I planned to ask Alex what that had all been about, but I it was all so odd and awkward that I couldn't seem to make myself do it. But after a week, it didn't even seem important anymore. I didn't notice any other girls looking for recommendations or that strange conflict between Alex and his father. I guessed that whatever it had been about, had been resolved the day of the luncheon. Alex met me every day for lunch, and no one seemed remotely surprised about it the way they'd been that first day. I was still a little curious, but I figured if there was anything to be concerned about, Alex would tell me. At the very least, he would be acting strangely. He was completely himself though, so I put it out of my mind.
It was satisfying to realize that time was moving quickly. As I guessed, I didn't exactly enjoy my days, but they weren't so terrible either. Roberta was demanding, but she seemed to think I was doing well enough. And the constant lessons and appointments made the days simply fly by.
On the other hand, this current task that Roberta had taken on of making my movements graceful, was starting to make the day feel endless. I wasn't exactly tripping every time I moved, but gliding about the room in any capacity was beyond my abilities.
"Chin up and shoulders back," Roberta coached as I focused on moving from one end of the room to the other. "It does no good to move with grace if you do not hold yourself elegantly."
Supressing a groan, I tried to do what she said. I wouldn't have thought this would be so hard. It was only walking, for goodness sake.
"I think perhaps we will try a book on your head, after all," Roberta mused with a frown, once I reached the far wall and turned around.
A laugh from the other end of the room, startled me and made me blush.
"I think you may be wasting your time, Roberta," Alex said from the doorway. "Keira has many outstanding qualities, but moving with grace is not among them."
I crossed my arms and scowled at him.
"Have you attempted dancing yet?" He grinned.
My face felt a little more warm and I narrowed my eyes as I moved toward him. I'd been hoping to avoid having Roberta know about my lack of dancing skills for a while longer.
Roberta attempted to hide a smile and dipped into a curtsy. "Not yet, Your Highness."
He sent me a wink and then looked at Roberta again. "As much fun as I'm sure this is, I'm starving. I also happen to be dying for some time with my fiancee."
"Yes, Your Highness." Roberta nodded. With another quick curtsy, she left us alone.
"Thanks a lot," I said, when I reached his side.
Alex laughed and gave me a quick kiss. "She'd have found out sooner or later."
"I'd have preferred a little later," I grumbled before noting the small basket in his hand.
"I have a surprise," he said, in answer to the question in my eyes.
"A picnic?" I guessed, beginning to feel excited. Meals here were so formal and I still wasn't very comfortable around the rest of his family in that setting.
"Not exactly," he said mysteriously. "At least, we won't be eating on the grass."
Confused, but thrilled by whatever his surprise was, I happily took his hand as he led me away from the room.
Even though he said we weren't going to eat on the grass, I assumed we would be going outside. After all, why else would we need a basket? He could easily have one of the servants bring our lunch anywhere inside the castle. So I was further perplexed when rather than leading me toward one of the exits, he pulled me through the castle and into the library, of all places.
He led me through the massive room, and behind one of the large shelves. For a moment I thought that perhaps we were merely passing through to the back door, but he stopped, looked around for a moment and then began looking at the books on the shelf.
"Alex, what in the world?"
Looking mischeivous, he put a finger to his lips and then glanced pointedly at the servant who was passing by while she dusted the room.
I was excited about whatever we were doing, but I absolutely loved seeing him this way. Sneaking around as we were, it was like when we were children. He'd grown into his authority long ago and almost no one ever dared to question him, so we hadn't had an adventure like this in ages.
Alex kept up his charade of perusing the books until the girl was out of sight. He glanced around again, and apparently deciding we wouldn't be seen, he latched onto my hand again and pulled me toward the wall.
No, it wasn't only a wall, I realized once he moved the curtain that I'd assumed was purely for decoration. A small doorway lay behind it.
He pulled me through the passageway and pointed at the stairs that lay a few feet ahead, motioning again to keep quiet.
I grinned at him before quickly and quietly hurrying up the steps, eager to find out where they led.
A door waited at the top of the stairs. Alex pushed it open and gestured for me to go first. Happy to oblige, I stepped over the threshold, and he followed, silently closing the door behind him.
I moved to the middle of the room and looked around in fascination. It was small compared to many rooms in the castle, but still fairly large. There were a few chairs scattered around the room and some pillows on the floor, arranged in a way that looked very comfortable. I noticed some of Alex's favorite books and several other little touches that let me know he spent time here often. There was a large window overlooking the gardens on one wall, and on the opposite wall, was a stained glass window that allowed you to see the library below.
The library had always been one of my favorite places in the castle. On those occassions when I accompanied Papa for business but had been unable to see Alex because he was busy with lessons, I'd gone to the library most of the time. I'd probably been inside it a hundred times, but I never noticed the stained glass window. And I'd certainly never had any clue there was a hidden room up here.
"What is this place?" I asked after a moment.
He came to stand beside me. "It's my secret spot," he said. "I found it years ago, and as far as I can tell, I'm the only person in the world who knows about it. I want it to be yours too."
I beamed up at him. It was almost impossible to get two seconds to myself in this place. Forget spending any time alone with Alex! But this...no one knew it was even here. All we would have to do, would be to slip away for a few seconds and then disappear up here for as long as we wished. The promise of actual privacy was an amazing gift.
"How have you never brought me here before?" I asked, confused. It wasn't the same then, of course, since I hadn't been in desperate need of privacy. But I would have thought this secret was fantastic, and it must have crossed his mind to show it to me.
"It wasn't exactly proper." That was true enough, but I saw something in his eyes that told me that was an excuse.
"And it's proper now?" I teased.
Alex smirked. "Well, if you think we can't handle it..." He began pulling me toward the door.
"I don't think so," I said, digging my heels in and yanking him back to me.
With a grin, he complied and took me in his arms.
"This place is amazing," I said, slipping my arms around his waist and leaned my head against his chest. "Just knowing that we can come here sometimes, makes it so much easier to breathe."
He rested his head on mine and sighed contentedly.
"I want you to make it yours," he said. "I snuck things up here from time to time, but I want you to feel free to make it as...girly as you want."
"And everyone knows that 'girly' is my trademark," I teased. "I'll have the place covered in pink, before long."
Alex laughed, knowing that I'd always hated pink and most frilly, girly things.
"Whatever it is," he said. "I want you to be comfortable here."
"I am comfortable," I said snuggling against him. "This place looks like you. I might add a few of my own books, but I don't think I'd want to change much at all. Thank you for showing it to me."
He kissed the top of my head and we continued holding each other until his stomach rumbled.
Laughing, I pulled away. "You weren't kidding about being starving, were you?"
"I was not." Alex smiled and went to grab the basket from where he'd left it by the door.
Typically, every meal in the castle was fancy. The chefs were the best in the kingdom and worked hard for every meal. Everything was delicious, of course, but always so formal. For our picnic, Alex brought simple sandwiches and fruit, that in no way compared with what we would have eaten in the dining room. But in my opinion, it was the best meal I'd had yet.