The Prince's Little Honey Badger

Chapter 17

"She's brave and outspoken. She's the first person to bash out in anger at a Royal Member, with no shame." He smirks when he says it.

"Instead of focusing on how devilishly handsome the charming Prince is, she talks about civil improvement. That's why she's helping me come up with a plan to improve this country. You would be so proud of her."

I hope he doesn't mind that I'm crying into the quilted blanket wrapped around me.

"To be honest, I know you believed she could be a renowned Ballerina. I gotta be honest with you, I really don't think that's possible, you know I've never met anyone as clumsy and uncoordinated as her. She got her scar and a broken arm from tripping over the air for heaven's sake! It's like she's controlling her limbs with a button or something." He laughs when he watches my expression change into something more of annoyance and anger.

Alex is insane. He makes me feel things I've never felt before. There's this fluttering feeling in the pit of my stomach, even when he's making fun of me. What am I doing? Why doesn't this feel real?

"That's not true! I'm pretty coordinated. We were just always meeting on bad terms, besides it was a hectic day! The stairway that day was crowded, and I was in a rush."

Alex's smile reaches to his eyes, I didn't even realize that he's gotten me to talk to my father. He encourages me to go on, nodding, and looking up at moments.

"I love you, Dad. I miss you every waking second. There's not a day where I don't miss you. I've shoved you away for so long because I couldn't handle the thought of not having you around." I begin, my voice is strong and determined when I talk to my father, and Alex's hands are tightly holding mine. He reminds me that I'm not alone. He was right there with me, getting me to do something I didn't think possible—facing my pain.

I take the time to talk to him, I've told him about what he's missed, the past 9 years, things that I loved and hated. I tell him everything, and Alex is there, sitting patiently absorbing it all. There's a look he gives that I can't quite explain. It makes me nervous, almost afraid. I was fearful of the friendship we had, it's a feeling I couldn't explain.

What was he doing to me? Does Alex know what implications there are? Taking me here and looking at me like that? Why was he doing this? The feeling that runs through me is odd. I've had friendships, loving, and caring ones like Henry's and Jessica's.

I always thought the friendship I had with Alex would have been similar to what I had with Henry. If anything, not as strong. Alex was supposed to be someone I didn't care for, a distraction from the dull routine of living in a different city, but he's become more than that.

Every occurrence in my life, the big ones, in a short period — he's been there. During my darkest and most vulnerable moments, Alex was there. He's empowered me to do things I never thought I could — he's entrusted confidence in me. As right as this all feels, it's wrong. We'll have to say goodbye to each other eventually. It's inevitable. Do I want to be invested in this? It was happening all so fast, he's sucked me in like a black hole.

It was just two days ago that I was out of his grasp, but he has this magnetic charm that just pulls you in. The thought of nurturing our friendship scares the living hell out of me. Maybe the difference with Henry and this relationship was that I knew mine and Henry would last — at least I thought it would—no, that wasn't it. I never felt this way about Henry, this was new.

Being next to Alex makes my knees weak, I feel my heart in my throat, and it's an uncomfortable feeling.

"Every time I'm bitter about the role I have in this life, I look up into the skies. On a night like this, when there are billions of stars, I take a moment to take it all in. Our existence doesn't make sense. The Universe is infinite, yet somehow there are galaxies, and within this galaxy, there's a planet the inhibits us. We're so tiny and insignificant compared to the vast that is the Universe." Alex looks up, his smooth skin reflects the Aurora lights —glowing in green.

"When I think about how inconsequential I am in the grand scheme of things, it sets me right back into perspective. It pulls me down again. Suddenly I'm not angry anymore. Why be upset over something so minuscule when my existence on this earth is merely a speck." Alex looks back at me. Under the stars, his lashes are abnormally lengthy and silken. The moonlight defines his sharp features, it makes me curious and fancy the feeling of his supple skin at the tip of my fingers.

He shakes his head, his lips curved into a grin.

"Don't look at me like that, you're teasing me." He says, but I have no idea what he's even talking about.

"You're looking a little like my fans, I'm unaccustomed to that expression, particularly on your face."

"Shu-Shut up, you don't know what you're talking about. Don't go flattering yourself." I attempt to brush him off, but I'm starting to think it doesn't work on him. Somehow Alex reads me like a book. It was unfortunate.

"I didn't say I didn't like it." He adds in when I try my best to not look at him, focusing my gaze elsewhere. Alex has his way with women. It's not a secret; in fact, it's pretty obvious. He was known to be a Womanizer, but this didn't feel like an act. It felt raw. At least I'd like to think that.

Either way, I wasn't going to fall for it. Our friendship has a purpose. That purpose was for us to change this country for the betterment, use his hierarchy to make significant changes. I just have to remind myself that Alex asked me to be his partner. To do the research and provide him advice. That's what I'll do.

The foundation of our friendship is based on my beliefs — I wasn't going to forget that. I couldn't. It was the very reason for our existence. We only met because of my anger towards this Monarchy system.

"I thought about it, what I think you can focus on."

Alex's smile drops when I change the subject to business, but it was the right thing to do. It was for my own good, an escape. This was our reality.

"And what is that?" he asks.

" Figuring out why there's such a big divide in classes. We're the second wealthiest country in the world, why is there poverty? Shouldn't that have been taken care of already? Or maybe the fact that part of the money I make directly goes to the Palace - in taxes, of course. I don't know...I mean, I'd be ok with it if it meant helping those who are in borderline of poverty. I guess it just boggles my mind. that we even have homeless people for a country like ours."

"Way to kill the mood," he points out.

"But also, Ellie — poverty just exists...everywhere. If there wasn't, then we would have what we call, Utopia."

"You're right...to be honest, I don't know if there's anything we can do. I mean, my concerns are a little fictitious. I just don't understand why Royal Families exist in a world like today. This is something out of your hands and mine."

"Tax exemption for the below-average income." He states.

I pass a questioning look.

"That's what I think we can do. It's something that can be worked on, it won't eliminate poverty, I don't think. But it aligns with your concerns. You're right, why am I taking money from people living paycheque to paycheque?" Alex saves me from looking like a complete hypocritical idiot.

Alex snickers, "Boy, you really do your homework fast. I brought this up to you just yesterday. Already we have our priorities set."

I don't say much — it's late and cold. Alex gets up when he notices my chattering teeth, we both head back inside.

When we're inside, I'm hugged by the warmth of the fire, finally composed. Alex sits beside me this time and shares the blanket with me. It was past 2 AM already, from the last time I checked my phone, the thought of taking the hike down was dreadful. I didn't want to go back into the cold, at least not now. Just a moment — five minutes of this warmth from the fire and Alex. 

Author's note: Thank you guys for reading, please let me know what you think :) cheers!