DISCLAIMER: I do not own Choices. This fun game belongs to Pixelberry! :)

Chapter One: The Table Of Exiles

As Drake sat down at his assigned table at the very back of the Beaumont ballroom, he sneaked a glance at the head table, where Liam, Riley, Maxwell, Bertrand, and the king and queen were seated. In front of them, at the table closest to the front, sat Hana with Lady Penelope, Lady Kiara, and Lady Madeleine.

During the last ball, Drake had been seated at the same back table as Riley and Hana, and he had enjoyed their company, chatting about whiskey with Riley and hearing about Hana's "worst party ever" story. And no matter what anybody at that table said, Drake still thought he won that. What was being served dinner at midnight compared to a party without whiskey?

He didn't really want to be up there with all of them them tonight - that would have just been awkward - but it would have been nice to spend the evening with somebody who wasn't a total stranger, somebody whose name he actually knew and could talk to. But that wasn't going to happen.

Might as well get this over with.

As he reached out with his hand to remove his place card from the right wing of the swan-shaped napkin Maxwell had folded yesterday, he heard an irate voice almost right next to him.

"What am I doing back here?!"

Drake blinked. He thought he knew that voice - it sounded like a very familiar voice that had sniggered at and insulted and offended Drake more times than he could count - but it couldn't be who he thought it was… could it?

Just to check, he looked up - and saw Olivia scowling at an auburn-haired female server with an apologetic expression.

"The seating chart says you're to sit here," she said meekly, looking like she wanted to sink into the floor.

Her simple explanation made Olivia even more furious.

"Don't hide behind that seating chart excuse! You know who I am!"

Despite himself, Drake grinned.

Drake knew what this was about - payback, pure and simple. And while he was still trying to decide whether to be impressed by Riley's surprisingly vindictive nature, or put out that he now had to sit next to Olivia for the duration of the meal, the woman in question forcefully threw her evening clutch bag on the immaculately-set table, making the silver cutlery and crystal wineglasses jump.

"Seating me at the back table? Me!? I'm a duchess!" she seethed to herself, oblivious to her immediate surroundings as she glowered at the head table.

He gave a snort. "Duchess or not-" At the sound of Drake's smug voice, Olivia whipped her head to her left so fast that her artfully arranged bun was almost dislodged, "-that doesn't matter here at the back table."

As her face grew dark at the veracity of his statement - and probably at his close proximity as well - Drake held back a laugh. Being a noble, Olivia was used to having her orders obeyed, and she was used to getting the best of everything.

But tonight, she had been defied - he knew that was how she would perceive it - by a server at somebody else's estate, and, not only that, but instead of getting the best seat, food, and company, she had to settle for the back table, cold food, and Drake.

She looks like she's about to explode just from being seated all the way back here. Maybe this'll be fun after all.

Deciding to take it a step further, Drake dramatically waved an arm over the fancy silverware, swan-shaped napkins, and expensive glasses as if he were a king presenting his vast kingdom. Sarcastically, he said, "Welcome to the table of exiles."

"More like the table of animals," Olivia hissed, glaring at her swan-shaped napkin for a moment before grabbing it by the head and shaking it out with more force than strictly necessary.

Drake's mocking smile faltered.

While she could have been referring to her avian-looking napkin, Drake knew otherwise, and, for a moment, he was glad that Savannah wasn't in Cordonia anymore. Drake could take insults just fine, but his sister would have very hurt to hear such a comment, and her vulnerability would have empowered Olivia to make even more offensive remarks.

Nobles like Olivia were trained from birth to target people's weaknesses. Drake wouldn't give her the satisfaction of finding any of his.

Ignoring his unpleasant dining companion for the moment, he looked around the table, but aside from Olivia, he didn't recognize anybody else. From the indifferent expression Olivia wore, she didn't know anybody at their table either.

There was a sudden bustle of activity. Servers emerged from the back doors with plates of what Drake knew to be chicken cordon bleu, covered in cloche dome covers to keep the heat from escaping the food until the plates arrived at their rightful tables.

Still looking irritated, Olivia remarked sourly, "Finally. The sooner the food gets here, the sooner this whole mess will be over."

Drake really did give a small laugh this time.

She thinks we're going to be served as fast as the royals? That's almost cute.

From years of being seated at back tables at these stuffy events, Drake knew that those main courses would take forever to arrive at their table, if they even came at all.

Knowing that drinks were a little easier to get, he flagged down a server and asked for a bottle of whiskey for their table. Olivia, looking like she was planning to make sure she would do everything she could to erase from her mind the memory of being seated at the back table, demanded a bottle of wine.

As the server departed to get their alcohol, Drake and Olivia met each other's eyes, and he knew for sure that they were thinking the same thing.

This is going to be a long night.

(End of Chapter One.) (Originally posted on T-08/08/17.) (F-27/06/18.)

Chapter One notes: This takes place during Book One, Chapter Sixteen. In the game, Drake said he was seated at the back, and if you choose to seat Olivia at the back as well, you get… this fanfic! :D Can anybody guess what Olivia's confession to Drake is going to be? :P

About my main Pixelberry fanfic: Hello! :) If you like Pixelberry's Hollywood U or Pixelberry's Red Carpet Diaries, then I encourage you to read my MC/Hunt fanfic "NYTMC 1: Not Your Typical Meet-Cute." It currently has 219,000 words (64 chapters), and it is written from Thomas Hunt's perspective :D

(Thanks for reading! :D Reviews make me smile! ^_^)