Legami de Grazie
Rated: T for violence, swearing, and the fact that the actually game is rated T.
Pairings: None shall be decided until the Adult Phase. As such, give me feed back on what pairings you think there should be! Also...I am leaning towards Isbel/Richard...Hm.
Warning: OC ALERT OC ALERT! Don't worry...he's not all that important...sort of.
Disclaimer: Not Mine~ Just thought you ought to know. Ya know, so you don't sue me? I don't have any money either...
AN: Ah...Like I said, this chapter will reveal what happens in regards to the Lordship of Lhant. Yep...And a Wild Richard appears! -shot-
Phase 1
Child
Chapter 2
Arranged Marriages and Royal Princes
"Ah, Young Mistress Isbel, Young Master Hubert!" An elderly man cried as the siblings entered the mansion. Sophie made a soft confused noise from behind the brunette girl as the man bowed to the children.
Isbel smiled. "Hey, Frederic. Do...do you know where Father is?"
The man opened his mouth to speak when a voice spoke up behind her. "Your father happens to be standing behind you, Isbel." The girl spun around, surprised to see her father. Aston Lhant frowned at his daughter. Hubert shied away, bowing his head towards his father while Cheria took her place at her father's side.
Aston sighed. "Isbel, come along. We need to speak alone." The girl frowned at the command but did so anyway, mouthing at Hubert to stay with Sophie. Behind her, Cheria, Hubert, and Sophie all exchanged nervous looks.
The two walked up the stairs, an awkward silence between father and daughter. They turned left and down the hall to the office that Isbel knew her father only used for work. What could he possibly want with her there? She doubted it meant anything good, though. They entered the spacious room and immediately, Aston went behind the desk, gesturing to the seats in front of it.
Isbel sat down, a feeling of dread sinking into her stomach.
'Calm down, I'm certain whatever he wishes to talk to you about is nothing bad.'
I hope so...
The girl lay her hand in her lap and looked up into her father's eyes. The man sighed. "Isbel. I know you're going to hate what I'm about to tell you, however, I have no choice." He closed his eyes and turned away from Isbel. "Originally, we, as in myself and your mother, were going to have Hubert take over Lordship of Lhant...However, something has come up in regards to that, and Hubert is now unable to take the title."
"Why?"
"It doesn't matter." Aston snapped coolly. "Due to this matter, we have no choice but to give the title to you. But, like with Hubert, there is an obstacle: Your gender." Isbel's hands clenched against the teal fabric of her dress. "There is a loophole, though, that will allow the family to continue to carry both the blood and the name of the house of Lhant." She narrowed her eyes. The brunette had a feeling she was going to do more then hate this.
Aston crossed his arms behind his back. "There will be an arranged marriage between yourself and a son of a noble from the capital. The son's name is James Sun-"
"I don't care!" Isbel stood up and glared heatedly into her father's eyes. "Why should I marry a complete stranger? And if anyone should be doing introductions, it should be this James." She spat the name like it was something sour.
Her father spun around, about to lecture her, only to see her already racing out of the room and straight out of the manor.
'That was a bit childish, don't you think?'
...
'...Isbel?'
Shut up, Lupo, okay? Just leave me be...for just a little while.
'...If that is what you wish.'
She ran for ten minutes, all the way out to the apple tree by one of the city gates. Isbel knelled down by the roots of the tree, her lips trembling from suppressed tears. This was stupid. Arranged marriages were stupid. And what was this crap about Hubert not being able to take the Lordship? That was stupid too!
'Isbel...'
The girl rubbed away a few escaped tears. How unfair. Why couldn't she be allowed to control at least one thing in her life?
"Oh, look, a commoner." A distainful voice interrupted her thoughts. The brunette tensed slightly. What did he mean by commoner? "Commoner, where is the Lhant Manor?" Slowly, Isbel stood up and turned around. Standing behind her was a slightly older boy with green-tinted blond hair and a disgusted sneer on his lips. Surrounding him was a guard of knights. On their shoulders was the symbol for the Sungo Noble family.
Lovely. This is probably that stupid James brat.
'Ironic that you call the one who is older then you a brat.'
It fits, though.
'Hmph. Can't argue with that logic.'
Isbel gave the boy a deadpan look. "Usually, Township Manors are at the center of Town. So, obviously, you must be stupid if you can't even do that." James' sneer turned into an ugly grimace of fury.
You know, if he didn't scowl, sneer, or grimace so much, he'd probably be at least nice to look at.
'But that would be about all that nice about him.'
"Commoners!" He spat. "Come along, gentlemen, we shall find the manor on our own." James walked away, leaving the irritated Isbel alone.
Once the older boy was out of earshot, Isbel snorted to herself. "What an idiot. Dad really expects me to marry that jerk off?" Lupo didn't answer, though the waves of 'feelings' he was sending her was enough to know his view of the matter. Standing up, she made to return to the manor when she was stopped by twin calls of her name. Turning back to the path out of the town, she saw Cheria, Hubert, and Sophie running towards her. "Oh! Guys...what wer eyou guys doing out there?"
Cheria smiled weakly. "We were trying to find some clue as to where Sophie came from...but no luck." Isbel sighed in despair at the thought.
"Hey, sister?" Hubert mumbled. "Why...no, what did Dad want?"
Her heart clenched.
"Arranged marriage." She spat. "To a jerk." Cheria's brown eyes went wide and Hubert gasped softly. Sophie tipped her head to the side, her own eyes questioning. "It means that I'll have to marry someone my parents choose." Isbel explained to the older girl. The twin tail made a soft 'oooh' in acknowledgement, though how much of her explanation the girl understood, the brunette didn't know.
Hubert sighed. "Are you sure he's a jerk. He might be nice..."
Isbel snarled. "He isn't!" Owlish blinking was her reply. "I ran into him. He didn't know who I was and was incredibly rude to me. There is no way he'd ever be a good Lord for Lhant. And I don't know why Dad isn't letting Hubert have the Lordship...I thought he was." The children frowned while Sophie trained her eyes on something in the distance.
"...Return to manor?" The twin tail finally mumbled. Isbel glanced up and agreed. The quartet followed the Sungo entourage. Of course, once they had hit the outer walls of the manor, Isbel lead the way through a secret path into the gardens. Hubert shot her a look that clearly said 'So this is how you sneak in.' She returned it with a rather unrepentant grin.
The group of four stopped in the center garden, where Kerri Lhant and Frederic both stood, chatting about this and that. Kerri blinked once she heard the children's footsteps. Turning o the group of four, she sent her own son and daughter a stern look. "What're you doing out here? You should be inside, speaking with Sungo..." Isbel snorted to herself and Cheria bit her lip. Neither of the girl held any fondest for arranged marriages.
Sophie gave them a confusedly blank look(how she pulled that off, they had no idea). Kerri on the other hand frowned lightly. "Cheria? Is Isbel bothering you again?" The blue haired woman gave her eldest a scolding look even as Cheria spluttered a denial. The blue haired woman again scolded her children before dismissing both Frederic and Cheria.
Meanwhile, Isbel was attempting not to scream. This was made especially more difficult when her father opened the door to the gardens and stepped out. Aston pursed his lips at the sight of her defiant daughter before turning to his wife. "The Sungo group have been escorted to their rooms. And I suppose now would be a good time to question our children about this...girl?" Sophie slowly turned her head in acknowledgement. Isbel pursed her lips at the dismissive way he spoke of her new friend.
"Her name," Isbel said, "Is Sophie." Glaring irritably at her father, the brunette crossed her arms in disdain. The twin tail girl gave the two a vaguely nervous look before rocking back. Hubert muttered to his mother that he was going to show the older girl the way to the guest rooms. Kerri approved softly in response to the kindness before informing him to hurry back and the two disappeared. Isbel continued to glare at Aston who's lips were turned down in a disapproving frown.
Kerri sighed lightly at her family's attitude. Truly, she didn't rightly know why Isbel was so mad, but she had a inclining as to why. Pursing her lips, the blue haired woman took place between her husband and daughter. "Now." She addressed Aston. "Why don't we calm down and explain to our children of our other visitor?" Hubert, unbeknownst to the other three, had returned, gave his parents a curious look. Another visitor?
Aston sighed out through his nose. Isbel placed her hands on her hips and looked away from her parents. Whatever. Why should she care?
'Be calm, Isbel. Besides, this other visitor may not be as unpleasant as the Sungo boy.'
One could only wish.
Isbel's lips turned down into a frown and she watched her parents out of the corner of her eyes. When her mother questioned if she was listening, Isbel replied with a light grunt to show she was indeed listening. Aston began with a simple explanation that they were to have another visitor staying over tor a few days...and the two Lhant children were not bother them whatsoever.
The brunette girl protested angrily at this but she was completely ignored as Hubert pulled his sister away and back into the manor.
"Hey, Hey! Hubert! Did you hear?! The other guy's caravan got attacked!"
"Yes, I did, sister. But we can't do anything...Father would be mad-"
"Who cares? C`mon, let's go help!"
"Haaa...How in the world do I keep up with you, Isbel?"
'I wonder the same thing, sometimes.'
The next day was opened with harsh yelling being exchanged between a father and daughter. Hubert pressed his face into his pillow, groaning softly at the sounds of his family's bickering. The poor blue haired boy's peace was not to be had as his sister slammed the door of their shared room open and she stormed to her own bed, taking her pillow with her to scream into.
Hubert sighed lightly. While he himself was irritated with their father's recent decisions, he was unwilling to voice said irritation. The blue haired 10 year old felt no need to gain his father's disdain...especially with what Aston was planning to do to him in but a few days. Hubert also knew that his dear sister had no idea of what was going to happen and he felt his lips pull down into a frown at the thought of not being there for her.
When Isbel suddenly thumped onto his bed with him, the boy flipped over onto his other side. "Sister? What's happened now?" The brunette girl huffed angrily.
"You really wanna know? Well, I saw the new visitor and his little entourage." Her eyes lit up. "They're Royal Knights! Isn't that cool?! Ah~! If I had only been a boy, then I could be a knight if I wanted to..." Isbel blushed suddenly, realizing she had gotten off topic. "Sorry. Ah, I brought up the fact that I wanted to talk to the Knights and then Father freaked out. Apparently, I can't talk to the knights either..." She pouted.
Her brother shook his head slightly: He should have known it was something like that...
After some time of simply lying there and enjoying their sibling's company, the two stood and left the room. Isbel turned to her brother. "Where's the room you let Sophie sleep in?" Hubert grabbed her hand and lead the way down to the guest halls, studiously avoiding both the Sungo rooms and the rooms that now had Royal Knights guarding them.
Once they got the room, Sophie was already leaving, looking tired. Isbel waved her over with a cheerful grin before the trio departed to the garden, where the brunette was sure they'd meet Cheria. When they saw the same said red head drifting around the gardens, Hubert had to admit that Isbel really knew their female friend well.
Isbel was chatting happily with the girl when it happened: A young blond boy with an older man who appeared to be a bodyguard for him stepped outside. The group turned to the duo, each of them wearing expressions of varying surprise. Briefly, Isbel felt Lupo shift slightly from the back of her head to a better vantage point...which would be odd for all but the girl who was experiencing it.
The boy seemed surprised to see them but oddly pleased as well. The man next to him frowned at them, radiating the same disapproval the Lhant children's father often did. Unfortunately for the Royal Bodyguard, this did not bode well, for that just encouraged the eldest of the two to break the promise Aston had forced her to make.
The man introduced himself, more out of politeness then kindness, as Bryce when the brunette bounced over. Hubert had followed at a sedated pace and Cheria was quietly chatting with Sophie. Isbel grinned at the blond boy. "Your name is Richard, right? That's what those knights from before said!"
Hubert sighed before butting in. "I apologize...My sister doesn't have the greatest sense of tact." Bryce humphed before turning away slightly, his attention on the prince.
"I do believe it is time for your usual training, your majesty." Richard nodded once and followed the man as Bryce turned away, only for them to both stop.
The reason why?
Isbel had asked them to wait.
"You know." The girl began, her blue eyes flashing. "Swordsmen always get better if they have different opponents. So! I bet you can't beat me!" She grinned at them. Bryce scoffed while Richard blinked in confusion. Hubert groaned softly. His sister just had to start that, huh? Bryce denied the girl's request. Her response? "You're just chicken, ya cowardly royal knight!" She poked a finger at him.
Bryce twitched, his eyes narrowed. Hubert had a sinking feeling deep in his stomach. "So." The blond man drawled. "You believe that you actually stand a chance against a fully trained Royal Knight?"
Isbel smiled sweetly. "Not just think...I know."
Hubert cover his face with his hands. Why had he known this would happen...?
Moments later, Isbel was brandishing her practice sword, a metal one with blunt edges, while Bryce coolly looked her over. Disregard was evident in his eyes, an the brunette knew that he thought she was a complete and utter idiot. Humph! She'd show him!
'I'm sure you will.'
Lupo was chuckling from the shadows of her mind and the girl refused to answer. She had to pay attention to Bryce: Who had just swung a blade down on her head. Isbel cursed softly before hefting her own blade to block his. Frowning deeply, she spun her blade around. The thought of 'idiot' flashed through her mind as she twirled her blade around the man's own. it was flung from his grip and he growled. Bryce jabbed forward with his other blade and Isbel jumped back.
She frowned again. Where in the world had the second blade come from?
'It was there the whole time, Isbel.' Lupo's scolding tone made her sigh and block another strike. She dodged under another slash, grinning darkly. Being smaller then her opponents was almost always an advantage. Unless, of course, the opponent was the same size as her...but that wasn't very often. Blinking, Isbel realized that she had gotten off topic and stomped on Bryce's foot. He roared in pain, and to her surprised joy, he dropped his other weapon.
"Ha! How incompetant can you be to drop your weapon like that just cause someone stomps on your foot? Wimp!" Isbel cackled before putting her practice blade away. She began to usher her friends away when she paused turning back to Richard. "If you wanna do something fun today," The brunette said, "Meet us here, and we'll show you something great!"
Turning away from the startled prince, Isbel grabbed Cheria's hand and began to drag her away, chatting cheerfully with her as she did so.
Richard frowned.
Why should he? They were probably just going to use him like all the rest...
Chapter 2
END
"Honey?" Kerri looked into her husband's eyes.
He bowed his head lightly. "She despises the idea of it, Kerri."
Kerri clasped her hands. "I'm sure she'll come around...she just needs time. Spending a few days with the boy would do her no harm either. Don't forget, neither of us liked the idea of arranged marriage either, and look at us now." She smiled kindly at him. Aston gave her a weak smile in return before turning away and preparing his bags.
Aston paused briefly. "It's time for me to go. I'll see you later, then?"
"I'll miss you, Aston...and please, give Hubert all my love." She bit back a sob as the man moved toward her and gave her a light kiss on the cheek.
"I will. I promise."
I did research. The best way to keep somewhat close to the plot of the main story was to do an arranged marriage for Isbel while still sending Hubert off to be adopted. Also, James is an asshole on purpose. He's also only going to really be around during the Lhant part of the Child Phase...which I'm cutting down a bit. If I have to write the entire part I'm going to scream...
Especially when most of the major changes are in the Adult Phase.
Also, in case you didn't get it, Isbel and Hubert saw the first half of the knights that entered the manor, who were preparing the rooms for Richard. Then they heard that monsters attacked the other half plus Richard so they, along with Sophie, ran to help. Yeah...And the end was about how Hubert and Aston were going to leave the next day to the capital. Obviously, Richard is going to have to come too, after what's going happen next chapter.
Also, Isbel is so much fun to write XD and Lupo didn't get to say as much this chapter. Don't worry! He'll say more, next time.