Given up for You
- AnnaRose Lawrence
- Oct 9
- 9 min read
The sword falls to the ground, and the sound echoes through the lair. "How can it be?" His voice is tight and can barely be heard over the clatter.
She stands tall, her hair like oil hanging at her waist. She’s in a deep red dress he's never seen before, her smile is darker, more sinister and the most genuine he's ever seen. "Oh My Lord, I've always known it was you.” Her laugh fills the lair.
***
Gavin lies in bed, his muscles and joints ache; Celestial Tear gave him a workout last night. He hated that, as Wunderkind, he couldn't catch her. She wreaked havoc on his city, and he feels powerless to stop it.
A knock comes at his door, "Gary! Mama sent me to come get you!" he groans. Of course, his mother would send William to wake him. He buries his head in the pillow. "If you don't let me in, I'm gonna come jump on your bed!"
Why his parents decided they needed a second child fifteen years later was beyond him. Remembering the bruises he couldn’t let his little brother see, he rolls out of bed, stuffs pillows under his blankets and moves to the closet, dressing quickly in his matching family attire. Dread fills him as he remembers what today is.
He hears William burst into his room and starts jumping on the bed, laughing like a seven-year-old already overloaded on sugar, and the day's festivities hadn't even started yet. His brother is so hyper that he hasn't even noticed Gavin isn't in bed. He slowly moves towards the bed and scoops up his brother, "I got you!"
"Hey!" William laughs, and Gavin tosses him into the pile of pillows and blankets. They playfully roughhouse for a few minutes, "You win! You win!" William yells, and Gavin helps him stand near the bed.
"Let me take a look at you." Gavin adjusts William's outfit, “You look like a lord, Lord William." Gavin ruffles his hair. "Father will be proud of you."
The boys leave Gavin’s quarters and find their mother in the dining room, instructing the staff. She pauses, giving William a welcoming smile, but there is little warmth in her eyes for Gavin, "Well, at least you came down presentable. Nothing can go wrong today-"
Gavin hides his grimace with a softer voice, “Mother, I know. I will fulfill my duty." For a brief moment, he sees her sympathetic smile, which disappears quickly.
The sound of the wheels of their father's chair silences them all. Seeing his father bound to a chair, his guilt ate at him. Every day, he is reminded: if he’d been faster, stronger, bolder, he would not have failed. His father would be able to look him in the eyes.
Both sons wait for their father to take his place at the head of the table. His father rolls in front of them and looks them up and down. "You both have done well. Today is very important for our family." His firm gaze lands on Gavin, "Today is the salvation of our family. It symbolizes reclaiming our place as one of the great houses in this city!" He rolls to his place, and everyone takes their seat.
His mother takes his father's hand. "It took a great deal of promises to secure this agreement. Nothing can go wrong today. We will host a grand gala to announce the engment-."
“I get to attend this one, don't I, Father?" Williams interrupts eagerly, not fully grasping the weight of this day, but his father smiles at his young son, something he never did for his oldest.
"You do, as long as you behave well.' William beams at his father. Seeing the bond between his father and brother, Gavin wonders, has he ever looked at his father like that?
The family eats with reminders of what today holds and some polite conversation. As the staff begins to clean and the family prepares to meet their important guests. Gavin, despite his exhaustion and pain, helps his mother move and rearrange the meeting room.
Soon it's midmorning, and word rushes through the house, "The Duke is here." Gavin tries to calm his beating heart. William stands next to him, looking at the seven-year-old boy reminds him, why he was doing this. This marriage would bring his family back to their standing; his brother would have his choice of wife or freedom.
He feels his heart slow, just in time, his parents walk in with the Duke, Duchess and their daughter, "And now my sons, this young Lord is William."
William steps forward and bows politely, "Mother, Father, Ladies, Lord."
"Join your governess in the garden, son.'' His mother kneels to look him in the eye, and maybe after lunch, you and your brother can impress our guests with your playing." William nods and rushes out of the garden.
"And this is Gavin, my oldest, and he is eager to meet your daughter, Lady Raven.” Lady Raven steps forward, and Gavin gets a good look at her. Her black hair is up in a tight knot; she wears a dress that matches her mother's, auburn orange, a sharp contrast to the bright blue of his outfit. Is that a sign of what is to come?
"Lady Raven, it is a privilege to have you here today." he takes her hand and kisses it.
"Thank you for hosting us today." Her smile is tight, maybe like him, she dreaded this day too.
"I know our parents have taken care of everything and our engagement will begin today, but I had this made for you." He hands her a small box.
She slowly opens the box, 'Oh! My! Mother, look at this!" Lady Raven and her mother look at the ring, which he has had his friend, who is both a gem maker and capable of wielding magic, make a swirling stone of both their family colours and set it in a gold band. "It's beautiful, thank you, Lorbnd Gavin. I regret I have no gift for you."
Gavin tries to hide his shock; it wasn't customary for a bride to bring gifts for the groom. Especially when his family was arguably lower than hers, since his father's accident.
Her father seems equally as shocked by her statement and shoots her a look. Maybe he and Lady Raven had more in common than he thought. "Thank you, Lord Gavin, your gift is most generous. I'm sure the celebration will be grand tonight." The man almost looks proud of him; could he and his father-in-law have more in common than he does with his own father?
"We are looking forward to hosting the Grand Gala to celebrate. First, the staff has prepared lunch." His mother leads them to the dining room, and the next few hours are full of polite conversation, and Gavin has to admit, Lady Raven is lovely, both in appearance and mind. He could see them being very good friends, maybe finding a true love match. After sharing talents and being impressed by Lady Raven's poetic skills, the families parted ways to get ready for the gala.
At the gala, his father's voice echoed through the hall, "As many of you know, for years my wife and I opened our galas with the first dance. After my accident, my eldest son took my place. Tonight, I pass the tradition on to my son and his betrothed, Lady Raven, Daughter of the duke." The crowd cheers.
Gavin hears comments that the Lord has got his status back. Gavin ignored them and focused on Lady Raven. "You are a lovely dancer, my lady."
She blushes," Well, I'd hope so. My mother's only has had me in lessons since I could walk." She giggles, and oh, did Gavin love the sound; he wanted to hear it all the time. They danced the night away, and he couldn't have complained if he tried.
***
Celestial Tear raced through the city, leaping from building to building with such ease that the villagers thought she could fly. Wonderkind follows her from below; she always finds it funny that he acts like a traditional knight. In fairness, his magical sword did lend to that. "Celestial! Can't we put an end to this? He calls up to her.
"Ha! And rot in prison for the rest of my days? No, thank you! I will continue to uproot the rich in this land and ruin the lives of those whom they believe are beneath them.” She sneers.
How could he claim to be the hero when he only helped the rich? She’s a hero among the villagers. As much as she enjoys the battle of wits, she has to wrap this up quickly; she has a wedding to attend tomorrow.
"You harm the villagers by harming their landowners!" He calls out.
That is the last straw. She prepares a small blast and hits one of the small upscale boutiques. She loves the rush of the magic leaving her hand. The boutique makes a small explosion, the blast giving her just enough time to escape.
The next morning dawns bright and clear, “What a glorious day to get married.” Raven hums as she and her maids get ready for the day.
"Won't Lord Gavin be surprised tonight when he sees how long your hair is?" One of the girls chuckles as she pins it up with pearl bead pins.
"I suppose he might." Ravens face tings pink.
The wedding is soulless, but as romantic as a marriage between strangers can be. They say their vows, drink bitter wine from a shared cup, and as the day went on, dealt with comments about their wedding night from upperclassmen who were barely more than strangers.
She had to admit seeing her father-in-law in that chair did make her feel a bit guilty, but then he hadn't changed after that; her marriage to his son had proved it. But maybe Gavin was different. Would he help her change the tides? Would he see the lower classes differently? Would he help her cause?
That night in the candlelight of their quarters, Gavin slowly pulls the pins out of her hair, and it cascades down her back, "Beautiful." His voice catches in his throat.
She slowly and somewhat clumsily undoes his shirt. She stops. He has bruises, bruises that would match the kind Wonderkind should have? Had she been fighting him for the last five years?
She steps back. He looks at her and raises an eyebrow, "What's wro-" he looks down.
"Oh, those." He pulls the shirt back around himself. "Tavern brawl from the night out with the boys." He shrugs.
How often had he, like her, gotten too comfortable lying? What kind of marriage would that be?
Over the next few months of their marriage, Raven realizes her hope had been ill-placed. Gavin proved far worse than her father; he insists on being called Lord by everyone, even her. He spoke down to her, as if she isn’t the daughter of a duke. It is to her benefit that he is her rival, for he could not demand answers for her disappearances without revealing his. What made matters worse for her is that he seemed determined to have her fall in love with him.
He did everything but listen to her. When she brings up her ideas for sponsoring schools for girls or providing aid for the food programs in the village, he scoffs, "Wife, we have better use of our funds than throwing it away for those who choose to live in squalor.” Oh, that made her blood boil. How dare he speak to her or anyone else in such a way?
She plays his dotting wife during the day, and at night she targets his favourite taverns, shops and anything else she can think of. After a year, she decides it's time to lay the trap.
***
Wunderkind stares at the map Celestial Tear dropped. Does she want a truce? Is it on purpose? Regardless, if it meant defeating her in any way, it would be worth the risk.
A few days later, he stands at the door of the lair. He slowly enters, and its halls are too quiet, like she’s expecting him. He rounds the corner and sees her. Celestial Tear, but she's not in her costume. His sword clatters to the ground, "No! It can't be.”
Her laugh echoes through to the lair," Oh my dear Wonderkind, shocked to learn your little wife is the villain you've been fighting for years? Shocked to learn the woman who has spent the last year begging you to change and not focus on the rich is the villain you can't stop?" Her words stung like venom.
He'd never feared powers before. "You know, I might have loved you, given this up for you. " She let the ring he bought her fall and roll to his feet, as if it meant nothing. "But you see, you will always be at the beck and call of the rich, and I will always stand for the people."
He watches her load up a blast, "Don't worry, I won't kill you, but when you wake up, you won't remember your sword, Wonderkind, or Celestial Tear. You'll just be Lord Gavin, married to Lady Raven. The rest is up to you."
"Wait! Wait!” The blast is all-consuming, and he has to shut his eyes.
When he opens them again, he and Lady Raven are in their shared bed, the sun warming the room. He shakes her awake., "Raven, I just had the strangest dream."
She rolls over and allows him to pull her close, running her hands through his hair. His heart rate slows, “Tell me everything, husband.” Her voice is like honey, and it chases away the lingering unease from the dream. He melts around her, and he can't help but notice her smile and eyes, brighter than they have in months. Maybe love was in the air after all.

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