"How are the preparations coming along?" Sam threw the question over his shoulder as he focused on fixing his tie. He could hardly remember the last time he had worried so much about how he looked. It must have been when his mother was still alive.
"Dinner is on time, I made sure the chef knew how important it is to impress tonight's guests." Kepler replied, the silver monocle absent on his pristine, clean shaven face. Without it, he actually looked his age.
"What about my father and the rest of my family?" Finally satisfied with how he looked, he flipped his collar down. He took his new azure cuff links and carefully put them on.
"The King is busy trying to please the other Kings. The other Princes have all been called out of the Capital to deal with something or another. Your sisters are partaking in High Society, each going to different tea parties."
Sam turned away from the mirror, and Kepler held out his suit jacket. He took it, slipping his arms into the cool navy sleeves.
"Excellent. It seems they all took the bait." Sam ran a hand through his blond hair, stopping when he realized he was messing up his hair.
"Did the hairdresser leave already?" He looked at Kepler, annoyed with himself.
"A long time ago your Highness." Kepler seemed amused as he watched the prince try to fix his own hair. Sam didn't pay him any mind. He couldn't afford to show Kiera an image of the slovenly Third Prince, the one she most undoubtedly had heard all about by now.
He sighed. Even after the Beast King had given him advice on how best to approach the Beast General, he didn't know if that was enough for her to look past his awful reputation. He had thought about explaining himself to her but he knew that would probably seem as if he was making excuses. If what he had observed from watching and talking to the Beast General was anything to go by, making excuses was the quickest way to surely be rejected by her.
"The carriage has arrived." Kepler left the room, only to return a moment later and announce the arrival of the carriage Sam had sent for the General and her three Captains.
"Greet them and take them immediately to the dining room." His aid nodded his head, but before he could go back out of the room, he was stopped by Sam.
"Kepler, make them feel welcomed, please? Smile like you actually mean it."
"I will try my best your Highness, but sometimes smiling too much can lead to achieving the opposite effect." Sam could make out a hint of dryness in Kepler's voice, but when he turned around he found his aid had disappeared from the room.
He scoffed and with one last look at his reflection in his mirror, left his room and walked towards the dining room.
When Sam arrived at the room, he was pleased to see his guests were arriving at the same time.
"Thank you all for coming." All their eyes went to him as he entered from the other end of the dining room. Sam became elated when the Beast General's eyes landed on him. She briefly swept her eyes over him as Sam smiled, pretending not to notice.
Kiera wore the same attire she did when attended the banquet, a white blouse over a pair of onyx trousers. Her floor length jacket trailed after he as she walked, appearing like a dress but not quite. Even now, her very presence was like a breath of fresh air to him. From the way she dressed to even the way she spoke, it was all uniquely hers.
He walked closer, absentmindedly adjusting the cuff links on his sleeves.
"We have arrived your Highness." Kiera does something he had never seen her do before. She curtsied in front of him, her body moving awkwardly at the very unfamiliar greeting. Sam was momentarily shocked by the sight that he wasn't able to see her other three Captains bow and curtsy to him.
Sam tried to mask his expression as he gestured towards the table.
"Please, no need to be so formal. I invited you all here so that we could chat leisurely. Let's sit down for now, shall we?" He took out a chair, motioning the Beast General to sit down. The very act must be foreign to her for she looked puzzled before she finally sat down at the seat Sam had pulled out for her.
Then he did the same for Kiera's second Captain, who equally looked the same as her leader did.
"What about my chair?" Kiera's youngest Captain, Cody, inquired before a big hand on his shoulder from the other male Captain brought him down into a chair.
Sam chuckled, taking his seat at the head of the table. He made it so Kiera was sitting on his right and Kepler took the seat on his left.
As soon as they got situated, his servants entered the room with a cart loaded up with only the most exquisite food. They carefully laid out the plates around the table while Sam studied their faces, watching as they lit up with the sudden affluent feast in front of them.
Kiera's Captains all looked astonished, but what of their leader?
Sam looked to his side at the Beast General as she watched the nimble hands of his servants. Then she looked up at him, catching him staring at her.
Under the light of the room's chandelier, her blue eyes glittered like gems. It was enough to take his breath away.
Kepler coughed into his hand, and Sam teared his eyes away from the Beast General. He realized they were all waiting on him to begin.
"You don't need to wait for me. Please, enjoy the food." He smiled at the others, and as soon as he motioned with a wave of his hand, he saw the Captains dig into their food.
Kiera was pensive before she took her fork and knife, cutting into the steak on her plate. From what he had observed, she seemed to eat more of the meats than the vegetable dishes. Sam picked up his fork, thinking now was as good a time as any.
When he extended out his fork, he could feel his heart pounding inside his chest. Kiera immediately looked at him, her eyes on the fork between them.
"You must try this," the piece of meat on his fork smelled tantalizingly good, its juicy texture seemed so inviting even to Sam, "it's my chef's signature dish."
Around the table, Kiera's Captains all stiffened, their forks up in midair as their attention all shifted over to Kiera and Sam. They stared openly as their eyes watched with anticipation their General's reaction.
Sam was also anxious as he held out his fork, waiting for Kiera. If what the Beast King had told him was true then the act of him offering food to the General was a daunting step forward. If Kiera accepted the food on his fork then it would be akin to accepting his advances.
Sam smiled innocently at her as she continued to stare between him and the food on his fork.
To his surprise, the Beast General bent her face forward, cleanly taking the food right off of his fork. He was stunned that she had taken the food directly with her mouth instead of taking his fork, that he was left stupefied for a second. Kiera chewed on the food, and Sam's eyes flickered down at her glossy lips. The oil from the meat sticking on her pink lips.
The sight of her was enough for him to firmly believe he could so very well lose his mind if he wasn't careful.