“Thank you,” Finley replied, a blush gently dusting her cheeks. She didn’t even bother with a curtesy, but rested her hand on his arm in a gesture that was beginning to feel familiar. “Let us go to dinner, please. I’m absolutely starving.”
Arranged and Illegitimate // Fantasy OxO // Closed
Callan laughed a little bit at her comment. "Mm. Of course. Let's be off, then." He replied. He led her down the hallway. There was still an eyepatch covering his right eye, for which he was grateful. He had no idea how he would ever breach his curse with her, if ever he did.
“Hey, I know it might be a bit of a sensitive topic, but what happened to your eye?” Finley asked curiously as they continued through the palace. “I have to admit, I’m pretty intrigued.
He let out a slow breath. "I'd rather not talk about that." He replied simply. "I really would rather not. Sorry. Perhaps once we know each other better." He touched the eyepatch with his free hand, shaking his head slightly. "Sorry."
“Oh, it’s okay. I get it,” Finley said. “You don’t have to apologize for boundaries. Do you want to tell me what I should expect from dinner? Anything absolutely egregious that I should try and avoid?”
"Hm. You mean food wise, or people wise?" he chuckled softly. "Because food wise…it's all pretty good, so that'll depend on your personal preferences. But people wise…" he shrugged.
“People-wise. I… don’t quite know how to act in this kinda environment, y’know? Can I try to talk to others, or do you think that’ll turn out poorly?” Finley asked carefully, her fingers tracing the seam of Callan’s shirt absentmindedly.
He chuckled softly. "You can talk. Just…you know. Most of the nobility is under the impression that you and I are, er…madly in love." he shook his head a little bit, chuckling under his breath.
“Oh, that’s wonderful. I have to pretend I’m head over heels for you?” Finley asked in disbelief. “And here I thought I was finally getting a break. Well, this is going to be a long night, Callan.” She patted his arm and looked up at him. “A long night.”
Callan sighed softly, then cleared his throat. "Yes, it…will be. Especially since they expect us to, er…consummate the marriage." he said awkwardly, glancing down at her.
“Oh… that,” Finley replied, unable to meet his gaze. “Yeah, can I just sleep on the floor? I don’t believe that’s the most ideal ending to either of our days.”
He chuckled. "No. You take the bed, Finley. I'm good with the floor. Although we'll…have to at least make it look like we…you know. I won't make you do anything of that sort, but we need to make people think we did."
“Well, I’m not going to steal your bed! And, yeah, we should probably mess some stuff up. Gods, everyone in the palace is so nosy if we need to make people think we fucked,” Finley said thoughtfully.
He chuckled softly. "Mm. And no, you take the bed. I can set up a cot to sleep on." He replied, shaking his head a little bit.
Finley rolled her eyes. “Fine. I’ll take the bed,” she said, completely determined to not take the bed. “Hey, this‘ll technically be our first date! Though I suppose we can’t let the others know that, can we?”
Callan chuckled. "Yes, and yes." He replied with a smile. He ran his hand through his hair, leading her along, towards the dining room.
As they were about to enter the dining room, Finley took a deep breath. “You ready?” she asked, more to herself than to Callan. She smoothed the fabric of her dress with her free hand and straightened her shoulders.
Callan chuckled a little bit. "Mhm." He took a deep breath. "Come on." He led her into the dining room, chin held high as he heard some of the nobles begin to whisper about them.
Finley’s grip on his arm tightened as she noticed the gossip traveling around the room. Her eyes began to glow and her brow furrowed angrily. “If you’re going to say something, say it to my face,” she hissed.
Callan cleared his throat. "Finley!" He murmured. "Please don't cause a scene. They aren't saying anything that bad about you. I promise." Nothing is as bad as what's whispered about me and my mother. His face was an expressionless mask.
The glow in Finley’s eyes faded, but her anger barely did. “They better not be, or else,” she muttered. “Where do we sit?”
Callan led her over and sat down. He was near the royal family, but obviously not quite part of them. He ran a hand through his hair anxiously.
Finley slipped into her chair and tried not to make eye contact with anyone. Of course, the woman next to her was only too interested in the newlyweds. “You know, it’s quite romantic the way that you two got together, truly,” she said to Finley. “You really are rather lucky.” There was an undertone of bitterness in the compliment, and Finley didn’t know how to respond.
Callan took a deep breath, and served Finley some food, then himself. He ignored the woman's comments, hoping that Finley wouldn't ruin everything with a hot tempered word.
Finley gave Callan a small smile of thanks, then turned back to the woman. “Oh, I’d believe we’d be luckier if there were less prying eyes around the palace,” she said, sickly-sweet. “We have so many romantic things to do together, and all of the gossip is putting a damper on things. Isn’t that right, honey?” She lightly tapped Callan’s arm. The woman huffed angrily. “Filthy bitches should stay where they belong,” she muttered. Finley balled her hands into fists under the table. “Say that again,” she said slowly. “To my face.”
Callan frowned at the insult, turning to the two. "Madam." He said calmly. "It would be highly beneficial to you to not ever speak of my wife like that again." He gently took one of Finley's hands, and wondered if the words were meant as a dig at both of them.
The woman sniffed and turned up her nose, exiting her seat and moving to the other side of the room. She immediately began whispering furiously with the ladies on either side of her. Finley tensed up in anger. "Great. That solved absolutely everything. Now, if you let me teach her a lesson, she'd be far more motivated to shut her mouth," Finley fumed, tugging her hand out of Callan's grip.
Callan clenched his jaw slightly. "Finley! You cannot go around beating women of my father's court, no matter what they say to you." he hissed at her. "You have no idea how much trouble that can cause. You are not one of my brother's wives, whose sheer power would mean you can say anything you wish. I am on too shaky of footing to risk it. I am sorry for what she said, but if you retaliate in kind, you will only turn the entire court against us!"
“I can and I will! You have no control over me, Callan,” she spat. “The king already decided I’m too useful to execute and when I’m not ambushed, those scrawny guards are no match for me. And forgive me, but a court of pudgy nobles isn’t exactly the most terrifying thing in the world!” Finley stared up at him with fury in her eyes, bunching up the fabric of the tablecloth in her fist.
Callan took a deep breath. "You have a lot to learn of court, Finley." he replied, voice pitched low so that only she could hear him. "They could easily destroy us in a few words, and then what? You cannot undo our union, and neither can I."