Written For

Chapter 26 ~ Find A Way To Avoid

16th of June 1796

~Alfred's pov~

Life was alright.

Although Charles had a few misadventures his sickness almost seemingly disappeared. The anxiety of his health that once plagued me subsidised. I could now focus on my work and have a fresh mind when teaching my students.

Charles had become a more independent person, he cared for himself easily and was reliable enough that I could trust him being home alone, as I usually had to stay an hour extra at the school I taught at.

It was good to rely on Charles, this made life easier to me as all I had to do was look for Charles's red boots at the front porch and I would know he was safe. Now with the reassurance of Charles being less vulnerable than usual, my life could go back to as it was.

Like right now, walking back home while watching the sky change colours as the sun resided to rest. It was all so simple and such simplicity was something that I never knew I could appreciate so much. My whole life had been quite the mess but know it was peaceful, every day was normal and every second was spent without stress or anxiety.

I saw this too in Charles's demeanour, I only knew some parts of his early life but from what I had recollected from his scatters of tales was that he always had a sense of worthlessness. He spoke of feeling like a spare due to him being his father's youngest son, of course, whether George actually thought this was unclear to me I could see the anxiety and trouble it brought Charles.

My goal was to make Charles feel like he wasn't a spare, rather a person who was nor second or third to any other but a person who could make a difference. I did this in little ways, complimenting him, not talking down to him and treating him as if he was a normal person.

This was because, as I had observed, was how I could kill his insecurities. He seemed like someone who didn't want to be underestimated, someone who didn't want to be babied as he had been for the past twelve years of his life. This way of caring had seemed to be working for him, now rather than being an anxious person trying to be confident, he was the confident person he wanted to be.

He played with his friends and most importantly to me smiled. As much as he had suffered it was perplexing yet satisfying to me that he could finally smile with confidence. The only thing that concerned me was how his father had treated him, I never met George before but somehow he came off to me as someone who didn't care for his son.

I didn't want to jump to any conclusions but I –yes the somehow sane me– felt as if maybe I was a better caregiver to Charles than his own father. Of course, this did seem preposterous, but as I walked inside my home and saw Charles smiling brighter than ever before.

It wasn't puzzling for me to say my intuition was right.

~Y/N's pov~

Surprisingly George hadn't confined me back to the wretched room I previously resided in.

Not surprisingly, he had been avoiding any communication to me.

And to add to that thought, not surprisingly, I honestly didn't care.

Of course for the day after the incident, I felt guilty, but as no scolding or punishment was laid upon me, I saw no reason to feel pain from a quite blissful experience.

This partly, in turn, was my plan to get out of this abhorred place. I knew George was expecting some sort of emotional and deep filled apology from me, but if I diverted his intuition then maybe he would soon find the same hatred I felt for him.

This was better for the two of us, as much as I was sure he loved me, I didn't want to leave knowing that he still craved my very existence. I knew George thought he was smart, manipulating my emotions like he did last time but his avoidance wasn't going to garner him an apology, rather hopefully growing malice towards my very name.

Of course, knowing his nature I would have to do a few things before he would truly consider his love for me. The first thing I could do was ignore him. As he was doing the same, this factor was quite easy for myself to fathom. The others ways, of course, had not come to fruition, but as I spent more time in isolation with my own mind, I saw plenty of time to think and plan.

Besides my eased restrictions had not ceased, I was allowed to roam most of the castle, making it even easier to erase George's presence from my life.

My new favourite spot to calmly ignore everything was the library in which I spent my final days being unmarried. It was quite a small space, but what it lacked in room it made up for in the number of books spread across its walls. It was a very cosy environment to entrench myself in.

I kept my figure near a small nook which was placed in the corner of the miniature library. I had a cup of warm tea and a copy of 'Paradise Lost' in my hands, while I feverishly enjoyed a simple attire of a cosy white blouse and pants.

I knew George hated me wearing anything other than a slightly revealing dress but now due to his absence of communication with me, I was free to wear whatever clothes best suit my needs.

I leaned back on the soft cushion and sipped some of my tea as I flipped the page. A knock soon rattled upon the door making me quite unhinged. I stayed silent and turned my head towards the window as the knocking continued. I sighed slightly and the door soon opened to George who was looking at me slightly confused yet happy.

"There you are Y/N, I've been looking for you for a while now." He remarked. I drowned out his voice and took a large sip of tea, avoiding his gaze at all costs. "Y/N? If you're scared I'm not going to hurt you, I was just wanting to talk to you."He explained.

I continued ignoring him and George let out a sigh. He walked closer towards me and sat next to me, shoving himself into the comfy space I had made for myself. "What's wrong Y/N, you know I'm not angry right? Come on talk to me." He spoke in an almost mocking way. I turned my head towards him and closed the book.

I glared at George and gestured to wave him away. "I'm trying to read. Please go." I spoke harshly. George looked at me blankly and picked up my book. "How about I read this to you?" He chuckled. I scoffed and motioned to stand up. George meanwhile kept his hand on my stomach and kept me down.

"As much as you keep avoiding me and treating me as if I'm worthless I'll be patient with you. I just need you to be less selfish Y/N." He spoke in a more serious tone. I looked at him blankly, slightly fazed from his words. He kissed my cheek and opened the page of the book.

"I have feelings as well, Y/N."