It was finally the day for the meeting with Vincent's girlfriend. It was apparently set up as a dinner at Buckingham. It was just Arthur and I, his parents, his grandparents, and then Vincent and his girlfriend. I had just finished my look for tonight. It was simple, but elegant.
It was an awkward drive. Arthur was clearly set. He wasn't even willing to play nice tonight. It was going to be a tense dinner.
"Could you just play nice tonight?"
"Victoria..."
"Arthur, he's your brother. He had not even met me when we broke up. But he still came to talk things out with me. And he was amazing."
"You're not her."
"But he didn't know that. Arthur, if you're going to say no to this, at least give it a fair shot. Cause if you don't, and you ruin this for your brother, you will never forgive yourself." He was thinking about what I said. He knew I was right.
As we arrived, we said hello to everyone. Vincent and his girlfriend had just pulled up. Everyone had this look on their face. The odds were that this wasn't going to go well.
My first impression of her was that she wasn't even African-American! She was as light as me! So for Vincent to lay emphasis on her race, this wasn't what any of us were expecting. I know we have light skinned African-Americans, but this was different. We were all standing in the Green Room when they walked in. We were all thinking the same thing.
"I thought she was meant to be African-American?" Arthur whispered to me. I was just as shocked as he was. She had mid-length black hair, she was a bit thick...but just right, she had freckles on her cheeks, and that was it. That was all to her physical appearance.
"Everyone, meet Rachel Raglan." Vincent said as he approached all of us. We were all reluctant to do this, but it's only fair that we try. She was just standing there. Not even a curtesy to the Queen! It was almost blasphemous. We all saw the flaw in the impression, but we ignored it.
"Rachel, hope you like steak and potatoes." I'm sure Arthur's dad intended it to be a question, but it was just a statement. Without saying anything else, we adjourned to the dining room.
For the first few minutes, we ate in silence. Nobody wanted to be the first to say something. Until the Queen spoke.
"Rachel, what do you do for a living?"
"I act. As I'm sure you all know, I have been shooting the show 'Briefcases' for years in Canada." I'm sorry but...wow.
"Well, no, we don't all know. But thank you for the information." Arthur's grandfather added. Not the best start.
"Do you realise that if my permission is given, you'd immediately put an end to that...career of yours?"
"I do. And I'm willing to give all that and more up if it means being with Vincent." I could feel Arthur's mood, and it wasn't good.
"Do you think you can handle being thrown into the royal life? It is quite a lot to handle." Arthur's mom asked. Her reply was almost...rude.
"Well, I didn't know that I was coming for a pop quiz." We all shared the quizzical look! What?! Everyone dropped their cutlery, even Vincent! He turned to her and whispered something. "But to answer your question, I can handle it all."
"You know, manners and respect are the foundation of this family." This was the first thing Arthur had said.
"What?" She was so clueless.
"You have broken so many rules in less than an hour of being here. You didn't curtesy, you address us all without any regard for our titles, and you already disrespected us all." At least he didn't shout.
"You can't possibly expect her to follow the traditions here. This is a dinner, Arthur." Vincent should've said nothing. This was just going to escalate. I placed a hand on Arthur's leg under the table, trying to calm him down.
"Yes, she does. We were brought up with these traditions. So disrespecting them is equivalent to disregarding everything we've been taught."
"Victoria, get your husband in line." Why was Vincent dragging me into this? I was finding the perfect reply when Arthur's dad stepped in.
"We raised you better than this boys. Arguing in front of a guest and your grandparents...disappointing really. And Vincent, don't ever drag your brother's wife into random situations like you just did. It's poor and in very bad taste. Is that clear?"
"Yes Pa." Vincent said lowly. We had all lost our appetite. Arthur was done. I could feel it.
"Vincent, this is just a small part of this very big family of ours. And it's obvious that we all want you all to be happy. You knew the plan of this before you got here. But it's obvious that you either failed to prep her for this meeting, or she totally has no respect for what this stands for. Irrespective of which it is, I'm stepping out of this decision. It's now up to your grandfather, your father, and your brother." Oh, that was a change in plan. "So, I'll spare us all the pain of going through another meeting, and we'll settle this tonight."
The Queen got up, and the three men followed. They were going to decide on what was going to happen with Rachel. The awkward moment of just being here with Arthur's mom, Rachel, and Vincent. I sipped my wine silently.
"Victoria." I raised my head to see Vincent looking at me. "You more than anyone else knows the pain of losing a sibling."
"Where's this going Vincent?" His mother looked pissed.
"You see Arthur going down the same road that you took with your sister, why aren't you stopping him? Do things need to escalate like they did with you and your sister?" I didn't like the way that conversation was going.
"Vincent!" Ok, his mom had had it. She was furious! "Why would you even say something like that?!" I could hear her shouting in the background, but I was in another state. I had always blamed myself for what happened to Freja, so this just dug up some crazy emotions.
"I'm sorry, excuse me." I moved my chair back and dropped my napkin on the table.
"Victoria..." His mother called out, but I was already out of there. I had just walked into one of the nearest powder rooms. I just locked myself there and just....
**********Arthur's POV ***********
The reality of this conversation was clear. That marriage wasn't happening, we all objected to it. And all with good reasons.
"He'll leave the family if we don't say yes." Gran said.
"In all honesty, I would rather he leaves than to bring that woman into this family." Pops said. He was right. My grandfather was always right.
"Plus, it's obvious that he's just throwing random attacks. I know my son, and he's too dependent on the family to leave. If we say no, he'll grumble for a while, and then he'll find a new woman. It has been his routine for a while."
"So, we're united on the no?" Gran asked finally. We all nodded and she smiled. "Well, let's find the best way to tell him that..." We were interrupted by my mother. She didn't look so happy.
She explained what had happened at the table, and everyone was furious. But not as furious as I was. I didn't even wait for anyone to say anything. I didn't need them to calm me down. I just walked right into the dining room and walked straight to him. He was seated with his thing, talking like nothing had happened! On instinct, I grabbed him from his chair by his collar and flung him against the wall.
The family had gathered, they were all screaming for me to calm down, my father was trying to hold me back, but it was all useless. How dare he?!
"What did I tell you would happen if you ever brought my wife up? Hmm?!" I walked to him and threw a very hard punch. All this anger needed an outlet.
"Arthur! That is enough!" My father had stepped between us, and placed his hands on my chest to push me away from Vincent. "Go check up on your wife. We'll handle everything here." That was when I actually came down from my angry high. Victoria was somewhere, hurting badly. We had to get out of here.
With the help of one of the guards, I found her. I knocked lightly on the door.
"Babe? Please open up, I just want to talk." I said lightly. It took a few minutes, but she did. Her eyes looked puffy. She had been crying. As I entered, I shut the door behind me, and just pulled her close. I could see that she needed that. Her head was tucked safely under my chin, and as she cried on me, I stroked her long hair. There was no rush, we just stayed that way.
I had dealt with Victoria on multiple occasions where her relationship with her sister was brought up in a bad light. And she was always hurt by it. I already knew how much she blamed herself for it, Vincent didn't need to remind her. She had the occasional nightmares about that night almost every week. She was struggling, even years after. Her brain was her constant reminder. So when I get her happy enough and focused on something else, then someone chooses to do this, of course my reaction would be anger! I would protect this woman at all costs! Because she deserved it. She deserved everything good that I had to offer.
"Let's get out of here. Let's go home." So we stepped out and went to get our coats. My parents were standing there.
"Victoria, I'm so sorry. For being there and not saying or doing anything, and for Vincent's behaviour. I really am." I could see how sorry my mother was about it. I really could. But Victoria just faked a small smile and said nothing.
"We'll stop by tomorrow to check up on both of you. Arthur, take care of her please." I nodded at my father as we headed out. My sole focus was just getting her home, and in bed. The ride was silent. She had her head facing the window all through the ride. When we got home, she didn't even say anything to me. She just headed upstairs. I followed after her to make sure she was OK. She just changed out of her clothes, cleaned the makeup, packed her hair, and she just laid in bed. I had a lot to do down in the office, but I wasn't about to leave her.
I took my jacket off, then my shirt, changed into a grey jogger, and laid down with her. At first, her back was to me, and my hand was around her waist. But after an hour or so, she felt more comfortable with me again. So she had turned and placed her head on my chest. It took a minute, but she finally slept off. I just couldn't bring myself to leave her alone in bed. She needed me. And I needed her too.
I knew that by morning, she would argue with me about the bruising on my hand. I was so sure of it. Because she's a good person, she would shout at me for getting into a brawl with him. But I'll make it clear that anyone that hurts her, will get the same, or even worse.
In the early hours of the morning, I woke up, and she wasn't there. It was merely 5am. Where could she have gone? I threw on a black hoodie and went to search for her. After searching extensively, I found her in the garden. She was just there, alone. She was so lost in thought that she didn't even notice me sit down next to her.
"What are you doing out of bed?"
"I just needed to walk. Just a nice walk alone." I nodded slowly.
"I could leave..."
"Stay. Please." And so I did. She took a few minutes, but she spoke again. "I'm sorry."
"For what? You have nothing to be sorry about."
"I can see your relationship with Vincent deteriorating, and I'm not doing anything to stop it."
"His words got to you, didn't they?" I held her hand in mine. "Vincent isn't Freja. And I'm not you. It's far from the same. And believe me, this would've been much worse if you weren't there to calm me down. You're not a bad person, don't let people put that on you." She leaned into me and just stayed there. These were our precious moments. And as for Vincent, this is far from over.