[1x1] Matched Together

[LittleDreamerOfSorts]

Ezra turned her head following the conversation, not taking much notice to much of the words. "If he insists on coming along, then his company will be accepted." She turned heading out of the room without waiting for him to join her. She turned heading down the hall, hoping she was heading in the right direction. Nothing looked familiar in the vast building.

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

Henry wanted to frown when his father suggested he join Ezra in getting some air, but he kept a straight face in front of everyone and nodded. He knew his father had worded it as a suggestion, but it was a command in disguise. The blond turned to follow Ezra, her words echoing in his head.


"If he insists on coming along, then his company will be accepted."


Sure, his company would probably be accepted, but not wanted. He dreaded following after her. They had gotten off to a bad start, and he was certain she liked him about as little as he liked her.


He followed Ezra out of the room, saying nothing until they were far away from the dining area. Once they were far enough out of hearing distance, he reluctantly spoke to her. "This morning, when you said you were going to meet your fiance today, you never told me it would be you." He wrinkled his nose, unhappy. She probably hadn't a clue who the identity of her fiance was going to be, but shouldn't she have recognized his name, at least, and knew who he was from that?

 

[LittleDreamerOfSorts]

Ezra turned to Henry with a frown coming to a stop. "First you mistake me for the help and now you accuse me of lying. You're not very good with first impressions." She turned continuing down the hall and shoved the door open, walking outside. She stepped into the fresh air, brushing her fingers through her hair and took in a deep breath to calm herself. She imagined punching his nose and this time breaking it. She smiled and then stepped down off the porch.

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

Henry followed her, but didn't dare to step on the porch and walk after her. "I never said you were a liar, I only said you never told me that it was you who would be my fiancee. Don't try to make me into the bad guy; you're the one who made me fall into the mud earlier and ruin my new white tunic. I know our families expect us to cooperate, but I will not do so happily if you act the way you did this morning." He folded his arms and huffed, frustrated with her.

 

[LittleDreamerOfSorts]

Ezra turned to face Henry. "If I act the way I did? You insulted me. You insulted my appearance, my intelligence, and my family. I just insulted your shirt and it was a pretty horrid looking thing. You're the one that should learn some manners. And as for telling you who your fiancé would be- how many people do you think meet their fiancés on the same day? Use your common sense or did you leave them behind with your manners?"

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

"I told you my name, you should have at least been able to tell who I was by that unless your family didn't even tell you the last name of the man you'd be marrying. And I did not insult your appearance. When I saw you, I mistook you for a maid, that's all. If I verbally insulted you after that, it was because you blew up at me after getting mistook for a maid. You're the one who doesn't seem to have any manners. If you actually had any, you wouldn't have gotten upset at me for making a mistake, and we wouldn't be having this conversation right now." Henry grumbled and touched his face, also remembering that she had hit him. What a frustrating girl this Ezra was.

 

[LittleDreamerOfSorts]

Ezra curled up her fist in habit. "And you wouldn't be mad if I mistook you for the help? Why don't you go and clean the stables? I'm sure you must be a stable boy because you have one hair out of place on the fat head of yours. You think you're so important that I should know your name. I don't care who you are- you're a pig and I have no respect for you. You did make a mistake and you didn't exactly apologize for it. You continued to make mistakes and if you continue down this same path- I'll give you a broken nose."

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

"People don't need to apologize for mistakes when they were unintended. You're just so bull headed that you have it in your mind that I insulted you, when I did nothing of the sort." Henry snorted, turning away from her for a moment. "And I do not look like a stable boy! How dare you say that! I'm dressed like a noble, not in peasant garb. You look like a... a... tomato!" he childishly called back, teasing the most prominent feature he remembered about her being her red hair. Henry quickly covered his nose, remembering Ezra's threat to break his nose. "D-Don't break my nose for that comment either. You started it by calling me a stable boy!" he grumbled.

 

[LittleDreamerOfSorts]

Ezra clenched her jaw, glaring daggers at Henry. "I'm sorry. I was wrong. You're a childish spoiled brat without a brain in his head. You haven't even got the wit of a stable boy. I insulted stable boys by thinking you were part of their group. And apologies are only for unintentional mistakes. If I purposely call you a bull headed dumb wit, I won't apologize for it. And it's not about who started it, but if it were: You'd be the main suspect." She picked up a climb of dirt and dropped it onto his shoulder. "oops, my mistake. I sincerely apologize." she retorted, her words oozing with sarcasm.

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

Henry's glare began to turn icy at her words and the action she did dropping a clump of dirt on her shoulder. "Fine then, if I call you a sloppy pig who can't get enough of flinging dirt on people," he said, flicking the dirt off on his shoulder, "I shouldn't have to apologize for it either." He reached down and picked up a bit of dirt himself, throwing it with a splat against her dress. If he was going to get in trouble for being dirty upon his return, he wasn't going to let her get away with being clean.

 

[LittleDreamerOfSorts]

Ezra shook her head in disbelief. "You are so pathetic. You have to copy me because you can't even think of a good insult. Is there even a brain in that head of yours or do you have hot air between your ears? And I don't fling dirt at people. I fling dirt at big headed morons. And I'm not the one that's afraid of dirt." She smoothed out her dress taking in a deep breath. "I'd rather be a sloppy pig then an ungrateful brat who gets everything handed to him."

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

"You're so rude! You know nothing about me!" Henry exclaimed, continually more and more appalled with Ezra's words the more she spoke. "Fine, you want me to come up with my own insult? I will!" Instead of rubbing dirt on her, he pushed her. However, when he tried to pull his hand back, he was surprised when it stuck to her dress, caught on a ring he was wearing. Caught off guard by this, he stumbled backwards, then forwards, before bumping into her. The force of the bump caused her to start falling, bringing him down with her because of his ring being caught on her dress.

 

[LittleDreamerOfSorts]

Ezra stared up at Henry her anger suddenly dissipated and replaced by shock. She struggled to catch her breath, having had it knocked out of her when she hit the ground. She opened her mouth to scream at him, but no words came. Her mind felt blank, like everything had leaked out of it with her breath. She stared into his eyes trying to figure out what happened. Realizing her mouth was gaping open, she licked her lips before closing it.

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

Tense at first, Henry half expected Ezra to bust his nose in for having fallen on top of her. He was surprised, however, when she simply stared at him. Not knowing what to do, he stared back, finding her hazel eyes surprisingly beautiful and easy to look at. Her eyes, face, and hair were all beautiful, complimenting each other well. Surprised after a moment that he had let his mind wander, Henry opened his mouth to say something. He found it rather hard to come up with anything to say though. The best he could come up with was, "I didn't intend us falling to be part of my insult." Flustered for a brief moment, he lost his ability to even attempt getting off his fiancee.

 

[LittleDreamerOfSorts]

Ezra narrowed her eyes before slamming the side of her elbow into his nose as she shoved him off of her and onto his back. Finally catching her breath, she glared down at him as her brain began to work again. "I don't care if it's on purpose or not- if you try anything like that again I'll make you pay." she spit down into his face before standing up and brushing herself off. "Don't ever touch me again." She tried to keep her expression turn, but she could feel how red her face was turning.

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

Henry wrinkled his nose and wiped Ezra's spit out of his face, forgetting how flustered he was. "You say that as if I wanted to touch you. It wasn't my intent to fall on top of you and be that close," he grumbled, slowly getting up from off his back. He glanced down at his clothes, frowning. "Mother and Father are not going to be pleased with how we look." He sighed. "When we returning to the dining room, we'll tell everyone that we fell. I suggest we not let them know of this childish bickering that you demand us to continue." The blond bushed his shirt off only once, giving up when he was sure the dirt wasn't going to come out.

 

[LittleDreamerOfSorts]

Ezra shook her head. "I don't care what your intention was. I don't care if it was on purpose or not. Don't touch me." she repeated herself. "as far as returning to the dining room. That is not happening." She turned on her heels heading away from the house. She brushed her orange hair behind her ear, wiping some dirt from it. She looked at her fingers and then rubbed the dirt into her eyes making herself tear up before turning back to face him. "My parents just died and you're acting like such a brat. Why can't you just leave me alone? You don't know how good you have it."

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

Henry's mouth dropped open. The blond felt a wave of guilt hit him as if he had been stabbed in the back with a knife. He reached out and grabbed her shoulder, attempting to stop her from walking. His attitude had suddenly changed. "I-I didn't know. I'm sorry. I hadn't the slightest clue that you lost your parents. Forgive me for my behavior." Now everything made sense. Perhaps she had been so frustrated at him and easy to snap back at his words because of how distraught she was at the loss of her parents. The young man suddenly felt very bad. "I still welcome you to return to dinner with me. Maybe eating something would help you feel better. I'll even tell everyone that it was my fault we fell in the dirt. But, if you wish to retire to your room for the night, I will respect that. I'll have a servant send you some dinner up to your room." He tried being polite as he could now, wondering what her reaction would be.

 

[LittleDreamerOfSorts]

Ezra turned to face Henry feeling his hand on her shoulder. She wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "I don't- I can't go back there." She wasn't sure how to react to his sudden kindness. She hadn't been around much warmth in her life. She shifted uncomfortably afraid he might try to hug her to make her feel better. "I just need some space." she stated trying to let him know she wanted to be alone. "It's been a long day."

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

Henry took his hand off Ezra's shoulder, seeing her look at him like she really did want to be left alone. "Okay, you can go rest for the night. Please allow me to walk you to a room and then I will go tell the others that you won't be joining us for dinner." He stepped in front of the red head, gesturing for him to follow her.

 

[LittleDreamerOfSorts]

Ezra nodded her head before following behind Henry. She couldn't wait to get out of the awful dress and finally have the ability to breathe. It had been a pretty crappy beginning and she started to have second thoughts about sticking out until the wedding. She might ditch in the middle of the night and leave the old man to figure things out in his own.

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

Henry walked Ezra along, unsure what more to say with her silence. She had suffered an awful day and he felt guilty as if he had made things worse. Eventually, the two arrived to a room. Henry opened the door for her, trying to seem like a polite gentleman, but looking more like a filthy peasant after having fell in the dirt with her. "Well here you are. If you need anything, just step out into the hall and look for a maid. Anyone in this house will assist you." He paused for a moment. "Or, if you want, you can ask me for something. I'll be in the room right next to this one." Apparently, Henry's parents had thought it a good idea to put him in the room right next to his fiancee so he could have more opportunities to chat with her. To be honest, the very idea made him nervous now. He wouldn't be surprised if she sneaked into his room at night and tried to pull something on him as a means of revenge for his behavior earlier. "Anyhow, if you need nothing else, I will leave you for the night." And if she was still here by morning, Henry knew his parents had a "schedule" planned out for the two of them to get to know each other. He couldn't wait... not.

 

[LittleDreamerOfSorts]

Ezra watched as Henry tried to mend things, but she had a hard time trusting that it was the truth he was speaking. She wasn't used to kindness or anything remotely close to it. She stepped into her room looking around at the extravagancy of it all. It was so unfair that one could have so much while others had so little. She placed her hand over her stomach taking in a deep breath before turning back to face the spoiled boy. "A nightgown would be lovely."

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

Rubbing the back of his head, Henry immediately felt uncomfortable at the idea of looking for a nightgown for Ezra. He didn't like the idea of handling women's garments, especially if there was the chance that he might get caught by one of the maids. He thought about her request for a moment, finally remembering something. "There should be extra clothes in the guest rooms." He gestured to a large, wooden wardrobe in the room. "Feel free to check in their for your nightgown. If there isn't one in there, just look for a maid to get you one. Or wait for me to return and I'll get you one. I have to go speak to my parents and your grandfather to tell them you won't be joining us for dinner."

 

[LittleDreamerOfSorts]

Ezra turned her head looking at the wardrobe. She nodded turning back to face Henry. "Okay-um. I guess I'll see you tomorrow." she muttered taking hold of the door. "Goodnight" She closed the door and turned looking at the room again still unable to take it all in. She slowly walked over to the wardrobe, pulling it open. She moved her fingers through the dainty dresses that hung in front of her before finding a nightgown that looked like it might fit. It took a few minutes of struggling and some ripping in order to pull her dress off. She pulled the light gown over her head.


She took a seat on the side of the bed brushing her fingers through her hair taking in a few more deep breaths. It had been a long day and so much had changed. She finally had a moment to take it all in and it was overwhelming.