Beka's POV-
As the dining hall came closer, I heard loud laughter from a very dirty joke that Louis had shared with his family. Catherine, Helena and I poked our heads around the corner, trying to be discreet. Simon and the five boys were still too busy laughing endlessly to notice us.
I couldn't help but crack a smile, when I saw the boys with tears in their eyes, and rolling on the floor laughing. King Simon was trying his best to regain his composure, but he would laugh all over again seeing his sons on the floor. It was nice seeing that family could laugh, I mean its a common thing, but I felt reassured to know that they could let loose from their high standards, and just be normal for once.
A giggle left my lips, as I finally understood the meaning of Louis' lame joke, not realising the laughing had stopped in the room, and the family, plus Josh, were now staring at me from the table. My laughter cut off as soon as I saw their eyes all watching me. My cheeks burned and I turned my back to the wall, hiding. I mentally face-palmed myself, before realising Catherine and Helena were nowhere to be seen. I began to panic. What do I do? I've never done this before. What if I make a fool of myself...why am I so worried? You've been through worse. Suck it up, princess.
The sound of a chair being scraped against the marble tiles brought me back to reality, before I took a deep breath, and practically forced myself to move into the room. I had only taken two steps away from my hiding space before I stopped and curtsied, respectfully.
I began bitting my lip, nervously. None of the men had said a word; they were just sitting there, frozen with shock, with their mouths hanging wide open. "I look ridiculous, don't I?" I said, breaking the awkward silence.
"No...just different, very different, you look stunning." Josh said, standing from his seat, and coming over to me. He had changed out of his uniform into what I would consider royal attire. He looked quite handsome, but it felt odd not seeing him in his servant uniform, I liked it.
Josh took my hand and led me towards the last remaining seat on the table, like I had yesterday afternoon, I sat opposite King Simon. I smiled at Josh as he pulled out my seat for me, and pushed me in. It was still awkward, the five boys and the King hadn't said anything since my arrival.
Josh clicked his fingers trying to regain the six men's attention. "Guys, you're going to catch flies in your mouth if you sit like that any longer."
I giggled, and the family snapped out of their trance. Josh always had his way of making me laugh. He smiled at me, and I mouthed a 'thank you' to him as he took his seat on my closest right.
"I must say Miss Wynters; you look fantastic in that gown. The blue suits you well." said the King. As much as I appreciated the compliment, I couldn't help the twitching of my eye.
I smiled stiffly at the King. "Thank you, and thank you boys, for buying me the gowns as well, they are all lovely." I said respectfully.
"You look brilliam." Liam smiled down the table at me. I laughed at his pun.
"Well I think she looks phnominiall." Niall laughed, joining in on his brother's game.
"On the contrary, I find Beka to look quite amazayn." Zayn declared, joining in to.
"I think she's more extraordinharry, than anything." Harry piped up.
Louis stood, banging his fist on the table. "This is ridiculous! It is clearly obvious that Beka is fabulouis."
I couldn't stop laughing, I half expected Josh and Simon to stand up declaring how I looked. I gave Josh an expectant look, and he just shook his head. "I'm not cool enough to have a sophisticated word with my name in it." He said, rolling his eyes. I smirked at him, and he pouted.
"Now look what you have done, Beka." Louis yelled, from sitting next to Josh. "You've hurt Josh's feelings. Look now you've made him cry." He said in a serious tone. I could tell he was joking by the small smile that spread across his lips. Louis was hugging Josh to him, and Josh pretended to cry into his chest. I looked down the other end of the table to King Simon, and he was already looking at me with an amused smile.
"Are they always like this?" I said over the noise that the six boys were making. They ignored my comment, and Simon sighed dramatically, before giving me a tired nod.
"Welcome to my world." He replied, and I laughed heartedly.
-
I leaned back in my chair, feeling so bloated that I felt like I about to pop. I rubbed my stomach, wishing for my food to digest quicker. I knew I shouldn't have eaten that piece of pie.
After we stopped laughing and mucking around, the King clapped his hands, and the savants brought in platter upon platter of food, and when my plate was set down, I almost had a heart attack. I struggled to finish the whole plate, and when Harry insisted that I had a piece of pie for desert, I just couldn't resist, plus he through in a few flirty comments that I couldn't help but blush at. The food was delicious, and there was so much of it. I don't think I ever eaten that well in my entire lifetime.
The rest of the guys were doing the same, except for Niall. He was now finishing his third platter of food, and looked like he was going in for more.
"I can't understand how you manage to stay that skinny, Niall" Zayn asked incredulously.
Niall smiled, and gave Zayn a small shrug. "It's the Irish side of me I guess."
I giggled. Niall looked at me and gave me an adoring smile. I blushed a little under his gaze "Do you eat this much all of the time?" I asked.
Niall nodded. "I can eat more if I want to, but I'm just not in the mood tonight." He informed me. I cocked an eyebrow with a smirk. Maybe Helena was right. I didn't know anything about the boys. I should give them a chance.
I looked around the room, as everybody else was having conversations amongst themselves. On the far wall on my right, was a line of perfectly painted portraits. I hadn't noticed them yesterday, so I stood from my chair, unnoticed, and made my way over to the paintings.
With my arms crossed behind my back, I examined each painting closely. They were all lovely and unique in their own way, but when I reached the very centre of all of the painting, and saw five portraits of five different women, I became confused.
"I guessing you're wondering who they are?" said King Simon, coming up behind me, and scaring me. I turned towards him, biting my lip uncomfortably, and looked back towards the table, and realised the boys were gone. I didn't want to be rude, so I nodded, replying to the King's question.
"These are the boys mother's, and my wife's." Simon said stiffly, standing next to me.
I looked back at the paintings, reading the name plates underneath, and defiantly seeing resemblance within the boys, especially Harry and Louis.
"You don't have to confide in me, King Simon. I understand." I reassure him.
"No, I do, Miss Wynters. I want you to trust me." He replied.
My eyes studied Simon's face for a couple second while he skimmed the five portraits. "What happened to them?" I finally asked.
"My wives died giving birth to their own sons. It's not an uncommon thing in this time of age, but defiantly a very sad one."
I let out an understanding sigh. "My mother lost a baby boy and girl, twins Jeremiah and Cora, before my youngest brother was born. Childbirth isn't easy. I remember how hard it was for my parents. It took them years before they even thought of trying again." I revealed.
The twins wasn't something I just told anyone. I wasn't completely sure why I had expressed that part of my life in the first place, but much like Simon I did want to gain his trust.
"I'm sorry to hear of your loss." He appologised.
"How'd you do it? Move on I mean? I know how hard it is to lose someone, but finding a new love every time one died." I shook my head in almost disbelief. "Did you love all of them?"
Simon sighed sadly. "Yes, I did. It was hard, but I felt like I had to keep moving on. I hate the idea of being alone. It got better as the boys grew older. When I was able to hold proper conversations with them, I realised I couldn't do it again. I couldn't face the heartache anymore, and I knew it hurt Louis every time I moved on. He'd get attached to having a female figure in his life, and it was like giving him a toy, ripping it from his tiny hands seconds later. I loved them. All of them. I don't find a point to marriage if you don't love someone. That's why I let the boys be free in that department. They should be able to choose who they want to grow old with."
I nodded sadly, not meeting his eyes, because tears flooded them. "I'm sorry I yelled at you at the execution. It was awfully disrespectful of me." I said in a monotone voice, trying to hide the waver in it.
"You had every right to. I know I said this before, but I am deeply sorry for everything that has happened. I just wanted the best for my boys." I nodded with understanding.
"I would want the same if I was in your position."
"If anything, I would be extremely honoured to have you as a daughter in law."
That brought a small smile to my face.
"Thank you." I said still smiling. The two of us began walking the length of the wall, with the paintings I had seen.
"Is that Josh?" I said coming to a stop at painting with three people featured on it, but what caught my eyes was an eight year old looking, brown head boy.
King Simon smirked. "Yes, that's Joshua, and his mother and father."
"Josh told me about what happened to his family; how they died. Was it hard for you to bring another son into the family?"
"You and Joshua have become close friends, haven't you?"
I nodded. "Josh is a very easy person to get along with."
"Yes, he is. That's why it was so easy to introduce him into the family. He was already close to my sons, and he wasn't a bad influence on them, so naturally I welcomed him into the family with open arms, and my boy already considered him as a brother." The King replied, answering my question.
I smiled to myself for Josh. I was glad that it worked out for him. I wondered where Josh and the princes had run off to, but I didn't need to ask, because the six boys came bounding down the stairs. The six of them came to a stop in front of the two of us, and the King and I shared an amused look.
"We have to show the two of you something." Niall exclaimed excitedly.
"What is it?" Simon asked.
"We can't tell you, Father. That'd ruin the surprise." Louis said in a voice that made it sound like it was obvious. Simon chuckled, and Harry grabbed his hand, rushing him up the stairs, with his other brothers, but Zayn stayed behind and gave me a courteous look.
"I figured that you would prefer not to run?" he said, holding out his hand. I nodded, and placed my hand into his, knowing that running in the new shoes was not a good idea, especially with my lack of coordination. Our fingers intertwined, and I smiled at him. His hand was very warm compared to mine, and I could help but look at our hand as we walked. I knew I should have been bothered by the gesture but I wasn't. It was nice, being alone with just one of the boys for once.
I looked up at Zayn's eye, about to ask him a question when I got distracted. Zayn had the strangest, yet oddly beautiful eyes I had ever seen. The golden flecks shined brightly when the light hit his face, only making them mix with the dark brown of his pupils. I blinked rapidly, trying to regain my thoughts, when Zayn spoke before me.
"If you don't mind me asking, but what were you and Father talking about?"
"You and your brother's mothers, mainly, you don't mind if we can talk about that?" I was very curious on finding out everything I could about the boys. I wanted to know what made them tick, before I made a decision.
"No, of course not, it's fine. I never knew my mother, so I guess there's not a lot to talk about, but, Beka, you and I can talk about anything. I just want you to know that you can trust me with anything. I won't tell a single soul." Zayn declared, giving my hand a gentle squeeze.
A smile spread across my face, and I nodded. "That must be hard not knowing your mother." I said more to myself than anything.
"It is a little, but being the second eldest I found it a little easier. I met Liam's, Niall's and Harry's mothers, but still, I was little, and there's been moment throughout my life where I've needed a mum, but the employees that work for my father are very caring, so I go to them when the time is needed."
I was thinking very hard about what to ask him next, because the voices of the other boys could be just heard from around the corner. I sighed sadly. My alone time with Zayn was coming to an end.
Zayn stopped, just short of the corner, and I stop along with him, his hand tightening around mine again. "Beka, can you and I be together tomorrow, just the two of us? I'd really like to spend some more time with you."
I bit my lip, trying to hold my smile. "I'd like that."
A wide smile spread across Zayn's face, showing two rows of perfectly straight white teeth. "After breakfast tomorrow, it'll just be us." I nodded, agreeing.
I began to walk again, when Zayn tugged on my arm, pulling me back to him, and into his arms. A small gasp, left my lips, and my cheeks burned with our closeness. His hands were on my waist, I placed my hands on his chest. I looked up at him, seeing his deep eyes full of humour, before he leaned down, and placed a light kiss on my cheek. My blush deepened, and he cupped a hand over the check he just kissed, before stepping back from me, laughing quietly, and taking my hand once again in his, before walking around the corner towards a door at the end of the hall.
"There you are. What took you so long?" Harry said impatiently, looking down at our hands, and then glancing back at Zayn with an evil look.
I was still stunned to silence from the closeness of Zayn and I, but Zayn answered anyway. "Jealousy isn't a good look on you, Brother." Zayn smirked, patting his cheek lightly. Harry slapped away his hand, before huffing, and walking into the room. Zayn followed, laughing, pulling me along behind him.
What in the world just happened...?!
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Sup Guys,
Chapter six is in honour of the amazing, Mr Zayn Malik. Lets give him a round of applause. (Clapping very loudly) Yay for Zayn! Woooo! Ok serious now...(Serious face :l) What do you think Zayn's and Bek'a date will be like? You guys should be telling me because I'm not even sure myself. If you'd like leave a comment, even though there aren't many of you readers, it'd just make my day hearing your suggestions.
Love Always,
Beka
xoxo