For the next few days, I didn't hear much from anyone except Biana. Sophie only hailed me once, to tell me that someone had broken into Havenfield, but that everything was okay. Fitz was getting ready for the start of school. Keefe was spending a suspicious amount of time alone in his room. I'd tried to see what he was doing several times, but he never let me in. Alden and Della were being especially secretive and scarce, hardly ever around when I went to Everglen. Alden had been sick. It turned out that Sophie and him had gone to Exile, and that Alden had been hurt there. He seemed to be fine, though, and Elwin didn't think that there was anything physically wrong with him.
I didn't mind, though. Biana and I were working on training Stormy every morning, and going out to shop and eat in the afternoons. We also spent a lot of time preparing for having eyes on us at all times and nasty things people might say to us. Neither of us wanted to take off the Crush Cuffs or stay away from each other in public. In fact, when we went out, both of us made it a point to wear short sleeves and draw as much attention as possible to our wristbands. There hadn't been any big blowouts yet, just noticeably lower-quality service.
We had told my parents we were dating the day after the Aurenflare. It... hadn't been pretty.
Earlier
I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. Biana had looked a lot more confident when we were talking about doing this. Now that we were sitting in the dining room, having dinner with my parents and Keefe, she didn't look so sure. I hadn't 'come out' to my parents, as Sophie put it, beforehand. Neither of them had spotted the Crush Cuffs yet. Keefe had a slight smirk on his face. I hoped he wouldn't say anything.
"So, Cassia, you'll be skipping Level Three this year," Father said matter-of-factly, totally out of the blue.
"What?! No, I'm not!"
"Yes, you are, and that's final. We'll be making the arrangements tomorrow." Biana looked shocked. I felt the same way as Mom came over with the food.
"Thank you, Mother. It looks great," I said, my voice wobbling, reaching for my plate without thinking. Biana and I were both wearing long sleeves, but Mom somehow caught a flash of teal on my wrist.
"What's that on your wrist, dear?" She handed everyone else their food. Keefe hid his grin by pretending to yawn. Biana and I exchanged a glance. She nodded. It was time. Another shaky breath and I tried to smile calmly at my parents.
"A Crush Cuff," I told her, waiting for the inevitable gasp from her. Father looked mildly surprised, but a bit like he could care less.
"And who's the lucky guy?" Mom asked. Keefe covered his laugh with a cough.
"Um... actually...it's Biana," I announced, rolling back my sleeve to show them the cuff. Mom's eyebrows shot into the stratosphere. Father choked on his mouthful of food.
"Are you serious?" Father demanded, swallowing. I raised my chin defiantly.
"Yes. She's my girlfriend." Biana nodded and beamed at me.
"We just started dating yesterday. Keefe was there," she agreed.
"Is this some kind of joke?" Father barked. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Why did everyone think that?
"No. It's not a joke. I like girls," I said firmly. "I've had a crush on Biana for years, and yesterday I finally told her." I crossed my arms, staring down my horrified parents.
"Why did you never tell us you... were like this?" Mother asked in a dangerously quiet voice.
"Because I didn't want you to treat me differently for being lesbian!"
"That's a human word," Father growled.
"Well, there's no Elvin word for liking someone of the same gender that I know of!" My parents paused, trying to think of a term they'd heard. They didn't seem to come up with anything.
"The only word I've ever associated with it is unnatural," Mother said smoothly.
"I can't allow you to have a girlfriend. Give me those Crush Cuffs, immediately," Father commanded. I glared at him.
"Make me," I snapped, with a glance toward Biana, who looked supremely uncomfortable. Keefe was no longer smiling, he now had an uncharacteristically serious expression on his face. Both he and Father were Empaths. They knew how all of us were feeling. Father had to know that I would never give in. Keefe knew it too, but I was sure he was also closely monitoring Biana's emotions.
"Yeah, I don't think that's very likely, so why don't we all just accept each other for who they are and congratulate this absolutely adorable couple?" Keefe offered. Mom and Father stared at him.
"I would accept it if Cassia ended this... relationship," Father snarled.
"So not going to happen," I glowered at him. The animosity between us was almost tangible. Father looked ready to explode.
"I never would have believed you would dare disrespect me in this manner, Cassia. Your brother has always had a monopoly in that area. How could you treat your parents this way?"
"How could you treat your daughter this way?" Biana burst out. All eyes turned to her. This was the first time she had spoken all night.
"She was being so vulnerable with you, and you tried to destroy her! There's absolutely nothing wrong with us just because we like each other. No one's to blame. It's how we feel, and it's not going to change. We're not going to break up. And if Cassia doesn't want to skip a level, she shouldn't have to!" A crushing silence followed, my Father and I locked in the most intense staring contest of my life. Mom looked slightly disgusted, which made me angrier than anyone could ever imagine, and even more determined to win.
Nobody spoke for at least five minutes. I refused to break eye contact with my father. He narrowed his eyes at me.
"When you're older, you're going to regret disobeying your parents."
I seriously doubted that.
Now
"I didn't project any pictures of you when you had to dress like this," I huffed. Keefe made a rectangle with his fingers and examined my outfit through them.
"Ah, but my dear little sister, I am not like you. I am evil. And I need something embarrassing to blackmail you with." Keefe shrugged, smirking.
"YOU ALREADY HAVE MEMORIES OF ME KISSING BIANA!" Keefe nodded and continued to log memories of my costume.
"Yes, but you weren't dressed like a mastodon then, were you?" I let out a sad, long-suffering sigh. Keefe laughed.
"Perfect facial expression, Cass. So, are you going to hide in the bathroom with Biana all night?"
"If she wants to. She really hates these things. And for the record, so do I."
"Nah, you look great. Very elephantine," Keefe told me.
"Can we just go now? Let's get this over with," I moaned.
"Fine with me." Keefe was dressed in a saber-toothed tiger costume, which wasn't nearly as embarrassing as my mastodon outfit. We headed for the Leapmaster, fortunately not running into our parents on the way there. We'd been avoiding each other since the night I 'came out' to them. I was glad that I wasn't seeing them, and part of me hoped that they would never talk to them again. Father was going to be at the Opening Ceremony. I just prayed that he wouldn't talk to me. They'd dropped the idea of me skipping a level after I told them about dating Biana. I guess it was their 'punishment' for me being lesbian. The joke was on them, though. I didn't care one bit about skipping a level. Keefe had, but he wasn't dating anyone or anything. All of my friends were going to be Level Threes this year except for Fitz.
Biana was already at Foxfire, hiding in the bathroom as Keefe had suspected. I stayed with her until it was time to go onstage, gassing her up so she didn't feel so ugly. She appreciated my efforts, though she still hated the costume. We did the dance step by step, neither of us tripping or messing up a move. At the end, we curtsied as daintily as possible and the white confetti candy rained down us. Keefe's level did well too, looking much better than us mastodons. I tried to find him after his level went offstage, and I did-he was talking to our father.
"So I wagged my tail when I was supposed to flick it-what's the big deal?"
"The big deal is that this was your chance to impress the faculty and instead you showing them that you're just as ridiculous as ever. When are you going to start taking your education seriously?" Father asked him.
"Hey, I'm a year ahead-what more do you want from me?"
"Your sister did her dance routine perfectly. You could try taking a leaf from her book."
"Oh, so you can pretend that you're not furious with me for coming out to you for one second to compare me to Keefe?" father ignored me.
"I want you to live up to even a fraction of your potential."
"No, you want me to be like you."
"And what would be wrong with that?"
"Everything!" I burst out. "You're a terrible role model! Neither of us want to be like you." I noticed that Sophie was watching and motioned for her to come over. She did so, weaving her way through the crowd, Sandor following close behind her, muttering about how hard she made his job.
"Ah, Miss Foster. We seem to have a habit of running into each other," Father said.
"Only twice now, Lord Cassius," Sophie reminded him. I decided to excuse myself. No one was going to listen to me. I got lost in the crowd for a few minutes, looking for familiar faces. But when I finally did, I wished that I hadn't.
Alden had collapsed in Fitz's arms, and he wouldn't wake up.