I, Geordo Stuart, was surprised to hear a knock on my door. Though I had not yet retired for the evening, it was late, and I wasn't expecting anyone. Especially not tonight. Most people would agree that this was a night on which I needed my rest.

I opened the door to my chambers in the Royal Palace and resisted the urge to slam it right back into place. On the threshold, ever-present insipid grin firmly in place, was my eldest brother Jeffrey.

"What do you want, Jeffrey?" I asked as pleasantly as I could, which probably wasn't pleasant at all.

"Oh, Geordo!" Jeffrey cried and advanced on me as though to embrace and I instinctually stepped back to avoid him. Unfortunately, this made room for him to cross the threshold into my room properly. Did he do that on purpose?

"Can't an older brother visit a beloved younger brother on the eve of his wedding," Jeffrey went on, "in order to have a celebratory drink and lament his soon-to-be lack of bachelorhood status?"

Drink? I glanced for the first time at Jeffrey's hands – one held a bottle of amber liquor and one held two glasses. I suppose if it's only one drink…

"Alright then," I said, gesturing Jeffrey to sit in one of the plush armchairs which surrounded the fireplace.

"Oh, Geordo! How much you've grown!" Jeffrey screeched, unscrewing the bottle's top and pouring two fingers' worth into each glass. "Not even 12 months ago would you have thrown me bodily from the room, and now look at you! Welcoming the brother of your blood and your heart into your illustriously appointed rooms…" he went on a bit longer as he handed me a glass, but I tuned him out.

He's not wrong though, I had to admit to myself, as I held the drink in my hands and sat down across from my brother. Until recently, I couldn't have imagined actually welcoming him into my room for a conversation. It must be Katarina's influence – she's softened me.

Unconsciously, I felt a corner of my mouth lift in a smile as I thought of my fiancée – and, tomorrow…

Jeffrey relaxed back into his seat and met my eye. He raised his glass, and something in his smile seemed more genuine than usual.

"To your marriage," he toasted. "May you and your wife have every possible happiness."

I raised my glass to mirror him, the smile on my face so unlike my normal façade as Jeffrey's words filled my body with warmth and I felt my heart beat faster.

I took a sip, the warm liquor making its way down my throat and adding to the warmth inside of me. Sometimes, it still felt hard to believe that this was finally happening. Despite the planning, the waiting, the wanting – now, I was here. Katarina was about to become my wife. I could hardly sit still in my chair for wanting to shout my triumph to the heavens.

Finishing a large gulp of his own drink, Jeffrey beamed at me again. Showing a bit too much clairvoyance for my comfort, he then said, "Hard to imagine we're finally here, eh? There were moments over the years when I wondered how your engagement would resolve."

I laughed humorlessly. That could have been the understatement of my life. Between the troublesome Keith Claes, Mary Hunt, and about a dozen others, Katarina had numerous options besides myself when it came to romance. I feared for years that someone would take her from me, and then more years after I had confessed my love to her and waited for her to resolve some…doom she had only ever vaguely alluded to.

"You're right there, Brother Jeffrey," I said, remembering my previous fears. "Sometimes, I wonder why she chose me in the end."

"She knows. That's all that matters," Jeffrey replied sagely. He was smiling so widely, I swear I could see all of his teeth.

I nodded into my drink and took another sip. Thinking back on Katarina's confession to me, I felt the warmth fill me again. She was perfect. She was all I would ever need. I would do everything in my power to make her happy. For the rest of my life.

It's not the end, I realized, this is only the beginning.

And I felt my own brilliant, genuine smile light up my face as I met Jeffrey's eyes again.

"I am so grateful to see you this happy," Jeffrey said. "It's all I have ever wanted, you know."

Then, without warning, the smile dropped from Jeffrey's face. His eyes became deathly serious, steely in their resolve. "There is something very important I have to discuss with you, Geordo."

My heart dropped into my stomach as my face fell. Jeffrey was annoying, but he was incredibly intelligent and savvier than he ever let on to most people. If he had something important to discuss, it was something to take seriously.

Indeed, the last time he spoke to me so seriously, he was telling me that I was in danger and asking me to cooperate in order to sniff out a greater enemy. This could be anything. Perhaps I was in danger again. My heart squeezed uncomfortably – perhaps Katarina is in danger.

I set my jaw and squared my shoulders. I would protect her. No matter the danger. No matter the stakes. I was about to be her husband; I would do anything.

"Yes, Jeffrey?" I managed to ask, though my entire body seemed to have turned to granite.

Jeffrey took a deep breath and somehow, I tensed further.

"To pleasure a woman in the marital bed is a delicate art…"

My jaw dropped faster than I would have thought possible. "I don't want to talk about this with you," I said quickly.

Jeffrey continued, "While rutting into her like a rabid beast may seem the most natural thing in the world –"
I suddenly felt my face flame with heat. "I really don't ever want to hear you say the word rutting!" I tried again to interrupt.

" – my top recommendation is to take your time in every sense of the phrase – "

"OK, that's it," I heard a shriek that must have come from me, though I'd never made a noise like that before. I leapt up and grabbed my brother's bicep, pulling him to his feet as I crossed the room to the door, ripped it open, and deposited him unceremoniously into the hallway beyond. "Get out, Jeffrey!"

"I know that if anyone can make the experience beautiful for Katarina, it's you, my beloved brother!" he squealed.

I slammed the door in his face. "Stop talking, Jeffrey."

"I believe in you, Geordo! I know that you'll rise to the occasion splendidly!"

I leaned my back against the cool wood of the door and slid down to the floor, burying my burning face in my hands.

Jeffrey is so weird!