A/N: And now, time for the long, rambling author's notes.
First of all, I hit 100! ::wipes away a tear:: Thank you everyone who has reviewed so far. If it weren't for your guys, this story wouldn't even be here.
Okay, I've been expecting this question for a while now, and now it's been asked: How long is this story going to be? To Jenny, and anyone else wondering the same thing, I can't really give you a concrete answer at this point. What I can say is that I originally planned to split the story into two parts (you'll see why when we get to the beginning of the second part). Whether part 2 will be as long as part 1, shorter, or even longer, I don't know right now. But I will tell you when we get to the end of part 1 (I'm thinking about 3 more chapters… and I promise, by the end of it, the parents' plan will have unfolded).
As for romance, who's going to end up with who, and who's going to end up with no one… well, I've already written a detailed outline of the ending, so I've kind of figured it all out. Of course, it might change if the story seems to naturally go another way, so you can always try to sway me with your opinions.
Short review, long review, medium-rare review, with one side lightly sautéed… your choice. Just leave one, please. I always take the readers' opinions/suggestions into account.
Oh, one last thing… Luke is… well, Luke. Don't get angry at me for anything he might do, because I was very up front about his personality from the beginning. Besides, I thought you all liked him this way?
Chapter 16
Intersections: "Just a little bit of understanding"
Valor led the way again, as he and Lillith sought out a quiet place for their "conversation," but this time he didn't head for a terrace. While he was a particularly superstitious individual, he had no desire to tempt fate. Instead, he led them just beyond the massive double doors that served as the main entrance to the ballroom, where it was both quiet and private. It was late enough that all the guests had already arrived, but too early still for anyone to be leaving, and thus the traffic in the entryway was at a minimum.
"Did your sister send you after me?" he asked with a sigh, crossing his arms over his chest as he turned to face her.
Lillith fidgeted with a bit of lacy embroidery on her dress. "No, she doesn't know I'm talking to you."
Valor's brow furrowed as he took in her answer. "Did she tell you what… happened earlier?"
The girl nodded, her hazel eyes flicking momentarily to his, and then away. "Kind of," she replied uncomfortably. "I mean, she didn't say so much what happened, but that she was angry with how you were acting."
"And?" He studied her closely, trying to figure out what she had in mind, but it was hard to do when she kept twitching nervously, and her gaze seemed to refuse to meet his. She didn't appear angry with him for his earlier run-in with Vivienne, so what in the world was her problem?
"Well, she, um, decided to air her grievances… in front of me, Vir, and David," she answered, and Valor nodded in understanding. Another one of her now-infamous temper tantrums. "And your sister didn't appreciate all the comments she made…"
He raised his eyebrows in surprise. Well, it wasn't so surprising that Virtue had stood up for him, because despite their occasional differences, they had a fairly good relationship, and no doubt he would have done the same for her. But a confrontation between his sister and Vivienne? If there had been any bloodshed, he was sure he would have heard about it already, so obviously whatever had transpired had somehow managed to go unnoticed by the great gaggle of gossips that were occupying the ballroom at this very moment.
"What did Vir do?"
Startled, Lillith shook her head, meeting his eyes. "Nothing. I mean she didn't do anything… she just said some things—perfectly justifiable comments, really—then she stormed off, and then Viv stormed off… David went after Vir, and I went after Vivienne, and then me and Viv had this talk, and—"
Valor cut her off, seeing that if she didn't get a breath of air soon, she would probably pass out. She didn't talk much, but it seemed that once she got started, she had a hard time deciding when to stop. "What does any of this have to do with me?" he asked.
"Well, um," she looked away, appearing very uncomfortable once more. She fidgeted relentlessly, a seeming ball of nervous energy. "We talked about you."
Oh great, here it came. Of course, after talking about him, they had probably both come to the conclusion that he was the horrible jerk responsible for the entire mess that had resulted from their parents' attempts to arrange the marriage—which, by the way, was very poorly planned, from King Charming and Queen Ella's perspective, if you asked him—and now she was coming to give him a piece of her mind. A mind that undoubtedly, she shared with her sister.
Lillith took a deep breath and blurted the rest out. "Basically, she realizes that she was wrong and she's sorry."
For a second Valor did nothing but stare at her. Then he blinked. Then he blinked again. Surely, he must have misheard. "What?"
"She's wrong. She's sorry. She feels really bad."
He took a moment to digest the information, mulling the thought over in his head. She was actually apologizing? No, wait… she wasn't.
"If that's true, then why isn't she here, telling me that? Why are you doing it instead?"
"Because," Lillith replied with a roll of her eyes, appearing as if she were talking to a particularly slow child and her patience had just run out. "This is Vivienne we're talking about. It's hard enough for her to admit that she isn't right, let alone to come right out and apologize to someone face-to-face."
Valor rubbed his chin thoughtfully, his gaze drifting over her head. Finally, he asked, "And what do you want me to do with this knowledge? If she's not ready to apologize, even when she know she's wrong, what difference does any of this make?"
"Well, now that you know how she really feels, you can go talk to her," she ventured tentatively.
"Oh no," he shot back with a shake of his head. "There is no way in hell you're going to convince me to go and face her willingly… especially not after the disastrous consequences of all our previous encounters. I mean, we haven't said a single civil word to each other since we met!"
"You got off on the wrong foot, but you can still work things out," Lillith eagerly persisted.
"Work what out? You and I both know this whole marriage isn't going to happen, no matter what we say to each other now. As far as I'm concerned, there is nothing to work out."
Her hazel eyes blazed momentarily with irritation. "Just because you won't be getting married, it doesn't mean that you can't develop a relationship that goes beyond stepping all over each other's feet. If you part on these conditions, you'll probably end up hating each other. And you'll hate each other for the rest of your lives… which normally wouldn't make much of a difference, but if you don't remember, you both happen to be royalty. Which means that you will rule kingdoms, and that requires politics and forming alliances and all that stuff about diplomacy. Just think of all the practical consequences!"
She stopped to take a deep, calming breath. When she spoke again, her voice was quieter. "Look, you have to see this from Viv's point of view. You may have been coerced into accepting this marriage by your parents, but she wasn't much better off." She paused again, glancing at him to make sure he was genuinely listening. "For the longest time, as far back as I can remember, Viv's always wanted to practice magic. Of course, mother didn't think it was appropriate, considering her position and all, but that still didn't stop Vivienne from trying. She picked up what she could, over the years, from scrolls and books, visiting mages, but there was only so much that she could handle. To learn magic, to really learn it, you have to enter an apprenticeship, or at least find a mentor to guide you through it. So Vivienne decided to apply to the Academy."
"The Academy?" Valor interrupted.
Lillith nodded. "And she was accepted too."
Valor was clearly impressed. The Academy, or rather, the Alcane Academy of Magical Practices, was the most renowned learning institute in all the lands, one which potential practitioners of sorcery from all around came to learn the arts. Named for the Alcane territory in which it was located, the school was established some thirteen-odd hundred years earlier, and was the most elite and most difficult one to get into. That Vivienne had managed to get in spoke greatly of her skill.
"Well, the program Viv applied for lasts for a year at minimum, and during this time she would have to live at the school. But mother absolutely refused to let her go. Of course, without her parents support, she could never enroll. First, she wouldn't be able to pay her tuition, and second, when it comes to royalty, the school has strict policy that requires parental consent. It goes back to some incident a few hundred years ago when some runaway prince managed to get together enough money to pay his way through, and then when he was done, he went to war with his own kingdom, which had gone to his brother… anyway, it's a long story. And this was all about the time that the issue of marriage came up."
Realization was beginning to dawn on the prince, and he now had some idea of what must have happened between Vivienne and her parents. He waited for Lillith to continue.
"Vivienne refused to hear of it, just as mom refused to hear of her going to the Academy, and they reached a stalemate. Finally, the decided that Vivienne would give the idea of marriage a chance if mother would reconsider her decision regarding the school."
"But?" Valor asked, because he could sense one coming up.
"But, it turns out that mother really had no intention of changing her mind, and the whole agreement was just a ploy to get Viv down here to meet you. I guess she already knew that you were willing to go through with it, and the rest… well, I don't know what she was thinking about that." Lillith shrugged. "Maybe she genuinely thought you two might hit it off."
Valor snorted. "She couldn't have been more wrong about that." Then he sighed, raking a hand through his black hair. "Okay, so you've told me your sister's side of the story, and I can understand why she's been acting the way she has, but I still don't see how this is going to resolve anything."
Lillith looked back at him beseechingly. "I think if you could just have one reasonable conversation where you might be able to see eye to eye, then you could finally put all these things behind you. Really, if you think about it, if you had met under different circumstances, don't you think you might have hit it off? Or at least felt something other than the pure, intense hatred you've been displaying for the past few days?"
Still Valor resisted stubbornly. In another couple of days, Queen Ella's family would be returning home, and he could simply tell his parents that he had tried to win over Vivienne, to no avail. It was the truth, and no one could deny it. Then he would never have to think upon the whole mess ever again.
But Lillith broke into his thoughts with her soft voice. "Please, Val?"
And that was what did him in. Usually, no one called him Val except his sister, and he could rarely refuse any request made by Virtue… or by virtually any female in general. It was no different this time with the princess before him.
"Oh, all right," he agreed begrudgingly, dropping his head in defeat.
That was why he was caught off guard when she suddenly leapt forward and wrapped her arms around her neck, squealing a very delighted, "Thank you." Then she stepped back abruptly, blushing mildly at her own display. "She's in the garden, taking a walk."
He nodded and began to make his way outside, before he stopped in mid-stride and turned to look at her. "What am I supposed to do again?"
"Just talk to her. And don't get into an argument. If you give her a chance—and don't be too obvious about it—she'll apologize… probably."
Probably. Right, he decided, probability was a risky thing when it came to someone like Vivienne. But he had agreed to do this, and he didn't have the heart to tell Lillith he had changed his mind. So he took a deep, strengthening breath and continued on, like a brave man on his way to meet his end.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When she saw Valor disappear into the darkness of the night and he didn't reappear a moment later, retracting his agreement, Lillith decided it was safe to return to the party. For a moment she stood just inside the entrance, unsure of where to go. Then she realized that Luke was probably still waiting for her to return with Valor. She would seek him out and let him know that Valor wouldn't be returning for a while.
She was surprised to find Terrence standing by his brother still when she approached the pair. Considering the animosity between the two, she was sure he would have left at first opportunity. As she drew closer though, she felt a strange sense of foreboding at the strained expression on the younger brother's face.
Glancing up, Luke smiled as he spotted her. She slowed her steps and eyed him warily, consumed by the uncanny sensation that she was entering the lion's den.
Then Luke looked at her curiously, noticing that she was returning alone. "Where's Val?"
"He went to speak to Vivienne," Lillith answered cautiously. She didn't want anything, or anyone, to ruin the frail bit of peace she hoped to create between the pair. And though she didn't know Luke all that well, she had the feeling that if anyone were to do such a thing—whether intentionally or unintentionally—chances were, it would be Luke.
"Oh, then he'll probably be a while." He glanced down then, catching sight of his brother who still stood with them, watching the conversation with strangely wide eyes, but saying nothing. Then, abruptly, he looked back to Lillith and announced, "I think I'd like to get some air... take a walk outside." He graced her with a wide, inviting smile. "Would you like to join me?"
Lillith felt a moment's panic and responded without thinking. "Outside? No!" Then, to the startled expression, she elaborated, "I mean, I would really rather stay in here. It's getting a little chilly out there."
Luke gave her a strange look, then shrugged. "Well, I'm going anyway. I'm getting a little tired of this scene. You can join me if you change your mind."
Watching him turn to leave, Lillith blurted out, "On second thought, I will go with you."
She ignored the strange glimmer that appeared in his eyes for a second, focusing on the task at hand. All she had to do was make sure he stayed away from the garden until Valor and her sister had sorted out their differences, and then she could leave him to do as he pleased. But a little voice in her head questioned how she would do that. She hadn't a clue as to what they were supposed to talk about, and she still couldn't figure out why he had invited her along.
Her eyes fell on Terrence and for a second hope flared up. "Why don't you come with us, Terry?" she asked.
The younger boy looked about to respond, but Luke quickly cut in. "I don't think that would be a good idea," he said, sending a pointed look to his brother. "Besides, weren't you supposed to be looking for David?"
Terrence looked from one to the other, and after a moment, he nodded hesitantly. "Yeah, I guess I should find him." He gave the pair one last look, his blue eyes troubled, and then walked away.
Lillith turned back to Luke to ask him what that was about, but he grinned and looped his arm under hers, pulling her along to the doors through which she had just come minutes earlier. "Just you and me now," he declared. His words, along with the expression on his face, sent an inexplicable chill up her spine.
TBC