I dragged my feet as we neared the meeting spot. Ahh~ my heart feels heavy. I seriously have no idea how to act in front of him. But... from the plot, he doesn't take much interest in Lily so it shouldn't matter much.
That's what I thought, however, he seemed to be quite pleased as he is telling me about his training and classes... It seems more like he is just dumping his stress onto me. Strange.
Well... if anything is strange... I'd say it's this weird atmosphere where we are left in my family's gazebo surrounded by knights and sipping tea. Is this really a formal meeting? For kids? I mean... even if it's royalty... Still...
"Are you listening to me?" Prince Alexander asked me with a serious look on his face. "A-ah... yes, your majesty." I said with a sheepish laugh. I actually wasn't in all honesty. I have no idea what he was talking about as he kept switching topics. It honestly isn't something a 6 year old girl should be able to understand. Plus the fact that he keeps laughing it off before changing topics made me confused whether to take his conversation seriously or not.
"I bet it's the knights. You haven't said a single thing to me for the past 30 minutes. Is talking to me boring?" the prince asked, making me flinch. "Boring?! N-no... Your Highness, there's no way! I-I'm just feeling a little tired. Ahaha..." I replied while laughing sheepishly, avoiding eye contact.
I can see why Lily liked him a lot though. The crown prince has blonde hair that rivalled the colour of honey shimmering in the sun and violet eyes, the colour of royalty. He also is easy to speak with and elegant in his movements even at a young age. He was 4 years older in comparison to Lily and acted more maturely than I had expected.
As I smiled sheepishly at him, the prince, with a wave of his hand beckoned one of his knights to his side and whispered something into his ear before smiling back at me. My heart beat stronger in my chest making me cock my head in confusion.
Before I knew it, prince Alexander had called off the knights and stood beside me smiling charmingly. Is that even normal at such a young age? I questioned myself as he stretched out his hand towards mine and held it in his. He then kissed the back of my hand as he invited me out on a stroll.
Was Alexander this type of character in the story??? I thought he was stringent towards the rules of the palace and how he always thinks before he acts. This action alone makes him really out of character. If I recall, his brother is the one who tends to act this way. Eh?
"Your... Your highness... Pardon my rudeness but... could you possibly be... Second Prince Eric...?" I asked hesitantly as his body grew rigid. Oh no! Did I offend him? "A-ah! I apologise for my impudence, your highness... Please... forgive me..." I said as I lowered my head frantically.
"You..." the prince said making me shut my eyes in a panic. "How did you know? No one can tell! Especially if I act seriously!" the prince said while laughing. E-eh... I was right... But if it's like this... where is Prince Alexander?
"I've grown to like you a fair bit now! You're such a waste for my brother Al." Prince Eric said as he led me through the family garden. Flowers adorn the beautiful pastures of grass making the air smell sweet.
Prince Eric, though playful, he should not be taken lightly. With his charms, many noble women had their hearts toyed with, especially after Delia rejected his courtship. He grew to despise his brother for taking Delia away from him and played with women as a means to attract Delia back to him. She was the only woman who saw past his flirtatious manner and playfulness, scolding him when needed and in turn, making him fall for her.
As a means to claim her back, he challenged his brother at any chance he got and grew even more resentful whenever he lost, which was, in a nutshell, always. However, his military prowess was not to be taken lightly as he could easily kill a demon eyed wild boar with one hand at the tender age of 14.
A demon eyed wild boar is a wild boar with the strength of 10 regular wild boars. Even the kin of the demon eyed wild boar took at least three grown men to suppress. Not to mention, even an average knight in the kingdom's army has difficulty fending it off. In short, his strength is pretty much insane for a child.
As I was deep in thought, the sound of a clap at my right ear caused me to jump in a startle. "Hehe... Now are you paying attention?" Prince Eric asked with a mischievous grin. "Y-yes..." I replied while rubbing my ear.
"Let's check out the big willow tree!" Prince Eric said gleefully as he dragged me towards the willow tree at the far corner of the garden. He seemed to know my house pretty well... maybe it's not his first time here, I thought.
As I panted from running after him, we reached the willow tree. A beautiful sight to behold, I thought before I noticed the prince climbing onto the branches. "...! Your majesty! That's dangerous! What if you fall?!" I cried out worriedly as I moved towards the tree.
"No way! I won't fall! Come on! Join me!" he yelled in reply making me grow furious. "For a 10 year old, the prince is really childish! If you were to fall from there, you can possibly break your bones! It really hurts when that happens you know!" I yelled as I glared at him.
"Heh. I bet you're just saying that because you can't climb. Hahahah. Girls!" he teased as he grinned mischievously at me from a tree branch. "What?! Grrr... I'll show you!" I muttered as I reached towards the branches, hauling my body upwards onto the tree.
Only, my foot slipped causing me to stumble, falling off the tree. Ah! I'm going to fall! I thought as I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for the impact. Instead, a pair of strong arms caught my right arm, forcing me to pry open my eyes.
Prince Eric had caught my arm and hoisted me up onto the tree branch he was sitting on. His expression was serious and unreadable. "Are you alright?!" he yelled, obviously panicking. "Oh... I'm... fine..." I said surprised.
"I'm... sorry for teasing you. I didn't expect you to climb up here as well... ... I should have listened to you." he said as he looked at me with a regretful expression. "Ah... um..." I replied, not knowing what to say.
The hours passed and before I knew it, the knights had come searching for us. Prince Eric smiled sadly when it came for us to part. The knights panicked and flailed about, not knowing how to get us down until the prince jumped mischievously onto one of them forcing the knight to catch him.
Once the prince went home, the thought of our moment in the tree crossed my mind. We talked about our day and I listened to his complaints while he did mine. All in all, we spent quite an eventful meeting. Until I remembered that we held hands until the end of that meeting, making my face flush red.
***
"So? How was she?" a voice asked as Prince Eric entered the carriage. "Oh. She was fun to talk to. I'd go as far as to say she's a waste on you. Haha." Prince Eric grinned as he stared at the other boy. "Hmph. Must be another playful kid like you." the voice said in reply as Prince Eric pouted.
"Hmph. I'd say she's a refreshing girl. Especially in comparison to such a boring guy like you, brother. Oh! Did you know? She could tell I'm Prince Eric! Amazing right! The other girls not to mention adults couldn't tell!" Prince Eric said jovially as he teased his brother, Prince Alexander.
"Those people must be blind. How could they possibly mistake me for such a kid. However, it does pique my interest. Especially how she seemed so familiar..." Prince Alexander said as he turned his gaze towards the passing scenery, deep in thought.