[Prairie Dalton]

Butterflies fluttering against the walls of her stomach when he winked at her, Prairie gave the two boys a small nod and walked towards the barn's exit. While older than them, William and Charlotte had always made an effort to participate in their games and activities. William made her laugh, while Charlotte was more like an older sister to her. Something Prairie had always appreciated given that she was an only child.

[Louis Hadley]

Not pleased to be left alone with Sasha, Louis was tempted to follow Prairie outside the barn. Sensing the other boy's hand on his shoulder he remained rooted to the ground. "Awful tradition you say?" He encouraged, hoping that a conversation might make things go by quicker.

At least they would soon be joined by William and Charlotte.

[Sasha Darlington]

"Well you see," Sasha said as he pulled a packet of cigarettes from his pocket, his gaze planted on Prairie's retreating form. "my great-great-great-grandfather had quite the ego and when my great-great-great-grandmother gave birth to his first son, he decided to impart upon him his very own name." He laughed, taking a drag of his lit smoke. "That seemed to be such a good idea that it became a tradition and now every first born male is named William. So tonight you're actually going to dine with three William's, not one. Me, my father and of course William, who wasn't fortunate enough to luck out with a mother who decided to use his middle name as his first."

[Louis Hadley]

"Will you name your son William?" Louis couldn't help but wonder. It seemed Sasha was somewhat of a rule breaker. And maybe Louis was too. Mostly when it came to Sasha's mother.

[Sasha Darlington]

The younger boy shrugged, "Probably not, but Aunt Ava is the matron of the family, and while my parents like to pretend that her word isn't gospel, they still look to her for lots of things. Her being an alcoholic now only makes things worse. Mum said she was a ticking time bomb not that long ago."

[Louis Hadley]

"Has anyone tried to talk to her about her alcohol consumption?" Ava Darlington's drinking problem had been mentioned to him 4 times since the beginning of their gathering, perhaps it was time for someone to mention it to Ava herself.


"Not that I would volunteer to tell her," he added. He had been raised by Evelyn Winters, rare were the women who intimidated him, but Ava Darlington seemed to be one of them.

[Sasha Darlington]

The laugh that escaped him at Louis' words, had Sasha choking on the cigarette smoke that he had just inhaled. Doubling over, the Ravenclaw hacked and coughed violently, though a large grin remained fixed on his face.

"Tal--talk to her?" He wheezed, hand pressed to his chest. "About her--cough--her drinking?" Sasha shook his head, "God no, she'd kill who ever dared." And the boy was only half joking. Ava Darlington had a reputation for her dodging dealings, and he wouldn't put it past her to get rid of someone just because they told her she had a drinking problem.

[William Darlington]

Catching only the end of his cousin's coughed sentence, William knew exactly who he had been talking about. "I'm fairly certain that's what happened to her last assistant," he joked before he took the smoke from his younger cousin's hand. He took a puff before he passed it to Louis.

[Louis Hadley]

Louis took the smoke and brought it to his lips. He coughed a little and his eyes watered, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been. He quickly took a breath and hoped his inexperience went unnoticed. He gave the cigaret to William.

"Is Prairie coming back?" He asked the older boy.

[Sasha Darlington]

Sasha watched with narrowed eyes as William offered Louis his cigarette and then passed it back to his cousin. The boy was obviously not a smoker, which was a good thing considering he worked with his Mum. Lidia hated smoking. His father tolerated it. He always did.

"Her last assistant arrested her before she could kill her thankfully," He said before snatching back his cigarette and taking a drag.

[William Darlington]

"Louis after your girl, Sasha?" William chuckled behind a curtain of smoke. It had always been clear to everyone that the Dalton girl had a crush on his cousin, seeing Louis inquire about her was only an opportunity to tease him about it.

[Sasha Darlington]

Sasha rolled his eyes and reached out a hand to shove his cousin.

“Shut up,” He said with a laugh, though his gaze did drift to where he’d watched Prairie disappear. The crush the girl had on him with pretty obvious to everyone, but only William had the guts to openly discuss it, at least when Prairie wasn’t around.

Bending his arm, he flexed his bicep, “It’s not her fault she finds me so alluring.”