17 - The Ice King, The Witch and The Wardrobe

Even when he sat on the floor he displayed a certain amount of grace. The straight curve of his back, the contained placement of his limbs and the delicate balance of his wrist all exhibited his grooming and class.

"Hey, were you a dancer, before?"

"Of what variety?"

"I dunno. Is there more than one?"

"Yes, Miss Merryweather. There is more than one form of dance."

"Well, you look like someone who knows ballet."

"Excellent guess," he sounded like a school teacher, "I did learn ballet when I was young."

"Weren't you teased for it?"

"On the contrary. There were more girls in class than boys and I was one of the better looking ones." He smirked.

Matilda rolled her eyes, "I'm only asking because you move like a dancer."

"How so?"

"I don't know... just feels that way." Matilda couldn't articulate the signs her mind picked up.

"Try to explain it." He urged.

Matilda thought about it, "It's like... you know how to position yourself in the best possible way. I don't know. That's how it looks anyways." What am I doing? Stop rambling!

"Very well put, Miss Merryweather." Alton obliged.

They sat in silence which Matilda found to be uncomfortable. How could she just be there and sit around doing nothing?

"Do you still dance?"

"I do not have time for it and my limbs are not as nimble as before."

"Aah," Matilda nodded.

Another bout of silence.

"How's your sister?"

"What?"

"How's Ophelia doing these days?"

"Are you close with my sister?"

"No."

"Then what she is doing should not be any of your concern, Miss Merryweather."

"Right." Matilda clicked her tongue several times.

If this were a romantic comedy, the situation would be vastly different. For one thing, things might not be so awkward, for another, she would be in here with Sebastian and not Alton. Matilda wondered what it would have been like to be locked up with Sebastian. They would probably laugh and joke around without noticing how much time had gone.

With Alton, each second seemed like an hour. It was too long and too agonizing.

Matilda tried to come up with something else to get him talking. She sorted through all she knew about Alton; that he was an arrogant, pompous ass who—Matilda caught her self. No, no. This is not the time to be hating on him. She browsed through her mind again.

Riley Alton Spencer, two years her senior. Lost his parents at seventeen, Sebastian was fifteen. Started earning for his family right out of high school although Matilda wasn't sure how, Sebastian never talked about the details. Was a famous reporter before he started his own magazine called The Journal which was labeled as "The Intellectual Man's Vogue", a title Matilda found to be both sexist and overrating.

Beyond his professional accomplishments, Matilda knew very little about the man. She knew he was once married but had divorced. The details of which, again, Sebastian had not revealed and she had not been interested.

Matilda did not read The Journal so she couldn't exactly talk about his magazine and divorces were not a subject anyone would want to discuss.

What else? What else?

"I have a question for you."

Alton groaned, "Please Miss Merryweather, enough with the small talk. It is painful enough that I have to share this space with you and now you expect me to share my thoughts as well."

"Well are your thoughts made of gold or something?"

"Yes, yes they are," he said, irritated.

"I just want to know something."

"What, Miss Merryweather?" He said cuttingly, crossing his arms.

Matilda smacked her lips. "You tried to break up Mal and Phil, as I recall... and you weren't too happy with Ursula and Eric either." She left the statement hanging.

"And?" Alton asked.

"Why'd you do it?"

Alton sat up straighter, "Well I only spoke with Malvina. I have never said anything to Ursula."

"I know. I wanna ask why'd you tell Mal to leave Phil?"

"I believed Mal and Phil were inadequate for each other."

"Was it the status difference?"

"Yes. But not in the way you think."

"In what way then?"

He sighed, "Their pairing... it may sound romantic on paper but it is not realistic. They are just too different?"

"Different how?"

"In their upbringing." Alton insisted.

"Table manners?" Matilda offered.

"Something like that."

"Sounds to me like you're just prejudiced against people who do not have the same bank balance as yours."

Alton huffed. "Ascribe to me, what prejudices you will Miss Merryweather. But I had the best of intentions for both Mal and Phil."

Matilda doubted it. "It must bother you so much. Seeing Phil and Mal together. Both proving that money and connections aren't the only thing that matter."

"Mal and Phil only prove that with the right cunning and technique, any woman can get a rich, handsome and accomplished man."

"Mal isn't cunning."

"No. But you are. Your friends spoke highly of the role you played in helping them pursue their partners. 'Tilly believed we belonged together' are the words Ursula used, as I recall."

"They do belong together."

"That's the dream, isn't it? Low faring, unaccomplished, young women, ending up with men who will provide them with everything the world has to offer. I recommend you satisfy your desires with soap operas. Reality doesn't work that way."

"Mal and Ursula are not unaccomplished," Matilda said, offended at the insult. "And their relationship is not about leveling up."

"Oh no? And the fact that both Mal and Ursula come from humble backgrounds and both Phil and Eric are affluent is just a coincidence? Face it. You women just wanted an easy way out."

"That is not what—"

"I know people like you. You like to believe you are Cinderellas and that one day some prince is going to save you from your mundane life. Wake up!" he hissed, "Life doesn't work like fairy tales. Even Cinderella had to suffer in the end."

"You and I have read a very different version of this story."

"Did we? Think about it. Cinderella has lived all of her life as a servant to her step-mother. She had no backbone and never stood up for herself. She has no standing in society and all she knows is simple house work. You can disguise naivety and lack of intelligence as kindness and diligence but in reality, these things hold you back."

"She gets the prince in the end."

"Oh yes, the ultimate goal. Tell me, what happens after their carriage rolls away into the sunset? What happens after their happily ever after? Did you ever think to wonder how someone who has had no training in the mannerisms of royalty, no higher education, no grooming, ever survive in the politics of regency? Do you think Cinderella was happy after being married to the prince? Do you think that after the luster of new love wore off, that the prince still treated her the same way?"

He continued, "I despise people like you. People who spout nonsense like true love and fated romances. These are all just fantasies that will never bear fruit. Cinderella lived a miserable life with in-laws that never approved of her and a prince that grew tired of her. And that is what I was afraid Malvina would have to face when she agreed to marry Phil."

A beat of hesitation.

"You are right in your assumption that money is a factor. It is. But it is not the presence of it but rather how it had influenced their upbringing, their sense of self, who they are as people. Phillip's family has a long legacy of presidential candidates and he will be no different. He has been groomed since birth to run for congress. He requires someone who can support him in his cause. Malvina on the other hand was given open love and was allowed to choose her way in life. She has never been restricted by familial expectations."

Alton took a breath and swallowed.

"If it was not already evident at the engagement party, the rehearsal dinner or the wedding, by the lack of utter compatibility between the two families, then allow me to point it out. Mal and Phil simply can't last a lifetime. I believed that then and I still believe it now. I... "

He paused for what seemed a very long time. "I have gone through a failed marriage myself. I know what that can do to a person." He shifted uncomfortably. Matilda found that she had been holding her breath in all this time. "I wasn't antagonizing your friend. I was trying to protect her. And Phil. I simply wanted them to understand the consequences of their choice."

Matilda's throat felt dry. She hadn't considered any of the things Alton had just told her. She had only seen the glow. But Alton had seen everything else.

"Mal and Phil are happy together." She said meekly.

Alton leveled a scathing gaze at her. "Are they? Are you not aware of the problems Mal has had to face since she got pregnant? The restrictions and ridiculous rituals she is made to follow by her mother-in-law?"

"She told me that Mrs. Montfort was being a little difficult."

"A little difficult? She doesn't let Mal go anywhere without an escort and keeps hounding her that she wants a grandson, not a granddaughter. She even disapproves of Mal visiting her parents these days. Are you sure that you and Malvina are close?"

Matilda looked away. "I didn't know things were that bad."

"Of course you didn't. You were too busy living in your own little fairy tale."

The closet suddenly seemed too small for the both of them. The walls closed in on Matilda like a coffin and she found herself struggling to breathe.

Did she really ruin her friend's life by believing in something no one else could even see? Did she make the wrong decision? Was Mal really miserable?

Should I not have played the fairy godmother?

"Don't make that face." Alton shook her out of her thoughts. "You're making me feel almost guilty."

"Guilt is something only people with a heart can feel, Alton. I bet you're just hungry."

Alton bit back the quip he had in response. "I have a question for you too."

"Good luck getting an answer from me."

"Hey, I answered your question." The affect in his voice was gone again.

"So what? I never agreed to any favors."

"It was implied."

"Not according to me it wasn't." Matilda put her head on her knees.

"Come on. Please?" Alton said. The pleading in his voice sounded foreign and unnatural.

"Ugh, no. Don't beg. It doesn't suit you."

"Agree to a quid pro quo and I'll stop."

"Oh it's that how it's going to be, Clarice?"

"I'm the doctor in this situation, no?" Matilda knew he would understand the reference.

"No." Matilda squared her jaw.

"Fine. Do you agree then?"

After a long minute Matilda nodded.

"I first thought my brother was dating you, because I felt he was sneaking around a lot. He does that when he—"

"Gets a girlfriend. Yeah, I know."

"Exactly. And while I was incorrect about you. I do believe he is seeing someone."

"Well I wouldn't know anything about that."

"I doubt that. You've already proven to me that he shares a lot with you."

"And you expect me to rat him out just like that?"

"Rat him out? So there is someone?"

Damn. I gotta stop forgetting that he notices everything.

Matilda did not reply.

"Miss Merryweather, I understand your apprehension. My brother... I'm only trying to look out for him. I don't want him to make another mistake."

"This time isn't a mistake." Matilda said with a tinge of regret, or something similar. It felt like loss. Up until now Matilda had always had this sense of satisfaction when she saw Sebastian with another woman because she could see that the relationship wasn't fated. And Sebastian's own aversion to commitment also helped. But now he was serious, and with his true love. The relationship had a sense of finality to it that Matilda was not comfortable with.

"And how would you know?" Alton pulled Matilda out of her downward spiral. He had the enunciated quality back in his speech.

"Instinct." What else could Matilda say?

"Hmm." Alton pressed his lips together in a tight, sardonic smile. "Instinct isn't credible evidence, Miss Merryweather. Have you met this woman? Do you know her? Can you vouch for her character?"

"Umm... Not really." Matilda realized, "I've met her but I don't know her all that well. She seems like a nice enough person though." For some strange reason, Matilda found it hard to compliment Kat.

"That doesn't seem so convincing."

Matilda knew her argument was weak. But how could she explain something that other people couldn't even see? "I understand it's hard to get it, Ry Ry." She said dismissing his concerns, "But Sebastian is a grown man. Why don't you and I butt out and let him decide?"

Alton looked at her strangely. "Why do you keep calling me Ry Ry? I believe I have asserted that my name is Alton plenty of times."

"I know. I just like pissing you off." Matilda grinned childishly.

"More accomplished people have suffered grave consequences for pissing me off, Miss Merryweather."

Matilda's grin turned to a snarl, "It is so hard to reconcile you with your brother. How the hell are you two related? Please tell me you're adopted."

"Sorry to disappoint but he is my flesh and blood. And we have more in common than you might think."

"I doubt that. You are like the exact opposite of him. Sebastian is so kind and warm—"

"—he's not the one who has had to run an entire family, working day and night—"

"—he's open to everyone and doesn't go around telling people he's better than them—"

"—also, not the one who has had to pay off his girlfriends to keep them from ruining his life—"

"—And he has this amazing sense of humor. And he's smart. He knows that if someone's making fun of him then—"

"—he should join in on the joke instead of going against it. I taught him that."

A long, lingering pause where they both sighed.

"I understand why you would see only the differences between me and my brother. But our differences aside, he is still related to me. Why is it that he still is so close with someone he has nothing in common with?"

"Sebastian and I have plenty in common."

"Such as?"

"Such as... we both like the same type of movies—"

"The generic kind that a lot of people like."

"We both have the same sense of humor—"

"Sebastian is charming. His sense of humor is agreeable to everyone."

"We both love our jobs—"

"And other people don't?"

"A lot of people don't."

"What else?"

Matilda thought about it, rattled that she couldn't come up with anything credible. Sure she and Sebastian had a lot of fun hanging out together but what concrete commonalities did they have? Matilda usually went along with whatever Sebastian wanted to do. She laughed at what he laughed at, not necessarily because it was funny but because he found it so. She even started watching his kind of films because that is what Sebastian watched back in college.

What did she and Sebastian have in common?

"We don't necessarily have a lot in common. But that doesn't mean we are not good friends. In fact, I would say we are better friends because we respect each other's differences. We don't mind that we don't have much in common. He does what he likes and I do what I like and sometimes he joins me in my thing and sometimes I join him in his."

"And how unbalanced is the ratio of you joining him in his interests versus him joining you in yours?"

Matilda knew what Alton was getting at. "You still think I'm into him? Or rather, I have more interest in him than he has in me."

Alton smiled, "I never said that."

"It was implied."

"It was open to interpretation. The fact that your mind went there is telling."

Matilda was offended, "Hey, listen here bud. Sebastian and I have a special friendship okay?"

"I hear he doesn't even know your birthday."

"That's because I don't tell people when it is."

"Why?"

"That's personal. And this isn't about me. If you're really so concerned about my friendship why don't you go ask your brother? He will say the same thing as me." Matilda didn't actually believe Sebastian would, but she didn't want to lose this verbal match.

"And what will he say?"

"That we have an amazing friendship. One that doesn't need any validation from an elitist sibling nor anyone else. Sebastian and I have an amazing time when we hang out. Even when we are together and have nothing to say to each other we still enjoy the company. And we're good partners. My job wouldn't be nearly as fun if he wasn't around and I wouldn't be able to achieve all that I have—"

"Last I checked he was the one who got the promotion, not you."

"That is not the point. The point is we're a team. And we're amazing together. So whether you like it or not, I will always be by his side. So deal with it." Matilda glared at him.

Alton simply sat back calmly, stretching his legs straight in front of him and interlocking his fingers in his lap.

"I see, so it's one sided then."

"What?"

"But he's not aware that you're in love with him."

The ground gave away between Matilda's feet. It was one thing to joke about being with Bas, it was quite another to be caught having genuine feelings for him.

"What are you talking about?" Matilda tried to play it off, very unconvincingly.

"No, no. There's no point in denying it." Alton smiled, satisfactorily. "I am quite convinced about what I know and you lack the cunning to fool me otherwise." Every word was like the cut of a blade on Matilda's skin. Her biggest concern was, Is he going to tell Sebastian?

As if he read her mind, Alton said, "Whether or not I tell my brother this will depend."

"On what?" Matilda croaked.

"We will see. In due time." He said vaguely.

Matilda's hands were shaking. She balled them up into fists and pressed them in her lap. The door knob clicked loudly.

"I think it's unlocked now." Matilda told Alton. The tried it and the door knob turned. He quickly got up.

Chatter from outside spilled into the room when he opened the door.

"Aren't you coming, Miss Merryweather?"

"I need a minute."

"Understood."

Alton left her alone with her thoughts. Her world was spinning. She felt like everything she had was going to be taken away from her. She felt like the most stupidest person on the planet.

What the hell had I been thinking? I should have never said all of those idiotic things about Bas.

It was all too much. First the thing about Mal and Phil and now this. Matilda just wanted everything and everyone to disappear. She wished she could disappear and everyone would simply forget her.

Matilda started to shake. Then realized that it wasn't her but her phone.

"Matilda, what the fuck happened?" Ursula said with urgency.

"What?" Matilda's lips felt wet. Was there water dropping? Oh no wait, this was from her.

"Dude it's a shit show over here. Kat's parents are here and now... oh shit is that Alton?..." some muffled noises came from behind. "Matilda did you lock Alton up in the closet?"

Matilda rubbed her face, "It's kinda complicated."

"Well you better get over here. He's talking about pressing charges."

"What?" Matilda got to her feet, "I'll be right there."

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