Of Kings and Queens

16/Criticization/

•October, 3rd•

"Perry, you should head back to your own dorm," Madaelyn said in a loose manner, not really liking the idea herself.

He rolled over and propped himself up on his left elbow. "I think we should stay just where we are. I like the view from here."

Madaelyn shook her head at him and giggled. "You're incorrigible." She sat on the bed—the comforter was stuffed full of feathers, and she sank into it with a satisfied hum.

"You like it," He called from the foot of the bed.

She brushed her rosewood brown hair thoroughly and pinned it out of her face with some clips.

"That I do," She confirmed through closed eyes. There was a dip in the bed next to her and she handed the book to him.

"How was dinner?" He asked as he began to turn the page to where they left it yesterday.

She scoffed. "Uneventful as always, with my family."

He wrapped his arms around her middle and relaxed back into his chest with a sigh of content.

"I still can't believe the school let you leave on such short notice to visit your family just because of some dinner."

She broke from his embrace, her face serious.

"Perry. It was about my bethroval—I was supposed to get married when I turn eighteen. It's a tradition with the older families."

"A simple way of putting it: girls marry and the boys take over from their fathers. Quite medieval, actually—"

Madaelyn turned to him but he wasn't looking at her. His eyes were unfocused on the wall. When she placed her hand on his cheek his head jerked sharply towards her.

"You're getting married?!"

"No!" She quickly denied, then in a softer tone she said, "That's what I was going to tell you. My father and the father of the guy I was supposed to be marrying broke the contract because, —because we would never be happy! We would absolutely kill eachother!" She stepped closer to him and leaned her forehead on his.

When Perry had yet to say anything she sighed defeatedly. "Well I mean, there is the fact that I'm crazy about this other guy."

A distant ringing of a phone was heard vaguely but he ignored the buzzing in his pocket. He grabbed her hands from her sides and a small smile graced his face.

"I swear to God that everyone in this school was born with their marriage certificate already written out," Perry commented.

"It's not even that popular, Perry! Only the twelve— Wait, Who else?!" She leaned out of his embrace to stand up straight with her hands on her hips.

He sighed and his head drooped, "Bill."

She smiled a cunning grin and Perry was momentarily confused. "I should've known William Braxton would've been. With his crazy family and everything." She said, her posture relaxed slightly.

"No. I don't know. What do you mean?" Perry grew very impatient. Madaelyn sighed impatiently.

"I mean that his cousins are two of the most feared people in the school, the Nortons." She said their name with disgust. "I mean Kristine is nice and all but, there's an unexplainable mean streak in her... definitely from the same gene pool as Ryler." She shuddered as she said it. "He knows everything about everyone and can someone predict the latest drama before it happens and extract himself from any damage that might be done to his precious title."And his uncle Gianni Rossi? He's known to be clinically insane. Schizophrenia runs in their family." Madaelyn said as if they were talking about the weather.

"But why get married so young?"

"Well it's not everyone on this school.." She said, "It's only really the Twelve Sacred Descendants that still do it. My family is one." There was definitly a proud, boasting undertone.

"So who are they, the Descendants?" Perry asked with rapt attention.

"Okay first, the most powerful— Probably the Roscoes, then the Morettis—But they attend school in Italy so you don't know any on them." She counted them on her fingers as she paced around the room thinking. "So then there's the Knaeghts— You know the twins in senior year? They're related to the Roscoes too but the socialites in that old redneck family don't want to acknowledge those drunk tarts running around here."

Perry stood there in awe at Maddy's words. Never had he ever heard words so cruel and resentful come from her mouth, that was one of the reasons he had fallen for her in the first place. She was like the summer sun shine compared to his sister the idealist (—He said pessimistic— ).

She was everything he wasn't used to.

But now, she sounded like the heiress of Ballymurn that she was. She was poised, and spat fire about the so called 'Nates'. Somewhere in the last hour he wondered where the girl he knew went.

"You can sleep on the sofa in the lounge room if you want." She interrupted his thoughts.

"Thanks, Maddy." He smiled slowly at her, still unsure whether she as going to start ranting again.