The Heir (18+ Only) - Noblesse Oblige #2

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

"Is he really going to marry you, Rei?" asked Zaveri Vano through the speakers of Amrei's cellphone. Amrei shifted to roll onto her back. She was in the rooms assigned to Amaris, laying next to her sleeping sister on the bedroom's king sized bed. The spacious bedroom was richly furnished in dark wood furniture that complemented the dark green and gold decor.

She adjusted her smartphone to lay on her breasts, using them as a stand of sorts. Idly twisting one of her sister's long loose curls with her left hand, she sighed.

"I doubt it, Zav."

"Really? Even though they went to the trouble of flying you in to meet him?"

"They flew Rissy in too", she pointed out. "She's obviously the better choice, right?"

"That's true, I suppose",Zaveri replied, considerably more cheerfully. Amrei briefly frowned at his ready agreement.

She and Zaveri had been friends for a time before they'd started dating in college. The relationship had been more of an experiment, really, and had lasted only four months before Amrei had ended it. Zaveri had understood her reasons, but still claimed that it would be he who would marry her and help her govern their island province that they both called home one day.

She hadn't bothered to correct his claim to her hand then, and still hadn't, mostly because she did not take him seriously. She never took marriage proposals or date requests seriously - not that she'd gotten many thus far - and had great plans on how she would enjoy her spinsterhood with a hundred or so pets.

She had long accepted that she was too odd-looking to be anyone's aristocratic wife, poor or wealthy. The day she'd accepted that fact was the day her outlook on life took a more optimistic turn. She'd used that very reason to convince her parents to allow her to attend college and get her degree.

Life was easier, she'd found, when the expectations one's parents had for your life were low. Who would have thought being a strange-featured, not-quite-pretty young woman would have its benefits? There was a certain freedom attached to it, especially in a country where the freedoms of unmarried women were more limited.

It still stung when others pointed out her flaws, though. She doubted she would ever be able to get rid of that feeling.

"I hope everyone back home is getting on okay", she said, changing the topic.

"Yeah. Everything's going fine, even with your cousin keeping your father's seat warm." Zaveri sighed. She could picture him - all suntanned skin and hard muscle; laughing gray-green eyes and white-teethed smile - running his work-roughened hands through his short dark hair n frustration.

"Cian's not that bad", Amrei replied with a chuckle. Beside her, Amaris stirred, shifting to curl against her side.

"He's a kind fool. It frustrates me to no end."

"Where would we be without you Vanos to guide us kind fools?" Amrei replied teasingly.

"In even more dire straits than we are now, no doubt." The mention of the debt their province had accumulated trying to stay afloat eradicates the teasing air. Because Zimorah was a small island state off the coast of the continent, it was often overlooked by officials. Their resources were limited, and their trade industries were suffering.

Everyone there lived either barely above the poverty line or below it, including the Sarafians.

"You need to get your father to take advantage of this situation and request assistance. He must get our grievances heard by the king so that we can get the funds to stabilize this province", Zaveri urged.