Sirius halted in front of an ornate door and a manservant opened it for him.
Ori's eyes lurked a minute too long, on the detailed etchings of the doorframe, and a gummy smile graced her face. Suddenly, Ori was excited to get back home and tell mother-supreme all about carved doorframes. They were a gorgeous creation!
The manservant side-eyed her, wondering if the strange woman would drool over their Duke's precious head.
"We're here," Sirius informed, carrying Ori through the door frame and inside the Breakfast Room. Her gaze lingered at the doorframe for a few more moments, before she turned her head to look inside.
The room itself was spacious, with large oriel windows allowing for plenty of natural light. Their thick creme curtains were drawn apart, though the windows remained unopened.
Ori was reminded of Sirius' preferences. 'He liked them shut,' her mind substituted. Ori wondered why anyone would want to keep a glass barrier between them and the most gloriously charming outdoors. The scenery beyond those windows was almost picturesque.
The walls were adorned with intricate moldings of black and gold, which took Ori's breath away with the delicacy of the flowers and their patterns. Pictures of people Ori did not recognise and events she had no idea of, greeted her sight in different sized and shaped frames of gold.
In front of the grand fireplace were placed comfortable armchairs for guests to relax in after breakfast, as well as a woodcarved hutch for storing sparkling dishes and ornaments.
The large table in the center of the room was set with a variety of dishes for breakfast. Odours of food Ori had never seen or even imagined of, in all of the twenty-one years of her life, were spread in front, at her disposal. She was expected to touch food that looked as delicate as mother-supreme's early knits upon beginning a new mat. She was expected to eat it like it was a normal occurrence in the life of 'Lady Gregory,' who wasn't given thick yellow porridges for the majority of all the three meals of her existence.
The gap between the Duke and Ori's worlds widened by a hand and a foot. Though her front was pressed against his back, she had never felt more distanced with a person before. It was all too new, all too close, yet, all too far and all too strange.
The fireplace was unlit and one of the many cushioned chairs of the dining table was occupied by a grinning ginger head man.
Ori was, once again, reminded of Albert's words. 'Marquees Thorn has been waiting for a while now.'
"He must be the Marquees, let go, I must greet him," Ori whispered in Sirius' ear, a little too close for his comfort zone, owing up to the honorable citizen she was pretending to be.
Though, before the Duke could say that Vaelin did not deserve any greetings, the ginger head burst into words of his own.
"I see it!" The man gasped as he jolted up from his chair. Sirius walked up to a chair opposite to the Marquees and settled Ori on it. He took a chair at the head of the table and crossed his feet on the knees.
"See what?" Ori hinted the conversation forward, quite intrigued by the Marquees' jumpy and extroverted demeanour. She decided to greet the Marquees after he was done with his words for it would be rude to cut through in the middle.
"Our kids," he sniffled, "Getting married together," he raised a hand to bury his face in his elbow.
Ori wondered if this was how the Upper Class, Aurums and Argentis, socialized.
Sirius sighed a peaceful sigh, repeating quotes of peace and prosperity in his head. He directed his gaze at a seemingly confused Ori and informed, "Please, do not mind him—"
"My sons with your daughters. Let's be family, Lady Gregory!" Marquees Thorn leaned over the table to grab a hold of a shocked Ori's hands.
Sirius shooed him away with a flick of his finger, shooting invisible bolts of electric current to the overexcited man's meandering hands.
"Ouch-! Have some respect in front of a lady, Sirius! This is PRECISELY why you remain lass lorn and unwedded!" The Marquees argued in a barbarous tone, much to Ori's amusement. He rubbed his hand to his chest and soothed the body part which was attacked merely for having good intentions.
"The sooner you learn to ignore him, the better it would be for you," Sirius addressed Ori, providing an overview for all of Vaelin's personality.
The brunette nodded skeptically as the Duke turned to adress the Marquees, "He is only here because of his wealth," he explained with an expressionless face and serious eyes. Though, his tone held subtle hints of humour in them. Just like his little jab of his 'corrosive powers.'
"Oh please!" The gingerhead waved off Sirius' statement. "You do me no justice, Duke Lancaster. Let me introduce myself to the Lady. I am Vaelin Thorn—"
"—an absolute thorn indeed," Sirius interjected with a straight face.
"Marquees of Glimmervale—"
"—they are the woods beyond the capital. Vaelin is incharge of imports and exports of its resources," Sirius explained to a wide-eyed Ori, who was switching her focus left and right between the two men.
"Mr. Duke, are you my speaker for the day?!" The gingerhead snapped, brows mushed together, arms pressed to his sides and hands spreading out in the most condescending of fashions.
Sirius raised his hands in mock surender.
"Right, where were we? Yes, I rule—"
"Rule!" Sirius scoffed, arms crossed over his chest. Vaelin ignored him like the mature man he was.
"— over the inherited enchanted forests of Glimmervale. I have been invited partly because I am devilishly handsome and also because I am filthy rich."
From the little geography Ori had gathered through her father's stories, the Glimmervale territory ran Northwest of Aldoria, circling Evermire and Aldoria's western front and extending into Southeast of Evermire. It came under the reign of Kingdom Aldoria and was famous for its replenishable resources.
It was a forest that never died and never stopped giving for reasons Ori never bothered finding out.
"It's brilliant, meeting you," Ori curtsied as well as she could whilst remaining seated. "But if you were 'invited,' I assume, you are looking forward to having a part in our... explanation?" She struggled for words, gaze staggering between the Duke and the Marquees.
Sirius passed along small nods in her direction, reassuring her that she was sailing the conversation into clear and correct waters.
"Why yes, of course, I must say I came prepared!" Marquees Vaelin exclaimed with a loud clap. He fished his hands under the desk and pulled a stack of papers out of the blue. He stamped the pile over the tabletop and shifted away his plate and some of the food.
The food.
Ori's stomach grumbled leisurely, involuntarily, uncaring of the Nobel presence she was surrounded by. The brunette clutched an arm around her belly, embarrassment running crimson through her face veins.
The food included eggs, bacon, sausages, kippers, toast, marmalade, and tea. There was another section for cakes, pastries, crumpets and biscuits along with coffee. The table was set with fine silverware and the empty plate in front of her, reflected her crimson face on it.
"I'm sorry, don't mind me!" Ori broke the awkward silence of stares with hands waving haphazardly.
"Oh I would never! So, let us be—"
"No, we must eat first. My Lady needs to maintain her health before we continue," Sirius cut in, picking up a fork and knife to let the Breakfast commence.
"Very well then! Sounds just as immaculate!" Vaelin discarded his papers into some invisible realm and picked up his own cutlery.
If they were to eat with a fork and knife, Ori would rather go hungry than display her poor etiquette. The anticipation of being a Knight, the omnious feeling from the Duke's words, the discomfort of being in the same room as such rich people and the incapability to not being able to stand up to their expectations.
It was all starting to weigh on Ori's shoulders as they slumped in consequence.
"You may start, My Lady, be comfortable," Sirius urged pleasantly. His eyes were concentrated on his food yet, there was a subtle hint of humour in them. Ori knew it because this was the thrid time she was witnessing it. The 'corrosive urge,' she decided to call it.
Though, Ori did not know if she should feel good about understanding the Duke a little or feel bitter over the fact that he was trying to make a fool out of her and was enjoying it!
Fine then, if a show was what he required then a show is what Ori would deliver.
Ori gave up on proper cutlery and used her hands, just as she had been using for the past twenty-one years. She picked up pieces of buttered toast and engulfed them into her mouth as if they were being sucked into a blackhole.
The crispy bread crunched its presence known in the silence, much to the men's distaste.
Ori placed her egg over the toast, rolled it up, and munched it down with as much speed as Vaelin's jaw hung low.
"W-hy...?" was all the ginger headed Marquees could manage, the absurdity of the situation had his mind boggled.
Ori coughed, settled her toast back on the plate and dusted her hands. "We are a very down to earth household, you see, my parents have always believed in using hands to eat more than knives and forks. Also, if you were to eat with no shoes and feet placed on ground, it'd be even better! Your energy core would align with the Earth and you'll feel more rejuvenated and get more," she placed a hand on the concer of her mouth and whispered in conspiracy, "richer and younger."
Instantly, Marquees Vaelin let go of his cutlery and kicked off his shoes and socks.
"Why, how kind of you to share your values with us, Lady Gregory! I must comply to not let you be alone in your pursuits of naturalism!" Vaelin smiled a bright that Ori shared with her gummy one.
And Ori could have lived like grinning fools in a delusion that they were almost friends until the CLANK from Sirius' plate caught them off guard.
The duo simultaneously looked up to witness, Sirius the stoic in all his glory, shedding away his cloak of grimness as his shoulders shook with muffled laughter. His eyes pressed shut and lips pursed in a line.
"My Duke?" Ori questioned, almost above a whisper.
That was cue for Sirius' laughter to burst out loud, into the open, letting everyone witness its richness. Since his voice was deep, his laugh too was deep. Velvety. Comfortable.
Ori found herself admiring the crinkles around his eyes as they pressed shut and the apples of his cheeks kissing his long lashes. He seemed to have truly let go, in that moment, and it showed in the softness of his features.
His arrowhead earrings swayed to and fro, enjoying the mirth of their owner, letting go of their intimidation — momentarily.
In that moment, Ori hit an epiphany. For if she were to ever like a man, it would be because of his smile. A smile that made her heart race. A smile that rendered her incapable and breathless out of its sheer beauty. A smile that gave way to an innocent laugh.
Summing up their worlds, lessening the divide, and making the Duke feel reachable and human. Their worlds weren't so far apart after all, at the end of the day, they were both humans.
Ori would fall for someone who was like the Duke. Someone with surprising layers. Someone whose smile held a careful resilience. Someone whose smile changed everything about him.
But to do that, she'd have to be constantly on a lookout.
"Oh Ori, you're the most amusing lass I have ever encountered. I can give you the world if you let me use you. Would you marry me?"
Ori did not think much, his smile was hypnotising enough for words to flow out like an unchained stream. A waterfall.
"Yes."