The council chamber was rife with tension, and Alaric could feel his pulse pounding inside his ears at Bramwell's words ringing through the chamber. Confrontation had reached boiling point. Alaric knew there was no way back now-not when everything was riding on this.
Bramwell's eyes blazed with menace, and he took a step forward into the gloom. "Do you think you can stop me with such pitiful accusations? You do not understand the forces you are playing with.".
Eleanor stood tall beside Alaric, her eyes boring into his. "We know enough to know that you're trying to undermine the council for your own gain," she said, her tone sharp. "And we're not going to let you.". Alaric looked at her. And for all the grimness of the scene, he could find nothing but growing admiration for strength. She'd always been bold, but what he saw here was more than anything-standing up to a man as ruthless as Bramwell. There was something, therefore, which began stirring inside him. She was fiery, intelligent, and by God, fearless.
He found himself staring even more at her; each defiant word she said seemed to add fuel to the fire.
To the other side of him, Rosalind glanced nervously between Alaric and the confrontation, and Alaric could feel her tension. Nor could he ignore the way she clung to his side, even now that her need for reassurance seemed quite clear.
That stung, she always treated him more like a lover protector than an equal lover and his heart's pull was growing harder to ignore for he himself wanted not to hurt Rosalind, but in no way could he deny his growing feelings towards her.
Councilors started gathering their courage, but with the anointing, they backed up Eleanor's words. "Bramwell, you overstepped your bounds," replied one of the senior councilors. "This town won't bow down to tyranny and your plans will be brought to light.".
Bramwell's face twisted into a snarl, but Alaric saw the cracks in his bravado, that crevice of perceived invincibility growing wider as the room shifted against him. "You'll live to regret this," Bramwell spat out, the word poisonously low. "All of you will.".
"Not today," Alaric replied, his voice steady as he stepped forward. "Today, your lies end."
Their allies fidgeted nervously behind him, very much clearly uncertain of the entire scenario. They had ruled by fear, and now that the council stood against them, they were losing.
Taking advantage of the shift in power, Eleanor stepped forward with boldness. "Leave Brackenwood. You are no longer welcome here. If you don't, we'll reveal every component of your scheme and bring justice."
For a moment, silence filled the room. Yet while Eleanor's words chanced upon suspended fate in the air, Alaric felt his heart swell with such valour yet at the same moment Rosalind's presence beside him urged caution on his heart-the perfect emotional tightrope walk.
Bramwell's eyes had been boiling with rage, but even he knew when to quit. He gave a sneer and turned his back on them, walking out of the chamber. His sycophants followed at his heels. When the door thudded shut behind him, it relaxed some tension in the room, but the council was still wired.
"'We did it,' Rosalind whispered softly, voicing her relief. She leaned forward toward Alaric as tears welled up in her eyes. 'We really did.'"
Nodding, his heart still racing. "Yeah we did," he said, looking at her. His thoughts however went to the figure in Eleanor across the room, standing so steadfastly. Her strength, her wit-it was all fetching in a way he hadn't quite gotten a hold of till now.
As the council made its move to officially remove Bramwell's power over Brackenwood, Alaric thought of the two women who were at his side through all this. He looked at Rosalind with such open affection still and then turned to Eleanor, whose strength instinctively sparked something deeper in him. Later it was as if the council dissolved and the room emptied out; Alaric and Eleanor were left standing together. The stillness between them was almost companionable, yet there was a tension there, something unseen or unspoken, something to which neither of them responded.
"You were great back there," Alaric said, his voice softer now that the intensity of the confrontation had passed. "You really stood up to him." Eleanor shrugged, though her smile was real. "Someone had to. Brackenwood's too important to let someone like Bramwell destroy it.". Alaric nodded, his gaze lingering on her face. There was something different about how he saw her now—not just as a clever girl with a fierce determination, but as someone who had ignited feelings in him he hadn't expected. "I'm glad it was you," he said quietly, and for a moment, their eyes locked. Rosalind arrived before either could get their words in edgewise, her normal effervescent energy dampened just a little by the events of the day. "Hey you two! We should get going. It's been a long day, hasn't it?" She tried to make her smile bright, but Alaric caught glimpses of emotional depth lurking beneath the surface. "Yes it has," Alaric said, trying to inject a smile into his voice. His chest had knotted up as he felt Rosalind put her arm through his, seeming now much better since the ordeal was over and done with. But the distance between his heart and hers appeared to grow with every step they took together. As Alaric and his friends walked out of the council chamber, his mind just would not stop thinking about how long he could continue that balancing act between holding those feelings he was growing up for Eleanor and the simple love that Rosalind pours for him. It had been heavy in him, and he knew something would, after some time, have to break down.