WHO: Ophelia Llewellyn & Ioan Llewellyn
WHAT: The siblings make up
WHEN: Sunday afternoon
WHERE: Llewellyn Estate

"I do. I do. I do! I. do. I... I do."

"Do you?"

Nearly tripping over the bulky skirt of her wedding dress in the process, Ophelia spun around in surprise at the sound of the other voice in the room. She blushed--after all, she was standing in front of her mirror, in her wedding gown, reciting vows to herself--momentarily before realizing who it was that had disturbed her. She quickly frowned, pushing the embarrassment away, and crossed her arms over her chest. "What do you want?"

Ioan Llewellyn pushed the double doors of his sister's room open all the way, stepping inside carefully and doing nothing to hide his apparent sheepishness at his cold reception. It wasn't as if he hadn't anticipated that she wouldn't be terribly happy to see him (especially not after the little scene at dinner just a couple weeks ago), but she was still his sister. It was still kind of painful to have her look at him like that, with such annoyance and disgust.

Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he walked over to her, still staying just far enough away to not appear threatening. "Hey."

"What do you want?" she repeated, but her tone wavered just noticeably at his lack of return animosity. Was it just her, or did her big brother seem... no. After he had punched her fiancée, there was no way Ioan could be trying to be non-confrontational with her.

"Uh, well--" He hesitated for a moment, looking away: partially because he was nervous (nervous to be talking to his own sister, wasn't that weird), partially because he couldn't stand seeing her there in that dress. "I was hoping we could, you know... talk?"

Lia arched an eyebrow at Ioan in disbelief. "With words? That's funny, I was under the impression that you solved everything with your fists nowadays." He visibly winced at her jab, which caused her to wince in return. Merlin, he really did look pathetic. Pursing her lips for a moment, she thought on what to do; this didn't look like an act, nor did she know Ioan to act... but gosh, she was so mad at him still, did she really want to talk to him?

The answer, her heart told her, was yes. She sighed. "Sit down."

Deciding to count his blessings rather than question Ophelia's sudden change of mood, Ioan took a seat on the end of her bed. She hesitated for a long moment, watching the look of expectancy on his face, before joining him, sitting about a foot and a half away. This conversation, at least for the time being, was going to be kept detatched and impersonal.

The siblings sat in silence for a few long moments, Ioan trying to figure out how to begin, Ophelia waiting impatiently for him to get on with it and feeling awfully awkward. "So... are you going to--"

"--I'm sorry."

"Pardon?"

"I'm sorry."

"Pardon?"

Ioan heaved a sigh, looking down at his hands in his lap. "I'm sorry, alright? I just... I realized this morning that my little sister is getting married. And I realized that I'm losing her, no matter what I do about it, no matter what I think about the man I'm losing her to. Clara, you've... you've never been just my sister, you've always been one of my best friends; but best friends don't try to mess up what makes the other happy, no matter what they feel about it, and I've been a real ass in that department over the past couple months. I don't want you to get married with us having bad feelings about each other. Weddings are supposed to be happy, and you're happy so I just want you to know that... that I'm happy, too, then."

Hoping she wouldn't tear him down after that--guh, he couldn't take it if she hated him still after this--Ioan glanced over at her tentatively... and was shocked to see tears--tears--brimming her eyes. His immediate, reflex reaction was to jump tha gap she'd created and put his hands on her arms. "Hey, what's--are you okay?" he asked, genuinely concerned. Crying was... definitely not the reaction he had been expecting, and he didn't know if it was good or bad.

Lia shook her head furiously. "I'm--I'm not! I'm not at all, I can't do this!"

"Wait.. what? Clara, come on, why aren't you okay?"

"No, okay is--not happy, Merlin, Ioan, I'm not happy." Taken aback by this revelation, he had to force himself not to sit back a bit. Was she talking about what he thought she was talking about? Was she serious?

"You can't... but--you mean, the wedding--but you've been so... Did he do somethi--" Ioan cut himself off quickly, catching himself on that one, but it was his big brother reflex to think the worst about Grayson first. "I mean... what happened? How long?"

"I--I don't know how long, but--Smeth, he--my old boyfriend, you know? He kissed me and I just... I can't do this, I still like him and I--I like Grayson too, but I'm too young! I can't marry him, and I can't decide between them right now and I... Gods, Ioan, Father and Mother are going to--"

Disown you. Ioan's stomach went suddenly hollow, from the realization and how true he knew that was. It was true that their parents were impartial politically, but they still followed all the pureblooded traditions and values. If Ophelia walked out on her own wedding, especially to a man like Grayson, it was a sure ticket straight off their family tree. The dishonor would be far too great for the Llewellyns to bear.

"Well, hold on a--hold on a second..." Ioan's voice was shaky, despite his obvious attempts to be calm. He reached over and pulled her into his arms, allowing her to lay her head in the crook of his neck. "Have you really thought about this? Are you... are you sure you want to do this?" Merlin, he didn't want her to marry Grayson, but to see your own sister disowned... that, he knew, would hurt much, much more than seeing her commit her life to a man he hated. "If you're going to do this you've got to be certain."

"You should have seen the look on Smeth's face when--when I told him I was still getting married," she said. "Ioan, I want more than... more than anything to just be able to go through with this, but--my heart broke when Smeth walked away from me that night and.. and I can't just get over him, and I can't marry Grayson knowing I love someone else. Nor... nor can I live knowing I was forced into my own wedding... and just let it happen."

Ioan didn't say anything for a while, his grip on his sister merely tightening, pulling her in for a full embrace. Ophelia buried her face in his chest, in the same silence, and breathed deeply, trying not to just break down like she'd been wanting to do days. It was, however, to no avail, as Ioan's next words sent her over the edge.

"You've always got a bedroom at my place."

Lia choked on a sob, and threw her arms around Ioan, forgetting suddenly and completely about any animosity she'd harbored for him in the past two months. That he would still be there for her, that he would defy their parents to be there for her, even when she had been so horrible to him and Caitlin, even when she was about to bring the greatest disgrace upon their family in its history, meant more than words, and it was a better feeling than she'd had about anything in her life in what seemed like an eternity.