Oh My, I Messed Up the Story

Chapter 154: Dedication

Katie had already sent off letters to Edmund du Pont and Marcy Grandin, the other proposed members of the delegation, and expected to hear back within the next few days. Using carrier pigeons to get messages to the post office at the base of the mountain sped up communication.

One of the refugees who fled to Rowenhilde had learned how to train them before moving back here. His skill had been indispensable.

In the meantime, Jae would be staying at the de Kanta home so Al could inform him fully about the mission and what he would be expected to do. Abby hardly saw Blaise at all because he preferred tagging along with the men than with Katie.

She missed him already when he hadn't even left yet. Once her head had cleared from the euphoria of being reunited with her sister she found herself realizing that not talking to him had made a noticeable difference in her day.

How strange.

Her eyes sought him out at the dinner table or in the evenings after Adam had gone to bed and they all sat around chatting and playing board games. He hadn't been much of a talker to begin with but now he was practically silent.

It would have been funny watching him try to play Sorry without actually speaking if it wasn't so sad. Abby was actually starting to worry about him.

She finally confronted the taciturn Warrior a day later. "What's up with you? Are you okay or are you homesick or something? Can you say something to me?"

A brief flicker of surprise crossed his face. "I thought you wanted to spend time with your sister without interference. Forgive me. What would you like me to say?"

How about something honest? Abby didn't have a clue what Blaise had been thinking the entire time they had been here. But she couldn't deny that she hadn't expected such consideration from him, which was stupid because it was exactly the sort of thing he would do.

In her distraction she had been a bad friend. He would be leaving as soon as they got a positive response from Edmund and Marcy and then who knew when she would see him again. She needed to try and mend their fractured relationship before he was gone.

"I'm sorry for being so distracted," Abby blurted. "I should have been more considerate of you. Please tell me what you've been thinking about the past few days."

Blaise smiled at her and it softened the harsh lines of his face considerably. Her stomach flip-flopped at the sight. Had he ever smiled at her like this before? "I understand. I have been fairly distracted as well working with Alamar on the military plan."

He didn't respond to the second half of her statement for over a minute and she was going crazy as she waited. What was it? What was he going to say that he had been bottling up for days now?

"I think I believe your story," he said finally. "You and your sister are very lucky to have each other again. I am also quite impressed with how much development she and her husband have inspired in this region. The old Kanta clan was known for being backward and set in their ways."

That was it? Typical Blaise. He could think deeply about the tiniest thing and then later refuse to elaborate on it until it was least expected.

Abby was willing to bet there was a lot more to what he had been mulling over than that but wasn't likely to get it out of him without asking specific questions. Oh well. She would take what she could get.

"I think that's mostly Katie's doing. Al wanted her to be able to recreate as much from our home as possible and lets her do her thing using his influence," she said lightly. "He really loves her."

To her great surprise, Blaise muffled a laugh. "Yes, he gave off that impression. Tell medid he truly trick your sister into marrying him?"

This was only the second time she had ever heard him laugh. He found the strangest things funny, honestly. Adopting a wildcat and manipulating someone into marriage weren't all that amusing.

"Yes. Katie didn't want to get married at all but he waited until she was backed into a corner with an even worse candidate to publicly announce that they were already engaged. She couldn't exactly refute without causing a riot because he was a prince. How did you know?"

"It was more implied than anything. And after hearing him grumble the entire ride to and from the other Kanta settlement about how it was cutting in on his time with her it became clear that he was rather dependent on his wife," Blaise said nonchalantly.

Rather dependent was a mild way of putting it. Based on the novel, Katie was the very air Al breathed.

It was weird that Abby had spent so much time inside his head when she had only known him for a few days. She still wasn't entirely sure what to think of her brother-in-law. He could be funny and he obviously doted on his family so those were points in his favor.

But it was difficult thinking of him as a real person rather than a book character since she knew so much about his inner thoughts and backstory. She hoped she would get used to it and form a more solid opinion as time went by.

"He had a very lonely childhood," Abby said quietly. "Katie was the first friend he ever had."

That, and the fact that Katie was now very happily married, prevented her from being angry with him for causing her sister so much trouble. She didn't dislike him but she didn't like him yet either.

Blaise nodded thoughtfully. "That would explain it. Firsts tend to stick with people."

She nearly snorted. The first person she saw in this world was a middle-aged man who was married with a child not much younger than she was. Florian and his family had been very kind (with the exception of Hugo and his bratty commentary) but Abby didn't exactly miss them.

Even the name of the boy who had stolen her first kiss was long forgotten since it had happened in middle school. Firsts weren't that big of a deal to her.

"I don't care about things like that."

The ghost of a smile appeared on his face. "Of course not. You are too focused on the future to be stuck in the past."

That wasn't entirely true. She had been stuck in the past horribly each time someone she loved died. Moving on had been difficult after her parents passed but impossible after Katie did. She moved through life meaninglessly and absolutely drowned in the past, trying to cling to the tiny pieces of proof that her sister had existed so she would feel less alone.

Blaise should know this since he was present for that part of the conversation of how she got here. But she supposed ever since they had been acquainted she had been her usual slightly obsessive goal-oriented self.

"Is that a bad thing?" Abby dared to ask.

"No. It is one of the things I admire about you. Not many people have such dedication," he said seriously.