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In Sheep's Clothing	By : ParisWriter Category: +G through L > Harvest Moon Views: 2169 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter Twenty-Seven

Klaus concentrated on his breathing, his eyes closed, and tried not to think about where he was. That was not an east task, however, as they'd hit a spot of rough wind and the small plane Amir had chartered to bring them to Echo Village was being tossed about lightly in the air. He gasped as they hit a particularly nasty bump in the turbulence, and he felt Avery take his hand and give it a gentle squeeze. He returned the gesture, though his grip tightened considerably as the plane was tossed about once more, and Marian's laughter drifted to him from across the small passenger cabin of the plane.

"I had no idea you were afraid to fly," the doctor said as he continued chuckling at his expense.

"I don't know why you're surprised that I would be," Klaus snapped in reply. "You know how much I hate heights."

"Which is why I insisted that Avery sit by the window," Marian pointed out.

"Leave him be," Avery scolded him, her other hand coming to rest upon Klaus' back and rub slowly in circles to soothe his nerves. Klaus opened his eyes a little and looked at her, giving her a small smile in appreciation for her attempts to make him feel better, but soon forced them shut once more and swore under his breath as they hit another jarring bump.

"You three okay back there?" the blonde man piloting the plane called back to them.

"We're fine, Charles," Marian called in response even as Klaus was shaking his head.

"What are you even doing here?" he asked after a moment, looking over to the man seated across from him. "I'm guessing you're Allen's 'plus one,' but you didn't need to go into town a full two days before the wedding."

"Addie invited me, actually," Marian informed him with a smirk. "We're not extremely close, but she and I have spoken on a few occasions. As for my coming in early, I figured Avery would end up being pretty busy helping with the last-minute preparations so I thought you might like a familiar face to spend time with rather than having to fend completely for yourself in a strange town full of people you don't know."

"And I assume those last-minute preparations are the reason why we couldn't have just taken a train over?" Klaus asked, turning his attention to Avery. She gave him an apologetic smile and leaned forward in her seat to kiss him briefly.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. Flying is faster. If I had known you'd be so uncomfortable, though, I would have insisted we not accept the offer Amir made to fly us in."

Klaus smiled at her as much as he could given the current situation he was in. He hated being in such a bad mood around her, especially considering that they were not only going to a wedding but they hadn't really seen much of each other in several days. He'd spent much of the days leading up to their departure date getting ahead on his work load so that he didn't end up falling behind while they were away, and had only seen her for about half an hour Thursday morning. He'd been relieved that she wasn't upset with him for taking off like he had after she had so openly expressed her desires with him yet again, and had promised her that the weekend would be a sort of getaway for the two of them. However, the more she and Marian were talking about things, the less time it seemed like he and Avery would actually get to spend with one another.

"So what are the plans once we land?" he asked her, keeping his gaze focused upon her face as he released her hand and reached up to brush his fingers through her hair – which, thankfully, was once more its natural golden-blonde color.

"Addie and Amir will meet us at the travel agency," she told him. "Then we'll probably all go get lunch at the restaurant in town. After that... I don't really know."

She shrugged and Klaus nodded, then closed his eyes as the plane suddenly turned. Charles called back to them, telling them he was about to land, and Klaus resumed his previous position of sitting tensely in his seat with his eyes closed, his hand seeking out Avery's once more to hold it as he felt the plane begin its descent. A gentle bump signaled that they'd landed, and after another minute or so the small aircraft had come to a complete stop. He let out the breath he'd been holding and opened his eyes, then grabbed Avery and kissed her firmly.

"We're taking a train back," he insisted once their lips had parted, causing her to giggle and kiss him once more.

"Fine by me," she agreed, and the three of them carefully filed out of the plane while Charles retrieved their luggage from the small compartment under where they had been sitting.

"Avery!"

Klaus turned to see the blonde girl from the pictures he'd noticed in Avery's old room running toward them, her arms open wide. Avery let out a squeal of happiness and took off in her direction, and the two of them met halfway and embraced each other in a tight hug as they giggled merrily. Klaus then noticed the two men coming up slowly behind Avery's cousin. One was the tall servant who had brought the invitation to the wedding to Avery's home – Sanjay, Klaus recalled his name after thinking for a moment. The other he assumed to be Addie's fiance, Prince Amir. Surprisingly, he was about six inches shorter than Sanjay, though he carried himself in such a way that people were sure to not really notice the difference in their heights. Like his servant, he possessed darker skin and hair as white as the purest snow, but his eyes were a startling shade of sapphire blue. He grinned as he looked at the two women – who were animatedly chatting away as though they'd never been apart – then he turned to Klaus and offered his hand in greeting.

"I am Amir Ranjit Raj Singh," he warmly introduced himself, omitting his title. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Mister von Albrecht."

Klaus cleared his throat a bit, shifting uncomfortably on his feet and glancing over at Avery. Thankfully, she had been too wrapped up in her reunion with her cousin to notice the way Amir had addressed him."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, as well, but please... It's just Albrecht. I dropped the title years ago. In fact, I would rather you simply called me Klaus."

Amir blinked at him a bit in confusion, but nodded politely in agreement to his request.

"I trust you had a pleasant journey?" he asked, releasing Klaus' hand to gesture toward the plane. "Charles is a most excellent pilot, is he not?"

"Klaus is afraid of flying," Marian stepped into the conversation, holding out Klaus's suitcase to him and winking at him.

"My greatest apologies," Amir said, bowing. "If I had known, I would have made other arrangements for your transportation."

"It's fine, Amir," Klaus assured him. "And there's no need to be so formal with me, you know." The last was added with a glance in Avery's direction, and the prince followed his gaze and smiled.

"Understood. So, you two will be staying at the inn here in town, is that correct?" he asked, gesturing toward Avery as she and Addie finally came over to join them.

"What about Marian?" Klaus asked with a nod in the doctor's direction, wrapping his arm around Avery's waist even as Addie took Amir's outstretched hand and settled herself against his side.

"The inn is pretty full, with its regular residents and all of Addie's family coming into town for the wedding," Marian explained before Amir got the chance to. "Allen's got an extra bed, so I'm staying with him."

Addie bit her lip to keep herself from smiling, and Amir simply nodded before asking Sanjay to take their bags to their respectful destinations. Sanjay bowed and agreed to carry out the request, then gathered the suitcases each of them had brought and set off to deliver them to the inn and Allen's house.

"Are you guys hungry?" Addie asked, looking to each of the three of them, in turn. They each nodded and she grinned. "Great! Let's go get some lunch. Clement's place is just down the road from here."

Addie eagerly started to take off, and Amir chuckled as he followed her, his hand still held in her own. Avery shook her head a bit as she and Klaus followed them, along with Marian.

"I swear, I've never seen her like this," she said to them. "She's so... happy!"

Klaus chuckled, pulling her closer and kissing her on top of her head. "She's about to marry the man she loves. Isn't it normal for her to be overly excited right now?"

"He's right," Marian made his own observation, looking at Avery. "She's just acting like you normally do around Klaus. I can't even imagine how insufferable you're going to be if the two of you ever get engaged."

Klaus smiled at Avery as she blushed and looked away, then he stepped forward to hold take the door of the restaurant from Amir, who had held it open for Addie. The prince refused to let him take over, though, and so he merely nodded in thanks as he wrapped his arm once more around Avery's waist and led her inside with Marian bringing up the rear.

"Welcome to Chez Clement," a young woman with blonde hair wearing a blue-striped maid's outfit greeted them with a bow.

"Good afternoon, Felicity," Addie said to her, joining the three of them on Amir's arm, and the young woman straightened up and smiled.

"Oh! Addie! Good afternoon! I didn't see you there."

"It's okay," Addie assured her, waving off her concern. "Can we get a table for five?"

"You're all together?" Felicity wondered, looking over the unfamiliar faces once more and gasping softly when she came to Avery. "Oh! Of course! You must be some of Addie's wedding guests. Please, come in and have a seat. Make yourselves comfortable and enjoy some of the best cuisine in the world!"

She led them all to where the tables were set up, a lively bounce in her step, and carefully pushed two slightly smaller tables together to make room for all of them to sit together for their meal. She then handed each of them a menu and informed them of the specials as she pulled a small pad of paper and a pencil from the pocket in her apron.

"What can I get for you?" she asked, first addressing her regulars. "The usual?"

"For me, yes," Amir replied, handing the menu back to her.

"You're so boring," Addie teased him. "I think I'm going to go with the yam pasta, today."

Felicity nodded and made a note of her order, then turned took her menu as well before turning to the other three diners.

"I'd like the mixed vegetable rice, dear," Marian requested, handing over his menu with a smile.

"And I believe I will have the carbonara," Klaus placed his order, then turned to Avery, who was still pouring over her menu.

"We're all waiting on you, love," he told her with a smile and a gentle nudge, and she frowned even more as she continued looking over the available options.

"I'm trying to find something Raeger doesn't offer," she told him quietly. "I'd hate to have something he makes end up being better better here."

Klaus chuckled and looked over her shoulder at the menu, then pointed to one of the selections after a bit.

"How about this one? I don't recall ever seeing it on his menu."

Avery nodded and held out the menu to Felicity. "I'll have the arancini, with the alfredo sauce."

"Excellent choice!" Felicity exclaimed. "One of my personal favorites. I'll be right back with your orders."

She hurried off to the kitchen and the five of them began talking among themselves as they waited for their food to arrive. Amir was especially keen to learn how Avery and Klaus had met, which Klaus found odd as he expected Addie would have told him all about her cousin's love life much like Avery had informed him of theirs. When he learned Klaus was a famous perfumer, the prince immediately asked to commission him to create fragrances that he could give as gifts to his mother and two sisters, and while Klaus had wanted to avoid thinking about work during their trip he agreed to take on the task once his current private orders were fulfilled. Amir then turned his attention upon Avery, bombarding her with questions about her farm and how the winery she had been building was coming along, and Klaus chuckled a little as she blushed at all the attention he was paying to her.

"I apologize for him," Addie said when Klaus caught her eye. "He's very interested in learning about other people."

"As long as he doesn't try to delve too deeply into Klaus' past, I think we'll be okay, sweetie," Marian remarked, earning himself a glare from Klaus. Addie merely chuckled.

"Yeah, Avery told me about that. Don't worry, I'm not gonna judge. I'm not exactly a perfect little angel, myself."

She gave Klaus a wink and the three of them stopped talking as the food arrived, forcing Amir to end his conversation with Avery, as well. Felicity served them each their meals along with a glass of wine, smiling as she placed the rest of the bottle on the table.

"Wine's on the house, courtesy of Clement," she explained when they all gave her a questioning look. "He said a family reunion and an upcoming wedding are both reason to celebrate."

They thanked her and she returned to her other duties about the restaurant while the five of them ate. Klaus reached over with his fork and stole a bite of one of the alfredo-covered rice balls on Avery's plate, and she retaliated by attempting to get some of his carbonara onto her fork but kept failing so he ended up feeding her some off his own fork. Addie insisted on sharing her yam pasta with Amir, saying he really needed to try something other than the omelet rice from time to time, and Marian simply watched the two couples with a wistful look in his eyes.

"We should have invited Sanjay to join us," Klaus said, catching his eye. "At least then you would have had some eye candy to enjoy, right?"

"Yeah," Marian replied with a small smile and Klaus raised an eyebrow in concern. Marian simply shook his head, his eyes going to Amir briefly before returning to meet his gaze once more, and Klaus nodded in understanding.

"Care to clue me in on what that was about?" Avery whispered to him as Amir began chatting Marian up about his work as a doctor.

"My guess is Allen hasn't been very forthcoming with the residents of town about his exact relationship with Marian," he replied just as quietly. "That's probably why Addie sent him a separate invitation – so he could be Allen's date to the wedding without it actually looking like he's Allen's date to the wedding."

"Poor Marian," Avery said, shaking her head a bit. "It must be hard on him, having to hide the relationship."

"It isn't the first time he's had to deal with something like this," Klaus told her with a sigh, then forced a smile and kissed her. "Let's not talk about such things, though, love... this is a happy time, right?"

Avery nodded and reached across the table to place her hand on Addie's, pulling her attention away from the conversation between Amir and Marian.

"What time are we supposed to be doing that fitting?" she asked, and Addie suddenly jumped up from her seat.

"Shit! We're probably already late!" she said, then bent down to kiss Amir. "Sorry to run, but we've gotta get over to Yuri's shop."

"Why don't you come with us, Marian?" Avery suggested as she also stood, her hand on Klaus' shoulder. "I'm sure we could use an expert eye for fashion like yours to help make sure the design is perfect."

Marian's face lit up as he smiled widely. "I would be honored to help."

The cousins flanked the doctor once he'd stood from his seat and joined them on the other side of the table, each of the girls linking an arm through his and grinning excitedly.

"You boys have fun, now," Addie told Amir and Klaus with a wink before escorting the other two out of the restaurant, and Klaus chuckled as he reached into his pocket for some money to pay the bill.

"Please, allow me," Amir insisted. "You are my guests, so I shall treat you as such."

"Thanks," Klaus said with a nod, and Amir bowed slightly as he called Felicity back over to the table.

"Can I get you something else?" she asked, looking back and forth between them.

"I will have some tea, if you please," he told her, then turned to Klaus.

"Coffee," he requested. "Black, two sugars."

"You got it!" Felicity cheerfully replied, then set off to fix their after-meal drinks.

"I must say, I was quite surprised by how much Avery looks like Addie," Amir said, causing Klaus to chuckle.

"That's about the same reaction I had when I first saw of a picture of the two of them together," he told the prince. "Avery had said they were like sisters growing up, but I never knew that they looked like sisters, too, until that moment."

"They are quite different in personalities, though," Amir observed. "Avery seems more reserved, while Addie is rather... forward."

Klaus laughed once more. "Avery will surprise you, though. She's usually a sweet, caring girl, sure. Underneath, though, is a little spitfire. Just last week she punched someone so hard she broke their chek bone."

"She hit a man?" Amir asked, his eyes wide.

"Another woman, actually," Klaus corrected, thanking Felicity when she returned with their drinks.

"Why would she do such a thing?" Amir wondered, his expression still full of disbelief.

"It's a long story," Klaus told him, smiling to hide a wince. "She was my former lover, and Avery hit her after she attempted to sleep with me despite being engaged to someone else."

"Jealousy is an unbecoming emotion," Amir said, hanging his head in shame. "I, too, am guilty of having committed such an act against someone recently."

"It wasn't really jealousy. Not completely, anyway. A lot of the reason she did it was because she loved me. This other woman... she hurt me pretty bad, in the past, and Avery hated her for it. So it might have been partly out of jealousy, but I think mostly she did it as retribution for the way I'd been hurt."

Amir laughed a little, blushing. "I did it purely out of jealousy. And fear."

Klaus shrugged. "Whatever your reasons, I'm sure they were justified. Just like Avery, you don't seem like the sort of person who would resort to physical violence without a good reason. Whoever it was you hit, they probably deserved it."

Amir nodded and gave him a small smile. "Thank you, Klaus. Your words have helped comfort my troubled soul."

"Any time, Amir," Klaus replied, then began drinking his coffee.

"I have to wonder, though... That is, if you will pardon my forwardness... But why do you shun your status?"

Klaus stiffened, setting his cup down, and cleared his throat awkwardly.

"I ran away from home when I was a teenager, and no longer considered myself my parents' son," he explained, leaving out the finer details of his early life on his own.

"Judging by the gift Addie said you gave Avery for her birthday, I am assuming you were never formally disowned or disinherited by your family, though."

"No," Klaus confirmed, shaking his head. "They left me everything when they died."

"Then why have you not told Avery?"

Klaus sighed and folded his arms on the table in front of him. "I don't really care about my status. It's just a worthless title, to me. I've built my life and my career on my own merit and abilities. If you start throwing around a title like that, either people automatically think you're better than everyone else or they think that you think you're better than everyone else. I'm sure you, of all people, understand that."

"I do," Amir told him with a rueful smile. "In fact, Addie herself thought quite badly of me when I first came here because of my being royalty. Then, when I told her of my intentions toward her, I had to convince her to see me not as a prince but as a man."

"So you see now why I haven't told Avery?"

"Yes, but you will have to tell her, sooner or later," Amir reminded him. "Especially if you ever plan on marrying her."

"I know."

"You are lucky, though," Amir continued with a sigh. "You and Avery will not have to jump through the same hoops Addie and I have had to in order to be together."

"I can't say I envy you, there," Klaus told him, a small laugh escaping and causing Amir to sigh once more.

"I fear that she and I will face yet more obstacles once we have taken our vows."

"Hey," Klaus said to get his attention, the waited for the prince's gaze to meet his before continuing. "I know it's hard for someone like you to have a relationship with a normal girl who isn't the daughter of some rich noble or some other powerful political figure, but I can tell you really love Addie. Don't ever let go of that love, Amir. Whatever happens, fight for it – just like I would fight for Avery if I were in your shoes."

"I will," Amir assured him, smiling a bit. "Believe me, I have already been fighting for it. Ever since I first met her, it has been one battle after the next to win her heart and make her my bride."

"Master Amir?" Sanjay called as he entered the restaurant. He approached their table and bowed to Klaus before turning to the prince. "Forgive me for disturbing your meal, but your wedding clothes have just arrived. We should take them to the tailors to be sure they do not require any alterations before the ceremony."

"Should probably wait on that," Klaus suggested as Amir stood from his chair. "Addie's there right now, and in our culture it's bad luck to see the bride in her dress before the wedding day."

Sanjay smiled and Amir laughed.

"Then perhaps you should stay away from the tailor shop, Klaus," the prince replied. "Addie's dress was finished yesterday. Today they are merely fitting Avery's dress for the wedding. Though, I suppose you could go if you really wanted to. There are no customs which say it is bad luck to see the maid of honor in her dress, are there?"

"No," Klaus said, chuckling. He finished off his coffee and stood, adjusting his coat a bit. "I would happily go visit the ladies, but I think they probably want some time to catch up. It's been a few years since they last actually saw one another, after all. Besides, I'm still feeling a little lightheaded from that plane ride so I think I'll head to the inn and rest for a while."

"Very well," Amir said with a nod, leaving some money on the table to cover the bill before holding out a hand to him. "Thank you for our conversation, Klaus."

"And thank you for lunch, Amir," Klaus replied as they shook hands, smiling.

The three of them left the restaurant together, and Sanjay escorted Klaus to the inn before leaving to join Amir – who had immediately gone to the tailor's shop. One he had made it upstairs to the room he would be sharing with Avery, he flopped onto one of the two beds with a heavy sigh. Amir was right: sooner or later, he would have no choice but to tell Avery about his lineage.

It was never a matter of whether or not he was ever going to tell her. Ever since things became serious between them, he always knew he would have to eventually let her know the truth. It was the one secret he'd manged to keep safe from nearly everyone in Oak Tree Town, though. The only people who knew were the ones who had been living there before he left home – if any of them even really recalled the truth, themselves, given the fact he'd been gone for so long even after his parents passed. Not even Marian knew about it, because it had never felt important enough to tell him. So now his mind was being plagued by a question he knew he would likely have to come up with an answer to sooner rather than later.

How do you tell the woman you love that you have a birthright you despise?
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In Sheep's Clothing