Brotherly Love

[Incandesa]

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.

[Marjorie]

Arcturus was about to volunteer to go out with Imogen, but her brother interrupted. He paused, and would clearly have preferred to go with the young woman, but if there was some issue with the forge, it could effect the lifeblood of the whole village. He nodded to Albert, and then looked rahter longingly at Imogen. It was physically painful for him to be parted from her.

"Of... course," he said distractedly. He glanced back at Imogen as she went, and then slowly moved out of the inn toward the blacksmith's forge.

The issue there... had not been major, neither had it been an emergency. Neither had it really required much of his help, just his superior strength - it would have taken three men more time to move the heavy stone slab back into place and the blacksmith hadn't even been expecting him today.

This was not the first time that Albert had sabotaged him. Arcturus wanted to go strait to Imogen, but he needed to deal with her brother. He'd never be aloud to get close to Imogen if he didn't win over her brother. He knew the young man was motivated by a protective love for his sister - and as his resonance, he was glad she had others who would protect her as well.

"Albert," Arcturus said gently, catching him outside where he was dumping the trash, "I like to think of myself as an honest person, and I don't like games. If you've some issue with me I would like to have it out in the open."

He was mad -- he was angry that Albert was getting between himself and Imogen, but he he understood why. His anger didn't come from a logical place though, it came from a primal place. He struggled to control it.

[Incandesa]

Albert was frankly surprised at how strongly Arcturus was reacting, but he refused to give ground. The other man might have been much larger than he was, but Albert was doing this on principle. He faced Arcturus, squared his shoulders and crossed his arms, looking as intimidating as he could manage, which was fairly well for a man his size.

"Fine," he said, "I don't trust you with Imogen." That was an understatement. He didn't trust any man with Imogen, even his best friends weren't allowed to come near her at this point. "I don't want you two hanging around each other anymore. You'll just hurt her again when you leave." A man like Arcturus certainly didn't plan on staying in their little village forever if he wanted to make a living, and when that happened, his sister would be absolutely devastated. It was simply better to cut the budding relationship now rather than it was in full bloom.

"Look, I don't care if you have to stick around the area for a while, but if you really care about my sister, you'll stay away from her. Got it?" There was a fire burning in his eyes. Yes, he would stop this from happening if it killed him.

[Marjorie]

Intimidating... he might have been intimidating to others, but if he'd wanted to Arcturus could have wiped the floor with Albert - or simply broken his neck. Neither were his intention however. He didn't react to the threatening movement at all. "You may not believe me, but I would never harm your sister. Even if it meant walking away and never coming back." He paused, breathed in and out slowly. The very idea physically pained him and he made no attempt to hide it.

"If you really care about your sister, you would wish for her happiness," it was said simply, not as an accusation, but as an honest observation. "weather or not it is ever with me - you shouldn't wish for her always to be alone." 

[Incandesa]

Albert knew it wasn't fair to Imogen, to keep her from her chance at love at last, but the fact was she was terrible at choosing men for herself. She needed time away from men, all men in Albert's opinion, who weren't family. Maybe then she could clear her head a bit and start seeing a bad apple for what it was. Albert had nothing against Arcturus personally, in fact in some ways he seemed fair nice, but this was what was best for Imogen.

"The only reason she's as fragile as she is now is because she kept bouncing around from man to man, giving them her heart," Imogen's brother snarled. "Frankly, she would've been better off if she hadn't met any of them. So what make you any different from them?"

[Marjorie]

Imogen didn't understand what made him different - her brother would never understand. "I can see there is no evidence I could offer to change your mind," he said calmly, gently, almost like an apology for not being able to properly explain.

"The only evidence I can give is my consistent presence and dedication." It was the only evidence he could offer either of them. "You may never think me worthy," but he didn't care about Albert's opinion, "but it is not your permission I require."

Arcturus looked the boy directly in the eyes. "I love Imogen, and I am not leaving." His tone took on the sound of a vow, "You cannot make me." She could, but not her brother.

[Incandesa]

Albert could see the conviction in Arcturus' eyes. Unfortunately, he had seen the same conviction in Imogen's ex-fiance, Peter, and that had ended horribly. Whatever Arcturus said he wanted now could always change in the future and Albert wasn't about to let history repeat itself. He narrowed his eyes. "Oh sure I can. Imogen could never love a man her family hates. All I have to do is say you're not good for her and she'll dump you by the wayside faster than a rotten fish," he said.

This was true to an extent. In the past, Imogen had willfully ignored her family's opinions on the men she had been with, but her heart had been broken so many times that she had to realize her family was a better judge of character than she was. If they didn't approve, neither could she. "If you want her, you'll have to impress me, and I'm not nearly as easy to impress as Imogen."

[Marjorie]

Arcturus shook his head, disapproval and disappointment evident in his expression. "All good things in life come with risks," he said, "You would rather her be alone forever than ever risk finding happiness. That's selfishness, not love. Protective, maybe, but it won't heal her either... just leave her forever with a different kind of wound."

He'd heard enough now though - he hadn't ever needed to win over Albert anyway. He wasn't the goal he worked toward, and with nothing more to say on the matter he left. He'd simply have to work around Albert, it seemed.

[Incandesa]

Albert felt his teeth grit. How dare this stranger tell him what was and wasn't love? "You want to keep walking into a brink wall? Fine. Do whatever you want. Just don't expect me to be happy about it," he grumbled. Whatever Arcturus did or thought he could do wouldn't amount to anything in the end. Albert would make sure to have a long talk with Imogen.