Note: Hello, all! I don't know if anyone is still interested in reading this story, as I know that it's been a long, long time since I last updated (like, really long). However, I am determined to continue it and hopefully finish it!
At World's End
Chapter 7
"Toby... Toby, please. You cannot possibly be serious— you cannot be leaving this kingdom solely because of some mere altercation with Andrew."
He stopped packing his things for a moment and looked up at her. His heart melted when he looked into her strong brown eyes. He wanted to resist and continue packing his belongings, but he just couldn't right now. Not when she was looking at him like that...
"It is not some mere altercation, Spencer. It is my life. And I do not know if I can spend that surrounded by others who make me feel unwanted. Andrew told me some truth today, and it hurt... His parents would not have asked me to stay in the castle if it were not for you. They do not truly care about me. They were only attempting to make you happy because you requested me, and you are Andrew's lady," he justified himself.
Spencer shook her head. "That is not a truth. I know that Andrew has not been fond of you since you first arrived. He is just taking his anger out on you. You earned your spot here, Toby. You are a brave, brave knight, and you were the one who was able to rid us of William Mason. The Campbells would not have asked you to stay here if they did not recognize your accomplishments. While it is true that I brought such accomplishments to their attention, the actions are all thanks to you."
He sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"I just... I do not know if I can stay here any longer. Seeing him... seeing you... seeing you both together. Feeling unwanted... I would like a calm life."
"It is calm. Please, try not to worry about my relationship with Andrew. I am sorry that it is hurting you, but it is not a reason to leave this castle. You do belong here, Toby, and you have much to offer the Campbells. You will make a spectacular knight working for them. It would be a terrible shame for you to leave now, especially when you could be such a great help in destroying Frederick Mason and the Ravenswood forces to ensure that Rosewood is peaceful for the rest of time," Spencer explained. "And I will have a word with Andrew. I will make sure that he does not bother you any longer."
"No, please— do not do such. He will only grow more frustrated if you tell him that I told you what happened tonight. I do want to stay here, but only if there is peace. Do not start an altercation with him, please... for my sake, and the sake of your relationship with him," he pleaded.
Spencer was conflicted because she truly did want to confront Andrew for his actions. She hated that he was arguing with Toby and wanted to put him in his place for it, but she did not want to go against Toby's wishes. She did not want Toby to leave the Campbell Castle.
"I will do as you ask. But please, stay here. For me," she insisted.
Reluctantly, he nodded his head.
Emily was in quite the predicament, and her situation was only about to worsen.
There she was, in the back of the Rosewood tavern, holding hands under the table with Margaret McCullers's sister Paige McCullers. She did not know how she got to this point, but after she was introduced to Paige at the Campbells' party, she began spending more and more time with Paige. Against her best judgment, they developed a romantic relationship, which was still in an early phase. And of course, nobody could know about it... Paige was a woman.
But this wasn't the first time she had fallen for a woman— this was just the first time that she was actually acting on her feelings straightforwardly. There was this one girl who she was foolishly drawn to so much that she was convinced that she was in love with her, but she could not act on it. Not only was she a woman, but she was also one of her closest friends. She was in her circle of friends with Spencer, Aria, and Hanna. It would disrupt everything. But of course, the worst part was that she was a woman, and her family was intent on arranging her to marry a decent man. At that time, she was not engaged to Casey yet, but the arranging process was in the works.
Emily tried to shake the thoughts about the first woman she loved off and focus on the present— her new relationship with Paige McCullers. It was not going to be easy, but it seemed to be headed in a positive direction. They certainly were hitting it off and having a wonderful time when they spent time together.
But all heads in the tavern turned when somebody walked in.
Alison DiLaurentis— the woman that Emily fell in love with.
At that moment, she dropped Paige's hand, unable to think or speak ever again.
"Alison," she breathed.
"Did you miss me?"
"Spencer, Spencer!" Emily cried, knocking furiously on her bedroom door.
Luckily, King David was quite familiar with Emily, so he let her inside of the castle. After being let inside, she had rushed upstairs and begun knocking on the door. Yawning, Spencer opened the door, confused by the concern on Emily's face.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Alison is back," Emily informed her, swallowing hard. "Alison DiLaurentis."
Spencer raised her eyebrows. Alison DiLaurentis was a girl with a sharp tongue. She made a lot of comments about the others in town, and had a notorious reputation for it. She used to be in the girls' group, until she left town.
"Why would she come back?" Spencer asked. "She said she would never look back at this town— her father found work in Paris. She said that her dream was to be in Paris forever. She got her dream. Why would she want to be in Rosewood again?"
Emily shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe the dream did not live up to her expectation. I do not know much about why. She showed up at the tavern while I was meeting with a friend, and I was startled. We did, however, have a drink there. She merely told me that she felt like returning to this town."
"Word around these streets is that she is going to marry Elliott Rollins, that wealthy entrepreneur." The voice came from Hanna Marin, who stepped towards them with a smirk. Emily's heart started sinking when she heard the words about Alison's potential marriage. "I came here as soon as I heard that Alison was back in town. I figured that there would be a meeting. Where's our sweet little Aria Rose?"
"I haven't a clue, but... I am not sure if I want her here," Spencer confessed. "We got into a bit of an argument the other day. It was hasty, but she said some unkind words to me about my relations with Toby, and I was quite offended. I did, however, comment on her situation with that Ezra Fitz man— he is Wesley's older brother. I merely pointed out that it was odd that she was spending so much time with his brother!"
"Aria is the least of of our problems. Alison is back," Emily reminded.
"She was not too terrible. We just frequently got into arguments. Maybe she found the time to calm herself down," Spencer shrugged her shoulders. "There was a time where we were all the best of friends. Maybe we can go back to that."
"We did have some lovely times together," Hanna smiled.
Later that evening, Spencer was having a glass of wine out on the balcony. She still had not gone out to see Alison yet. She was planning on it, though.
Seeing her there in an elegant dress, Andrew stepped outside to the balcony as well. He wrapped his arms around his lady, pulling her body close. She tried to distance herself as much as she could without making him think much of it. She held on to her wine glass tightly.
"You have been distant lately, my love," he told her, chuckling as he placed kisses on her shoulders. "What has gotten into you?"
"Nothing," she replied quickly, taking another sip of her wine. She pulled away from Andrew so that he was no longer holding on to her. "We do not want to spoil all the fun before marriage, do we?"
"Mmm," he breathed, shaking his head. "Of course not. There is nothing more I desire than to take you up to our bedroom after our wedding ceremony and be the first man to touch you so gracefully..."
She almost choked on her wine when he said that. She realized just how important her virginity was to him. There was no way that she could ever tell him about what happened with Toby. It would infuriate him.
"But that does not mean that you should stay away from me, my dear," he told her. "This temptation will make our wedding night worth the wait. I want to keep looking at you, being near you, wanting you. Then I can take everything I want when we finally marry. It will be an unforgettable day."
She nodded her head. "I am sure of that. But right now, I've got to finish this wine."
"I can drink with you," he smiled. "I could use another glass of wine. Let me go pour myself some and join you out here. We can drink the night away, dreaming of our wedding night."
"You really are thinking of our wedding night right now, aren't you?" she bit her lip.
"Yes," he replied, still smiling. "There is nothing else I want to think about, Spencer. Marrying you is everything that I want. It is more important to me than becoming the king. So, I gratefully accept becoming the prince if it means that you will become my wife. And now, I just cannot stop dreaming about you becoming my wife."
Spencer's heart was unsettled when he spoke like that. She wanted to be able to accept it— she wanted to love him in the way she was supposed to, be a faithful wife, be a perfect princess... But even she knew that after what happened that night with Toby, nothing was the same anymore. Her relationship with Andrew Campbell was not the same as it was at the beginning. Her head was telling her that the logical thing to do was to stay with Andrew and be everything she was supposed to be, but her heart was telling her to challenge what she believed and take a risk.
But Spencer, based on the career-driven family she grew up with, was conditioned to always think using her head, not her heart.
Spencer had sent the royal messenger to tell Alison to meet her at the Rosewood Tavern. She put a nice gown on before heading out from the castle on Bashful, her horse. When she arrived at the tavern, she was surprised to see that Aria was sitting there at a table with a drink in her hand.
"Aria," Spencer greeted, slowly taking steps towards her table. "May I sit here with you?"
Aria seemed surprised that she was even speaking to her. Her lip trembled just a bit, unsure of what to say. She hated when she got into fights with any of her friends.
"Of course," Aria agreed, nodding her head. "You are always welcome."
Spencer weakly smiled before taking a seat across from Aria at the table.
"Is that so?" she asked. "I was not sure after what happened the other day—"
Aria cut her off, "Spencer, can we please just forget about that? I am so, so sorry that I said that to you. You are not that. I did not mean it. I truly was simply in an angry state, probably because I realized that what you were saying was true."
Spencer raised her eyebrows. "It was true? I mean, I had my suspicions, but I thought..."
She stopped herself there when she saw the guilty look on Aria's face.
"Aria..." she tilted her head to the side. "What is going on? Did something happen with Ezra?"
Aria shook her head, "No, nothing has happened. But after spending so much time with him recently, I realized... maybe I want something to happen."
Spencer almost gasped.
"You are not serious, are you?" she asked, shocked. Part of her did not believe that Aria would have ever truly left her man for Ezra, especially considering that he was a poor man now, unlike his brother. "What about Wesley? There is no way that he is going to be all right with you and his own brother."
"I know. Nothing has happened yet, so it does not matter. Obviously, I have not said anything to Wesley yet, but he certainly would be furious. He and I are supposed to get married," Aria huffed. "And I love Wesley— at least I think I do. But with Ezra, there is just this... connection. Do you ever feel that way with a person? There is such a perfect connection, as if you are both destined to be together, but all the circumstances are against you."
Spencer pressed her lips together. She did not even want to think that way. It would only make her question her marriage with Andrew more.
"Maybe it is for the best that nothing happens with Ezra. I mean, Aria... Wesley is a very good man, and he treats you quite well," Spencer reminded. "Would you really want to lose all of that to try something new? Wesley will always be able to take care of you. Ezra does not have that kind of money to support a wife."
Aria sighed, knowing that what she was saying was correct.
"Wesley has made me happy in the past, and he certainly can support me through life. I just... I wonder if it is different with Ezra. Maybe there is a difference between love and true love," Aria chewed on her lip. "Ezra had everything before. He was a part of the wealthy Fitzgerald family, but then he left all that wealth behind because he did not want to be a part of his family's selfishness. He wanted to be an English professor and not take part in his family business. He gave up all his wealth for his happiness. To him, money is not important."
"Believe me, I acknowledge that it is a noble quality to stray from greed, but there is a point where you truly do need some money to support yourself... and not just yourself. He has to be able to support himself, his wife, his children... He has to be able to support a family. As noble as he is, I am just not sure this is right," Spencer told her.
"Oh, I hate this," Aria sighed. "I want to go back to the time where everything was clear in my head. Wesley was the only man in my life, and there was no other route."
"It seems we are all missing older times then, huh?" Spencer chuckled softly, shaking her head. "What are you doing down here, anyway?"
"Just grabbing a drink," Aria replied. "And you?"
Spencer huffed. "Meeting with Alison."
"Oh, yes... I heard that she is back in town. I was going to arrange a meeting with her. I just did not know how. It's just been... a long time, you know? I did not know how to approach her," Aria explained.
"I know the feeling. It took me a while before I had the courage to tell the messenger to inform her about this meeting," she sighed.
The tavern door opened again. It was Alison. She smiled sweetly before approaching their table.
"Aria Rose! Is this a two for one deal? I arranged to meet with Spencer, and I got your lovely self as well," Alison smiled.
"It is actually a coincidence. I just happened to be here and Spencer ran into me," Aria explained. "But it is a pleasure to see you again, Alison. It has been a long, long time. I missed having you around."
"Of course you did!" Alison exclaimed.
The other two girls bit their tongues to stop themselves for speaking. It was just Alison's nature to be a bit conceited.
"Um, how was Paris?" Spencer inquired, changing the subject.
"Oh, it was lovely!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "The atmosphere, the people, the everything... it was like a dream come true."
"Then what brought you back to Rosewood?" Spencer asked, suspicious.
Alison pressed her lips together. Her tongue pressed against her cheek, as if she were thinking of the perfect lie to spew. It was clear that she did not want to say whatever it was that brought her back to Rosewood.
"Rosewood is my home," she simply said. "Paris is like a vacation. It just did not feel right without my dearest friends."
"Understandable," Aria nodded her head. "So, I have heard a lot around town about you! Are the rumors true? About Elliott Rollins, that wealthy and handsome man?"
Alison stayed mute again for a moment, but eventually smiled.
"Yes, the rumors are true. He asked for my hand in marriage, and I accepted," she told them.
"Well, you do not seem too happy about it," Spencer pointed out.
"Why not?" Aria questioned. "I have only seen him around town a few times, but I have heard a lot about him. And he certainly is successful!"
"I am happy. Of course I am happy," Alison brushed it off. "I was just wondering how word got around town so quickly. Maybe Elliott was excited to spread the news around to everyone. But do not fear— I am happy. He has got everything I could have asked for in a lover, right?"
"Right, indeed!" Aria exclaimed. "I am so happy for you!"
"And you ladies?" Alison questioned. "What have you been up to? I already had a drink with sweet, sweet Emily when I first arrived." Alison's eyes lit up when she spoke about Emily. All the girls knew that Alison cared for Emily the most. "She told me that she is going to marry Casey Lance. He is a handsome man. Not that well-off, but certainly a good and handsome man. And I did hear that you are marrying King David's son, Spencer! How did you become so lucky? I would kill for that. And I thought I was lucky for being able to marry Elliott Rollins..."
Spencer blushed, shrugging her shoulders.
"Yes, we are going to get married," Spencer nodded her head. "Andrew... he is a good man."
"And he is going to be prince," Alison gushed. "I am so jealous!"
Spencer laughed. "You always did say that you wanted to marry a handsome prince when we were younger."
"Right, I did. Way to steal my dream, Spencer," Alison laughed. She shook her head and continued, "I am just messing with you. I really am happy for you. And I cannot wait for the grand wedding! The royal wedding!"
Spencer smiled. "Me neither."
Spencer and Aria both glanced at each other. Things were different with her now... different in a good way. They were smoother, and she had changed a lot. Her whole demeanor was different. She seemed... sweet.
When Spencer arrived back at the castle, she saw Toby scribbling on a notepad in the grand hall. Furrowing her eyebrows, she took steps towards him, clicking her heels against the tiled flooring. He looked up from his notepad, smiling at her.
"Hello, Spencer," he greeted warmly.
"It seems that you have adjusted back into castle life," she commented.
"Yes, I have. I am trying to make the most out of my time here and not become caught up in petty affairs. I do not want conflict with you or Andrew, so I am here to focus on what I am here for: being a knight," he explained.
"Good. I am glad," Spencer smiled. "What are you working on so intently?"
He smiled back.
"I had my first meeting with the King's royal army," he told her. "It went quite well. We talked about our strategies and tactics for battle, and threw out ideas on how to tackle the greatest challenge of taking down Frederick Mason and his Ravenswood army."
"Wonderful!" Spencer exclaimed. "I told you that the King and Queen asked you to stay here for a reason. You are good at what you do, Toby."
"I hope," he chuckled modestly. "We will wee when the plan goes into action and we actually have to fight them."
"I believe in you," she told him.
"Thank you," he replied.
She looked up at him, biting her lip.
"Is there a problem, Spencer?" he asked.
She shook her head.
"There is no problem. I just wanted to ask you if you would be willing to accompany me to this festival in town tonight. There is going to be a lovely performance— the actors are putting on a drama. They are supposed to be some of the finest actors in town. If you are not going to stay cooped up in the castle working hard all night, maybe you would like to get outside and experience it?"
Toby bit his lip.
"I understand if you have to work. That is your duty, and I would never ask you to abandon it," she told him.
"No, it is not that. It's just... I am not sure your prince would be too ecstatic if I went with you to the festival," he said.
"I told him that I am going. He said that he cannot make it because he has to attend to his work, but it does not matter, anyway. He may be my man, but he does not dictate what I do with my life," Spencer informed him. "We are merely going to the festival together as friends. There will be tons of other people there! I am pretty sure the rest of my friends are also attending! I just thought that I would see if you wanted to come, too. It means nothing."
"Okay," he smiled, nodding his head. "If it is so, then I would be happy to go with you. I have not seen too many dramas in my life, maybe this could be something good."
"It will be, I promise!" she exclaimed excitedly.