minutes, the poor girl was forced to dance with her future fiance, as he tried to charm her with lame jokes and bad poetry quotes. "You are as beautiful as the sunshine, and won't you be ..uh.. mine..."
Briar, i can't let this happen, its disgusting! she wailed.
Its okay, Sandry. We will work something out. He tried to soothe her, lest she strike out at Pedrin and ...maul him, or something drastic. You know i love you, Sandry. No matter what happens...forever...
Oh Briar! her mind voice was shaky. I...I don't see what's the problem, after all you will be labeled a great mage in three years...thats perfectly respectable...more than this mama's boy will ever do...
Smiling in his mind, Briar stifled a laugh.
Ew, he just touched my hand with his sweaty little fingers! she squeaked.
After the third dance, disgusting dance, she added, Sandry silently departed. Her uncle stared after her, sadness in his eyes, but Briar recognized that his pride was too great to change his decision...
~~~~~~~~~~~
This animosity between the Duke and Sandry kept up for a month, and the deadline of Vedris' plan began to close in. She was still, however, required to sit with him during tea and in the early hours of evening. It was during one of these solemn and forced meetings that problems truly arose.
"Sandry," the Duke began stiffly, smoothing a parchement out with a shaking hand. "Pedrin is awaiting. I shall write back today, is there anything you would like to tell him?" And Great Gods, please...don't hate me, his mind murmured.
The girl turned. "Tell him to leave me alone!" she muttered. "I can't believe you're forcing me to do this, Uncle!" she pleaded.
Vedris found he could not meet her gaze. "Sandry, I have made up my mind! Even if his looks are personality are not much...its a good political match for you..." He tried to convince his mind that, although pricks of some emotion prodded at his soul.
"I don't love him. I love Briar!" she wailed.
"You are obligated to follow my will, without question." The duke cleared his throat. "As my female charge, I have the right to dispense you into any marriage or home. Without your silly wishes getting in the way of executive decisions." He pounded his fist firmly on the table.
"Stop being a child and realize that, as a noble female, you have no say in your fate." His throat choked up as he remembered Yazmin. Bitterly, he wished he had never met her, never experienced such pain...
"Uncle!" Sandry could not believe her ears. "Is that truly how you feel?" At his nod, she swallowed hard. "I can't understand...where is my Uncle? What happened to him?" Her last word was a sobbing gasp.
He stared at her, rigid and unforgiving. His deep voice hard. "I'm replying to Pedrin right now, and that is final! You are to be wed in two weeks, and are leaving in four days!" Stabbing furiously at the paper with the quill pen, he signed his name with an angry flourish and sealed it with wax.
Sandry, her blue eyes tearing over, ran out of the room. She was gone so quickly that she could not see her uncle leaning heavily over the desk, his head bowed in grief that his heart felt, even if it couldn't reach his mind.
~~~~~~~~~~
Sprinting out of Vedris' office, Sandry ran smack into Briar. "Sandry!" he gasped, seeing the tears streaming down her cheeks. "What's wrong?"
She shook her head but grabbed his wrist, pulling him into an empty study and shutting the door firmly. Sitting down, she continued to cry but managed somehow to control herself. The boy tried to comfort her, patting her back reassuringly.
"Briar!" she gasped, her chest heaving with residual sobs. "My uncle is sending me away...four days...!"
"What?" he said, shocked, his emerald eyes wide.
"And Briar..." her voice trailed off. "I have to tell you...gods, this is hard!" She looked up pleadingly. "Do you remember that night..."
He nodded, his throat constricting. Could it be...his mind alternately slipped from fear to shock to exuberant joy...back to shock...
Her voice confirmed his fears/joy. "Briar, I'm going to have a baby..."
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