Atlas (A Selection/Hat Films Fanfiction)

~ Thirty Three ~

"I know!" Saffron gushed, "I heard he's going to be in a new movie, that superhero one?"

"I met him at a party once," Albany bragged.

"No, you didn't," Fox accused, pausing with her fork halfway lifted to her mouth.

"I did. He's not as tall in person."

My eyes strained as I held back another eye roll. I was so sick of meals with the other Elites, not to mention the entire royal family judging us from the end of the table. I couldn't take all my meals in my room, and tonight I had something important to do, but I might give up if Albany brags one more time about meeting some A-list celebrity.

The princes were characteristically quiet; they barely spoke at meals to begin with, but they had less than nothing to contribute to this conversation.

I reached for another bread roll, grabbing one of the paper napkins from the basket with it. Discretely, I pulled it into my lap and folded it into an envelope. I didn't have any opportunities to speak to Alexandre, so this was the only way I could signal that I had Ari's letter ready. I was still nervous however, knowing that what I was doing wasn't as discrete as I was comfortable with. Unless one of us was planning to go to the other's bedroom, I had to do it.

My eyes slid over to stare at Alexandre, waiting for him to feel my gaze on him.

He blinked and then looked over at me, turning his head fully when he noticed how I held his eye contact. I brought the napkin up to my face, pretending to pat my lips before pulling it back down into my lap, my eyes never leaving his.

Alexandre had a hard look on his face as our eyes met. He looked me up and down with distain, but then straightened when he noticed the folded napkin. Quickly looking away with a neutral look on his face, he reached for his water glass, pausing to look up and then back at me. The roof. I continued to watch him as he took a sip, set the glass back down, and then lingered for one moment, making sure I was still watching.

He pulled up one finger and then the other from the glass before returning them and sliding his hand into his lap. 12. Midnight. Hopefully, I was reading that correctly.

I looked at Anouk, nodding along as if I was listening to her talk. I didn't look at Alexandre the rest of the meal, too nervous that the king or one of the Elites had noticed the exchange. They couldn't reasonably guess what our signals had meant, but that didn't comfort me.

When the king dismissed us with a goodnight, I lingered to look at the prince one last time as he stood and straightened his jacket. His eyes looked over me, and my disappointment grew as he called to Valeera who was just passing behind my chair. I sighed, remembering that our meeting was strictly business. Pushing my chair back in, I kept my eyes focused on the ground, embarrassed that I had entertained the idea it wasn't.

My heart rush into my throat as I felt fingers glide across the inside of my wrist. My head whipped up, but Alexandre was already past me, falling into step next to Valeera. Never had I felt my emotions switch between excited and disappointed so rapidly. I was half convinced that the touch was just my imagination.

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Time dragged on; no number of books could chase away the anxiety that had settled into my stomach, and midnight didn't seem to get any closer as I kept checking the time. Finally, my maids left for the night, and I immediately jumped up to rifle through my closet for warm clothes. I didn't know how long I would be outside, but I wanted to be prepared. . .

Prepared in case we stayed up there longer than the time it took to exchange a letter.

I felt ridiculous agonizing over which of my winter dresses I would wear, but I still deliberated over a flashy, red, embroidered body con or a simple, velvet, forest green drop waist. I chose the green.