Tangled Hearts

"How did I let you talk me into this? Annemarie doesn't even like me."

Lara stared sullenly at her reflection as Belle bustled around getting ready.

"She does like you," Belle said, though she didn't look or sound very convincing. "She wanted everyone she knows to be at her birthday party."

"And everyone she doesn't," Lara muttered.

"Why do you hate her so much, anyway?"

Lara sighed. "I don't really hate her, I guess. We just really don't have anything in common." And she hated always hearing her mother say, "if only you acted more like Princess Annemarie. If only you dressed more like Princess Annemarie. If only you looked more like Princess Annemarie." If only, if only. At least now she never needed to see her mother again.

"Lara, I mean this in a very loving way, but no one has much in common with you. You're one of a kind."

Lara knew Belle meant it as a compliment, but it still stung a little. Lara felt like she was a puzzle piece that had gotten mixed in with another picture, and there was nowhere she belonged. Her edges didn't line up with any other piece.

"Let me do your hair?" Belle asked hopefully. "I've been practicing and your hair is so lovely..."

"All right, all right."

Belle beamed as she sat Lara down at the vanity and started brushing Lara's chocolate brown curls to a silky shine. Lara didn't wear her hair as long as most other court girls did; hers fell just past her shoulder blades in glossy but slightly wild curls. Belle managed to tame them and pin them in a delicate knot at the nape of Lara's neck with a clip studded with emeralds, letting a few shorter tendrils frame her face.

"I wanted to perfect the art of hair and make up for when Carina gets older," Belle said. "May I do your eyes too?"

"Fine," Lara said, rolling the eyes in question. Though she couldn't help but smile a little at Belle's enthusiasm. Belle sat in front of her and Lara closed her eyes as Belle set to work brushing crushed diamond powder across her lids.

"So, you've known Rhett for quite some time, right?" Lara asked casually.

"Hm? Oh, yes. Since Alec brought him on as a military strategist."

"How did Rhett get that job? I mean, he had no military experience and he was pretty young at the time to take on a position like that."

"Well at first he wasn't going to take the job, but then we had that whole fiasco with Rufus, and Aegaera was in serious danger. So Rhett agreed to step up. And he proved himself to be quite worthy of the role." She crushed some rose petals and pressed them to Lara's neck to create a natural perfume before brushing the barest hint of blush on her cheekbones.

"But what was he doing before all that? To make Alec think he was suited to the task?" Lara pressed. "He seems like a bit of an idiot."

Belle laughed slightly. "Rhett can be a bit of a goofball I admit, but he's a good man and very capable at his job in the military. You'd never guess it from his background."

"Which is?" Lara prompted, getting impatient. She had to snap her lips closed as Belle started applying deep red lipstick to them. She appraised her work and then frowned, hurrying over to the twins' cribs, lifting Davis out.

"Which is?" Lara asked again.

"Hmm?"

"Rhett's background."

"Oh. He ran a huge black market operation," Belle said absent-mindedly as she rocked Davis. "He smuggled and sold all kinds of illegal charms and potions. Nothing dangerous, of course. But his operation finally got so big that he caught the attention of the castle guards. He led them on a pretty merry goose chase there for a while, but he was finally caught and surrendered to avoid any casualties. Alec offered to let him do something productive instead of rotting in the dungeon, and you know the rest."

"Interesting," Lara said, smirking to herself. No wonder Rhett always dodged her questions about his past. She would file this information away for future reference. She was surprised this wasn't common knowledge and she had never heard about it before. Alec must have wanted it kept under wraps since Rhett was instilled in the military.

Belle hurried into the washroom to double check her own hair and Lara leaned over Davis's crib.

"Thanks, little man," she whispered. "I owe you one. When you turn fifteen and find a girl you like, I'll talk you up."

Belle returned and whisked Lara off to the ballroom, where Annemarie's birthday party was in full swing. The princess herself was twirling all around the dance floor in Holden's arms, her face flushed from laughing. Belle had tried half-heartedly to convince Lara to wear a bright green dress but Lara had practically hissed at it. Instead she wore a sleeveless dress with a billowing black skirt and swirls of gold silk and lace decorating the bodice.

Lara stayed hidden in the shadows, watching Belle hurry to Caspian and give him a kiss. He was smiling at her and Lara knew he was telling her how beautiful she looked in the sapphire blue gown she was wearing. Caspian immediately pulled her into a dance and they moved gracefully around the floor. Even King Hamilton and Queen Gloria were dancing, though far less gracefully than the younger couples. She caught sight of Rhett across the room by the buffet table and rolled her eyes. Leave it to him to be stuffing his face.

Lara remained stock still in the shadows, hoping she wouldn't be noticed. She didn't feel much like partying these days. But despite her best efforts to remain invisible, Greyson Dampierre still found her. He seemed to appear out of nowhere, grabbing her shamelessly by the waist and pulling her into the thick of the dancing.

"Lady Everhart, you look far too stunning to be standing on the sidelines without a dance partner," he declared.

"Do you always kidnap your dance partners?" Lara asked caustically.

"I apologize if I've come on too strong," he said, looking sheepish. Lara wasn't buying it.

"I admit I'm quite taken with you and sometimes I get carried away. I've just been waiting so long for the opportunity to dance with you. Given your endearing stubbornness kidnapping did seem to be my only option. Since you didn't seem preoccupied with your General I thought this would be my best chance."

Lara felt dozens of pairs of eyes on the two of them as Greyson spun her around. Normally she didn't care if she was being watched but she didn't care for anyone thinking she and Greyson were an item. His hand was pressed firmly against the bare skin of her back and his head was bent slightly so that he was talking into her ear. It all felt much too intimate. He waltzed her directly to a group of his friends, who were standing around drinking wine and ale; some with giggly dance partners hanging off their arms.

"So you finally got your coveted dance, eh Greyson?" Marcus joked. Lara wanted to punch the smirks off all their faces. Greyson still had a hand resting possessively at her waist and Lara tried to edge away.

"Lady Everhart, you can't be planning to leave so quickly." Greyson tugged on her waist, making her spin back around and fall against his chest. His other arm came up to encircle her as well, holding her there in an embrace. Lara felt a surge of curse words riding in her throat as she prepared to shove him away.

He caught her completely off guard when he suddenly bent his head and kissed her. Lara went rigid with shock and rage as Marcus and the others cheered and hooted with laughter. Furious, Lara bit down hard on Greyson's lip, making him jerk back in surprise. She took the opportunity to wriggle from his grip. He reached up to touch his lip, finding that she'd drawn a little blood. She thought he'd be angry or repulsed but instead he seemed almost impressed.

"Quite the fierce little fox, aren't you, Lady Everhart?" he said, a sort of predatory gleam coming into his eyes that Lara didn't like.

"Then what does that make you?" she asked coldly. "A pig?"

The confident smile on his face hardened slightly but he chuckled good-naturedly. "I'm sorry, my lady. But you are quite irresistible."

"Try harder to resist," she snapped, pushing past his pack of jeering friends. She stormed from the ballroom like a tornado, color high in her cheeks from her indignation and embarrassment. Even the castle servants and total strangers scurried out of her way as she went, clearly seeing murder in her eyes. She reached the front gate, far from the party goers and was so furious she was trembling. She wanted to break something, preferably into Greyson Dampierre's smug face. She could still feel his hands on her skin and his lips pressed against hers and she wanted to vomit.

Lara was so lost in her muddled, angry thoughts that she didn't even notice anyone come up behind her until they grabbed her arm. Thinking it was Greyson, she whirled and rammed her fist into his stomach. After her persuer let out a wheezing gasp she realized it wasn't Greyson at all. It was Rhett.

"That was a pretty good punch," he said hoarsely, rubbing his gut.

"Sorry," Lara muttered. "I thought you were Greyson."

"Lara, you've said a lot of mean things to me since we met, but that has to be the most hurtful."

"I've said mean things? You only asked me to dance to win a bet," she retorted.

"Touché."

"I am sorry. For punching you. Sort of. Although I guess you do kind of deserve it. But I didn't mean to punch you. In this instance."

"So, would I be assuming correctly that you didn't initiate that little love scene in there?"

"Of course I didn't," Lara said sharply. She hugged herself, skin crawling. "What are you doing out here anyway?"

"It's a nice night for a stroll."

"You're so weird. I'm going home, before Greyson tries to shove his tongue down my throat again."

"That does sound remarkably unpleasant. You should probably be looked over by a healer, to make sure you're all right."

Lara smiled briefly. Then she reached out and felt his forehead.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Thinking you should see a healer yourself. I believe you might be coming down with something."

"Why?"

"Because that sounded dangerously close to you caring, and that's highly unusual behavior."

"Haha." Rhett rolled his eyes and she pulled her hand back.

"Why do you even come to these parties?" she asked. "You don't seem to enjoy them much."

He shrugged. "In this case, because Holden asked me to come. And the free food."

"Of course. Free loader."

"Why do you go to them?"

Lara considered for a moment. "Masochism?" she finally answered. "A sick and twisted compulsion to subject myself to stares and whispers and being gossiped about. I like to keep up to date with the apparent goings-on in my own life according to the royal elite. It's astounding what I didn't even know about myself. Tell Cas and Belle I'm sorry for leaving so early, though I doubt they'll even notice I'm gone."

"Should I give our dear Mr. Dampierre your regards as well?"

"Yeah," Lara said. "If you see him tell him he kisses like a beached fish."

She was surprised when Rhett chuckled. "I'll get that message to him right away."

"Right after you shovel more free food into your big mouth?" Lara asked, poking him lightly in the stomach.

"Well you know, priorities."

Lara laughed softly. "You're an idiot." She found that the words didn't come out with as much force as they usually did. She murmured good night and headed home, for once not feeling comforted by her large, empty house. She left her fancy ball gown in a heap on the floor and curled up in bed, trying to forget the feel of Greyson Dampierre. Baby hopped into the bed beside her, resting his head on her side. She stroked his soft fur and found herself thinking about Rhett and all the stupid things he said to take her mind off of Greyson. Then she was finally able to fall asleep.