by A. L. Tyler
Alexis pulled his plate away from him. “Then go find some other kids to play with.”
Ivan stared at her with large blue eyes, and then hopped down out of his chair and trotted off. Alexis pushed her eggs around her plate.
“So, I hear you don’t want kids.” She said finally.
Lena sighed. “Well, that got around fast.”
Alexis laughed a little. “Well, it was shocking. My mom almost had a heart attack…She’s been kind of hoping that she’d see the portal reopened within her lifetime. Now, it might not ever happen. I don’t get how you could just crush so many people’s dreams like that. It’s your fate, and you’re just going to turn your back on all of it.”
“I don’t believe in fate.” Lena shook her head.
Someone on the kitchen staff came out and cleared Ivan’s plates from the table. Alexis sighed. “Are you going to Serafina and Martin’s ceremony tomorrow?”
Lena thought for a moment. “I guess I’ll have to. It’ll probably look bad if I don’t.”
“Unfortunate.” Alexis said.
“You’re not going?” Lena asked, picking up her milk to take a drink.
Alexis shook her head. “No. I really don’t care for Serafina or Martin. And it’s just one more occasion for my parents to try to fix me up with some loser. You’re so lucky.”
Lena snorted and milk almost came out her nose. “Me? Why?”
“You’re young. You’ve still got a few years to avoid it, and even then, I’m betting you hold a lot of influence over the situation…it’s not like they can disown you, is it? And Griffin’s not that bad, all options considered…” Alexis had an expression on her face that was almost bitter.
“Don’t even. Just don’t even go there.” Lena went back to her oatmeal.
Alexis raised her hands and smiled. “I mean, I’m not blaming you, but you really do have a unique situation. You’re just lucky, that’s all. You don’t seem to enjoy it as much as you should.”
Lena tapped her spoon idly against the rim of her bowl. “It’s not all it’s cracked up to be. I mean, I can’t even go to the bathroom or take a walk without someone needing to know where I’m going. I’m under house arrest. I can’t even leave the property without getting special permissions, and even then, my life isn’t mine. People vote on where I get to live, who else gets to live there, how much time I’m allowed to spend with those people…It’s insane. I feel like I’m suffocating.”
“So why don’t you change it?” Alexis asked.
“I…can’t.” Lena looked up, surprised, as though this should have been obvious.
Alexis looked her in the eye. “There are two types of people in this community. The ones who worship you and the ones who want you to be treated just like everyone else. Well, okay, three types if you count the ones who want to kill you. But my point is, it’s all about you, Lena. If you can’t change it, then who can? I thought you didn’t believe in fate…”
They finished eating in silence. After breakfast, Lena went back to her room to work on her exposition—even though she was sure she already had it the way she wanted. She went over her note cards four times and corrected a few spellings. Around two, Howard asked Lena to meet him in the second floor study. He sounded tired, but was looking very hopeful.
“You created quite a stir in the first meeting today.” Howard looked at her warily.
“I’m sorry.” Lena said quietly. “I just didn’t know what to say, and I didn’t think I should lie, so…”
Howard reached one hand up, loosening his tie and then ruffling his smoothed, greying hair as he spoke. “I think you did very well last night, given the circumstances. Mrs. Brendon was trying to trip you up. It’s a hobby of hers to pick on the new ones, and it’s a good sign that she didn’t see a reason to lay off of you. You didn’t panic, and that was very impressive, even if your answers weren’t.”
“My answers sucked. Just go ahead and say it.” Lena made a face.
Howard cocked an eyebrow. “Your answers sucked. I’ve got to get going to another meeting here in a moment, but I suggest you work on your answers now that you know people aren’t going to be polite about their questions. I’ll see you at dinner.”
Smiling just a little, because Howard had reminded her of her father just then, Lena went back to her room to work on her exposition again. Having spent nearly the whole morning on the exposition, however, she soon became restless and went downstairs to find some other entertainment. Upon entering the living room, she was almost immediately pulled into an uncomfortable conversation by Ava.
“Lena, this is Mrs. Perry, I believe you met last spring.” Ava smiled and nodded at Lena expectantly. Lena smiled, emphatically said how happy she was to see Mrs. Perry again, and then tried to make the encounter as brief as possible.
“Oh, well don’t run off so quickly now! I was just telling Cecelia about the lessons Griffin has so graciously been giving you.” Ava looked at Lena, who looked at the expectant Mrs. Perry. She realized she wasn’t going to be leaving until Ava was appeased, and so resigned herself to some creative diplomacy.
She chose her words carefully, and smiled broadly. “Oh yes. The many hours I’ve spent with him have been a fantastically invaluable use of time.”
Ava beamed. Mrs. Perry smiled politely, but Lena could see that she was somewhat thwarted. “You’ve been spending a lot of time together, then?”
Lena made sure to keep her smile fixed. She knew what Ava wanted, and it was to have a daughter with better marriage prospects than Cecelia’s daughter, Serafina. And on the subject of snubbing the Perrys, Lena was on the same page with Ava. She didn’t want to say anything that supported Griffin, and so voiced her thoughts as covertly as possible. “Griffin is very intelligent, and clever to a fault. It’s been quite unwarranted.”
“Even with the restrictions placed by the Council?” Mrs. Perry’s mood became slightly more agitated, and Lena could hear the sharp edge in her tone.
Lena let her smile fall slightly, as she thought would be appropriate. “Oh, well, I’m sure you know my dear grandfather is barely clinging to life…that fact is quite tragic. Griffin has had less time for me since the meetings started and my grandfather’s improved—so, so sad.” She shook her head. Ava was still glowing, and Mrs. Perry was looking more dissatisfied by the minute. “And then there’s Griffin’s political career. I must say that his devotion to his work and my family have been…well, just short of obsessive, really. Where politics are concerned, one could say he’s definitely the lead rat in the race.”
Mrs. Perry, still wearing a false smile, sighed. “Well…aren’t you a lucky one.”
Lena strained to keep smiling. “Oh, you can’t even imagine…”
Mrs. Perry crossed her arms and her eyes wandered back to Ava. “It’s every mother’s dream to see her daughter successful. Sera and Martin are already planning a family.”
Ava eyes looked pleadingly over at Lena. “Are they, now?”
“Oh yes. Sera has always wanted a lot of children.” Cecelia beamed, looking maliciously back to Lena.
“Well,” Lena looked from Mrs. Perry to an expectant Ava. She couldn’t believe people so young considered themselves ready to be parents—Serafina still acted like a child. “Good for them. Please excuse me.”
Lena made a beeline for the kitchen before Ava could entrap her further. She wasn’t going to lie about her future plans regarding children…there were some things a person just couldn’t say without twitching. Once inside the crowd of kitchen staff, she started evasive maneuvers to avoid Mrs. Ralston by hanging back in a corner. Her eyes scanned the room, and though she hadn’t had much time to get to know the kitchen staff at the previous meeting, she did recognize a few faces.
“Hey.” An arm landed across her shoulders and pulled her into an awkward side hug. Lena turned her head and saw Devin smiling broadly. “You didn’t eat those potatoes, did you?”
“Devin!” Lena smiled and hugged him back. “Ye
ah…I didn’t eat them. What was that about?”
Devin had grown significantly since the last time Lena had seen him. He was actually bordering on being taller than she was now, and his light brown hair had grown out a little, but his lopsided smile hadn’t changed at all. He glanced around the kitchen and eyed some of the older adults suspiciously before turning back to Lena.
“Maybe later. Maybe…” Devin looked around the kitchen again. “Do you have anything to do tomorrow night?”
Lena looked around the room like Devon had before whispering back to him. “When tomorrow night? What’s happening?”
At that moment, Tab walked into the room and nodded at Devin. “Look for a note.” And Devin walked briskly back to the sink area, where he started directing drying and stacking activities among some younger teens. And then Mrs. Ralston floated in, toting a huge basket of dirty laundry, and started doling out jobs for dinner preparation.
“…and Lena, your mother is looking for you. I need some help with the laundry first, if you have time.” Lena gratefully followed Mrs. Ralston and Cheryl to the laundry room, where she took a current load out of the dryer and started folding them. Cheryl moved the washer laundry to the dryer, and then helped Lena fold as Mrs. Ralston sorted the newly arrived wash.
“Where’s Marie?” Lena asked curiously.
“She’s having some difficulties with the transition, so I thought it best that she take some time until the meeting is over.” Mrs. Ralston picked up a pile of towels and tossed them into the washer.
“She’s okay, isn’t she?”
“It’s mostly the headaches,” said Cheryl, “And the nosebleeds. She had a really bad nosebleed a few days ago.”
“She saw one of the guests walk through a door that wasn’t there,” Mrs. Ralston explained. “You remember how it was. She’s disoriented and confused with so many people around.”
Lena turned her attention to Cheryl. “How are you doing?”
“Okay, I guess. It’s about the same as where I was.” Cheryl said with a polite little laugh. There were times when Lena thought she acted far too old for her age.
“Oh? How’s the transition going?” Lena asked.
Cheryl looked confused for a moment. “I’m not like her…I grew up here. I already know all this stuff. I used to live at the Evans.” She went back to her folding as if this explanation resolved the issue.
“Oh…” Lena looked over at Mrs. Ralston, who was still busy sorting the laundry. She wasn’t sure what Cheryl’s exact status was, but she didn’t want to embarrass her, so she let the issue go for the time being.
Mrs. Ralston was folding the clothing more aggressively than usual. Finally, she sighed and threw down the jeans she had been holding. “Young Master Corbett is looking for you, too.”
Cheryl rolled her eyes at the mention of Griffin. Lena continued to fold but looked up at Mrs. Ralston’s disapproving expression.
“He is?” She asked innocently.
“Nothing frantic, but you know how displeased he gets when kept waiting. I suggest you forgo visiting with your mother since I’ve kept you here.” Mrs. Ralston said gratingly.
Lena smiled a little, but Mrs. Ralston still looked displeased. She folded a last towel and turned to leave.
“You’ve been seeing a lot of each other lately.” Mrs. Ralston added, indicating that the conversation wasn’t done yet.
Lena paused. “It’s a political duty. That’s all.”
“Of course.” Mrs. Ralston had sorted all the laundry. She straightened her dress and walked over to Lena. Your mother is going around telling people how clever and devoted you find Griffin, and how much time you’ve spent together. You said these things to her?
“Whoa.” Lena held her hands up. “I said he was clever to a fault, that his interest in the Darays bordered on a freakish obsession, and that the time we spent together was unwarranted. That’s what I said. Whatever my mom heard was what she wanted to hear.”
Mrs. Ralston sighed, and a fleeting smile graced her tight lips before she became serious again. I trust you know you’re putting yourself in a precarious situation, and I don’t need to remind you to remind yourself that it’s only a political obligation. If it’s ever anything else, it’s illegal. You’d need to tell Howard or me, and we’ll take care of it.
Lena tried ineffectively to stare down Mrs. Ralston as Cheryl looked back and forth between them, trying not to laugh, which was her usual reaction to tense situations. “It’s just political. Nothing else.”
Mrs. Ralston was looking very sternly into her eyes. Her arms were crossed. She sighed again and very suddenly pulled Lena into a hug. Lena wasn’t sure what to do, so she waited until Mrs. Ralston released her, smiled at her, and then they walked into the kitchen together. As Lena made her way to the stairs in the living room, she listened to Mrs. Ralston shout orders back in the kitchen.
“What?” Lena threw herself into one of the armchairs that sat opposite Master Daray’s desk. It was the first time she’d ever actually seen Griffin sit at the desk, and it was slightly unnerving. He looked entirely natural behind Daray’s desk.
“Master Daray’s health has improved. He asked me to tell you.”
Griffin turned his attention back to some papers on the desk that he had been studying. Lena looked down at the paperwork, then back at Griffin. Time seemed to move at crawl, and for the first time, Lena noticed an unusual ticking noise coming from somewhere in the room. She twisted around in her chair, but still couldn’t find the clock that the noise was emanating from. She turned back to Griffin, who was looking at her again.
“Why are you still here?” He asked in a stern tone.
Lena stared at him for a moment before his words sank in. “Oh…That was it?”
“Yes. That’s all.” Griffin went back to his papers. He picked up a pen and started to make notes in one of the margins.
Lena looked around the room again. He had called her up just to deliver a simple message?
He was glowering at her again. “I’m very busy. If you’d like to continue your studies the books are on the side table, but otherwise please go.”
Lena stood up. She watched Griffin doubtfully for a moment, and then slowly made her way back towards the library stairs. When he didn’t try to stop her, she turned around.
“Okay. What’s going on?” She asked doubtfully.
Griffin looked annoyed. He put his pen down and glanced up at her. “What do you mean?”
“You’re just…that’s all you wanted? To tell me something that I don’t even care about?” She accused.
“Apparently.” He watched her a moment longer, and when she didn’t speak, he went back to his previous engagement. Lena looked around the room again, looking for an answer or something else to say, and then left down the library stairs.
That night at dinner, Howard seated Lena at a side table with some other aspiring heirs. The conversation wasn’t bad, and politics hardly even came up—Lena had a sneaking suspicion that at least some of them didn’t think it appropriate to discuss politics in front of a lady. She’d had enough politics for the day, so she didn’t push the issue. Master Corbett was sitting in a corner with a family Lena didn’t recognize; he had taken to drinking a good deal of wine, and was staring suspiciously around at the other Council members. Bianca Channing had made her way to near the head of the main table. She was sitting next to Griffin, and while it didn’t really bother Lena, she found that she kept glancing in that general direction. Griffin and Bianca didn’t seem to be talking too much, though she did see them share a few brief interactions. That was typical for Griffin, though—from what Lena could remember, he didn’t ever talk much at dinner. What was different, and Lena was surprised it bothered her, was that she hadn’t caught Griffin looking at her once; he didn’t whisper compliments from across the room or once meet her eyes. Master Daray was deep in conversation with two Council members Lena hadn’t met yet; he was acting in higher spirits than usual. He looke
d up at Lena and smiled; Lena turned back to her tablemates, and joined in a conversation about white water rafting. She had actually been before, and Ryan Ashmore invited her to go on a group trip the following summer (“…with Council approval, of course”).
After dinner, Lena found a few moments to spend with Hesper and Eric. Hesper was looking more tired and worn than Lena had ever seen her, and she guessed the tent was starting to get to her. She offered Hesper her room, but the offer was turned down.
“It’s just a stomach bug.” Hesper leaned in closer. “Serena and Greg are letting us room with them, so don’t worry about us. Thanks for the offer, though.”
Lena found her way back up to her room, and saw that Mrs. Ralston had picked out three outfits that she deemed appropriate for the Perry-Colburn consecration ceremony the next day. Lena hung the clothes up at the front of her closet, changed into her nightclothes, and climbed into bed. When her head hit the pillow, it made a crinkling noise—she reached inside the pillowcase and pulled out a sheet of paper.
Colburn and Perry staff has off tomorrow night because of the ceremony tomorrow noon. There’s going to be a party if you want to come.
Outside greenhouse 8 p.m.
--Dev
Lena still wanted to know what had happened to the potatoes, and decided she would have to go if she was ever going to find out. Besides, she didn’t have anything planned for that night, and it sounded like fun.
