Song: Two Princes (Spin Doctors) (964 words)
"You marry him, your father will condone you; how 'bout that now? You marry me, your father will disown you - he'll eat his hat, now."
Guillaume de Launcet was a good man. He had honest amber eyes that looked a bit too shy when they landed on his sister. Perhaps his sister was right and all those fancy clothes were intimidating for the poor chap. But Leandra had to do it, simply because her father had asked her to.
Gamlen had been charged with escorting his sister to the gala at the Viscount's, and so brother and sister got ready for another boring night, in which the same old enchanters would be paraded in front of the leader's guests, forced to display their powers in ways that were almost humiliating. Leandra's hand pressed her brother's arm nervously and he patted her delicate fingers reassuringly as they entered the Grand Salon.
There was a new mage performing that night, a Junior Enchanter. He looked nervous but he got the job done, even getting a round of applause from the Templars that were watching over the group. When Gamlen turned to Leandra to make a comment on the butterflies that the wizard had summoned, he could see what was going through her mind. She was fascinated by him. Gamlen turned around nervously, hoping that his father or the Comte would not notice, but they were as enthralled by the act as his sister was.
When it was over, he could feel Leandra's excitement growing quietly. She asked him to walk by the mages casually, surely hoping to get another glance from the fellow that had fascinated her. Gamlen agreed nervously. It was hard to reject Leandra's petitions. She had a way with people that he lacked. Perhaps that was why their father was placing his bet on her to make a good marriage, instead of trusting that his male heir could do that as well.
As they walked by, they could overhear the young mage talking to his peers. His voice was rich and deep, but there was something else there. Anger. Contained, but it was still there. For a moment, Gamlen hesitated, glancing at his sister and tugging at her arm discreetly – it was not appropriate to be there, eavesdropping. But she seemed to be paying attention, possibly for the first time in her life, Gamlen thought. The voice stopped and the soft rustle of robes told him that they had been discovered. The thought of confronting a mage, even under Templar supervision, made Gamlen tense.
But the man simply smiled at them – no, not them. He smiled at Leandra. He had seen her while he was performing. He had wanted to send one of the colourful butterflies in her direction, but he had felt that it would cause more harm than good. Gamlen saw the unthinkable: his usually eloquent sister was rendered speechless. He saw her blush and lower her eyelids for a brief moment, but when she looked up, her eyes were serious. She confessed to the mage that she had heard what he had told his companions about the dignity of mages, and she admitted that she had never thought about it until that night. Gamlen heard her apologize for the way they were treated, and he saw the man's smile slowly disappear.
Gamlen was no idiot, and he knew right away that something was about to change. So did the other mages, who started pacing about the room silently. For a brief moment he wondered what they were doing, but he understood when he felt his sister's hand slipping from his arm, and he saw her walk away to the balcony with the enchanter.
He also left the room, going back to the Salon, where his father and the Comte were asking after Leandra. He told them that she was indisposed and that she was being assisted by some ladies, and he saw his father breathe out in relief before turning to the Comte once more, leaving Gamlen behind.
Over the next few weeks, Leandra seemed to leave the house at odd times, and Gamlen found himself covering for her during late lunch and dinner appearances –that boy's always late and poor Leandra has to go out searching for him; he surely got her into trouble again with the de Launcets with the reputation he's been building up– more and more often.
Years later, when he looked back at that night and what followed, he wondered if he had ever done anything for his sister, or if he had always known what was going to happen when they found out what she had been up to. He half expected her to go through with the engagement and the marriage, and possibly keep the mage as a lover. But he had not anticipated a baby. That was a game changer. The servants' talk, their father's palpable disappointment, and their mother's scorn – nothing seemed to matter to Leandra. She walked out of the estate and their lives without looking back, taking with her all hopes of saving face with the rest of the prominent families.
Gamlen felt his sister's departure as a curse on the family. First her elopement, then their cousin's criminal charges, forcing his father to spend great part of his fortune trying to undo what could not be undone; that which would never be undone. And then, the cholera...
He entered his shack for the first time –taking nothing with him, just like his sister– and shuddered. The air was cold and hostile. He struggled to light a fire; something to keep him warm, something to remind him that he was still alive. A bitter ha-ha escaped from his mouth when he thought how easy it would be for him to do so if he was a mage instead. He knelt on the dusty floor, broken and weary, and hid his face in his hands.
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A/N: I started writing this more from Leandra's POV, and along the way, Gamlen just took over. I've got a soft spot for him, even though he's not the nicest guy around, but except for Fergus, siblings don't seem to be super duper nice.