Crown

Gevie Sōvegon Ōdres-Butterfly Effect

Cheng stood in front of Astrid defensively as she stumbled awkwardly to her feet, stuttering as she tried to clear up his misunderstanding about the situation. Cheng turned his attention to Albus, glaring daggers at him.

"How impudent, committing such indecencies against another man's fiancé!" He scolded.

Astrid's eyes widened and she tugged on Cheng's sleeve. "Fiancé? What do you mean."

Cheng looked back at her with a somewhat guilty expression. "I apologize for not telling you sooner, the real reason I came to here was to establish an alliance with Solaria and the Summer Isle. I know this is out of the blue, but I had planned to ask for your hand in marriage."

Albus scoffed and pushed himself up off the ground.  "You say she's your Fiancé? Well then if she's so important to you, perhaps you should keep a better watch over her. If she's bringing other men home then clearly you're lacking the means to satisfy her. Who knows, if you keep neglecting her like that a man like me may sweep her off her feet and steal her from right under your nose."

Astrid was slightly taken aback at Albus' sudden attitude. He struck her as a fairly calm and gentle fellow and he had been nothing but a gentleman to her this entire time. Sure he had some sass to him but she didn't expect him to bite back like that. All of Cheng's focus and the suspended disbelief in his eyes, rested on Albus. The sounds that escaped him sounded different. Like an unused voice from the depths of his heart.

"You dare to—are you questioning how much I care for her?"

"No, but she is." Albus gestured to Astrid's increasingly confused expression. Given that she had met both of these men not too long ago, she was a tad bit overwhelmed, to say the least. "Maybe you should ask her how she feels before you go jumping to conclusions by yourself."

Cheng had, had enough of Albus treating him like an idiot and in a fit of rage, he reached out and grabbed Albus by his shirt. "That's rich coming from someone who was forcing himself on her not too long ago!"

Albus' indifference to his scolding made Cheng even angrier and so he raised his hand to strike him and Albus did the same to defend himself. Astrid was at her wits end. She grabbed Cheng's raised arm and flipped him off his feet and onto the floor. Albus, who still had not even so much as flinched was also toppled to the floor when she did the same to him.

"Enough."

Both men were effectively silenced and now slightly unnerved by the fuming Astrid that towered above them.

"Cheng, it's a misunderstanding. I was being  and stubborn and Albus was trying to prove a point. Albus, Cheng is not a bad man. Please don't be rude to him."

The men conceded their argument as she so plainly laid out the facts for them. Sin, who was hiding behind the gazebo, stepped out and began walking towards them.

"Yo! Seems like you've been having a fun time little sister." Sin raised his hand to wave at them, trying not to make things any more awkward than they already were.

Astrid sighed. "Sin! What are you doing here?"

"Just taking a walk....you're a new face," He said, glancing at Albus.