My Supposed Wedding

Orphen woke up to the sound of Majic and Cleao fighting, yet again. The Everlasting mansion was generally quiet in the morning, but not today.

He tried to sit up but the first thing he noticed was a numbing pain that took over his body, head to toe. He couldn't even think. Last night, yesterday for that matter, was all a blur to him. He knew the source of his pain was the numerous cuts that ran across his torso.

Orphen had started a fight with an incompetent sorcerer whose skills were a little unrefined, to say the least. His simple plan to beat him down and leave as soon as possible backfired. He was in bed for the rest of the day, high on painkillers and lost in a world in which his feet hardly touched the ground.

Despite the vicious scratches, the fuzzy memory, and the crazy pain, he felt strangely happy that morning. So with a lazy smile on his face he stretched and fell back into the comforter, breathing easy. Orphen felt at peace with himself and sighed.

That is until Majic burst into the room, blabbering incoherently. The only words he could make out were 'Cleao' and 'Master'; the typical banter for his student.

Majic's face was red by the end of his speech and his lungs were begging for oxygen. He gasped and bent over a bit to regain his composure, slowly. "She's crazy, master. You have to speak some sense into her."

"Into whom?" Orphen asked, letting his voice drawl out.

Majic, who never got angry and hardly raised his voice, just restated himself simply, "Cleao."

Orphen should have known better. It was always she who ruined the serenity in his life. He rolled his eyes and propped himself up on one elbow to give Majic a stern look that meant business. "Okay, what'd she do?"

"She's getting married!"

He growled. His eyes darkened. There was nothing worse that could ruin his morning.

"What?" he howled, getting out of bed and ignoring the throbbing of his recovering body.

Majic swallowed and quickly tried to explain, "Yes, she won't even tell me to whom!"

He pushed his apprentice to the side and burst through the door of his room.

"CLEAO!"

His voice reverberated through the mansion. Majic covered his ears. The birds left their post in the tree out back. Volcan and Dortin were afraid he was after their blood, even from miles away.

----------

"What do you mean she's getting married?"

"I mean exactly that, Master. I tried to talk her out of it but she said I should be happy for her."

"Happy, yeah right." Orphen's blood was boiling. He tried to tell himself to be rational but the situation made him be anything but rational. Even the thought of Cleao getting married to anyone but him made him want to lose control.

"I guess there's nothing we can do. We know she's stubborn. We might as well give her our congratulations. Besides, there's no one we know of that she'd like to marry more," Majic reasoned.

"Me, that's who else! Damnit!" he slammed his fist on the dining table.

Majic's eyes widened but he wasn't at all surprised by his reaction. It was fairly obvious that the hate he supposedly held for Cleao was riding on the thin line of love. Licorice had been a distraction to their feelings but before she ever came along there was a seed planted that could only bloom after the tension between them subsided. He realized this wedding could either make or break that tension further.

Majic twiddled his fingers nervously. "There's a logical solution to this, Master," he suggested. Just as Majic was about to say that a confession was in order he was interrupted.

Orphen stood up and walked to the other end of the room to pick up his black coat, "Stalk her!"

"Yes!" Majic agreed but then actually took in that information.

Orphen was already out of the door and heading towards the village when Majic ran after him and started trailing behind.

"Stalk her? That isn't quite what I meant, Master. It's a little drastic, don't you think?"

"Her marriage to a man we may hate calls for drastic measure, Majic."

With those last words they were storming in the direction of any facility where Cleao could shop. There was no doubt she wanted to clear her head after her argument with Majic with a good shopping trip. There she would be followed…

----------

"That's him?" Orphen scoffed.

Majic blinked twice. "Hey, I know him! He used to be the top student at my school and all the girls liked him."

"Yeah, of course she would like someone like that. She's just that shallow."

Majic narrowed his eyes, 'He's jealous.'

Orphen started lurking closer on hands and knees while Majic panicked. "Time to take a closer look."

"Yeah." Majic was finding it too easy to agree without actually thinking. "Wait! Master, please! I don't want to-"

"Shh, shut up! She's going to hear us!"

Orphen leaned in close from his position behind a jewelry stand and could make out just bits and snippets of their conversation.

"…You're lucky, Cleao."

Cleao playfully hit him and blushed. Orphen sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Stop your flattery."

"I'm pretty lucky too..." He gave her a sideways smile and Orphen couldn't make out the rest of his words because of a commotion behind him. Majic was being attacked by a chicken. Typical.

"Would you shut it?" Orphen snapped, turning around in his stooped position to give Majic a look of disgust.

Majic's eyes widened in fear as he held onto his leg, shaking it in an attempt to lose the bird. "But Master, it's not my fault. Shoo, shoo! Leave me alone!"

Orphen took the creature by its talons and pushed it away from Majic. To his horror, the thing freaked out, made a scene that it had been touched, then bounded towards Cleo and her 'friend.'

"Damnit!" he was ready to dive after the chicken but Majic caught him on the shoulder at the last moment and explained the many benefits of just staying hidden. The two carefully snuck away, thinking they had heard quite enough.

----------

"I'm pretty lucky too. I can't believe I found Len. He is such a great man."

Cleao blushed harder. She hadn't expected that response. He began going into a long story of their romance when Cleao became distracted. It was a chicken. And it was after her.

"Uh, excuse me, but, I think, that chicken-"

He stopped in mid-sentence and looked over, "Oh, don't mind that thing. It's crazy."

"I see," she tried to tune into his story but lost interest fast, "I'm sorry Maiku, but I have to go now. Perhaps you can tell me more about Len later?"

He smiled and winked, "Of course. Maybe even a meeting is in order."

She blushed again and quickly scurried away, the package holding her new outfit burrowed close to her chest.

----------

Cleao entered the living room to find it completely dark. The drapes were closed and a fire was lit in the stone fireplace. She saw a pair of legs draped over the side of the armchair facing away from her. She cleared her throat to get their attention.

"Oh hello, Cleao," he said, his voice void of any emotion.

She smiled, she knew exactly who it was.

"Have a fun time at the market?" he stood up, fists balled, still refusing to face her.

Her smile faded. She didn't like his tone and wasn't sure where he was going.

She tried to lighten the mood and shook her head. "Why are the lights off? Why are you acting like a weirdo?"

"Me? Acting weird? Cleao, don't get me started on who's acting weird!"

She fumed, "What's your problem, Orphen?"

He turned to look at her, anger plastered on his face. She was frightened by the multitude of emotion she saw there. "My problem is that flower kid you were with today!"

"He's an old friend. Sorry I stopped to actually talk with someone other than you," Cleao retorted, throwing her hands up defensively in the air.

"And you're getting married! That's all you can say to me?" He walked over to the fireplace, leaning against it, staring into its flames.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know it was going to be such a problem if I talked to other people!"

"Well it is! Especially since I was last to know!" he shook his head, his eyes shining in the light. Cleao didn't know whether to step forward and comfort him or strangle him. He was making her feel so many things at once.

Cleao was thoroughly confused but was not going to give up on this one, "Fine then, the wedding is off!"

"Good…"

Cleao's heart broke. What was he saying? Did he really mean that? She burst into tears.

"Happy?"

"Very," he replied with a smug smirk on his face.

She dashed from the room with her face in her hands. Orphen's eyebrow quirked in confusion. He took off after her.

----------

"Hey! Cleao! What are you so upset about?" he yelled to the running form ahead. He hadn't been able to catch her but was unwilling to just give up and let her go.

"Shut up you big dumb jerk! Leave me alone!"

He grunted and in a spurt of energy he dashed forward and caught her wrist, yanking her back into the alcove his arms created. Orphen sighed in satisfaction, of course she wouldn't fight against him, she was far too weak.

He regretted that thought a moment later when her elbow connected with his lower stomach. He wheezed, falling to the floor on his knees, holding his torso. Although his vision was slightly blurry, he could make out Cleao pointing her finger at him.

"You," she said, the one word sounded like frostbite on her tongue, "You are never to speak to me again, Orphen. And I mean never!"

She walked closer, Orphen could only see from her ankles to her feet as he tried not to collapse. Cleo leaned down, yanking his ear, "You hear me? Never!"

He groaned before falling over into the fetal position and watching Cleao walk out of his sight.

----------

It had been days since he'd seen her. But it felt like more. The situation was…tense.

Cleao insisted that he leave the mansion immediately. Mariabella was instructed to hurl his stuff at him as she threw him out, but all the while she asked him if he were okay and gave her sincerest apologies for causing such an inconvenience. Orphen practically had to drag Majic out of the comfortable estate with him.

Now here they were, in a tent, just outside of the Everlasting territory. He wasn't going to give up now; he was far too stubborn for that. It wasn't that he even cared all that much (even though it was evident from his actions that he did), Cleao was a pest to him most of the time. He just wanted closure. He couldn't deny that maybe sometimes he had felt something around her. Orphen couldn't explain it, but it was still there, and that irked him. Why she had gotten so angry when he insured her availability for him exclusively made him even more pissed.

He had no plan to get her back. Cleao seemed like the type to only be wooed over by chocolates, flowers, and other mushy romantic stuff that he didn't understand at all. He thought that maybe his more unromantic idea to demand that she give in to him or pay would do the trick. But he wasn't confident that it would work with no hesitation on her part.

"Master, I'm going to go look for more firewood."

Orphen caught his apprentice by his collar, "Oh no you don't! If I have to suffer, you have to suffer. Got it?"

'I thought I almost caught him off guard. He looked like he was so lost in thought. Master, lost in thought? Cleao must really have meant something to him. I knew it!'

Majic looked over again at Orphen and his eyes were already gone. He was away from the world. The sight kind of made him depressed. Seeing him this way, so away from reality, made him think that his master was beginning to lose his spark. Maybe that was it, though. Cleao was his spark. She ignited something in him. She was his everythi-

"What does a guy like me have to do, Majic?"

His master, asking him for advice? About women, no less. He blushed lightly.

"I'm not the one you should be asking, Master. I-I don't have much experience."

Orphen sighed. He looked sad, sullen, melancholy even. Majic could have sworn that his master had never shown this many emotions at once. He wanted to help, he really did, but he felt rather helpless. He should say something though, as his apprentice- no, as a friend- in order to lift his spirits. After all, he wasn't entirely naïve to what a woman wanted. A little sweet nothings here and a little devotion there, and it could be that simple.

"Well, Master, you could simply confess?"

Orphen shook his head, running his hand through his grimy auburn bangs, "Since when have I ever been able to say anything right, Majic?" Orphen gave him a sharp whack to the side of his head.

Well, at least he hadn't gone completely soft. Majic recovered quickly, rubbing the sore spot left in Orphen's wake. "Er, well…then, you could write a note!"

Orphen cocked an eyebrow, "A note? What do you take me for? A sap?"

"No, Master, it doesn't have to be like that. It can just be a letter explaining what you feel…but you can leave out anything that makes you feel uncomfortable."

Orphen crossed his arms. He refused to admit that he felt anything worth making him uncomfortable. His feelings for Cleao were strictly…there. There was no depth to them at all. Or so he made out from his body language, his talk, and his everyday actions.

"Fine," Orphen retreated to the tent. "Don't you dare come in and try to read it. Or else."

Majic gulped. He wouldn't even dream of imposing on Orphen.

…not if it meant death.

----------

Some hours and many futile attempts later, Majic was mumbling to himself, proofreading the latest draft of Orphen's letter to Cleao. The first had been quite scary, he recalled:

'Dear Cleao,

I like you and I know you like me so don't even think about rejecting me. I can pretty much kick your ass any time, and you know it.

Why the hell would you want to marry someone else when you've got me?

Sincerely,

Orphen.'

Majic was lucky that Orphen let him look over what he had written before handing it to Cleao. Otherwise…well…the current situation would not be pretty. He had to reprimand him by saying that sounding like a psycho murderer would probably not be the best affect for a love letter. Orphen immediately settled back down for another try, this time with a nicer appeal to it, as Majic instructed.

His other efforts lessened with the demands and violence each time until he arrived to what Majic was currently reading. Majic had to admit that it was strange. He never guessed that Orphen could really feel this way. His rough exterior appeared to be an act. He didn't want to come across that way at all, he just couldn't help it. It was the way he was. Majic now knew that deeper cut he was actually much more intense. He was hiding these feelings well. They seemed to be stronger than Majic could have ever fathomed.

"It's good." Majic said quietly.

"Now don't even start with me, Majic! I know what you're going to say-wait…what?"

Majic stood up and smiled, reaching over to hand Orphen the letter, "I said it was good. It really was. Now, if you'll excuse me!"

Orphen looked at his letter then watched as Majic ran away. Was he crying?

"What a sissy…"

----------

Three days. Three long days and still no response. Orphen was getting more anxious with every passing moment. Majic had to restrain him several times.

Finally, on that third night, Orphen waited for Majic to drift asleep. Quietly, he crept away from their camp and towards the balcony that he knew belonged to a certain spoiled brat he claimed to dislike. After scaling the wall and unceremoniously rolling onto the stone floor just by her door, Orphen didn't know what he should do next. He did what came naturally, he just yelled.

"Cleao!"

He waited.

"Cleao!"

He walked closer, tapping on her window.

"Cleao!"

Cleao walked outside in her nightgown, wiping the sleep from her eyes. She looked far from happy to see him that night.

"Orphen! What the hell are you doing here at this time of night?"

Orphen gripped his hands into fists, he wouldn't lash out at her, not now. "Did you get my letter Cleao, that's all I need to know."

She crossed her arms defiantly and looked away, nose upturned. "Oh that thing? Yeah, I got it. It was crap if you ask me. All crap!"

"Why you little-!"

Cleao laughed, "Oh Cleao, I don't know how to say this but-"

Orphen's anger festered silently.

"-well, I love you! I'm obsessed with you! You're perfect and wonderful and great!"

Orphen stepped closer, afraid of his aggression, but wanting more than anything to stop her taunting.

"I want to be with you forever and live in a happy white mansion with ponies! And-"

Her eyes widened. How did this happen?

His lips crashed upon hers, moving feverishly to quiet her.

Cleao reared back, slapping him hard on the cheek. They were both breathing hard, recovering. Orphen slowly brought a hand up to cradle his offended face, a red mark already residing there.

He smiled. "You hit me."

Cleao tried to calm herself.

She smiled too. "I-I did. You kissed me."

He nodded, "You liked it."

They fell into a comfortable silence, just looking into each other's eyes.

When Cleao was able to speak without any hitches she stepped forward, "I liked the letter."

"Good."

"Thank you. For sharing, I mean."

"No problem."

Cleao cleared her throat; "There was one part about it that really confused me, though."

"Oh yeah? Which part?" Orphen fiddled with a piece of her blonde hair.

"Why were you so confused on who I was to marry? I thought you knew…"

Orphen shook his head, "No, must have slipped my mind if you told me."

Cleao giggled, taking his hand playing with her hair into both of her own, "…it was you. Don't you remember? That one night? You were injured."

Orphen looked like he had just seen Hartia in a bikini.

"It was kind of cute, actually. You stumbled in there, confessing that you had to do it then and there. And then you asked…and I accepted."

"I…did?"

Cleao nodded, blushing lightly as she recalled the earlier events. "You did."

"I…"

Orphen fell straight backwards then, passed out cold on Cleao's balcony. Cleao leaned over him, wide-eyed, afraid that he might have really done it this time.

Cleao guessed that the engagement was back on.

After all, even in his state of unconsciousness, he was smiling. He was still wearing a goofy smile.