Chapter 38: The Date (1)
The carriage pulled to a stop. Mikyle was the first to exit. He then held out his hand for Adrien to take.
When Adrien’s palm pressed against Mikyle’s skin, he felt a burst of heat and a zapping sensation, making him feel as if he had been shocked by an electrical current. It was so strong that his toes curled.
As soon as his feet were firmly on the ground, he took his hand back. Was this the reason why Mikyle was so forthcoming, because of this strange attraction?
"The play starts in an hour," Mikyle informed him.
Adrien gave a brief nod of his head. He was looking forward to seeing his first play.
"I figured we could grab breakfast at a nearby cafè before we head over," Mikyle suggested.
"Sure. Sounds good." Adrien looked around them as he took in the sights. He had been to the city before but this was a new part to him.
Mikyle led them to a nearby café. The inside atmosphere was pleasant and not too crowded.
"I have a reservation at the new upscale restaurant that opened up earlier in the year for after the play."
Adrien finished off his sandwich and wiped his mouth free from crumbs. "Sounds good."
What am I, a broken record?! Adrien internally groaned as he realized that he gave the exact same answer that he had last time. Was he more nervous than he thought?
Mikyle chuckled, a lopsided grin plastered on his smug-looking face. "Relax. There’s no reason to be nervous. I won’t do anything to you unless asked otherwise."
How did he know?!
Adrien had just figured out himself that he was feeling nervous. Did that show just how observant this guy was? Or was he just being that obvious?
Mikyle placed his hand on the table, his fingertips just centimeters away from Adrien’s fingers. "Hmm, are my words shocking to you? I only said them to reassure you."
"I can’t tell if you’re just observant, or if I’m just that obvious. I don’t even know why I’m nervous, it’s not like I haven’t dated before."
But I never dated a prince before. And this isn’t my original body either, so it feels a bit strange to me—to develop relationships, both the romantic and non-romantic kind, while occupying someone else’s body.
Mikyle’s face stiffened and shock made his eyes waver.
Adrien felt himself stiffening as he realized that he had made a slip-up. Adrien Mallorne had never dated, nor did he seem like the type to date around.
". . .That. . .is not something that I expected," Mikyle admitted after a while.
Adrien looked away and licked his lips. "Can you forget that last part? I didn’t mean to say that."
Mikyle shifted his hand until it rested on top of Adrien’s. Heat immediately poured into Adrien, making him shiver. "If that’s what you want, but I have an excellent memory so it might be a little hard to do that."
His eyes darted back to Mikyle. The mischievous prince was sporting a soft smile and his eyes glimmered with light. For some reason, that was all Adrien needed. He felt himself relax—he felt his nerves wash away.
Adrien found himself returning Mikyle’s smile. "I can live with that."
Mikyle’s soft smile turned into a full-bloomed smile that made his face light up with a boyish charm.
* * * *
Lianna flipped through the newspaper. She was sitting down on the couch with her legs tucked underneath her.
After finishing with her morning training, she had decided to rest for a few minutes, which is why she was now casually flipping through the newspaper. News articles were the best way to find out about what was happening in the kingdom.
"Oh?" Her fingers paused and her eyes lingered on a particular article. One of the plays that she was wanting to see was holding a performance in the capital that week.
"Maybe I should see if Nathaniel wants to go with me?" She mused out loud to herself. "If not, then maybe the Queen Regent?"
Nathaniel’s mother, the Queen Regent, was a huge fan of plays. It was widely known that she would sneak out of the Palace in disguise just to go watch the latest performances.
After she finished skimming through the paper, Lianna grabbed the weekly news from her school. The school had many clubs within it and one such club focused on gathering the latest gossip.
The paper crumpled in her grip and a smile unconsciously made its way to her lips. Nathaniel had been too busy to attend to his classes that week and because her guards had increased, she had not stayed after her classes for very long to talk to friends nor had she visited the school library, so, much of the latest gossip had gone unnoticed by them.
The paper she was tightly clutching held all of the latest gossip and fashion trends that were going on at Tris Academy. One such gossip that had made the paper was the fact that Prince Mikyle had started to openly pursue one of the male students there. A first-year student named Adrien Mallorne.
"Kyle. Kyle," she tsked as she clicked her tongue against her teeth. "I thought you wanted to keep this a secret for a little longer?"
She had promised Mikyle that she would keep his pursuit in love a secret for a little while. But what can she do when he openly admitted to it to a classroom full of people.
Lianna balled up the paper and threw it in the trash. She can try to help Mikyle hide it for a little while longer, but she wasn’t for sure for how long.
I’ll have to let Kyle know.
* * * *
Sarina smiled brightly as she looked up the steps that led to the theater. A new play that she had been wanting to see had started its performances earlier in the week. This was the first time that she had been able to sneak out to watch it.
With her red hair magically colored brown by a potion made by an alchemist, and a less extravagant dress adorning her frame, she made her way up the steps.
She loved the freedom that the world held outside of the Palace walls and would occasionally sneak out during her rarely-seen free time. Sometimes she went with Paulina and Asher, and sometimes she would sneak out with her children.
Sarina knew how risky her behavior was, but she wasn’t worried. She had a dagger tucked inside her dress—which she knew how to use with deadly accuracy—and her hair and eyes were magically dyed to help her blend in.
The potions were a gift from her father, Duke Aaronson. He was the only person—or had been—that owned an Alchemy workshop within the kingdom.
Alchemy had been banned from the Velron Kingdom for the last one-hundred years until Asher had lifted the ban on it. She had a feeling that Mikyle was the reason behind this decision, but she had yet to confirm it.
She released the grasp she had on the hem of her skirt when she reached the top of the stairs. To keep up with her cover, she went over to where the commoner section was to check in.
A light breeze ruffled her hair, freeing a few strands. She brought up a hand to brush the loose strands back behind her hair.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the familiar glimmer of gold and white. Turning to look, she saw Mikyle dressed in a sharp white suit. He wore a soft and happy expression and his lips were lifted up in a lopsided smirk as he said something to the young man beside him.
The young man that was standing beside her mischievous son looked away from Mikyle. His face was turned in her direction and even from this distance she could see the boy’s face flushed red. His eyes were soft yet sharp at the same time, reminding her of the eyes of a cat.