Fireheart [Fanfiction - Alternate Universe]

Owning the title

[New character today at the top! We have Arobynn Hamel on the header]

As Aelin got her gown out of the plastic bag from the dry cleaners, she found herself still thinking about the night before. She had stayed with Sam at the beach long into the night, and they had talked about the past few years, about everything they knew about Arobynn and their secret dreams of wishing he was out of the picture.

Sam explained he wasn't scared about himself, but about her when he had made the deal with Arobynn; and after a lot of convincing, Sam had agreed to stop passing information to him, and only give him the information they would agree on. He also told her Arobynn had been oddly distant, traveling all the time and having secret meetings Sam wasn't invited to.

Aelin had even confided in Sam that she was gutted to have lost Nehemia and that it sucked not to be able to be herself with people. She was tired of lying and hiding all the time, and Sam was the only other person who could understand that. But what other option did she have? He had suggested for her to try again, to give Nehemia the chance to get closer, to get a glimpse of the real Aelin, and she had almost told him to fuck off for it. But she had promised herself to try and be the sister Sam had always seen her as, so she had just punched him in the shoulder for being obnoxious and unrealistic instead.

She had woken up that morning feeling so much lighter, so relieved to have let such a huge weight off her shoulders. She might have fucked things up with Nehemia, but at least she had Sam back.

A knock on the door startled her, and she went to open up.

"Since when do you knock?" She raised her brows at Sam and made sure her dressing gown was properly closed.

"Well, after our chat last night, I thought you've earned it."

"You're such a weirdo, Cortland. Come in before anybody sees you lurking around."

She pushed Sam into the room and closed the door behind him.

"Everything good and ready for tonight?"

"Actually, I heard Arobynn talking on the phone today," Sam said as he followed her into the bedroom. "And he's going to that gala."

Celaena turned around swiftly. "He, what?"

"I think he's someone's plus one, but I'm not sure I got that right. I just thought you ought to know."

"Well, that sucks."

She paced up and down the room, considering what she could do about it. Did it change anything?

"It's a masquerade though, isn't it? He might not even recognize you."

"No chance of that," she said, showing him the dress she was about to put on. "It's one of the dresses he gifted me, and I was going to wear Fireheart's mask because it matches it perfectly. He will know it's me."

The dress was a red long gown, with a low V neck that went down almost to her navel and a closed-back, all embroidered with silver and gold stones. It had short sleeves that hugged her shoulders nicely, a tight bodice that accentuated her curves, and a flowy skirt that seemed to dance around her every time she walked.

"Well, you have an excuse to be there, it's not a big deal. I just wanted you to be mentally prepared to run into him." Sam grabbed the dress off her hands and took it out of the hanger. He ran his fingers across the stones in the back and started opening up the hidden zip on the side. "What shoes are you wearing?"

Feeling a bit weirded out, Celaena grabbed the shoes off the side of the bed and lifted them for Sam to see them. They were high heels that wrapped up halfway through her calves.