The next day, I had a serious conversation with Joss about my plans. Talking about serious things with him is rather hard, but today I find him LISTENING to me.
"So what? Are you going to have Bright as your mate? Like, lover?" he questions me.
"I... I think so." I mumble. "Though I am a bit hesitant. He has already invaded my mind. So I think it's fine." I shrug.
"Damn. So how are you planning to do it? Like, any plans on how to meet him?"
"I haven't thought that far!" I squeak out. "I JUST decided to... to- let my mind wander, okay? I haven't planned anything yet. But I know one thing. To fulfil my goal and become the ruler one day, I need him. No other alpha would agree to be by my side, helping me to be the king, without planning a treason, right?"
"Right. I agree. But I suggest you get to know him more before you launch your plan, alright?"
"Okay... Help me with that master Joss." I bow my head as a joke.
"Okay, thy student. I will use a few tricks and set up a few dates for you two."
"What the hell? The first thing I will do after I become the king is to fire you! You have a lot of tricks up your sleeve, and you know damn loads of things about this palace! You are dangerous!" I exclaim.
"You can learn from me, hun. I will let you know when I will set up your dates." he winks.
Dates... I can't believe I am planning to go on a date with a commoner. Is he even clean and hygienic? I'll look into that later.
*~* (2 days later) *~*
"Prim. I trust you. So make sure NO ONE comes to my room, okay? I will fill you in later with my plans. For now, look after my room." I explain before I leave my room.
"Prince! Where are you going all alone? It's almost midnight!" she comes after me.
"She's going with me, girl. Get back to your duty." Joss places his hand on my shoulder and says. Maid Prim bows and walks back to my room. Right after she's out of our view, Joss takes my hand and quickly leads me out of the palace.
"So I will place you somewhere no one will find you. Then I will bring your lover boy and stay on watch. After you are done kissing him or whatever, give me a signal so I can escort Bright away, and after a few minutes, you can go to your room. Clear?" he asks with a teasing smile.
"Yes. Okay... wait. Kissing? Seriously? I haven't even hugged him." I hmph.
"Well, you can hug and kiss him tonight. Just don't do it aloud."
I shake my head but don't reply. Arguing with him is in vain. Joss takes me to this garden in the palace, which has bushes that are taller than us, made into a complicated labyrinth. He takes me inside and leads me in swirly ways, and he points at a bench deep inside the maze.
"You can stay here. No one comes here at this time," he says. "I'll be back."
Joss walks away, leaving me within the bushes, under the moonlight. I take a seat on the bench and try to ignore the creepiness of the night. It's literally the perfect atmosphere for a vampire to appear and suck the blood out of me.
I hum and engage myself with it until I hear the rustling sound of leaves. I jump at the sound but notice that it's only Bright, appearing from the bushes like a damn ghost.
"Why can't you walk on a route like a normal person?" I ask him.
"Duke Wayar asked me to." he gives a toothy smile. "What are we doing here, your highness?" he asks.
I sit again on the bench and cross my arms on my chest.
"We are on a date."
"...oh. T-then why am I here?" he asks, pointing at himself.
"Funny creature. Come and sit next to me." I smile. Bright nods and sits next to me. We fall into a comfortable silence as we both stare at the moon. "Say something," I say.
"Umm... If your highness wants my help to be the king, I am glad for that. I'll do my best," he says.
"Uh-huh. Aren't you too glad? You know that I am actually taking advantage of you and this situation. You are aware that you can do the same, right?" I ask.
"Pardon?"
"You said I am beautiful. Now that I am unofficially taking you as my partner, lover or something. Isn't it good for you?"
"I-it is. But what- what will happen to me after your highness becomes the king?" he asks.
"You remain the same. I won't throw you away." I assure.
"..."
"That's why we are here. This is me, trying to see if I can like you." I turn to face him and lean close. "Well, you are handsome and an amusing person. I don't think it's going to be hard." I boldly say with a smile.
Bright turns red instantly, and he almost looks as if he will burn. His ears might emit smoke, and his eyes might explode. So I lean back.
"This can be a dream come true for someone like me," he mutters.
"Uh-huh. And I am keeping my trust in you. There are a few rules, though. Don't be a gold digger. Don't be a cheater. Don't be a liar. Just be you, who I believe is a naïve tomato," I say.
"I will. I-if that... makes y-your highness fall for me."
"Hmm~" I smile and lean over again, this time close to his face. Bright leans back, looking so shocked that he's making an utterly funny face. It's so fun to tease him! "Tell me something about you," I say as I lean back.
It takes Bright a while to compose himself from the shock. My little experiment makes it clear that he not only sees me as beautiful but he might as well like me.
"I... I like reading books."
"Oh. I like too. What's your favourite?"
"It's..."
Like that, we talk for another hour about our likes and dislikes, a bit about what is happening, and I blabber how much I dislike getting wet in the rain, which he opposes. And with time, I understand that he's a bearable person. I like his company... more than I thought I would which is a good sign.
Then I remember Joss is somewhere waiting for us to end our date, so I called it a day. I walk with Bright to find Joss.
"So when can we meet again?" I ask.
"Any time you want, your highness," he says.
"No. I am not going to tire you after you work hard during day time. Let's meet on the day after tomorrow, okay? Rest tomorrow night."
"Thank you, your-" I interrupt Bright by keeping my finger against his lips. He startles at my action and freezes.
"You use 'your highness' too much. Don't be nervous around me." I say.
"You two are already out?" Joss breaks our developing eye contact, walking to us.
"Yeah. Sorry, we forgot about the time." I say, withdrawing my hand.
"Never mind that. So when do you want to meet this buckaroo again?" Joss asks, pointing at Bright.
"Day after tomorrow would be fine." I smile.
"Aright. Then I'll take Bright back to his place. You can leave now itself. No one's around." Joss says, and I nod.
Joss signs to Bright, and they walk in the other direction to go to the underground dungeon. And suddenly, I do something I wasn't planning to do. My body just reacts before my mind as I hold Bright's hand and pull him to me. Then I plant a small kiss on his cheek and run away🏃🏻♂️
🤔is the pace of the book, okay?
-Sunshine👑