I Would Ask You To Dance (Mareven)

It's not like I am an alcoholic, it's merely a glass of scotch every few nights

Here is the first part in the home stretch! As you'll notice, this is written in third person rather than first, which is also why there is a title for this chapter. Hope you guys enjoy!

Something had been bothering Mare for the last week, or at least that was when Maven started picking up on it. They had gone from passionate make-out sessions at every possible chance to brief pecks before bed and just after waking up. He figured it reasonable to assume it was something Gisa had said to her, although he could not be quite sure, he supposed it did not particularly matter anyway. This marriage was a political one and despite how Mare might have felt about him a week prior, neither of them was ready to be married for anything other than politics; truthfully, they had known each other for less than a year. Maven had accepted that to some degree, but that did not keep him from wishing that they both wanted more than a platonic relationship. Maybe it had been that desire that blinded him from seeing clearly; maybe wanting had made him weak.

              Mare had always been a wild card in the time that he knew her. Other than the fact that she would always protect her family, Maven could never anticipate her next move with one hundred percent accuracy. He should have known that Mare could be here as a spy, she had been quite indecisive about marrying him and loving him or his brother, but he supposed he overlooked that possibility simply because he wished it not to be true. If his mother were here, she would scold him for his ignorance.

              When Gisa arrived at Whitefire, he knew she was not here to "offer her support" but he naively figured she could be watched easily; however, Maven should have known better to expect anything to come easily to him. Whenever Mare had free time, she was off with her sister in some isolated area of the castle, and it just so happened that the cameras in said areas never seemed to work.

              "Might I speak to you for a moment, Maven," his head turned up to see Gisa standing in the doorway of the library.

              He glanced back down at the amber liquid in his glass, he had never been one for drinking up until late, "very well."

              "I was hoping that I could move into a room close to Mare," she spoke as she moved closer to him, "I came here for her, and with my room on the opposite end of the palace, it is just a nuisance to have to travel that distance anytime I want to see her."

              "I see your reasoning," he swirled his drink around his glass, "however, I find it unnecessary."

              She faltered slightly before stammering, "I beg your pardon, but-"

              "But nothing Gisa. My wedding is in some six weeks. Not to mention Evangeline and Iris' weddings as well. The palace is busy enough as it is at the moment, and I am afraid you are posing too much of a distraction for my fiancée. Your sister has much on her plate with the wedding planning alone, and she still needs to go through more training."

              She scoffed, "I thought Mare went through plenty of training during her first stay here. Why does she need to go through more?"

              "Mare learned how to sit still and look pretty, nothing more. I am not marrying her for her to sit idly by and watch. She needs to learn how to preside over the court, to draft bills, and to run a nation, and I am afraid she cannot do that with you here."

              "So then what becomes of me?" Gisa asked. "You have announced me to the public; they know I'm here. You can't just dispose of me."

              "And what type of brother-in-law would I be if I did that?"

              She ignored his comment, "I came here to support my sister, and I intend to stay here and do just that."