It had been pure bliss for both Sebastian and Vienne since entering a relationship with each other two weeks ago. Vienne had never felt so alive in her life, and it truly made her feel like she was thriving for the first time in a while. Sebastian felt the same way. After spending so many years of his life in such a horrible place, he was able to find happiness within Vienne.
They had seen each other almost every day since their confession, in complete secret. Vienne had told both Marie and Ceci what had happened, and they pitched in to try and help the two of them keep their relationship under Claudine's radar. Whether that meant sneaking Sebastian around the house or sneaking Vienne outâthey were just happy to see Vienne happy.
Of course, Ominis also knew of what happened, as he knew of Sebastian's plans to tell Vienne in the first place, and his home continued to be a safe haven for the two. This was the happiest Sebastian had seemed all year, and it was all worth it.
Another market day had finally come around, but this time, Vienne had asked Sebastian to accompany her when she went. It was a slight risk, as they would be out in public with one another; however, the people in the markets were not the kind of people to ever socialize themselves with someone like Claudine Austen, as she was a high-class snob who could probably care less about them. As far as many of them were concerned, they liked Vienne, and they wouldn't go around spilling her secrets.
Sebastian was surprisingly eager to go as well. Not only was it an opportunity to just be around Vienne, but also so he could meet and interact with the locals, and after living here for a year but hardly meeting anyone outside of some snobbish socialites, that sounded wonderful.
Vienne had also strongly reassured him that they would be fine being seen together there, and that helped soothe his nerves knowing that nobody was going to rat them out to her mother.
The weather was nice, the sun was shining, and it was the perfect opportunity to go out. As they roamed around, arms linked with one another, it reminded Sebastian of the small markets around Feldcroft, and that brought small bits of peace to his heart remembering his old home. It had been so long since he had been backâhe wondered what had changed.
"And that's Mr. Babin's shop stand. I go there to get my herbs and spices often." Vienne said, gesturing at the little shop stand. "I slip them to the kitchen aid without my mother knowing." She chuckled.
"Food that bad?" Sebastian asked with a humorous tone, quirking a brow.
"She just has no taste." Vienne replied.
They walked up to Mr. Babin's shop so Vienne could do her purchasing and her conversing with the man as usual. She asked Sebastian to quickly go to another vendor and grab something, and as he walked away, Mr. Babin leaned over his stand.
"Is that fellow with you who I think he is?" Mr. Babin asked, curiosity in his tone. He had never seen Sebastian around or heard of him, but he was certainly not Edwardâeverybody knew who Edward was. But the fact that Vienne had brought a man here, arms linked together, spoke volumes of what their relationship might be.
Vienne took a quick glance at Sebastian before leaning towards Mr. Babin. "It's exactly that." She replied, a smile on her face. "But of course, my mother doesn't know. She's still hung up on Edward Carter for Merlin's sake. The last time I was here, I made it clear how I felt about him, but he keeps pressing."
Mr. Babin's brows furrowed. "So, your mum doesn't know you're with him?" He asked, trying to understand the situation.
Vienne nodded her head. "We've been keeping it a secret for the past two weeks. But I really like him, Mr. Babin. I've known him for a few months now, and he just makes me so happy; happier than Edward ever could, that's for sure. But my mother won't see it that way. Sebastian doesn't come from status or wealth, and she'll think lowly of that." She explained.
Mr. Babin rolled his eyes. "Elitists." He scoffed, shaking his head. "Well, don't you worry; this little secret stays within the marketplace. I don't think anybody here has the guts to rat something out to Claudine Austen of all people. You're both welcome here as far as I'm concerned."
Sebastian walked back over from the other vendor, cutting Mr. Babin and Vienne's conversation short. "Here you are," Sebastian said, handing the item over to Vienne so she could place it into her basket.
"Oh, thank you, darling." She smiled.
"Pleasure to meet you, boy. The name is Clarence Babin." Mr. Babin said, his hand going out to shake Sebastian's.
"Pleasure to meet you too; I'm Sebastian Sallow." Sebastian introduced himself, giving Mr. Babin a firm shake. It was odd to introduce himself as he hadn't been doing it at all for the past almost eleven years. But people actually cared about his name here; he wasn't a prisoner assigned a bunch of numbers or a cellblock as his name. And that made him feel something again.
"When did you come to the area?" Mr. Babin inquired, continuing the small talk.
"Oh, about a year ago." Sebastian replied. "I just haven't been out much. I've been busy with other things, and of course, Vienne has occupied my time often."
Vienne's cheeks tinged a light pink color, which did not go unnoticed by the two men as a small laugh was shared in between them. It felt so nice to be open about their relationship in public after not only hiding their feelings for so long but each other in general.
"A year? That's quite some time to just now be meeting the locals." Mr. Babin commented. "Either way, glad to have you here. We're always lookin' for good-hearted people to add to our community. So, welcome, Mr. Sallow."
Welcome.
That word felt so nice, especially hearing someone else say it.
He was finally welcomed to some place. Even in his own home back in Feldcroft, he knew he wasn't welcome there by his own uncle. And while there were a few people there who cared and checked up on him, it never changed the feeling of knowing the person who was supposed to care about him didn't at all.
But in Ominis' homeâ and in this part of townâhe was welcome.
Vienne could see the expression on his face change a little, and she placed her hand on his arm, comforting him a bit. She understood his rough background and the person he used to be, but although she understood that, she knew that wasn't who he was today. He was a new man with a new life, and she was proud of him for it.
And she was going to continue to help him better himself. After all, he had already helped her better herself as well.
After a bit more small talk with Mr. Babin, the two finished up their rounds around the marketplace before finding a bench to sit at and talk with each other. Vienne had a feeling they'd be coming to this part of town in particular often, as it was safer for them to be there together than near the parts where they lived.
The people here were genuine and good souls; Sebastian could feel it.
"Mr. Babin seems like a nice fellow." Sebastian said, his arm rested snugly around Vienne's waist.
Vienne nodded her head. "He is. Most people here are; it's why I like coming here every chance I get. It's a nice breath of fresh air from what I'm used to, and Merlin knows everybody there has some sort of drama or gossip to share. They hardly have their own news, so they spread everyone else's." She spoke with an unamused tone.
"Wouldn't that get boring after a while?" Sebastian questioned.
"You'd think." She snorted. "But somehow they always find a way. I'm sure I've been the talk of parts of town these past couple of months. Mother can't keep her mouth shut and absolutely must paint my relationship status out to everyone in hopes of finding a 'man for me,' and don't even get me started on what's going on with Mr. Carter."
Sebastian frowned a little, giving her a comforting squeeze. He couldn't imagine how odd that must feelâpractically being bartered away in the name of wealth and status while all you really wanted was for someone to love you.
Part of him was upset that a man also felt so entitled to Vienne when he had no relationship with herâshe didn't even like him. Sebastian didn't even feel entitled to her, and he was her boyfriend for Merlin's sake.
Being in a relationship that was a secret to the people who were the problem was difficult; Vienne couldn't deny that. They wanted to fit you into a little box, force you into relationships that seemed socially the best and acceptable, and just wouldn't allow you to be yourself.
They were practically working overtime against you and the person you loved, and that's exactly how Vienne felt. She was happy to be with Sebastianâhappier than she had been in a long timeâbut she couldn't deny the stress that went along with it.
Sebastian could see the expression on her face change, and he turned towards her, lifting her chin up with his free hand. "Hey, hey, don't worry. We'll figure this out, okay?" He reassured her gently.
The reassurance worked for a moment, but unfortunately for them, their peaceful moment was quickly interrupted by none other than Edward Carter himself. Vienne saw him coming around the corner and quickly reacted, pushing Sebastian away. "It's Edward, quick!" She whispered, knowing that if Edward saw them so close, he'd go straight to Claudine about it.
Sebastian was caught off guard, but he quickly figured out what was going on. Vienne knew that Edward was here because he knew she would be there. She mentally cursed herself for not thinking about that before bringing Sebastian here.
Edward came walking up to them, Rolf trailing closely behind. "Vienne, funny seeing you here." He said with a humorous tone. But Vienne didn't laugh; she knew exactly what was going on. Edwards's eyes flickered over to Sebastian, recognizing him as the man Vienne had been speaking to by the Guant manor.
"What are you doing here, Edward?" Vienne questioned, although she already knew the answer. She wondered if her mother had put him up to this or not.
"Just... conversing with the locals, is all." Edward replied hesitantly. "Astounding that we keep running into each other here, really."
Vienne's eyes narrowed. She knew that was a big lieâthe same lie he used last time. "That's rich, Carter." She scoffed, unable to control her anger.
"Now, now, Vienne, no need to be so upset at my attempts to kindly converse." Edward replied defensively.
Sebastian almost wanted to snap at him for his attitude towards Vienne, but he knew it'd probably be better to let Vienne handle things in this situation. He didn't want to give too much away, since it was already decently obvious why he was here with Vienne.
Edward picked up on Sebastian's tension, his eyes finally setting on him. "You. I've seen you around before. Who are you and why are you here?" He asked, his tone almost accusatory.
Vienne quickly stepped up in front of Sebastian before he could even react. "It doesn't matter who he is, but if you must know, he's a friend of mine." She spoke, trying to offset his attention. "I'm showing him around. Now answer my question: Did my mother put you up to this?"
Edward's narrowed eyes still set on Sebastian, who returned the unpleasant stare with pleasure, but finally his eyes went back to Vienne. "No, I'm here on my own accord." He replied.
"Well, good for you." Vienne said, knowing that he wasn't telling the full truth. "Either way, I should be getting home now."
At this revelation, Edward quickly jumped on the chance of possibly getting to speak to her alone. "Oh, well then I'll walk you back. It's the gentlemanly thing to do." He spoke quickly, almost itching to get her away from Sebastian.
Vienne almost wanted to shout no, but she kept her composure. "No, it's quite alright." She said, taking a step back from himâwhich made Sebastian instinctively move forward as if to try and protect her. "I can walk myself back." She stated firmly, but nothing seemed to ever be able to get through Edward's thick skull.
"But I insistâ"
Edward was quickly cut off by Sebastian. "She said she could walk herself back, and if anyone accompanies her, it's certainly not going to be you." He spoke.
That caught Edward off guard for a moment as he wasn't expecting Sebastian to chime into the conversation, but it certainly intimidated him now that there was another man involved. And although Sebastian was glad Edward seemed stunned enough to back off, he was angry that he only backed off because of him, not because Vienne wanted him to back off. Clearly, Edward did not respect Vienne at all, and that upset Sebastian greatly.
Rolf finally worked up the guts to chime in, hoping to get Edward to leave the situation where it was at. "Edward, perhaps you shouldâ"
"Shut up and don't speak." Edward snapped at him, not caring that two other people could see him treat Rolf in such a way.
Sebastian furrowed his brows. "Who do you even think you are?" He questioned with a scowl. How could Edward feel so comfortable yelling at his friend like that? But he wasn't about to give Edward another chance to make the situation worse. "Whatever, it doesn't matter. We're leaving." He said, grabbing Vienne by the arm gently to move her along.
Vienne made no protest, no longer wanting to be anywhere near Edward. That man made her more frustrated, angry, and disgusted than any other man she knew.
But once they had gotten quite a bit away, Sebastian started to speak again. "Vienne, I'm so sorry." He apologized, even though he was in no way at fault for anything that had happened back there. "I'll take you back and make sure he doesn't keep bothering you."
Vienne shook her head. "No, it's alright. As much as I'd love that, if Edward goes to my mother about this, I wouldn't want to further confirm his suspicions about us with you being there. I told Mr. Thomas to come before we left; he can take me home." She explained. "And really, I should be the one that is sorry here. I brought you here without thinking that Edward might be around to meddle in things."
"I should have shut him down sooner. I'm supposed to protect you, Vienne. Not have you dealing with a man with the likes of him." Sebastian frowned. In a way, he felt like he had failed her for a moment there.
"You did the right thing having me handle most of it. We wouldn't want to continue to give Edward hints of our relationship." Vienne reassured him.
Sebastian sighed but understood her reasoning. "If you say so, my dear."
Not long after, Sebastian made sure that she safely made it to the stagecoach before bidding her a sweet goodbye. Meanwhile Edward was still fuming by Rolf, upset by how everything had gone. It seemed like every time he had a chance around Vienne, it was crushed, although he probably needed to realize he was the problem. But he'd never admit that.
He whipped around to Rolf, anger written all over his expression.
"That man is the root of the problem here." He seethed. "Ever since the day I met Vienne, he's been around, meddling in everything. Yet I don't even know who he is. We must figure out everything we can about him."
He stormed past Rolf without another word, leaving him standing there, just like last time. "...Where do we even start?" he asked, knowing Edward wouldn't hear him. "Oh, why do I even try?" He groaned.
Sebastian was still out there in the marketplace, just trying to recollect himself. If there was one man who upset him, it was Edward Carter. His dayâand his dateâhad been completely ruined because of him. Not to mention Edward's creepy "claim" and advances over Vienne.
Merlin, he needed a drink.