It Started WIth an Arrangement, Pt 3
Vex gets a little sibling time and talks about her current observations of her betroth
The private moment only lasted for a few minutes. A knock on the door followed with a warning before Vax and Velora came in.
"Hi Stubby, how are you feeling?"
"I'm fine," she said as she helped lift Velora onto the bed.
"He is very handsome, Vex. He needs to smile, though."
"Yes, your babies will be so cute!" Velora beamed at her sister, not noticing the slight blush on Vex's face. Vax snickered, seeing her face, and Vex glared in return. Velora was the only reason she didn't throw something at him.
"I wonder if he's nice. He only talked to Father, but Father didn't look happy with what he said," Velora mused, not noticing her older siblings' antics.
"Father misspoke about their family, I wouldn't let that go either."
"Percival explained in one of his letters that his Mother is the ruler of Whitestone. Most of the time, men are in charge, but things work a little differently here. But Father assumed that Percival was the ruler because his Father died."
"Oh," was all Velora said before she decided to explore Vex's room.
Vex realized that she hadn't looked around after entering. It was a lovely room, big with lots of space and lots of natural light. She had just realized how comfortable the bed was. She briefly wondered what Percival's room looked like or if they would get a new room altogether.
She turned to look at Vax, who looked a little anxious.
"Sorry, just lost in some thoughts."
They kept their voices low so Velora wouldn't hear. They loved their sister but she had yet to learn to keep confidences and often relayed conversations to nearly anyone who would listen.
"I asked what you thought of his lordship."
"Well, he readily corrected his mother's title, so that seems promising. He didn't even speak to me."
"That did earn some favor, any man who will defend his mother like that can't be all bad. He and his sister were very grave though. Like Velora said, no smiles."
"What exactly is the situation with their sovereignty? I'm assuming he explained it in one of his letters."
"His family has reigned for a little over two hundred years. The inheritance is actually gender-neutral, so there have been a handful of female rulers. His mother was heir to the current line, she had an older sister but she died from illness young, and her husband was a second cousin or something like that. His grandfather arranged the marriage to combine the branches or something along those lines."
The twins looked to see their sister at the window seat. They shared a smile and headed to see what captured Velora's attention. The view was absolutely lovely; she could see some of the grounds that ended in the woods. The whole view looked like something out of a book.
A knock interrupted and servants filled the room with her belongings. They moved quickly and Devana came in just as they finished.
"I wanted to see Vex," Velora sheepishly answered.
All three of them just smiled at her innocence.
"Well, the servants are working on organizing your room but I told them to leave your toys. I expect you to keep them all in line while we are here."
"They didn't put Sir Baboon near Lady Badger, did they? They're currently in a terrible fight."
Velora rushed out of the room, leaving her family to giggle at her adorableness.
Devana sat with the twins, looking straight at Vex. She knew that Vex would tell Vax everything, so there was no point asking for privacy. One of the few good things of the last year was that the twins had grown close with their stepmother. She wasn't their mother, for no one could ever replace Elaina, but there was a warmth between them.
"Well, what?" Vex knew what she wanted to know but the words wouldn't come out.
"There is nothing to tell, he didn't even say hello to me."
"Did he measure up to his letters? From the painting that was sent, I thought he'd be more boyish. At least he's very handsome."
"Between you and Velora, I think I have to worry about one of you stealing him. He is handsome, from the way he described himself, I had the same image from the painting but maybe a bit older."
"What happened with Father making that mistake with the titles? Doesn't seem like him, I would have thought he'd have memorized the whole family's dossiers."
"Most humans follow male primogeniture, and with the death of Lord Fredrick a few years ago, it seemed the nature assumption. Your father is in an uproar, especially with Lord Percival correcting him like that, his poor aid is going through the worst of it right now."
"It looks like he's used to having to correct people but I think it's a good sign of character that he won't let his mother be slighted like that and he held his own against father so easily."
"I agree and if you're both feeling up to it, Lady Joanna would like a private dinner with both our families. Dress is casual but make sure to wear something nice," Devana said that last part while giving them a look that said 'no antics'.
Vax and Devana got up to get ready. Before she left, Devana suggested that the new red dress, which she noticed had become a favorite of Vex's quickly. She also reminded her that red was a lucky color.
If anyone has ideas for what red dress should look like, send it to me as an ask. I'll post the dinner in response to my choice
