Chapter 9
I couldn't believe that last night happened. It felt like a dream because I even couldn't believe that Prince Octavian himself was real. That was until he came into my bedroom the next morning in his pajamas: a black tank top with boxer shorts. I had to keep my face looking at his and at the same time trying to find ways to hide my blush.
"Good morning, Your Highness."
I stifled a yawn as I sat up against the headboard of my bed. I think I was so tired last night that I didn't bother to close the curtains of my bed. "Morning, Avian. What're you doing here, and in your undergarments no less?"
"The Queen didn't inform you?"
"Inform me about what?"
"I'm going to stay here for a couple of weeks to help out with the upcoming charities and hosting some of the events. So you have no choice but to see my horrible morning face every day."
I had to try and contain myself with jittering glee. He was going to be staying here. He was going to be under the same roof as me. He would be in the proximity where I would come into his bedroom whenever I have 'nightmares' and I couldn't sleep alone. Yeah, that sounded like a plan.
"That sounds wonderful," I said. Wonderful? Really, Vincent? Out of all words, you come up with 'wonderful'? My conscience slapped me mentally for doing that, but I just smiled at him.
"Excellent, I'm glad you'd like to be around with me here. I'm quite taken by you for some reason." He smiled after a short silence. "I'll see you in the Dining room for breakfast, alright?"
"We can walk there together. Let me just freshen up."
I practically jumped out of bed and I was wide awake thanks to Mr. Good Looking Macho Man of Royalty over here. I walked out of the bedroom and into the bathroom where I did my morning routine. I made sure that nothing was on my face. It was so embarrassing to be seen like this especially since it was the morning. Some of my hairs were sticking out in random directions; residue of drool was on the corner of my lips. Even specs of sand in the corners of my eyes were visible. I looked freaking hideous! I washed my face three times, wiped my eyes, brushed my teeth for more than a minute, and made sure that my breath didn’t have a hint of odor.
“Sorry to have kept you waiting,” I told him as I stepped out of the room, refreshed.
“It’s alright. It’s worth the wait.”
We traveled down the hallways to get down to the Dining room. I showed him around the palace, but apparently he might’ve known more about this place and I did since he always sparked memories he had when the King was still alive. I felt kind of ashamed that he knew more; it made me feel less likely to become what they expected me to be.
“Did you sleep well, Vince?” He asked as he traced the detail on the walls.
“Mhmm, I did. You could tell by my hair this morning. It was all over the place,” I chuckled as I shrugged.
He grinned and nodded. “Last night was pretty tiring, but I enjoyed it a lot. I’m glad I came.”
“You weren’t supposed to?”
“Well, at first I wasn’t sure about meeting someone whom I have never met before. I’d have to get acquainted with them before I take things to the next level. I was only familiar with you through the traveling news about your coming. And then, well, I came. And then I saw you. And well, you get the picture.”
I looked away to hide another blush; can he not be so forward and so enticing with his words? They’re literally going to make me look like a tomato.
“Have I said something wrong?” He asked, tone filled with a bit of embarrassment.
“No! You haven’t. You just... have such a way with words. Seriously, when I first saw you, I thought I was dreaming or watching a movie or something until you took my hand. I was star struck.”
“Well, I’m glad I didn’t give a negative impression.”
The Dining room was filled with an aroma of freshly cooked meals; freshly boiled potatoes with gravy, corned soup, and even pancakes and fresh honey syrup with blueberries and butter. The scents made my stomach growl as I entered the room.
“Good morning!”
I looked behind us and saw Jason walking into the room, which took me a bit by surprise. “Jason? You’re staying here too?”
“I guess so. The Queen asked me if I could help out around and plan out the upcoming events. I hope that isn’t a problem, Your Highness.”
“No, I don’t think that’s a problem at all,” I said with a smile before glancing to Octavian. I could see him tensing before he gripped onto my wrist and pulled me away from Jason to the other side of the dining table where we sat together. Grandma was there a few minutes later and sat at the end. We began to eat and she started chatting with Jason and Octavian about the upcoming benefit event for the animal shelters. Grandma is big on pets.
"Jason, you're scheduled to meet with the chairman of the St. Grace Animal Clinic Center. I'll have one of my drivers take you there this afternoon as planned."
"Yes, Your Majesty. Have they confirmed a set location for the benefit?"
"No they haven't. That is why I want you to ask them for it so that we can have the whole thing planned. The further ahead we know everything, the better and more successful the event will be."
Jason nodded before he took a sip of his glass of orange juice. Octavian was quiet as he sat next to me, his gaze only looking down onto his plate as he ate and only looked up when the Queen spoke to him.
"Vincent, darling," Grandma said, "you're going to be around Octavian the whole day. He's going to show you what it's like to be a Prince. Unfortunately, we have to speed things up a bit in order to commence your accession to the throne. I'm still handling things with the Council of Elders and I need to give them some preliminary evidence on your progress of your early learning stages as a Royal."
"What are they saying about me?" I asked curiously. If they think that I'm unfit to rule, then that would be a really huge burden on Grandma's shoulders since I don't know any other person who would claim the throne. Did Dad even have brothers? If he did, then Grandma wasn't telling me.
"They're just concerned about a foreigner coming to take over a country they know nothing about. It's why I need Octavian here to help you."
"I will do everything I can to teach him the ropes, Your Majesty," Octavian replied before giving me a warm smile. That smile is going to be one of my weak points.
"And I'm sure if Vincent would like, Jason could teach him as well."
"Yes, I will see to it that he becomes the next great King of Allyria."
The rest of breakfast was awkward; I could feel the tension between Jason and Octavian and I was beginning to think that having them both in the same area as each other was a bad idea. I'm going to have to do something to get them as far away as possible so that I don't get caught in the middle of their feud (if I wasn't tangled in it already).
When we changed into more appropriate clothing, Jason had bid us farewell for the day as he went to do some errands for the benefit. Octavian took me to the stables where I would be learning how to ride a horse. It wasn't that easy.
"Just make sure you have a firm grip on the strap and balance yourself on the saddle so that you won't fall over."
"Yeah, I'm trying to!" Either this horse was really stubborn or I'm just bad at trying to find my balance. Every few gallops the horse took around the small field, my body would hop off into a thick patch of grass. I sustained minor injuries after a few more tries and Octavian called it a day.
"I'm sorry," I apologized. I must've looked like a fool in front of him.
"You're learning, which is good. Are you alright, Vince?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a minor bruise on my hip. Should heal eventually." I was walking next to him before I accidentally tripped over a rock that was attached to the ground and almost fell face first on the dirt, but Octavian had managed to grab my arm in time to hold me up.
"Whoa!" He said at the spur of the moment. "Are you okay?"
"I swear, if this is going to be an all the time thing where I do something stupid like fall or trip and having you to ask me all the time if I'm fine, I don't know how I'll manage to keep myself sane and not be so freaking embarrassed."
He just grinned before he unexpectedly took me up by the arms and hoisted me onto his back where he wrapped my legs around his waist. I felt his back muscles clench and adjust, feeling every subtle movement against my chest. The heat that was emitting from his body got me all hot and bothered especially being this intimately close with him. It made me blush, yet again. Yeah, he was definitely going to make me turn into the reddest tomato on the planet.
Octavian let me ride on his back all the way until we reached the courtyard of the gardens where I got off of him.
"Would you mind if I..." he asked as his arm hovered over my shoulders. I just shook my head. Surely if I let him hold my hand, it would be okay for him to wrap me in his embrace, which he did. His muscular arm wrapped around the upper part of my back and he pulled me close, and there it was again: the electric current that I'd felt the first time I met him. Once was a incident, twice was a coincidence. If it happened a third time, it'd be a pattern, and that would officially hint a signal.
After taking a shower in my quarters since I've fallen so many times in the dirt and Octavian insisted I should get cleaned up, I got dressed in a fresh pair of clothes, which were no less expensive than the previous ones. I wasn't comfortable wearing such high brand fashion; it made me feel alien. I heard a knock outside in the living room and answered the door.
"Your Highness," Jason bowed.
"You can call me Vincent," I replied.
"Vincent," he repeated, "the Queen sent me to get you. She told me it was urgent so you better get over to the Conference room quick."
"The Conference room? What for?"
"She wouldn't explain to me, but it must be an important matter. Would you like me to escort you?"
"That's kind of you, thanks."
Jason led me through the halls; it was silent the first couple of minutes. I didn't know what to say to him because I could think about was what Octavian had mentioned about him last night. But I didn't want it to seem like he wasn't welcomed here.
"So, how do you like it here in Allyria?" Jason asked.
"Well, I haven't gotten the chance to explore around the country. I hope there's a time that'll soon come where I travel around to see what it's like. I can't be expected to rule a country if I don't know what's going on in it."
"So you're completely okay with stepping up to the throne?"
"I did have my doubts at first. Like, out of all people to become a prince in this world, it's me. I'm just an ordinary high school student."
"There's nothing ordinary about you, Vincent. You have special qualities, like how you're seriously good looking."
I blinked. "Me, good looking?" I almost laughed. "I think that's just the over exaggeration of Giuseppe's work. He 'transformed' me."
"But isn't this your natural face?"
"...Yes."
"Then I think you look stunning."
A slight blush crept on my face which caused me to look away. "Thank you."
"So has Octavian mentioned anything about me?"
Oh no. What should I say? Should I tell him the truth? He might know I'm lying. Maybe I should just keep quiet; oh wait, but that would give it away. Oh! Maybe I should just shake my head and keep my mouth shut. No, that's just as bad as the second option.
"Well-"
"Prince Vincent!" A voice called from in front of us. A guard was jogging toward out direction. I didn't even notice we were almost outside of the Conference room. "Thank goodness you have arrived. The Queen has been expecting you. We must hurry."
The guard ushered me to quickly enter into the Conference room and I waved Jason a goodbye before I entered the room. There were many men in different colored suits that were arguing about different things that I couldn't find what topic to pick up on. So I just walked over to Grandma where she was whispering into a guard's ear before she aw me and dismissed him from view. "Thank goodness you're here."
She stood. "Gentlemen, I need a word with my grandson alone for a few moments if you don't mind."
A few 'Yes, your Highness's and 'Of course, your Majesty's were exchanged before they gathered their clipboards and folders and walked out of the door, leaving us in complete silence.
"So, how's my grandson doing so far?" She asked kindly.
"I'm doing alright. I think I got a bruise from falling off the horses, in front of Octavian, no less."
She laughed with a smile. "You'll learn in time. I remember my first horse riding lesson. I was so scared that I didn't want to sit on the saddle. Anyway, you must be wondering why I called you in."
"Yeah, I am."
"Well, it has come to my attention that we can't hide you in the palace any longer. With the recent talks about rebel groups forming in the divisions of the country, they need to see that a true leader is on the rise. We need to get you out there and show them that you can lead this country. You need to prove them wrong."
"Prove them wrong?"
"Yes. Some people don't like the idea of a stranger ruling their beloved country and it has been the topic of the news during the past few days. So, we need to plan as much appearances as possible. There's the benefit coming up; maybe you and Octavian can be seen out somewhere in public, maybe taking a stroll in the park."
"So you want me to go out there and put a smile on my face that says 'Hey, I'm gonna be the best ruler ever!'?"
"Precisely. Do you think you can do that?"
"Well... I'll try." I just hope I don't fail miserably.
There was an image that came into my mind. It was my father. I've seen many portraits and paintings of him around the palace that I've already had a solid imagery of him. He was smiling at me and I was to him. I saw him in Grandma's face, and right then and there I began to realize about how much this responsibility would mean to her, to him. If he were still alive right now, would he have been proud of me for trying? Maybe. The kindness of Grandma's words weren't just kind, but they happened to also be hopeful. She wanted me to rule this country because she believed I could do it, and that thought was just about enough to give me a push into this direction. Maybe I am becoming to accept this task. I had to make the people believe that I was going to make this country a better place to live in. I needed to strive for that to happen, and I had a responsibility to make sure that that would become a reality.
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Author's Note: I hope you guys aren't getting bored with this yet. The romance will become heavy in the plot in the later chapters, but I promise that there'll be lots and lots of romance so please be patient! A good love story doesn't just happen in a few chapters, y'know. Thanks to all who voted so far; I really am grateful!