#third cousin

"Hm, Althie, dear, did you hear about that wretched argument between Lady Madeline and her husband?" An obnoxiously haughty voice, belonging to your older brother Lerofrey, broke the wonderful silence of the table. Snorting with mildly sadistic amusement, Althie, your other equally annoying brother, responds quite eagerly to Lero covering his mouth whilst speaking. "Oh yes, it was hard to ignore the tension between them at the last ball." The two snicker as though sharing a joke. "Who hasn't?" Another voice chimes in, belonging to your older sister, Parthenia, also known as Pattie. "Everyone knew it was coming, their marriage is unstable and she was shamelessly escorting her lover around." Pattie stabs a slice of the steak on her plate and gracefully forks it into her mouth.

"Quite right, it was extremely obvious." Emris, another one of your siblings though much closer in age to you, chimes in. Before the conversation could descend into endless gossip, your mother interrupted. "Don't gossip at the table, children." "Yes, mother." Multiple voices responded, their various tones mixing together in an obedient amalgamation. You watch as this occurs, observing their reactions and their secret glanced which clearly means they'll continue discussing this after dinner. Not that you'll be involved, heaven knows they want nothing to do with you.

As dinner comes to a close, Demetri reaches for his bejewelled chalice and holds it up to you, confused you turn to face him and you gesture at the glass. He says nothing and simply makes eye contact with you, then moves the cup around in a somewhat insistent motion. Begrudgingly you grab the glass, pulling it from his hand and maintaining eye contact. Unsatisfied, Demetri sighs and points a gloved finger at the chalice. You sigh, frustrated, and break your silence. "What?" Your sharp tone cause the young man to pout and unceremoniously narrow his dark gaze. You vaguely register a distant snicker at your expense.

This continues for a few minutes until Demetri gives in and points to the bottle of wine close to you. Your shoulders drop as the situation is clarified and your frown melts into a neutral expression as you mouth forms a simple 'Oh' and you pour more wine into the man's glass. Your cousin snatches the glass from you once you've filled it and then turns back to his meal. Scoffing, you mutter a halfhearted lament about Demetri being ungrateful, and he responds by stomping your toes with the heel of his favorite leather pumps.

"Ow, what the hell?! That hurt." You grumble, snapping at him and his spoiled behavior. "Y/N! Language!" Your mother's stern voice chastises you, causing your head to whip away from Demetri towards her. You wince at the obvious disappointment in her beautiful eyes. "Sorry, Mother…" You mutter, briefly glancing at the other faces at the table, noticing similar emotions or something akin to disgust. "You should know better by now." She continues. It hurts, as always, it hurts even more when you catch the look in Medora's vibrant gaze. "Yes, Y/n, you should." Medora chimes in. Being the oldest in your family, gaining his approval would ensure that your other siblings begin to tolerate you.

Sadly, he's a hard man to impress, just like your mother. Looking away you can do nothing but mutter another apology and sink quietly in your seat. Demetri interrupts your embarrassment by tugging at your sleeve, sighing as you turn your head signaling you're paying attention. Running down your wrist, he grabs your fist and unfolds it, then places a small object in your hand. Once he pulls his hand back, you find that he has given you one of his favorite sweets. A small smile inches into your face at the gesture, he will always have your back, even if the others don't.