Zelda was a little surprised, and a little pleased, that Dionisia was taking her side - but didn't get the time to relish it, because then Dio mentioned virtue, and Zelda's heart may as well have stopped. She didn't want to talk about virtue; didn't want to think about it, mostly, because Zelda knew she had gotten lucky. No one really knew, she hadn't been pregnant, she had options that didn't involve an - apparently random marriage.

Zelda finally actually looked at Ari, made eye contact; if she wasn't so frozen here, stuck with the sense that everything was spinning out of her control, she would have had the audacity to look sheepish. As it was, her face was expressionless.

"I know," Zelda said, because what else was there to say, really? She certainly couldn't tell Ari that Alfred proposed to her almost every time they were alone; she certainly couldn't tell him that it was only her reluctance to bring scandal to the family that kept her unmarried. Zelda thought the offer spoke to Alfred's commitment, but it was probably guaranteed to give Alfred an aneurysm.

Everyone was so angry with her, all the time. At least this time it was deserved.

"I know, alright?" Zelda said, her voice came out more defensive than she wanted it to. "They don't want me to see him now, they wouldn't let me if they knew, and they're never going to bend on anything."

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