Riannon, Daughter of a Duke

[Sky]

A/N: This is an in-progress fic about Riannon, Sky's mother. It takes place when she is sixteen and on the verge of falling in love

Prologue

My future looms before me only sixty feet away and because of it, in mere minutes my life will change forever. I will change forever.

The music is playing now. That is my cue; I must go. Dear god . . . may the heavens help me.

Chapter One: Allure
(One Year Earlier)

"Didn't I tell you he was handsome, Sophie?" Riannon giggled behind her fan as she peered around the corner into the spacious study where her brother's new tutor was leaning against the mahogany desk, his back turned to the door.

"Well, yes, but -" her friend began skeptically as she tilted her head to observe the man in question - a man who clearly was not aware that he was the topic of discussion for two sixteen year old future duchesses.

"But what?" Riannon interjected in a harsh whisper, already feeling her temper beginning to flare up. "Is there something morbidly wrong with him that I don't see?"

"Oh, stop being so dramatic," Sophie sniffed delicately as she lightly patted her golden curls. "He is very handsome, at least from what I can see of him. It's just that he is . . . a tutor. That means, he is below us, Ria. You know that. So why bother with him," at this, Sophie wrinkled her nose as though she had smelled a foul odor, "when we could have any gentlemen we wanted fawn over us at the snap of a finger?"

Riannon sighed as she cast her gaze downward at her voluminous, well tailored white summer dress and lace gloved hands. Sophie was right. They were nobles and as such, they were expected to fraternize with other nobles and only other nobles. People like tutors had no place in her world, so far down on the social ladder were they. And yet, something about this particular one intrigued her and made her inexplicably drawn to her. It was almost as though there was some imaginary string tied around her wrist that connected her to him. Indeed, in the three days since he had arrived at Hawthorne, her family's residence, she could not for the life of her stop thinking about him though she had not spoken to him even once. But she, via eavesdropping on her brother's lessons, had heard him speak. And what a marvelous, deep, rolling voice he had. When he spoke, shivers would run up and down her spine and her heart would race and all she would want to do would be to close her eyes and revel in that glorious sound-

"Riannon!"

Riannon groaned inwardly as she was pulled out of her daydream by Sophie's overly sugar-coated chirp. Make no mistake, she loved Sophie dearly, they were lifelong friends, having known each other practically since birth, but as of late, her once vivacious, good-natured friend had transformed into a hoighty-toighty, self-righteous, sanctimonious-

Quickly cutting off her train of thoughts, Riannon pasted on a smile as she turned her head to look over her shoulder at her friend who was standing with her hands clasped demurely, clearly in wait of a response. "Yes?"

"You didn't answer my question, dear," Sophie reprimanded with a pout that men and women alike found irresistible.

Knowing that Sophie was genuinely hurt, Riannon approached her friend and then took her hands into her own as she replied with large, puppy-dog eyes, "I'm sorry, Fifi; forgive me?"

Casting her gaze to the left, Sophie pursed her lips before she finally relented and said, "I suppose . . . but you really should not let your mind wander like that. It simply does not reflect well on you when one has to shout your name several times to get your attention; but kiss, kiss. You know I only tell you these things for your own good. But in any event, back to what I was going to say. It is after all of great importance."

"Yes?" Riannon prodded as she fought to keep herself from glancing over her shoulder back into the study. Back at him.

"It is now exactly nine o'clock in the morning."

"And?" Riannon responded absently.

"And?" Sophie exclaimed in exasperation. On the verge of launching into a tirade, she paused and then giggled, her blue eyes sparkling. Swatting her friend's wrist, she said lightly, "Oh, you; how you enjoy teasing me! As though you didn't know what nine o'clock means; it's time for our walk in the park, silly!"

"Oh . . . of course," Riannon said, struggling to mask her disappointment. Hoping that Sophie would not catch on to her reluctance to leave the area surrounding the study, Riannon stroked her long red locks as she continued with false cheer, "Why don't you go ahead and have the carriage brought round; I promise I will join you shortly, I just have to find a parasol that will match this dress." Riannon held her breath as she waited with dread for Sophie to call her out on her lie, to tell her that it was disgusting the way she was stalling for more time to get another glimpse of that mere tutor, but to her great relief, her friend only nodded in agreement.

"Take your time," Sophie replied seriously. Holding her head high, she continued in a knowing tone of voice, as she looked down her nose at Riannon, "We are going to Emory Park - not just to your personal gardens; as far as we are concerned, this is a social engagement. We are going out to see and to be seen, meaning that we must look our absolute finest. We wouldn't want others to gossip about our shabbiness, now would we?"

With a forced laugh, Riannon shook her head as she said, "No, we most certainly couldn't have that."

As Sophie finally pranced down the hall, Riannon waited until she was out of sight before she crept surreptitiously back toward the study. Peering back into the room, eager to catch one last look at the tutor, whose name, she abruptly realized, she did not even know, Riannon frowned. It seemed empty, but that couldn't be right. He had been in there just moments ago . . .

Under her breath, Riannon whispered, "Why, this is just utterly preposterous. I should just walk in there and see if it really is empty instead of acting like a damned interloper; after all, this is my home and I have every right to go into whichever room I please. And if he is in there, I shall introduce myself and be the perfect lady. I won't blush or simper like other girls. I'll just walk straight up to him and say 'Lovely morning, is it not, sir?'"

Feeling tremendously emboldened partially by her thoughts and partially because in the back of her mind she believed that the room would be empty and thus she would not be forced to test her newfound bravery, Riannon straightened her back, lifted her chin and sauntered into the room, a devil-may-care smile lighting up her smooth alabaster face.

[Sky]

Chapter Two: Brief Encounter

Casting her eyes around the room, Riannon breathed a tiny sigh of relief. It was empty after all. And truth be told, she was glad because, when it came to him, in her heart, she knew that she was all talk and nothing else. As such, had she found her brother's tutor leaning against that desk or speaking of some ancient poet she simply didn't know what she would have done. Probably babble like a complete imbecile, such was the curious effect that man seemed to have on her.

Turning to leave the room, admittedly feeling slightly disheartened at her lack of progress in formally meeting the captivating tutor, Riannon paused as she caught a glimpse of some unfamiliar object that was catching the sunlight streaming through the open window. Inquisitively, Riannon moved closer to the desk, the area from which the light seemed to be drawn to, and then shuffled aside some papers that were partially covering the object. As she pulled it free from its hiding, Riannon slowly turned it over in her hand as she inspected every aspect of its nature. It was obviously some sort of old pocket watch, and a very handsome one at that. Opening it with a soft click, Riannon ran the tips of her slender fingers over the smooth glass before she held it to her ear and listened to the sound of its comforting tick-tock, tick-tock. Gently snapping the watch closed, she noticed, however, that the hook to which a chain should have been attached was broken and slightly deformed. However, instead of ruining the watch's undeniably fine appearance, it only added to its character by giving it a sad sort of forgotten air that made one wonder about its origins and hist-

"It was my father's."

At the sudden sound of a voice behind her, a strangled yelp tore out of Riannon's throat and in her surprise she dropped the watch, which clanged loudly as it fell to the desk. Wincing, Riannon felt her cheeks burn and she knew that her face must have colored into six shades of red in the span of those few seconds. Wishing that she had left when she had had the chance, but knowing that she could not very well remain with her back to the tutor who she had recognized instantly by the sound of his voice, Riannon mentally cursed her fair skin, which would easily betray the manifestations of her embarrassment, before she slowly turned around. As she raised her eyes so that she could meet his gaze, Riannon forced herself to smile and to play it cool, even though inside she felt something akin to a puppy made meek by being caught with its nose where it didn't belong. Clearing her throat, she replied, mentally reminding herself not to ramble, "Oh?"

Standing there, waiting for him to respond, Riannon felt her composure begin to crack beneath the clear, steady, unassuming gaze of his grey eyes. He was studying her, she immediately knew, but what was strange was not that he was doing it so much as it was the way he seemed to have no shame in his actions. For a man of his position, or so she had been taught by her mother and various governesses long ago, he should never have looked at her, a lady, so directly. Doing such would seem to imply to others that he believed himself to be of comparable station to her, something that was simply ludicrous in every imaginable way. And yet, here he was . . . looking at her unwaveringly. Almost as if he was reading her thoughts as though it was as easy as reading a book.

And she was allowing it.

Of itself, he was not the only one to be blamed for this breech of propriety. For all she knew, he was not educated in the ways of how to interact with the nobility . . . but she was. And because of it, she should have scolded him by now, should have reminded him of his place, of the utter inappropriateness of this entire situation - she, a mere girl of sixteen, being alone in a room with him, a strange man in his early twenties. But despite how she knew these things, she couldn't bring herself to rectify the circumstance. The lure of him was too great: his penetrating gaze, firm jaw, strong hands-

As she stood on the verge of falling head over heels into a fanciful daydream, Riannon came jolting back to reality as her thoughts began to actually register in her mind. Feeling sick to her stomach, she took a sudden step back, remembering too late that the desk was behind her. The backs of her legs slamming against the wood, Riannon flinched, pain shooting through her body, as she choked out, unable to take the humiliation any longer, nor able to face him after the thoughts she had had about him, "E-excuse me; my friend is waiting for me outside.” Without another word, she turned and hurried out of the study, opting to run up the stairs to her bedroom.

Reaching the sanctity of her spacious room, Riannon flung herself down on her billowy canopy bed and buried her face amongst her lightly perfumed pillows. In attempts to get her wits about her, she closed her eyes and deeply breathed in the sweet evening primrose scent; and sure enough, slowly, her breathing steadied and the red drained from her cheeks. Lying still for a few moments more, Riannon then lingeringly pulled herself back up into a sitting position, her feet planted firmly on the floor and her hands in her lap. Aloud she rationalized to herself, "That was silly of me to overreact like that. Nothing happened. As such, I have nothing to be ashamed of. Nothing in the least. I simply was a bit flustered by his sudden appearance. That's entirely understandable and even more, it's expected from a well-bred lady. Because only women of questionable reputation don't blush when a member of the opposite sex enters the room. And why? Because they have lost their innocence. Obviously, because I reacted the way I did, I am still quite respectable." Pleased with her logic, Riannon rose to her feet and picked up her parasol from the foot of her bed, twirling the end of it gently on the ground; but as she paused in front of her mirror on her way out of the room, another thought came creeping back. A thought that sent chills up her spine.

Sophie.

Sophie knew about her interest in the tutor. And if her friend slipped up and said anything . . . if word got round to her father and mother . . .

With a horrified moan, Riannon brought her hands to her face. It would be a disaster. A disaster that would completely shame her family. Knowing that she couldn't allow that to happen, Riannon bit her lip as she tried to think of how she could wipe this slate clean. There was always the option of asking Sophie to keep what she had told her a secret, but that would only complicate things - would only make it look like she had something distasteful to hide. No, her only choice was to act natural. To act as though the tutor was of no significance to her-

At the unexpected sound of her bedroom door creaking open, Riannon jumped, her grip on her white parasol tightening, but relaxed immediately when she saw it was only Lorna, her personal maid. Clearing her throat, she asked in an authoritative tone, "Yes?"

Curtsying quickly, Lorna, an exotic swarthy-skinned girl of seventeen who came from the southern half of Eraklyon, replied quietly, though her vaguely peasant voice still came across as harsh to Riannon's ears, "Mr. Briggs, the butler, told me to tell you that Lady Sophie wishes to know when you'll be joining her in the carriage."

Under her breath, Riannon sighed as she murmured to herself, "Duty calls." Out loud, however, she replied, "Thank you, Lorna. I will be down shortly." As Lorna exited the room, Riannon paused for a moment longer as she silently soothed her worries. Everything would be all right. No damage had been done; and it would stay that way so as long as she stayed away from him and stuck to associating solely with people of station equal to hers.

Confident that things would work out, Riannon stepped out into the hall and then gracefully held her skirts up as she descended the staircase. Reaching the ground floor of the manor, Riannon swallowed, her throat suddenly going dry. Just a few feet away was the study . . . just a mere few feet separated her from him. Him and his eyes. Eyes that she had only seen for a brief moment - but eyes that lurked on the outskirts of her mind nonetheless.

Those eyes. There was just something about them. Something thrilling. Something irrisistible.

Something that spelled trouble for her.