Royally Kissed | ✓

12; the best night

—forewarning—

if you haven't read 'make it count' yet, then i suggest you read that book first because this chapter contains minor spoilers.

if it's the other way around−i just want to clear some things up. paige and arthur will be in the town of fairville (fiction situation), which is next to bradbury city (where they are from). next to fairville town is sheldon (where belle hastings of make it count and cain hamilton are from), next to that is the city of rockstring (where trent and amber from prank call are from). if you're confused, that's okay. you are not required to understand it anyway since, ultimately, they are all stand-alone books.

anywho, i hope you enjoy this chapter just how much I enjoyed writing it. no sleep, expect errors.

sky

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—twelve—

the best night

PAIGE LEANED AGAINST the door side of the passenger's seat and glimpsed at the side mirror, following the trail of the gravel as the road unfurled behind them. They were almost half an hour into the drive and she'd wondered where Arthur was taking her.

"We're almost there," Arthur's voice ripped just above the low hum of the radio inside the truck; it was as if he'd heard her thoughts. "Don't act all so fidgety. It's not like I'm going to kill you or anything."

When Paige shifted her attention back to him, he had a faint smirk on his lips and a gleam of humor in his eyes.

She jerked her shoulder, making a smile of her own. "It's not that," she retorted, leaning back against her seat. "I haven't seen this part of the city before. I'm excited about this actually. I hardly ever go out so just let me be."

"It's not part of the city per se. We're basically out of it and we're entering a small town just before the next city to ours, which is Rockstring," apprised Arthur. He was quiet for a fraction of a moment, his eyes glued out front, but his expression was a wistful one. "I'm sorry."

She creased her eyebrows together, shifting her side to him. "Why?"

He shrugged in a nonchalant manner. "You know, because, you hardly ever go out."

Paige couldn't help but express mirth at the irony of his words. "It's alright. It's just how things are for me. How about you?"

"What about me?"

"Well..." she waffled a bit, and then went for, "Isn't your family also, like, owns this big company or something?"

His lips tilted up into a smile. But he had a strange, fleeting frown on his face that Paige wasn't even sure if it was there to begin with. "I'm a guy, Paige. I can protect myself even if I go out alone. That must be challenging for you on a day-to-day basis."

"Oh, you have no idea," she murmured. "Sometimes, I can't help but think about what it's like to live a normal life. But...people would've called me an ungrateful heir by then. Some wanted to be in my position while I, a Cadwyn, don't feel like being a part of it."

"I understand. It's not so easy, after all," replied Arthur with a sigh. "Don't worry, we can go out if both of us aren't doing anything. But I would appreciate it if you won't go out alone. You can call me, or even Jouwee."