A/N: Since the first date is always a special date, I wanted to give it its own little chapter with not much going on besides this. The next chapter will pick back up, and there might even be another date for another lucky lady ;) Thank you all for reading and reviewing and just genuinely being a group of fabulous people!
Chapter 8
Kaden was precisely ten minutes early for brunch. Not that he had meant to be; it just happened that his last meeting with the Ambassador to the Romanian Embassy took less time than planned, and Kaden was left with more time to kill than he wanted. He'd gone back to his private rooms and changed clothes at least three times, completely clueless of what constituted as appropriate attire for a date. Eventually he gave up and had his manservant pick out something suitable since the boy knew his tastes well enough. He settled on cream colored slacks and a burgundy sweater with a button up and tie tucked underneath and a pair of oxfords to match. Very fitting for the autumn weather, casual enough for a date, yet still put together enough to pass for a king.
They were to have brunch on the patio just outside the dining rooms near the garden. It was a place usually reserved for garden parties or afternoon teas, but today it would be used to entertain his first date. The cameras were still being set up around the fringes of the grassy area, the camera men trying to disguise themselves amidst the bushes to give the couple privacy. The kitchen staff was already laying out a bounty of fresh rolls and fruits upon the frescoed table tops, as well as a small platter of cold meats and cheeses. Nothing heavy enough to sit in the stomach while they talked. He thought it was the perfect set up. A casual yet demure date that made talking easy.
Kaden took his seat while he waited for Lady Katrina to show up. He hated the suspense of waiting more than anything, and checked his watch nearly twice a minute, willing time to go faster.
Lady Katrina took every second of the time she had before she was considered late, the doors opening to let her out onto the patio exactly at noon. Kaden stood at her arrival and watched her approach. Until then, Kaden hadn't really gotten the chance to admire Lady Katrina, as she was constantly surrounded by various other girls. Even when she was being interviewed, his mind wasn't apt enough to absorb anything due to the information overload of the day. But, though she was a bit too thin to be considered healthy, she was lovely, with dark brown hair up high in a curly pony tail and her tanned skin pronounced by the bright yellow of her dress.
When she turned to face Kaden, she gave him a small curtsey and didn't wait for him to pull out her chair, instead pulling it out herself and sitting down with purpose. Kaden was taken back a bit, but returned to his seat. Lady Katrina immediately started to pile food on her plate, not starting conversation or even acknowledging him besides a small smile when their hands brushed picking up scones.
"So, Lady Katrina, have you been enjoying your stay at the palace?" Kaden finally asked after a few moments. Lady Katrina looked up from her plate, like she had forgot someone was dining with her.
"Yes, I have. But I do have one thing to say," she replied thoughtfully, buttering her scone.
"What would that be?"
"The rooms, they're so empty. Where's the cozy homey feeling? I feel like I'm stuck in a cell."
Kaden's face contorted into surprise and slight confusion, sweat starting to form on the palms of his hands before he wiped them off on the napkin in his lap. Lady Katrina looked so serious, like it was really a problem. He didn't want her to feel like she was in a cell. He wanted her to be comfortable and think of the palace as her home.
"I'll have the interior decorator go in and see what he can do. If you wish, I can organize a complete make over if that will appease you."
"Your Majesty is too kind to go to that much trouble for me," she smiled and speared a strawberry with her fork.
"It would be my pleasure."
"Well, while you're already at it, would you mind moving my rooms entirely?" she continued, leaning across the table conspiratorially.
"And where is it that you would like to go?" Kaden entertained her, wondering what exactly it was that she was after.
"The Queen's Suite," Katrina replied and grinned from ear to ear.
Kaden smiled - albeit rather embarrassed - in reply and leaned back into his chair. "I suppose I walked myself into that one."
"I've been waiting to use it all morning," she replied happily, picking at her breakfast in victory. All the suspicions Kaden previously held in the past two minutes vanished, as did the awkward 'first date tension' in the air.
"I'm correct in assuming that you don't want your rooms redone then?"
"Oh no. You've already offered and there is no going back now," she replied. Her face was dead serious, but Kaden could tell she was still keeping up the charade. She was bold and lively, and Kaden was glad that he chose her for his first date.
"So, have you been getting along with any of the ladies?" Kaden asked, taking a sip of his juice.
"They're absolute gems, all of them. Haven't met any that I didn't like."
"That's great to hear," he replied and genuinely meant it. It had been a huge fear of his that twenty girls were going to invade his home and start a war over him. To know from a firsthand source that they were getting along to some degree was a huge relief.
"Well, now that I think about it, Lady Kendra doesn't really do it for me."
"What do you mean?"
"She flirts with you, and I don't like it," Lady Katrina admitted, not looking at him but instead eyeing her plate with intent.
"But you've been flirting with me all brunch," Kaden pointed out.
"Yes, but she's not me. Can't have someone else stealing your heart away."
At that, she looked up, a flirtatious smile on her lips. She clearly was the type to command attention, and didn't like that someone else was taking it away, though really she had nothing to worry about. Even while she seemed subdued about it, he could tell that her joking was hiding how much it really bothered her. Not that it was a bad thing; at least she was serious about the Selection. He'd just have to be careful about talking about the other girls around her.
"Have you been getting along with any of the ladies?" she inquired, seemingly innocent but really fishing. It was against the rules of the Selection to give one girl knowledge of the others, so naturally he had to divert the answer.
"I admire you all equally. As you said, I have not met any that I have not liked."
"Well, maybe this date will change that," she smiled again, and this time full of chagrin and confidence. The butler came over and deposited a bottle of champagne into the basin of ice near the edge of the table. It was a bit early for drinking, but Kaden supposed that no date could be complete without it.
"Oh?" Kaden asked as he took the bottle out and popped the cork, pouring glasses for the two of them. Usually he would have the butler do it, but he figured that doing it himself would add a flair of charm for the cameras.
"Well, I don't mean to brag, but back home I am quite the life of the party," she told him as she reached out to take the glass Kaden poured for her.
"Really?"
"Mhmm, my dancing skills are legendary," she nodded, about to continue when she took a drink of her champagne and stopped her current train of thought immediately. "Oh my God this is amazing! What is this?"
She was staring at the glass of bubbly like it held the key to everlasting peace or eternal happiness, her eyes wide as she took another large sip.
"You've never had champagne before?" Kaden inquired, taking a sip of his own glass.
"No, but now that I have I'm not going to stop," she told him enthusiastically, nearly polishing off her glass in under a minute. Kaden sat there a bit stunned, but held her back from pouring another glass, his hand gently placed on top of her wrist that had gone out to take the bottle. Getting wasted during the first date would not be good for headlines, nor would it set a good standard for future dates.
"There will be plenty more chances to have champagne, I assure you."
Lady Katrina gave him sort of a shocked look, but obeyed none the less. They fell into more usual topics of conversation then, like family and occupation and hobbies. Kaden did all the asking, and with some prying found out that Lady Katrina came from a family comprised of only boys and her father, which would explain her headstrong and independent nature. Also, it seemed that said nature had cost her more than a few jobs over the years. And while she answered each question without complaint, Kaden could tell that her heart wasn't in her responses. She was only picking at what was left of her cold food now, and was staring off into the gardens.
"I get the sense that I'm boring you, Lady Katrina," Kaden said, snapping her attention back on him for the first time in a few minutes.
"Of course not," she told him, but her dark eyes were screaming out to him like she was in pain.
"You're a horrible liar," he laughed a bit, and she didn't deny it.
"Well, to be fair, this is your first date. It's only right of me to be encouraging."
They both started to giggle a bit then. It was good that they could at least recognize the problem. Suddenly, Kaden had an idea that could still save the date. After all, the afternoon was young and he had cleared his schedule until three.
"Do you play croquet Lady Katrina?" Kaden asked, and Lady Katrina inclined her head towards him, infinitely more interested in what he had to say now than she was a moment ago.
"I can't say I have, Your Majesty."
"Would you care to learn?"
"Well, if you're offering..." she smiled and stood, waiting for him to lead the way.
Of course, the guards had no idea what they were doing, but didn't try to stop them, nor did the cameras that followed close behind. Kaden managed to pull out the old set from the garden shed and they made a small course around the grassy green. True to her word, Lady Katrina had no idea how to even hold a mallet, and a better part of the game was spent with Kaden trying to explain that she couldn't just hit the ball as many times as she wanted until she got it through the wicket. Eventually they just forgot the rules and made up their own, with balls and mallets flying in all directions. Kaden was sure he had smushed a few peony patches in the process; the gardner would have his head, but it was well worth the smile on Lady Katrina's face when she finally got her ball to knock into Kaden's. At that, he had decreed that she had won the game, and she did a victory lap around the garden green.
After the game, they returned to the dining patio to find that the kitchen staff had removed all the food and instead replaced it with fresh lemonade and water along with a few biscuits and crackers to munch on. Kaden silently thanked his wonderful staff for thinking ahead, as he had no idea how hot it had gotten under his sweater until he had polished off a tall glass of water in under thirty seconds.
The two of them sat in companionable silence for a bit, Lady Katrina sipping on a glass of lemonade as she discreetly fixed her hair. Kaden could tell that she had actually enjoyed herself in the end, and that made all his efforts worth it. Besides, he'd enjoyed himself, and the Lady Katrina's company, as well. She was a bit callous and rough around the edges, but she was a genuinely fun and flirtatious person who knew how to have a good time.
Eventually, Kaden checked his watch and saw that the time was fifteen until three, and that he had to be going if he was going to make his meeting.
"Lady Katrina, thank you for a lovely brunch. I had a great time."
"Me too. I have to say, Your Majesty, that you're not quite what I expected."
"Really? And what did you expect?" Kaden asked, intrigued.
"Some dreadfully boring lug with his nose in the air. I've watched you on the Report my whole life, the boy in the background with a perfect aura of indifference," Lady Katrina confessed, and Kaden would be lying if he said that didn't hurt his pride a bit. But she smiled kindly up at him and continued with, "I'm glad you're not him."
"I'm not sure if that was compliment or not."
"Most definitely a compliment," Lady Katrina insisted, and Kaden felt like he could trust her word on it.
"Well, thank you, I suppose."
Lady Katrina smiled and smoothed out her dress. "If you ever want to be beat in croquet again, you know who to call."
"Duly noted, Lady Katrina."
He bowed and she curtseyed as they parted ways. Kaden was sure that she was going to go back to the Women's Room where a dozen plus girls would hound her for details, for surely their date would be well known about by now. News travels fast in a place as heavily staffed and secluded as the palace. He just hoped that no one would be upset. Of course, that would be impossible with nearly every girl in the competition vying to be his wife, but was really trying to make things as fair as possible.
Kaden decided on the way to the board room that he needed to plan more dates. His goal was to have three by Friday when they would be broadcasting the Report. If he could manage that, then he would have more than enough to show and talk about. He didn't get much time to work out the logistics of which girls he would ask or what they would do, but at least he had a semblance of a plan, and that would have to suffice for now.
