Amity poked her head out of her room just as dawn was breaking outside. She had meant to get up earlier, to give herself more time to get out of the house before anyone woke up, but eight hours with Luz in the forest had left her tear stained, exhausted, and all smiles. Even now, just the thought of her crush made her cheeks burn some. She was with Luz. She was with Luz! Her heart fluttered everytime she thought about it and she swooned slightly as she leaned against the doorway to her room.

“So, did you have a good night?”

Amity squealed as she looked to her side to see Emira and Edric grinning at her. Did they know? Of course they didn’t. How could they? She was gone for most of the night after all and no one followed her. They’d been too busy with the party at the Emperor’s Castle to do so. No, they were probably just basing it off of her sigh. And they were outside her room to check on her after last night. Yeah. That was it. “Um, uh, just a good dream. That’s all.”

The two of them glanced at each other before Emira leaned into Edric’s chest. “Oh, yes, a great dream that could only be ended by breaking the trellis outside of your room as you try to keep your affair a secret.” The two then winked at her as they stuck their tongues out at her.

Amity turned white as a sheet before turning away. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about. If it’s, uh, broken then it’s purely because last night was, erm, windy?” She then stumbled a little from a bad bruise she’d gotten from almost falling off said trellis but tried to act like it didn’t happen as she tried to walk away as quickly as she could without seeming like she was running away. Of course, last night hadn’t been windy. It had been perfectly clear. Just like Luz’s love for her. Love that made her look up and sigh.

That didn’t quite work though as her mother waited for her at the top of the stairs. Amity’s heart dropped at the sight. Sure, she had said before that she would approve of anyone she loved but...

She then stopped as Odalia’s arms wrapped themselves around Amity. She then looked down at her daughter and whispered, “You ran after her. Please tell me your feet led you where we all have wanted them to.”

Amity tried blinking back tears that almost immediately came to the edges of her eyes. She’d tried forgetting about that part of last night. Them saying they’d had plans with the two of them. That Edric acted on his own. It had made her so angry. So hurt. Especially with what it had meant in regards to Luz. But it had also made her afraid. Afraid it was another game played by the Blights. Just her parents testing her before they finally told her Luz couldn’t be with her. She just… hadn’t thought about it until she’d been in bed. Until it was all said and done. Until she had made sure Luz knew what she wanted.

She swallowed hard before nodding. The two met eyes for a second before Odalia pecked her daughter on the top of the head. Edric raised his arms as he shouted in celebration while Emira laughed at all of them for being so over the top. That also got met by a scream from Boscha’s room of, “Will you all quiet down already? Some of us are trying to sleep!”

Amity turned bright red before looking back up at her mother. “If… If all of you knew, why didn’t you say anything?”

Odalia raised an eyebrow before asking, “Would you have acted faster on your feelings? Or would,” she said as her eyes darted away, “only felt the pressure I knew you were under worse?”

Amity blinked a few times in confusion at her apparent pain. Why was she upset? She had only ever tried to be a good Blight. To keep her eyes forward. If her mother thought she was failing in her straight path… “Oh.”

Odalia let out a nervous giggle before looking downstairs. “Your father is in his study and asked that I send you to him.” She then paused as the color from Amity’s face faded as her eyes widened. “Alone.”

The serious girl very, very slowly nodded at the statement. She didn’t actually think about her dad very often. If her mother wasn’t around much, her father was almost non-existent. The idea that he was waiting for her, waiting for anyone outside of other politicians, terrified her. After all, what did he think about Luz? Did he share everyone else’s sentiment? He had worked as hard as possible to become someone capable of being a Blight. He hadn’t ever caught his mother’s eye even until he was ready to be presented to the family. He had always been calm, collected, and serious though. Never flinched. Or, almost never did, she thought as her mind drifted back to the story that Edric had shown them.

He was everything Luz wasn’t and he likely knew as well as any of them that Luz was never going to change to make herself a proper Blight. Not that she wanted that but… She reached up and gripped her mother’s arm. “Can… Can you come with me? Please?”

Emira wrapped her arms around from behind her before whispering, “I wouldn’t worry about it so badly. If he was really that mad after all, I don’t think you would have been allowed to keep him waiting.” The older Blight girl looked up to her mother before asking, “Right?”

Odalia sighed in relief. When she’d caught her daughter coming over, she’d been terrified that she was only going to reinforce the fears in Amity’s mind. Fears that she knew Alador planned to fix but… “I assure you that your father isn’t mad. He just wants to talk.”

Just wanting to talk wasn’t usually a great thing when it came to Blights. However, Amity relented as she let go of her mother’s arm. “I-f you’re sure…” She then shut her eyes, righted herself so she stood straight, and looked straight ahead. Her family could tell how flimsy it was, likely because she was so tired, but they still moved out of the way to let her go. The twins admittedly looked much less certain about it than her mother, but Odalia looking confident in what she said was what mattered. Her mother didn’t lie after all, not to Amity. Or so the young girl thought. Hoped.

The minute she was out of sight of all of them though, Amity’s shoulders slumped down. She hated how right her mom had been about what would happen if she told them. If she admitted she loved Luz. Loved… Luz. She sighed out of reflex before sucking in her lips and putting her hands over her face. She needed to get it together. She couldn’t look like Luz was going to make her a complete mess. Not in front of her father. She was better than that. Better than to let emotions get in the way of things. Like she had been for months now… Months that her family apparently saw all too clearly.

It weighed on her mind with every step until she got to her father’s study. There she gently knocked on the door. She hoped somewhat that he wouldn’t hear her so she could go back and get one of the others to join her and make sure her father was there. Find a loophole in his request. She had no such luck though as her father’s calm, emotionless voice said, “Come in.”

Amity took in one more deep breath before stepping inside. The study was lit only by a fireplace before her father’s sitting chair. Another chair had been brought in to sit beside him. It looked comfortable enough but Amity wasn’t sure how many bad chairs they had in the house. She was almost certain they had worse though as having a lesser official sitting in such a thing was a fairly easy power play to let them know they weren’t wanted nor seen as worthy as better. Would Luz get one of those chairs now? Why hadn’t she thought about this earlier?

She still attempted to show none of this though as she came to her father’s side and curtsied to him. “Good morning, father. I will try to make sure I do not take up too much of your time.”

Alador gave a curt nod before gesturing to the seat beside him. “Sit and tell me how talking to Luz went last night.”

Amity sucked in her lips before realizing a good loophole for herself. “We didn’t talk last night. We briefly saw each other but neither of us spoke.”

Her father smiled a little at that. He smiled… “I’m assuming a letter then?”

The nervous girl glanced away before whispering, “Yes.”

“And?”

“And…” Amity still couldn’t help but smile to herself as she finished her sentence. “She said she loved me too.”

Alador gave another nod before looking to his side where both a small cup of brandy and a phone sat. He first took a deep draft of the drink before grabbing the phone. Amity say in silence as he dialed it before he finally put it to his ear. “Good morning, Miss Kikimora. I’m calling in to say that I will be unable to come into work today. My daughter is sick and I am going to see about making sure that she feels well today. Goodbye.” He then lowered the phone after hanging up.

Amity couldn’t believe it. She stared at her father like he was a madman. He hadn’t given the Emperor’s Assistant a chance to even respond to his statement. And it was a statement, not a question. He simply wasn’t going in. When was the last time he had missed a day of work? He often even worked weekends. This was… “But I’m not sick.”

Her father gave her another smile as he asked, “Love is the most beautiful sickness possible. Trust me, I almost hospitalized myself when I first fell.”

Amity’s cheeks turned bright red before her eyes widened. “Wait, are you talking about someone other than mother? Because-”

“-We met when I was performing my first case as an intern with a local embassy and we called a Blight in for extra clout. I was as professional as I always was right up until that point where I obviously worked twice as hard to impress the beautiful woman who had walked in beside me. In that moment, your mother saw my potential and would not allow it to be wasted by me being with anyone other than her.” He then sighed, took another sip of brandy, and mumbled, “I always did hate that story.”

There was a long pause before Alador looked to his side. Amity’s eyes encompassed most of her face as she stared at her father. He never mumbled after all. He never hesitated, not in front of his children, and he never allowed himself to be misunderstood. Her mother may have been the one to teach her to be a Blight but it was he who laid down the rules. It only made Alador gently laugh. “Oh? Did you really think that was how we met?”

Amity nodded furiously before Alador laughed a little. “No, not at all.” He then turned in his seat to look her dead in the eyes, even while he kept his smile up. He hadn’t told anyone this story. You had to be there to know how Odalia and his courtship went. After all, it wasn’t in a way that Odalia’s family had approved of. Not for a second. That was why he’d been drinking. “So, first, I was a Sophomore and it was the third quarter of a particularly savage game of Grudgby. So many players had been taken out in fact that a third string loser like your old man was finally let on the field.”

Amity tilted her head as her brain felt like it was melting. “You played Grudgby?”

Alador let out a real, hardy laugh this time that melted Amity’s stress. “That’s a strong word for it. I was target practice usually and if I tried tackling any of the bigger guys I was much more likely to break my shoulder than I ever was to move them.”

Amity giggled back as she thought about the last time she saw someone try to take Boscha down while she was braced for it. She then looked at her dad as she asked, “But how? You’re… you.”

Alador sighed as his eyes lowered for a second. “You have to remember that I wasn’t like your mom. I was the son of a miner who wanted a big, strong son rather than one who was more interested in the arts and causing trouble with E-” he then cut himself off before he admitted to something Odalia still got sore about, “everyone else. There’s a reason why your grandparents still won’t talk to me when they come to visit.”

Amity blinked a few times. Alador had come from a middle class family. No one of note, sure, but he had been disapproved of because he hadn’t been proven. Didn’t have the skills required to be a prominent figure amongst the top families. Not… Not close to being poor. “Father, um, why are y-” She then stopped as her father placed a finger over her lips.

“Let me finish my story and I think you’ll understand.” He waited for Amity to nod before getting back to his memories. “Now, I had mostly memorized where the traps were on the field but I didn’t get a lot of live practice so I was caught off guard by a set of rock spikes under me. Fortunately, I noticed in time not to be impaled. Also fortunately, another trap tripped up another player so he panicked and threw the ball to the side. Or, in other words, straight at me as I dove for safety. He hit me so hard that I thought my skull was shattered and I could feel blood coming down the side of my head.”

Amity patted her thighs for a second before asking, “Fortunately?”

Alador’s lips broke out into a wide grin as he looked up. “Oh, definitely. See, I was thrown straight into a medical tent on the side to make sure my brains were going to stay where they were supposed to. A few minutes later though, the most beautiful woman in the world walked in.”

Amity leaned in, eyes gleaming at this point in excitement. “Mom.”

The older man nodded before continuing. “Her and her parents had apparently come because two of the other family’s kids were on the other team and so they were garnering favor with them in hopes of getting Odalia closer to their sons who were the lead quarterback and front linebacker. Who,” he said with a smirk, “were likely to be something big in terms of Grudgby stars like a certain someone we know.”

Amity couldn’t help but shout, “That’s why you’re okay with Boscha?”

Alador nodded. “Though that was more us evaluating the idea in the same way your grandparents did, not because of my own history. I honestly wish who I was back then felt like it mattered more…” He shut his eyes for a second before looking back at Amity. “Anyways, your mother was there because they interpreted my dive as having been on purpose because I’d glanced at the bleachers a moment beforehand. As such, they thought I had been injured protecting Odalia from getting hit.”

Amity opened her mouth for only a moment before shutting her mouth. She knew her mother’s stance on such things. That others were like how Amity used to see Boscha; Pawns. If one had protected Amity, she was supposed to give a cursory thank you and move on, or that was how it had been told to her at first. She was to focus on her goals and not let simple acts of kindness distract her lest they be from someone who was simply trying to get closer to the Blights under some sort of fabrication.

And her father knew exactly what she was thinking. “Your grandmother drilled that into your mother’s brain so many times that she still worries about being disowned if any of you follow her path directly. Not that it was her fault that day. Your grandmother was the one who told Odalia to help heal me because she didn’t want them to appear entirely heartless in front of the other families. It was a chance for Odalia to appear warmer than she was. And so she walked in just while my head was beginning to feel a bit less like mush.”

Amity fidgeted a bit before asking, “I’m going to assume she didn’t try to have you be dissected?”

The moment that her father laughed, Amity joined in before the older man said, “No. She didn’t want to be there though. She did have her manners though so she did give me a smile when she said hello. Can you guess what I said back?”

Amity opened her mouth to recite some formal greeting you were supposed to give when courting another noble before pausing. Her dad didn’t know such things back then after all. “I’m guessing something dumb?”

“Worse.”

“Something insulting?”

“Nope.” He then let out a content sigh, just like Amity had been at thoughts of Luz this morning. “I panicked and flipped out of bed because I couldn’t handle an angel of death having shown up to take me away, especially since at that moment I wasn’t going to complain about going anywhere with her.”

Amity’s jaw went slack before she whispered, “You panicked? H-How? You never panic!”

“Where do you think you got it from?” He slapped his forehead and groaned as he thought about what would eventually come. After all, he’d spent most of his teenage years working on that problem because it had been his inability to speak that had led to so many bad first impressions with Odalia’s family. He then peaked between his fingers as he said, “But your mom loved it. She laughed at the clumsy fool. She liked when I was honest about having not spotted her before the dive, especially when my rambling led to a few compliments that I kept trying to cut off but it only got worse and worse. I only shut up when I tried to run and my head felt like it was going to crack open from me standing up.”

Amity’s face was beat red by the time she covered her face and her ears began to burn. The amount of times she could think of where she’d been just like that was way too high for the young girl. She then mimicked her father as she peaked out from between her fingers. “You were really like that?”

Alador nodded as he moved a hand over to ruffle Amity’s hair. “I was.” He then sighed as he leaned back in his seat. “And I think one of my biggest regrets in life is that I caved as completely as I did to your grandparent’s hate. To your mother’s fear. After all, I can’t think of too many times she was as happy as she was when we would sneak into the forest to just be the two of us. The dumb jock who had no idea what he was doing and the serious, proper girl who couldn’t help but enjoy her boyfriend’s antics.”

He then shut his eyes as he said, “So I’m never going to ask for Luz to be different or for you to want anyone else. Not if it makes you happy. I just hope you don’t forget about your goals, no matter what happens between you two.” He hated the last part. To have to put an emphasis back on her future, but he was no longer the young idealist he had been once before. Too many years of court had sanded that away from him.

But he got to open his eyes to Amity tackling into him and giving him a tight hug. His daughter buried her face into his chest as tears came down her face. She couldn’t even get out a thank you or the like because she was such a mess. Just knowing that he wasn’t this perfect man from the middle class but someone who was a mess as a teenager just like her… There was nothing more she could have hoped for that morning.

She would get some sleep in his lap then before being insufferable, and unable to be talked to, during breakfast. Then, that night, her parents made sure to take her out to celebrate. They weren’t willing to take Luz though, citing instead that they needed to spend a little bit of time with their little girl before she grew up anymore.