A/N: Here's a starlet-centric chapter for everyone, taking place right after chapter 41. I meant to post this sooner, but the Inconvenient Injury chapters got in the way.

Rough ages are: Lena at 25, Grant at 22, and Sterling is 19.

Chapter Forty-Six: The Job Interview

It was a quiet, nearly serene morning on the Kasterborsian-Daleki border as Second Lieutenant Sterling A. Smith sorted through the papers on his work desk. Scouts had returned from beyond the border overnight with reports of the enemy's movement, which meant that he had maps to redraw before midday's officer's meeting. He had just pinned a large sheet of map parchment to his drafting table when an enlisted soldier entered the tent. She was younger than him—part of the new batch of recruits that had arrived only a few months prior—and stared at him with cautious uncertainty.

"Sir…?" she said. "You're wanted in the strategy tent."

"Can you please tell the brigadier that I will be there in about half an hour?" he replied. "I'm just about to redraw the map they need for the daily meeting."

"It's not the brigadier requesting your presence, but Your-Sister-Her-Ladyship, milord," she said shakily. Ah, that was the reason behind her unease—not everyone in the camp could claim that a meeting with a member of nobility was an average thing, and an encounter with Lena was likely a terrifying one for the uninitiated. "I was told that another will redraw the maps today, and that I am to stand guard over the information until he arrives. She said it was of utmost importance, milord, and wants to see you soon as you can manage."

Sterling's heart skipped a beat—Lena never said that anything was of any sort of importance, making "utmost" weigh heavy against his chest. He stood and nodded, complying with the relayed orders.

"Thank you, Private," he said. Sterling stood and patted the soldier on the shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry—we don't bite, no matter what my sister wants you to believe." He then left the tent without much more delay. His nerves were beginning to fray; what could it be?

Navigating through the camp, the young man found the strategy tent with ease and was allowed access without a fuss. Sure enough, Lena was there, sitting at the large table that had one of his maps laid out across the surface, quietly discussing something with two officers. The sight of her made Sterling's stomach drop, filling him with dread.

"Leave us," she ordered once she saw her brother. The other two men in the tent, both of a decidedly much-higher rank than Sterling, left and they were alone. "Sit please."

"Cut the theatrics, Lena, what's going on?" he asked as he sat down. Her face did not change from its ruler's mask, which caused his heart to nearly skip a beat. "Is something the matter at home? Is it Papa? Astra? It's not Jasper or the baby, is it?"

"No, it's nothing to cause you alarm," she replied. Sterling slumped back in his seat, relieved. "I just need you to take a leave now."

"Wait, now?!" He bolted straight upwards, his back stiff as he sat. "I just returned three weeks ago!"

"…and I just finished talking with the men normally in charge of you, and they're willing to spare you for a fortnight," Lena said. She fiddled with a figurine of a Daleki soldier idly, tracing the border with it. "Be honest with yourself, Sterling: they don't need you."

"No, but the fact is I show up without complaint and I don't try to pull rank or crazy stunts like Tara," he snipped. "People meet me and they don't believe I'm her younger brother."

"To be fair, very few believe we're related to Tara," she shrugged. "Sometimes the only reason I believe it myself is because Astra insists the resemblance between them is still uncanny." She put the figurine down and stared at her brother from under her brow. "Still, I need you to pack your things—special assignment."

"I'm already not liked because of how much time I take off," Sterling grumbled. He saw that his sister's expression hadn't changed—he was trapped. "What's the assignment?"

"You've been to Jarlshall, correct?" Lena asked.

"Wait… you mean the house in the hills Papa won't enter because that's where his first wife died alongside our older brother?"

"Sibling—he never learned the gender—and yes. It is where in less than a week I'm going to be interviewing a young man from the southern mountains…"

"Wait, what…?" Sterling leaned forward and lowered his voice. "You want me, to go with you, to a house in the middle of nowhere that could be haunted by Papa's first family for all we know, and abandon my post, so that I can be the obtrusive younger brother chaperone?"

"It's not abandoning your post if your Lady Marchioness commands it."

"Lady Marchionesses don't often pull second lieutenants out of the field to act a society babysitter."

Lena leaned back and smiled smugly. "It will be worth your while." When her brother didn't answer, she bent down and plucked a book from her bag, deftly opening it up to a pre-marked page, the sight of which made him lose all color in his face. "'People say my sister is the beauty, the one whose hand will be fought over by many, but I know the real beauty sits beside her. I pretended not to watch earlier as they chatted and wound flowers in one another's hair—the leftovers from the gardener's outdoor beds—and enjoyed the day off from their studies. Primroses nearly as beautiful as she seemed to bloom from her braid of jet. Her fingers, delicate and brown like the aged bronze statuettes that sit in the halls, were deft as they plucked a flower from the pile and held it up to smell. Eyes of amber…' Stars in the sky, Sterling, I don't know whether this is sweet or creepy."

"Where'd you find that…?" he asked, his voice small and defeated.

"If you're going to hide early teenaged trollop from the world, the last place you put it is under your mattress," Lena sighed. "Listen, do this for me and you can have this back along with my pledge of silence. It will be our secret."

Sterling stayed quiet, his eyes darting anxiously between his sister and his journal.

"…and you can use the house when you do finally gather the courage to court Oriana," she chuckled. "That is if she doesn't run the opposite direction."

"Done," he said. Sterling quickly stood up and snatched the journal from Lena's hand, jamming it to safety against his chest. "When do we leave?"

"Midday. Don't forget your journals—I need some entertainment on the journey, and who knows who will find them here."

The young man grumbled as he left the tent; only his sister, truly.

It was a clear afternoon when a cart drawn by a single draft horse came lazily up the drive that led to Jarlshall. A plainclothes-clad Grant glanced around as he kept the cart on the path, staring at the many trees and shrubs and flowers that surrounded his ride. He imagined he could appreciate a winter there, even if the Autumn colors were likely to soon mute and drift towards the ground. Without a mountain peak in sight, it was a different experience… one he imagined to be rather enjoyable.

When he rode up to the house, Grant saw that there were four young men waiting for him. Two were dressed in footmen's livery, the third he assumed to be a stableman from how he went towards the horse, and the fourth, an immaculately-kept youth in military dress, whose face reminded him of his lady hostess.

"Hello there," Grant said as he got out of the cart. The footmen went to take his things from the cart as he approached, though they did pause to marvel at his height and girth. "I am scheduled to interview here with the Marchioness Kasterborous and Gallifrey?"

"Hello," the military lad echoed. Yes, Grant could see now that the young man before him had to be a couple years younger than himself. "I am Second Lieutenant Sterling Smith, the eldest of Lena's younger brothers. You must be Lord Grant of Althos."

"Just Grant, please," he replied, shaking Sterling's hand. "I don't know what sort of job I'm here to interview for and 'lord' might not end up being very appropriate." He followed Sterling inside the mansion and through the corridors. "What should I call you?"

"Sterling's fine," the younger man said. "I only wore the uniform because Lena would have made me anyhow; once I can leave the Border Forces I will, though I am still figuring out what to do afterwards… I guess that makes us a lot alike."

"Unsure of the future?"

"…especially of one under my dear eldest sister's thumb."

"I heard that," Lena said. She turned the corner ahead of them with a smirk on her face. She and Grant both bowed their heads at one another cordially. "Did the road treat you well?"

"Very well," he said. "The closer I've come to Jarlshall, though, the more curious I am about the job I've been offered. Mind telling me what it is?"

"If you want, we can get the interview done with now," she said.

"Okay, you two do that and I'll be—" Sterling began. Lena cut him off, however, grabbing hold of his upper arm and refusing to let go.

"No, no, you stay with us, obtrusive younger brother chaperone, and keep us honest," she ordered gently. Sterling's shoulders sank in defeat, as there was no arguing with his eldest sister once she had made up her mind. If there was one thing she had to get from both their parents that he wished otherwise, it had to of been that.

Lena led the way as the trio went into an office on the ground floor where tea and snacks had been laid out for them. She dismissed the maid that was awaiting further orders, making it so that they were the only ones there. Once she pulled some notes from the desk drawer, she bade her brother and guest to both sit.

"Come, you must be famished," she said to Grant. He took a sandwich and tea, though he didn't have any of it. "Now, a few questions before we get into the meat of everything: how do you feel about this potentially being a permanent relocation?"

"I can still go visit, correct?" She nodded. "Then I don't mind. Althos has already shown what she has to offer me—I do not hate it, and I could be happy there, but I could more likely be happy elsewhere. My nieces and nephew will be upset for a while, but visits make that easier to deal with."

"Good; so then nothing tying you down there such as a job or paramour?"

"You know my job and I last courted two years ago with a serdar's daughter. She wanted a fling before marriage; I didn't like that."

"It is reassuring to know that you're serious." Lena shuffled through her notes and pulled a specific set to the top. "Now then, you are fine with deferring power to a woman? It would not be an issue for me being your liege marchioness despite having brothers?"

"Having a liege marchioness would be a decent change of pace."

"Good, good; now, how attracted are you to me, phy—"

Lena was cut off by Sterling choking on his tea. He sputtered and hacked until his throat was clear, after which he stared wide-eyed at his sister.

"Stars in the sky, Lena! Should I be here?!" he asked, voice hoarse from choking.

"Yes, but I never said you should listen in," she replied. She then turned her attention back to Grant, who was taking a steadying sip of tea. "Again, how attracted are you to me, physically, emotionally, however you see it?"

"What does that have to do with me interviewing for a job?" he wondered.

"The position you are interviewing for is Earl Consort, do keep up," she said blithely. "For a third time, are you, or did the serdar's daughter turn you off to women?"

"You are…" he affirmed. Grant's eyes flicked towards Sterling, who was still red in the face and seemed just as caught off-guard as he was, and was back at Lena. "Do we have to talk about this while your brother's here?"

"Sterling, outside, but close enough to see us," she ordered. Her brother went without a word, taking his tea and a sandwich with him. Once he was out the glass door, she smiled at her guest. "A bit shy?"

"More like I don't think I should go through this sort of conversation with someone's brother around," he replied. "I do find you highly attractive, for the record. Physically and… gods… I find you attractive, Gallifrey, this…" He gestured at the room, a bit taken aback by it all. "I just wasn't aware that if anything was to happen between the two of us—which I thought was a long-shot, by the way—it would be this soon."

"I don't have the luxury of being coy about such matters," she said. "My family's nature turns many people away very quickly. We try to be understanding in governance and law, but we are rather blunt about our stances on childrearing and inheritance, amongst other things, and it irks some of the more tradition-minded individuals in society, allowing them to display their stubbornness and backward ways of thinking."

"Childrearing…?" He raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"Yes—Papa and Mama did not step down because they were getting too old or incompetent, but because they wished to raise my sister's children the way they raised theirs: hands-on. Should we find that this interview could lead to a successful marriage, our issue would be raised by them as well as us. We have no need for governesses in Castle Gallifrey."

"Well, I do enjoy when I am in charge of my brothers' children…"

"Excellent." Lena smiled and sipped some tea while checking off a couple points in pencil. She then glanced back at Grant, seeing that his face had fallen. "Yes…?"

"What is 'successful' to you?" he asked. "We might have different ideas about that."

"In our way of life, long as a couple can tolerate one another a marriage can be deemed a success," she admitted. "I would prefer to be at least friends, if that's the most we can take things. I grew up with parents that were not only an arranged marriage, but were and still are each other's loving and doting paramours. My grandfather, Lord Blackpoole, had brokered a marriage to his second wife, but they are civil at best, so I know both sides of the mercurial coin called society marriage." She looked at Grant and watched as he put down his tea. "We have the entire winter season, including what remains in Autumn and some of Spring, to talk more extensively and decide on whether or not to make things official. Does that sound a bit better?"

"…and what if we decide that we won't work?"

"Then I will see what I can do about making a place for you in my counsel—I was genuine about wanting a highborn southern man's opinion as well as my brother-in-law's. You deserve options in your life better than which bear to wrestle while destroying your body before your life really begins, and I want to offer that."

Grant considered her words, glancing behind Lena to see Sterling leaning against a tree with his tea and sandwich. "A chance like this is never going to come up again; let us see where this Winter brings us. If it is nowhere, then we cannot say we didn't try." He then took a bite of sandwich while contemplating. "I suppose if there is any way to make it so that one gets the worst side of a person and their family, it is by staying through a northern winter."

"Excellent," Lena grinned. She put her notes down and stood, holding out her hand. Grant stood and shook it, though he was more confused than anything. "It is agreed. Now, let me talk to the head of house for a moment; we leave for Gallifrey the morning after next." She then left the room, which prompted Sterling to poke his head back in through the open glass door.

"…and…?" he asked in trepidation.

"It sounds like we might become brothers," Grant replied, slightly breathless. "Your sister… is she always like that?"

"This one? Yes, unfortunately," Sterling sighed. "She's a terror; even if I was Papa and Mama's heir instead of her, she wouldn't go and simply give it to me knowing that she was first in line before I existed."

"Commanding, forceful, confident, a marvelously quick brain, and a fair beauty to boot…" He looked at Sterling and laughed awkwardly. "I'm done for, aren't I?"

"Yeah," Sterling nodded. He patted Grant on the arm in condolence, not wanting to think about the implications of what just happened and what they would lead towards. "You might want to consider having a bath and getting into something comfortable—you'll need your rest if Lena makes us leave soon."

"You know better than I do."