Briar Rose

two | unsteady

Briar silently resented her father for that, and she wasn't sure if she could ever forgive him either.

"Oh thank the Heavens," Klaus breathed, sweeping Briar off her feet and into his arms with a swift movement. Briar yipped, completely caught off guard with the action. She pulled her body away from his with her arms, barely being able to fight against his death grip.

"What on earth do you think you are doing?" She questioned the obviously delusional boy, feeling discomforted in his embrace.

Klaus didn't dare answer the confused girl that he held tight in his grip, just gazed into her honey eyes and smiled deeply.

"Down boy," Rora cooed, making her way softly to stand next to her father.

Klaus let loose a hearty laugh, putting Briar down on the ground with a satisfied smirk. Rose took in her surroundings, stepping away from Klaus and was undoubtedly confused with everything that had just happened. "We were going to tell you more subtly my flower, but your disappearance made us have a slight change in plans." Briars father's voice did nothing but agitate the fire growing in her. "Briar Rose, my sweet" he continues softly. "Sweety, you and Klaus are well -"

Klaus cut in abruptly, "marry me." The seriousness in his voice made Briar take a step away from him. She couldn't tell if he was being serious or was this some big joke they had all set up because she had ran off?

"No Klaus, there is no question to it." Her father snapped densely, "Briar these are hard times in the town and this is what's best for everyone. In a month you and Klaus shall be wed." Her heart stopped beating. How could they do this to her blatantly behind her back? She was the younger sister, Aurora should have been the one to have to have the responsibility to marry Klaus, not her.

"Why me?" she asked, taking yet another step back as subtly as possible.

"Well," Klaus began, "your father came to me offering up Aurora as insurance of his secure future but I wasn't interested in her -"

"I take offence in that," Rora groaned lowly.

"I wanted you," he finished lightly.

"But why?"

"So many reasons Rose, just please say you'll do it. Please say you'll marry me."

Briar looked around studying the crowds faces and she felt like a cornered animal. It was the most awful feeling in the world that she just couldn't understand, and what was even worse was that she knew there was no way in hell that she could say no to him. She knew that it was tradition that the children were responsible for the parents as they grew, they would rely on income from their children to survive after they passed their prime. There was no social security for them to fall back on. Not retirement money, just their children. This wasn't a new fact for Briar Rose but she just couldn't grasp at why it had to be her. She had always assumed it would have been Aurora's task since she was the eldest.

Aurora had wanted marriage, she had told Rose that not even six hours ago. Yet here they were, Rose about to make one of the biggest decisions of her life. A decision she had thought was years off. One that she would choose in passion and love and not out of duty for her family and their safety.

The eyes of the townsfolk surrounding her seemed unscalable at the moment and Rose's unsteady heartbeat faltered more times than she could count. So with an uneasy glance to her stern-looking father she looked back at Kendal before answering him in a voice barely over a whisper, "Yes Klaus, my answer is yes."

The town cheered, oblivious to the wilting Briar Rose, even though on the outside she was smiling, not nearly as much as Klaus. He once again swept her into his arms, spinning her several times before placing her back on her wobbly feet. "Alright then, now there are more pressing matters at hand." Her father clapped his hands firmly while rubbing them together, "Shall we take this conversation somewhere a little more secluded yes?" he suggested and before she knew it they had traveled to the quaint little house she called home.