Hannah looked radiant in the ballroom the next night. She looked so much like Mother... I spent most of my time against the wall, feeling even less like talking than I normally did, watching Hannah talk and dance. God, I had never noticed how much Hannah looked like our mother.

  "You look sad." I was roused from my thoughts by Dean walking up to me almost a half-hour into the celebration.

  "I... I suppose I do. Don't worry about me, though, Dean. Go be with Hannah," I said, not meeting Dean's eyes. I still felt uncomfortable after the way we left our last conversation, and I really didn't want to have to deal with those emotions again, especially as I didn't know what those emotions were.

  "Hannah's fine. You, on the other hand, look like you could use a friend," Dean said. I glanced over at Hannah, who was standing next to Charlie and talking with some of the other ladies that were there.

  "That may be so, but you are her fiancé, Dean. You should be with her," I said. Dean stiffened slightly.

  "Why are you so determined to get me away from you?" Dean asked. "I'm just trying to be a good friend." I sighed. I was really not in the mood for this.

  "Well when will you start trying to be a good fiancé to my sister?" I asked. The words were harsh, I admit. They did not sound kind, and that was probably because they were not intended to be. I had not meant to make my feelings on the subject so clear, but the more Dean had chosen to talk to me rather than Hannah, the more my resolve to remain quiet had weakened. And now here we were, with the words hanging between us, silent.

  "Is that really all you think of me?" Dean asked quietly. For a moment his eyes filled with hurt, but it was gone in an instant, replaced by anger.

  "Fine," he spat. "If I will only ever be a brother-in-law to you, then fine. That's what I'll be." And with that he turned and stalked away, over to Hannah, smiling at her and engaging in conversation. I took a deep breath, pushing down the hurt that was trying to creep up. While I would have preferred a much less aggressive conversation, it was a good thing Dean was paying his attentions to Hannah instead of myself. I only wished I knew why Dean was as hurt by my words as he seemed to be. They were not put kindly, but surely he could not be unaware of how much his behaviour was making people question him. I shook my head. It would do me no good to dwell on this. I needed to get away from the wall and find someone to talk to so I could stop thinking so much. Father always did say I overthink things. 

  As I looked around the room, trying to find someone to talk to, I realized just how few people I actually knew. The only familiar faces I could see from my position were Dean and Hannah, even among the sea of other nobility. I felt my wings shrink against my back at the prospect of trying to engage with a stranger, but at this point I didn't know what else to do. I took one step away from the wall, and-

  "Hello, Clarence." Meg emerged from the crowd with a sly smile on her face, her brown eyes shining with mischeif.

  "Meg," I responded, nodding my head to her.

  "Dean doesn't look happy," she commented, glancing around at him. I looked at him too, seeing him smile at something Hannah said.

  "I'm sure he's fine," I said. I hope he's fine. Meg rolled her eyes.

  "Oh please. You can't be that blind. Dean is not good at hiding his emotions," she said. I looked back at Dean, searching for a sign of unhappiness. And suddenly, there it was. I could see it in his eyes. The hurt and anger that I had caused.

  "Maybe I should apologize," I said, mostly to myself.

  "Leave it," Meg suggested. "He'll cool down soon enough, and you can talk to him then. If you try now he'd probably just cause a scene." I sighed and turned back towards Meg.

  "Okay. You're probably right," I said. Meg nodded.

  "In the mean time, would you like to dance?" She asked. I shook my head.

  "No, I am not very fond of dancing," I said.

  "Now that can't be true, not based off the stories I've heard. You caused quite a stir here on the first night of your arrival," Meg said, raising her eyebrow. I sighed.

  "I thought people had forgotten about that," I said. "I hoped they had, anyway." Meg chuckled.

  "Oh, Clarence. No one ever really forgets," she said. "But you're avoiding the topic at hand. A dance?" Meg held out her hand, eyebrow raised, a small smile playing across her lips. I sighed.

  "You aren't going to stop asking, are you?" I asked. Meg shook her head.

  "No."

  "I should probably give in now, then." Meg smirked.

  "Probably." I sighed and took her outstreched hand. Meg grinned and the two of us walked over to the dance floor, standing at the fringe as the current song ended before taking our places. I wasn't sure if I wanted to be annoyed at Meg or embarassed that I was about to be dancing in front of so many people again, so I settled for a nice "sick" feeling. My wings pressed against my back as the music started and everyone began to move. Why had I done this? Meg must have noticed my uncomfort, because she gave me a small smile and moved slightly closer to me as we danced.

  "Relax. No one else here matters, alright? For right now, it's just you and me," she said softly. I attempted to smile back at her, with limited success, but I felt myself relax slightly nonetheless.

  The more we danced, the more relaxed I was, and by the time the song ended and we bowed to each other, I was even smiling. Meg had such a candor about her, it was hard not to reciprocate.

  "See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Meg asked as we walked back into the crowd.

  "I still don't like dancing," I said. Meg smirked.

  "Well, we can work on that," she said. I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could, Hannah rushed up to us, beaming, Charlie and Dean in tow behind her.

  "Castiel, I see you decided to dance after all," Hannah said, glancing at Meg, clearly happy with herself.

  "Don't get used to it. Either of you," I said, looking between Hannah and Meg. Hannah looked at Meg and started saying something, but I didn't hear what it was. I'd just looked at Dean, and I didn't need to look closely to see the pure hostility in his eyes. It baffled me. He hadn't been this upset by my words earlier, what else could I possibly have done to make him so angry in such a short amount of time?

  "Castiel? Castiel, are you listening to me?" My eyes snapped back to Hannah, who was looking back at me with her hands on her hips, looking annoyed yet amused.

  "I- I apologize, Hannah. My mind wandered," I said. Charlie glanced between me and Dean, but Hannah's eyes stayed on me, a smile cracking her lips again.

  "I suppose you are rather distracted. Very well, I'll leave you to your lovely partner," she said, grabbing Charlie's hand and beginning to weave her way through the crowd. Dean didn't move at first, still staring at me, until Charlie grabbed his hand and yanked him after her.

  "Well, she seemed excited," Meg said.

  "Yes, she did. I believe I'll retire to my room now, though, I am rather tired. It was lovely to dance with you, Meg," I said, giving a slight bow.

  "You're leaving already? You haven't been here any time at all," Meg said, turning to face me.

  "I know. I'm tired all the same. I am not fond of large celebrations like this," I said.

  "Fine," Meg sighed. "At least let me walk you to your room." I blinked.

  "I do not think that is necessary," I said. Meg rolled her eyes.

  "Just let me do this, okay? If I can't get you to stay I should at least have this, right?" she asked.

  "Fine," I relented, walking towards the door, Meg following.

  "It's a lot quieter out here," I commented as the door closed behind us. Meg nodded.

  "And darker. It really sets the mood," she said, raising her eyebrow at me. I blushed, keeping my eyes ahead as we walked. I had absolutely no idea what to say to such a statement.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. Not that uncomfortable, anyway," Meg said, smiling. "Just a little bit. Anyway, has Hannah told you they set a new date for the wedding?" I looked around at Meg quickly.

  "What? No, she hasn't mentioned it. When is it?" I asked.

  "In three months," Meg said.

  "They aren't wasting any time, are they?" I said, slowing down slightly.

  "Well, it was intended to have happened by now," Meg said, slowing down next to me. "The Winchesters are eager for this to be done, as I'm sure your parents- your- your father... is... also..." I stopped walking. Meg hadn't meant to hurt me, of course. But all the same, I felt the pain in my chest like a knife.

  "I'm sorry," Meg said. I shook my head.

  "Don't be. It isn't your fault," I said, staring at the ground. Meg reached up, her fingers sliding over my cheek and coming to rest on the side of my face, cupping my jaw softly in her palm. I looked up, meeting her brown eyes for just a second before she leaned in, pressing her lips against mine. My breath caught in my throat. She was so soft... I began kissing back, my hand coming up from my sides to rest on Meg's waist. I almost wanted the moment to last forever, but Meg broke away, smiling softly, a look in her eyes like I'd never seen there before.

  "You aren't alone here," she said quietly. The two of us were silent for a moment, simply watching each other, until Meg spoke again, still smiling.

  "Goodnight," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. And with that, she turned and began walking back towards the celebration hall.

  "Goodnight," I murmured after her, watching her as she went, a smile of my own on my face. Dear god, she's beautiful.