“It’s a common trope in romance novels and one of Esi’s favorites. Two people hate each other, or at least they think they do, and there’s always lots of back-and-forth between them. And then eventually they come to realize that they’re actually in love.”
“You mean a bit like Anthony and Kate inThe Viscount Who Loved Me?”
Arthur looked at Ash in surprise. “Yes, exactly like that! Have you read that one already?”
The boy gave a guilty shrug. “I found the Shakespeare so confusing that I gave up on it halfway through and read the book club one instead.”
“And what did you think of it?”
“It was okay. Much better than Shakespeare.”
“Well, you’re right, Anthony Bridgerton and Kate Sheffield are a brilliant example of enemies-to-lovers. They drive each other mad, and it takes them forever to work out that’s because they fancy each other. They’re one of Esi’s favorite romance couples, because she says you can feel the chemistry between them sizzling off the page when they’re arguing.”
“It reminded me a bit of…” The boy faltered and Arthur gave him an encouraging nod.
“Yes?”
“You’ll think I’m stupid; it’s not the same at all.”
“Go on, lad, give it a go. It’s just you and me here.”
He watched Ash take a deep breath.
“Well…Anthony and Kate just reminded me a bit of…of Rey and Kylo Ren in the Star Wars films.” He rushed the last words out, as if embarrassed to be saying them out loud.
“Oh, is that so? I’m afraid I’ve not seen any of the new Star Wars films so you’re going to have to fill me in.”
“Well, Kylo Ren is the Supreme Leader of the First Order—those are the baddies. And Rey, she’s a Jedi, so these guys are sworn enemies: they literally spend two and a half movies trying to kill each other.” The boy pushed the fringe out of his face, his eyes shining with enthusiasm now that he was talking about something he clearly loved. “But they also have this really strong connection with each other, in fact they’re a dyad, which is a bit complicated to explain but basically means they’re connected to each other through the Force and can see into each other’s minds.”
“I see,” Arthur said, although he didn’t see at all.
“Anyway, they have this whole mortal-enemies-chasing-one-another-round-the-universe-trying-to-kill-one-another thing going on. But then they have this big fight, and Rey impales Kylo Ren with a lightsaber and almost kills him, at which point they realize they don’t hate each other at all.” The boy stopped and looked embarrassed again. “I told you it was a dumb idea.”
“That’s not dumb at all, it sounds like the perfect enemies-to-lovers story. And tell me, do they get together in the end? Because one rule of romance novels is they always have to have a happy ending.”
Ash grinned. “Not quite. Rey dies killing Emperor Palpatine, and then Kylo Ren, who by this point is called Ben, transfers his life essence into Rey, sacrificing himself to save her. Then they kiss and Ben dies.”
“What? That’s horrible!”
Ash laughed. “Sorry, butStar Warsisn’t exactly a romance.”
“Clearly not,” Arthur said, chuckling too. “These new ones sound good though.”
“Yeah; I mean,TheRise of Skywalkeris average but the other two are excellent.The Force Awakensmight actually be my favorite of all the films, even better thanThe Empire Strikes Back. I can lend it to you on DVD, if you like?”
Arthur was taken aback by the offer. “Thanks…that’d be grand. But one thing you said there made me think back toMuch Ado About Nothing. Did you get to the bit where Claudio dumps Hero at the altar?”
“Because he thinks she’s been having an affair, right?”
“Yes. There’s this strange old friar guy who comes up with a daft plan to fake Hero’s death to make Claudio feel bad. As if Romeo and Juliet didn’t teach them that faking death is a bad idea!”
Arthur chuckled but the reference clearly went over Ash’s head as the boy looked blank.
“Anyway, the plan works: when Claudio thinks Hero’s dead, he realizes what an idiot he’s been, and he actually loved her all along. And from what you said just now, it sounds a bit like when your Rey almost kills Ben Kylo, or whatever he’s called, and it takes his near death for the two of them to realize they love each other.”
“Like when Kate has the carriage accident and Anthony Bridgerton finally tells her he loves her?”
“Yes, lad!” Arthur laughed and Ash laughed, too, clearly delighted at having made the connection. “Who’d have thought it: Willy Shakespeare, George Lucas and Julia Quinn all had the exact same idea.”
