Engagement

Fate sat across from Samantha in a comfortable lounge chair with a small table on its side, a mahogany table separating the two.

They were seated in a high-class restaurant that didn't have a name, only known as "The Place" to the nobility.

Everything within was expensive.

The heads of various Magical Beasts were mounted on the walls, the contours of their faces made harmless by the soft lighting that permeated the room.

The floor was carpeted and radiated a warm heat that kept the room at a pleasant temperature.

The room was ten feet wide and just as long, the walls covered in reddish-brown wood that matched the table before them.

Against the walls were various games like Squdnik and chess, along with more exotic ones Fate didn't recognize, like machines of metal and slanted glass with small metal balls inside that one was supposed to bounce around the inside of the machine for points.

The chairs they sat in were in the center of the room, and were the only ones present. They were provided as needed, manifesting when the two entered the dimensional space.

A bell was on the table between them, which could be rung for services. Fate held a knife in one hand and a fork in the other, using what little he had learned so far in his etiquette class to not look like a total slob as he cut into a steak.

Samantha put his lacking manners to shame as she cut into her steak, every action the picture of perfection. Neither could see the other, however, as they both stared at their plates as they ate.

When they finished, Fate leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms as he stared at Samantha, as if to say "get on with it."

Samantha wisely didn't try to stall, cutting right to the chase.

"My father has been pestering me for a year now to see you, and won't take no for an answer. In a few more months, he may have sent someone to bring you to him."

"Why does he care?" Fate asked. "It was a promise we made as children. Since when have those held any weight?"

He had proposed on a whim, and she had accepted on a whim. Neither knew what weight those words held, so it was irritating that someone would hold those same words against them.

He only grew angrier when he remembered that marriage was for life. There was no way out of it. So if he ever did fall in love, he'd either have to commit adultery or never act upon it, both of which left him with a foul taste in his mouth.

"For nobles, if the bride's parents give their approval upon her turning eighteen, a proposal is seen as legitimate. Unfortunately for the both of us, my father has decided to do so."

"And what does he have to gain from such an action? Why would he want his daughter to marry a commoner who can't provide for her?" Fate asked. Though his expression was calm, he couldn't keep the bite out of his words.

Samantha's eyes flickered with indecipherable emotion as her own words from four years ago were thrown in her face, but she skillfully kept her expression tranquil.

"He's getting old," she replied, "and can't find the means to break through into the next Stage. He wants grandchildren before he dies, so he knows that the Sedronol line will continue."

"And what does your mother think of this?"

Samantha's expression darkened.

"Oh, right," Fate grimaced. "Sorry."

Samantha's mother was what was known as a "line bearer," a woman hired by noblemen either too busy or too unlucky to marry. A line bearer was paid extremely well to birth a single child for the noble, and often the two never spoke again.

Unlike with rearing a child from a prostitute by accident, a line bearer wasn't seen as disgraceful if the noble was busy like Samantha's father was. For the ones that were just plain unlucky, that was a different story, but regardless the child was seen as legitimate despite being born out of wedlock.

It was a very complex procedure that required a long, long list of forms filled out for the Office of Noble Lineages, but it had saved many noble lines from extinction in the past, so nobles kept their mouths shut when others did it.

It wasn't dishonorable, but it wasn't something to be proud of either. And for Samantha, it meant growing up with practically no parents. Instead, she had to live with her "uncle," who was just a friend of her father's from when he was younger.

"How did he learn about our engagement in the first place?" Fate asked.

"It's customary for a noble's coming-of-age ceremony to announce whether or not they are engaged. Continuing the bloodline is important for nobles, especially if they only have a single child like my father did."

"And why exactly couldn't you just lie?"

"Lie to my father?" Samantha raised an eyebrow. "He isn't the best parent, but I still hold a great deal of respect for him.

"Besides, even if I wanted to, they use lie detectors. They take all engagements with the utmost seriousness, between children or not. If they had tried to marry me off only for our relationship to come to light, the scandal would've been disastrous."

"Hm," Fate intoned. "Either way, I can't afford a teleportation to Fonford. That's where your father's factories are, if I'm remembering correctly. And I certainly can't ditch my Academy classes for a week or more to travel the hard way.

"And if I did, so what? I fail to see how all of this is my problem. Just break it off and be done with it."

"Do you really think I'm that dull?" Samantha asked with a shake of her head. "I tried that. But since the engagement was made before we were eighteen, we need one of our fathers to consent to the annulment of our engagement along with us.

"My father refused to do anything because he wants grandkids, and I dread to think how difficult it'll be to get your father to agree to such a thing. No offense, but he was always an asshole."

Fate snorted a laugh. "The truth doesn't offend me. But I burnt that bridge a month ago after leaving town without saying anything to him first. He's probably celebrating that he doesn't have to pretend to take care of me anymore."

"Then we need to convince my father to break it off so we can get on with our lives," she said simply.