Prince Maxen's heart started to race as he had never been on a hoverbike before. He had seen them on catalogs and had always wanted to ride one. Sadly, his mother was too overly protective of him since his father had been ill. If anything were to happen to him, his mother would not be able to take it.
"Are you sure we can? Would your parents not say anything?" asked Prince Maxen as he felt shy about going but still wanted to go.
"They are asleep. If you are worried, we can have some guards follow us. Come on! I do it all the time! What are you afraid of?" said Elizabella as she saw that he wanted to go. "Look, if we somehow get in trouble, I will be held responsible. The sky highway is impressive at night. Some late-night restaurants are opened until late."
Hearing the last line made Prince Maxen believe that the real reason she rides at night is so that she can eat out. He sighed as a smile crept upon his face.
"Alright."
**********
Hours before nighttime
Elizabella was in her study looking through some documents while Head Steward Josaf stayed perfectly still next to her. He had pondered over what Walliams had said to him earlier. He thought about whether to ask her about her plans with the Crown Prince. This situation had never happened before, so he was not aware of the correct protocol. Finally, he broke the silence in the room.
"My Lady, I am aware that last night, Walliams witnessed something you did not want him repeating," began the Head Steward as he paused to see her reaction.
"Is that so," responded Elizabella nonchalantly. "What would that be?"
"I was wondering, are there any orders that you want us to follow? For example, prepare a separate bedroom for the Crown Prince?" hinted Head Steward Josaf.
"That will not be necessary. I do not plan on us doing much sleep tonight," said Elizabella, fully absorbed in her reading that she did not notice that her words sounded ambiguous. "Besides that, my Aunt and Uncle believe that our marriage is going well. We cannot have them thinking otherwise."
"…I see…" said Head Steward Josaf as he continued to wonder what she was thinking. "Would that be all, my Lady?"
"Hmm, I need the reports for my father's businesses. I still have not looked through them," said Elizabella as she glanced through the documents she had on hand.
"They are right here, my Lady," said Head Steward Josaf as he picked up a file that had been shoved to the edge of her desk.
"Oh, thanks," said Elizabella as she saw that it was the missing file.
Seeing that she was too focused on her work, Head Steward Josaf sighed. Maybe she will tell them what her plans are later.
**********
Opening the door leading out her room, Elizabella was surprised to see that her servants were still waiting by the door. Seeing that they were caught by their master waiting in the hallway, the servants froze where they were before they bowed or curtsied.
"…Well, if I could have someone dress the Crown Prince for a ride," said Elizabella as she realized that they were outside her bedroom waiting for her instructions.
"Yes, my Lady," her servants sang in a chorus before she returned inside her room, feeling a little weird about them being outside but then paying no mind to their performance.
"Maxen, your outfit will be prepared shortly," said Elizabella as Prince Maxen could not wait to leave.
Soon, a maid came in with a black suit for him to wear. He quickly put it on in her closet as he then wondered if he would need to dye his hair as well.
"No need to dye your hair. You will not need to take off your helmet if we meet people along the way. My hoverbike is well-known, hence why I have to dye my hair and even straighten it flat," said Elizabella as he had asked if he would need to change the color of his hair as well while she seemed to look through her CD. "Come on. It has been a while since I have seen and driven my babies."
"Babies?" thought Prince Maxen as he was surprised to hear that she possibly had more than one.
They walked to the garage, where Head Steward Josaf was waiting alongside the guards to accompany them. They had added more guards than the norm as the Crown Prince would be going on this outing. If anything were to happen to him, specifically, even the Queen of Edalelia would have a hard time shielding their Lady.
The hoverbike that Elizabella wanted to ride was the same one she took last time. Out of all her hoverbikes, this one felt the strongest. Plus, it was the newest. Prince Maxen saw the color and the model and thought that he was hallucinating.
"How did you get your hands on this? I hear that you need to have a membership to get this and to get the membership, you need to know someone who has one. Who do you know that has a membership?" asked Prince Maxen as he recognized the model.
"My Uncle. He taught me how to ride," said Elizabella as she felt a pang in her chest, knowing that he had passed. "He was my favorite Uncle."
"Was?" thought Prince Maxen as he wondered what happened.
"Shall we get on and ride?"
**********
The Head Steward watched as the two left with the guards following in their flying vehicles. He stayed in his position for a long time. The other servants waiting on him looked at each other and wondered what he was thinking.
"Sir, is it alright to let them leave like this?" asked a young maid before pausing to continue. "What should we do about what Sir Walliams had said?"
"We will do nothing until our Lady commands us. Whatever we see or hear, unless told to do so, we should not act on our own," replied Head Steward Josaf as he continued to stand in place, making the young maid pout in frustration.
"It is hard when you hear something like this would happen to our Lady. She has been through a lot, and yet she still does not get a happy ending," said the young maid as she looked down while the others heard and felt the same way.
"She is still young. Who says that she has not had a happy ending?" said Head Steward Josaf as he turned to face the waiting staff. "This has only happened because she has not even tried. Imagine if she did. What we must do, is remain faithful and keep our noses clean. All that is required of us is simply that and no more. Whatever we see or hear about these two should not leave this property. Let us wait inside."
"Yes, Head Steward," replied the servants as they entered the mansion while Head Steward Josaf looked back once more and sighed.
"Just come back safe," he mumbled out loud before heading inside.
**********
Elizabella rode her hoverbike to the Sky Highway with Prince Maxen on her back. He saw the passing vehicles up close and saw how fast they were going. They continued until they saw a group of hoverbikes up ahead. Prince Maxen, not knowing anything, wondered if they were a biker gang. He felt a little panicky as he saw that they sped up and got closer to them, dodging past other vehicles to get to them.
"Why are we speeding up?" Prince Maxen asked through his helmet connection with Elizabella's.
"To say 'hi' to some friends," responded Elizabella as she made a call using her helmet, making Prince Maxen hear a dial tone.
"I was just about to call you before you did. Is that you behind us?" asked Rankin through the helmet that both Prince Maxen and Elizabella could hear.
"Of course. How many of these babies do you see roaming around here?" said Elizabella as she quickly made her way to the front of the group.
"Oh? Did you bring a friend today? Thinking of inaugurating a fellow enthusiast?" asked Rankin as he connected his helmet with the others. "Hey, look. Beauty has brought a friend."
"New Blood! Nice to meet you!"
"A friend of Beauty? Have you seen her collection yet?"
"Hey, new Blood, you ride yourself?"
"What's your friend's name, Beauty?"
"He goes by 'Wolf.' Be nice to him; it is his first time," said Elizabella as the others seemed more animated.
"Oh! A virgin on our hands. Che! Lucky that your first time is on Beauty's hoverbike. Who would not fall in love after this?"
"Ah~. I remember my first time. This brings me back…"
"Haha! Wolf really is lucky! I remember my first time was on an older model! She did not purr as they do nowadays!"
Their speech made Prince Maxen feel incredibly uncomfortable as he thought that their words seemed to carry a lot of teasing and double meanings. He did not know how to respond when he felt Elizabella give a hearty laugh.
"I guess I was lucky, too! My Uncle had just gotten the newest Beast model. At the time, it was the first one in the series. He had come over to brag about getting his first Beast model. He made it seem like it was the rarest delicacy, so I begged him to let me on. My father nearly exploded on the spot. We got away from his yelling on the hoverbike. I was grounded when I came home, but it was so worth it! Ten out of ten would do again!"
"Haha! Hurray for your Uncle! Otherwise, we would not have this chance to see a Beast model!"
"Of course, Beauty is the luckiest of us all! Her first time was on a Beast model. So envious!"
"Beauty, where are you two heading tonight?"
"Wherever the night takes us!" responded Elizabella merrily as the others hooted and hollered through the helmets.
"Alright! Let us ride the night away!"
The group of bikers continued to ride together at fast speeds. Prince Maxen had never been in such a situation where everyone was so unrestrained. He had yet to say anything to them, yet they seem to include him as best they could. Probably since they found out it was his first time on a hoverbike.
Before parting, Ranking even told him that the next time they met, he should be riding on his own hoverbike with them. This had left Prince Maxen feeling a little strange. He had never felt included so quickly when the other party did not know his identity.
No. He once felt this way before. But he somehow does not remember the sequence of events that passed when he did feel that way. Soon, that familiar headache started coming on. Knowing the dangers of where they were and how he was feeling, he quickly made sure to let Elizabella know.
"Ginny, I am getting a headache again. Can we stop somewhere?" he asked as Elizabella felt his grip on her harden.
"I know a spot near here. Hold on. I will land us there shortly," said Elizabella as she turned to exit the Sky Highway coming to a clearing and stopped her hoverbike.
Her guards also followed her, and seeing her stopping, decided to set up a perimeter. It was easier to do so since this was the location that her younger cousins had bragged about earlier that day. After Elizabella stopped the hoverbike, Prince Maxen continued to have a death grip on her waist, making her wonder if he was alright.
"Hey, we have landed. Are you alright?" asked Elizabella.