AO 7 Ch 11

Bianca sat down across from me as Ditzy set down the saucers, followed by the cups and, of course, the tea itself. It was all very ritualistic and how nobles had their meetings.

This one was in a House Aldis parlor and I had only agreed so that I could control the flow of the conversation than letting this go through anyone else.

"Thank you," Bianca said, her eyes tracking Ditzy as she moved about the room. "I don't recall this one from before." If I didn’t miss my mark, she was jealous. That was understandable though, Ditzy had the kind of beauty that everyone wished they had.

"Oh, Ditzy?" I said, hooking a thumb at the goddess currently pretending to be my anchor. "She's new, hence getting the wonderful job of serving tea." I winked at her.

"As always, it is my pleasure." Ditzy curtsied like a professional, going even lower than Maribelle and dropping her gaze subserviently to the floor before she looked up to check if I was watching her closely.

What a tease.

"Well, she certainly—" Bianca had a look of distaste, "—is an elegant woman." Bianca herself was beautiful as well, but the goddess of beauty was understandably on another level.

"That she is, indeed. So Bianca, I don't want to seem too rude, but you were the one that insisted on this meeting." I put the tea down and tapped impatiently.

The princess cleared her throat. "Yes, of course. I am coming on behalf—no, I am coming for my family." She corrected herself.

I knew what she'd been about to say, and perhaps my expression had made her rethink that line of conversation. After all, it was the reason I broke up with her.

"The royal family is about to be drawn and quartered, each of those quarters feasted on by the nobles of the kingdom." Bianca wrung her hands and couldn’t meet my eyes with those words. The Royal Family was finished, even if it had been said a thousand times before, seeing the representative of the second prince like this drove it home. Technically the prince should be getting ready for a coronation and become the most important person in Avente, but that wasn’t going to happen.

"Uh-huh," I said, already well aware of what House Aldis and every noble house was preparing for. The fact that the royal family would be drawn and quartered was a nice way to put it. The fact that every remaining unwed prince and princess would likely be fought over and assassinated to prevent others from utilizing them was the unfortunate future.

"Thus, some protection for myself would be much appreciated. Of course, my brother would give his full support behind whomever could protect me," she emphasized, finally looking up at me.

"Well, that sounds lovely. But I don't know why you'd come to me." I shrugged and sat back with my tea.

"Because you are a four sphere mage, and everything that is going around suggests that you could actually keep me safe from any number of dangers." She put a hand on her chest and spoke passionately, but it did little for me.

"You're not wrong. But I have very little reason to put myself out there and put myself in danger. I don't mean to offend. I'm just stating the brutal reality of the situation." I slurped at my tea.

Bianca closed her eyes. "Of course, if I were married to you…" she said, her eyes sparkling with hope. "…that would change many things."

It was everything I could do to not wince at that. "Unfortunately, that ship has already passed. And I don't see it coming back around any time soon." It was brutal to be this blunt. But there wasn't exactly a better way to put it without leaving the door open for hope.

Right now she needed solutions, not hope to cling onto.

"Please, Ard," she began, "we had a brief connection, and... I would promise to give my utmost to House Aldis in return for your support and protection.”

There it was, the ‘offer’, far more like a business deal than any sort of relationship I wanted a part in.

“Look, I'm not trying to extort anything from you or squeeze anything out. I simply won't be around. And if you need that level of protection, it sounds like you would only be relying on my prestige."

The princess gave me a weak smile. "Your prestige is worth more than you realize."

I let out a breath and stared at her for a long moment. "I understand your difficulties, but I think you will have to look elsewhere for the protection you need." Truthfully, I had made my decision about Bianca long ago. And though I had humored this meeting from the get-go, there had been little chance of me agreeing at all. This was so that House Aldis wasn’t playing middle man and stringing her along.

"I see, so there's nothing I can do." She offered. Her eyes dipped down over me before she gave me a flirty smirk that was a touch too obvious.

"Unfortunately, I am certain," I said, hoping I came off as sincere and genuinely sorry.

"I see." Her eyes went back to Ditzy.

"At least have some tea before you go." It was polite to offer even if I wanted her out of here.

"No thank you, I find myself unlikely to stay long.” The princess stood. "Do take care of him."

"Of course," Ditzy said without missing a beat. "He'll never want for anything with me."

Bianca almost looked sick at that before picking up the hem of her dress and hurried out without another word.

Ditzy stood there watching the door for a moment before turning back to me. "She's a mess."

"Yup." I already knew that and was more concerned with my tea. "What was your read?"

"Do you mean, does she have feelings for you?" Ditzy interpreted my request.

“That’s why I brought the Goddess of Love,” and because the ladies wanted to have a ‘getting ready party’ for tonight.

"No. Not at all." Ditzy's eyes became hard. "There was love in her heart, but not for you. Instead, for someone much farther away."

I followed her gaze out the window. "Like the love for a sibling?" I asked.

"Close enough. Though, I’d call it an obsession." Ditzy turned back to me with a smile. "But you won't let that bother you, will you? Can’t win them all."

"If I said it would, would that change anything?" I chuckled.

"No, I suppose not." Ditzy sighed and plopped down into my lap, nearly spilling my tea, yet in the same breath, adeptly scooping it out of my hands.

"You know, you could take the tea out and then get in my lap. It would make the whole process a lot simpler." I fussed trying to get comfortable with how my clothes were pulling.

The goddess narrowed her eyes at me.

"Or don't. Ignore me." I raised my hands and surrendered.

"Well, if you're the one telling me to, then I might as well." The goddess had a smirk painted across her face.

"You know, I'm starting to think I got more than I bargained for with you.” I winked at the goddess. It was a terrible burden to have such a beauty in my lap.

“The return period has already passed," she waggled her finger at me. "I don't think the merchant will take me back.”

“You think I could get a good deal if I sold you somewhere else? Let the look but not deal with you and they’d probably sell their farm for you." I teased.

"Probably not. Most would consider me damaged goods." She took Bianca’s untouched tea and sipped it.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "It seems most people are idiots. Who would be dumb enough to call you that?"

The goddess smiled. "Careful now, you might charm me with that wicked tongue of yours. You’re so good with it, I bet it gets used in all sorts of ways."

I covered my mouth. "You're right, I'll have to be careful. Emlyn says it's my best asset."

"I'm sure she does. Now, should we get back to... the reason you called me here in the first place?"

"Hm? Right. Well," I gestured at the departed, at the now empty other couch. "Mostly I wanted your read on her.”

“If there had been love there, would you have given her another chance?" Ditzy asked, her own eyes searching mine.

"Maybe," I hedged. "I certainly wouldn't have dismissed her so harshly. If she came off as anything other than her brother's best pawn. I do hope one day she finds more comfort in her life. But I think we both know that if her heart isn't in it, then I have no interest."

"Really, so you care about the others' feelings more than your own?"

I shrugged. "Let's be honest. You've seen all of the ladies around me. Do you think I can resist temptation for that long?" I laughed. "No, I'd probably let any beautiful woman eat me up. If her heart was in it.”

There was something about being desired that was far more interesting than my own wants. When a woman looked at you with genuine interest, well that got the blood pumping better than anything I knew.

“And if there was no interest from the other party?" Ditzy asked, looking into the distance, yet it was clear to me that she was paying rapt attention to my answer.

"No. Not really. If the other party is not interested, then neither am I. It might seem a little simple," I said, scratching the back of my head, "but for me, without mutual interest, I find I have little of my own."

Ditzy hummed to herself. "Somehow that is reassuring, Ard."

"Oh, it's reassuring?" I asked.

"Yes, as a beautiful woman who's been pursued far too often, I find it strangely comforting that you won't fall madly in love with me."

I tried to stop it, but the laughter ripped itself out of me. She was just a little too full of herself, which was worse coming from me.

The blonde goddess scowled and put her hands on her hips. "And what is so funny?”

“Ditzy, do you think I'm gonna suddenly fall in love with you or something?" I wiped the tears that were threatening to push their way through my laughter.

"No, that's not it at all," she said, overly defensive.

"Good," I said, not really believing her. “Otherwise, that would have made for some incredible awkwardness.”

"And what does that mean,” Ditzy pushed.

“Simply, if you're not interested, then neither am I. So relax, Ditzy, if you have no desire to join Missy's Pantheon or you'd like to do so platonically, please feel free."

"And what if you change your mind?" she asked, squinting at me suspiciously.

"I doubt it. Like I said, there's simply no interest from me if it's not reciprocated." I slapped my knee. "Anyhow, do you think the others have managed to stay out of trouble? Perhaps we should go and check on Emlyn just to be sure she's not… I don't know, she always finds trouble." I sighed.

"Probably," she squinted at me. "I do believe she would say just the same thing about you."

"Of course she would. She blames me for her own shortcomings. Just don't tell her that. Or I'll get blamed for that too." I winked at Ditzy and waved for her to get off my lap. "Come on, you're supposed to go through the door first. At least that's how all of my other anchors work."

She rolled her eyes, but got off me gracefully before almost dancing over to the door.

"By the way, Ditzy, what's the deal with Bad Kitty?" I said, trying to bring it up as casually as possible.

"The deal with?" Ditzy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, you know, when she's talked about Freya, I could have sworn she was about to start hissing." Some days she really was a bad kitty.

Ditzy gave a full-chested laugh as she opened the door and quite nearly bounced my head between her mounds when she turned abruptly. "I should be asking you these questions, Ard. Of all of us, you have the least at stake.”

“Stupid Cowtits.” I grumbled, and ensured I didn’t face plant into Ditzy’s chest.

There was a small uptick of Ditzy's lips as I used my nickname for Freya.

"Well, besides her making King Martin and through him starting a war with my country, my family, and all of that jazz. Yeah, I have no reason to go after her.” I deadpanned and gestured for her to keep walking.

“Point taken. But you didn't have to take it so far." Ditzy twirled around and led down the hall with none of the vigilance I was used to from my anchors. Though, she was a goddess of war and I assumed she could swing a sword if something happened.

"I would disagree," I said quickly. "Freya was the one that dictated how far I had to go to get rid of King Martin. You and the others were vital. This isn't some grand quest for me. This is simply another thing in a long line that I must do to keep myself and those I love alive."

The goddess looked at me for a long moment before she continued walking down the hall. "You know, you're actually decently handsome when you take things seriously."

"Oh, shit," I said, putting my face in my hands. "I better be careful not to tempt the goddess of love. If you were to get interested, I don't know if I could resist."

She gave me a playful look, ripe with seduction. "Oh, should I be tempting you away from your anchors?"

To that I snorted. "You'll never tempt me away from them. Instead, I'll just rope you back in. Maybe chain you up with Ardenium and keep you somewhere safe for when I get bored."

The Goddess gave me a measured look. "Careful with how good you are with those chains. I might consider that a credible threat."

"Only if chains are what you want," I said. "Speaking of, I know the rest of you all have these aspects and things like that. Now that I'm becoming a little godly," I brushed my hair to the side, "what do you think I would be the god of?" I asked.

"Corny jokes and dense men," she answered without a moment's hesitation.

"Hey." I wanted to argue, but she threw open the bedroom door to reveal Emlyn on the other side, and my mouth snapped shut before Emlyn invited herself into the conversation and completely misinterpreted whatever I was about to say.

My first love narrowed her eyes at me. "He was about to say something rude, wasn't he, Didsy?"

"That's simply a given," the Goddess smirked. "I have no idea how you put up with him," she said to Emlyn and breezed past my anchor. "He's all yours. I need to go recharge before I have to spend an entire ball with him."

"You make it sound like he'll be insufferable."

"Oh, I will be," I said with a giant smile. "I'm looking forward to tonight."