A/N:
Cool! I didn't know we could quick edit our work. I never knew that. Anyway, thank you for your reviews! Really appreciate them. A lot of them make me really laugh. I was actually considering to set this aside for a while and concentrate on my other stories (I also have some in fictionpress), but I decided that would be really unfair. Anyway, here's the next chap…
Recap…
He chuckled quietly. "Absolutely…" he whispered in her ear. His warm breath tickled her, and she refrained from shuddering.
Don't give in. Don't give in. Control your anger. Don't let this JERK get the better of you. JERK!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Daria gulped and could only manage a nod. She still concentrated on staring at his broad shoulder.
Suddenly, her hand felt something warm. Startled, she looked down.
HE'S HOLDING MY FREAKING HAND!!! Daria started to panic, though she tried her best not to show it. She tried to pull her hand away, but his grasp was firm. She was vaguely aware that he had entwined his fingers with hers. She was mad, but she couldn't help thinking that her hand fit perfectly in his. A perfect fit…
WHAT AM I THINKING?!?! A PERFECT FIT? IT'S NOT A PERFECT FIT!!!! HE'S A JERK, REMEMBER? A J-E-R-K!!
She could not help it. Before she knew what she was doing, she looked up.
Piercing, brown eyes met blue-green ones. Daria eyes widened slightly at his intense, unwavering gaze. There was something about those eyes that made her feel…
LOOK AWAY! LOOK AWAY! LOOK AWAY! her brain screamed.
But she could not. It was as if those brown orbs had locked gazes with her.
Now she felt as if he was reading all the emotions she carried within. She didn't like it one bit. She felt so exposed… so weak…
Chapter Ten
It's 'Jerrold'
Daria was lost under the gaze of those piercing brown eyes. And she could not stand it any longer. So, she forced her mind to snap out of her little reverie, and when she did, she blinked, almost as if she had forgotten where she was in the first place.
But it all rushed in after a split second, and the old Daria returned. She immediately shot the prince a hateful glare, which caused him to start a little, and abruptly pulled her hand away. The warmth from his touch immediately vanished. She took one step back, not breaking eye contact with the young man before her. She did not want him to receive satisfaction of knowing that he had gotten through her somehow. She stared at him, almost challenging him.
"Daria, as your mistress, I command you to get inside the manor right now," a girlish voice with hidden iciness spoke up.
Daria blinked. Who was talking to her?
Oh. Antoniette. She had completely forgotten about the wench. Had she really been standing there all this time? Wait…she was the reason for this whole interaction with the prince! Daria suddenly remembered that she did it to spite Antoniette. Oh and it worked! She could feel Antoniette's angry vibes a metre away, and what amused her the most was that Antoniette could no longer do anything to her.
Daria feigned puzzlement. "You're my mistress?" she asked confusedly.
Antoniette's eyebrows shot way up. "Have you lost your mind?" she said softly. She would have shrieked at the Daria, had the prince not been in her presence. "You are my handmaiden. You do as you're told. You're supposed to obey me. Now, leave me and the prince to talk."
Daria saw Prince Jerrold wince at that from the corner of her eye, but she purposely ignored him. She stared at Antoniette for a short while, hoping to infuriate the girl even more. And it worked.
"Well?!" Antoniette said shakily, barely able to contain her anger. Daria could tell that the girl wanted to erupt right then and there. There was cold fury in the girl's smoky grey eyes. She suspected that had the prince not been there, Antoniette would have tried to drag her to the library for more whippings. Keyword: tried.
Daria purposely brightened up. "Oh! You mean that!" Antoniette shot her a look that said "Have you gone mad, wench?!" but she ignored it. She flashed a cheerful smile. "I'm not longer your handmaiden."
Antoniette was not the only who was confused and surprised. The prince was as well. He wondered why Daria was at such ease. He knew something big must have happened to act so nonchalant in front of a noble. He stole a glance at Antoniette, who was currently in a shocked state. She did look comical, and he mustered all of his willpower to not burst out laughing at her agape face. He glanced at Daria and he noticed that she was trying to do the same thing.
Antoniette stuttered. "W-what…h-how…MOOOTHERR!!!"
Daria was not the only one who winced. Prince Jerrold joined along as well. The noise that escaped the girl's lips was nasty. He was surprised that he had not gone deaf at such a horrendous sound. He had never seen this side of Antoniette before.
Daria knew that Antoniette had forgotten about the prince's presence, which was rather surprising. She knew that Antoniette would have never acted like such a spoiled brat in front of the monarch.
Lady Linelle, followed by Lady Gina, came bursting out of the manor. She had on a panicked look on her pale face as she ran towards the young trio. "What is it, my sweet? What happened?" she asked quickly as she neared her beloved daughter.
Antoniette pointed a shaky finger at Daria. "Sh-she…w-what…"
Lady Linelle's head turned to where Antoniette was pointing at, and upon seeing Daria, her face darkened. She pursed her lips into a thin line and said, "She is the new adoptive daughter of Lady Gina and Lord Ormond, hun." She was barely able to hide the disgust in her voice. Daria was the only one who sensed it. Lady Linelle was good at hiding things.
Antoniette's eyes widened. For a while, she was unable to speak. She would open her mouth, only to close it again. This went on and Daria resisted the urge to sigh wearily at how dumb the girl was acting. She unconsciously turned to look at the prince, and regretted it afterwards.
He was staring at her. Not just a simple stare, but a deep and pensive stare. Daria felt herself flushing, and when she realized this, she became angry at herself. Why should she act like that because of some person she didn't care about? She almost glared at the thought.
His gaze did not waver, and Daria, though she hated to do it, looked away. She hated to do it because it was like admitting to the fact that the prince was capable of making her feel uncomfortable.
She saw him smirk from the corner of her eye, and when she did, she turned to him and shot him a glare. The glare didn't do anything to her benefit, for his smirk remained in place. It was so…unnerving!
"Jerrold!" someone cut in through the thick silence. Daria turned and realized that it was her "mother," who was currently giving the prince a fond smile, as if she had known him well since he was a baby.
Which was true, as Daria later on found out.
Prince Jerrold smiled at Lady Gina. "Lady Gina," he said while bowing. "How nice to see you. How is Lord Ormond?"
Lady Gina waved her hand. "Oh. Away on business, as usual. He will be back soon. How are Alaric and Cynthia?"
Daria could hardly believe her ears. Her mother was on first name basis with the royal family! She looked at Lady Linelle and Antoniette and saw that the two didn't look surprised about it. In fact, they acted as if it was a normal thing. Interesting…
Seems like I'm going to see more of the royal family, Daria thought. She didn't know whether that was good or bad. She decided for the latter because it meant she would see more of him, which she certainly did not want.
"They're doing fine. A lot of problems to take care of, of course, but then again, that's perfectly normal. They hardly have free time in their hands."
"Being King and Queen is never easy," Lady Gina replied understandingly. "That's common knowledge. By the way, have you met my new daughter, Daria?"
Daria cringed. She had only known Lady Gina for a short while, but she knew what the tone meant. Her mother was trying to set her up with the prince! Cruel or caring of her? Daria decided it was the former. She wanted nothing to do with that stupid…
He's smirking at me! Daria resisted the urge to glower at him. Why was he so annoying? Why did he find joy in irritating her? She sighed inwardly.
"I have," he replied, his smirk turning into a smile. "It's nice to see you again, Lady Daria."
Lady Daria? Daria frowned. Oh wait…that would be me. She almost laughed at herself. For a moment there, her name sounded foreign to her since it had a "Lady" before it.
Prince Jerrold bowed at her, and Daria looked confused for a second. What should she do? Should she offer her hand for him to kiss? Ewww, she thought to herself. I think not. She looked at her mother for guidance, and when she did, Lady Gina bent her knees, as if trying to tell her: "Curtsy."
And that is what Daria did. Or at least, what she tried to do. She bent her knees and did what she supposed was a curtsy. Except it was a really pathetic and clumsy one, and her knees cracked loudly as she was doing it. She glanced sideways and saw that the two vixens (namely Lady Linelle and Antoniette) were trying hard not to snigger at her.
She looked at the prince…his eyes were laughing at her! Yes, it was really obvious that he found her gracelessness amusing. She could tell by the way his eyes danced. Was it really her fault that she didn't know the ways of female nobility? Sheesh! She was new at this, for crying out loud!
Lady Gina cleared her throat. "Well…uh…I think it's time for Daria and me to leave. Daria, do you have your things?"
Daria picked up her light sack and held it up. "Yes." She saw her mother raise her eyebrow at the sack, as if thinking, "That's it?" However, the elderly lady did not say anything of the sort out loud.
Lady Gina nodded. "All right then. Good day, everyone."
Lady Gina left the party and Daria followed close behind. They were almost near their carriage, but they could still hear the conversation that went on between the prince and the two minxes. It went something like this:
"Your Majesty! Would you care to go inside for some tea?" (Lady Linelle's simpering voice)
"No thank you, my lady. I-I have…uh…business to attend to…yeah…" (Prince's voice, practically screaming: "Help me!")
"Oh? Surely it can wait? Our cook just made cakes this morning! You must try some!" (Antoniette's usual girly voice)
"Well…uh…"
Daria felt Lady Gina's elbow in her ribs. She almost yelped out loud, but bit her lip in time. "What?" she whispered questioningly at her mother.
"We should help him, don't you think? Goodness knows he'll never be able to escape their tight clutches without a bit of help."
Daria sniffed. "Let him be. I don't care what happens to that…that…"
Lady Gina burst out laughing, finding Daria's immaturity towards the prince amusing. Not letting her daughter finish her meek insult, she spun around and called out, "Your Highness!"
Prince Jerrold's head snapped at their direction, a little more than relief evident on his handsome face. "Yes, Lady Gina?" His voice sounded hopeful, maybe even pleading. Daria smiled inwardly, finding his desperation entertaining.
"I have…uh…some papers to give to your parents," Lady Gina said, almost unconvincingly. Daria strained not laugh at her mother's poor acting skills.
"Really?" the prince said, biting back laughter.
Lady Gina nodded. "Yes. I'll have to give them to you now, or I might forget."
"Of course!" Prince Jerrold turned to the two ladies before him. He spoke with a very apologetic-sounding voice that impressed Daria, though she would not admit it out loud. "Oh, forgive me," his said remorsefully, "but I have to go. Perhaps another time?"
Lady Linelle, stunned, could only nod. Antoniette stuttered for the both of them. "A-all right…b-but don't f-forget…"
Prince Jerrold shot them a charming smile. "Don't worry."
He left them and walked towards Lady Gina and Daria, a wide grin playing across his lips. When he reached them, he whispered a "thank you" to Lady Gina, since he definitely knew that the rescuing was not Daria's idea.
Lady Gina just smiled almost deviously and entered the carriage. Then it was Daria's turn. Prince Jerrold offered her his hand, but she ignored him and went in by herself. The prince, amused, shook his head, his wide grin still evident on his swarthy face. He went in and seated himself across the two ladies.
The coachman witnessed the whole thing. He let out his amused and knowing smile as he closed the carriage door.
The ride back to the manor was…interesting. It was Lady Gina who kept up the conversation. Had she not been present, the silence would have been deafening. Daria was busy staring out the window, while Prince Jerrold was busy listening attentively to Lady Gina (though, once in a while, he would steal a glance at the quiet, unsuspecting girl).
And yes, Lady Gina noticed this. How could she not? While she was talking to him, it was quite impossible to miss the way his eyes flickered towards the companion next to her. She hid her smile, though her eyes could not. Prince Jerrold, noticing this, wondered what amused her so much, but decided not to ask.
"Daria," Lady Gina suddenly called.
Daria jumped at her name being called. She was so intent on watching the people outside. She turned to her mother and gave her a questioning look. "Yes?"
"I've decided to hold a banquet for you in a week's time."
Prince Jerrold saw the way Daria's eyes widened. He bit back his chuckle in time.
"B-banquet?" Daria stammered. Banquet?! In front of all those nobles? Do they expect me to dance?! I don't know how to dance! I don't even know how to socialize! How could she think about something like this?
"Yes, banquet," Lady Gina said, smiling good-naturedly. "In honour of your adoption."
"B-but…I-I…" She paused, unable to control the rough pounding of her heart. She was not ready for a banquet! To have those people staring at her! She gulped and forced her voice to steady. "I…I-I don't know how to dance…" She trailed off.
"Oh, that." Lady Gina did a dismissive wave with her hand. "You will receive lessons. Not just dancing, of course. The lessons will be on everything a noblewoman must know."
Daria winced, and Prince Jerrold sympathized for her. He hated having lessons. It was pure torture.
"Oh, and we'll have to find an escort for you as well," Lady Gina added thoughtfully, discreetly glancing at the unaware prince.
But Daria saw it. And she felt her heart skip a beat. "I'll do it!" she instantly cut in with a loud voice, startling everyone, including herself. She shook her head. No way was he going to be her escort for the banquet…she'd rather die…all right, she was exaggerating, but still…
Lady Gina frowned. "You'll find your own escort? But…you don't know anyone yet. How can you?" She patted her daughter's hand. "Maybe you should leave that to me, hmm?"
Daria shook her head vigorously. "No, no. I'll find someone. Don't worry. I will."
Lady Gina stared at her for a while. Then she shrugged. "All right. But if you can't find anyone…"
"I will," Daria said firmly.
Lady Gina sighed softly and let the subject drop. She resumed to another lively conversation, and things went back to normal, with Daria quietly staring out the window. Prince Jerrold, on the other hand, was still the listener, nodding once in a while and either agreeing or disagreeing to whatever Lady Gina was saying.
And during the rest of the ride, the elderly woman noticed that his short glances at her daughter had become more frequent.
"Thank you for the rescue, Lady Gina," Prince Jerrold said as he helped Lady Gina out of the carriage (Daria had refused his help once again).
Lady Gina smiled at him. "It was no trouble at all. I was glad to, and Daria was too."
Prince Jerrold stopped himself in time from snickering. He knew that that was a lie. Daria could have left him there for all she cared. "Well," he said with a chuckle, "thank you, Lady Daria."
Daria plastered on a fake smile. "Anything for you, Your Highness," she said.
"Oh, please. Do call me Jerrold," he said with a grin. He saw Daria flash him a didn't-we-go-through-this-already look, and his grin grew bigger.
"Oh yes," Lady Gina cut in. "You should call him Jerrold, Daria. He doesn't like formalities, you know."
"I'm sure," Daria said, "but it's rather awkward for me. I prefer 'Your Highness'."
"Then let me help you get over the awkwardness," the prince said, grinning roguishly. "Repeat after me: Jerrold."
Daria sent him a scathing glare while Lady Gina wasn't looking. He only responded with his grin.
"It's not so hard, Daria," Lady Gina said lightly. "You'll get used to it. Once you say it the first time, it gets easy."
"Yes," Jerrold agreed. "Say it with me: Jerrold."
Jerrold and Lady Gina looked at Daria expectantly, waiting for her to say it.
He had me trapped, Daria thought angrily. I can't believe he actually trapped me! And my mother…how badly does she want me to end up with him? I mean, really! She is practically shoving me towards him.
"Jerrold," Daria said, through gritted teeth. Lady Gina beamed and patted her affectionately on the arm, while Jerrold smirked.
"Well," Lady Gina said, "I should go inside now. Daria, what do you want to do on your first day in the manor?"
Daria flushed. "Well," she said, almost shyly, "I would like to go horseback riding, if you don't mind."
Lady Gina's frowned in contemplation. "Well…maybe. I don't know, Daria. Have you gone horseback riding before? It's quite dangerous if it's your first time. I don't want you getting hurt."
Daria hesitated. "No," she said ruefully. "I-I have not gone before. At least with just me on the horse."
"In that case, I'm going to have to ask you to go with somebody," Lady Gina said.
"I'll go with her," Prince Jerrold suddenly spoke up.
Daria's head immediately snapped at his direction. Did I just hear right? Oh, he's doing this just to annoy me! Why can't he just leave me alone? Wait…maybe I can make a truce with him…
She stared at him with wide eyes, but he wasn't looking at her. He was looking at Lady Gina. Lady Gina, on the other hand, was smiling so widely that it could not have gone any wider. She gave Prince Jerrold an appraising look.
"That's very nice of you," she said jovially. "Thank you. Of course, you already know where the stables are?"
Jerrold nodded. "I do."
"Wait!" Daria suddenly burst out. Lady Gina and Jerrold turned to look at her. Daria forced a smile. "I…uh…I-I'm sure His Majesty has better things to do. I wouldn't want to bother him…and…"
"Actually," Jerrold cut in, "I'm free for the rest of the day, and I don't mind. And, oh yes, it's Jerrold."
"Right. Jerrold, then," Daria said with clenched teeth.
"That's settled then," Lady Gina said lightly. "I'll see you two later, all right? Farewell!"
She was gone before Daria could utter out another word.
Silence filled the air. The two were completely alone, with the carriage and Lady Gina gone. Daria was busy avoiding his intense gaze. She was looking anywhere but at him. She wondered why this was happening to her. What did I do to deserve this? I should have convinced Mother to leave him there with Antoniette and Linelle! This is going to be so…
"Why are you smirking at me?" Daria snapped, turning her head to meet his eyes. Hey, she wasn't looking at him, but she could still see what he was doing from the corner of her eye.
Jerrold shrugged. "No reason," he said lazily. His smirk changed into a roguish grin. And that did not change Daria's mood. It was still just as annoying.
"Shall we go then, Your Highness?" she said aloofly.
He frowned. "It's 'Jerrold'."
It was Daria's turn to smirk. "Only when Mother's around."
A/N:
Yay! Another chapter done! I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, for some reason…I don't know. I guess I wanted more interaction with Daria and Jerrold…or something…anyway, please review! (The asterisks don't work. That's sad, but I'll get over it…yeah…)