As Lucrecia's and Hojo's arrival slowly approaches, the tension in the castle continues to grow more and more. Katherine and Tifa would silently bump heads and so did Grimoire and Vincent. Usually, the royal family would discuss meetings and upcoming events over breakfast, but Grimoire decided to push it back until lunch time, which was fine with Vincent. The young prince wasn't exactly pleased to see his father's mug in the early morning every time he attended a meeting.
The afternoon breeze is coming and going and Grimoire, Vincent, and Tifa are seated on the outside balcony where they normally have breakfast. They are waiting on Katherine before discussing anything. Tifa begins to eat her sandwich when Vincent gives her a small nod to dig in. Of course Grimoire is pleased with his son's actions. The king knows it is a front, but lately he couldn't tell if the young prince is bluffing or not. Vincent has been very demanding with his demands when it came to Tifa. From making sure the chocobos are in order for tonight's guests, to giving him a small massage after their meetings, and even go so far to command her to find Yuffie and bring her to their chambers. Vincent's sudden assertion makes the king smile from ear to ear. Perhaps there's still hope for his son.
Katherine finally arrives with her usual grumpy facial expression. She sits next to Grimoire, and immediately motions for a servant so she could get some food. Vincent ignores his mother's actions and begins to eat his food. Grimoire, however, isn't pleased in the slightest by Katherine's behavior. Katherine picks up her sandwich, but before she could take a bite, Grimoire swats her food away from her hands.
"Have some manners, and speak before eating." Grimoire growls. His eyes burns invisible holes into Katherine's forehead.
"Oh I'm sorry. If you want some attention, why don't you ask Shelke or Yuffie?" Katherine spits out harshly. She picks up her sandwich and takes a huge bite of it. Her glare is just as intense as Grimoire's. Vincent and Tifa sits in silence as they watched from across the table sitting side by side each other, and eating their food. This is a fight neither one of them wants to participate in.
"I'm going to ignore your disrespect and let you breath just this once." Grimoire grits. "I will smack you down if I must to teach you some manners."
Katherine swallows hard before responding. "I'm sorry, My Lord." It isn't genuine and everyone at the table knows it. "Good afternoon everyone. Please excuse my tardiness."
"That's better. I would hate for you to put on more makeup to cover up yet another mistake in front of our guests." Grimoire let his glare linger on Katherine before turning his attention to Vincent. "Everything on your end is ready?"
Vincent nods and swallowed his food before responding. "Yes. All of the guards are properly informed of their duties. And the chocobos?" Vincent turns to Tifa.
"Everything is in order." Tifa wipes her face with a napkin. "Ferrah and Chaos are to transfer our guests to the castle when they reach the gate with two guards as well."
Grimoire nods. "Good. Are the suits ready for tonight?" He turns to Katherine. He's pleased that she dropped her attitude.
"Yes, My Lord. You and Vincent can pick them up whenever you're ready."
Grimoire nods and excuses himself from the table. As soon as Grimoire left, Katherine snaps her head towards Tifa.
"You should pack your things now."
Tifa finishes off the rest of her sandwich before looking up at Katherine. "Why would I do that?"
Katherine snorts. "We all know you aren't serving my son like you should be. When Lucrecia comes tonight, she will take him from you, effectively dethroning you."
"Instead of worrying about me, you need to be worried about yourself. King Grimoire may replace you with Lucrecia. Have that thought ever crossed your mind?"
The shit-eating grin quickly fades from Katherine's face. Vincent observes Tifa closely. He didn't expect such boldness from her, but she did bring up an excellent point. Katherine glares daggers at Tifa before slamming her napkin down on the table and leaving the area.
"You've grown a lot these last few years." Vincent spoke as he motions for the servants to start clearing the table.
"It was time for a change." Tifa smiles as she turns to look at her husband. The breeze weaves throughout Vincent's raven hair. She couldn't help but to admire him for a split moment.
Vincent notices her stare and clears his throat as an attempt to get her out of her trance. "Anyways, I'm going to take a quick nap."
"Uh….yes." Tifa fumbles with her words as she stood up. "I'm going to have a quick session with Yuffie. We've been practicing without….well, you know."
Vincent raises an eyebrow as he got up from the table. Tifa shoots a quick glance at the servants and then flicks her eyes back at Vincent, who caught on to her gesture. He begins walking away from the table with Tifa following beside him.
"I can't risk any of the servants picking up on our conversations." Tifa spoke. "Grimoire may have some them spy on us. I'm sorry."
"No it's fine. It's actually smart of you to do that."
Tifa gives Vincent a small smile and the pair continues to make their way in the castle in silence. Tifa couldn't help but notice that Vincent would rub his chest every now and then. She wants to ask him what's wrong, but the look he gives her told her not to. It isn't a threatening look, but it said, 'Please don't ask' or something along those lines. When the two of them reached their chambers, Tifa walks to her armoire and places her earrings inside of it and then walks over to one of her many chests and grabs her fighting attire. She retreats into the bathroom while Vincent plops onto the chaise and sighs heavily. A few moments later Tifa emerges from the bathroom and waves goodbye to Vincent. He never saw her leave because his eyes were partly lidded. She notices the slight wince he made when she closed the door behind her. Something isn't right with him. Another bridge to cross when the time comes.
Tifa spent more time in her training than she originally planned. She's able to make it back to her chambers and take a nice, warm bath before taking a quick nap. When she arrived to her chambers, Vincent was soundly asleep on the chaise, however when she woke up, Vincent was nowhere to be found.
The sun is beginning to set peacefully. The constant clinking and clanking noises are echoing throughout the courtyard as knights moved about. Chocobos would cheerfully make noises as they followed the instructions of the knights. Tifa went over the balcony to scan the area. A smile tugs the corner of her lips when she sees Ferrah donned in Edge's armor. Tifa worked hard to get Ferrah that armor. That piece of armor alone says that her feathered friend is accepted into Edge.
On the other side of the courtyard, Tifa sees Chaos trot gracefully along the cobblestone that one of the knights directed him. Chaos coos when he sees Ferrah and the two over-sized birds coos together as they happily flap their wings. Tifa couldn't help but snort in glee. The scene is almost too ironic to witness.
Her attention is caught by two green chocobos pulling a carriage along by their reigns. It stops at the entrance and two knights walks to the carriage and did a small inspection before giving the guard the okay to let the carriage come through. There's a three-headed dog-like creature adorned on the matte black metal that the chocobos are wearing. Tifa recognizes the fiend as Cerberus. It was a fierce creature that have said to have fought alongside Nibelheim long ago, as Neo Bahamut did with Edge. Moments later, Sephiroth appears, from what Tifa could guess, the entrance of the castle, with his chocobo companion, Jester.
Sephiroth makes a few motions and said a few sentences before two figures emerges from the carriage. There's an older man that appears to be or at least around Grimoire's age. He has shoulder-length raven hair and wore an all black suit and white tie with perfectly circular glasses on his face. Because of the distance, Tifa couldn't gauge his facial features, but judging by Sephiroth's body language, she could tell that Sephiroth doesn't think too highly of the man. His body language instantly changes when he turns his attention to the other figure. A woman with brunette hair falling gracefully to her hips approaches the two figures. Her ruby-crafted crowned gleams brightly against the setting sun. She clutches the sides of her green dress in an effort to keep it from dragging on the ground. There's some silver stitching and designs over the chest and hip area. The dress is sleeveless and clings to the woman's body gracefully. Admittedly, she's gorgeous. Tifa couldn't deny that fact.
Sephiroth motions for one of the knights to bring over Ferrah and Chaos. The silver-haired commander helps the woman mount Chaos and the older man mounts Ferrah. Tifa was against her feathered friend to accompany the unwanted guests, but Grimoire demanded it. She will fight that fight with Grimoire another time. Sephiroth exchanges a few more words before giving Jester a quick tap on his sides to walk towards the entrance.
Let the games begin. Tifa thought to herself. As if on cue, Yuffie comes into the room with a red dress covered in plastic. Tifa had asked Yuffie to make the dress for her and Yuffie happily obliged even though the request was on short notice. Yuffie would do anything that involved Edge's impeding change. She too has to make the best of her cards. There's no going back to Midgar to start life anew.
Yuffie places the dress on the bed and is greeted by Tifa's smile. Tifa peels back the plastic cover while Yuffie runs over to the balcony. Tifa chuckles as Yuffie scoffs.
"And Katherine thinks that this woman is going to come in here and dethrone you?"
"She is closer to Vincent's age and his original handpicked queen." Tifa answers back while her smile widens at her dress.
Yuffie walks back into the bedroom. "She's cute but she's just a typical princess trying to court herself a prince. That dress is something I would wear. With this dress," Yuffie points to the red garment with a smile. "you'll knock everyone dead. It's the right amount of sass, class, and sexiness. Heads will definitely turn when you make your entrance."
Tifa smiles gleefully as she grabs her dress and runs to her side of the bed where her gold-rimmed cheval mirror stood. Yuffie brings the mirror closer to Tifa and happily untied Tifa's robe. The silk garment pools underneath Tifa's feet with the plastic cover from the dress joining it as well. Yuffie kicks the items out of the way as Tifa steps into the dress. Tifa is happy that Yuffie didn't deviate from her measurements in the slightest. Yuffie ties the velour ribbon-like end in the back as Tifa observes herself. The dress itself is red with gold trimming at the bottom. There was a split on the left side that stops midway up her thigh. The fabric hugs her body well but it's still comfortable to move around in. The chest area was more like a corset but gave it a more classy feel to it with the long sleeved lace. Yuffie ties the matching valor train around Tifa's neck and fluffs at it, taking a few steps to admire her work on such short notice.
When Tifa turns, she smiles happily and places her hands on her hips in a determined manner. The fire is beginning to burn within her abdomen and she's ready to unleash it on her enemies.
"You look like a diamond." Yuffie awes.
"All thanks to you." Tifa hugs her best friend. "I will fill you in on the details later."
Yuffie nods. "Okay. Don't forget to make an entrance."
With that, Yuffie leaves the glowing princess to her thoughts alone. She inhales deeply and exhales deeply as well. Her nerves are starting to get to her as realization what she's about to do is starting to kick in. No more hiding. She's ready to take matters into her own hands. It may have taken her years, but that was okay in her almond eyes. Reclaiming something that she's destined to have is worth the trouble. Though her support system could fit on one hand, it's a strong system.
Sephiroth guides Lucrecia and Hojo through the entrance with Grimoire and Katherine waiting to greet them. Grimoire instantly smiles malignantly at Hojo.
"It's been a while, Hojo."
Hojo returns the same deadly smile. "Far too long, Grimoire."
"King Grimoire and Queen Katherine, it is a pleasure to see the two of you." Lucrecia smiles sweetly as she bows.
"The same can be said here as well." Katherine beams and motions for Lucrecia to follow beside her while Hojo follows beside Grimoire. "How is everything in Nibelheim?"
"Great." Lucrecia answers as she releases her dress from her tight grasp. "How's Prince Vincent?"
"Straight to the point, I see?"
Lucrecia smiles. "Queen Katherine, we both know how bad I want Vincent to be my king."
"I know." Katherine hushes Lucrecia as Grimoire and Hojo walks by the pair, completely oblivious to their conversation. The two men enters the main hall as they cackled about stories they exchanged between one another. "If it was up to me, my son would be your king. Grimoire seems to think that siding with Midgar was a better choice, but I know better. He only sided with Midgar because that whore Alice spread her legs for him."
Lucrecia smirks. "So Vincent's queen comes from a family full of whores?"
"Yes but still Grimoire has kept her here for five years. It's time for that little bitch to go!"
Lucrecia places her hand on Katherine's shoulder as a gesture of reassurance. "That's why I'm here. I'll aid you to get rid of her. I've always wanted Vincent as my king and he will become my king. No matter the cost."
Katherine smirks. "That's what I like to hear. Let us mingle for a bit."
The two women enters the main hall and begins to mingle with the other guests. As the minutes slowly ticked by, guests from Nibelheim are slowly filling the main hall. Advisors, financial planners, knights, and close family that are related to the royalty of Nibelheim happily mingled with the royal people of Edge. Servants are weaving in and out of everyone paths as they offered wine and hor d'oeurves. For once in Edge, things seems to be normal.
Hojo and Grimoire are standing at the head of the main hall where the thrones are placed. The two men catches up on events since their last encounter.
"So, are you pleased with your decision to side with Midgar?" Hojo curiously asks as he takes a sip of his wine.
"It was nothing personal. Midgar offered more. Besides, I couldn't deny Alice's request."
The two kings cackled as their glasses clashed with one another. "You are one lucky bastard, Grimoire. All things considered, I'm glad you sided with Midgar. Lucrecia wasn't ready to walk the path of a queen."
"Oh?" Grimoire raises his eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"
"Her refusal to submit was disgusting, but she finally came around. Now we have Rocket Town at our disposal." Hojo grimaced as he finishes the rest of his wine. Grimoire simply grunts. Hojo is pulled away by one of his advisors before Grimoire could question him any further. Grimoire frowned as his guest is being pulled away. He would dive deeper into his conversation with the insane king later, but for now, he has to put the conversation on the back burner.
From the entrance of the hall, he saw his son greet their guests as he approaches him. His son is a fine, dapper gentleman for the evening. He dons an all black suit with a red velour tie. His red cape was also velour and is bond together by a gold chain, with Neo Bahamut etched in gold on the back of his cape in gold trimmings.
Vincent nods towards his father as he approaches him.
"Everything okay, Father?" The young prince notices his father doesn't have his normal smug look. That didn't sit well with Vincent at all. When Grimoire isn't himself, it makes Vincent uneasy.
"I'm not so sure." Grimoire replies quietly. The response was more for himself, not Vincent. "Is dinner almost ready?"
Vincent nods. "It should be ready any minute now."
Grimoire grunts as he takes another sip of his wine. Vincent is confused. His father didn't immediately grill him about Tifa or himself. He wonders if the vile king realized that Tifa isn't in the hall yet. She's late, and he is certain that he told her what time to be in the main hall. Though he's glad that neither Grimoire or Katherine made a comment about Tifa's tardiness, it makes him nervous that she isn't here. He thought their little conversation smoothed some things out between the two of them last week. Maybe they are not on the same page like he had thought.
His thoughts about Tifa's absence and his father's unusual behavior are interrupted when Katherine and Lucrecia approached the father-son duo. Lucrecia…. She is still as beautiful as he remembered. She smiles brightly at him as she rubbed his arm.
"Prince Vincent, it's so good to see you."
"Likewise." Her touch is foreign and it makes him uncomfortable. He doesn't want to flinch away out of respect, but it is mostly so he doesn't have to hear his father's words. Lucrecia may be beautiful, but she's not his future queen.
Katherine grins at her son while Grimoire remains silent, his focus is still on Hojo's odd choice of words. He couldn't tear his attention from the man as he and his advisor from Nibelheim continue to converse with one another.
"It's been such a long time since the two of you have seen one another." Katherine comments. "You two look wonderful together."
Vincent scoffs at his mother silently. He's well aware of his mother's intentions. Though he have known Lucrecia for some time, he can't say that he knows her. He never had a one on one conversation with her. Her beauty is the only thing he knew. It was nothing against Lucrecia, but Vincent wasn't thrilled with the idea of her becoming his queen. Don't get him wrong, he wasn't thrilled about Tifa becoming his queen either, but it was the way Lucrecia carried herself. The skimpy dress she's wearing now, her willingness to cater to his every need, and dare he say, the disturbing aura she's projecting onto him. It's almost as if she's trying to force him into something. Women would be pleased that they've dodged a major bullet like an arranged marriage, but to his surprise, Lucrecia was angry. Why is that? In his eyes, she was nothing but a typical princess, but with a vendetta, and that makes him worry. Alice's words echoes in his head over and over again. He couldn't shake her words. It was her dying words to him before she was brutally murdered. Throughout his years of secretly contacting her, the older woman never steered him in the wrong direction. It would be foolish on his part to simply ignore her wisdom.
"Don't you agree, My Lord?" Katherine questions as she turns to Grimoire, who pulls his attention from Hojo.
"Yes, yes. They look great indeed."
Katherine frowns and cut her eyes to Lucrecia as if to say 'See what I mean?'. Lucrecia smiles as she rubs Vincent's arm more. He has grown so much since the last time she had saw him. They were teenagers sitting across from one another from a table on the main balcony discussing the treaty terms. His beautiful red eyes and long raven hair took her breath away. A god in the flesh.
"Ah Lucrecia!" Hojo spoke as he approaches the group. "There you are. I see you've found Prince Vincent."
"He found me like I knew he would."
The pair, along with Katherine, exchanged a pleasant laugh. Vincent, and even Grimoire, are not amused. Where is Ti- Vincent's thoughts are interrupted by several audible gasps coming from the front of the main hall.
Vincent's lips are slightly agape as he sees Tifa make her way through the room. She flashes her beautiful smile among the guests from Nibelheim and even shakes hands with a few of them. The mood in the room immediately shifts as more people looks at Tifa. The corners of Vincent's lips curled into a small smile. So this was her plan all along. She wanted to make an entrance. People happily stepped aside as Tifa walks gracefully towards the small group that are near the thrones. She notices the smug looks on Katherine's and Lucrecia's face. Grimoire and Hojo awes in malevolence as the young princess begins her trek up the small flight of stairs, her heel clicking gracefully against the marble floor. None of them matter; Vincent is the only one she's focused on.
"My Lord, I'm so sorry for my tardiness. I lost track of the time." She places her hand on his lean shoulder and wedges her body between himself and Lucrecia, pushing Lucrecia over. The move is forced, but is performed flawlessly with no hassle from Lucrecia. Tifa's chest grazed Vincent's arm and she places her free hand on her hip, her other hand is loosely intertwined with Vincent's arm. She turns and smiles at the group.
"No need to apologize." Vincent turns his attention to Hojo and Lucrecia. "This is Princess Tifa."
"Again, I'm sorry for being so late."
"Looking like that, there's no need." Hojo seductively traces Tifa's body from head to toe as he pushes his glasses closer on his face. "So much beauty."
Tifa wants to shudder under Hojo's gaze. The man is an absolute creep.
"Dinner is served!" One of Edge's servants called out.
Everyone makes their way to the dining area. Vincent and Tifa are the first out of the small, royal group to walk away from the huddle.
"That was tense." Tifa notes as she rests her hand on her sides and walked along Vincent's right side. "I thought Grimoire was going to make a comment."
"So did I." Vincent replies in almost a whisper. He feels several pairs of eyes staring into their backs as they walked ahead. "Nice entrance, nonetheless."
Tifa grins. "Thanks. Sorry I made you worry, but it was needed. I had to show Lucrecia that I mean business when it comes to my role in this castle."
"I think she got the hint, but she also looks like she has something up her sleeves."
Tifa frowns as the pair turns into the dining area. There are tables toward the back of the area where all the other visitors from Nibelheim are being seated along with members of Edge. There is a mahogany table seated for the kings, queen, prince, and princesses in the center of the room.
"I'll inform you later. For now, stay sharp."
Tifa nods at her husband as she sits across from him. The men sits on one side while the women sits on the other side. Tifa is definitely uncomfortable with sitting between two women that hates her existence, but she couldn't afford to back down. Their threats and glares wouldn't faze her. She has come too far mentally to falter. Katherine and Lucrecia shoot glances at each other before turning their attention to the men across from them. Katherine, Tifa, and Lucrecia are seated from across Grimoire, Vincent, and Hojo, respectively. Silver platters are gently placed in front of them as each servant uncovered their food. It smells delicious and Tifa couldn't wait to dig in.
Grimoire stands up and taps his fork on his glass, ceasing all conversations in the hall.
"To our visitors from Nibelheim, welcome to Edge. I'm glad we can all break bread together in this joyous occasion." Several people raises their glasses in response to Grimoire's words. "Everyone, enjoy your stay here."
The room booms with cheers as silverware clash against one another. Grimoire cut into his steak and begins eating. Grimoire's actions are beginning to confuse the young prince even more. There are no smart comments, rudeness, or crass from the king. The king's behavior worried the red-eyed prince without a doubt, but he would grasp this moment of unusual behavior from his father and savor it.
"So, what brings the two of you here after so many years?" Katherine questions as she stuffs a forkful of mashed potatoes into her mouth.
"We wanted to know if we could join forces with Edge." Hojo answers. "Rocket Town is under our territory, and we are willing to extend our newfound resources with Edge like the original treaty suggested."
"Edge has no intention of relinquishing any territory to any nation." Grimoire spoke.
"You're not relinquishing anything." Hojo presses. "Just merely sharing the wealth. Edge and Nibelheim could dominate the entire Planet."
"Greed will only hurt us in the long run." Vincent cuts in. "Edge is fine with the position it's in. Besides, our treaty with Midgar has nothing to do with conquering the nation."
"This isn't your nation to speak for, boy." Hojo grits.
"He is the heir to this nation. Watch your tongue." Grimoire warns.
Grimoire coming to Vincent's defense is simply unheard of. Everyone looks at Grimoire as he shoves another piece of steak into his mouth, his expression cutting Hojo into a thousand pieces as he chews.
Lucrecia clears her throat. "We don't mean any harm. All Father is suggesting is that Edge merge with Nibelheim. Each nation would have complete control of Rocket Town and eventually Midgar."
"I don't think you understand, Lucrecia." Vincent spoke again and takes a sip of his wine. "Edge has no intention of taking over Midgar. Midgar is an independent nation just like Nibelheim and Edge."
"Then what's the point in having the treaty?" Lucrecia questions.
"With all due respect, that isn't any of your concern." Vincent didn't mean to snap, but Lucrecia's behavior is already grating his nerves.
"It's because of this tramp here." Katherine interjects. She glares at Tifa, who had just finished her green beans. She wanted to remain silent for as long as she could. It was feeble in thinking that she could go through the entire dinner without having to speak.
"Because of her whore of a mother, Edge was stuck with the shit end of the stick."
"I concur." Hojo spoke, shooting a vile sneer at Tifa. "But you can't deny the beauty in this girl, Katherine."
Katherine snorts. "I will never accept her as the future queen of Edge."
"That position belonged to me." Lucrecia spoke up. She balls her hand into an angry fist.
"But I am the future queen of Edge." Tifa spits venomously at the two attacking women. It's bad enough she has to sit between the two of them, but she refuses to sit by and allow Katherine and Lucrecia to gang up on her. If there will be consequences to deal with afterwards, then so be it. It's time she stood up for herself.
"And whether you like it or not, the both of you will have to accept that."
No one spoke at the table. Tifa casually went back to eating her food without speaking another word. Katherine turns to Grimoire in shock.
"Are you not going to correct her?"
"She isn't my queen to correct." Grimoire's smile quickly fell as it is replaced with a glare. "You one the other hand needs to be corrected. Adjust your attitude before I adjust it for you."
Katherine swallows away a large lump then turns to Vincent for answers.
"She simply spoke facts." Vincent shrugs. "There's nothing to correct."
Katherine glares at her son before turning back to Grimoire, who still has a grim look on his face. The entire room fell silent when Grimoire slaps Katherine with his back hand. She cries out in pain as Grimoire continues to leer over her.
"I think we should leave." Hojo spoke as he got up from the table. Lucrecia agrees with him and follows along.
People from the tables in the back of the room begins to rise and follow their leaders. The servants guides them to the entrance of the castle, not knowing what else to do. Members of Edge quickly excused themselves as they retreat to their proper places in the castle. Only Vincent, Grimoire, Tifa, and Katherine remained in the room.
"I told you to adjust your attitude or I would adjust it for you."
"You know she isn't our idea of a queen!" Katherine yells. "Why is she even here?! She can't even fuck our son and serve him properly! She walks into the hall super late, speak out of line, and now you're suddenly agreeing with Vincent?!"
Even Vincent has to admit that his mother spoke the truth with her last statement. For the last five years, Grimoire had disapproved of how his son handled Tifa. This is the first time in five years that the harsh father agreed with anything Vincent has done or said.
"You dare question my judgment?"
Vincent senses the patience in his father is wearing thin. He cautiously steps away from the table. He makes quick eye contact with Tifa to do the same, and she does with no hesitation.
Katherine glares at Tifa and then back at Grimoire. "Maybe Cissnei was right."
Glass shatters everywhere and Katherine falls to the floor, as blood gushes from the right side of her face. Tifa yelps as she steps back and collides with Vincent. He wraps his arm protectively around her waist as the young pair observe the scene unfold in front of them. Grimoire walks over to Katherine's cowering body.
"Don't you dare ever question me again!" Grimoire begins to walk away but suddenly turns back to Katherine. He looks at his wife in disgust and spits on her. "Also, don't ever mention her name again."
Grimoire pivots on his heel and leaves the room. Katherine peers at Tifa and Vincent. She snorts when she notices the way Vincent held Tifa in a protective manner. She laughs as she got up from the floor and grabs the cotton napkin to wipe away the blood that's on her face. The blood has already ruined the floor and her dress.
"You stand there in my son's arm like you're protected." Katherine growls. She slams the bloodied napkin on the table and grabs another one, flicking away any glass shards as she brought it to her face and held the cloth in place over the fresh wound. "He won't be able to save you in the end."
"Mother, that's enough."
"Son, stop fighting against the inevitable."
"I said that's enough!" Vincent releases his grasp on Tifa's hip and practically leaps in front of Katherine's face. Katherine smirks at her son while Tifa gently pulls Vincent a footstep away from his mother.
"Let's retire to our chambers." Tifa calmly suggests.
"Listen to your whore."
"You have no right to speak to her in that manner." Vincent's blood boils heavily against his flesh. He feel the heat rise within him. The only thing that kept him somewhat composed is Tifa's gentle words and pulls.
After a few more pressing suggestions of leaving the room, Tifa finally convinces Vincent to walk away. She doesn't want him to do anything that he would regret later on. The young, betrothed walks away, leaving a bloody Katherine to her thoughts.