The Hunt for Sviederbach
Disclaimer: I do not own Shake it Up
A/N: Okay, IMPORTANT: The reason this chapter is short-I wound up going in and finding out the entire chapter was completely missing! From my computer AND the flash drive! Fortunately, I had posted the crucial parts (at least one to two thirds of the chapter) in to a friend on Skype, so I'll be posting that...along with chapter 6, in order to make up for the loss of chapter 5. Good god...
Chapter 5 (Training)
When Aveline returned home, she rushed to her bedroom in order to get dressed for her archery training, and was annoyed to find Astor waiting in her bedroom. "What are you doing in my room, Astor?" He grinned at her and leaned against the bed, shrugging his shoulders.
"I was only waiting for you to get home, our lessons are about to start. Mom's been looking all over for you." She groaned and let her head tilt back. Astor swept off his arms and let out a sharp exhale. "By the way, another dude came over wanting your hand in marriage, but he was kind of gross. He changed his mind after a while, I don't really know why, he was the perfect match for you." She raised an eyebrow and resisted the urge to knock him upside the head. She wanted to wipe that devious smirk off his face before he started making any further quips, but that wouldn't go over too well with her parents. Ah, if only she could throw into a creek and watch as he floated away. "So where were you anyway?"
"None of your business, Astor." She hurried to her closet, hoping to find her training outfit. She didn't like to practice her archery in her good clothes, it took forever to clean them when they got dirty. As she reached into her closet, she could hear Astor fiddling around with the drawer. "Hey! Don't touch that!" Thinking fast, she leapt across the room and slammed the drawer shut before he could do anything. "Quit messing around with my things! God…how many times do I have to tell you?" Astor hummed and shrugged his shoulders.
"Well we're assuming that since there's 365 days in a year, we'll probably live until we're eighty, and you tell me five times a day, do the math from now till then."
She did not have time for this. She rolled her eyes and rumbled out a growl. "Just get out of my room." She started pushing him towards the door. "Tell Mom I'll be out in a minute." Astor looked back for a minute, allowing himself to be pushed out of her room. He spun around and smiled at her.
"So when are you going to tell me who the boyfriend is?" Her heart stopped for a split second, and in a moment of quick recovery, she shot him a disgusted look. "Let me in on the secret and I don't tell mom you've been sneaking out without her knowing." He couldn't know, that would be impossible! He had nothing on her, and besides, she'd easily learned how to make a good comeback.
"What boyfriend? Let me get dressed. Also, you don't tell mom I've been sneaking out, and I don't tell her you've been getting into the after dinner cookies and staying up until four in the morning again." She smirked triumphantly, watching with pride as the color drained from him. She knew all his little secrets, and it paid to know him.
"Blackmailing the blackmailer, good move sister. Good move." Her lip curled into a smug smirk and she quickly closed her door.
"Now let me get dressed!"
-TRANSITION-
"Mom half the men that come around are abusive, forceful, controlling, and none of them fit the bill. Why can't we just face the fact that there are probably no men out there that aren't only wanting the throne or some trophy wife. They all expect me to be some damn Cinderella or Snow White for that matter. Well I'm not." She reached for the bow, swiftly lifted it up and grabbed an arrow. In seconds, she aimed the arrow at a round target on a distant tree and shot the arrow, striking it just a hair above the bulls-eye. "I'm not a weak 'fair maiden'!"
"Aveline…" Cece stepped in front of her and she slowly lowered the bow. Adrenaline was beginning to flood her veins as she sought to shake the memory of the last man that came around. This man shook her up, threw her against the wall when she spoke up against him and began to slap her, ordering her to be quiet. She snarled at the memory and clenched her eyes shut, trying to force it away.
"I refuse to be a trophy!" Aveline exclaimed, struggling to push the heavy set man off of her. Boy did her family know how to pick them, this was a politician from Russia who desperately wanted a king. Russians were known for their force, and this man was no different. "Get off me, I said!"
"You should be obedient, women are meant to be quiet." Her cheeks stung from the pain of his hand slapping against her face. The more she struggled against him, the more volatile he became. He was strong, but she was stronger, or so she thought. "Now be quiet and let me talk, woman!"
"Fuck you! I already told you I wasn't giving you my hand."
"Sviederbach chose me."
"No they did not. In the end it is my decision!" With one final push, she managed to throw him off her. She quickly got up and hurried for the door, hearing Astor's voice behind it. "Astor! Get Rocky!" She yelped as he pulled her dress, tearing it and forcing her back onto the bed. Her body was aching and completely sore, but she was not giving up the fight.
Once he jumped onto her, pinning her down, she wasn't sure how long she struggled to break free from his grasp. The next thing she knew, she heard the door flying open, and Karla shouting for her mom to 'get him'. Her eyes flipped open as the man was ripped from her and thrust against the wall. She quickly sat up in time to see Rocky smashing her knee into the man's abdomen multiple times. Karla was watching, cheering Rocky on, and Astor had climbed up beside her, holding onto her hand as she counted each heavy breath that fell from her lips.
Her father entered the room, full of rage. Cece would have been as well, but she was currently at the law office, working on some paperwork. Granted, she would soon know what was going on, because that was directly where this man would be going next. "How dare you strike my daughter!" Gunther exclaimed, pushing Rocky from the man, and grabbing him by the throat. The man started to whimper and sweat as Gunther glared into his eyes. "I invite you into my home and how do you repay me? Be glad I am not a violent king, or I would have your hide, and be glad my wife is at work, because she would have your hide!"
"Let me arrest him Gunther," Rocky muttered. "He'll be going down to the office anyway, so Cece will definitely have some words for him…" Aveline wiped her mouth as Astor leaned his head against her arm. She knew this man would be suffering several nightmares when her mother got through with him, there was no escaping the Queen's wrath when someone messed with her family. Everyone in Sviederbach knew and understood this. It was never the King you had to worry about, but the Queen.
"Aveline, open your eyes…" Her mom's soft voice mellowed her nerves, her warm hands were resting on her cheeks and warming her face. She slowly opened her eyes, blurred by a bit of mist. Cece leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry that you have to deal with all of the hell, and I know it's hard. It's tough because Sviederbach wants the heir to have a spouse soon…I really would like to stop letting all these men come around, because I know it hurts you…"
"We do have an idea of someone who we think would be good for you," Gunther added with a subtle smile. She looked towards him, then back to her mother's gentle eyes, listening still as her father talked. "It's kind of hard to get him though, because his family's not a noble yet, nor are they actually over here, so…I don't know how that's going to work."
She rolled her eyes and smiled as Cece pulled her back into a hug. She was calming down, and really just wanted to get on with the archery lesson. "I guess I should just start being here for the selections, huh?" She knew it was virtually impossible for them to get deep into a man who knew how to impress a king and queen. What kind of idiot is going to tell the royal family that he only wants their daughter for a trophy? "You guys need to stop letting these men slip past you." Cece chuckled and agreed with her. "Anyway, can we uh…please get started with the lesson?
Still pissed...but I hope you enjoyed what I managed to rescue ^_^. Moving on to chapter 6 now