"We're done for the day, lady," Mr. Simmons, my etiquette tutor said to me.
"Already?" I asked, surprised. Sessions with Mr. Simmons usually lasted at least two hours, more if he felt I was being particularly crass that day. Today's lesson on how to conduct oneself during tea had barely started an hour ago.
"Prince Alexander requested we end early today as you're still recovering from your mishap in the stables," Mr. Simmons replied.
I raised my eyebrows and nodded. That little mishap happened several days ago and I had pretty much walked away from it more or less unscathed, but I certainly wasn't about to tell him that.
"Well, Alex knows best."
Mr. Simmons nodded respectfully, gathered his notes and left, leaving me to flop back into my large and uncomfortable seat with a sigh.
"It's a good thing Simmons didn't see that stunt just now or you'd be here till tomorrow," Alex said as he walked in through another door.
Too lazy to do a proper twirl, I lifted my eyes. He was standing above me in my slumped state with a clever smile.
"Acting lady-like is tiresome," I mumbled. "So what's the deal?" I asked, straightening as Alex took the seat across from me. "Why were my lessons cut short?"
Alex looked at me in surprise. "You're just barely recovering from what happened with the horse. I didn't want to tax your strength."
I gave him a look. "Are you serious? I thought you got me out cause you wanted me for something. That was days ago and I was fine then, I'm definitely still fine now."
Alex shrugged. "People who have been in car accidents think they're completely fine until days later when they realize they have metal in their systems."
I rolled my eyes. "You're an alarmist," I told him. My stomach growled. "Hey, I didn't get a chance to eat lunch. Do you know where the kitchen is around here?"
Instead of replying, Alex stared at me with widened eyes.
"What?" I asked, touching my face. "Do I have something on me? Is it a bug?"
"You didn't have lunch?" Alex asked incredulously.
"No, I still have a bunch of catching up to do so I haven't really had a chance to eat lunch for almost a week."
Alex stood up, grabbed a hold of my wrist, and started power walking the two of us out of the room.
"Whoa, slow down! Where are we going?"
"You said you're hungry," Alex said shortly.
"You really know where the kitchen is? Wow, I'm impressed."
"I've lived here all my life," Alex replied. "I know it's Darsham Castle to you and it can seem a little intimidating, but this is just my home. Of course I know where the main kitchens are."
"The main kitchens?" I asked. "Of course, there's more than one."
"But that's not where we're going. We'll go to one of the smaller ones. It's kept in stock for us."
"Who's us?"
"The family. We use it on occasion when we're feeling hungry and don't want to bother the staff or if we feel like cooking something."
I didn't bother dissecting the idea of having an extra fully stocked kitchen just for the occasional whim and instead focused on keeping up with Alex.
"Alex, slow down," I said, nearly panting. "You're walking too fast. You always walk too fast for me."
"Oh," he replied, immediately slowing down and looking at me. "I didn't realize."
I rolled my eyes. "It's alright, but would it kill you to say you're sorry once in a while? I've never had a proper apology from you."
Alex didn't say anything, of course. But the slower pace was obvious and much appreciated.
"I never had to worry about having to stay in pace with anyone..." He said as though trying to offer an explanation instead of an apology.
"That's because everyone was always busy keeping in pace with you. You're the Crown Prince. Who's going to tell you to slow down?"
"You did."
"Yes well, I'm going to be a Crown Princess. If not me, then who?"
Alex looked at me with a smile so dazzling I thought my legs would melt.
"That's the first time you referred to yourself as the Crown Princess," he said in a soft voice.
I tried to gather my wits to make a proper response. "Not Crown Princess. Future Crown Princess," I managed to stumble out in a barely coherent manner.
I closed my eyes, waiting for the sarcastic remark I knew was coming, but instead we stopped walking completely. Before I had a chance to re-open my eyes to see what was going on, I felt him lean in to give me a quick, but soft kiss. My eyes flew open in surprise. There were staff members walking around! Though they did avoid their eyes from us to give us the illusion of privacy.
"What was that for!" I asked in surprise.
"You're the one who closed your eyes," he replied, shrugging.
"Don't confuse that with an invitation to kiss! I was just... closing my eyes."
Alex smirked. "Fine, fine. I will definitely not take you closing your eyes as a sign for me to kiss you anymore. Happy?"
I was already blushing furiously so I simply nodded, looking down. "So are we going to the Royal Kitchen or what?"
"We're here," he replied, opening the door in front of us and leading me inside. It looked like one of those kitchens straight out of a magazine or one of those cooking shows dad liked to watch but even nicer.
"Does anyone even use this?" I asked.
"Occasionally. Admittedly not very often," Alex replied. "Sit there," he said, pointing to one of the stools in front of the large island counter.
I gave him a confused look. "Why?"
"You said you were hungry so I'm going to make you something to eat."
My mind took a while to process this information as I tried to make sense of it.
"Okay, first of all, you can cook?" I asked incredulously as I watched him open the refrigerator and pull things out.
"A while ago mother thought it would be a good idea to hold a charity event where all the younger nobles catered to the less fortunate. I was one of the cooks. Josie was a waitress."
"Oh yes, I remember that. It was all over the news," I said, nodding. "Secondly," I continued, "you're going to cook for me?"
"Are you or are you not hungry?" He asked, continuously pulling things out and placing them on the counter.
"I am but... I have to say, I've never had a prince cook anything for me."
"Not prince," he said, finally turning to look at me with softened blue eyes. "Just Alex."
I swallowed. I know he's been blessed with excellent good looks, but as he pulled an apron over his head, I never found him hotter.
"So uh..." I tried to choke out, ignoring his smirk. "What are we having?"
"Veal Schnitzel."
I rolled my eyes. "No, seriously."
"I am being serious."
I realized he was as I stared at all the ingredients and kitchen tools he pulled out from drawers and cabinets.
"Are you kidding me? It's five in the evening! We're going to have dinner in a couple of hours." Queen Beatrice thought it'd be a good idea to have me dine at the castle after every lesson, which happened three times a week, to get me more quickly comfortable with being at Darsham.
"It's very bad to not eat three good meals a day," Alex responded.
"Yeah sure, but you're going to spoil my appetite for the real dinner. I'll just have something light," I said as I headed towards the refrigerator.
"Wait," he said, closing the refrigerator door before I could have a chance to rummage through it. "Veal Schnitzel's the only thing I know how to cook. It's not that heavy; it's thinly pounded veal. I can also to a light green salad for the side."
"That's sweet, but it's okay. I can just make myself a sandwich or something," I replied, trying to push him out of the way. But he wouldn't budge.
"I was told that my veal is very delicious," he continued to insist.
I finally took a step back and tried to figure out what was really going on. He still had a firm stance in front of the refrigerator, but why? And then it hit me.
"You want to cook for me!" I cried.
His ears turned the tell-tale signs of pink that I loved so much.
"I just don't like the idea of you skipping meals," he said in an obviously embarrassed tone.
"Oh my god! You're a doting fiance," I cried gleefully. "Crown Prince Alexander Gregory Charles Wilhelm of Durenia, I would never have suspected that you're actually a romantic!"
"Alright, can we stop," he said, pushing me back towards the stool. "Will you eat the veal now?"
Still giggling, I sat down. "Only if you promise to write me a song, too."
He threw a piece of lettuce at me with a smile. "Don't get so cocky."
"Wouldn't dream of it, sir," I replied in mock seriousness. "And next time, I'm going to show you how to make a sandwich."
He was about to reply when the door was suddenly flung open and Josie came rushing in, her breath coming in gasps as though she had been running around for a while.
"There you are!" She cried to Josie. "Alex, you have to come talk some sense into father," she said urgently, quickly going to him and tugging on his arms.
"Why, what's wrong?" Alex asked.
"Father's finally going to do it! He says that after the wedding, once we've garnered enough good will from the people, he's going to announce that Diane is our half-sister!"
My mouth dropped open. What? So our wedding was a ploy the King was using to get on the people's good side so that he could finally reveal his secret daughter? Now this was manipulation! No wonder dad was constantly convinced the government is after us. Maybe he really is a genius!
Alex's mouth was set in a grim line. "I know Diane would rather not have this revealed," he said calmly. Another shocker for me. She didn't? "But this may be for the best. It's absolutely shameful, the way we've been keeping this secret. She's our sister, and a member of the royal family. People should know that our sister is rightfully a princess and in line for the throne."
"Alex," Josie said, rolling her eyes. Shocker number three. Josie really isn't as sweet and innocent as I keep thinking she is. "That's very noble of you and all, but have you forgotten that Diane wants nothing to do with the royal family?"
Alex shook his head. "I believe in time she'll come to see that-"
"No Alex, Diane loves Morland. She doesn't want anything to compromise that and she definitely doesn't want to be third in line for the throne. Alex, you do remember how upset she was at your engagement party?"
Shocker number four. So that's why Diane had been crying that night!
"I'm sorry Josie, but I believe this is for the best. Father is finally doing what he should have done years ago."
Josie threw her hands up in frustration and turned to me. "Will you talk some sense into that stubborn head of his? Diane is really upset right now! She left in tears!"
"Diane was here?" I asked.
Josie nodded. "She comes every once in a while when father summons for her but it's all done very secretly."
I shook my head. This was so messed up. What confused me the most was why a strong woman like Queen Beatrice put up with it. But I knew better than to pry into someone else's private relationship.
"Alex," I said, "maybe you should listen to Josie."
But Alex stubbornly shook his head, his mouth closed in a tight line. Josie crossed her arms, huffed once more and left, slamming the door behind her.
"Alex-" I started again.
"Gina, when I finally realized the reason why Diane was over so often or why father visited Morland more than any other place in Durenia, I felt as though my entire world was coming apart," Alex replied. "I looked up to my father. He had always been everything a good Crown Prince, and then later a good King should be. Then I found out that he had cheated on my mother with Diane's mother and, furthermore, kept their child a secret." He sighed heavily, sitting on the stool next to mine. I reached forward and held his hand, which he gave a comforting squeeze. "This is the right thing to do and father is finally going to do it."
I tried to smile but I couldn't help but wonder if this really was the right thing. Perhaps as Alex said announcing the truth about Diane would be better in some ways. It was the honorable choice in a dishonest situation. But when I thought of Diane and how upset she had been, I was no longer sure. Was it really the honorable choice when it upset her so much?
The next day at school, I decided to search Diane out and hear it straight from the source. If she truly didn't want it to be known that she is in fact a princess in her own right as Josie said, then I would do what I could to help her. Besides, I owed her one. Before I could do that though, I felt as though I needed to clear the air between me and Tom.
"I have to say, I was rather surprised by your text," Tom said as he walked towards me. I had been waiting for him behind the library where I knew no one would see or hear us.
"Hey," I said nervously as I stood. I wasn't really sure how to go about this. I mean, he had never said anything, though in every other way it had been made clear about his feelings towards me. "Thanks for coming."
"Of course."
We stood in silence for a few minutes and I awkwardly shifted about. I had never been so uncomfortable in my life. But it had to be said.
"Tom, you're a good friend," I started, breaking the silence. I looked up from my feet to find him staring at me intently, his dark green eyes incredibly sad but a smile on his lips.
"I'm glad you think so."
"And I... I love Alex," I finished firmly.
Tom nodded. "I'm happy for you. For both of you."
I stared at him closely. "Are you really?"
Tom was silent for a while before replying and I was beginning to wonder if I had overstepped my boundaries, but kept waiting. After all, this wasn't only for his sake that we made things clear, it was for Diane too and she had enough on her plate at the moment to stress over. Not that my doing this was necessarily a guarantee that Tom would suddenly fall in love with Diane, but it was better than continuing to turn a blind eye over the situation.
"You're an incredibly intelligent, not to mention a beautiful woman, Georgiana Fitzwilliam," he suddenly said, a fierceness in his voice. "And I am not sorry for how I feel about you. My feelings are my own and my only regret was that I could not do more for you... that I didn't meet you first." I winced, but he continued. "However, Alex is also a very important person to me. And you are unspeakably important to him. So, we'll leave it at that."
I nodded. "Thank you. And... I'm sorry."
Tom shook his head. "Like I said, my feelings are my own. You did nothing. You were... you were just you. What choice did I have?"
His voice was gentle, his smile bittersweet, his eyes infinitely sad. I felt my heart break for him, but didn't dare allow to let it show on my face. Tom had grown dearer to me over the past couple of months than I had thought possible for any one person over such a short period of time. But while this situation with Tom saddened me, this was for the best. For everyone.
Tom leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on my cheek. He opened his mouth to say something, closed it and finally walked away without looking back. I sighed, slumping against the wall and sliding to the floor. I put my head in my hands and probably would have stayed in that position for a while if my royal line didn't alert me of a text message. I pulled the phone out of my pocket and opened it.
Ed just informed me that sandwiches are relatively simple to make. What do you think?
I laughed, and then realized something astounding. I could be in complete misery, but a single text from Alex could make me laugh.
So this is love.
……………………………
[a/n] So originally this chapter wasn't going to go in the story, but then I had an epiphany and realized dang, I really want the readers to see how sweet Alex can be to Gina… But this extra chapter put me a smidge off schedule. Apologies! Plot-wise this chapter was supposed to throw the story into a tizzy, but I guess you're going to have to wait for the real action in the next couple of chapters ;] Oh, and don't worry guys. I know my updates are a little slow, but I will continue writing! Thank you everyone who reads and reviews for your constant support and encouragement. They really push me to keep at it when I'm feeling dried out. On a side note, CONGRATULATIONS TO THE UPCOMING ROYAL WEDDING! I'd be lying if I said they weren't in many ways an inspiration for this story.