Chapter 39:

It wasn't long before the waitress came back over to the edge of our table. She seemed to blanch slightly at the sight of the large dagger that now decorated the table top. Although, to her credit, she slid our drinks across the table to us before setting a rather large plate of various slices of meat on the edge of the table, where Xavier slid it over, closer to Bane, who promptly took a large piece of it. Nova was shifting her weight from foot to foot, obviously wanting to join, but it seemed like she couldn't quite make up her mind as to where to go. Bane had taken up the entire spot in front of me, and the only open space was in front of Xavier, but apparently, that was good enough for her. She carefully climbed across his shoulders before jumping down onto the table in front of him. She took a piece of the meat for herself before pressing back as close to Xavier as she could get without being in his lap. 

My father took a drink of his ale before looking between the two dragons for a moment, but I took that opportunity to watch Xavier. He took up his short glass, looking into the amber liquid for a moment before taking a sip. His face didn't give me a single clue as to what that liquid was like. No, he just simply remained as stone-faced as ever. Well, that wasn't helpful. 

I quickly decided that if I were going to pick up drinking alcohol, now would be a good time, considering that if my father opened his mouth again, I might just leap over this table and strangle him myself. Slowly, I took up the short glass look at the amber liquid before taking a tentative sip. I almost wanted to cough as it hit my throat and burned going down, but I held it in. The last thing I wanted to do was give my father any indication that I was weak. Instead, I swallowed it down. How the hell did he drink that with a straight face? I've had medicine that tasted better than that. Although as it hit my stomach, a pleasant warm sensation traveled through my body, and I looked back down at the glass in question. There was so little of it compared to the whole tankard of ale my father ordered, and was taking far heartier drinks from. 

Nova's giggle rang through my mind, and I glanced down at her. 'Do yourself a favor, Ari, and don't drink that fast. Xavier specifically ordered something that will help dull your nerves a bit and allow you to tolerate this whole interaction a little easier, but with that said, it's really strong. Which is why you saw even Xavier sip at it.' Okay, and now I was a little wary of the amber liquid. Would it really do that, though? If so, then I can absolutely understand why people would enjoy this stuff, even if it tastes like shit. 

"Well, now that we're all situated. Why don't we get down to business?" My father said, seeming to gather his wits a little before pulling out a piece of paper and setting it on the table. "I was made aware of your unique familiar. She's one of the first seven, correct?" He asked, and Bane growled loudly, fixing that golden gaze entirely on my father now as he stalked a little closer to him at the mention of his mate. My father scrambled to move his hands off the table and away from the now pissed-off dragon. Even I knew that if he wanted to keep his hands, that wasn't the angle he wanted to take with this conversation, but at the same time, Bane was probably the lesser of the two evils sitting at this table.

 "She is. Why do you care?" I asked, not bothering in the slightest to lighten my tone for the bastard. 

"Well, as you know, certain familiars can get you better standings in Celestia, and it just so happens that one of the high advisors to the throne is looking for a suitable wife." The second those words came out of his mouth, I felt the shift in the air as Xavier slowly, deliberately set his glass down onto the table, as Nova visibly shrank back further, as if thinking that my father would even attempt to grab her with the two of them here. This time, though, it wasn't just tension radiating off Xavier. I felt every hair on my body stand on end as his power charged the air around us in his silent fury. I glanced up at him, a little worried for my own safety right now, but his eyes were locked onto my father with the promise of nothing but pure death gleaming in them. 

"I... I uh..." My father stumbled over his words as he looked at Xavier before swallowing hard and looking back at me, determination shining in his blue eyes. "I acquired a marriage contract for you with said advisor, and I came to collect you." 

"You came to collect me?" I questioned, not actually believing that he had just said that. Honestly, I was equally surprised that Xavier hadn't just leaped over this table and murdered the man, but the thing that caught me off guard was the shock of energy I felt over my skin, stemming from the hand resting against my arm. I was stunned as the feeling coursed through my body. It didn't hurt or anything like that. It just seemed to send a pleasant tingle across my skin, causing goosebumps to rise across my arm before the feeling dispersed. 

My father, however, didn't seem to be able to read the seriously pissed-off warrior beside me as he just kept on digging his own grave. Although at this point, I was starting to debate letting Xavier take him out, hell, I'd even show him the best place to hide a body around here. 

"Yes, all the paperwork is already signed, and your rooms are set up in the palace."

I just gave him a cold smile as I shook my head. "I'm not some fucking pet that you can just collect.  I'm a person, and I'd be dead before I went anywhere with you. Also, I'm damn well not going to marry someone that I've never even met before and have no intentions of ever meeting." I managed to get out between gritted teeth, saying my peace before sitting back and looking up at Xavier. I was done with this man and needed him to take over at this point. I knew I wasn't capable of speaking with him anymore without possibly throttling him. 

 I caught Xavier's gaze before giving him a slight nod and taking up my glass as a slow grin spread across those perfect, full lips. This time, I didn't care about the taste. I took a healthy drink of the amber liquid, savoring the burn as I relaxed back, and Nova was right, it really did dull the pain of his words. 

The simple fact that the only reason my father even bothered to come back for me wasn't to say hi, yeah, I've been alive the last fifteen years. No, it was to make a quick buck off of me by attempting to sell me off to the highest fucking bidder. It was sickening, and like hell if it was going to happen. 

Xavier's grin turned ice cold as his gaze shifted over to my father, and I couldn't help but to grin because I knew he was about to cut into this man. Whether it be with his sharp tongue or his knife was to be determined, but at this point, I would accept either. 

"I don't know how much money you just wasted, but I dare you to try to collect her. You should be glad. I've already warned you, most people don't get that luxury, and if you lift so much as a finger in her direction, I'll remove it. Permanently. On top of that, there's the little fact that you obviously didn't do your reasearch considering that she is drafted into the Alliance Academy as a student. If you actually already signed a contract, then you're more of an idiot than I originally thought, considering that as a drafted student or soldier, she has every right to deny any contract drawn without her direct consent and signature."

"I wasn't asking for consent; in fact, I still don't know why you think you can even be part of this conversation. It's already been signed and put into effect. There's only one thing left to do." My father shot back, crossing his arms over his chest as he glared back at Xavier, obviously thinking he had already won this little debate, but from the look on Xavier's face, I knew that he was about to burst his little bubble. 

"Funny enough, as a commissioned officer of the Alliance forces, I have every right to protect a student that is currently under my watch by any means necessary. I'll dumb it down a little for you, since you're having trouble grasping concepts rightnow. Essentially, I can step in any way I please to protect someone under my watch. If that means stepping into a conversation that you have no legal rights in even having with her, then that's exactly what I'll do. Now, she already said no, so either walk away, or, well, let's just say that testing your other option won't be good for your health." Xavier responded, simply picking his glass back up as he took another sip of his drink. 

My father, on the other hand, now thoroughly pissed off, slammed his hands down onto the table as he shoved his chair back, but Bane took that as a threat and sank his razor-sharp teeth straight into his arm. He started to pull back, trying to pull away from the dragon, when Xavier tisked at him. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. Well, unless you enjoy the idea of losing a hand that is." 

My father stopped entirely, seething as he turned his glare back to Xavier. "Call the thing off." 

Xavier just laughed at him as Bane growled low, sinking his teeth in further. "I don't control him. You pissed him off all on your own. Although similar to me, he tends to only take payment in blood. I will tell you that he'd probably let go if you back away and stop threatening his mate, but I can't guarantee that he'll actually let go. You should be glad that he decided to just bite you rather than roast your sorry excuse for an existence." Xavier told him, sitting back once more as he finished his drink. My father slowly backed away from the table as Bane let out another low growl, but let go as he roared another warning at the man, as he followed along the edge of the table as he walked away. 

I finally took a breath as the door closed behind him, and Xavier turned to me. "Take another good drink, Ari, don't let that prick get to you like this. He's just an asshole with nothing to stand on. Just hold it together for a little while longer, and I'll get you out of here." He whispered to me, obviously seeing the whole slurry of emotions running amok in my mind at the moment, but I listened to him. Taking the rest of the amber liquid in one healthy drink before taking another deep breath. The alcohol actually did help a little, numbing the pain just enough that I didn't burst out into tears in the middle of the tavern.

Xavier placed a few gold coins on the table, more than enough to cover the bill, collected his dagger, and sheathed it at his thigh before holding a hand out to me. I happily took it, letting him pull me to my feet as Nova jumped up onto my shoulders and Bane climbed up onto Xavier. 

Now I definitely understood why Nova had told me to take it easy with that drink, because as I stood up, my vision swam slightly, and I leaned in against Xavier for a moment until it steadied out. I took his hand as he led me out of the tavern and back towards where we had entered the village.