In the months that passed as Imogen and Arcturus became closer, Imogen's brother- Albert- became suspicious about the starstrider's intentions towards his sister. He was very familiar with Imogen's history, how easily she fell in love and how easily her heart was broken. However, this time was different. Imogen had seemed so broken by her ex-fiance's betrayal that everyone in the family was convinced that she would finally give up on chasing after good-looking men with bad intentions. And they had been right, until Arcturus came along.
The strangest thing that Albert couldn't understand about the situation was that Arcturus was nothing like Imogen generally attracted to. He seemed neither male nor female, had strange pigmentation in his hair and skin, and it was difficult to tell exactly what drew him to Imogen. Worst of all, Imogen seemed to be drawn to him like a magnet. No matter where one was, the other would not be far away, and with the guest's extended stay it was becoming an increasingly dangerous situation. Albert was determined that he would not see his sister's heart broken again, particularly by a strange, androgynous looking foreigner. So he devised a plan.
Each time he caught Imogen and Arcturus together, he would find some reason, however miniscule that Imogen would have to leave and Arcturus would have to stay. For instance, today when he came across them, he said, "Imogen, can you go out and look for any lost people before the rain sets in? I think the thunderstorm might catch a few before they make it here."
Imogen looked at her brother quizzically. "I'm a bit busy at the moment. Can't you do it?"
He shook his head. "It's too cold out for me right now. I'd faint," he insisted. "Besides, you're better at it than me." His sister sighed and nodded. Perfect, now to stop the guest from following her. "Oh yeah, Arcturus, the blacksmith wants to talk to you as soon as you can. Says there might be something wrong with the forge, and he wants you to double check." It wasn't a complete lie. The blacksmith did want to talk to Arcturus, but the issue wasn't nearly so urgent as he made it sound.