Destined

Chapter 16

Hannah looked radiant in the ballroom the next night. She looked so much like Mother... I spent most of my time against the wall, feeling even less like talking than I normally did, watching Hannah talk and dance. God, I had never noticed how much Hannah looked like our mother.

  "You look sad." I was roused from my thoughts by Dean walking up to me almost a half-hour into the celebration.

  "I... I suppose I do. Don't worry about me, though, Dean. Go be with Hannah," I said, not meeting Dean's eyes. I still felt uncomfortable after the way we left our last conversation, and I really didn't want to have to deal with those emotions again, especially as I didn't know what those emotions were.

  "Hannah's fine. You, on the other hand, look like you could use a friend," Dean said. I glanced over at Hannah, who was standing next to Charlie and talking with some of the other ladies that were there.

  "That may be so, but you are her fiancé, Dean. You should be with her," I said. Dean stiffened slightly.

  "Why are you so determined to get me away from you?" Dean asked. "I'm just trying to be a good friend." I sighed. I was really not in the mood for this.

  "Well when will you start trying to be a good fiancé to my sister?" I asked. The words were harsh, I admit. They did not sound kind, and that was probably because they were not intended to be. I had not meant to make my feelings on the subject so clear, but the more Dean had chosen to talk to me rather than Hannah, the more my resolve to remain quiet had weakened. And now here we were, with the words hanging between us, silent.

  "Is that really all you think of me?" Dean asked quietly. For a moment his eyes filled with hurt, but it was gone in an instant, replaced by anger.

  "Fine," he spat. "If I will only ever be a brother-in-law to you, then fine. That's what I'll be." And with that he turned and stalked away, over to Hannah, smiling at her and engaging in conversation. I took a deep breath, pushing down the hurt that was trying to creep up. While I would have preferred a much less aggressive conversation, it was a good thing Dean was paying his attentions to Hannah instead of myself. I only wished I knew why Dean was as hurt by my words as he seemed to be. They were not put kindly, but surely he could not be unaware of how much his behaviour was making people question him. I shook my head. It would do me no good to dwell on this. I needed to get away from the wall and find someone to talk to so I could stop thinking so much. Father always did say I overthink things. 

  As I looked around the room, trying to find someone to talk to, I realized just how few people I actually knew. The only familiar faces I could see from my position were Dean and Hannah, even among the sea of other nobility. I felt my wings shrink against my back at the prospect of trying to engage with a stranger, but at this point I didn't know what else to do. I took one step away from the wall, and-

  "Hello, Clarence." Meg emerged from the crowd with a sly smile on her face, her brown eyes shining with mischeif.

  "Meg," I responded, nodding my head to her.

  "Dean doesn't look happy," she commented, glancing around at him. I looked at him too, seeing him smile at something Hannah said.

  "I'm sure he's fine," I said. I hope he's fine. Meg rolled her eyes.

  "Oh please. You can't be that blind. Dean is not good at hiding his emotions," she said. I looked back at Dean, searching for a sign of unhappiness. And suddenly, there it was. I could see it in his eyes. The hurt and anger that I had caused.

  "Maybe I should apologize," I said, mostly to myself.

  "Leave it," Meg suggested. "He'll cool down soon enough, and you can talk to him then. If you try now he'd probably just cause a scene." I sighed and turned back towards Meg.