Knightly (A Reverse Harem)

Chapter 4: Library Adventure

Prince Blaise listened to my words carefully. He mulled it over in his head as he took a bite of his lamb dinner. The silence was awkward and the meal I had in front of me tasted weird. I decided I would eat jerky and bread when I go back to my room.

He finally cleared his throat to answer, "I have no interest in coming with you. From the information you gave me and based on analysis, I may not even be king or the husband. The possibility that may happen makes the journey completely worthless. You may spend the night here, but I expect you to leave by tomorrow afternoon. Good night."

Blaise stood up and left the dining hall. I groaned and buried my face in my hands. "Damn it!"

"Don't beat yourself over it," Cinder advised, "I'm sure that the others won't say no, and if they do, then it's fine. You only need to bring a few, not everyone."

"I know, but I feel defeated already. I don't want to have to resort to kidnapping, but..." I half joked. I have thought about seriously doing this, but only if no one wanted to come along. I'd rather be imprisoned for kidnapping than being executed.

He patted my head. "You are not going to kidnap anyone. Let's call it a night. We'll leave tomorrow and continue on. Sounds good?"

"Yeah. Goodnight, Cinder."

"Goodnight, Rion." 

We departed for the night. I was walking down the halls to go to my room, but then I saw the entrance to the library. I looked around to see if there were any witnesses. As soon as I determined it clear, I rushed inside the room. A few candles were lit and I took one. I knew that there was a lot of books, but I wasn't aware that there were so many, it was difficult to take one out. I yanked out a book and opened it. Dust flew out and made me cough slightly. The pages were covered with words but in a whole different language. Along with the text were pictures and diagrams.

"That was written by mermaids." A voice suddenly said, making me jump. Prince Blaise had his hair down and his glasses on. "The merpeople have a unique language. However, no one has been able to decipher it. Hell, no one has ever seen a mermaid. But, they exist."

I flipped through the pages, examining it further, "Then how did you acquire this book?"

He sat down on the floor and pulled a book out of the bottom shelf. I did as well, sitting next to him. "It washed ashore one day. My father was traveling and brought it back with him. He's always been like that. Going off to discover new things and to collect. He never failed to bring back gifts and books from foreign lands."

He had a faint smile on his lips as he recalled the memory. "I miss him. He's been gone for a long time now and hasn't written back. The only thing I can do is be here to guide the kingdom while he's away."

"That's the main reason why you can't leave, right? You want to travel as well. Look for your father, but also follow in his footsteps. But you feel the need to take responsibility and stay here." I pointed out.

He sighed in response. "Correct. I'm slightly impressed that you could conduct that about me based on our conversation."

"I'm not all muscle here, give me some more credit. And you should give yourself more credit as well. Your kingdom is fine, more than fine. Everyone here is smart, and they are definitely smart enough to take care of themselves. When was the last time you had genuine fun?"

Blaise raked a hand through his long brown hair, "Not since I was a child."

I jumped up and pulled on his hand, "Then come with me. Come with us on an adventure. You can find your father, collect knowledge, and may even become a king. Let's have some fun!"

"I-I don't know." he hesitated.

I stared into his eyes. "Let's bring back that inner child, yeah?"

Something flickered in his eyes. I wasn't sure if it was because of the candle moving with the air, or if it was because he had a change of heart. I hope it was the second reason. I was happy when he finally said, "Okay."

I pulled him up, "Starting now! Tag your it!"

I poked him and ran into the aisles. I could hear him chuckle, "Really? A game of tag? What are you, seven?"

"Hurry up and just catch me! That is if you can!" I shouted. I ran further in, weaving through the shelves. I could hear the sound of his own footsteps, trying to catch up to me. I laughed as he looked around, trying to figure out the best route to tag me back.

It was nearing midnight and Blaise still couldn't catch me. His movements were getting slower and he was running out of breath. "Aw, do you give up?" I teased, inching a little closer.

"No!" he had a sudden burst of energy and tackled me to the ground. I was surprised when I found myself pinned to the ground. His arms on both sides of my head, his breath intertwining with mine. "Tag. I got you." he laughed.

I gave a small giggle, "You did. I knew you weren't so boring and studious."

His laughter died down and he simply stared into my eyes. His gaze made me a little self-conscience. It was like he was staring into my soul, trying to figure everything about me. But, I didn't want to look away either. I finally cleared my throat and spoke up, "Do you wanna get off me now?"

He blushed and got up, "Sorry. I got lost in the moment." He straightened his glasses. "Let's call it a night, I'll see you in the morning."

Blaise left before I could say anything back. His exit was swift yet clumsy. I got up myself and decided to finally call it a night.

The next morning was busy and hectic. The guards were receiving orders for what they should do in Prince Blaise's absence, and royal maids were gathering anything that the prince needed for his trip. I was a little late coming into the main entrance where the two men were waiting. "Sorry, I slept in. Are we ready to go?"

"Yes." They both said at the same time. I felt the tension between them, which was a little odd. 

"What were you guys talking about?" I inquired, trying to dig a little deeper.

"Nothing." Cinder said a little too quickly. Blaise simply said nothing. I shrugged in response. We didn't have time to sort things out because the next kingdom was a two-day trip. We were already running late, and a fight wasn't going to help us. I made a note to find out what's up later.

We left the kingdom on horseback to find our next prince. Hopefully, this one wouldn't be too difficult. Sure, Blaise ended up coming, but I had to break down some of his walls in order to convince him. I don't want to have to end up breaking down an entire tower just to convince another prince to come along as well.

But I'm pretty sure I was going to have to swallow those words and deal with it.

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She updated! I did it! Finally, after so long! It's about damn time!

Sorry, I haven't updated for a while. I've been super lazy this summer and just been procrastinating everything. But it's here!

ThatWierdAnimeChick is out!