Fractured Fairy Tale (Burkes or Tyler)

[Ophelia Burke]

For Ophelia, it seemed like the world was crumbling down around her. Her father, who she had thought adored her and cherished her and cared about her happiness, had set her up to marry some guy she didn't even know. How he could do this to her, his little Fee, she simply couldn't understand. Hadn't she always made it clear that she wanted to choose her own man? She felt like her father didn't care about what she wanted. She wanted Tyler. He was from a good family, a pureblood, rich family.... Why couldn't she be with him?


Since coming back to school, she had been unlike her usual self... she was quiet and withdrawn, ignoring everyone. This was her way of pouting, even though she knew it wouldn't work. She had to come up with a better plan, but until she did, she didn't want to be bothered.

It was very cold out today, with a harsh wind blowing. It was turning Ophelia's hair into a tangled mess, but she didn't seem to care. She sat in the courtyard, looking miserable, with big, fat tears rolling down her cheek.

[Tyler Parsons]

Tyler had been looking for Ophelia. He noticed that she had been acting a little differently but he never asked why. He figured that if she really wanted him to know, she would tell him. Although, Tyler couldn't help but wonder what was going on. Ever since she had returned to school, it bothered him. He didn't like not seeing her happy and that made him become determined to find out.

He searched the places that he thought that Ophelia would be. He had even gone down to the Slytherin common room and asked one of the students coming out if Ophelia was in there. Much to his dismay, she wasn't in there. She wasn't in the kitchens or anywhere on the seventh floor. Outside was the only place he hadn't checked since it was cold and windy out.

Deciding that outside would be the only place she could be, Tyler pushed open the door leading to the courtyard. A smile crossed his face whenever he saw her blond hair blowing in the wind, but it slowly faded whenever he noticed her posture. He walked toward her and took a seat next to her. "Hey Ace," he said softly. He thought it strange that she was outside alone in this weather. "Mind if I join you for a bit?"

[Ophelia Burke]

As soon as she saw him, she launched herself at him, throwing her arms around him. "Oh, Tyler!" she sobbed. "It's awful, just awful.... Daddy set me up with an arranged marriage! The one thing I've always said I didn't want.... I don't even know him. Some Slytherin with a stupid name. I don't want to marry him, and I won't do it! I want to be with you...."

The rest of her words were lost in a torrent of tears and sobs as she buried her face against his chest. Why couldn't Daddy see that what he wanted her to do was unfair?

[Tyler Parsons]

As soon as she launched herself into his chest, Tyler's arms went around her and a frown formed on his face. Seeing Ophelia cry made him want to take away whatever it was that made her this way. He was going to tell her that it was going to be alright, but he stiffened and his jaw tightened whenever she said that she was in an arranged marriage.

Was this serious? Ophelia was supposed to be engaged? Once she told him that she just wanted to be with him, Tyler held her tighter to him. A sudden idea of suggesting that they just leave entered his mind, but that was completely insane. They would end up in so much trouble.

Tyler kissed the top of her head before resting his cheek on her head again. "I won't be going anywhere," he said confidently. Just because she was supposed to be engaged to someone else, didn't mean that he was going to just let go.

[Ophelia Burke]

Ophelia cried harder and clung to him. "Good," she sobbed. "Cause I don't want to let you go. I've vowed that I won't accept him... I don't care how rich or good his bloodlines are! I love you!"

The fact that she had never said this to him before didn't even occur to her. She was far too caught up in her emotions. The world was so cruel and unfair, and she hated her father for arranging her marriage to some slob who obviously couldn't get a bride all on his own.

Pulling back at last, she looked up at him, her face red and puffy from the tears. "You have to help me. Somehow, I have to get out of this marriage. I think I have an idea."

[Tyler Parsons]

Hearing that Ophelia loved him almost made a smile appear on his face. If the situation hadn't been like it was, he would have given a wide grin. "I love you too Ace," he said. Tyler was unsure if she heard him or not but he still held on to her tightly. He was determined to not let Ophelia end up with whoever her father wanted her to be with. She obviously didn't want to be with whoever it was and Tyler didn't want her to be either. There had to be some way he could help her get out of it.

Whenever she pulled away, Tyler lifted one hand to start wiping her tears away. "I'll try to help you somehow." He should be able to figure something out. "What kind of idea are you thinking of?"

[Ophelia Burke]

She gave a small smile as he helped wipe her tears away. She was so glad she had him. This would have been so much harder without him. She would have refused this marriage even if she hadn't had Tyler in her life, because she had always resolved never to accept an arranged marriage. But Tyler was her refuge, and she was relieved that he was here and willing to help her.

"I need to make this Axis Thorne person not want me anymore," she said. "Daddy won't call it off, so I need to make Axis do it. If he thinks I'm.... ruined.... he might not want me anymore."

[Tyler Parsons]

Seeing her small smile made him return it. Tyler was going to work with her to find an end to this arranged marriage. "Axis Thorne?" He raised his eyebrows. That was a name he had never heard before, but he probably had seen him.

"Ruined?" Tyler looked at her curiously. He wasn't sure how they were supposed to pull it off. "How do you suppose we're going to pull that one off?"

[Ophelia Burke]

Ophelia pressed her lips together. She didn't particularly like this part, because it would surely start tongues wagging all over the school. Her reputation would be in the gutter. Still, what was a ruined reputation compared to an unwanted wedding with some jerk she didn't even know?

"He's going to have to think that I'm.... unsuitable. I kind of already let my father believe that you and I.... well, that we.... you know...."

[Tyler Parsons]

His eyes widened slightly. She had let her father think that he had tainted her? Tyler let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. "Oh boy," was his inital reaction. His eyes drifted past her for a second as he drew his thoughts together before looking back to her.

"Do you really think that this guy is going to really care if we slept together?" His mind was turning with thoughts. If this Axis guy thought that they did, what would it do to Ophelia's reputation? Tyler wasn't worried about his own reputation but he was worried about hers.

"Okay, okay, let's say that this Axis guy doesn't buy it, or doesn't care, what do we do then? You know that I'll go along with you because I'm not going to just let some guy come in and take you away. I just want to make sure I know what we're going to do exactly so that I can be some kind of prepared and make sure our stories are the same."

[Ophelia Burke]

Ophelia began to cry a little harder. She had to admit, it was possible that Axis wouldn't believe the story, or that he wouldn't care. She honestly knew absolutely nothing about the guy. She still didn't even know what he looked like. Sure, she'd probably seen the guy around the common room, but she couldn't say for sure which one he was. She didn't really pay attention to most of the Slytherin boys, since Jadon had warned her to stay away from them.

"I'll... I'll be very rude to him whenever I see him," she said. "Maybe he won't want me if he thinks I'm not a nice person. Or... Oh, maybe I can get him interested in someone else! But who....?"

She raised her eyes to him, showing the tears clinging like icicles to her long lashes. "If I have to, I'll run away with you. But there is no way I will marry him.... I won't be separated from you."

[Tyler Parsons]

Once Ophelia started to cry again, Tyler held onto her and tried to calm her. He wasn't sure what he had exactly gotten himself into but he was going to find a way out of it, and he wasn't going to get out of it alone. That was already decided. There had to be a way to get Ophelia out of this ordeal, and Tyler was going to figure it out.

He pushed her away from him gently, just far enough he could look at her while still holding on. "We'll think of something," he said. Tyler leaned in and kissed her forehead. "Running away will be our last option," he said, " but I promise I'll do whatever I have to. We'll get through this one way or another."

[Ophelia Burke]

Ophelia pulled back just far enough that she could look at his face. Even with her skin pale and splotchy from crying, she still looked heartbreakingly beautiful. "Oh, Tyler!" she gasped breathlessly. "I don't know what I'll do if we're separated! I can't breathe when I think of the idea of me marrying this guy and never seeing you again. How can my father do this to me? It's not fair!"

She pressed her lips to his in a wild, desperate kiss. She needed him so much... why couldn't her father see that? Why would he want to make her so unhappy?

[Tyler Parsons]

"We're not going to be separated," Tyler said confidently. "You'll get to see me all the time. I don't give up that easily. You should know that Ophelia." It was pretty much the first time he called her by her name since he met her.

Ophelia's kiss took him by surprise, but only because of the desperation behind it. Tyler kissed her back, promising her that he was going to do whatever he had to in order to keep her happy. At sixteen, it seemed that they had to grow up fast. Ophelia was supposedly engaged to someone else at her young age, and Tyler was going to attempt to find a way for them to stay together. Wasn't there some kind of story like this? He only hoped that they didn't meet some kind of tragic end.

[Ophelia Burke]

He was probably right to be a little worried about that. Ophelia had a flair for the dramatic, and it was always a concern that she would take things too far if she got truly desperate. But she had read Romeo and Juliet; she knew about the mistakes that the fictional couple had made and was sure she would not repeat them. After all, she would never use a potion to make herself look dead so that she could meet Tyler in a crypt. Just the idea of it made her skin crawl… why, a crypt was just bound to be crawling with rats and spiders and all sorts of other nasty, diease-ridden creatures. No, there would have to be a better way.

“As long as I’m here at school, we’re safe,” she said. “No one can separate us. And I’m sure my sisters—or at least Allaire—will help us. And also my friend Lani. The only problem will be if my father pulls me out of school… But even then, maybe I can get Mary or Winnie to help. If I can’t stop this wedding…. We’ll run away.”

[Tyler Parsons]

"I don't really think your father would pull you out of school just so you can get married right away, but then again, I don't really know your father." Tyler didn't really know how the arranged marriage thing worked. Maybe, he could ask his parents for advice or maybe he should just go about it himself. There had to be a loop hole for just about everything, didn't it? Maybe he could find a loop hole for an arranged marriage. Or maybe this Axis guy would just back off.



"If push comes to shove, we'll end up going away. Hopefully your father gives you time to at least finish school. But I promise you this Ace, I am never going to leave you alone."

[Ophelia Burke]

Ophelia sniffled loudly and tried to wipe her face. She didn’t have a handkerchief, and she wouldn’t stoop to ruining her outfit, so she just tried wiping it with her hands. “This is such a disaster; I can’t believe Daddy would do this to me. Doesn’t he trust me to pick a good man on my own? I feel like he sold me like a fatted calf or something.” She shuddered at the analogy.

Sighing tiredly, she leaned against Tyler’s shoulder and closed her eyes. “Promise me,” she said softly. “Promise me that everything will be all right. If you say it, I’ll believe you.”

[Tyler Parsons]

Tyler knew that arranged marriages weren't really right. Sometimes the people would end up falling in love later on, but then there were other times when they didn't even have that connection like that. It was usually seen just as some kind of family connection. Tyler wasn't going to let Ophelia slip through his fingers. He knew that if he asked his parents, he could talk to her father about marriage, but he didn't want to have to give money for her hand in marriage. To him, it seemed like some kind of bribe. He couldn't do that to her.

As she leaned her head on him, Tyler rested his cheek on her head. "I promise you Ace, everything will be alright. We'll figure something out, but for the moment, let's just enjoy the current time, okay? I promise to think of something." His voice was soft as he spoke, then he planted a light kiss on her head.

[Ophelia Burke]

It occurred to Ophelia that this was the moment she had waited for her entire life. The moment she would find someone who would love her enough to fight for her. She had always wanted to be a princess, to have men fighting for her hand. But somehow, this felt different than she had expected. She hadn't expected that it would feel so terrifying, so urgent. Tyler made her feel special, he treated her like she was a person, not like some prize to be won. She needed that; she needed someone who would see her, not simply admire her for her beauty. She couldn't lose him now.

"OK," she said, wrapping an arm around him. "Let's do something fun. I don't know what... but I just want to forget about all of this right now."

[Tyler Parsons]

He didn't understand the people that just married for money. Maybe it was just the way that he was brought up. Tyler did like to look at girls and see how pretty they were and he would be lying if he didn't ever make comments on how pretty some girls were. However, he didn't plan on finding a girl just because of her looks. Some of those pretty girls could be complete ditzes. Tyler didn't want some girl that was dumber than a door nail.

Ophelia was pretty, that was for certain. She was also bright. Sure, she didn't take the most advanced classes or anything like that but she also didn't just expect everything to be directly handed to her. She was willing to fight against her father for what she believed in and Tyler's already high respect for Ophelia went up again.

"Something fun?" Tyler raised an eyebrow. "Well, I say we decide on something as we walk inside the castle. I don't want you to catch a cold out here in this weather." He smiled down at her and wrapped an arm around her tighter, pulling her up with him.