A Flight Away

3- Italy iii.

Prince Louis' Pov
"That lasagna was delectable am I right or am I right?" I nudged Gabriel while shaking my eyebrows in an up-and-down movement, who did nothing but stifle a nod.

After we had dinner at a restaurant also suggested by Eugene, we made our way to the hotel to get some rest and prepare for the ball that was being held tomorrow.

We were currently waiting for our lift and I tried making small talk with the ever-silent guards by my sides.

I let out a huge sigh, one dramatic enough to grasp the attention of the men. "Your Highness, is everything alright?" Nicolas turned to face me.

"It's just that on a beautiful evening such as this, I'm being accompanied by two men to my hotel room instead of the opposite gender. Oh, isn't this dreadful?" I placed the back of my hand on my forehead and closed my eyes.

I opened one eye and Nicolas opened his mouth to say something as the doors opened.

"Huh?"

"It's you." We voiced in unison after what seemed like a moment or two.

"Well, this trip just got less boring." I smirked and felt the wheels turning in my head.

I rushed into the metal box and pressed the 'close' button frantically. The guards started to step forward as I placed a hand up.

"I forbid you from taking another step." Their feet remained planted in their former positions and I chuckled.

"I'll make my way back to the hotel room. You both should take the other lift. Bye-bye." I saluted them as the doors finally closed.

It then dawned on me that I must've looked very absurd to the person beside me and by the time I looked at the expression on her face, I stood corrected.

She had an eyebrow raised in way of questioning the whole situation.

"Hi." I breathed out and gave a toothy grin. "Do you remember me?"

"Hi. From the airport right? I never got the chance to apologize for ruining your shirt. Here." She reached into the pockets of her sweatpants and pulled out a couple of euros.

"For your dry cleaning. Cream cheese can be tough to get out of clothes. Sorry." Her eyes held both concern and embarrassment in them. I think it was more of the latter though.

"Not to worry, I already got it sorted out. Again, I apologize for bumping into you....?"

"Oh. Kaitlyn and you are?"

"Louis." It'd be wiser to leave out the whole Prince thing. Wouldn't want to make this situation even weirder.

I let out a hand for her to shake and she gave me a curious look. I looked down at my hand and back at her before she smiled and shook my hand.

"Where to?" I asked.

"Well, the lobby, I wanted to go for a walk, you know, get some fresh air. But you seemed to be in a bit of a situation considering how you jumped into the elevator."

"Right. I am in a bit of a pickle." A thought came to my head and I pressed the rooftop button. "I think the roof will be a much better place to receive 'fresh air' than the lobby or outside."

"You're not trying to kill me or anything right?" She let out a nervous chuckle.

"Not exactly." Her eyes widened when I said that.

"I'm kidding. I'm kidding. I just feel bad for wasting your time." She nodded and looked forward.

"So. You stay in this hotel?" I tried to make small talk while the lift went up.