Several days later, Alto is once again taking her seat across from Tegan at an expensive yet surprisingly impersonal restaurant. As usual, they place their orders, wait twenty or so minutes in awkward silence, then watch the waitstaff serve them before they gracefully exit the private, VIP dining room.
Once the table has been set, she sweeps her eyes around the room, confirming that each of their escorts have left them alone to eat and talk like usual. Seeing that's the case, she takes a shaky breath, glancing at the oblivious Tegan, who's already started eating. A rush of anxiety threatens to overwhelm her as she considers what she's about to do, but she forces it down.
'I don't have a choice...this is the only way.'
She slides back her chair and stands, filling the small room with the sounds of wood scraping wood, and causing Tegan to throw her a cursory glance as he continues eating. She locks eyes with him, placing her hands on the table as she leans forward.
"I want to make a deal with you, Tegan." (Alto)
He freezes, his fork halfway to his mouth, and his eyes widen slightly in surprise. After a second, his expression turns cautious, and he sets his fork down to his plate carefully. He narrows his eyes at her, his voice hesitant.
"What...kind of deal?" (Tegan)
She does her best to put on a calm, knowing smile. The kind that conveys absolute certainty, that leaves no room for doubt or dissent. She speaks, forcing her voice to remain calm...unhurried.
"The kind that gives you what you want...or should I say who?" (Alto)
His expression stiffens, slightly but noticeably.
"I'm not sure what you mean." (Tegan)
She smirks, forcefully maintaining her confident attitude.
"You know...the girl from the working class family. The one that's the reason you've been trying to get me to quit attending these poor excuses for dates." (Alto)
There's a brief flicker of anxiety on his face, before he gives her a polite smile, his voice holding more warmth than it has in months.
"Ah, Miss Alto, I can't say I know what you're talking about. I'm quite happy with your company...why would I keep attending if I wasn't? If you haven't been enjoying our outings together, I wish you had told me sooner, so I could have done something to fix it..." (Tegan)
Her smirk deepens, some of her confidence feeling substantiated by his quick shift in tone.
"Are you now? Is that why you've sat in your carriage for half an hour every time, watching me while I waited for you to 'arrive'? Or, perhaps I'm mistaken. I suppose it's only right that I contact your father and ask if some important business has held you up so regularly, before I jump to conclusions." (Alto)
The effect is immediate, and she watches in quiet relief as Tegan's face pales and he falls damningly silent.
'So, I was right...'
Ever since that first date, she's been somewhat baffled by Tegan's behavior. He always showed up late to their dates, and never put any effort at all into making her enjoy them. Plus, on their first date, she was quite certain she saw him exit from a carriage that had been in the area since she arrived. She couldn't help but wonder if maybe he was intentionally trying to anger her. Naturally, she was quick to recall her father's passing comment about him being interested in another girl, and thought that perhaps this was Tegan's way of rebuking her unwanted presence.
At the same time, however, that didn't make much sense to her. If he was truly that set on this other girl, then why entertain these dates with her at all? At the very least, why would he continue them for so long, without escalating his rude behavior? He could have insulted her, made sleazy advances, or any number of off-putting things. But he didn't.
In fact, the only glaringly rude thing he did was watching her wait for him that first day. However, it didn't take her long to realize...he was late every day, by roughly the same amount, so who's to say that he didn't continue watching her wait, from a more discreet location? What if the first day's obvious vantage point was just a mistake?
If so, that only made his behavior more plainly intentional while inexplicably restrained and subtle. What were his reasons?
She could only arrive at one answer...their fathers.
Perhaps, much like her father was constantly impressing upon her the importance of not offending influential people or families, Tegan's father was of the same opinion. Her father's elitist attitude, while not nearly as unrestrained in public, also wasn't a closely guarded secret among other wealthy and influential families.
It's possible the Stone patriarch, when met with Master Silver's inquiries about marrying their heirs, couldn't refute the offer out of hand. Not after her father already knew a peasant girl was the competition. Wouldn't that be like a slap to her father's elitist face? In that case, she reasoned, it makes sense that Tegan's father told him to meet with Alto on these dates, as a show of effort, until sufficient time passed or the Silver family gave up. At that point, as long as Tegan wasn't disrespectful, the Stone family could decline the offer without overtly insulting the Silver family.
If all this conjecture of hers was right, then she assumed the Stone patriarch probably didn't encourage Tegan's making these dates so unenjoyable for her. However, Tegan, likely being in love with this other girl, probably wasn't satisfied with prolonging this farce, and reasoned that he could shorten it by seeming unappealing to Alto, so long as he didn't do anything that could be considered an intentional disrespect towards her family.
Her reasoning, then, was that she might have leverage over Tegan – his 'wait and watch' routine in his carriage. That's probably an overstep that his father would not appreciate...if the Stone patriarch were informed.
Now, recognizing the obvious alarm on Tegan's face, she feels that she was right in her deductions.
After several moments of silence, Tegan responds, his expression distinctly unhappy, his voice flat and devoid of pretense.
"What do you want, exactly?" (Tegan)
Hearing him, she returns to her seat with a happy sigh, her body humming with an unexpected sense of...control? Freedom? She's not sure, but...whatever it is, it's invigorating. After her epiphanic meeting with her father a few days ago, and many hours pondering her situation, she knows exactly what she wants, and...for once, she can see a clear path to it. A path that starts with the question Tegan just asked her.
For the first time in a long time, Alto smiles genuinely.
"Four things..." (Alto)
Tegan purses his lips.
"That seems...excessive." (Tegan)
She tilts her head, unconcerned.
"So, you don't want to hear them?" (Alto)
He stares at her for a moment, then sighs resignedly.
"No, I do...just don't forget that you're blackmailing me personally, not my whole family. You ask for anything too unreasonable, and I'll just accept my father's anger." (Tegan)
Alto nods, then raises her index finger.
"One. I want twenty gold coins." (Alto)
He blinks.
"You...want money, and...only that much? Seriously?" (Tegan)
She raises her eyebrows pointedly.
"You'd rather I ask for more?" (Alto)
His expression turns confused.
"Well...no, I just...with your family-" (Tegan)
She doesn't wait for him to finish, lifting her middle finger as well.
"Two. I want books covering every advanced-tier elemental class spell." (Alto)
He stares at her incredulously, opening his mouth like he wants to express a similar opinion to before. However, he seems to think better of it and sighs softly.
"What else?" (Tegan)
She smiles appreciatively, her ring finger joining the others.
"Three. I need to continue this farce between us for a bit longer, at least two weeks after you've prepared to fulfill all my other requests. Please see to it that your father doesn't refuse our marriage on your behalf before then. Oh, and if possible, I'd like you to stop making these visits so miserable for both of us. I'm not interested in you anyway, and you have no idea how much of a sacrifice it is for me to come here in the first place." (Alto)
His expression turns a bit uneasy, but he doesn't refute her.
"The last thing?" (Tegan)
She sighs, dropping her hand back into her lap, and her expression becomes serious.
"The last one is the most important. I want you to have the gold and books you owe me stored at the Austere Coin bank in the city of Oppidum, inside Darak Zardo's territory. Store it under the name, 'Altera of Oppidum', and make sure I can claim it without a fuss.
"In addition, at sunrise on the morning after you eventually refuse my father, I need for you to have arranged a private, unmarked carriage to take me from just inside the Tsige city gate, directly to Oppidum. Book the carriage under the same alias as the bank. Finally, make sure absolutely nobody, especially my father, ever knows about the specifics of this deal." (Alto)
Upon hearing her last condition, realization dawns on Tegan's face. His expression turns grave.
"You're seriously trying to make me an accomplice to you running away from home? I won't pry into your life, but...if your father ever found out that I was involved, the fallout would be a hundred times worse than what you're blackmailing me with. How could you possibly think I'd agree to this?" (Tegan)
For a brief moment, she feels a twinge of fear at his response. However, she suppresses it...she expected he'd put two and two together and react this way. It's only reasonable.
She responds with a calm smile.
"Two reasons. The first of which is...you don't need to worry about my father digging that deeply into my disappearance. By the time I leave, if everything goes according to plan, he'll be disowning me anyway." (Alto)
He gives her a surprised look, curiosity flashing across his expression. However, he seemingly decides to suppress whatever questions arise. Instead, he purses his lips.
"You said two reasons." (Tegan)
She gives him a small, sad smile, her voice softening to something more sincere...more vulnerable.
"The second reason is that, despite how rude you've been on these dates, I've learned enough about you to be sure of at least this much...you're a good person. Who you've fallen in love with, what you told me that first day about training to take over your father's company, even the fact that you're still listening to me right now – it all confirms it.
"So, I'm asking that person...please help me. Because...I need this more than you can possibly imagine. I need to be away from my father...from that family. I can't bear the life I'm living anymore, and...I don't have anyone I can trust if you turn me down." (Alto)
Tegan freezes.
Something about the sadness in her eyes, the undisguised desperation in her voice, maybe the fact that she's only a teenager, too...it all fills him with a profound sense of concern. A premonition that, if he turns her down, he's not sure he'll be able to look at his own reflection anymore. That this very face she's making might haunt him for years.
He stares at her with a conflicted expression for several moments. Moments that make Alto's own chest feel heavy with anxiety, but also...with hope.
'This is it, I did everything I could, and...I don't think I regret it. I just hope I was right about him, because I've sure been staking my future on a lot of educated guesses today.'
She watches him with bated breath for a few more seconds. Then, the conflicted expression on his face turns annoyed, his eyes moving to her with a new weariness in them. He sighs, muttering curses under his breath. Eventually, he speaks, his voice resigned.
"Okay..." (Tegan)
Her breath catches, her voice full of quiet disbelief.
"You'll do it? All of it?" (Alto)
He gives her a deadpan look.
"Yes, that's what I said. But just so you know, if we ever meet again, I intend to collect a massive – and I mean incredibly inconvenient – favor from you. Seriously...I'll just make one up if I have to." (Tegan)
A dry, relieved chuckle escapes her lips, and she smiles wryly at him.
"Fine by me..." (Alto)