𝒯𝐻𝐸 𝐿𝒪𝒩𝐸𝐿𝐼𝐸𝒮𝒯 || a selection roleplay (closed)

𝔡𝔞𝔱𝔢𝔰 𝔭𝔞𝔯𝔱 𝔱𝔴𝔬

irene was elated. for the first time in forever, jaxon invited her to hang out! sure, they'd seen each other throughout the selection, but this was truly time for just them. brother and sister bonding. she wasn't entirely sure what he had in mind, but she did know he had something he needed to talk to her about. the note seemed serious, but she wanted to think it would be all good. maybe he was going to tell her that he'd fallen in love with one of the girls! oh, that would have been incredible! she made her way to jaxon's room and lightly knocked on the door. only seconds later, jax opened it, in a simple t-shirt and jeans. it made irene's smile grow. things almost felt normal. she couldn't remember the last time she'd seen him dressed so casually. certainly before he was coronated. he likely only did it because he was prepared for her. without asking, she barged her way into his room.

"'well, hi jaxon! it's so nice to see you. thanks for inviting me. may i come in?'" he raised his voice a couple octaves to mimic her, causing a frown from irene. "oh, hello irene. it's so nice to see you too. please, come in and make yourself comfortable."

irene laughed and sat down in one of his chairs. "thanks jax, i will." as much as she loved the pleasantries of speaking for the first time in a while, she wanted to know what he had in mind! there had to be some reason he called her down. "alright, spill. why am i here?" she wiggled her brows playfully. "have you fallen for one of the girls? who is it?" what she would give to know about jaxon's current love life. he said he was only doing this for a queen, but irene knew that that would change by the end of this. he would open up more. he would go back to being his loving, playful self. he had to. she was starting to see some of it already!

but his teasing demeanor quickly faded as irene asked him what he wanted her here for. he took a seat in the chair beside her. his face was serious, but there was a slight sadness in his eyes as he sat stiffly. "it's not about me, irene. it's about you."

"what do you mean?" this was supposed to be fun... exciting. but his words and expression and tone were anything but.

"i didn't want to jump into this right away but it's probably better this way. and please know that i love you so much. you're my sister and if i had any way to change this right now i would. it was dad's decision and i didn't find out about it until recently."

irene was beginning to panic. "jaxon. just tell me. what do you mean? what was dad's decision?"

"well, it wasn't necessarily dad's decision. it was an arrangement between him and marcello. i just found out about it yesterday in one of our meetings."

"just tell me! please!" irene was begging at this point. she was only imagining the worst, her stomach twisted. jaxon looked at her and took a sharp breath, nodding.

"you are meant to marry dante."

irene's world quickly began to crumble around her. she paled and shook her head, then laughed as if it was all some cruel joke. "no."

"when they leave tomorrow, dante will stay behind to court you."

"no. jaxon. this isn't funny."

jaxon sighed and stood, walking over to his desk to grab a paper. there on it were two signatures. her fathers and marcello's, agreeing to the arranged marriage. "it's not a joke, irene. i'm sorry, i-"

she shoved the paper back. "no! there is no sorry for this! there's no excuse! fix it, jaxon! you know i don't like him! i'll be friends with him but not- not marriage!"

"irene, please. i can't fix it."

"try! there has to be something you can do!"

"you don't think i did try? this was an agreement between dad and marcello and he won't let it change. it's ridiculous!"

tears began to flow. no. she couldn't be married. she wasn't ready. she was only twenty. she'd never even been in a solid relationship! and now she was expected to marry dante? "please, jax, i can't."

"irene, i'm going to keep trying but as of tomorrow, dante will be courting you. there is no set date for a wedding."

"please, jaxon! i don't- i can't- there's-"

and then it was as if jaxon changed. he was the king. and in that moment, that's all he was. "irene, stop. i told you i'm trying. but it's time to grow up. marrying dante could be a good thing for you-"

"you don't know what's good for me! you hardly know me at all!" she shouted through sobs. they hadn't spoken for two years.

"STOP! irene this will be good for you. you don't think i know what you do? i've heard the rumors. you can't trust palace staff. i've let you goof off for the last year or so without a word, pretending i didn't know. but it's time that comes to an end."

in addition to her world crumbling, her breath was sucked out of her. she might as well have died right then. everyone promised... they told her he wouldn't find out. betrayal after betrayal after betrayal. "jaxon don't treat me like that. don't talk to me like you're-"

"like i'm what, irene? like i'm the king? well guess what, i am the king. and i am saying that this is how things will be right now. i order you to allow this."

he ordered her. she looked at him like she was disgusted. "what happened to you? where is my brother?"

"i'm right here. we're family. that's not going to change-"

irene stood. she'd had enough. "then act like it! be my brother! don't be my king! i'm a princess too! if you died, i'd be queen. you're human. when it comes down to it, your power means nothing when it comes to family."

that stung jaxon. he knew that. he never wanted to let it get to his head, but clearly it had. he watched as irene stormed away, out of the room just to bump into dante. with her red face and puffy eyes, she couldn't even look at him.

"this is your fault!" she shrieked. "you had to have known about this. this had to be your idea. why can't you just leave me alone?"

dante furrowed his brows, confused. "what are you talking about. irene, are you okay?"

"don't act all innocent. you're practically obsessed with me!"

"irene, stop." jaxon boomed as he approached the two of them. "dante had nothing to do with this. this had been set from the moment you were born. he was only four. i think he was on his way for his father to tell him right now."

it was as if jaxon's words went in one ear and out the other. she didn't care. all she wanted to do was cry and be left alone and run away and die. she couldn't. she stepped back and shook her head, glancing between dante and jaxon. even if dante had nothing to do with it, she couldn't look at him the same. she stared at jaxon. "i hate you." she whispered, voice weak from her loud sobs. "i hate you!" and she meant every word. with that, she ran off into her room, slamming the door behind her.

jaxon swallowed, as if he were trying to keep back tears of his own. never had irene said that. never. and he knew he deserved it. but right now he had no choice. not when he knew that irenica and italy were on the brink of war. he nodded to dante. "you'll find out everything soon. be on your way." he turned and shut his door behind him. he didn't have time to think about this. he had dates coming up.

••••••••

sad days. but SNAP let's get this party started! i just want to thank you all for your patience with me <3 i know my activity has been lacking recently and i'm SO SORRY. i've been busier than normal. anyway these are selected planned dates!

WHAT TO DO:
• tag in any location for a date with jaxon! please include the time and day as well!
• these can occur anytime from  february 4-february 10!

that's it! i'm hoping to be more active soon. any other characters are available to tag, as well! though their chains might be a little less active as i focus on dates.

also, some of you have been assigned to something ;). i would suggest figuring out how you're going to accomplish that or avoid it. don't worry, there will be future chapters and assignments to help you out, but for now your selected are on their own!

anyway, have fun!