Kapitel 30: Crazy Ideas
<<Charlie>>
"Why are you panicking?"
Samuel shot me a knowing look.
Jamie was exasperated. "Will you guys tell me what on heavens is going on?"
"Sam, you need to choose right now."
"I cannot choose!"
"Let your heart do it. Just be quiet for a second."
"I cannot!"
I sighed, shaking my head. "I can't believe I'm doing this."
Samuel blinked a couple of times in confusion, so did Jamie.
"You need to sit for this one."
---
"Close your eyes and imagine yourself in front of a porch - got there? good! The year would be around ten years from now," I paused seeing Samuel unconsciously smile. "Now, you are playing cards with Jamie and Liz - enjoying the game as you're winning in a row. A lady - a familiar one- calls you lovingly for dinner. Now, whose voice fits in that situation?"
Jamie furrowed his eyebrows. "What was that? How is it going to help him choose?"
"Nicole,"
Jamie's head turned towards a close-eyed, unconsciously smiling Samuel. Jamie's eyes widened as his gaze shot back and forth between the two of us. Samuel opened his eyes, surprised at his own answer.
"Looks like someone's made his mind."
Jamie slammed his fists on the table. "How can you do this?! You are supposed to be marrying my sister! 'Tis what our fathers decided!"
I raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Yes, really, Charlie. Marriage here is nothing but alliances between kingdoms and Samuel was supposed to be marrying Darlene because of this alliance. 'Tis to make kingdoms stronger to fight external threats."
"Geez," I made a disgusted face. "So, they wouldn't cancel it if they found out our dearest friend loves someone else?"
"You really think that shall happen? How naive!"
I snapped. "I am anything but naive!"
Samuel stood up, abruptly. "Guys, we have something important to discuss!"
"Let us all calm down for a second and think."
---
I would admit - I was not at all a romantic person. People- relatives- usually said that I was allergic to romance and the most aromantic person to have ever walked on the surface of the earth. However, when it came to someone who desired to be with their beloved but this ruthless society and its pathetic rules wouldn't allow it, I would be seen fighting for them.
Just because I was aromantic, didn't mean people weren't allowed to fall in love and have their happy endings. Society didn't have any rights to judge them or separate the lovers because of their castes or their money etc. etc. That was one of the things I hated about society. It didn't give people the liberty to live their own lives as per their own rules.
Something that all of us here were victims of.
I couldn't be a tomboy without society making it a disgrace- a stigma to womankind.
Francine couldn't live a normal life because she was a princess and was kept at a distance from other ordinary kids her age.
Samuel was obliged to marry Darlene and not the "newfound" love of his life.
Samuel's pacing never stopped. In fact, it increased to ten times the previous one. Jamie played with the pen while tapping it on the table while I swiveled on the chair, staring at the walls.
"IDEA!" Jamie stood up, tapping the pen so hard that it broke. The sound startled Sam and he abruptly stopped.
"What did you get?"
Jamie smiled as if he had cracked the case, pointing at Samuel. "You want to be with Nicole and not Darlene, right?"
Samuel nodded.
"Does Nicole want the same thing?"
Samuel shrugged. "She still wants to be just friends. But, I do not want that. That is the problem!"
Jamie said. "Before we make Nicole fall in love with you, we need to remove Darlene from your life."
"You're saying, we should somehow cancel the alliance?"
Jamie shook his head. "Not now, we shall plan to cancel the alliance but the execution of the plan shall be at the right time."
"What is the plan?" Sam and I asked in unison.
Jamie smirked.
"You shall see, my friends."
---
"Oh no, this is not going to work, Jamie. It shall break your sister's heart."
"It shall but then I have someone who shall come and save the day - being the knight in shining armor and all that."
I rolled my eyes. "You gotta be kidding me, Jamie. How cliche could you get?"
Jamie fake-gasped. "You do not like cliche stories? Who does not love cliches?!"
I snapped. "I don't,"
Jamie shook his head. "How have you lived all these years?"
"As I-"
Samuel repeatedly clapped, cutting me off and dragging our off-topic mind back to track. As per Jamie's idea, which was something I was sure wouldn't work, he had to make himself look like a player - the kind of person who just played with everyone's emotions and force Darlene to hate him. Honestly, I had no faith in Jamie's idea as it had a lot of holes in it.
Mark my words: It wouldn't work.
For instance, Samuel was already a player - he loved playing with emotions so Darlene must've known that. It wouldn't be a surprise to her.
Number two, as much as movies show that these weird plans go really smoothly- they don't in real life. Real-life was far more different than fantasy. It took a long time for someone to hate someone else and tons of effort which I was sure the men wouldn't be putting in.
Number three, father and Jamie's father had already fixed the alliance and I was sure that the entire Titania now knew of this arrangement. So, no way in hell, would they back off now.
In short, it was futile now.
"It will not work. It's not the movies where the girl has a fiance who made her hate him so much that now she's heartbroken and then a guy comes out of nowhere, they fall in love, get married and have their happily ever after."
Jamie stared at the distance, the gears in his head turning as he moved his index finger up and down.
"What if, and hear me out, Samuel is found with another woman?"
I yelled. "It's your sister we're dealing with, Jamie! You really wanna make your sister go through all that heartbreak? Clearly, she's smitten with Samuel."
Samuel shrugged. "All the ladies are."
Jamie and I shot him a glare and then we were back to the previous conversation we were having. This went on for hours and nothing came out of it. No plans - no nothing. At the end of the day, the three of us were exhausted from all the yelling, screaming, slamming fists on the table, and even smacking Samuel for not being serious when needed.
We slumped on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Jamie and Sam were on either side of me. I was surprised no one heard the yellings and screams from the other side. Either, no one was around-not even the maids- or, they heard the screams but decided to ignore it.
"I am exhausted," Jamie expressed after a long time.
"So am I," Samuel and I said in unison.
Jamie muttered under his breath, "Guess I shall have to get used to it."
I chuckled.
"Hey, Jamie?"
"Hmm?"
There was a smile in his voice. "Remember all those times, we used to play with Princess Beautiful, Darlene, and Mackey? How exhausted we used to be-"
"-and then we used to lie down in Liz's bed and stare at the ceiling, replaying the memory and laughing like idiots. All the times, we had fought over the littlest of matters and then apologized?"
I looked at Jamie, perplexed. "Who's Mackey?"
"Ah, just a distant cousin of Sam and Liz."
"Where is he now?"
Samuel shrugged. "I do not know. Last we knew, he was in the US."
"Oh, but why haven't I seen any photo of him anywhere?"
"He does not like clicking photos. He is a camera-shy person."
"That's okay, I guess. Not everyone loves to pose in front of the camera."
---
"I like this one."
"Hmm,"
"How does this one look like?"
"Hmm,"
"This?"
"Hmm,"
I was exasperated by their hmm's now. I tossed the dresses on the bed and snatched their phones.
"HEY!"
"What are you doing, Charlie?!"
"I am asking for your opinions on dresses for a long time now, and all I get is a 'hmm'! How do you think I should react?!"
"Wear what your heart desires - now gimme that goddamned phone!" Samuel stood up, snatching his cell phone back from me.
Jaime gasped. "What on heavens was that?!"
Samuel straightened himself, fixing his shirt. "My apologies, the commoner in me took control of me."
I raised an eyebrow at his previous outburst which made him curse. A memory of him asking me, way back then, what 'goddamned' was came flooding back in my head. There was a time when Francine and Samuel did not curse- at all. Now, I didn't know about Francine but Samuel cursed. Rarely. But still cursed.
At least, that was a start.
"Man, I can't believe there was a time when you didn't curse at all. Like, not a single curse word would come out of your mouth. How can you keep your mouths so clean in this twenty-first century?"
"'Tis called- being a gentleman-Charlie. Even if we do know a couple of curse words due to our trips to the US or living in the midst of commoners, we avoid cursing because of the rules." Jamie stated.
"Exactly. Rules." I repeated. "Rules that I need to keep on following for the next few months."
Jamie sighed. "And we, for the rest of our lives."
All of us sighed at the same time, thinking about the rules and regulations we need to follow. I felt bad for them. I'd be free from this mess in just a few months but Sam and Jamie had to be in this mess for the rest of their lives.
Pulling me out of my reverie was this phone call.
"Choose a dress for me while I take this phone call," I called before walking out of their sights. The last thing I saw was them rummaging through the pile of dresses to find the perfect one for me.
"Hey, Nurse Sophie!" I greeted her on the phone. As soon as I saw her caller ID, my lips curled into a wide smile. It had been ages since I last saw or even talked to her. Although I was pretty sure she met Francine- I wonder what lie they told her due to her being nice and all.
All I heard was light sobbing.
My smile fell. "You okay, Nurse Sophie?"
"Ch-Charlie...your...dad..."
AUTORENGEDANKEN 
Yoon993
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