MALAKAI (The 'Mala Series' book 1)

ct-15 No more fretting

The room didn't look dirty, it just looked more like it had a personal touch. Kai was oddly amused, and was almost comfortable till the Princess' flat tone spread across the room.

"I don't let anyone touch my room." she said. Her voice was so flat that Kai felt sad for causing that. She was always full of spirit, and it was contagious.

She lay against the headboard of her bed wearing baggy white pants and — Kai's shirt? It was large on her. He recognized the shirt because the picture of her in his room the morning she wore it was permanent in his mind.

Her hair was loose, spread wildly behind her. She had a book covering her face.

"You look comfy." Kai said. She looked at the shirt she was wearing.

"The shirt was comfortable." she said simply "and how did you get in here anyways?" She asked. She hadn't looked at his face since he came in. He wanted to scream for her to look at him.

"The guards understood." Kai said. He was still standing at the door that was now closed behind him.

"What do you want Kai?" Katherine asked.

"I just want to talk." Kai said

"We're talking aren't we?" she replied

"Katherine look at me." She didn't lift her eyes from her book. "Kat." he said in a pleading tone. She then lifted her eyes and her impossibly blue eyes met him.

Only for the first time, they were dull. Sad. Then she turned it back to her book.

Kai walked up to her bed, the thought of him being the cause of that dullness pushing him. He sat across her, one leg under him on the bed and the other on the floor.

She didn't mind. He then took the book out of her hands and dropped it on the bed. He stared directly into those impossible blue eyes that were now welling up with tears.

"I overreacted." she said, a tear ran down her cheek. "And now I don't even know why I'm crying." she said and laughed humorlessly.

Kai put his hand to her cheeks then rubbed some tears with his thumb and put it on his eyes. She shook her head and tried her possible best to conceal her smile.

"Has anyone ever told you how beautiful your eyes are? They match the sky when it lights the purest of blue." Kai said, and truly he meant it.

Katherine blushed, but she didn't hide her face. She looked at him directly and confidently. She liked to do that, look into his eyes, and he liked to look at her ridiculously beautiful eyes too.

"Sky." Kai said. "I'm going to call you sky when we're alone from now on."

Her brows lifted, as a real smile began to play its way across her lips.

"I'm totally better at names than you are." Kai said, plastering a smug look on his face.

"No you're not." she said. Yes. He needed her to play along.

"You wanted to name my horse Kai junior." Kai said.

"Well it's a decent name." she said, almost laughing.

"I don't think I want a horse going around bearing my name. It's ridiculous. And besides why didn't you name your horse Katherine junior." Kai asked

"Well now that just sounds ridiculous." Katherine said.

"Oh really?!" Kai said, and then she began giggling. And then Kai was laughing. Then after a few seconds they were silent again.

"I care about you too Katherine." Kai said. Her eyes met his. "But you're the princess of Arocelli. You've got to have a relationship with some nice prince or lord somewhere. I'll just be another distraction. One that will bring you hurt eventually."