His Choice

⚜ ELEVEN ⚜

He closes the gap between us and my arm brushes against his.

"What if you get chosen?" He reaches out to hook a finger under my chin, turning my head so our eyes meet. It's so intense.

"Please, I'm not going to get chosen. I have no desire to win this thing." I'm slightly annoyed that I keep going over this with everyone. I sound like a broken record. "You can't win love. Well I suppose the prince can since everyone else here is already head over heels." I pull my face from his grip. "I almost feel sorry for him."

"Almost?"

"Well, he obviously doesn't care if he actually loves his princess." I sit back on my arms. "I doubt he cares about true love, as cringy as that sounds. I'd rather go back to The Factory than live surrounded by fake smiles and empty words." I look back up at him, he looks sad. "Don't feel sorry for him. He signed up to it the moment he agreed to do The Choosing."

"Maybe he had no choice. It's been a tradition for decades." The way he says that catches me off guard for a moment. But I shake my head. Of course, he's going to stick up for his employer.

"He won't be a very good king if he isn't prepared to make a change," I mumble honestly. He turns away from me, thinking hard about what I had just said. I think I've offended him. I know some subjects love royals with everything they are. You speak bad about them and they'll take it personally. "Sorry."

"No, don't be." He looks back at me and smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes. "You're probably right."

"Anyway, even if I wanted to win, I wouldn't stand a chance." I scoff then laugh, but he does not share my humour. His eyes are serious and analytical. It's so intense that I clear my throat and then lie flat on the ground, looking up. "Who would accept it? An XI peasant living in the lap of luxury - a Princess that'll someday become Queen."

He furrows his eyebrows and doesn't say anything. I think he agrees but doesn't want to offend me.

"It's alright. The royals decided I have no worthy future long before I was born." I smile at him. "But they don't know that I won't be silenced without a fight. Anyways, the prince wouldn't look twice at a girl like me."

"You're wrong." He finally speaks up again and I sigh in relief. I thought for a moment I had talked too much.

"And how would you know?" I grin. "Are you the prince?"

He looks flustered when I tease him, his eyes darting around. He clears his throat as he tries to compose himself.

"Well, it's just that I think you're beautiful." His eyes finally settle on mine as he leans to take my hand, pressing a kiss to my palm before lying down next to me. "And that's more than I can say for most of the upper-sector girls that I see."

I blush, hard.

"Thanks," I say as I shake my head to try and realign my thoughts. "But, I don't want to catch his eye. Not when it's convenient for him to notice me. The royals have never cared about our suffering, I don't want to marry one."

This time his eyes find the ground, almost like he's ashamed. He releases my hand as his body deflates.

"I'm sorry." He speaks lowly, still not meeting my eyes.

"Don't be. It's not like you can stop it." I smile and then spring to my feet. "I should go. I'm being such a mood killer and I've got stuff to attend to."

I have nothing to do really, but I just can't face the facts right now. This person, who I know nothing about, is stirring so much emotion in me. It's new and it's scary. And what do we do when we're scared? We run away.

"Wait." He calls after me, but I've already started running. I hear his footsteps chase after me. "Allenica, please."

I try to run faster, but it's no use. I feel his warm hand grasp my own. I look back at him, my running slowing down. However, I lose my footing and stumble over, pulling him down with me.

Wrapping his arms around my waist, he manages to switch our bodies so he takes the impact of the fall, causing me to land on his chest. I lie there, stunned, for a moment.

"Are you okay?" His soft voice pulls me from my daze, but neither one of us makes an attempt to move.

"Yeah," I whisper as my heart rate increases. His face is so close. I watch as his eyes examine my face, then lower to my lips. They linger there for a while. 

Is there something on my mouth?

I bite my lip self-consciously. He lifts his head up, his face moving closer to mine. He's so close I feel his cool even breaths on my lips. But, he winces in pain slightly.

"Sorry," I say, stumbling to my feet. "You got hurt because of me."

I furrow my eyebrows as he gracefully stands up. Before he can say anything, I dash off. Running straight for the palace. I know I'm not running from him, but what am I running from? My fears? My dreams? He scared me and I didn't know why. Plus I've managed to convince myself that he's been trying to kiss me. Which just adds fuel to my panic.

I let out a heavy breath as I make it back inside the palace. He didn't follow me, I'm sure. I walk around the corridors for a bit, as I catch my breath.

My quiet walk is disturbed by the loudness of my thoughts.

Who is that man? Should I even trust him?

I can't deny the pull I feel towards him. I feel like I can tell him anything and I don't even know his name. He's handsome and I could get lost in his eyes forever. The eyes that see me. The eyes that think I'm beautiful.

"Who are you?" I whisper to myself. 

♕♛♕

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~ Anneka Rose  xxx

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