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Richard had never seen the Buttergood mansion so popular. But now, everyone was milling about at the bottom of the staircase or heading towards the ballroom of dining room. He’d known that this day was coming. And a part of him liked the idea of being used as a political pawn to create an alliance with another wealthy family. It was just like in the books that he loved reading, only he wasn’t a prince. He was also a vampire, and he would be married into a family of werewolves, so there was also that little problem.
But, seeing the crowd milling about and hearing the buzz of conversation in the air, Richard couldn’t deny his excitement. He wondered what the Winterwell girl looked like.
“Well, aren’t you going to go down and join them?” asked his mother, coming up beside him. She was dressed very nicely in a bright red gown that was made of silk. She looked like a true noble lady.
“Can I?” asked Richard.
“Of course you can,” said Louisa. “You’re the man of the hour, after all.”
“Okay,” said Richard. He descended the staircase, feeling like a prince in a fairytale. Somewhere out there was the girl he was to marry someday, if all went well today. As he worked his way through the crowd, Richard wondered if he looked as handsome and regal as he felt in his tuxedo. Several of the adults stopped to coo over him, and he noticed that they weren’t doing the same to his twin sisters who were also making their way through the crowd towards the dining room.
“There he is,” a woman cooed, and Richard suddenly found himself face to face with a red-haired girl who looked about as uncomfortable as a wolf stuffed into a dress. “Say hello to your future wife, Richard.”
“H-hi,” said Richard, struck dumb by her beauty. She had the prettiest green eyes, and freckles against her pale skin, and her red hair was styled in ringlets. She also wore a little pale blue dress.
“Hi,” said the girl, shifting uncomfortably in her dress. “I’m Summer Winterwell.”
“I’m Richard Buttergood,” said Richard. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you too,” said Summer. “When’s lunch? I’m starving.” Richard chuckled at her frankness. He’d read somewhere that werewolves, especially young ones, ate a lot.
“It’s actually being served in half an hour,” said Richard. “But I might be able to sneak something from the kitchen.”
“Would you?” asked Summer, her green eyes alight with excitement. Richard nodded and walked into the kitchen, hoping to find something that she might like.
Fortunately, despite his fears, Summer could eat chocolate and happily ate the box of chocolates that Richard brought out for her.
“You’d better not be spoiling your appetite for lunch,” said an older woman, walking over to the child. “I hear we’re having rare steak.”
“Yay!” Summer cheered, and hugged her. “Thanks for letting me know, mum.”
The lunch was delicious, even if it was a little awkward because Richard and Summer were seated next to each other and all of the adults cooed over them and talked about them as though they weren’t there.
“After the marriage, your son will of course be expected to live with us,” said an older Winterwell woman after lunch had been devoured. Apparently, she was the mayor of New Hillcrest.
“Unacceptable,” Valdemar snarled back at her, pounding his fist down onto the table. “Your daughter will move in with us, as is the noble way.”
“Marriage works differently in Jorvik, Valdemar,” said the mayor. “The man takes the woman’s surname, as do all the children.”
“What if it was a child that brought the families together?” Richard’s mother suggested.
“No, we tried that before, it didn’t work,” said his father.
“But that was in less peaceful times,” said a Winterwell man. Richard could see some family resemblance in him. “It might work better this time.”
“So long as your daughter vows not to kill my grandson,” said Valdemar.
“I wouldn’t kill you,” Summer whispered. Richard smiled and nodded, her breath sending chills down his spine.
“I wouldn’t kill you either,” Richard whispered back. He was starting to feel uncomfortable with all the yelling, and Summer kept glancing towards the door. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Can we?” asked Summer.
“My mum will let me,” said Richard. He got out of his seat and walked over to her. “Mum, can me and Summer go outside?”
“Yes, of course,” said his mother. “You two go outside and play while we work things out.”
Before stepping outside, though, Richard applied some vampiric sunscreen. Then, he walked out into the sun with Summer. The girl relaxed once outside, and started walking down towards Crescent Moon Village.
“This is much better,” said Summer, grinning at him.
“Yeah, it is,” said Richard, joining her. Out in the sunlight, Summer appeared to glow, her steps light and the light in her eyes shining. They walked together to the small forest outside the village, where the air just began to get misty from the marshes. Summer sat on a log, and Richard joined her.
“I don’t like the thought of being married,” said Summer. “You’re nice but you’re a boy. And boys are icky.”
“Oh. Well, if you don’t like boys, we can’t get married,” said Richard. “The wedding is off.”
“Is it?” asked Summer, looking at him hopefully. “I thought we didn’t get a say.”
“Maybe you could marry one of my sisters instead,” said Richard. Summer snorted.
“I don’t think your grandfather would like that idea,” she said.
“You’re probably right,” said Richard. “He wants you to live here and wear dresses and stay inside all the time. That’s what he made my mum do.”
“That sounds horrible,” said Summer. “Promise me you won’t let him do that to me. Refuse the marriage.”
“I wouldn’t mind marrying you,” said Richard. “You’re really pretty. And I want to unite our families.”
“Thank you,” said Summer, blushing at the compliment. “You’re a nice boy but you’re a boy.”
“Well, in some of the books I read, the man and lady get married but they don’t love each other and instead spend time with the ones they do love,” said Richard.
“Would your grandfather allow that?” asked Summer.
“Probably not,” said Richard.
“You have nice ideas,” said Summer. “But he just won’t listen to you.”
“He won’t listen to anyone,” said Richard.
“Stupid old man,” said Summer. She got off the log, kicking off her shoes. “Let’s play.”
“Play where? And what?” asked Richard.
“Climbing trees,” said Summer. She walked around until she found a tree, than jumped and grabbed at a low hanging branch. Her dress tore on the rough bark as she climbed up, but she looked happier than she’d been all day.
“I fell out of a tree once,” said Richard, looking fearfully at it. “I hurt my knee and my hands, and my grandfather yelled at me.”
“Then you just need a good teacher,” said Summer. Richard shook his head. “Alright then, we’ll just play tag.”
“Tag? How does that work?” asked Richard. Summer ran up to him and tapped him on the shoulder.
“Tag, you’re it!” she cried. “Now you’ve gotta chase me and tag me, then I do the same to you.”
“When does it end?” asked Richard.
“When we want it to,” said Summer.
“Alright,” said Richard. Summer darted off and Richard chased her, laughing. He didn’t know what his parents would decide, but he knew one thing- Summer was his new friend.