“Cecilia… I… yeah… it’s fine…” Jon expected Hector to push her off, but instead, he just seemed incredibly flustered.

While still holding on, she moved her face so that it was incredibly close to his. Hector responded by turning his own face away.

“Did you miss me?” she asked, “I bet you missed me.”

“Cecilia… I… well...” Hector had a hard time answering, and he was blushing.

“Uh, Cecilia, I think he’s gonna explode,” Mallory said.

“That’s what I’m hoping for,” she replied.

Hector finally pushed her away. “Come on, Cecilia, I’m getting married now. This isn’t right.”

“That’s exactly why I’m here,” she said. "I can't just let you get married to that... woman!"

“What?" Hector turned back to her properly. "You’re fighting? “Why?”

“‘Cause, Hector, I don’t want just a piece of the pie.” She pushed him in his shoulder. “I want the whole cake.”

“I… no! I don’t want anyone fighting over me,” Hector said. “Cecilia, you’re important to me, but-”

“So, you understand why I’m doing this, then,” she said, interrupting him.

Hector sighed. Jon hadn’t seen Hector appear this weak around anyone except his father.

“You’re not… that important,” Hector said after some thought.

Cecilia had a sudden look of hurt on her face.

“It was an accident, and you know it,” Hector continued. “So, let’s not make it more than it was.”

“...You think you can scare me away by breaking my heart?” she asked. “Well... it almost worked!”

She walked up to him and tapped his face. “I can see through your thick exterior! I know how you feel really feel inside.”

Hector frowned. “I-”

“What are you doing?” Mercy had come down the hallway towards them. She brushed Jon’s shoulder as she walked by and went straight to Cecilia.

Hector seemed relieved. “Mercy, I-”

“Later!” she responded, pointing at him as she cut him off, even though her eyes stayed trained on Cecilia.

Cecilia didn’t seem bothered by this at all.

Jon was becoming mildly impressed by this woman. Heck, he never seemed to not be impressed.

“So, you're the one pretending to steal his heart,” Cecilia asked. “Well, you should know that Hector’s mine-”

“He’s mine!” Mercy yelled. “So, back off!”

“You think he's yours now,” Cecilia said, "but just wait for the period of power."

She looked at Hector. "And it wasn't an accident. It was fate. When you're ready to tell me the real reason you're getting married, come find me, and we'll make arrangements."

She waved from next to her face. “See ya, Hector.” She turned and went inside a nearby door.

Hector was about to breathe a sigh of relief when he received an earful from Mercy.

“What was that?”

“I… I... “ Hector turned away. “That’s Cecilia.”

“That’s her?” Mercy was shocked. “What the hell do you see in her?”

“It’s not…” Hector sighed. “I don’t know.”

“You…” Mercy was turning red. “You don’t know.”

Mallory stepped in front, trying to block her view of Hector.

“You know Hector doesn’t have favorites, right?” Mallory said. “He... She's his first."

"I know she's his first!" Mercy said. "But I didn't know she was so..."

She scratched her head in thought. "Sure, Rista's incredibly forward, but she's just annoying. Just make sure she's not your next, okay?"

"She's not my anything," Hector reassured. "Never again, alright?"

Mercy crossed her arms. "Maybe instead of deluding yourself, you should see what's in front of you and deal with it, instead of avoiding it."

Hector grunted, but it was a light grunt.

"Hector's still new to this girl thing," Mallory said. "So like, forgive him. Right?"

"Right..." Hector looked away sadly. "Let's just go on."

"You do realize that this is where all the visitors are staying," Mallory said, "So, if Cecilia's here, then-"

"Let's just go!" Hector walked forward at a brisk pace.

"He's so hard-headed..." Mercy went up ahead.

Mallory whistled. "Here we go," he said under his breath.

He pushed Jon forward.

They caught up with Mercy's own slower pace.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Mercy asked. "With me beating up all of his... girlfriends?"

"Trust me, Hector does not want to be with any of those women," Mallory said. "They all remind him of his sisters."

Mallory leaned in. "And, he's a bit shy."

"This is still cruel," Mercy continued. "I'm not worried about hurting them, but making everyone fight over Hector, that's gonna be hard on him. He's gonna crack. Is that on purpose?"

“That’s Lord Luther, for you. Master tactician.” Mallory shucked his teeth in shame.

Jon didn't like the idea of Hector's father trying to make him feel bad. His own father just seemed to be somewhat ignorant of his situation.

“Just like my dad…” Mercy growled.

“Man, I’m kinda happy I don’t have any parents.” Tallow appeared, walking up from behind them and eating an apple.

“You have parents,” Mallory replied. “They’re just dead, or they abandoned you somewhere.”

“True...” Tallow took another bite out of the apple. “We should make sure he doesn’t kill anyone, right?”

They walked forward.

Jon was curious about what Mallory said earlier.

“Cecilia... she's Hector's first what?"

"Uh, kiss, sort of," Mallory said. "Make out session. Whatever."

"That's it?" Tallow asked. "I mean, not that I"m judging the man, he's a bit annoying, but-"

“...Hector doesn’t fall in love,” Mallory explained. “Nor does he even attempt to flirt. Anything that gets in the way of him smacking heads is annoying. It's actually kind of funny watching Hector unintentionally turn down women."

"No wonder he has that much stress," Tallow said. "Is there anybody he likes?"

"That's kinda why we're doing this," Mallory said. "I think."

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Tallow's eyes widened. "There's a single person? I thought he was just trying to stick it to his old man!"

"He probably won't admit it, but-"

Mallory stopped in place. "Oh no."

He then jogged forward. Jon felt exhilarated by the small amount of speed.

They stopped next to Hector, who was standing in front of three men who wore simple outfits, but Jon could tell that the fabric was something of a higher quality. He just could tell.

"Oh, here comes your lady-in-waiting," said the man in the nice purple shirt. "Hi, Mallory."

"Hey Robert," Mallory said. "Hey, Hector, how about we-"

"Don't talk to him," Hector said. "Robert, out of my way!"

"I just wanted to congratulate you!" Robert said. "I know you definitely did something stupid, and now, we're all getting dragged down here to deal with it! I thought we wouldn't be here until the wedding."

"If you don't want to be here, you don't have to be here!" Hector gritted through his teeth.

"You know my father wouldn't allow that," Robert said. "And besides, why would I miss watching that fiance of yours being pummeled-"

Hector had raised his hand to punch him, but Mallory quickly grabbed his arm with both hands.

"Don't, man, it's not worth it!" Mallory said quickly. Jon felt the force of Mallory holding Hector back, causing his chair to tremble.

"Keep her out of your mouth!" Hector responded. "She doesn't deserve whatever it is you have to say."

"She probably doesn't deserve you," Robert responded. "And really, a foreigner? A dangerous one at that, am I right guys?"

He turned to his two compatriots, who nodded in approval.

"You're an ass," Hector said. "Now get out of my way."

"I'm not done with you yet," Robert continued. "I'm gonna stand here until-"

"You should listen to him," Mercy said, coming to Hector's side.

"Ah. It's you." Robert grimaced. "You grace our courts with your feet."

He wasn't talking to Mercy. His attention was turned to Tallow.

"Me?" Tallow asked. "I mean, looking at you, I see I definitely could have done worse."

Robert clearly didn't like that answer.

"That's not my fiance', you idiot," Hector said. "She is."

He gestured to Mercy.

"You? But you're so... small. I thought Hector would like... someone like his sister."

He had opened up his hands wide. "You know, all big and-"

The swift punch to the face interrupted his jest. He immediately went stiff and he fell forward to the floor.

Hector looked at the other two guys.

"Move," he said.

Both men went to the side of the hallway and pressed their bodies to the sides.

"If you didn't do it, I was," Mercy whispered as they pass forward.

"Hell, I was gonna do it," Tallow said from behind.

"I can't have you guys getting in trouble," Hector responded. "The situation is serious for the both of you."

Mercy tried to respond. "But you-"

"I can deal with whatever my father throws at me," Hector said. He then turned his attention to Mallory.

"...Sorry about that, Mallory. I lost my head."

Mallory shrugged.

"Hector, you do a lot of bull-headed stuff, but I'll let that one slide."

Jon enjoyed the punch. He may have gotten punched harder than that, but it had certainly hurt less than what happened to Robert.

They finally made it to the large hall in front of the castle. Already, tables were being pushed aside, and a lot of people were scattered around, going place to place.

Luther was standing closest to the castle entrance and turned to the group when he saw them approaching.

Jon thought that Luther give them a strong greeting to start the day. He found out soon that he was wrong.

“Took you long enough!” Luther yelled. “What you do? Take the long way going outside the continent?"

He looked down and saw Jon.

“Uhh- what the heck happened to him?” Luther asked. "He's gonna roll over all the feet of the guests."

“Mana exhaustion,” Mallory started. “He's new, and he went on his first mission yesterday, and-"

"Jon's fine, Dad," Hector said. "Now, what is it you called me here for?"

Luther ignored Hector, looking at Mallory before looking down to Jon.

Jon began to squirm in his seat. He felt like he would spontaneously combust in his chair at any minute.

"New, huh?" Luther asked. "Coming back from mission like this?"

"Don't worry about it Dad," Hector continued, "just-"

“...Whatever," Luther answered. "Just make sure he doesn’t get in anybody’s way!"

“He won’t!" Hector and Mercy yelled at the same time. Luther was taken aback.

"...Jon's my responsibility," Hector said calmly after.

"Mine, too," Mercy added.

"Both of you have your own responsibilities you have to take care of," Luther said, still looking offended by the shouting, but not yelling back. "He's a big man. No one told him to go on that mission. He went and got hurt. He has to take responsibility for that."

Jon understood the sentiment. He nodded in agreement. "Yeah."

He didn't want to keep bugging everyone, so he used the wheels to turn the chair around with his hands, and began to push himself back into the hallway.

"Jon, come back," Hector said. He turned to his father.

"Dad, it's fine," Hector responded as Jon slowly turned himself back to the group.

"You let me decide what's fine," Luther responded. "Now, you're gonna have to get dressed up for tonight."

"Dressed up?" Hector asked. "For what?"

"Ball," Luther said simply. "Tonight."

"Nobody ever comes the first day anyway," Hector said. "It's all sudden notice."

"Shut up!" Luther said. "I told them today!"

"It's not like anyone listens to you."

Jon was afraid that Hector was gonna get another punch to the body.

"Well... that's on them," Luther finally answered without punching Hector. He still looked angry. "We can't let that stop us from being prepared."

"Whatever," Hector rolled his eyes.

“Now go take your fiance and talk to the other families," Luther said.

"But-"

"Now!"

Hector grumbled but made room for Mercy to wrap both of her arms around his. They had begun to walk off when a shout got everyone's attention.

"Stop there!" Robert powered walked out of the hallway with his two friends behind him. He was holding a large purple, bloody cloth on his nose.

"I demand satisfaction!" Robert yelled. "Your son punched me in the face!"

"You demand satisfaction, from Hector?" Luther asked. "Really, Robert?"

"I well, uh..." Robert stuttered. "He hit me! I need it to be even, or I'll tell my father!"

"You want me to do it again?" Hector asked, he had freed himself from Mercy's arm and walked back to him.

"Do it, then, in front of everyone!" Robert said. "Show 'em what you did!"

"There will be no punching!" Luther yelled. Hector had raised his fist and Robert had already cowered behind his arms.

"Well... I'll just tell my father!" Robert said.

Luther sighed. "Fine. Hector."

"But-"

It was Hector's turn to get a punch to the face. He fell onto his back, looking up at his Dad in anger.

"There we go." Luther looked at Robert. "Now, is that enough, or do you demand satisfaction from me."

"No, that's enough," Robert's face couldn't decide if it wanted to take glee in Hector's punishment or wince in fear from Luther's presence. Nevertheless, he still trembled in place.

"Thank you, Lord Luther." Robert had spoken with a modicum amount of respect before he walked to the company of his friends.

"That was a little bit of a punk move," Tallow said.

"Little girl!" Luther started, his face brimming red, "you don't understand-"

"I meant from him," Tallow said, not hiding her smirk.

"...He would go back to his father, and cause a whole bunch of trouble we don't need right now." Luther looked down at Hector. "It's a delicate situation and you would think my son would be smart enough to avoid making a situation out of an already shitty situation!"

Hector still looked up at his father in disgust. Jon wanted to help Hector up, but he was too far in his chair.

Mercy eventually came to Hector's side and helped.

Hector's eyes never left his father's.

"I dare you to say something," Luther responded.

"You get to punch people who stand in your way," Hector said softly.

"Well, I'm not getting married."

"I wonder why."

Jon heard a low growl from Luther. On Hector, Jon could see that the red mark on Hector's face hadn't gone away. He felt like he was watching a duel take place.

"Come on," Mercy said softly to Hector. She pulled at him until he finally walked away.

"Mallory!"

"Uh, yes boss!" Mallory quickly composed himself.

"Do your thing," Luther demanded. "You know. Your talking thing."

"Is there anything you want?" Mallory asked Luther.

"See if you can get Louis over there to loosen up on his trade embargoes."

"Right now?" Mallory asked.

"Of course, I meant-"

"Cause he's in a better mood after he's settled in from a long trip and he's checked out the competition." Mallory clicked his teeth and pointed at Luther.

"Right." Luther nodded. "That's why you're here."

"I'll soften him up, though." Mallory walked away at a brisk pace.

"Now, why are you here?" Luther had turned his attention to Tallow, who had taken up Jon's chair in her hands.

"When you ask me like that," Tallow said, "it sounds like you already have an answer."

"Tell your people I'll get in contact with them when I'm ready to talk," Luther said.

"I'm not here for the people. I'm here for the wedding."

Luther raised his eyebrow. "Really? I'm not gonna find you snooping around at night?"

"Is everyone here just... prejudiced?" Tallow looked around in mocked amazement.

"Don't play dumb with me!" Luther had raised his voice.

"Then don't treat me like a dummy!" Tallow responded. "What do you want, a strip search? I'm here to find out what happens to the Highlander, cause you know, that concerns everybody, even if she gets married. So, like, chill, bro! The only thing I'm gonna be doing at night is getting rest so that I can deal with all the drama going on in the daytime!"

She gripped Jon's chair. "If you're so worried about me being here, why don't you ask your son?"

"I'm not sure I can trust his judgment," Luther said. "Especially when it comes to foreigners."

"Well, that's funny," Tallow said. "Because from the looks of it, you can understand it. I mean, you see the stuff he has to deal with here. Heck, look at the stuff you have to deal with. Are you really that surprised Hector decided to marry an outsider?"

Jon thought Luther would yell more, but he just seemed to chew around on his words.

"...You got a quick wit, I'll tell you that," Luther said. "But I'm also gonna tell you this. Just because this stuff is hard doesn't mean you can run away from it. He's had a privileged life, but now, he has to start earning his keep."

"You call this privilege?"

"...You best watch your mouth. I can remove you anytime."

"And have Hector throw a riot?" Tallow rolled her eyes. "Besides, this is what I'm doing. Spying, right?"

Jon was nervous, so he reached up and grabbed Tallow's hand.

"Now how about you give me the rundown on everything that you want me to tell my superiors. so that I don't have to tell my superiors and the observations I make. Or, even worst, my best guesses."

Luther growled. “Fine. Where do you want to start?”

“Oh, Daddy!” Macy entered the scene jogging towards them.

“Macy, why aren’t you dressed?” Luther asked. Macy was still wearing her black armor.

“Ball’s tonight," Macy answered. "Until then, I’m going casual.” She turned to Tallow. “And how’s my favorite Vindhazi doing?”

“I have no idea who that is,” Tallow said.

“Well anyway,” she went and grabbed Jon. “I’m gonna take Jon away for another session.”

“Now?” Tallow asked loudly, her eyes widening.

“Yeah, take ‘em away,” Luther said. “I don’t want ‘im in the way right now. We’re moving a lot of stuff.”

“Alright!" Macy stepped in front of Tallow and grabbed Jon's chair.

Jon got one last look at Tallow's terrified face before Macy sped off with him back down the hallway.

Jon moved so fast, his heart began to beat faster.

"Get out of the way!" Macy yelled in front of an approaching Robert and group.

"Wait, I can't- ow!" Jon felt a large bump as Robert yelled and fell over, holding his foot.

"You snooze, you lose," Macy said under her breath, just so that Jon could hear.