sugar fix

As Brynn settled into the spot beside Cosmo, the view that unfolded before her was every bit as breathtaking as he had promised. The allure of their secluded vantage point sparked a playful twinkle in her eyes. With a sigh and a hint of feigned exasperation, she teased him about their clandestine escapade. "And why, pray tell, would an honorable gentleman whisk a lady away to a place so secluded, with no prying eyes to witness the trouble we might find?" She playfully rolled her eyes, acknowledging the persistent rumors that seemed to follow them wherever they went.

“What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him. Not like it matters too much anyway. Mummy and Daddy are set in their traditional ways.” Brynn's words revealed a deeper layer of complexity beneath her lighthearted demeanor. She dismissed the significance of the rumors and the expectations that society placed upon her relationships. In her world, the decisions and choices made by her parents held more weight than the fleeting opinions of others. A sense of resignation tinged her voice as she looked away from Cosmo, her posture reflecting her vulnerability as she pulled her knees up to her chest.

"They've already signed my choices away," she confessed softly, her words carrying a tinge of sadness. The impending announcement of her engagement to a suitable pureblood suitor loomed on the horizon, scheduled to take place shortly after her sixteenth birthday. It was no surprise that Cosmo was unaware of these plans, nor did he know the extent of her discontentment. Brynn yearned for freedom, for a chance to break free from the suffocating confines of tradition and societal expectations. She craved the opportunity to simply have fun, to enjoy the present moment without the weight of obligations and predetermined paths weighing her down.

In that moment, perched atop the rooftop with the world stretched out before them, Brynn sought solace and a fleeting sense of liberation. She wanted to revel in the joy of the here and now, to experience the thrill of defying the expectations that had been placed upon her. Deep down, she hoped that this brief respite from her predetermined fate would ignite a flame of rebellion, one that would ultimately lead her towards a future she could truly call her own.

He glanced over at her and saw with satisfaction that the view pleased her. He did not have much in the way of ‘street cred’ as he had gone the route moreso of respectability and ambition than anything. His Cool Factor came from his father and his easy social skills more than they did from any actual level of experience. Borrowing this plan from Jet was a good move overall.

At her quip in response, he shrugged. “Because I’m picky about the company I keep and between you and me,” he leaned in for effect. “The options are limited.” He winked.

It was about as inflammatory a statement he would make without encouragement. Cosmo had his opinions, certainly, about the people he shared the castle with. But he had learned from his mother that the power of a withheld opinion outweighed the strength of an ally gained from a shared view. You could not change or withdraw once your aim was clear.

He wouldn’t disagree though, if someone said what he was thinking.

“Ah, is the Sallow name not tempting enough for them?” he asked, withdrawing some of the candies he had purchased and setting the bags between them. The pureblood courtship process was another way in which he and Brynn were comfortably well suited, they’d been forced into suits and gowns and told to mingle their entire lives. That bond was something different.

However, the burden seemed heavy in her. He instinctively knew that the system benefitted men more than it did women. Especially for women of means, there was less to gain in giving up their freedom, but it was still better than the alternative. The Barbary siblings were lucky in their father’s hesitancy to dive too deeply into the traditions.

“Have they already made a decision, then?” he asked. “Or is it just happening sooner than you had hoped.”

A delicate blush painted the girl's cheeks as she absorbed the true intention behind Cosmo's invitation, away from the bustling street below. In that moment, she couldn't help but feel a tinge of gratitude that it was him sitting there with her. Considering the gradual decline of her social circle, predominantly composed of purebloods like her parents and their generation, finding herself in this particular situation with someone like Cosmo was far from undesirable.

Her lips curled into a mischievous smirk as she contemplated the clandestine encounters she had been engaged in, veiled from the prying eyes of her parents and the predictable social events they orchestrated. "They're clueless about my little escapades with Sallow," she admitted, her voice laced with a hint of amusement. "At least not beyond their meticulously orchestrated gatherings." The thought of the secrets she had been keeping from her parents brought a sense of satisfaction, a rebellion against the expectations imposed upon her.

She fought back a sigh, sensing the weight of the conversation settling upon them. The topic was veering into a realm she wasn't quite ready to explore. "It's all because they force us to partake in their insipid little parties," she lamented, her tone tinged with a touch of exasperation. The suffocating nature of their social obligations weighed heavily upon her, stifling her desires and true aspirations.

Her voice took on a slightly somber note as she continued, revealing a glimpse into her impending future. "They've already made their choice," she confessed, the weight of her parents' decision hanging in the air. Years of discussions and expectations had led to this pivotal moment. Soon, she would discover who they had chosen for her. The imminent meeting, scheduled just after her sixteenth birthday, loomed before her, and the subsequent announcement slated for the summer sent a shiver down her spine. "We all get to know this summer."

She couldn't help but feel trapped, her fate seemingly predetermined by her family's traditions. With each passing day, the sense of confinement grew stronger, and the burden of their expectations pressed down upon her. The impending revelation weighed heavily on her mind, casting a shadow over her thoughts and the potential for happiness.

Cosmo rooted through the bag and found a flavor-changing carmel that would cycle through different flavors the longer one sucked on it. It was a favorite of his sister’s, so one he had become quite acquainted with. He unwrapped it and popped it into his mouth, enjoying as the savory salty flavor melted into a warm vanilla and then into a sweet strawberry.

He figured as much, as far as her parent’s knowledge of Sallow. It wasn’t the done thing anyway to allow a pureblood parent into the inner machinations of teenaged lives. They wanted to be apart of the decisions and the moves. Involving Mum and Dad would almost certainly guarantee no fun could ever be had.

“What our parents don’t know, doesn’t hurt them,” he repeated, a common saying among the pureblood youth. Surely their parents remembered their own adolescence and assumed trouble was afoot. But maybe there was some truth to the idea that adults lost their imagination at some point. Cosmo kept things from his parents not from shame but out of convenience. There was little, if anything, he did that he’d fear them finding out. Mostly because he saw eye to eye on them on most of these things.

But it was easy to do that when the system was built for you.

“You don’t absolutely love the boring garden parties and debutante ball?” he asked dryly, sliding his eyes to her to confirm he was teasing. There was a certain fun to them, until they became about marrying you off. Then they became work.

He let out a sigh of sympathy at her confession. He was excited to graduate and do great things, even if it meant taking a wife he didn’t care for. But he’d never exactly hoped for love, it was incidental to his happiness. And he knew he’d be the power player in any marriage of his. But he also accepted that his feelings on it may change as the time approached.

“Tough luck, Aubrey,” he said, offering a sympathetic frown. “I find when I don’t have choice in a thing to how choice might complicate things. Say you went the love marriage route and he was awful. Lost your fortune. Or was unfaithful and obvious about it.” Even saying it out loud seemed lame.

It was refreshing to find someone who understood the struggles she faced with her parents. With a weak smile, she welcomed the comfort of expressing her thoughts, a phrase she often used to persuade her "friends" into doing things they didn't want to do. "I do enjoy dresses and occasional excitement, but I don't want to get married—especially not right after school, to a stranger, or anytime soon, maybe never." Opening up about her true feelings on marriage was a first for her. She wasn't ready to settle down and become a mere trophy on someone's arm, paraded around to impress others. "I'll attempt to play the 'Daddy's little girl' card first, hoping it will finally change his mind."

“We are rather young aren’t we?” he mused, reaching for another caramel. Ooh, it started as chocolate. Lovely. “You know the prefrontal cortex doesn’t even finish developing until the age of twenty five? Wild to think it’ll be another decade before our brain is fully formed.” He shook his head.

“He might not be a stranger,” Cosmo suggested helpfully. “I’m just glad we live in an age where these parents aren’t making matches with people a decade or two apart in age like they used to.” It was a strange circumstance, to live in modernity but be forced to participate in tradition.

“Do they put any stock into careers?” he suggested. “I’ve considered politics and my parents are both supportive. If I were to ask for a delay in marriage on the grounds of a promising career, I feel like they’d agree. That could be an avenue.”

That was enough of the boring, heavy talk. She needed to change the subject. “That is enough about my pending doom. I’m sure we could find something better to distract ourselves with.” escape from the responsibilities of their birth rights. She looked down at the students that was passing by trying to think of something. “Hey, isn’t that the muggle born, Goodrum?” She asked pointing at a girl with a beanie and long pants on. “Wanna cause a little trouble?” she asked a mischievous grin on her face.
This was a good place to play a harmless prank or two without getting caught. It would also give them a chance to put the undesirables in their place for once.

She seemed keen to change the conversation, and he noted that. For her, it wasn’t resignation to her duties, but an actual sense of dread. Neither he or Cosi were exactly thrilled but it was more of a bothersome chore than something they actively feared. Interesting. Something for him to explore.

At a later time, though.

Again, something in his discrete, lawful nature balked. But they were in a position wherein they could not be identified, and Brynn seemed in desperate need of the fun. “What did you have in mind?” he said, tossing a caramel at her.

Brynn giggled as she caught the candy he tossed at her and popped it into her mouth thanking what they could do to bring inconvenience or embarrassment to the muggleborn. Reaching into her pocket she pulled her wand out twirling it around for a second before deciding something. “Mud for a mudblood?” She murmured an incantation causing mud to appear in the road a few paces in front of her. Now to just find something to cause her to fall over. Scanned the space between them and the girl for something that would do the trick, biting her lip as she did so.
Ah the potted plant, that would be perfect and moving it a few inches would easily go unnoticed. She used leviosa to move the plant just into the path of Goodrum causing the girl to trip falling into the mud. Sure, it was just a little childish, but she wouldn’t actually hurt anyone, just their pride.

He’d always had a keen sense for which of his pureblood peers were just typical rich kids with borrowed ideals from their parents, and which held some of the older ideals of blood purity. It was gauche to admit it in wider society, for the most part, but among each other and often encouraged by champagne, it was not hard to separate them.

Brynn’s comfort in using the word mudblood intrigued him and he did not react to the word. He’d hoped the debate club could have progressed to the point where they discussed relations between muggles and wixen people, muggleborns and purebloods, the use of terms like mudbloods and what hold they had in a world with a war won.

“I’ll never say no to wordplay,” Cosmo quipped. He watched the girl on the street for a moment, before glancing over at Brynn, who seemed to come alive at the mischief. He watched her thoughtfully as she executed her plan.