Chapter 2:
Competition
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That night, Van and I were walking through the garden. Just like he'd promised, he'd made it to dinner on time, and I'd finally cajoled him into taking a walk around the grounds. In the moonlight, the greenery looked blue, and the fish pond reflected the images of the double moons. It was really beautiful, and I did my best to help Van enjoy it - despite the fact that, whenever his attention wasn't on me, he was looking straight up at the Mystic Moon.
I'll give you three guesses who he was probably thinking about.
Maybe I should have just challenged him to a game of Castles.
Well, it was too late for that now, so I just did my best to be Van's faithful, good-humored friend and confidante, cheering him up as best I could. At least he did smile at me a couple of times, and I could tell that he really was trying hard not to look up; as I knew all too well, there were times when Van just couldn't help himself.
Eventually, we came to a carved ivorywood bench by the artificial stream winding through the garden. Van sat down, and I took a seat right next to him. He sighed, and I leaned in closer. "Lord Van? What's wrong?"
He gave a sad little chuckle. "I think you know what's wrong, Merle, but it's just an old ache. I'm working hard to get over her.
"Actualy, that ties in with what I wanted to talk to you about tonight."
I felt my heart start pounding. He was trying to get over Hitomi? Did that mean ... ?
"I'm getting married."
Yes! I'll marry you, Van! I've been waiting so long! I--
Huh?
He wasn't asking me. He was telling me. He was getting married.
To somebody else.
If it could, I think my face would have gone white from shock. "M-m-married?"
Van seemed to think my hanging jaw meant a happy kind of surprise, and smiled. "Yes, Merle. I'm not going to spend my life waiting for Hitomi to come back. You were right from the start: she already had someone waiting for her on her world, and I was fooling myself to think that she would stay here, cut off from everything she knew, just for my sake."
I felt like I was on the verge of passing out. This was exactly what I had been waiting for Van to say for three years, but I had always assumed that he would finish by proposing to me!
"Do you remember Lady Rienna Tenebre?"
I had a vague recollection of a blonde girl in a blue dress with more frills than a luxury yacht. "Wasn't she at that dinner we hosted last month? The one to raise funds for the war orphanage?"
Van nodded. "Yes. Valens introduced us. Apparently, she's the last member of the House of Tenebre. Since her parents were killed during the war, she's inherited a pretty substantial estate, but only because her House doesn't have any male heirs left. Once she marries, that's the end of the House of Tenebre, at least as far as the name goes."
"But Lord Van, you barely know her! You talked to her for twenty minutes at a cocktail party!" And I've been waiting for you for three years! I finished in my head, but as usual, I couldn't bring myself to be that forward with Van.
Van nodded again. "Well, it's not exactly a love match. You know the problems we've been having funding the reconstruction projects? Well, Lady Rienna said that she'd be happy to use her family fortune as a dowry. Really, all she wants is to marry me, so that at least her bloodline will survive. In fact, since she'd be marrying into the Royal House, her children - well, our children - will have a much better life than if she just married a noble lord. Plus, by marrying her, it would help establish a connection between me and the nobles, who haven't been too happy with me lately, if what Valens tells me about private troop buildups is true."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. If Van were going to marry someone he really loved, I would still have been heartbroken, but I could have lived with it. I mean, at least he'd be happy, right? I would have felt badly for a while, maybe cried for a couple of days, but I would have gotten over it. Van would be in good hands - not as good as mine, but at least he'd be okay - so I could go off and find someone special for myself. It wasn't as if I hadn't been getting offers ...
But to think that he was planning to get hitched to some rich woman he hardly knew, strictly for money and politics, was just ... not fair!
How could he do this to me?
I forced myself to take a deep breath. Clearly, despite all the not-so-subtle hints I'd thrown his way, Van still hadn't figured out that I was in love with him. He may not be the most socially inclined guy in the world, but I knew that Van wouldn't have cheerfully told me that he was marrying another woman if he knew the way I felt. If he had chosen Rienna over me, knowing just how wild I was for him, Van would have been apologetic, at the very least. He might have said something like: "I'm very, very sorry, Merle, but I have to marry Rienna. I've got no other choice. I've got to do it for this, that and the other reason. I love you a lot, and I'm really sorry about this."
So the problem wasn't just Van; somehow, I hadn't gotten my point across.
I forced a smile. "That's ... great, Lord Van. Just great. I'm really happy for you."
Van sighed with relief. "Thanks, Merle. I felt badly not telling you before, but I guess I really hadn't decided I would go through with it up until now. Thanks for not being angry."
"No problem, Lord Van," my mouth replied. Frankly, I was still too shell-shocked to feel much of anything.
Van stood up, a big grin on his face, and stretched his back. "Great! Rienna should be here by tomorrow afternoon. We'll spend a few days getting to know each other, get everything ready, then we'll hold the wedding ceremony in the cathedral. Actually, Rienna is pretty nice; I'm sure you two will get along fine."
I felt sick, but somehow I managed to stand up and start walking back to the palace beside Van. Getting to know each other? Did that mean he and she would be ... ? I shook my head, trying to shake away the thought. Despite what had happened with Hitomi - heck, because of it - I knew Van had developed at least enough self-control not to knock a girl up before their wedding night. Especially not if he was only marrying her for her money.
Which meant that I had "a few days" to grow a backbone, break up a bad marriage before it started, and tell Van I loved him.
Oh, Gods help me!
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