Page 125 of I Ran Away to Evil 2
“Ever since I heard her play last year,” I explained. “I’ve joined her fan club, traveled to her concerts, and attended her shows … I’ve been following her far longer than my orders …”
“So you’ve beenstalkingmy daughter.” Linden’s voice grew a shade darker.
“Well, that’s fine,” Bronwynn shrugged. “A lot of people have told me they’re my fans. I even have a fan club with events! I don’t think that warrants being called astalker, dad.”
She had no idea, though Ididtry to respect her privacy as much as possible. All of the information I collected and coveted was public knowledge. In all this time, I’d remained true to that limitation … despite the temptation to abuse my power and authority otherwise.
I was still holding on.
Bronwynn followed up with, “I thought you were going to tell them that everyone thinks I’m the molten ash vane assassin.”
“What?!” Both of her parents asked at the same time. Her mother coughed and turned an intense stare on me, following up with, “Does that mean?”
“It means I am guarding Minstrel Bronwynn as instructed by my Dark King and Queen … and she’s already found out I was investigating her at the same time. We aren’t the only ones who’ve noticed that Bronwynn has been spotted at every molten ash vane assassination attempt in the country.”
Bronwynn’s parents shared a look. It wasn’t a “Who has our daughter brought home this time?” expression. Instead, it was very much an “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” type of look.
“Could it be?” Linden asked his wife, proving my point.
Marigold shook her head. “Derek wouldn’t ship molten ash vane. Do we evenhavea poisoner that can make it?”
Bronwynn spoke up then. “We have three poisoners contracted; surely one of them could make it if they had the ingredients? But thatstilldoesn’t mean anything––I’m not in the family business, remember?”
There was a pause, and my [Sense Lies] immediately activated when Marigold nodded and faked a smile. “Of course, dear.”
The pit dropped out of my stomach. Linden and Marigold were hiding something from my bard.
Something important.
“Let’s get back to the matter at hand.” Linden turned his stormy gray eyes my way. “You’ve not given us a very good first impression, Rufus.”
I took a sip of my tea. It wasn’t poisoned, which was nice, and it actually tasted very smooth. “I’d rather tell you everything I can up front. Icouldtry winning you over before you find out the truth, but that’s never been my preference. Statistically speaking, one in four beastfolk from the Dark Enchanted Forest find that our open approach to relationships and family structure causes problems when finding mates elsewhere, but the recommendation remains to be honest. It’s a cultural difference that has been extensively studied by my peers.”
Linden’s lips twitched. “Go on.”
If the opportunity arose to discuss principal theory on interpersonal relations between cultures, nobody needed to ask me twice. “The basic family structure in Gren’s Keep, for instance, is built on a community approach. There are spaces and places for people who are interested in such things to frequent, a big onebeing tourney days, where prospective lovers challenge each other. It used to be a free-for-all bloodbath, but the introduction of duels in recent years has really mellowed things out.”
Marigold laughed quietly but covered it behind her hand.
“Love is love, and beastfolk are not prudish by any means. We are just honest,” I explained. “Some people marry many; others are seasonal mates … I’ve always taken longer to develop feelings, but I do want to fall in love, marry, have children, and grow old with the person of my choosing.”
There was a quiet pause for a few seconds until Linden broke the silence.
“And do you love my daughter?”
CHAPTER 76
Mind the Furniture
Brownie
Brownie slapped the table then, drawing everyone’s attention. “Rufus!Don’t answer that question!”
From the moment they’d sat down, Brownie had been on the edge of her seat enjoying the snacks and the drinks and the interrogation of her potential partner. She’d let her parent’s get away with verbally cornering Rufus and asking him all kinds of poignant questions because she’d also wanted to know more about him. If she wanted to do more than just pet the man, then she was going to have to figure it out sooner or later.
But!
“I want Rufus to say it to me first,” Brownie explained. “If and when we fall in love will be relayed to youafter the fact.”
