The Wheel Turns II

Posted on Sat Dec 17th, 2022 @ 11:38pm by Princess Royal Giana Orsini & Major Sacha Lavigne
Edited on on Thu Jul 13th, 2023 @ 7:52pm

Mission: Historiae Terrae Et Imperii
Location: Rio, Giana's Apartment
Timeline: Date 2371-07-12 at 2145
2574 words - 5.1 OF Standard Post Measure

ON

"Fine. You think I want to play around with you like a frat boy, but I'm the one ready to get serious and build a life with you. I'm okay with you running a company, I'm okay with you being a Dominion Lady, and I'm okay with you being the fucking Empress. I don't care. What I am not alright with is you pretending being on the top makes you happy or will do so for you in the future." he said, looking at her. Again, his tone was gentle but he wasn't holding back or backing down. "You, my love, are miserable. And you will keep being miserable until you decide that, more than anything, you want to be happy. And the thing that makes you most miserable is this desperate search for love that you pretend is a desire for power or relevance."

He wiped his smooth face and rolled his neck. "I love you already."

Then he stood up and walked around the couch, going for a glass pitcher and a corresponding glass to pour water into. He poured himself a glass and then came around again, sitting on the coffee table right in front of her and looking her directly in the eyes.

"I am many things, Gigi, but I am not a liar. I am not, and I never have been. I tell the truth. I know that there is nothing at the top that will make you happy. Nothing there but open air, helplessness, and a path of blood behind you. Look at your family...look at your big brother. The throne has taught you to hate. It cannot make you happy. If you asked your father, I think he would tell you the same. So, we would agree on one thing."

"My father could have dissuaded me but he didn't, so I don't know that you would." Giana replied evenly, holding his gaze while remaining on the couch. "I'm not looking for those things for happiness, I'm looking to those things for stability and legacy. You are what makes me happy."

“Most women have husbands for stability and children for legacy.” He said, looking at her. “Is that what's left for me in this? Am I to be the pretty little woman in this marriage arrangement?”

"No, why would you think that? You can be and do whatever you want to, Sacha, but if you want a woman who is just going to play wife and look up at you and big blue eyes and tell you that you are her everything and only, you have the wrong woman and you know that." She frowned then, starting to sour again. There was nothing men hated more than a woman who didn't rely on them.

"That's obvious to me, yet here I am." he said, still holding his ground. "Still, you could pretend every now and then. It really wouldn't hurt you. It might sooth some of the ridicule as they call me 'the Princess's Wife', as my friends have already taken to calling me. Terran culture has men at the head. And, when it seems obvious to everyone that isn't the case...things get pretty nasty. Name one powerful lady with a good and stable marriage besides your old, understated, notoriously humble aunt."

“Who is calling you that?” She asked, frowning immediately and actually looking concerned. “Those people aren’t your friends.”

"Yes they are. They tell me the truth." he said, not giving her any space to deny that. "I've known them for years, and we've been through hell together. And if they, men who love me, could think of that...just imagine what RZI will come up with. That is, unless I can step out in front a bit."

He put a hand on her leg, a sign he cared, but he soon pulled it back again.

"I'm not trying to run you. But I am a man, and I want to be treated like a man."

“What exactly does that entail in your eyes then, Sacha? Because I already told you before I’m happy to be your wife in the privacy of our home but now that doesn’t seem like enough, so I’m listening.” She wrapped her arms around herself and frowned.

Good. She was listening. Whether she would hear or not was up to her.

"I would head our family. And our children should have my last name." he said, leaning forward. "And don't pretend like that isn't normal, because we both know it is. If any one of them take the throne, of course they would adopt the name Orsini as they ascend. It's normal, it's reasonable."

“Well of course you would and our children would have your name.” She tried to keep the exasperation out of her voice. “I’d give them names like any other of our line coming from a woman, their father’s name being the family name and Orsini being the last of their middle names.”

"Good." he said, seeming somewhat satisfied by her response. "And I understand, when you met your father to decide these things, you knew we aren't yet married. But after our wedding, I want to be talked to before things are decided. That's reasonable too."

He wasn't asking if it was reasonable or not, testing the waters on being decisive.

“I know, I’m sorry. It was all just… very heat of the moment. Emotions were high.” She explained but remained in a defensive posture with her arms wrapped around herself.

"Yeah, I understand. I already said I get that." he said, watching her defensiveness and not making a move to encourage or discourage it. "I imagine it can't have been an easy conversation. You two don't get on very well. You must have had to really pull teeth to get what you wanted."

“A little but not… really…” She frowned then, her arms tightening around her body. “The dominion lady thing wasn’t… the only thing I wanted to talk to you about tonight.” She wasn’t ready for this, but the words had left her mouth before she could stop them. She licked her lips and cleared her throat.

He moved next to her, recognizing the cue that the conflict was over and, in all honesty, it was one of the most mature and fruitful they had ever had. He placed an arm around her and pulled her closer, making it clear that he was now very much engaged with what she had to say. He leaned down and kissed her cheek.

"You know you can tell me anything, right? Just like always." he said, smiling with a face that matched her sadness. "We're a team, you and me. Tu es ma lune et mes étoiles, Gigi."

Though he wrapped his arm around her, she didn’t respond by leaning into him like she usually would have. When he smiled at her, she actually flinched. Would he still feel the same after she told him? It was so common for men to blame the woman in these situations… and it didn’t matter what age the woman, or girl, was. Her jaw worked, and her eyes became watery again. “I…”

He didn't demure from her lack of affection in the moment. Something was clearly wrong. He massaged her shoulder gently, looking at her and waiting.

"You?"

Giana found herself warring internally on whether she could do this or not. She couldn't bear the thought of Sacha looking at her differently. The problem was she had already started. Steeling herself as best she could, she took a deep breath. "It's about Giuseppe... about the real reason he was arrested last night."

“Real reason? What are you talking about, Giana?”

Taking a deep breath, she reached for his hands and looked into his eyes. "Giuseppe wasn't arrested for what the people are saying... he was arrested because of the conversation I had with my father." She didn't take a beat, instead she told him everything just as she had for her brother and father the evening before. She didn't demure once she had started talking to him, but also made sure to emphasize that her father hadn't known and the betrayal of those who were supposed to be the ones caring for her. When she was done, she was crying, and once again looked completely exhausted. She didn't look at him, but looked down at her hands which she had at some point pulled back into her own lap.

Sacha looked at her as she started the tale, but as it came out what Giuseppe had been doing, he looked away and only listened. By the time she was done, tears were streaming down his face as well, though he didn’t cry out or shake. He just made the occasional struggling sound as he fought for self-control. When she stopped speaking, he looked at her, his eyes red.

“Gigi, I don’t understand. I was there…” he said, extending a hand and grabbing hers. “If you had told me, I would have killed him.”

“And gotten yourself killed too. I… I didn’t know, Sacha. I thought my father knew and just didn’t care, so what good would have come from trying to tell anyone else when even my papa didn’t protect me? In my mind he would have just lashed out at me and whoever I had told… and you know how he dislikes you so much already.” Giana still didn’t look at him, but seemed to at least take an interest in his hand over her own.

He had a thousand things to say, but none that were needed or helpful. Instead, he repressed his desire to challenge her, to chastise her for not putting even a small amount of trust in him all those years. He shook his head.

"Okay." he said simply. "Okay, so Giuseppe is arrested now and you've gotten a promotion in several ways. What about...what about us?"

"That... is the question. What about us?" She placed a hand on his arm. "I know you love me, Sacha, I have no doubt or question there. Are you prepared to be the husband to a Dominion Lady and all of the responsibilities that would come with it? I'd like to rely on you for your help, but I also know that kind of life is one you have... strongly railed against in the past."

"Well, what would you need from me? Attending parties and looking good?" he asked, trying to take her question seriously.

"That, but also attending some of the events without me, living in the public eye with scrutiny. You know how things are with me, Sacha. I am constantly in the news, the tabloids, anywhere and everywhere. As my husband, you will be too. You would also be a reflection of my father in a small way, but small enough to be notable. Are you prepared for that?"

"We've talked about this dozens of times and I always say yes." he answered with more decisiveness than irritation. "If I wasn't up for those challenges, I wouldn't be here. I knew what this would be."

"I know we have talked about it, Sacha, but that was always a 'what if'. It isn't what if anymore, it is really happening." Giana pointed out, not trying to be argumentative but her voice was earnest. "It would mean you couldn't... Well, I'm not going to keep going. You know what it would mean."

He set his jaw but said nothing, understanding that Giana had gone through a lot and not wanting to heap his irritation on top of her troubles. Instead, he moved his hand tenderly on hers and looked at her squarely. “I get it. I know what I’m signing up for.”

Giana really, truly doubted he had any idea what he was signing up for, but she smiled at him nevertheless. "Alright, Sacha." She said softly and pressed her forehead to his. "Then hopefully soon my father will agree that we can go public... and maybe he will give you a chance to prove yourself."

“He agreed to make you a Dominion Lady, but the engagement wasn’t on the table, hmm?” He asked, pulling his hand back from her and moving out of the forehead to forehead contact. He could tell something was off, though he didn’t know what it was. He stood and walked toward the window, looking down silently at the courtyard.

"It will be soon, I'm sure of it." She assured him. She watched him go to the window but let him have his space. Part of her wasn't entirely sure why she was lying to him about this, but perhaps she still wasn't entirely certain that he was capable of acting in a manner befitting that of what she would expect of her husband - of what the world would expect of her husband... or maybe she was just afraid, or maybe it was a combination of all of it and more.

"Hmm..." he said, and fell into silence, his eyes following the court functionaries as they milled around outside. It was a similar silence as the one where he had been on his phone, but this time there was much less avoidance and much more of him not saying the offensive thoughts he was having. He was intent on not arguing with her at this time, and he honestly didn't know what else to say. Eventually, however, he turned to her with a sweeping gesture of his hand. "Well, mon amour, I must go. I have an engagement and I must change clothes first."

"Oh."

Giana frowned at that and looked away, pulling her knees up to her chest. "Sorry, I didn't know. Have fun."

"It's nothing too exciting, but it has been on the calendar for weeks." he said taking a few steps back toward her, his strong arms crossed over his chest. "I've been told I need to be more reliable by a certain fiancé of mine."

"Yeah, no, I get it Sacha. That's fine. I just didn't know. I wouldn't have called." She stood then without looking at him and began to walk back toward the hallway that led to her room.

"I'll see you later." Somehow, Giana managed to keep her voice steady despite the tears starting to flood into her eyes again.

How would she know what he was up to if she never asked? The question raced into his mind, but he shrugged it off. She didn't even seem interested in whatever it was he was doing next. He pursed his lips as she retreated from him.

"Yes, later." he said simply, not knowing what else to say considering she had completely left the conversation. He grabbed his Vox, put it in his pocket, and headed slowly for the door.

Giana had waited without going into her room to see what Sacha would do. She had poured her heart and trauma out to him, and instead of remaining with her at this vulnerable period... he was deciding right now was a great time to play at being responsible. When she heard the door close and there was silence, the tears started to fall. She was hurt, yes, but also angry and ashamed.

She should have never told him.

OFF