Scarier than the Undertaker | Kendera/Roman

Germany
Krause Manor
Summer

Kendera hadn't thought much of it when her mother arrived that morning. Alarice Krause had the habit of coming and going as she pleased. Kendera usually ignored her, and the woman usually didn't care one way or the other. That morning, however, she had given the girl a rather forced smile and murmured a good morning.

Kendera had found it creepy.

It wasn't until her lessons had been canceled (yes, lessons in the summer; pureblood high society was overrun with insanity), that the girl realized something was going on. Particularly when Gerda informed her that she was to get ready for dinner. They were having guests.

She hated being at home.

Wondering just who she got to play perfect little granddaughter for this time, Kendera went through the routine of preparing a formal dinner.

Oh, what fun, the girl thought sarcastically.

Roman pulled on his tie, slightly disturbed by the strangling sensation the unusual fabric gave him.

Almost immediately, his mother hit him lightly on the shoulder and adjusted his tie once more with her seemingly-delicate fingers, "Roman, if you don't look presentable, we might as well not have come."

Roman's father strode up to the door with an heir of confidence about him that only years of strategic socializing could construct. He rung the doorbell with one thick finger and waited there with his hands straight at his sides.

Roman and his mother joined him in front of the door. The boy, quite unlike his parents, was filled with dread at the painfully uncomfortable evening to come.

"For the love of Merlin, Lidwina!" Della Krause snapped at her granddaughter. "Stop fidgeting! And you'd best behave yourself, child! None of that odd stuff that you do. You have been raised to be a proper young lady, never mind that you've inherited some of your father's genes. It's a mercy the man is dead. His continued presence in your life would have no doubt ruined you further."

"I'll behave, already," Kendera gritted through clenched teeth, interrupting. She'd earned herself a stern glare to do so.

The old woman moved over to the teen, brandishing a finger in her face. "This dinner is important. You will not bring further shame to this family. Do you understand?"

"Yes, grandmother," the girl mumbled subduedly.

Alarice Krause reached up a hand to stroke a stray strand of hair from the nape of her neck, even while her father, Argis, looked at his pocket watch. They were waiting in the entrance hall for their guests - of whom Kendera still didn't know the identity.

Della opened her mouth to continue. By the grace of the gods, the bell rang. Kendera couldn't help but smirk as her grandmother turned her back.

Argis answered the door.

"Welcome to Krause Manor," Della greeted theirs guests, ushering them inside. "This is Alarice, our daughter, of course. And this is our granddaughter, Lidwina. Lidwina, you may remember meeting -"

"Roman?" Kendera exclaimed in surprise, interrupting once more. She wrinkled her nose. What sort of business did the Ritters have with the Krauses? "What are you doing here?"


Aside: DRESS

Roman forced a smile onto his face, "Hi Kendera." His mother interrupted her usual speech about what a "pleasure" it was to be here and how "marvelous" their house looked to throw a sharp glare at Roman, "What? That's her name!" He said defensively.

He rolled his eyes when her gaze didn't lighten, "Good evening, Lidwina, this is my mother, Tatiana, and my father, Everard."

He received yet another rap on his shoulder, accompanied by a harsh whispered, "Roman."

Roman sighed, "You're dress looks nice." He tried to say it in as monotone a manner as he could manage, just to annoy his mother. Tatiana pursed her lips and wandered off in the direction of the other adults, continuing her endless spout of complements.

"By the way," he said once his mother was out of earshot, "I have no idea what I'm doing here. Though I do know I'd much rather be somewhere else... No offense," he added hastily.

Della shot her granddaughter a withering look, lips thinning in displeasure, but otherwise maintained her composure.

"Good evening," Kendera spoke politely. "We've met before, most recently at the social event earlier this year at your home. It's a pleasure meeting you again." It wasn't the perfectly cultured reply her grandmother would have wanted, but it was good enough that she didn't earn another glare.

"Thank you," the girl responded primly to Roman.

"Dinner will be served momentarily," Argis told their guests. "Shall we wait in the sitting room?"

Kendera made no move to follow after the adults. They would be stuck with them all the rest of the evening, after all. She turned her attention to the boy. Roman was okay, she supposed. They didn't really know each other. She had gotten him into trouble at a party when they were nine, but the boy wouldn't have known it was her - it had been 'Dominik Furst', after all. Dominik had deserved the trouble he'd gotten in trouble for Kendera's actions on his behalf; Roman had been an unfortunately casualty.

"Making your parents look good," said Kendera. "Because they have such a well-bred and raised son, of course. And no offence taken. I wouldn't be here if I could help it." She crossed her arms over her chest, eyeing him thoughtfully.

"It really is odd," she voiced her earlier thought. "I get them being in politics and stuff, but I really wouldn't think our families would have any sort of business requiring a formal dinner."

"Well, that's usually why they bring me with them, but not if I'm acquainted with anyone there," Roman smirked, "I mean, what good am I to them if I'm over here?"

"It is funny, isn't it?" He glanced at his parents as they left the room, "I can't see where their careers would intercept... unless," he laughed at the outlandishness of the idea, "You don't think they could be doing this for fun?"

Roman was interrupted by his father's booming laugh coming from the other room. The man only did that if he was inebriated, or if he wanted to get the attention of his son.

Turning to face the entrance of the sitting room, he said, "I suppose this means I have to go in there," Roman sighed, "I have a very bad feeling about all this."

He gestured to the room full of adults, giving Kendera an apologetic smile, "Shall we?"

Kendera gave an undignified snort. "My grandparents do not know the meaning of the word 'fun'," she stated seriously. Her own gaze shifted to the entrance to the living room, streaks of her hair shifting noticeably red in color.

"Me, too," the girl mumbled.

Grimacing a bit, the girl strode forward to their fate. Whatever this dinner was about, Kendera didn't have a very good feeling about it, at all...

Roman sighed as he approached the sitting room, hearing the overly polite laughter increase in volume the closer he got.

"Roman!" his mother said with a dazzling smile when he entered the room, "How nice of you to finally join us. I hope you and Lidwina are becoming more acquainted with each other?"

He smiled politely at the woman in front of him, "Yes, mother. Liddy and I are getting along just fine." She responded to his comment with another big, white, magically altered smile.

His father showed his approval with a throaty, "Hmph!" and resumed what seemed to be the conversation they were having before Roman entered, "Well, I've had a little experience with arithmancy myself and I have to say, Della, that you have many more opportunities to profit from your work. Now I have some excellent connections over at..."

Roman had to keep himself from rolling his eyes before he found a seat near the edge of the room, but not so far away from the group that it seemed odd.

Kendera's head snapped towards Roman, eyes flashing so quickly the fleeting change of color could have easily been imagined. Liddy...

"Well, are you going to jump or aren't you?" A girl stood at the edge, ready to jump... "Shall I push you, instead?"

"That's right. I'm Liddy. An intruder. And technically, I'm not in any house."

She threw her arms around someone from behind. "Hello, Charles. Miss me?"

The girl was blinking, momentarily disorienting, a hand pressed to the side of her head. Shaking off the odd sensation, she gave a polite smile to the inquiring gazes directed her way.

"I'm fine," she said.

Distractedly, the girl seated herself a polite distance from Roman, wondering just where those... memories had come from.

Roman tilted his head slightly. Kendera was acting very, very strange. He shrugged off the thought. The girl was nice, and he appreciated that.

Tatiana had begun an animated conversation with Kendera's mother, "Oh, darling, I positively adore your hair. Might I ask where you get it done?" How much more of this would he have to endure?

He prayed for dinner to come as quickly as possible. Then, at least, he'd have something to eat. Funny how his parents always made sure to starve him before going to dinner parties. Was it just so that he'd have a reason not to get up and leave?

Dinner had finally arrived, only to pass in more inane, shallow conversation. What was it with adults and their endless political games, anyway?

It was just before dessert was brought out that the evening became worse than it was already.

"I think perhaps now would be a good time to make the children aware of our agreement," Della declared, folding her hands on her lap as her gaze went to her granddaughter. Argis was seated at the head of the table, of course, but he wasn't the one in charge of the household. Not really. It had always been his wife who made the decisions. That was unlikely to ever change.

"Lidwina, Roman, we have agreed that the two of you are to be married."

Kendera mouth fell open in shock, grip clenching around the arms of her chair. And for a moment, she was too shocked to react further, the mere idea causing her mind to go whirl.

A betrothal. They had really arranged a betrothal for her...

Roman looked from one adult to the other, letting the words run through his mind several times, still not quite understanding what it meant. After a couple of confused moments, he chuckled softly, "Marriage. That's funny."

His father coughed and said with slight irritation, "Roman, please. This is no joke. I would prefer you didn't treat it as such." This was followed by a cautionary stare, which Roman immediately disregarded as he turned to his mother, "But... you're not serious."

She looked up at him as if he were a complete stranger, "We are completely serious," she said, clearly embarrassed and disappointed by his lack of enthusiasm, "You two are an ideal match, and I know it's a shock, but you both have plenty of time to become better acquainted."

He gaped at her, his thoughts straying over to one person in particular, who was currently lying in a hospital bed, "But- but what about-"

Everard held up his hand, "We are not discussing this," he said in a stern, unsympathetic manner, "All of us want the best for you and Lidwina. Who, I might add, is perfectly healthy."

Roman glared at his father. One of his fists was hidden under the table, clenched so tightly he could feel his nails biting down on his skin. Once again, he felt completely helpless.

Kendera slammed both her palms on the table, rising in the same motion, the abrupt movement causing her chair to topple backwards. Her hair had twisted into a mass of inky black curls, her eyes nearly as dark in response to her outrage.

"NO." she gritted out furiously.

"Lidwin-" her grandmother began, angrily.

"It's Kendera!" the girl shouted back, her gaze moving to those around the table in turn. "The only... people... who... call me... by that stupid name... are those who don't care about me at all!

"I refuse! This is stupid, and I won't go along with it," Kendera declared, meeting her grandmother's gaze. Della Krause had never looked angrier. Her granddaughter seemed wholly unaffected. "We are not pawns for your stupid pureblood games!" And with that, she flounced from the room, hair shifting colors in her wake.

Roman stared after Kendera for a second, watching her hair curl in on itself bizarrely, "I-I," he shook the thought out of his head. He was just seeing things, "I agree. Kendera is right."

He stood up as the girl left the room, "You may have legal guardianship over me, but that doesn't give you the right to control me or my life."

Everard stood up across from him, his face blank, "I told you, Roman. We are not discussing this. Please sit down and finish your desert quietly."

"No." He didn't break eye contact with his father, until he clenched his jaw, which made the boy instinctively flinch.

He felt his arm gripped firmly by a large, thick hand, and a voice in his ear, "If that's you're preference, then you can leave now."

Roman shrugged off the arm and rounded on his father, "Faye is perfect!" he turned to his mother, who had tears slowly sliding down her cheek, "Why isn't that enough!"

With one last look at the shocked faces, he stormed out of the doors, not caring how he was going to get home.