Betrothed to the Gloxinias

Chapter 1: Blinky Bastards

"South?"

Rose closed her eyes, and dampened the tip of her index finger with her tongue before she raised it again. She held her breath for one beat. Two. Focused on the wind grazing against her skin.

"Not quite. South west," she breathed out.

Satisfied that she gauged the wind's direction correctly, Rose Gloxinia laid chest down on the blanket she set outside of her apartment window. She wiggled her hips, and adjusted her position as she kept one eye aligned with the scope of her family's latest sniper rifle. It was smaller than the average sniper rifle, light in her hands, slimmer than she was used to, but the sizing was intentional. The gun was designed to take on the go without having to worry about a giant duffel bag full of ammo, and gun parts. The skies were dark, but that wasn't a concern for Rose. She had a sharp eye, and the drone she was targeting wasn't exactly camouflaged.

"Honestly, father. Might as well have men camp outside of my windowsill too if you're going to be this obvious."

A catty grin spread across her face once she had the little boxy drone in her sights. Its flight pattern was predictable. Rose followed the trail carefully as she waited for the opportune moment.

The winds stilled.

Blinky little bastard, I've got you now.

Rose squeezed the trigger, twice for good measure. She felt the thoom of the kickback in her bones rather than with her ears. Rose had used a compressor to avoid spooking the neighbors. The little drone spluttered sparks mid-air, and gave one futile spin before it fell out of the sky. By the time Rose had pulled the clip from the gun, folded it into its case, and pushed both the case, and her blanket into her room via the window, her comm-device rang.

"Like clockwork," Rose sighed as she picked up the call. A transparent cone of light shone above the device. The fuzzy image solidified into a frowning, bushy browed, chamberlain.

"Hello, Isaac! I received your care package yesterday!"

Ignoring her chipper tone, a failed attempt to avoid addressing what she knew was coming, Isaac said, "Rose. You have to stop shooting down the drones. Please."

"Eh. Consider it a trial run for the new prototype. The reach isn't as far as I'd like, but I do like the feel of it. Very portable."

Isaac's frown deepened.

"You know I don't mean to cause trouble, Isaac, but my father should know by now that I'm not a fan of being watched. It's enough that I have to deal with the tails parked out front. Gods. As if I don't own a gun. Several!"

"He does it out of concern for your well being, Rose. You are the sole heiress to the family, and those tails are necessary. It never hurts to have extra fire power. If anything were to-"

"If he were that concerned, he'd be the one making this call instead, don't you think? Not that I don't enjoy seeing my favorite chamberlain."

"Rose. Your father is-"

"Yes, yes, busy, busy man. I know. But not so busy that he can't spend money on drones to stalk his daughter."

"To be fair, they're not that expensive."

"Oh, I know," Rose said. "I hear Atro has robots with AI that learn over time. Probably a harder target for me to shoot down, but when you're cheap, well, you get what you pay for. I don't need my business management degree to know that much."

When Rose beamed ear to ear, in spite of Isaac's mood, he couldn't resist smirking. He knew that mischievous simper well. Hadn't changed since she was a little girl.

"The reason the drones are cheap, as you call them, are because the expenses are going to your tuition."

"Of course. Because now my father wants to be money savvy."

"You don't have your degree yet," Isaac continued in spite of her interrupting. "You still have almost two years before that happens. And that's assuming you don't get yourself expelled."

Rose gasped with mock innocence. "Me? Expelled? Never. My grades are exemplary."

"That they are, but there are only so many drones we can clean up before someone perceptive enough wonders who's shooting them down in the first place."

"True. And that's why you should probably clean it up sooner rather than later? Instead of lecturing me?"

Isaac sighed, and adjusted his cuff links. "Already in progress. Though I'd appreciate it if you'd stay out of any more mischief, at least for tonight. I'm only human after all."

"No promises, but for you, I'll try. Thank you, Isaac. I'm grateful for you."

"Humph! Could have fooled me," the manservant huffed. "By the way, a new gift arrived here for you."

"Let me guess. From Theodore? What is it this time? Another fur coat? A shiny necklace? Something or other than I'm perfectly capable of buying myself?"

"Yes," Isaac answered flatly. "Something along those lines. Why not give the Fratto Heir a chance? Most would've given up by now. He seems very determined to please you."

At this, Rose cringed. "Does he now? In spite of not even meeting me first before showering me with all that glitters?

"Believe me when I say there are women who would envy your position. I also don't recall you taking the initiative to get to know your suitor either."

"Is there a point if our fathers have already bartered us?"

"As the saying goes, you don't know what you don't know."

"Very astute of you, Isaac, but no. What Theodore wants is what they all want. The Gloxinia brand. The woman? Doesn't matter. Please give the sparkly whatever to one of the girls on staff that deserve it."

Just as Isaac opened his mouth to say more, Rose's comm-device blinked. A text message.

Jizelle: Hey Gloxi, up for a girl's night out? There's a cage fight happening at the abandoned textile factory.

"Rose," Isaac warned, "I don't like that look brewing on you."

"Oh, stop it. Just a message from Jizelle. She wants to get together for a study group at the library."

"Right. The library. At" Isaac gave his watch a skeptical glance. "Two hours from midnight."

Rose dismissed him airily. They both knew she was full of shit. "You're always telling me I should be more social, right? That I should form my own alliances now for when I take the family reins later."

Isaac hummed. "Yes, well, do take care. And take your Aconitum."

"Of course," Rose assured him. "A Gloxinia never goes anywhere unarmed."

"Indeed. I'll send you confirmation once I've dealt with your target practice."

At this, the hologram of Isaac fizzed out of existence. Rose unclipped her shoulder length aquamarine waves. With the hair comb between her teeth, she texted Jizelle.

Rose: Meet you outside in 20

----

A/N: If Rose isn't the most likable/mature character at times, keep in mind that's intentional or else there would be no character growth later. ;-)