Just to clear up since a few of you expressed confusion over who Ari was. She first appeared in the final chapters of Bound By Honour as Wolfe (Lord Usani's) bride and future wife. She was the one who asked for Sparrow's help in cancelling the wedding. She was adamant enough that Sparrow decided to help her and found her own happily ever after through ruining the wedding. I hope that obliterates any confusion. If you have any questions please do ask... On to the rest of the story then...
"Lady Arisxandre Tikva..." Hunter drawls with humour. She simply raises an eyebrow at him as he deftly guides her across the dance floor. "I did not expect to ever see you again."
"Oh come on, Hunter, we were almost family; I think that you can call me Ari when we are just us." Ari teases with a giggle that brings a smile to his face. "Although I now recall that I never thanked you." His forehead creases a little.
"What do you think you need to thank me for?" He asks. Ari grins.
"If it was not for you and your plan I would actually be married to your brother right now. You saved us both from a loveless marriage and that deserves much appreciation." Ari replies honestly, a little out of breath as the music comes to an end. Hunter escorts her off the dance floor, aware enough to head in the opposite direction that his brother takes Arabella. He looks around and sees a balcony with its doors open to the gardens. He inclines his head that way. Ari tilts her head to the side before nodding.
They adeptly dart in and out of the many bodies until the fresh evening air swirls around them and they step outside. Hunter inhales deeply as he leans against the balustrade. "You do not need to thank me that." Ari tilts her head as she looks at him, her lips pursed to disagree. "You played your part well. The grass stains were a nice added touch."
"I had to look desperate otherwise she may not have thought it necessary to rescue me." Ari says with a shrug of her slight shoulders. "I am just relieved she agreed to help me, but then again you did say she would. How could you have been so sure?"
"She was running away when she left. It did not take long to figure out why." Hunter says casually as if it was an easy mystery to solve. Ari shakes her head with a quick roll of her eyes.
"I did not expect her speech to be quite as harsh as it was. I could see my mother fainting from where I stood at the common situation. She still has not quite gotten over it you know? She cannot understand how Lord Usani decided to marry a girl dressed like a warrior with such a loose tongue over her own precious daughter." Ari voice takes on a sarcastic drawl in the final words, tugging a smile back onto Hunter's lips. "I am sure she would drop to the floor in a dead faint if she ever found out I had a hand in the events that occurred."
Hunter smirks and turns to her with a wicked glint in his eyes. Ari reads it immediately and shakes her head. She points a finger at him as she warns, "Do not even think about it!"
"I do not know what you think I could possibly be considering doing." Hunter drawls lowly.
Ari narrows her eyes at him. "You are not as difficult to read as you think you are."
They hold eye contact for a while before the wicked glint flickers away and a more genuine look replaces it. "In all seriousness, I appreciate that you went along with my plan within days of meeting me." He pauses before asking, "Did you ever think about actually marrying him?"
Ari coughs and blinks quickly, "I was trying to think of every possible way of getting out of such a wedding. Your brother is a great man but he is not someone I could imagine living the rest of my life with. It was a relief when Sparrow turned up like you said." She leans against the railings now too and sighs. Hunter looks out across the garden with her.
"I have to ask a favour of you." Hunter quietly admits. Ari raises her eyebrows momentarily but makes no sound. "You know me as Hunter Usani, no one else here does." She frowns and glances at him. "I need you to keep my identity a secret, my last name and the family I am attached to."
Ari presses her lips together, unsure whether speaking will make her say the wrong thing.
"Ari..."
"Why would you not want to be known as a Usani? I do not understand what there is to be ashamed of." Ari voices.
"I am not ashamed. I promise you that but I am illegitimate and most look down on that." Ari looks unimpressed but he knows it is not aimed at him but rather those he is referring to. "Regardless my brother here introduced me as a North and I must stick to that now."
"Hunter North." Ari tests out loud before shrugging her shoulders. "Fine, your secret is safe with me. I think that means you owe me one though." She grins at him and he sighs audibly with a smile to match.
"I will not tell your mother of your involvement in derailing your wedding." Hunter bargains.
Ari straightens up and goes to the door to look in at all the couples dancing and chatting. "No, that certainly does not count. I helped you get Sparrow to Wolfe's side in time to say I do. This is separate and you owe me one." With those parting words she goes through the doorway back into the dancing hall. Hunter cannot help the grin and after a few seconds follows her back in.
Straight away he feels a gaze on him and he cannot help himself for looking in the direction it is coming from. His eyes connect with Arabella's. She looks a little sad and Hunter knows she must have seen him disappear with Ari. He adjusts the collar around his neck and the hurt increases in her face. He forces his gaze away from her before he can no longer control himself. This is for the best. It has to be.
He strides quickly after Ari. He slows down once he is walking beside her. She glances at him, her eyebrows drawn together in bemusement, "Did I miss something we needed to discuss further?"
"Where are you staying?" He asks, slightly too loud as a few around regard the two with some disapproval recognising Ari as a Lady easily. She blushes slightly under their gazes.
"Mr North, my family and I have the express pleasure to be residing within the castle for a few weeks. My mother and the queen are old friends. Why do you ask?" She enquires quietly.
"I do not like to be indebted." Hunter replies, mindful of volume this time.
Ari giggles softly. "I have not even decided on the favour yet so you shall have to be patient." Her eyes suddenly widen and she darts behind Hunter's back. He halts and frowns, his eyes darkening. He scans the people ahead for a reason to her abrupt dive out of eyesight. "Is he gone?" She whispers, not daring to look around him to see for herself.
"You will need to be a little more specific, Ari dear." She jabs him in the back with her elbow at the endearment. He chuckles. "Who am I supposed to be watching?"
"Tall, dark brown hair and a very serious face with far too many angles and at least ten years our senior." She rambles. "Is he gone?"
Hunter scans the people ahead and sees no one fitting her description. His lips twitch. "No he is not. He is frantically searching for someone, maybe if I step aside he could find them much easier." He muses.
"Hunter..." She warningly says his name. His lips twitch again.
"Who is he?"
"Yet another man that my mother has decided to set me up with. He is rather determined to propose and once they do that it is much harder to rid myself of them." Ari replies with a sigh.
"So staying unmarried has become a hobby for you? You have me feeling rather useless right now. I thought we did that together." He taunts lowly.
"Well today is your lucky day. You can assist me now by keeping him as far from me as possible. Is he gone yet?" Ari asks again.
"I never saw him in the first place." He replies before laughing. It does not take her long to elbow him in the side and come out of hiding.
"He could be anywhere!" She exclaims as her eyes dart across all the people. Her anxious eyes survey every male within view until she is able to relax at his clear absence of her near vicinity. She rubs at her arm as she moves her gaze back to Hunter. "That was cruel and I expect better from you!" She says in the most serious voice she can muster. It fools Hunter and he struggles for words. Silence settles between them as her eyebrows furrow and she shakes her head looking away. A muscle in her cheek jumps at the effort required to stop her from smiling.
"You expected better from me?!" The words finally leave his mouth as he stares down at the beautiful girl who almost married his brother. He steps closer to her and leans down to whisper in her ear, "Why on earth did you do that?"
A shiver travels down her spine but she meets his eyes without any hesitation, her brown eyes clear to their depths until they melt into amber. "Careful Hunter, if I was anybody else that might have had the power to make me swoon." She then laughs as Hunter chokes and has to straighten up to cough, clearing the surprise from his throat. Ari smothers her laughter before giving him the most innocent smile going. "That cough sounds painful; you should probably get that checked out." She pats him on the arm and Hunter chuckles darkly. She withdraws her hand, his response something she did not expect.
"Meet me tomorrow?" He asks.
Ari's eyes dart to where her mother stands at the other side of the hall speaking with the man she is desperate to avoid. She sighs, "I am distressed to say that tomorrow will be spent making that man detest the idea of marrying me... without my mother noticing. She would fake an illness and plead for sympathy if I dared to leave during the day even to meet with a friend."
"The evening then?"
"Why are you so determined?" Ari pushes for an answer, her ears listening for his answer but her eyes watching the man crossing the room towards her.
"I..." Hunter scans the room and his eyes come to rest on the stunning sight of Arabella. He gulps and Ari momentarily looks to him before again tracking her annoyances movements. Arabella smiles gently at something Alice says. A few strands of hair have fallen down out of Arabella's elaborate hairstyle and Hunter itches to lift them off her neck. Ari grabs onto his arm breaking his dangerous line of thought. His eyes dart to her and see her placing a grimace like smile on her face.
"Lord Arnie?" She says in a high pitched voice that makes Hunter cringe but does not seem to affect the man before them. The man she had been trying to avoid now stands before them.
"Arnel." He corrects with a patient smile. His eyes flicker to Hunter who smirks darkly, eyes swallowed by black on command. The man takes a small step back, intimidated instantly. "Lady Arisxandre, may I have the next dance?" He says with a small quiver in his voice.
"That will not be possible." Hunter answers for her. The man's jaw wobbles. "The next dance is mine." He asserts clearly before striding of with Ari She squeezes his arm.
"Thank you so much." She glances discreetly backwards to see the man talking to another young lady. "Even speaking like that does not deter him!" She reverts back to her normal voice and Hunter nods, relieved.
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