"Where the hell were you?!" Falon said angrily, walking into Amy's room. "I was searching for you all over the damn place!"
"You were the one who left me alone to go and pig out at the buffet table!"
"Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. Anyway, why did you leave?"
"It's not like I had a choice."
"What do you mean?" Amy told Falon everything, from her dance with Jake to her 'talk' with Ian in the garden.
"Ian told you to stay away from Jake? How is that his problem?"
"Why do we even care? Jake just danced with me cause he thought I was a princess. He's never going to talk to me ever again."
"You're missing the point, Ames. Ian's poking his big-ass nose in your business, and that's not fair. He can't decide who you can and cannot be with. He just doesn't want you to be with Jake, cause he doesn't want a member of the magnificent Kabra family marrying a mere peasant." Falon said, sarcastically. "Well, too bad, cause Jake's already in love with you."
"He's not in love with me! Gah, Falon, just please shut up. You're giving me a migraine. Ian told me to stay away from Jake cause he's bad news."
Falon snorted.
"They're Kabras, Amy. They lie."
"Then how do you know Jake's not just pretending to be in love with me?"
"Cause he wouldn't accomplish anything with that!"
"You're just being paranoid, Falon."
"Am I Amy? Am I really?
"YES!"
"Where were you?" Sinead hissed, as she saw Ian walking toward her.
"I was just catching a fresh breath." Ian lied, without batting an eyelid.
"Uh huh." Sinead said, unconvinced. "Well, let's go, dinner's about to be served." Sinead led Ian to the far end of the hall, were stood about fifteen white tables. In the center was the biggest one, where Jake, Isabel, Vikram and Sinead's parents were seated. They gestured for the couple; all except Jake Rosenbloom, who was staring at his cousin with utter hatred and contempt.
Ian just shrugged.
Finally, when it was time for the food to arrive, Ian saw a few maids and butlers enter from the kitchen and walk into the hall. They were carrying plates of delicacies, but that was not the thing that caught his attention. Amy was one of the servers, and she had changed from her gown into a proper maid uniform. Her hair was tied back in a bun and she wore a shy look on her face. She was also balancing a tray of drinks on her hand.
"What is she doing here? I thought she was only my personal maid." Ian whispered to his mother.
"We were a bit short on servants today." Isabel whispered back; then turned her attention to the Starling's again.
Ian saw Amy walk toward their table, and the fact that this made him do a little somersault inside, annoyed him greatly. As she walked over, Sinead leaned toward Ian and silently whispered into his ear.
"She's really pretty, right?" Ian just nodded in response.
"Um, h-hello. What w-would you like? I've got hand squeezed mulberry j-juice, and- some," Amy said, leaning toward all of them. Ian saw that Amy's dress was a bit loose, and it seemed to be drooping a bit too much around the neckline. He saw Jake ogling her, and a strange feeling passed through his body. It wasn't very pleasant.
"I'll just have the juice." Ian said quickly; so as to make Amy stand up again. Amy nodded, blushing profusely, as she placed a glass near Ian's plate. The others agreed with Ian and very soon the whole table had been served with the red fluid.
As Amy walked over to the other table, Jake took a sip of his juice and then spat it out.
"What the hell is this?!" He shouted at Amy.
"Y-your majesty, I,"
"This is just water! How dare you!" Ian was baffled. Why was Jake shouting at Amy like that?
"Go and get me another glass. And make it snappy, otherwise you'll pay!" Amy nodded her hand and quickly ran out the door, and Jake sat back down and apologized to the Starling's.
"I'm sorry, but that was needed. Nowadays, these people think that they can just get away with crappy service; but I shall not allow that. Now, where is that boy with our dinner?"
Ian just sat there, wondering what could possibly be the explanation for his cousin's sudden outburst.
The night passed by quickly, and very soon the Starling's had left the palace. Jake went to his room without a word to anyone. Ian too, was going to his room, when he saw Amy, who was crouching down on the ground and appeared to be looking for something.
"What's the matter?"
"I-I broke a glass and I'm picking up the pieces b-before anybody gets h-hurt."
"Oh, can I help?" Before Amy could respond, Ian was already down on his knees; searching for the pieces. The two collected all of them; and they were thrown into the nearby dustbin.
"Oh wait, there's one more!" Amy said, reaching for the forgotten piece. However, she must have picked it with such intensity, that her hand got cut in the process. She let out a soft moan.
"What's wrong, Amy?" Ian said, and Amy thought that she actually heard-concern in his voice...? No, that couldn't be true.
"It's n-nothing, your majesty."
"Amy, you're bleeding! Come, let's get that bandaged up."
"Oh, that's OK, your m-majesty. N-no need to worry about it. I'll tie it up myself."
"Nonsense! You can't do that yourself." Ian slowly led Amy to the kitchen, and told her to sit down at the table. He reached for a small almirah and pulled out a bottle containing a bluish liquid. He went and sat down near her.
"Hold out your hand, and sit still." She obeyed, and stuck out the cut hand. Ian took out his white handkerchief and wiped away the blood. Then, on the clean side of the handkerchief, he dabbed a bit of the blue pigment.
"Now, this may sting a little, but it will help the cut in healing." Ian placed Amy's hand in his; and an electric feeling passed through both of them.
It was pleasant, but it was ignored.
Ian wiped away at the cut, and at last, tore off a piece of his handkerchief, and wrapped it tightly around the wound.
"There. It should be better in a few days."
"Thank you." Amy and Ian both raised their heads from the table at the same time.
Amy was blushing.
Ian smirked, and then looked into her green eyes. They were so pretty...and so was she. He noticed that a stray piece of hair had come out of her bun, and he neatly tucked it behind her ear.
He was at the perfect distance to kiss her.
The two leaned closer together, and very soon, their lips met.
It was the best experience ever.
Her lips were soft, and the kiss was gentle, like the soft pitter-pattering of raindrops on a windowsill. Ian had kissed a lot of girls before, but this was the only one that actually felt genuine.
After a few seconds, Amy realized what she was doing, and sprang away from Ian, knocking her chair down in the process.
"I-I have t-to go." She stammered, and ran out the door. Ian shook his head, shocked at what had just happened between him and that...peasant.
But that was just for fun, right?
It didn't really mean anything. Just a stupid, spur of the moment thing.
Then why had it felt so darn good?
Ian got up from his seat, and in a daze, walked out from the kitchen. He got into his room and collapsed on his bed, dead tired and confused.
What the two people didn't know was that there was a third figure who was present in that room with them.
And that person had seen everything.
I apologize for any mistakes; I posted this in tremendous hurry. I would appreciate it, if you would check out my latest one-shot, Sacrifices, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Also, I hope the kiss was satisfactory.
Review!
-Ghost.
