Alan did as Malphus said and got onto the carriage and left, this was the first time Alan rode the carriage alone. Valerie knew that Hunter wouldn't hurt him and that he wouldn't let Alan get hurt, yet she was still worried.
After a solid 15 minutes, Hunter came back to get them, Malphus could have had another driver take them, but he liked Hunter the best and trusted him the most.
"So, Mr.I-wanna-get-you-back-on-my-side, where are we going?" Valerie asked as she poisoned herself on the red velvet seat of the carriage.
"We, milady, are going to dinner. I had Marlen make something special for Alan and cater to anything else he wants." Malphus crossed his legs and sat one of his arms on the back of the seat.
"Oh." He was! Oh, that slick dog, no one can stay mad at him when he offers food, especially good tasting food!
"I hope you weren't expecting to be taken to that play I promised you? If you were, we can catch it after dinner?" Malphus put his arm down and into his lap, and looked apologetic.
"Oh no, I not one to watch plays." Valerie waved her arms in the air, reassuring Malphus that she was fine with dinner. It seemed to work because Malphus' features soothed and went back to his normal player look.
"You know," Valerie said pausing to capture his attention "You've always looked like you weren't scared to break hearts- even when we were kids." That made Malphus grin, well maybe not the thing about him breaking hearts, but about them being kids- and knowing each other.
"Oh, I get it. You're jealous that other girls like me." He nodded his head as the carriage erupted into no's coming from Valerie.
"I'm not at all. A fair number of guys like me, Oscar, your crazy ex-assistant- in whatever twisted way, you-." Valerie was interrupted.
"No, not me, I don't like you." The carriage quieted down and the wide grin on Valerie's face turned itself in for a nasty looking frown.
"See, I, I love you, there's a difference." Malphus chuckled at Valerie's vague expression before it turned into a wide smile.
They bantered all the way to the restaurant, and though her heart wanted to believe Malphus really did love her, her brain kept it in check. She continuously reminded herself that this was the way Malphus made his way into other girl's hearts just to break them.
She let herself have fun though, just because she knew this was a decoy, that shouldn't mean she couldn't have fun with an old friend.
"Ah, Milady, we've arrived at our destination." Malphus said as he heard the carriage being pulled to a stop in front of a nice looking building with people eating on balconies almost as fine as Malphus'.
"Woah, don't get all 'big money' with me, alright? I like almost any type of food." Which was true, when they were kids and she lived in the orphanage and had to eat what was served, but after being catered to with Oscar, she became quite picky about what she liked.
"Well, what's the use of having all this money if I can't use it?" Malphus said helping Valerie out of the carriage.
"I don't think I came dressed for this," Valerie whispered in Mulphus' ear, but when she looked at him she noticed he wasn't exactly dressed for it either.
"Don't worry, we have the top floor." Malphus pointed straight up, and while she was annoyed that Malphus bought a whole floor just for them, she was also grateful.
"Good day, how many will it be?" A man with a tiny mustache asked them.
"Nightcrum, we're here as the party of Nightcrum." The man cleared his throat, he probably thought they were holding an actual party, which would be noisy for all the other customers so he was mildly happy.
"Right this way." He put down his pin and book and started walking.
As they passed people they received glares and whispers, mostly because they weren't dressed very formally.
"Just up their sire, there will be someone to assist you." The room filled with louder whispers when they heard the word 'sire' but obviously Malphus didn't care because he walked right up the stairs.
The second layer consisted of much wealthier looking people, some looking slightly annoyed with Malphus and Valerie's presence. Some just looked them up and down, scoffed, and went back to what they were doing. But after all that, they were there. The top layer of the building, no one there and no light except one candle, rose petals gazing the floor, and the balcony doors open to let in the cool breeze of the summer night to create the perfect romantic ambiance.
"Malphus..."