Capable

Chapter One

{You might end up hating Jonah in this chapter... I apologize. I love the man- believe me, I do- but... I honestly enjoyed this too much. He's not normally like this...}

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One Month Later

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"We are gathered here tonight to recognize and honor Kade Pendergraft for his many years of service here within Coro- I mean, Saporia," King Frederic announced, "for giving us his time in order to ensure our safety, and for doing such a great job with it... We thank you."

Everyone applauded as the king stepped down from the podium. Some people even whooped and hollered. Kade smiled good-naturedly, even as he was trying to direct all the attention away from him. (Luckily- well, luckily for him, at least- Cassandra was furiously blushing, unwittingly drawing attention to herself).

Varian whispered something to Cass, making her laugh. Both Kade and Varian smiled, happy to hear their beloved Cass laugh, delighted to see her enjoying herself. After spending a majority of her life cautious and withdrawn, she was finally starting to come out of her shell- slowly but surely- with the help of Varian.

Varian smiled, gently squeezing her hand. "I love you, milady."

"Varian, please," she murmured, "we're in public..."

He feigned offense, dramatically clutching a hand to his heart. "What, I can't give you the attention you deserve?"

Cassandra blushed, smiling demurely. "You got me. But still, it's Dad's party. And you know that I'm still trying to get used to attention..."

"Aww, lighten up, Cass," Jonah suddenly slurred from across the table, "the guy's actually being subtle for once, and what do you do? You shut him down."

Both Cass and Varian blushed furiously. Craig turned to face them from the next table over, glaring at his best friend. Kade tilted his head to the side, curious.

"Hey, it's not that bad," Craig protested on behalf of Varian and Cass, "he's just trying to show her his affection."

Varian nodded firmly, putting a protective arm around Cassandra. Cass shot him a glance but allowed him to hold her close nonetheless. She had nothing against Varian, really, but still... She would prefer it if he could keep his affections refined to private places and times.

"You're wrong," Jonah drawled, "it's pretty bad, especially now that Cassandra's..."

He suddenly stopped, turned around, and got sick.

All over the floor.

Craig was on his feet immediately, handing Hugo back to Clara before running to his friend's aid. He helped hoist Jonah up, guiding him out of the room. Almost instantly, there were maids and servants there, helping clean up the mess.