"Please follow me Mister Belmont," the King's personal assistant led me to his office. I had never been to this part of the Palace. This was a private area only reserved for the family and obviously very high officials. The rest of us 'commoners' were only allowed in the first wing of the Palace.
I completely understood why. For security reasons we could not have free access to the entire building. I was amazed at how expensive the whole Palace looked. Everything was decorated in white and light grey marble floors and finishes. There were platinum and gold everything. Even the snobbish employees were dressed in their uniform with their heads held high and noses in the air.
I felt like I stood out like a sore thumb with my black trousers and light blue long sleeved button up shirt with black formal shoes. I had even brushed my hair a little hoping the King took no offense on my outfit. I would never fit in with these people no matter how hard I tried. I was simply staying true to myself.
"Would you like anything to drink before I go notify the King? Water, Coffee or juice," the beautiful woman smiled.
"Umm water will be great," I smiled. She simply nodded and left me to set up my presentation. This was the boardroom division of the Kings office. There were large white French doors to one side of the room which I guessed led to his office. To one side of wall were multiple book shelves that carried more books than I imagined the King owned. Large arch styled windows allowed plenty of light to flood in. A large oak table stood in the centre of the room with probably more than twenty chairs.
A distinctive gold beautiful craved wooden chair stood at the head of the table and I figured that was dedicated to the King. I set up the projector and took out all the necessary documents I wanted him to see.
His personal assistant came back with water that had lemon slices and mint, and two cups of coffee, one bottle of mineral water and a glass of juice.
"They will be here in a minute," she smiled and sat down with her laptop and notebook.
I suddenly felt nervous with the amount of people that were going to be here. I had no idea why I figured the King would be having this meeting with just him and me. I wondered who else would be attending. I should have practised this more, but my thoughts were abruptly cut off when the doors of the large French doors opened.
The first person was the King himself; dressed in a navy blue suit, white button up shirt and black tie. I wondered if he ever considered modelling. His green eyes pierced mine and unlike the first time we met, I could tell he was not having a good day by his clenched jaw and expressionless face.
"Mister Belmont, lovely to see you again. I hope your trip went well," he gave me a curt smile as we shook hands.
"It did King Adonis, I can't wait to share my findings with you," I smiled not allowing his brooding mood to affect me.
"So do I," he nodded before taking his rightful place at the head of the table. The second person to enter was Prince Apollo; who was dressed in a dark grey suit, white button shirt and black tie.
His blonde hair bounced with every step he took and unlike his brother he seemed actually happy to see me. "Cloud! So excited for your presentation. I always read your reports and I always think they are great."
"Thank you so much Prince Apollo," I chuckled and bowed slightly. He winked with a grin before sitting next to his brother.
The fourth person to enter was a man I had only seen on television. The Minister of Finance Idris Conan was a man in his fifties with greying short hair and a moustache. I did know how to feel about him simply because I did not know him. He was in charge of the country's finance and in my opinion I thought he was doing a good job.
"It's nice to meet you Mister Belmont," he shook my hand with a strong grip and smile.
"It's an honour Sir."
Just when I thought my anxiety could not rise even more, an angel walked through the doors nearly making my knees week. Princess Iris walked in dressed in a beautiful baby blue summer dress and matching cardigan. She wore beige flats that nearly matched her skin. Her blonde hair was up in a bun and she seemed to be wearing a tint of lip-gloss.
She immediately beamed when our eyes met and without thinking I smiled back at her with just as much enthusiasm. "Hi Cloud," she approached me and gently shook my hand. Her skin was as soft and smooth as silk. I could not believe I had touched her.
"Princess Iris," I gently bowed. She playfully rolled her eyes since the last time we met she had asked me to treat her as just a normal person.
"Iris I do not have all the time in the world," King Adonis's authoritative and intimidating voice snapped us out of our little bubble.
Princess Iris blushed and quickly sat down next to Prince Apollo who chuckled lowly at her. This seemed to just annoy the King even more as he closed his eyes, deeply exhaled and sighed. When his eyes finally did open I could tell if I did not get started soon the man would lose his temper.
I started with my presentation explaining in full length what I and my fellow colleagues had discovered. King Adonis would interrupt me every few minutes seeming incredibly interested. Prince Apollo was listening as well but I could tell he was just counting down the seconds and Princess Iris looked completely lost. Minister Idris only interrupted me when it came to finances and by the end of the presentation I was impressed with myself for not stuttering.
"I think we should wait for the trees to mature before moving them to any new location. Once they are ready to produce seeds we will see how to go forward but we cannot afford to let one of them die," King Adonis agreed with me and I swore if I was not in a room full with the most important people in our government I would have done a happy dance.
"Thank you my King," I smiled.
For a second he allowed his mask to slip and he slightly grinned before wiping the expression off his face. "Idris I expect you will stay in contact with Cloud when it comes to the budget," he pushed his chair back and stood up.
"Of course. I will make sure my assistant contacts you as soon as possible," Minister Idris directed to me.
"Yes Sir," I nodded.
"Very well then. Let's call it a day," King Adonis walked towards me and shook my hand. I had no idea why but for a second I thought I saw a glimmer of bright blue on his wrist. He seemed to sense my curiosity and quickly retracted his hand from mine. I went through the same routine with Princess Apollo, Minister Idris and the Kings assistant.
"Iris?" the King stood by the doorway waiting for his sister. "
"I will be out in a second," she said sweetly. He stared at her then looked over to me before sighing and closed the door behind us. "I'm sorry about my brother, he has been in a prissy mood this whole weekend."
"I just thought there was something wrong with my face," I joked as I packed up my things.
She giggled and stood next to me, "I was wondering if I could follow you around in the garden whenever you come around. I'm not sure if you know but I'm studying art at the University and we have a course to study landscape art so I have to put together a portfolio. I figured who would be better than you to show me how nature works."
My mind seemed to be in another universe as I stared at her. Princess Iris wanted me to show her the science of plants! This was a huge deal. I would be spending more time with her and I had to make sure I was on my A game since she was a Royal. This was the test of a lifetime. "Of course. You can stop by my office any time and I can show you how they look under a microscope."
"Excellent!" she clapped, "I'll send you an email. See you later Cloud."
"Enjoy your day Princess Iris." She glared for a second causing me to chuckle before I corrected myself, "Iris." That seemed to satisfy her as she smiled and soon walked out.
Once I was alone I let out a heavy sigh in relief. That was enough social interactions for a whole week. Within minutes I was done and walking down the hallway back to the first wing of the Palace. Yet, the universe seemed to send something my way.
"Ezekiel! The King has called for you," I heard a woman say from another hallway stopping me dead in my tracks.
"Is his meeting over?" a deep voice responded. It sounded familiar and I hoped it was the very Ezekiel I had been spending time with for the past month and a half.
"Yes," the woman replied.
There was no response but soon a tall, buff man walked out of a room. His hair was dark and curly. His jaw perfectly angular and I swore in that moment I thought it was him. Without thinking twice I ran after him, "Ezekiel!" I called out not knowing why I was so excited to see the very person who had me crying just a day ago.
Ezekiel turned around clearly not expecting to be called out by me and with a confused gaze he met my eyes. He gave me a gentle smile and that immediately sparked my hope it was him. Like an idiot I threw my arms around him and hugged him so tightly I was surprised he was still breathing.
What alerted me something was wrong was the fact he did not hug me back. He seemed shocked and looked down at me with an alerted expression. "I'm sorry Sir but do I know you?"
It felt like someone had poured ice cold water on me as I jumped away from him. "It's me Cloud."
He raised his eyebrow and laughed softly, "I think you might have confused me with someone else. I've never met you before."
"Are you just saying this because of what happened Saturday? You can't expect me to tell you how I feel without me even knowing you. In fact you should be apologizing for kissing me," I growled. If Ezekiel was willing to swoop so low than I would meet him with the same amount of hostility.
"Whoa," Ezekiel held his hands up trying to calm me down, "I'm sorry Sir but I'm married and no offense I am not attracted to men. I think you may have confused me with someone else."
"B-but…" I was at a loss for words. They looked so much alike I could not believe it was not him.
"Look if it helps I know another Ezekiel who works in the Palace. He works in the first wing at the administration department. Maybe you will have more success there," he smiled kindly.
"Okay. I'm sorry about the confusion," I tried my best to stay serious but I was on the brink of breaking down into a fit of tears.
"No problem. I have to get going but good luck," he playfully saluted and walked away.
Even though a part of me wanted to believe he was lying I knew it was not Ezekiel simply because of his scent. He smelled like a rainforest and a musky mint. He did not give me the same feeling I had when I was around the Ezekiel I knew.
It was frustrating but it seemed to light the fire within me. If Ezekiel did not want to see me in the daylight. Fine, but that did not mean I could not search for him myself.