Preparation

"Choice? No choice?" Mel froze. There was something about her brother's demeanour that rooted her to the spot. "Please, at least tell me so I can understand," she whispered.

Anton's jaw shifted as he ground his teeth. He cast a quick glance around the chamber.

Mel swallowed the lump in her throat and let go of Anton. Taking a step back, she turned around to face the busy servants and she clapped her hands twice, catching their attention. "Excuse us."

At her words, the maid stopped what they were doing and scrambled out of the chamber, shutting the heavy doors behind them and leaving the two siblings alone.

Mel crossed her arms across her chest and shifted on her feet, eyeing Anton in expectation. "Go on." She nudged her shoulder in his direction. "Speak!"

"We received a missive from the North, the Orions." He watched her, monitoring her pensive mood closely.

"When, Anton, when?" Mel pressed, digging her nails through the sleeves of her light dress into the flesh of her arms.

Anton's lips thinned to a straight line before he answered. "Three days ago," he finished in a low whisper, as though afraid to answer her.

"Three—three days," Mel chuckled and then pressed her knuckles to her lips. She began to pace around the room. She burst into laughter. "Three days, Anton. Three days. Am I hearing right?!" She stopped and faced him, raising her voice to a shrill scream, "Why am I just hearing of something so important?!"

Anton flinched and then stepped forward, reaching a hand out to her. "Mel, please—"

"Stay right where you are, brother! Not a word!" she yelled, stopping him from moving or saying anything further. She resumed her pacing. "Why? Why now? I could have prepared myself a little, would have been ready. I would have…"

"It was my idea," Anton said and Mel stood still, tilting her head to face him.

"What?" she whispered.

Anton took a deep breath and spoke up, "I know you, more than what mother and father think. Adam knows you too. Despite the nonsense you're spitting about preparation, it wouldn't be farfetched for you to run away the moment you heard about this! What difference would the time frame make if you were truly ready to fulfil your side of the bargain?"

Mel stood in stunned silence, unable to believe what she was hearing.

"It's true, and you know I'm right, Mel," Anton continued, "You were nodding and nodding to the agreement for years when deep down, you didn't want it. Do you think no one saw the joy on your face when there was no news from Orion? You have always been so—"

Anton's ear rang as a seasoned slap met his cheek, his skin prickled from the lingering effect of Mel's palm and he looked down at her, confusion and surprise fighting for a spot on his face.

Her eyes watered and she lowered her hand, disgusted. "You're revolting!" She clutched the folds of her dress and yelled at him, "To hear all this rubbish from a family who 'supposedly knows me'! You do not know how long I supported all of you. This had nothing to do with me but I was willing! Willing to do your bidding and be carted off to a foreign nation I knew so little about!

"I did not complain and yet here you are taking my silence for something else. There was a time I was eager to marry. How did you think I felt when I heard nothing? Joy? What joy? For once, I had made new friends and I wasn't rushing to leave them at that moment so, of course, I would have been happy to have been afforded more time!"

Mel breathed heavily, her chest rising and falling with each pant. She let go of her dress and turned away from Anton, a torn expression donning her face. "Get out," she whispered. "I can't wait to be rid of you… and I never want to see you again," she bit out.

Without a word, Anton hung his head and walked out of her chambers, his footfalls awfully loud against the backdrop of the silent chamber. The door clicked shut behind him and Mel collapsed on her bed, raising her hands to cover her eyes in an effort to fight back the tears that threatened to come out.

A hesitant series of knocks permeated the still silence of Mel's tranquillity, followed by a weak "My Lady?" from one of her chamber maidens.

Mel drew in a deep breath and opened her eyes, staring at the silk coverings of her large bed. Was this the last time she would lay on it? Because it seemed she was going to be leaving this very day.

Silence. Then another knock.

Mel let out a weary sigh. "Come in."

"Mel." One of the double doors opened to reveal Harriett strolling in, leaving the door slightly open.

Mel stiffened and then sprang upright to a seated position. She directed a tired gaze to her mother. As much as she tried to be annoyed, she couldn't muster the strength to waste any emotion. Come to think of it, she hadn't yet eaten that morning.

"I was referring to the servants, not you," Mel simply said, staring fixedly at her mother.

Harriett nervously fiddled with her hands, as though finding some sort of purpose for them to accomplish before she settled for clasping them at her stomach. "Y—yes." She nodded at the door in a silent beckoning and Mel's chamber maidens stalked in, their heads low as they went into the bathing room, preparing Mel's bathing water.

"Where are the rest?" Mel murmured.

"They will be back shortly." Harriett looked around the bed chamber, as though seeing it for the first time before her eyes returned to Mel.

"I am leaving today, aren't I?" Mel quietly asked, drawing a tired gaze to her mother, a gaze that tore Harriett's heart.

Harriett's lips quivered and the lady pressed her lips into a thin line to steady her emotions, a trait Anton inherited. A torn smile pulled at the woman's lips, pulling slight wrinkles near her cheeks. They didn't do much to reduce the beauty of the ageing lady.

"The ships are set to depart for Orion this afternoon… in a few… hours…" she finally said, her voice a half whisper so faint, Mel herself could barely hear it.