The party for Alistair is held in the ballroom that Alex would forget was in their house for months at a time. It was the only time of year it really saw use. You wouldn't be able to tell unless you lived at the estate though. It was always meticulously well-kept and cleaned. When guests who needed to be impressed were shown around it was the highlight of the tour. The walls and ceiling were white with ornate golden metalwork wrapping up and down them. Every so often the metalwork would wrap around a painting of a garden or natural landscape. From a distance there was nothing fantastical about them, but most of them had a subtle wyvern positioned somewhere in the scene. Alex's father told him they were all meant to be Conrads of generations passed. When he was younger Alex would entertain himself by straining his neck trying to find all of them.
The centre of the ceiling was a hollowed-out dome where a relatively new electric crystal chandelier hung. Laurent used to tell him that if he stood under it too long it would fall on him. Alex never stopped being wary of it. The wall that faced the garden has several arched windows in little enclaves, letting light in during clear days. The floors were dark brown herringbone that always seemed to be immaculately polished no matter how many people had been walking across it. A grand piano was permanently situated nearly the entrance. Alex knew his mother knew how to play, but he rarely saw her go near it. He never remembered seeing anyone other than the hired musicians at Alistair's party play it.
The musicians always played 18th century classical music, because Alistair refused to acknowledge any musical accomplishments made since then. It was the only kind of music Alex ever really heard, save for the old lullabies his father used to sing when he was a toddler. What Alex wouldn't give to hear a single Madonna song. Or even Beverly Farrow's bizarre mixtape. He tried not to think about how funny it would be if she had the urge to play that at the party, rather than to just annoy her brother. Jack would have at her age, if he had thought of it. Maybe it was for the best that they weren't working together.
The dinner with the Farrows was confined to the dining room, another needlessly extravagant room that didn't see much use, though at least it was more than once a year. The other big occasion was Christmas, the only other consistent Conrad gathering of the year. It was the most secular way the holiday could be celebrated, given that none of Alex's family were actually Christian. It was a result from their efforts to meld with human conventions. Wyverns had their own gods back in the day, their own celebrations and holidays for them, but as human influence grew most wyverns assimilated with the dominant beliefs of their regions. Some still practiced the old faith, and some festivals were even popular enough to last even with those who didn't, but it was becoming less common to find those sorts by the day.
The Conrad model of secular observance was dying out too though. More and more wyverns were becoming genuine practitioners of human faiths. Alex's father and the rest of the Joshis had been seriously practicing Hinduism for centuries. Alex wasn't exactly sure where he fell in it all. He wanted to be like his father sometimes, believing so strongly and genuinely in something. Other times he wanted to be like his mother, not believing in anything and being okay with that. It was one of the only ways he ever wished he could be like his mother.
The dinner with the Farrows went by as unremarkably as they usually do. One thing of note was the way in which Beverly managed to be messing with Jack without anyone, even Alex, noticing. He only suspected that's what was happening when Jack would make would a strange noise or face, then point accusingly at his sister while his father looked increasingly ready to smack him.
The only other things were the not-so-subtle looks and whispers directed towards Mary, Noah, and Sean. Amelie had been out of sight with her nannies almost since the three of them arrived. Back then Sean had told Alex that his parents had wanted to leave her back in Dublin, but he convinced them not to.
"How did you manage that?" Alex asked.
"Well, I wanted to tell them they were being unbelievably big arseholes about it all," he said. "But I instead went for the argument that would appeal to their egos. If they had left Amelie behind, the whispers would have just been louder. The more they pretend that nothing is actually amiss, the more likely people will be to go along with their obvious bluff."
Despite Sean's logic, Mary and Noah were determined to keep Amelie away from knowing glances for as long as possible. Alex doubted she would even make an appearance at the party, though Sean seemed bent on getting her there. He had taken his instinct to protect her seriously, especially now that he would be staying in Dublin for school. Alex had suspected he had gotten himself in trouble with those joints on purpose. Seeing the way that Sean doted on his sister made him absolutely sure of it.
After the dinner, most of the adults went in to the lounge for drinks. Mary ducked away, using her need to make sure everything was in order for the next day as an excuse. Of course, that just made the whispers get louder once she was gone. Laurent and Julia stayed with the adults too, in an attempt to come off as more mature than they were. Alex, Jack, and Sean stuck around long enough for Jack and Sean to get their one allocated drink, and to laugh at Laurent trying not to choke on his scotch, then they not so gracefully snuck away to walk out to the stables.
"You know I think it looks good," Sean was saying as they walked, pulling hard on Jack's hair. "You did it yourself?"
"Yup," Jack said with a proud smile.
"Not bad. Could do with some evening out. Lexi, you got any hair clippers around?"
"I think there are still some sheep shears in the stable," Alex suggested.
"I am not letting your drunk ass anywhere near my head with a blade, Sean."
"You really think one glass of whiskey is enough to get me drunk? What kind of Irishman do you take me for?"
"The half-English kind."
"Fuck off."
Sean and Jack bickered back and forth until they got to the stables. Alex left them when they started getting amicably physical and walked over to his horse, Amita. Technically, she had been his father's horse. Alex and she had a lot in common. She had been born weak as well, just a few months after Alex was born. She probably wouldn't have made it if his father hadn't put so much effort in caring for her. She wasn't the fastest or smartest or most agile, but she had an affinity for people. Alex had never met an animal who loved to be doted on more than Amita. Of course, the person she loved the most was Utkarsh. When he was no longer well enough to really spend time with her, he asked Alex to at least visit her from time to time.
Alex had been scared of horses when he was young. Well, he had been scared of almost everything, but horses especially. He had been riding only a few times at that point, and he had yet to walk away from the experience eager to try again. His father knew that, so he didn't want to pressure him to do too much.
"I know you are not the biggest fan of those horses," he had said as the two of them sat in his room. "But Amita is not as big or temperamental as her siblings. Do you think you could stop by every so often? Maybe brush her a bit? Give her an apple or two?"
"Okay," Alex had said, not entirely keen on the prospect. But even back then, when the physical strain of his father's illness was only just starting, Alex could tell things were not looking well. His father had always been the one person who never asked anything of him. How could he say no to this small request? Especially when it was only because he was worried about his pet.
So, Alex had started visiting her, only to keep her company or help the stable hands with grooming and feeding her at first. Soon he realized that he was no longer going out there because his father had asked, but because he wanted to. When another time came for one of his family's social calls for riding, he chose to take out Amita rather than the horse his mother had chosen for him. She had shot him a disapproving glare when he did. They had people to impress, and Amita was not an impressive horse as far as she was concerned. But it was difficult enough dragging Alex out to the stables in the first place, so she didn't say anything. Amita had been so much easier for him to manage, and it kept him from wishing the whole thing would end already. He even decided to go back for a solo ride a few days later. It wasn't long before she felt less like a favour to his father and more like his own horse.
"Are, Amita," Alex said, approaching her as the sounds of his friend and cousin fighting got louder. "How are you?"
Amita whinnied in response, jutting her head out of her stall to nuzzle his hair.
"I know, it's been a while. I'm sorry."
"-call me a Guido?" Jack suddenly shrieked. "Do you even know what that means?"
"I knew it would piss you off," Sean said smugly. Then, less smugly, "Ow!"
Alex looked over his shoulder to see both Sean and Jack on the floor, dirtying up their nice clothes as Jack had Sean in a headlock and Sean was futilely trying to get away.
"Can you two do that somewhere else," Alex said, gesturing to the newly riled up animals in the stable. "You're scaring the horses."
"Yeah, come on Johnny," Sean wheezed out. "Be more considerate of your brethren. Ow! Fecking hell!"
Alex shook his head as Jack abided by his request by dragging Sean out of the stable. Amita watched them leave with what almost looked like the same exasperation that Alex felt. Alex pet her for a minute and gave her some apples stored away in a cupboard before leaving with a promise to be back soon. He found Jack and Sean lying on the grass near his archery range, Sean poking at Jack's uneven haircut with the blunt end of an arrow Alex must have missed the last time he practiced.
"I bet I could do it with this," Sean said, tapping the arrowhead. "It's not too sharp."
"You can't cut hair with an arrow, Sean," Jack muttered, snatching it from him. "Though I could try it with you if you're so bent on proving a point."
"Because you're so much more trustworthy with sharp objects than I am."
"Al, which of us would you trust more to give you a haircut?"
"Why would I let either of you do something like that?" Alex said, taking the arrow away from Jack before he could hurt himself.
"Hey, answer the question," Sean insisted. "We're the only two options, who do you pick?"
"I'd let my hair grow out."
"Asshole," they both said at the same time.
"How's the battle over Amelie making an appearance tomorrow going?"
"I'll make it happen," Sean said, but his frown gave away that he didn't have too much confidence in himself. "I thought the gossip over dinner might prove to my mother that I was right, but I think it just scared her off. She thinks it'll be worse if Amelie is in the room. That people will look between her and my dad and just..."
"Yeah," Alex agreed.
"Your sister really looks that different from your dad?" Jack asked. Alex had to stop himself from smiling. He had forgotten Jack hadn't seen Amelie himself yet.
"She's brown, mate," Sean said.
Jack sputtered out a laugh before he could stop himself, only stopping when he saw Sean's glare. "I'm sorry," he said, not sounding at all apologetic. "But that's... that's the funniest shit I've heard in years. How have... how have you all been getting away with people just... I heard it was all speculation... Christ..."
Jack couldn't keep himself from laughing again, but Sean's glare slipped and he cracked a smile. "Fine, it's pretty fucking hilarious. Unfortunately, my parents don't seem to find the humour in it as much as you do. And it's why they're so keen to keep Amelie apart from everyone all the time. Harder to sell the lie that nothing is wrong when it's that fucking obvious."
"Ah, that's pretty shit," Jack said, composing himself long enough to sound sincere. "I'll commit to playing along, if you want me to."
"I'm a little sick of the bullshit parade, actually. But thanks."
"What's the alternative?" Alex asked himself. "They'll never change their minds. All we can do is grit our teeth and play along."
"Hey someday you're going to be the one making the rules around here," Sean pointed out. "Well, one of the ones, at least."
"I'm sure everyone will be very receptive to any potential changes I would want to make. Our family has a record of responding well to those types of things, after all."
"You joke, but being willing to change is what kept the old families still in power from going the way of the dinosaurs. I mean, the Palmers only clawed their way back as high as they did because one of them finally realized that."
"Did they really have to change all that much, though? They just jumped from the top of one pyramid to another. The biggest difference now is that we spend more time walking around instead of flying. It's all cosmetic, isn't it? The second actual change rolls around, everyone's running around screaming about the fall of civilization."
Alex's face flushed hot when he saw the odd looks Sean and Jack were giving him. He hadn't meant to say all of that. He hadn't even meant to take the conversation in that direction. He just got so agitated every time he was reminded that he was meant to be exactly like all the people he complained about one day. Every time he feared that one day, he would become exactly like them without even realizing it.
"Shit, I guess you're right," Jack said, lying down with arms tucked behind his head. "My dad did freak when he found out I tried to ask out Miranda."
Alex said, "You did?" at the same time Sean asked, "Who?".
"A friend of mine, back in New York," Jack explained. "She's not old family, so he nearly had an aneurism. He didn't need to panic though, she turned me down instantly."
"I'm sorry," Alex said while Sean just snickered.
"It's no big deal."
Alex couldn't help but notice that Jack glared at Sean while he said that, in a way that looked like more than playful annoyance. He had a feeling his friend was more heartbroken about it than he was willing to say. Jack noticed him staring and did his backwards somersault trick to get himself standing upright.
"I for one am excited about the new students this year," Jack said, brushing off blades of grass from his already grass stained clothes. "So sick of all the stuck-up girls at Conrad. If there's even a single girl like Miranda in the bunch, things will be a lot more interesting."
"I'm almost sad I'm missing it," Sean said, waving away a ladybird that was trying to perch on his forehead. "Almost. Hey, do me favour?"
Jack said "No" at the same time Alex warily asked "What?"
"I was talking to Lexi, Johnny-boy. You see Killian Anderson, you tell him I am newly unattached if he's ever in Dublin."
"You're always unattached, Sean," Jack pointed out.
"I meant officially."
"Are you saying Lily Roche-"
"Called off," Sean interrupted. "Evidently marrying your daughter off to the son of a pair of cuckholds just isn't as sensible of investment as it used to be. Who knows if the root cause is genetic after all?"
"You must be happy about that," Alex said, despite the fact that he had sounded thoroughly dissatisfied as he had talked about it.
"Oh, I'm sure one day I will be. Something about being labelled damaged goods is just rubbing me the wrong way right now."
"Tell you what," Jack started, his wide grin making Sean and Alex know he was about to say something very stupid, "if Cleo Victors' folks ever come to their senses and set her up with someone else, I'll tell my folks to look into getting us matched up."
"Ignoring how unlikely that would be in the first place, how would that be helpful, Johnny?"
"Well, you won't feel bad about being single anymore. And I'll give you permission to cheat on me."
"Is it cheating if you have permission?"
"Huh. I guess not. There you go."
Sean rolled his eyes and held up his hand to mime a toast. "To you and Ms. Victors, then. May you have a long and happy life very far away from me."
"You're being really mean to me right now. Al, I'd make a good husband, right?"
"Don't comment Lexi," Sean cut in before he could answer. "Either answer would just give him too much ammo to use against you."
"You know in another life we would have been married," Jack pointed out.
"Let's just say I'm glad to live in this one, then," Alex decided to say, smiling at Sean's cackle and Jack's theatrically hurt reaction.