Title: Caged Bird
Prompt: AU
A/N: This from an jaya arranged marriage AU that I hope to write someday. To avoid foreclosing on their blacksmith shop, the 4 Weapons, the only connection they have left to their parents, Kai has found a solution to their financial woes - an arranged marriage between his sister Nya and upcoming movie star Jay Gordan. Nya is furious, Jay seems indifferent, and there is far more to the situation than what meets the eye.
Nya tapped her fingers lightly on the table, annoyed that her friend was taking agonizingly long to change into her outfit in the fitting room. Seliel finally emerged, sporting a cocktail dress in a striking burnt orange color that contrasted nicely with the fuchsia and electric blue of her hair. She did a twirl and looked at Nya expectantly, waiting for a compliment.
Nya rolled her eyes. "Looks fabulous as always," she muttered.
Seliel frowned at her friend. "A little enthusiasm would be nice."
Nya crossed her arms and tilted her head, unimpressed. "Seliel, you could prance around in a stained and crinkled paper bag and still look good. Everything you've tried on today looks amazing on you. Can we go now?" Nya huffed.
Seliel sized up her friend, noting she was still fuming from the whole arranged marriage announcement.
"Taking care of husbands is simple," Seliel started.
Nya rolled her head to the other side and glared. "And what do you know about husbands? You're still single."
Seliel ignored her and kept talking. "They need the following things: respect, sex, work, exercise, and food. If they get at least three of those in one day, that is a good day. Two or less is not a good day."
Nya's face went flush and she could feel her cheeks growing hot.
"S-se-sex?" she squeaked out.
Seliel paused and looked over the young woman whose face was now as cherry red as her lips.
"Yes, sex. You have heard of it right? When two people love each other very much they-"
"I know what sex is!" Nya shouted then went stiff, realizing she was causing a scene in the department store. She reduced her voice to a hushed whisper, "I just— we don't even know each other!"
"Well yes, that is the point of an arranged marriage. Look at the bright side, you'll get to enjoy getting to know each other."
Nya's head was spinning. Yes she knew what people did in married relationships, but the thought of doing that with him didn't sink in until Seliel had explicitly spelled it out for her just now. And now, she couldn't think of anything other than that, and it was derailing her thought process.
Seliel side-eyed her friend, a smug smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. "You're thinking about it now, aren't you."
Nya snapped her head up and tightened her crossed arms, sinking further into the plush couch of the fitting room common area.
"I don't blame you, Jay is hot, rich and already famous."
Nya puffed her cheeks and grumbled. Those things were nice, but what she really cared about was his personality and if they had anything in common. She knew nothing about him except for that the tabloids said, and who knew how much basis of truth there was to that information.
"If men are so easy to take care of, why do they even need to get married?" Nya asked, in an attempt to steer the conversation away from things that were making her blush.
"I said simple, not easy."
Nya opened her mouth as if to respond, but the gesture was more out of confusion then any attempt to speak.
"You take two imperfect people and put them together in a relationship, things will not always go smoothly. Relationships are hard work and both parties have to put in the effort."
"Fine. I have my checklist."
Seliel frowned. It seemed as though Nya was half-heartedly paying attention.
"And what about taking care of women? Who is giving Jay his checklist?" Nya snapped.
Seliel smiled and her eyes sparkled. "Oh ho ho," she laughed and Nya felt a twang of adrenaline course through her veins. "That is where you are mistaken. Women don't have checklists."
Confusion ghosted the delicate features on Nya's face.
"Men are 'task' oriented. Complete a task, move on to the next. Women, on the other hand, are 'state' oriented."
"State oriented?"
"Women care about 'state of being'. They always want to feel safe, secure, and loved."
Nya considered Seliel's words, mulling them over in her mind. She didn't like it, but there was some truth to those words.
"Where did you pick up this sage advice?"
"I read," Seliel sassed back.
"Phhfff! Cosmo doesn't count."
"Well excuse me if I care about my friend who got pulled into a ridiculous situation."
Nya huffed again. "More like unfortunate."
"I don't know about that, Jay is pretty hot."
Nya rolled her eyes again for what felt like the umpteenth time that day. Everything surrounding the arranged marriage situation was fishy. Why would Jay or his ultra rich parents agree to it? Kai said something about his parents knowing their parents, but that still made no sense. They came from two different worlds. It was a disaster waiting to happen.
"Look, I know the circumstances are not ideal, but most arranged marriages are successful."
Nya shot her friend a dubious glance.
"I just don't want to see you getting hurt. Jay has," she paused, searching for the right word, "options. If you don't take care of him, he will find someone who will."
Nya's eyes went wide and her stomach felt cold. "Like Skylor?" she scoffed.
"Don't believe everything you read in the tabloids," Seliel chuckled.
Nya sucked in a deep breath. She had not even met the guy yet, and now she was already feeling jealous. What the heck?
Nya pulled her legs to her chest, wrapping her arms around her shins and resting her chin on her knees. She felt small, and scared.
"What about me?" she finally said, focusing on the far wall of the fitting rooms. "Don't I get a say in all of this? It feels like everything is being decided for me."
"Sometimes, there are things beyond our understanding. Sometimes, we just have to have faith." Seliel looked unusually distant and pensive as she said those words and Nya felt a shiver creep down her spine. Nya got the distinct impression that Seliel knew more than she was letting on, but she hurriedly chased those thoughts away.
"So I get to marry a man I don't even know, get thrown into a world I don't understand, and be expected to take care of him or he will find someone else? That sounds terrible." Nya felt her anger returning.
"Well, if you are going to have that kind of attitude about it, yeah it does sound terrible. Think of it this way: you have an opportunity for adventure." Seliel dramatically spread her arms wide above her head. Nya buried her head in her knees and groaned.
"I don't like it!" she whined, voice muffled from her legs.
"Nya, for all the years I have known you, you don't back away from a challenge. What makes this any different?"
Nya shot her head up and raised her eyebrows. "Uh, this is a life changing event."
"Exactly," Seliel smiled as Nya's face morphed into bewilderment. "And who are you to back away from the biggest challenge of all?"
Nya pursed her lips, annoyed that Seliel was making a lot of good points on their weekly shopping trip. She stretched out all her limbs and laid flat on the couch.
"But I still don't like it."
Seliel chuckled. "All you need is a good attitude. You can be mad at everyone else, but Jay seems like he has just as little say in this as you do. Try to be nice?"
"I'll try."
"Good! Who knows, this could be the start of a beautiful relationship! A fairytale in the making!"
"Seliel, seriously, stop with the cheese." Nya rolled off the couch as she rolled her eyes then stood up. "Relationship advice time is over. Back to shopping. Are you getting that dress or not?"
"I think I will. This dress accents my sparkling intellect."
Nya tried not to roll her eyes, instead opting to pinch the bridge of her nose, only to be interrupted by the sound of Seliel's stomach growling.
"Oh shoot! We are going to lose our reservation at Le Chat Noir, can you go and I'll catch up after I buy this?"
"Yes, don't take forever, OK?"
"~kay."
Seliel watched as her friend left the store, then slipped back into the fitting room, her shadow growing smaller.
Purchasing the dress was uneventful and she quickly left the store, walking out into the main corridor and approached an older gentleman.
"Hello Wu." she said as the posh shopping bag dangled from her wrist.
Wu turned and greeted her. "Mystaké, you're late."
"I had something to take care of, and I bought a dress."
Wu eyed her suspiciously.
"Don't worry, I was just planting seeds, ensuring things go smoothly for us."
"Careful, too much meddling and this will blow up in our faces."
"You underestimate me Wu," she laughed then showed him a toothy grin. "I always know how to hedge my bets. This is high risk, high reward, but I am confident we will succeed and the enemy will be none the wiser."
Wu sighed, then offered her his arm. "Lunch?"
"I'd thought you'd never ask."