Ordained

Chapter One Hundred and Nine

They dashed up a flight of stairs and Cassius opened a door into a dark room. The two of them tumbled into the room, Emmeline giggling as her eyes tried to adjust. "Cass, where are we, I can't see-" Whatever she was going to say was silenced by his mouth, as his collided with hers. She sighed against him as he walked the two of them backwards into the door. Her skin pressed hard against the carvings of the closed door, she hardly noticed though.

"Emmie." He purred against her ear as he broke away, moving to plant kisses down the side of her throat.

"Cass." She tried to catch her breath, her fingers wound tightly in his hair. Lifting her hand she forced his face up to meet his. Pulling him back to her mouth he dominated every available inch of space around her. She felt deliciously smothered as he poured his affection onto her. There was nowhere to escape, and she didn't want to.

His hand was resting along her ribs, just under her arm so that his thumb lay just below her breasts. She could feel how hard he was holding her with each breath she took.

"You won't-" she began, struggling to say the words between his kisses. "Speak to Laura Hantle- ever." She commanded, her eyes burning into his in the limited light.

His gaze was openly hungry as he stared down at her. "Jealous?" He smirked.

Emmeline reached up and grabbed his jaw squarely, ensuring he could look nowhere but at her. "You are mine."

"Gods." He groaned, stopping her from saying another word.

When they had thoroughly deprived each other of oxygen Emmeline pushed both arms out, creating a pocket of space between them. "We- we need to return to the party." She gasped, looking very pleased with herself when she saw the state of him. His collar was completely crumpled, his hair sticking up in odd angles.

Cassius grinned, his expression mirroring hers. Reaching up a hand she patted her hair to feel more than a few pins out of place. Clem would kill her.

Marching away from her Cassius went to stand by the fire, searching for something. A few seconds later a match flared, illuminating the room. She watched him stumble in the near darkness over to the table, lighting the lamp there and carrying it to her.

"You look-" He admitted sheepishly.

"You too."

He chuckled, he seemed so much lighter since they had come to the Capital, like a weight had been taken off his shoulders. Guiding her towards the dressing table he rummaged through the drawers till he found a brush. Holding it triumphantly he set the lamp down, moving the stand behind her.

"Do you know what you are doing?" She chuckled as he pulled out one of her loose strands. He put the pin in between his lips as he twisted the lock back into place, sliding the pin back into position. "Of course." He muttered, his attention on fixing what he had messed up.

Emmeline was surprised, no she was shocked. Seeing her expression he elaborated. "Ariana, Alex and I used to get into all sorts of trouble as kids. If she came back dishevelled from playing in the gardens with us she would get in trouble. So Alex and I learned how to fix her hair. I'm not the greatest, but it'll pass." He smiled. Emmeline's heart threatened to pound out of her chest. Gods she loved him.

"Want to know something funny?" She asked, not minding that the story she was about to tell would embarrass her. He nodded, pins held between the lips she had just claimed moments before. "When I entered the pairing I wasn't able to brush my own hair properly. I sat for ages untangling it, and even longer trying to do something with it. I couldn't even pin it properly on my own."

Cassius laughed, as she had known he would. "Lucky then that you were paired with someone who knows how to do it for you."

When they found her friends Emily gave her a knowing look, reaching forward and using the pad of her thumb to fix a smudge in her makeup. "How scandalous of you." She tutted, her face alight with humour.

"You monster." Lavender teased Cassius, grabbing his arm affectionately. He seemed a little surprised at first when her friend latched onto him but he looked overall quite pleased. Lavender used her linked arm through Cassius' to lead the grand duke to where her and Emily's husbands were.

The six of them stood together laughing at a story Issac was telling when she was reminded of the last time they had all been together like this. "Where is my family?" She wondered aloud. It had just struck her that they weren't here. Amongst all the people and the packed schedule of the day she hadn't realised that the Elva's were not present.

Emily frowned. "They must be here surely?"

Issac shook his head. "No, Killian refused to come till tomorrow because the King refused his request to sit with the royal family."

Emmeline frowned, confused. "Why would my father sit with the royal family?"

Issac made an uncomfortable face, looking at Cassius briefly before answering. "Er, he said that it was his family's rightful place now that you are to be duchess."

The silence was suffocating. Embarrassment flooded through her. Her father had refused to come because he wasn't allowed to look important? The thought made her want to scream. Looking up at Cassius, she wondered if he had known. Searching his face she saw no surprise; Cassius looked guilty, his lips pressed into a thin line as he looked anywhere but at her. "I see." She said pointedly. Collecting herself she forced a smile onto her lips. "I guess that is their loss. Tonight has been wonderful has it not?" She asked the group, everyone keen to agree with her and change the subject.  

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Author's Note:

Awkward. 

S x