The Start of Something Beautiful (Lord A, if you please)

[justdandy]

(So there's only so much we know about Biffy's past, artistic licence engaged! For anybody reading, this is set in the past and so should be safe to read whether you've read the books or not - and hopefully will be rather interesting)

Sixteen year old Sandalio was not having nearly as interesting a time as he had hoped to. It was three years since his (English) mother had insisted to his (Spanish) father that they relocate to England in order to find their son a nice English wife, and that they must do so with enough time that Sandalio could learn to be a proper English gentleman with a proper English accent (quite why she worried about this when she herself had married a Spaniard, he wasn't sure, but he didn't question his mother's motives).

This was the first time since arriving in England that he'd attended a public event, his accent - though still retaining the faintest hint of his Spanish origin - was deemed acceptable and his manners even more so, and thus he'd been allowed to finally attend a ball, just as he'd been begging to do for months.

He wished he hadn't been, because so far all that had happened was that he'd been accosted by several giggling young ladies, or worse, introduced to his father's fat, hairy old acquaintances and forced to stand in a cloud of cigar smoke while they talked about the future and other boring things.

So a mere hour into the party, Sandalio had escaped to a balcony for some fresh air and the chance to lament his sad fate.

Comments

[atadflamboyant]

Oh, could he keep this one? Lord Akeldama settled them onto a small loves eat, shifting his grip to both of Biffy's hands.

"You're quite right, my dear! I would hate to be thought of as traditional... Or worse, boring." he let out a theatrical shudder, his graceful hands closing on Biffy's in an intimate squeeze. Just like it was dull to rehash the same styles and colors, season after season, it was dull to constantly be agreed with. Lots Akeldama didn't mind a little respectful dissension -- as long as it came from a place of passion and knowledge.

"Tell me, Biffy, is fashion an interest of yours?"

He'd passed his test with flying colors, and now the vampire was just being his nosy self.

[justdandy]

He couldn't believe his luck, not only had the vampire not been offended by his response, but he actually seemed pleased by it! He was a little taken aback by the endearment, not yet realising Akeldama's tendency to use them on simply everybody, but at the same time it - particularly combined with the contact of Akeldama's hands on his - sent a shiver of delight down his spine.

"Well both my parents do their best to be at the height of style, of course," he explained, feeling a lot more relaxed and less worried about getting something wrong "so I've learnt plenty from them, it all seems to come so easily, I do enjoy matching up colours and styles rather a lot - although interesting as fashion is, I find decorating a room more thrilling than decorating myself, perhaps because the process takes a little longer, and one must live with the results. It's more exciting because there's more at stake."

[atadflamboyant]

"Such a pity. I'm sure your wife will want to do her own decorating..."

He let the question lead on, wanting to see how Biffy reacted. It really would be a shame if this young man were serious about his prospects -- Lord Akeldama had an entirely different path in mind for him.

[justdandy]

"My wife!?" He looked startled. Ok, so he knew that was technically why he was here - and why those girls were paying him so much attention - but he was still only young, so he was hoping to get a few of years of life actually being interesting before he had to do the marrying thing.

"Well, I... I wouldn't know, I'm not engaged to anybody currently and I can't imagine I will be for a few years yet."

[atadflamboyant]

"But certainly an exotic young man such as yourself has a wealth of opportunities awaiting him!"

Unless, of course, he wasn't attracted to women -- certainly that could not be a possibility! Except, of course, that Lord Akeldama not only accepted that sort of aberrant behavior, he encouraged him.

"Certainly you do not mean to just languish these next few seasons!"

[justdandy]

"Well..." he knew he couldn't really admit that the thought of having a wife filled him with dread, even though he hadn't quite examined all the reasons for that just yet, but he didn't want to lie and say he was looking forward to it, "I... being so young, I have plenty of time to make sure I make the best match, so I wouldn't want to rush into anything." he finally came up with, feeling a little pleased with himself for his quick thinking.

[atadflamboyant]

"Ah, but the older you get, the less time you have -- and the fewer chances."

Lord Akeldama tapped his finger thoughtfully against his lips, waiting. Mostly because he was enjoying watching Biffy squirm. Maybe it was a little bit evil of him -- but he'd already determined that the boy was perfect for his household. Now he just had to convince Biffy of it.

"Unless, of corse, you were doing something practical with your time... Say, for instance, studying..."

Ah, yes, and be labled a bluestocking.

[justdandy]

He brightened up considerably, the vampire had unwittingly (or so Biffy thought) offered him a solution to his predicament, find something to do with his time! Perfect!

"A jolly good idea," he agreed fervently "although I don't think studying is quite the thing, my mother would absolutely hate to have an academic in the family."