The Prince's Little Honey Badger

Chapter 9

"Whatever you say will stay here... no judgment or treason," he breaks the silence, teasing me. My clammy, fidgeting hands must have made it obvious to him. We were sitting in the unmoving car for over 10 minutes, it was starting to get uncomfortable. His eyes were piercing into what felt like my soul.

I find myself hesitating to find the right words, I didn't want to sound offensive. As much as I hated to admit it, he has helped me in many different ways, I almost feel bad bringing all of it up to him.

"Seriously, it's fine. I'm asking you to tell me what you feel. No filters... just act as if I'm a stranger. You're just trying to express your views that day," he doesn't smile, but he does give me a sincere look, waiting for me to speak up.

"Figureheads should be voted and earned, not born into it..." I finally say. He doesn't flinch from my words. Prince Alexander nods, encouraging me to continue with his cleanly shaven chin resting on his hand.

"The Monarchy is an oppressed and backward view of society. It's such an antiquated concept that boggles my mind" I pause a moment to wait for his reaction, but his gaze doesn't leave me as I complain essentially about him. He was composed, it was impossible to know what he was thinking. It makes me wonder if he goes through specific training on how to put on his best poker face in public.

"I can understand admiration for a celebrity more than the royal family. They have talent, they've worked hard to earn their place to be loved. But when there is admiration for someone for just existing?" I shake my head in disappointment.

"The media eats up the royal family like candy. It's like a diversion to all the real issues of this world. Seriously, you know there's a fire in Alaska, right? Next to an iceberg. Yes, it happens — but not at the rate that it's been in just this year alone." I emphasize.

"No one is talking about the people on the streets, the suffering youths, and the average family that are struggling." My voice breaks, exhausted from this world.

My body inches closer, my head tilts up to meet his gaze. "Instead, they concentrate on whose face The Prince of Luxembourg is sucking off last night" it was those words that I could have sworn caused a flicker in his eyes, but he remains still; passive.

"I know it's unfair for me to say, but I think that if you're born into power, then the least you can do is educate the world. Use that authority to spread the word." A heavy breath leaves my body as if I've lifted a weight off my shoulders.

"It infuriates me to no end, that we can be producing lab-grown meat to consume, yet we must bow and kneel to a man who bleeds the same way I do. A knife goes through you the same way it would through me. So why do we kneel before you like a man-made of steel?" I ask an empty question, one I wouldn't expect an answer to.

"Tax exemption for people who are already privileged, to only drive those already on the brink of poverty into it." I find myself laughing softly at the atrocity that is the society we live in. Prince Alexander is somber and quiet, it makes me nervous. Maybe I shouldn't have listened to him and just kept these words to myself. It's a heavy burden for one person. After all, he didn't seem like the villain I thought he'd be.

"Thank you," I breathe out.

"For listening... for everything that night... and today," even without looking at him, my heart races at the thought of his expressionless face.

"I don't want you to think that I'm Miss Justice here, I'm just a regular girl who is just ranting. Honestly, I am probably a bit hypocritical. It's not like I've done anything to make changes. All I've done to help this world is recycled. I'm just telling you my thoughts, that's it—" my anxiety and social awkwardness make me ramble. I only stopped when his lips curved into a smile, pleased to witness the disaster that is me.