Meeting and the Vacation

[Professor Kalif Styx]

Kalif Styx had gone through lengthy weeks of getting the perfect males for his daughters. William that lived over in Russia. He had seemed like a noble young man, and then there was Caspian Rolvsson for Kailie. While Kailie had a free period from school, as did he, Kalif had the entire vacation planned. It was not often that he had to put up with Nicolette this long, but he had requested not to be bothered by anyone from his family. But for now, he had Kailie with him, as well as Nicolette, and they had to travel all the way to Norway to find the family first before meeting up on a cruise in a whole other country. The family he was going to were the Rolvsson's, which were not the original names. He knew that the mother was a Dragonov, a Russian family, and the father was a Toralba, another Russian family. The reason why they fled and changed their names, he did not know. Kalif was not one of those men that would pry into the stories. However he knew enough that both families came from respectable backgrounds, and good enough to produce a boy that would be worthy of his daughter's hand. Whether or not Kailie would agree, that was a different story. Now that she was going to actually meet him and spend the vacation with him, she might regret ever being apart of this. He would not blame her though since he heard about what she did to one of his students the previous year. He would have applauded her as a father, but would have been disappointed as a Head of House, which made him a little conflicted inside. However he would look the other way, and hope that Kailie knows better than to act like a fool in front of the boy that would soon have her as his wife.

The whole arrangement was not official by the standards of the Zhefarovich family, but both parents agreed, and it was good enough for Kalif. The boy was also approved by Lydia, since she was crazy over the Dragonov family, claiming that they produced very handsome boys. Kalif was not very big on appearance, but he knew that Nicolette was definitely not happy to be here. She did not agree to this, and swore up and down what Kalif was doing was wrong. However he rarely did anything wrong in his mind, and he figured that he would be proving Nicolette wrong sooner than later. Since she was not talking to him, for ages, he had to plan the damn cruise. He hated the ocean, boats and people, but it was something she wanted for years now. It was warm outside on the deck, where Kalif and the parents agreed to meet once settling into their rooms. He could see the family approaching in the distance. After writing to them, and meeting up with them previously, Kalif could recognize them at this point. He could see their son too. He certainly looked old enough for Kailie. He had forgotten the age of the boy as well. As long as he was Kailie's age, or slightly older, Kalif did not care. He did want this to go through swimmingly, so he waited for them to arrive, and then his daughter to see what she would have to live with for the rest of her life.​

 

[Kailie Styx]

Kailie Styx was not surprised when her father told her to get dressed, that she was going to meet the future husband of hers. She had agreed to let her dad choose for her since she did not want to have to choose him herself, out of belief that she would fall in love with some dirty blooded brat, and then end up disappointing her parents in a way that Kaleb had. Hades had went through hell, and Kaleb did too. Kailie wanted to save herself the drama, and just bypass all of that. If Kalif could find her someone, then she would not have to worry about disappointing him. Her mom on the other hand hated this idea, and so did Alessine. However she just did not want to have to live through seeing her father all disappointed in her. That was by far worse than her mother disappointed in her. Her mom would not make the husband get carved and she would not have to go through hours upon hours of torture that Kaleb suffered through just for the one true love he managed to find. Kailie sighed and she got dressed before she approached her parents and she looked to Alessine. She gave her twin sister a lingering smile, one very small before she felt the very uncomfortable feeling of being apparated to another location. She could feel the wind of the ocean hit her and she was very glad that she had dressed for the occasion, sort of. She certainly did not want to dress similar to her mother while meeting her future man. Plus she was developing the style of her mother, and that was definitely something that her father did not like at all. Not that he could stop her style. Kailie did like wearing robes, more often than anything else, but she just liked wearing some things to impress her mom too.

The cruise itself, once on it and everything was unpacked, was pretty nice. The ocean itself was stunning, and she knew she needed something to keep herself from losing breakfast. Her sea legs would have to come in eventually. She walked behind her father since she did not know the family, and was a little nervous with meeting them. What if he were like Chad? Would he force her to kiss him and stuff?? Chad never got that far, but by hell he sure did try. That was something that worried her to no end. However she did hear other footsteps, and then she heard someone speaking. The English was a little off or something, but the accent was not something she could place. She stepped out from around her father’s figure, and exposed herself to the future in-laws, and then to the male himself. Immediately, she regretted it. Now she was a little miffed at her father for setting this up. She looked at the boy once more, and then she said the first thing that had burst from her mouth, which was, “Are you kidding me? You did not tell me that he was one of those ‘pretty boys’.” It was her way to insult him, since all she could see was someone pretty. For all they knew, he could be one of those into boys. Then her life would be even more miserable. Did her dad really set her up with someone like him?​

 

[Caspian Styx]

Caspian would honestly rather get hit by a train, that marry some snot-nosed bra to keep his parents happy. Girls were really annoying. Caspian liked that they made an attempt to look good whenever possible, but they had a tendency to think they were in charge. "When really it could be a mutual thing." Caspian was also repulsed by the idea of having to spend a lifetime with someone he might not ever be able to stand. Wasn't the unity of marriage supposed to be a happy thing? His parents seemed to think that he wasn't able to make decisions on his own though, so an unhappy marriage and a miserable life it was. Caspian would pay them back of course, once they hit old age. Soon they would be too elderly to take care of themselves and when that time rolled around, Caspian certainly wasn't going to do it either. Not after this. Caspian didn't dare argue with them once they put their foot down on the situation, but it was easy for anyone to tell that he was unhappy with the way his life was going. Today his parents even dragged him along on some cruise so he could meet the girl. Caspian didn't think it mattered whether he met her or not, because either way he already hated her. But as usual, Caspian was forced to comply with the things he didn't agree with. He was being forced on this trip, whether he liked it or not.

His first impression of the girl didn't help much either. In fact she only proved to be more rude and irritating than he had imagined. After her comment on him being pretty, Caspian snorted. "At least one of us is." He looked to his parents, displeasing filling his eyes. This is the best they could do? Couldn't they have at least found him a girl that wouldn't insult him? If she had kept quiet, he would have said nothing and left her be, but of course he had to get the one with the loud mouth. Apparently she had a twin. Was she the loud one of the two? Caspian shook his head and looked out to the sea. Hopefully he would fall overboard and drown, or maybe the ship would sink. Either of those sounded better than spending an afternoon with a girl that felt like being rude for no apparent reason. ​

 

[Nicolette Styx]

Nicolette was pissed. The entire situation literally made her burn with anger. The thought of her poor babies in an arranged marriage disgusted her. There was nothing more miserable sounding, then being stuck with someone you didn't want to marry. Sure, some people did fall in love and came to accept their marriage, but that wasn't the case for everyone and Nicolette just wished her husband would see that. What if he was in an arranged marriage and never had the chance to be with Nicolette? How would he feel about that? Some part of Nicolette doubted that he would even care, but it might have just been the anger within her speaking. The blonde had argued and fought with her husband over his decision for weeks before she finally was put into place and had no more room to argue. It literally killed her inside to see her daughters be as unhappy as they were, and she figured she would never forgive Kalif for it either. He knew she was upset over it too. How could he not? Nicolette hadn't spoken to him for days let alone even look at him. Nicolette just couldn't believe that he would actually go through with setting his daughters up. Kailie seemed more likely to accept the decision, but it could have just been her trying to please the two of them. Alessine however, was more stubborn than an old mule over this. Kalif was probably ready to knock her upside the head with the way she was acting. Nicolette wonder if it bothered him at all to see either of them be unhappy.

Nicolette had her back turned away from Kalif and the others. One look at the boy and Nicolette would want to throw him overboard. Nothing personal, but to see someone make her Kailie unhappy just pissed her off. Plus she was so mad she didn't want to associate herself with Kalif at all. Once their meeting was done, she figured that she would storm off to their cabin and fall right into a deep sleep, because Nicolette didn't want to deal with anyone else today. Particularly not her husband. The comment thrown between the two teen's made Nicolette wonder if they were going to kill one another before the day was even through. They didn't sound like they were going to get along at all. Kailie seemed more unhappy than the boy too because she was the one to start the comments. Ah how her daughter made her proud sometimes. ​

 

[Professor Kalif Styx]

Kalif knew that his wife was not pleased with the entire thing, but what Kalif was more displeased with was his daughter's outburst and thought that it was rather rude for her to say that to Caspian. The only thing that he was not comfortable with was the fact that Caspian had already graduated from school, even though he was home schooled. Kalif muttered in his native tongue, Bulgarian, "Just like her mother." He was sure that what Kailie said really made Nicolette proud, but what was really concerning him was the fact that the two of the teenagers there needed to find a way to get along. The boy even had a smart tongue on him too, which made him narrow his eyes slightly. He looked to the parents and he said in a cold tone, "Mr. and Mrs. Rolvsson, I know a way to get your son to accept this better. Go enjoy the cruise, I know how to handle this situation." He was very much inspired by what he had done to Theodore and Kaleb once when he was giving them detention, also with Ariah and Leviathan. It helped them get along to some level. Once the parents left Caspian alone under Kalif's guardianship, Kalif stepped forward and he grabbed Caspian's wrist, and then took Kailie's as well. With a pair of simple, muggle handcuffs, they were stuck together.

"Kailie is underage right now to attempt to break free, but you on the other hand, you wouldn't be stupid enough to attempt to escape, are you, because of the risk of exposure." Even Kalif was getting his joys of seeing this happen. It was quite hilarious. He turned his back on them and said simply, "Behave you two." Kalif walked over to his wife, and he was sure that she was still not talking to him. As much as he enjoyed the peace and quiet, he knew that during this vacation, they were going to be dealing with each other the entire trip. They were sharing a cabin after all. Sighing, her silence was now annoying him more than her mouth normally did, and he took advantage of the situation. He reached down and picked her up over his shoulder, like he had done multiple times in order to get her to be quiet, only he was aiming for the opposite effect. "One way or another, you are going to be talking, Nicolette." He walked into the cabin, opened the door, and closed it behind him. He looked around the room to debate tossing her onto the bed or the couch. He was not entirely sure, so he eventually dropped her onto the bed. Even if she would not speak, she could not stop thinking, and he could just use Legilimency.

 

[Kailie Styx]

Normally, a boy with a smart tongue would have been attractive, but not today, not in this teenager's eyes. Kailie turned to her parents and hoped that this was not true. She simply rolled her eyes and she wondered if this boy was even a pure-blood. For all she knew, he could be a bloody half-breed or worse. Well, if he was a half-breed, he could easily die by the hands of her grandfather. Now that made the corner of her lips twitch. Maybe that would happen one day. Sighing, she looked up as her father basically dismissed the parents of her future husband, and then wondered what he was going to be doing. She knew that by now, with this in mind and his tone of voice, he was definitely up to something. Kailie really hoped that she was not going to have to do something horrific or nothing would happen to her. The last thing she wanted to do was suffer on the cruise. She wanted to go swimming or go play some pool or something. The last thing that she was expecting was her dad to actually grab the boy's wrist, and then did something, before roughly grabbed as well, and then her wrist was bonded with something metal. She looked down and saw that it was in a handcuff, with the other one filled by Caspian. She looked up at her father and she exclaimed, "Are you insane, dad?!"

Ignored, her dad simply said for them to behave, before leaving with her mom. Kailie stood there, not knowing if she should follow or not. She looked down at the floor, not wanting to say a word to Caspian. Sighing, she wondered how she was going to even go swimming. Being handcuffed was not her idea of a good time. She closed her blue eyes before she shook her head. She had the worse luck with boys. "I guess we are stuck. What now, pretty boy?" Even her attitude was much like her twin right now, it was almost like she was channeling her. It was annoying though, she did not want to be here with the boy. She really wanted to go swimming though. She looked toward the pool, allowing some emotion seep into those pools of blue, a look of hopefulness before it was cloaked by the usual, cold expression that she normally carried. Well, what in the hell were they going to do? If she had some sort of bobby pin or paperclip, she could try to pick the lock on the cuffs.​

 

[Caspian Styx]

Caspian inwardly groaned. He hoped that the way this girl was acting was merely only a phase. He didn't mind a little fight, but if he had to deal with her like this all of the time, this was going to be a long and painful marriage for him. "I couldn't have gotten engaged to a mute or something?" Of course with his luck that would have been asking for a lot. His elder sisters were wedded to some of the finest gentlemen that Caspian had ever had the chance of meeting. He on the other hand, had a snotty little brat to call his own. Maybe it was punishment for all of the awful things he had done to his sisters? Hopefully not because he didn't want to live a life of torture just because it was supposedly wrong to tease one's siblings. Caspian would be sure to talk to his parents about this later. Caspian finally allowed himself to take a look at the father and mother of his fiancee. The father was tall and intimidating, as to be expected. Caspian had actually met him once before. However, Caspian had yet to meet Kailie's mother, who didn't even care to look at him. He did note that Kailie did happen to get several of her features. They looked pretty similar to one another when one really took the time to compare the two of them.

When Kalif handcuffed Caspian and Kailie together, he threw his head back and groaned. He nodded when Kalif said that he wasn't dumb enough to try and get out of this. The last thing Caspian wanted was a lecture from anyone. Yet, did he really want to put up with this whiny girl for the rest of the day? The girl uttered something to Caspian, which only succeeded in making him roll his eyes. "How about we play the quiet game? Go!" Caspian figured that this wouldn't keep her quiet, but it was worth a try. Especially since he didn't want to listen to her. That would only make him more miserable, no matter how 'cute' she was. Caspian wasn't much of a talker to begin with. He lacked common social skills, especially when it came to girls. So being around a girl like her, definitely didn't help him out. Couldn't he practice with someone who didn't have such a tiny fuse accompanied with a big mouth? ​

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[Caspian Styx]

Caspian inwardly groaned. He hoped that the way this girl was acting was merely only a phase. He didn't mind a little fight, but if he had to deal with her like this all of the time, this was going to be a long and painful marriage for him. "I couldn't have gotten engaged to a mute or something?" Of course with his luck that would have been asking for a lot. His elder sisters were wedded to some of the finest gentlemen that Caspian had ever had the chance of meeting. He on the other hand, had a snotty little brat to call his own. Maybe it was punishment for all of the awful things he had done to his sisters? Hopefully not because he didn't want to live a life of torture just because it was supposedly wrong to tease one's siblings. Caspian would be sure to talk to his parents about this later. Caspian finally allowed himself to take a look at the father and mother of his fiancee. The father was tall and intimidating, as to be expected. Caspian had actually met him once before. However, Caspian had yet to meet Kailie's mother, who didn't even care to look at him. He did note that Kailie did happen to get several of her features. They looked pretty similar to one another when one really took the time to compare the two of them.

When Kalif handcuffed Caspian and Kailie together, he threw his head back and groaned. He nodded when Kalif said that he wasn't dumb enough to try and get out of this. The last thing Caspian wanted was a lecture from anyone. Yet, did he really want to put up with this whiny girl for the rest of the day? The girl uttered something to Caspian, which only succeeded in making him roll his eyes. "How about we play the quiet game? Go!" Caspian figured that this wouldn't keep her quiet, but it was worth a try. Especially since he didn't want to listen to her. That would only make him more miserable, no matter how 'cute' she was. Caspian wasn't much of a talker to begin with. He lacked common social skills, especially when it came to girls. So being around a girl like her, definitely didn't help him out. Couldn't he practice with someone who didn't have such a tiny fuse accompanied with a big mouth? ​

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[Nicolette Styx]

Frankly, Nicolette hoped that her daughter tore this boy apart. There had to be some gene of Nicolette's floating around within her daughter that would allow her to channel her inner beast, or whatever she preferred to call it. However, she didn't want to get Kalif all wound up either. He seemed so focused on making this work that he was losing sight of all the pain he was causing. Kailie might have accepted her fate, but one could see that she was fairly unhappy with what was going on. Alessine on the other hand was going along kicking and screaming the whole way. Just the other day she was brought to meet her future husband and immediately she did whatever she could within her power to try and take that poor boy down. Sadly though, he was quick at learning how to handle her. Nicolette watched the scene before her with narrowed eyes, disliking the idea of her poor baby girl being handcuffed to some idiot. But there was no way she could prevent it from happening. If she spoke out, not only would she be acknowledging her husband, but she would also get him going. Neither sounded all that enjoyable to Nicolette. So she bit her lip and turned away from the scene, unable to say what she really wished she could say and do. Which was thump Kalif upside the head and break the cuffs. Nicolette wondered what it would take for Kalif to get it through his head that this wasn't right. Forcing his children to be with people they didn't want to be with. Didn't he enjoy the idea of free will? Kalif had met her through his own free will, what would he had done if he couldn't have married her because he was being forced to marry someone else.

Nicolette had been so trapped within her own thoughts that she didn't realize that Kalif had picked her up until she felt his broad shoulder dig into her abdomen. Usually he wanted her to keep quiet and leave him be, yet whenever she did so he refused to let her be. So which did he prefer? Silent and scare or loud and annoying? Must have been the later because he had yet to let her be since she had taken on to ignoring him. Back in their cabin, Nicolette sighed when he dropped her. Without skipping a beat, her tiny arms crossed themselves over her chest, making it look as if she were doing nothing more than pouting. Truly though, she was pissed. How could Kalif let this happen and just think that she was going to be okay with it? Nicolette turned to look at her husband before she shook her head and turned over. That way she wouldn't have to look at him either. Maybe now would be the perfect time for her to get a nap in. Nicolette pulled the covers back and crawled underneath. Nicolette pulled the thick covers back up so she was fully covered minus one of her arms and her head. Her back was turned so that she wasn't facing Kalif. Her mind wasn't racing as it usually did either. At the moment all she allowed herself to think of was how much all of this sucked and how sleep would hopefully fix all of this. There was no way she was going to let Kalif read her mind and get some of the juicy details. He didn't deserve anything with the way he had been acting lately. ​

 

[Professor Kalif Styx]

Kalif did not really care much about what his daughters and his wife was thinking about what he was doing. He could do as he wished, and they could do nothing about it without any sort of punishment by him. Not listening to the Head could result in some bad punishments, even death if it was fit. Alessine and Kailie would have to learn that. Nicolette would have to as well. The whole idea was nothing short but something he would use for the safety, but he was unsure if he would need to when it came to the younger children. They were a bit young right now. When he had dropped her, she had crossed her arms and looked like nothing more to do than to pout all day. Kalif shrugged his shoulders, not really caring anymore. She could pout all she wanted, it would not change a damn thing. He waved his hand at the door and it sealed shut. That would work. He then looked back over at Nicolette as she turned over and her back was turned to him. He shrugged his shoulders and rolled those eyes.

The Slytherin Head of House sat down on the bed and he pulled a book from his robes. If Nicolette was not about to talk, she was not leaving the room, and he was not moving either. He slowly turned the page and he continued to read about the dark arts, which was his favorite subject after all. The Dark Lord was in here multiple times, and he did not mind it at all. He would not even attempt to try to read her mind and see what she was thinking. To be honest, he did not really care. Kalif got the peace and quiet he needed and wanted, so he should not be complaining at all. He should be enjoying it, which was what he was doing now. Now it was time to get his thoughts together.​

 

[Kailie Styx]

Kailie looked over at her now future husband and she thought about sneering, since he had to be some sort of half-breed, something to get her out of this but apparently, he was not. She had to be stuck with someone like that. She should have gotten someone that was cold as stone, like her. Someone that was witty and didn't like to feel, like her. And instead, she got this man. He was older too. 'I am going to be a wandmaker when I am older and I have to deal with this? This is slave's treatment!' thought Kailie as she wanted to just collapse on the ground, wondering why this was happening to her. There was bad blood already between them, and she wanted to enjoy this freaking cruise. And now she was going to be miserable. Ugh, life sucks. She thought that being with Chad would have been better than this. When he said that they should play the quiet game, she gave him a look and she muttered, "What are you, five?" Kailie rolled her ice blue eyes and she waited for his little come back and now she was getting hungry and really wanted something. Kailie wondered if there was a nail or something around here so that she could pick the lock of the cuffs. There were some things that she was good at, but she did not have one on her.

The yearning to go swimming has not gone away but she was getting a little hungry too. She looked around the area and noticed that they were getting some stares from the other people, and she tossed them a dirty look. "Sorry about what my dad is doing to you, and to me. The last thing that either of us want to do is get married anytime soon." Kailie looked down at her shoes and she hated the position that she was in. She could barely remember the boy's name. Caspian? She did not want to look at him. Kailie instead insisted with a few soft nudges to go over to a bench and sit down. Once that was done, she put her free hand on her lap and held her head up. She had the worst luck with guys. One guy tried to steal her first kiss without her permission, and now she was treating them all like they were the dirt beneath her feet. Was that fair? Well, she could stand to be nicer. She did apologize, so that was the nicest she was going to be.​

 

[Caspian Styx]

Caspian rolled his eyes. This is why he was so glad he didn't go to Hogwarts. He would have to deal with people like her all of the time, and he didn't think he would do that without beating the snot out of them first. "No but apparently you are since you can't go five minutes without talking. What is it with women and always finding the urge to talk?" His mother and younger sister were the same exact way. They did nothing but jabber on about the stupidest stuff. How they didn't like the outfit they were wearing, or how this color didn't match with this color, and then yelling at Caspian or his father for not understanding why they were so upset. Caspian seriously didn't get why women felt the need to talk about everything and anything under the sun. Caspian liked quiet. Even as a kid he wasn't much of a talker. Of course life would throw him a lemon by having him marry someone that never liked to be quiet. Apparently it was a common story between the girls mother and father. At least they didn't have to be chained up together, though. Caspian would give just about anything to be free right now.

"Yeah well we all have to do things we don't like sometimes. From the sounds of it your dad is forcing you and your sister into this. Why would any parent want to wish this on their own kid, is against me." He knew why his family was doing it. They were afraid of bigger families like Kailie's, and they figured that if they became involved with the bigger families like these, that they might stand more of a chance when it came to surviving in the Wizarding world. They were a bunch of cowards if Caspian was allowed to have an opinion. He didn't like the idea of marrying someone he didn't choose nor did he know on a more personal level before he was roped into this. He could barely stand her now, so how was he expected to marry her later on?​

 

[Nicolette Styx]

"He is such a pain in the ass sometimes." Nicolette shook her head. There was a lot she wanted to ask him actually. Did it ever occur to him that making their children unhappy was going to create dire consequences? Kailie was the one Nicolette had more faith in. Though she was unhappy with the decision, Kailie was easier to deal with when she was upset. She had the ability to be reasonable when she was upset like her father. Alessine on the other hand, had very little self control. When she was angry she acted out on it and Nicolette worried every time that she and her father butt heads. There was another reason she was against this, aside from never wanting to see her babies unhappy, she had a bad feeling about this. Like there was something bad that was going to happen if she let her husband go through with this. As much as she didn't want to talk to her husband because he was making her mad, she knew that sooner or later she needed to say something. Nicolette sat up, and moved her legs so they were hanging over the bed. Her gold eyes falling onto Kalif.

"I know we've argued about this a lot the past couple of weeks, but I really think you should think about this, Kalif! Nicolette was going to try and reason with him. Try to see his point of view then express hers. If it didn't work then she had nothing else to try and she would have failed as a mother trying to keep her babies from having to suffer like they were. "What do you think would have happened to us if your father did the same thing to you that you're doing to them. I wouldn't be here Kalif. Why are you doing this?" Nicolette wanted to know if there was something deeper going on that she didn't know about. Was the family in trouble? Was Kalif being influenced by his dad to go and do this? Nicolette got up off the bed he had dropped her on and eyed him carefully, reading his reactions carefully. Didn't he realize how different his life would be if he was in their shoes? Nicolette didn't want to argue as much as she wanted to try and reason with him. Kalif wasn't the easiest to do this with, but Nicolette knew him well enough to try and give it a shot. ​

 

[Professor Kalif Styx]

Kalif did not need to use his Legilimency to read Nicolette's mind to already know what she was thinking. It was easy to tell, and he knew that he was being a jerk right now with the whole arrangement. It was nothing that could be helped. It was for the protection of his daughters and that was the end of it. Alessine was one of those that seemed to be like her mother, and be upset over something that she had no control over. Kailie on the other hand seemed to care but not as much, or she was hiding it well. Kalif knew that his daughters would not be happy, but they would be safer as long as they did what he said. Nicolette finally spoke, and he glanced over at his wife as she said that he should really think about this. Of course he had. That was why he was doing this. "I have and that was what brought me to this as a conclusion." It was not like he was going to change his mind. It was rare if he ever changed his mind over anything, and his wife should know this by now. No matter how she tried to reason with him, there would be no changing his mind unless the men he picked were highly unsuited for his perfect daughters.

Then Kalif heard her ask if he had thought about if it was arranged for him, and how she would not be there. Kalif looked down at his hands for a moment before he thought of something smart to say, however he remained silent. "I suppose that if father did the same thing, then I wouldn't have to have a pet cat right now. Otherwise, my reasons are justifiable." Kalif remained stiff on now saying them, and he would not see it any other way, even if it could have changed his life if he had been planned the same way. Asparuh did not really care about that unless families were involved, and at the time, there were no other families that could be allied. Kalif did not want to think about anything else, since the reason why he brought Nicolette to this bloody cruise was to make her less pissed with him. So far, it was not working, and he was debating on apparating the four of them out, Caspian included.​

 

[Kailie Styx]

Kailie shot a dirty, cold look when he said that she could not go five minutes without talking. He just did not know her at all, since she could be silent when she wanted to be. She stated, "Because idiots like you don't know when to stop talking either." It was a pretty smart remark, but she shook her head and felt really bad for this mess. Her fingers searched in her hair in case there was a bobby pin somewhere in there so that she could get them free. At last, her fingers found one left in there from the morning. She pulled it out and got to work on the cuffs since she did not know any other way that would not be too risky around muggles. Kailie continued to get to work on the cuffs, and figured that one way or another, she would get the two of them free, once she learned where the lock mechanism was. She just hoped that he would not ask how she learned this skill. Picking locks happened to be a skill of hers that she would take to the grave. Kailie thought that she had it, but she was wrong. Her main focus was on the lock.

The Slytherin momentarily stopped what she was doing to listen to what he had said. He knew about the sister thing too? She sighed and she muttered, "I wish I knew. Dad's been a little weird since my grandfather returned from his long journey." Kailie continued to get to work before she felt something, and with a push, the cuff around her wrist opened. Then she got to work on Caspian's since she was sure that he did not want a cuff around his wrist the entire time. Who would want something like this on their wrist? She looked up at Caspian and she sighed, "Sorry, but I am assuming you want this off. Don't ask where I got this skill from." Kailie looked back at the cuff, and continued to work on it. It would not take as long as it did with hers since she had two hangs to work with now and not just one.​

 

[Caspian Styx]

If Caspian hadn't so sure that he'd drown if he jumped off the ship right now, he would have done it in an attempt to get away from his problems. He turned his eyes to rest on his future bride and raised an eyebrow, as if to point out how she was the one continuing to talk and not him. About ten minutes later or so, Caspian sighed and attempted other crack at Kailie. "I bet you and my little sister will become good friends. You're both complete brats." His little sister was only eight too, so he hoped that it would get under her skin in some way. Kailie actually wasn't too bad, Caspian could have done worse. He just wished that she would talk a little bit less because talking wasn't really his thing. Caspian wasn't good with words and making a decent impression with them. He remember when he first met Kailie's father, he didn't say a single word until spoken to, and even then he was very cautious and quick with his answers. Not to mention, her dad was extremely intimidating. How did the women he was married not fear him at all? In fact she kind of looked like she was challenging him for the most part.

"What are you-" Caspian became startled once he felt Kailie began to shift around and then began to fiddle with the cuffs. She was going to pick the locks was she? Caspian wasn't sure whether or not he should try to stop her. He preferred not to be cuffed, but he didn't want her dad to kill the both of them for not listening either. "Um thanks. What are you going to tell you dad if he finds out though? I don't want you to get into trouble for me." Well she might not have even done this for him, but he still didn't want there to be some trouble if they were to get caught. Caspian rubbed the skin where the cuffs had been, and dully noted the red mark that would likely remain upon his wrist for awhile. "Maybe this whole marriage thing was something that your grandfather wanted? Your dad could be too scared to tell him off? I don't know your family that well though." Caspian knew why his family was doing it, and to him it made sense. But her family seemed like they were almost downgrading. Was there a bigger reason to this than they knew of?​

 

[Nicolette Styx]

As soon as Kalif's comment about him not having to have a pet cat if he had never married her, Nicolette's mouth fell open. A look of surprise, shock, and horror all found a way to blend harmoniously upon her face. "That was mean Kalif!" Nicolette scolded. A part of her was hurt that all he could think about was the damn cat! It was things like that, that often made Nicolette wonder how much Kalif truly loved her, if he even loved her at all. No matter what she did, Nicolette knew she couldn't deny that she loved Kalif with all of her heart. Nicolette turned her body so that her legs were down dangling over the side of the bed. A half smile was pressed onto her lips as she prepared to say probably one of the gushiest things she had ever said to her husband. "I'd be pretty damn miserable if I didn't have you in my Kalif. You're a real pain in the ass ninety percent of the time, but I think that's my favorite part about you. " He might have a harder time expressing his feelings, but Nicolette did not. She loved Kalif, and she wasn't afraid to tell him.

"If you don't quit being so mean, I'm going to force you to cuddle with me." Kalif wasn't too much of a cuddler, but he had his moments where the contact didn't seem to bother him. Right now didn't really seem like one of those moments where he would appreciate having Nicolette all over him though. Not that he had a choice if she decided to go through with it anyways. Nicolette would never likely agree with the whole arranged marriage idea that Kalif had set up for their two daughters, but it wasn't like she could change what already had been decided. Plus for all she knew, her daughters could indeed become very happy with the men they wound up with. Nicolette just wished it was their choice and their choice alone. As she thought about it, if she had never gone to Hogwarts when she had, she never would have met her soul mate. Back then, Kalif was the last person she wanted to be with too. Opinions could always change, so Nicolette would try to get used to the idea that Kalif had set into motion for their kids. It was the only thing she could do for now. ​

 

[Kailie Styx]

Once more, after several moments of silence, the older boy tried to make a crack at her. She looked up with her ice blue eyes and she rolled them. She could have lied and said that she was not listening to him, but lying was not in her forte of expertise since lying was not really allowed in the family. It was actually a law, but it was not a strict law at that. "Why are you still trying to point things out when there could be happy silence right now? You are acting juvenile." Kailie did not really want to continue talking, not with her working on the cuffs, which was so close to having them both free. She was good at picking locks. It was a skill she had acquired over the years of being in a manor with so many locked doors. That was how she found out her parents were former Death Eaters. She recognized the mark from a book but needed to know more. Kailie knew what was behind every non-magical locked door that was in the manor. It was quite fun to sneak around like that. And she rarely called anything fun.

Ignoring Caspian for a few moments, she felt the lock give in and the wrist sprung free. Kailie smirked a bit, and tossed the cuffs to the side. "I'll just tell him that the cuffs sucked. Not the best lie, but I'd rather not be charmed to hold your hand. He has been known to do that. Besides, this whole thing isn't your fault. Why be even more miserable?" The cuffs were a mere foreshadow of what was to come after she graduated. A ball and chain, weighing her down. She was not even sure if she liked boys or not. Why subject her through this? Then again, that mindset might change after a while. It was something she really did not want to go through. But what Caspian said next made her think. What if it was something to do with Asparuh? He didn't arrange this, otherwise, it would have been a lot earlier, and he would have been there instead of her dad. "Well, if my grandfather wanted this, he would have arranged it himself, when I was an infant. But it might have something to do with him. You are on to something." Maybe he wasn't as dumb as he looked, not that he was dumb looking to begin with.​

 

[Professor Kalif Styx]

Kalif looked over at his wife, wondering if she had just came to that conclusion now about him being mean. That would be a little bit delayed if she had just realized that now. He did know that he was talking about her, right? Well, the other cat would not leave him the hell alone. Why he bought that for her, he would never understand. "If you find what I said mean, then I would qualify that white kitten-like figure playing with my quill while I work at my desk rather mean as well." That was the truth, he did find that somewhat aggravating, but it was something that she id. And then she said something that made him pause in everything he was doing, including thinking. It sounded like something she said came from the heart, and he was not entirely sure on how to act upon anything like that. Normally, it was not voiced. It was simply implied. "And I am doing this so that the girls don't end up in misery. The rest of what you said, we don't voice that. It is simply...implied." Kalif felt highly uncomfortable with that, and it barely showed upon his cold features.

She said that if he didn't stop being so mean, she was going to force him to cuddle with her. Right now, he would rather not have Nicolette all over him. He did not feel up to doing anything like that, especially on a boat. "Look, if this doesn't work out and you are right, then I can end the marriages. It wouldn't be too hard of a decision." Accidents always happen. He had a feeling that he was right about this, and he knew that the pure-blood line had to continue. If this worked out perfectly, the rest of the kids would endure the same fate. Nicolette would just have to get used to it.​

---

Fin​