Royal Pain in the Ass

Chapter XII

"Then I hope you are partial to you room."

"What?"

"They won't let you out if they don't trust you to behave yourself."

"So what? I'm locked in a room the rest of your life? You know, I am an American, I can always go back."

"No, you see, Englishmen are honor bound to their king and queen. If the king orders you not to leave, no self-respecting Englishman will help you."

I hadn't thought of that. "I don't promise to all of this, but I guess I can try."

"Good, we're making progress. We're meeting with a stylist first."

Three hours later Xavier and I were at a small dress shop.

"What is that?" Xavier growled at my shoulder.

"A tattoo." I shot back.

"What in the world would possess you to get that?"

"I have three."

Xavier pinched the bridge of his nose and took a calming breath. "You are wearing on the last of my patience. Where are your other two?"

I showed him my ankle. It was a music tattoo collage that combined a treble clef, bass clef, and varying notes. "And there's one on my hip."

"Why would you do that to yourself?"

"The one on my shoulder is for my mom, and the other two were because I got bored."

"Because you . . ." Xavier glared at me and took several deep breaths. "Because you got bored?" Xavier hissed.

"Yup,"

"You're insufferable. You are aware of this right?"

"Been called worse,"

"Lana was right."

"What does that mean?"

"This may even be out of my hands. Understand how infuriating your being at the moment. I have never wanted to strike someone so badly in my life."

"And to think, I've only known you for a few hours."

"This isn't a game Juliet!" Xavier shouted.

I took a step back. Xavier was tall, I hadn't realized quite how big he was until he shouted. He was at least six feet tall and I was just over five. He had the potential to be frightening but I got the feeling this side of him was rare. I just happened to be the right pain in the ass to bring out the worst in everyone around me.

"Do you have any concept of how your actions affect all of those around you?"

"Not really."

"You are a selfish child. You have no idea how to act as an adult, do you?" Xavier grumbled something incoherent under his breath. "Very well, if you are going to act like a child, you will be treated as a child. You don't get to make any decisions until you prove you can make grown up decisions."

"Excuse me? What did you just say?"

"Giovanni!" Xavier called and left the dressing room. "You get to pick her outfits for her. I want that bloody shoulder covered at all times other than that you can free reign."

Two hours later I was pouting. Xavier had spent the past several hours making all decisions for me. It was aggravating. Whenever I said something he acted as though I hadn't and no one else was paying me any mind.

"Juliet," Xavier turned to me. "Are you hungry?"

"Yes," I grumbled, not looking at him.

"Would you like to get some dinner?"