Chapter 4: The Winds of change

I went over and over the symptoms in my head but there is no mistake! A highly concentrated extract of the twilight rose's pettles and pit would definitely not be safe for use in anything other than poison! Even breathing in the concentration through the air, like with perfume would cause drastic and lasting effects! I can't bring myself to forgive him for the way he treated me but... its possible that he wasn't acting of his own accord. I'll have to investigate this further. If the Countess is making poison in the form of perfume, that could be disastrous. Few people even know about the existence of this flower, let alone its effects. So if someone were to receive that perfume as a gift, they wouldn't give it a second thought. It does have a beautiful scent, after all....

"Lady Primera? Are you Allright?" Oh, crap! I forgot he was here for a minute! "Yes... Sorry." He smiled at me like he always did in the beginning and said it was fine. It IS a possibility that he's being poisoned by the Countess... not very likely though. Vincent had no chance if ever becoming the heir and since he was never very motivated to do anything involving business, he wasn't much of a threat... The Countess had be reason to want him dead... At least nine that I'm aware of... Now that I think back, I don't remember seeing the Countess again after Vincent's 20th birthday... hmm... "I think it would be wise of you to stay away from that flower and anything made from it. Although she may not know of the flowers affect, it's still harmful. I suggest you tell her about it as soon as you return home with the Count" He looked at me, confused. "Um... I will but..." But what? I hope he doesn't think I'm helping him because I like him! That's not the case at all! "I... I won't be going home until the social season is over..." Oh... right... I forgot. In my past life, he and his father came to meet with us with the intention of marriage and they stayed in their home near the palace until the social season was over... Crap...

I walked Vincent through the greenhouse and showed him the various rare flowers. He knew of some of them and had questions about others. "I didn't know you have such an interest in flowers, Lord Vincent." He rubbed the back of his head and looked away shyly. "It's not flowers I'm really interested in..." It's all I can do not to snap at him. I know he is trying to flirt right now and it's infuriating! I just need to remind myself that he hasn't technically done anything yet so even if I DID yell at him, he would just think I was crazy. "Lord Vincent... I understand that your father and mine decided on this arrangement but I must make my own intentions clear... I plan to walk in my father's footsteps and run my own trade company." He stopped walking and looked at me as if he was waiting for the punchline of a joke. When he realized that I wasn't joking he seemed like he was trying to figure out what to say. "Oh?... well, that's certainly... ambitious..." I smile and turn back around. I don't want to have this conversation a fourth time. "We have a small pond with beautiful Lotus flowers from the east. The view from the pavilion is amazing."

I walk him to the the pavilion, making sure to stay far enough in front of him that he doesn't start up another nauseating conversation. When we get into the shade of the pavilion, I sit on a bench and look out over the water. This was one if my favorite places growing up. I had forgotten how beautiful it was. "Um... my lady?" Uhg... here we go again... "Have I done something wrong? If I offended you in some way, I would like to apologize." I glance back over at Vincent. He is still young and awkward right now. He has yet to become a monster... Am I a bad person for treating him this way? He's still basically a kid... I guess I could at least tolerate him better. "I'm sorry... You didn't do anything. I was irritated that my father made this decision without my consent and I guess I was taking it out on you." He still looked a bit awkward but sighed and smiled softly. "I get it... My father didn't ask me about it either... I just figured, whoever he picked is who I would marry..." I hate that this is so normal that people just accept it. I did too... The first time..."

As I stare out at the water, I turn his words over in my head. "Lord Vincent?" He wasn't expecting me to start the conversation back up. "Hu? Ah, I mean y, yes?" If he hadn't been such a terrible person in my past life, I would have thought he was cute. I'm sure I thought he was cute when I first met him before. "Why are yoy ok with your parents choosing your partner for you?" He struggled with the question before answering. "I just... I was taught that, that's just the way things are..?" "Why? Why is that the way things are? What could your father do to you that would be worse than living a life without love?" He stared at me blankly for a moment then smiled. "Nothing... There is nothing he could do to me that would be worse than that." I've never seen him smile like that... He looks truly happy. It's strange... "You are a remarkable woman, lady Primera." I smile back at him, feeling a bit conflicted. "Primm is fine. If we are going to be brought together like this, We may as well be more casual." "I would like that Primm... Please just call me Vincent."

We sat out in the pavilion for quite some time, talking about things I had never discussed with him before. We talked about business, our goals and why the world is the way it is. After a while, I looked up to see the sun starting to get lower in the sky. "We should probably head back. I'm sure if we don't go back for dinner, they won't stop working." Vincent chuckled then stood up, brushing the dirt off his pants. "I suppose you're right. My father certainly won't stop... Not with the revolutionary idea you came up with." I giggled and looked down as we walked back. If he had been this way all allong, my life wouldn't have been as miserable as it was. "Well, I'm full of revolutionary ideas. That's why it would be a waste for me not to go into business." He smiled and looked up... The he said something I never would have expected to hear from him... "You're right. It WOULD be a waste... And the trade world doesn't even know what it's missing..." Huh... How is this even the same person?! It's nice to hear but did it realy have to be from him?!

We arive back at the Manor and head to the meeting room where we left our fathers. To no surprise to either of us, they were still there. "Father, Count... Its been hours. We should get something to eat. It will be difficult to work in an empty stomach." My father looked at me with an awkward smile and the Count chuckled. "A smart girl indeed! Quite right!" The Count patted my father's shoulder and stood up. My father walked over to me with a proud look on his face. "You... you will need a more advanced class..." My face brightens immediately! This means that father is acknowledging my potential! This is great! I mean, I don't really need his help but having his confidence in me will help a lot!

The four of us head down to the dining hall where I meet back up with Layla. She is still mad at me about cutting my hair, that much is clear on her face. She still manages a smile though and follows us into the dining room. Having a guest of Higher status, my father sits across from me with Vincent and I sit next to my brother, leaving the head of the table for the Count. He really didn't need to go that far though. Even in common etiquette, Father would still sit at the head of the table and we would wait for the Count to eat before beginning our meal... I guess father wants to leave a good impression on the Count. "Thank you for your consideration, my friend. I will be sure to repay your kindness when next you visit us." (Yeah, that's not gunna happen) "Not at all, you have been a great help to The Winds of change trading company!" Huh... I never thought about it before but, how perfect would that be? A woman running a business called The Winds of change? If I can get father on my side about this, I think that would be quite fitting...