CHAPTER 31

Come on Luke.

Knock on the door.

Luke raised his hand, ready to rap on Sable's door, and ask her out on a date to the children's hospital. Well, maybe date was the wrong word. This outing was meant purely to boost Sable's popularity ratings in Illéa, not to further a romantic connection between them. Besides, wasn't it just a bit heartless to decide you love someone in front of a bunch of kids with broken legs.

Not that using them for photo opps was much more honorable. Yeah, maybe it would make the kids happy, but doing volunteer work like this always left Luke feeling sick. His goal wasn't to brighten people's day, it was to get some nice photographs and use the children as a tool to do that. It was almost exploitative. Of course Luke wanted to help them, but that wasn't why he was at the charity. Actually helping was just a lucky side effect.

He almost couldn't believe he was taking a selected to do this. Let alone Sable of all people. Maybe some of the girls would have thought that his only intention was to aid those in need, but Luke had a feeling that Sable would see through the charade.

He just couldn't anticipate how she was going to react. She was either going to happily take the opportunity to bolster her approval ratings or she was going to be furious.

Luke had seen Sable when she was mildly pissed off and even that was scary. He didn't want to be at fault when she was truly angry.

He felt that would be akin to playing the last level of Throne War's armed with nothing but a starter gun and default armor.

Personally, he enjoyed being alive and intact. That was why he couldn't bring himself to knock on the door and ask Sable out on the date.

Fine, maybe he was overreacting. He had guards so he probably wouldn't end up with less limbs then he started the day with. Still, Luke didn't do well in confrontation, and he really didn't do well when people were upset with him. Why did Sable have to have such low popularity ratings? Why couldn't Sydney or Esme or...

"Quinn." Luke said, hearing the unmistakable sound of heels on marble floors.

"Hey." She greeted, peering at him curiously. Her pastel-colored hair was curled and held back with a simple headband. The rest of her outfit was decidedly more her. She wore a blue tie-dye sleeveless dress that ended a few inches above her knees. Her shoes were a pair of shimmering metallic wedges that matched the chunky bracelet on her wrist and pendant hanging from her necks. Fate must have taken pity on him today because Quinn's trademark guillotine earrings weremissing.

"Any reason why you're standing here like that?" Quinn asked, her eyes darting between Luke's tense frame and worried face.

"No. Nope. None at all." Luke said quickly.

"Okay…" Quinn said suspiciously, her bright blue eyes narrowed as she looked at his face. She clearly didn't believe him, and Luke couldn't blame her. He wouldn't believe himself either.

Luke sighed, letting some of the tension roll off his shoulders. "I'm supposed to ask Sable on a date." He confided in her. He didn't exactly know why he was telling her this, the two girls didn't seem to like eachother very much. He needed assurance that he was doing the right thing from someone though. If that person had to be Quinn, then so be it.

Quinn tried to smile, but it looked more like a grimace. She wasn't happy to hear that. "That's good for you." She said reluctantly, forcing the words out of her mouth. She didn't look like she particularly thought going on a date with Sable was good for him.

To be quite honest, Luke wasn't sure of that himself.

"My dad set it up." He said quickly. Some of the harsh lines of Quinn's face softened as she heard that. That the date with Sable wasn't by Luke's own choice. "We're supposed to go visit a hospital. Get some good photographs." Luke shrugged as he spoke.

"That's a little...weird for a date." Quinn commented. "I guess you need to keep appearances up. Keep the public liking you."

"Yeah. That's the problem." Luke paused for a second, wondering if he should tell Quinn this. Ah well. It wasn't anything she couldn't figure out from picking up a magazine. "Don't tell anyone I told you this, but the reason for the date is to boost Sable's popularity ratings. They're the lowest of all you ladies." He told her. He really hoped she wouldn't repeat this to anyone.

"Oh. I mean, I guess it's good that you're doing this then." Quinn said. "Hey, just out of question, how are my scores?" She asked curiously.

The thing was, Luke actually didn't know the answer to her question. He hadn't physically seen the scores, he had simply been told that Sable's were very, very low. "I don't know. They can't have been too bad or I would be taking you to an animal shelter or something." Luke told her honestly.

Quinn seemed to appreciate his answer. "That's good." She smiled broadly. "I know I'm the lowest caste left, and I was worried people might not like me." She said. "If they don't, whatever, they're just snobby elitists, but you know, it feels better to know that most of the country aren't classists." She said, laughing slightly as she finished.

Somehow Luke got the feeling that Quinn and his Grandmama would not get along well.

"I wish I had that mentality." Luke confessed. "I get worked up about everything."

Quinn gave him a once over. "I can tell. So, is this date supposed to be all day?" She asked nonchalantly.

"Yeah, I think so." Luke shrugged. "Why?"

"This is like my only chance to win a game of cards!" Quinn exclaimed. "Do you know how long I've been waiting for this day?"

"No." Luke answered truthfully.

"When I tell you it's been months, I mean months. Literally, since we first got to the palace. This is my big day. I can feel it." Quinn smirked confidently. Her delight at hearing that Luke's date was mostly a publicity stunt coupled with the fact that she could win cards seemed to outweigh the fact that he was going on a date with a girl other than her.

Still, Luke couldn't help but to point out the obvious. "What if Sydney wins? Or Esme?"

"Shush. I cannot have any negativity in my headspace. I need to be wholly focused if I want to win." Quinn told him, placing a hand over his mouth.

Laughing, Luke tried to say, "If you say so." However, since Quinn's hand was still over his mouth, it came out more as "Ibloo sassee-o."

"Sorry." Quinn said, quickly removing her hand. "What did you say?"

"If you say so."

Quinn nodded. "I do say so. I can feel it in my bones." She stated. "For that to happen though, I'm going to need you to leave with Sable." Before Luke could stop her, she knocked three times on the door to Sable's room and ran off giggling down the hallway.

Luke would have been upset, but she had done him a favor really. It was better to get this over with. Surely Sable would understand.

Right?

Anyway, it was too late for second-thoughts now. Sable's maid opened the door, curtsying deeply, "Your Highness." She said.

At her words, Sable's head whipped around. "Luke." She greeted, smiling. "What can I do for you?" She asked him.

Just ask her out. Luke took a deep breath before opening his mouth. "Would you like to go out with me today?" He said all this very quickly, trying to get the words out of his mouth before he lost his nerve to do it. He really hoped she said yes. He couldn't show up at the hospital without her. That would be a tough one to explain to the hospital staff.

Luckily though, Sable seemed pretty amicable to the idea. "I would love to." She said, flipping her dark brown waves over her shoulder. "Where are we going?"

"The Northern Angeles Children's Hospital." Luke told her. Sable's mouth formed a little o shape. It might have been the closest look to surprise that Luke had ever seen on her face.

She recovered quickly though. "A children's hospital?" She repeated, almost as if she hadn't heard right. Luke nodded, confirming her statement. "That's an interesting place to go on a date." She said suspiciously, raising one perfectly arched eyebrow.

"Well," Where was he going with this? Think, Luke, Think! "I thought we could...meet some of their patients." That was true enough. He just hadn't been the one doing the thinking. "Plus, the hospital is kinda expecting us. We can't very well back out now."

Sable smiled again. "That's really nice. I would love to meet some of the kids. I love children." Somehow, Luke doubted that last one.

"Since it's in public, there will probably be photographers." He said offhandedly, trying to play down the amount of photos that would be taken. "You should wear something nice."

Sab;e glanced at her outfit, a pair of dark, loose fitting shorts tied at the waist and a flowy dark blue blouse. "You're the paparazzi expert. Is this outfit good?" She asked.

"Yeah it's good. You..You look nice." Luke said. It was true. Sable was pretty yes, but it had always been in an unexceptional way. Her outfit today brought out her dark brown eyes and olive tone of her skin, hugging her curves. Mercifully, she was in flats so they would be the same height. Luke didn't want to strain his neck talking to her.

"So are we going now?" Sable asked, standing up from the armchair she had been sitting in as they spoke.

"The car's out front." Luke told her.

Luke held her hand as they walked to the front of the palace, chatting about a book that had come out a few years ago. Had Luke read the book? No. He had watched the movie adaptation though, and that was sorta the same thing. It was enough to get him through the conversation without Sable realizing he hadn't read it, and that was the only thing he was really trying to accomplish.

When they arrived at the hospital, Sable turned to Luke. "You said there would be some photographers." She said accusingly. Luke knew what she was talking about, almost every media outlet in Angeles had sent someone to cover this event. "That's more than some." She told him.

"Yeah. I might have slightly misjudged that one." Luke said sheepishly. Fine, he knew this going in. But he wasn't going to tell Sable that. Like he said previously, he would like to end this date will all his limbs still attached to his body.

"You misjudged." Sable repeated, before smiling brilliantly, "We all do that sometimes. I mean, I once thought I was going to be a supreme court justice, and here I am." She said, shrugging.

"You can still do that." Luke told her. Sable was smart, her intelligence far surpassed Luke's. Yeah, she was young, but if she tried Luke was sure she could manage to worm her way into the province and federal courts. Getting appointed to the supreme court though, required Farrah's approval. That might be a bit tougher. Luke had a feeling that Farrah knew he didn't come up with the argument to save Ophelia all by himself.

Sable shrugged. "Nah. Too much work. Besides, I didn't even go to college. I don't think I'm going to get accepted to law school."

"Oh." Luke said. He had never really thought about the fact that Sable didn't go to college. Not that it really mattered, he didn't even go to highschool. She was a leg up on him there.

"Are you ready to go?" Sable asked, nodding her head towards the door of the car.

"Right. Yeah, of course I am." Luke said, before pausing for a moment. "Are you ready though?"

For the first time in the few months he had known her, Luke saw Sable's facade falter. "What do you mean?" She asked unsurely.

Luke took a deep breath before explaining. "That's a lot of paparazzi. This date is probably going to be the most photographed event of the entire selection, except for the final ceremony of course." He added hurriedly after seeing Sable open her mouth to say something. "Is your... makeup good? Your hair?" That was what girls worried about, right?

Judging from the condescending look Sable was now giving him, she didn't seem to appreciate his questions.

"Of course I'm ready." She told him seriously.

"Alright. If you say so."

The cameras started flashing almost the second Luke exited the car. He smiled at the photographers and journalists as he helped Sable out of the car. He didn't stop to answer any of the questions thrown his way as he walked to the hospital, it was against royal customs of course, instead keeping a pleasant expression on his face.

Whereas Luke didn't particularly enjoy the mass of media, Sable seemed to be in her element. As much as she might scare him, he'd give her that she was completely comfortable being in the limelight. She walked purposefully, her strides confident, while a perfect smile graced her face.

Of course once they got through the glass doors to the hospital, it was far calmer. Only a few select photographers representing the most credible newspapers had been allowed past this point. If there was one thing his father knew how to do, it was arrange a press outing. A date? Maybe not so much. It was hard to bond over the clicking of the cameras.

"Your Highness, My Lady." A smiling woman greeted them, curtsying. "My name is Julietta Afrin, I'm the primary manager for this hospital. I will be showing you around today."

"Pleasure to meet you." Luke shook her hand firmly.

"Thank you for letting us visit." Sable told Julietta, her voice almost as bright as the woman's.

Luke glanced at the three cameras that had followed them, before turning to Julietta, lowering his voice to a hushed whisper. "The children all signed the consent forms right?" He asked her. The palace had sent over forms yesterday for the children whom Luke would be photographed with and their parents to sign. It was just a standard agreement, allowing photos to be taken and reproduced.

"Of course!" Julietta assured him. "I have them all on hand if you need."

"That's not necessary." He told her quickly.

"What's not?" Sable asked, turning her attention to their conversation.

Luke tried to force himself to smile. He opened his mouth to assure Sable that it was absolutely nothing for her to worry about, that he was just making sure that the cameras were allowed to follow them inside the hospital. In fact, he had a whole lie ready to go in case Sabe asked. Unfortunately, Julietta beat him to it. "His Highness and I were just discussing the press release forms that all the children you will be meeting with signed. He wanted to make sure that all the technicalities were in order before we proceed with any filmography or photography." Julietta told her.

God damn it.

Sable clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "You made the patients sign press release forms?" She asked.

"Oh, it's standard procedure with these types of visits." Julietta assured her. Oh how Luke wished those words hadn't left her mouth.

Sable whispered in Luke's ear, "What type of visits?" Her voice sounded suspicious, almost like she was worried she had been tricked in some way.

"Ones with cameras." Luke supplied.

"You mean ones to raise your approval ratings?"

Well, actually it was to raise her approval ratings, but Luke didn't think that would help the matter right now. There was no good way out of this situation, he might as well tell the truth and hope for the best. At least there was an onslaught of the best doctors in Angeles a few feet away from him. "Yeah. Pretty much." He admitted.

"So that's what this is?" Sable challenged. "A publicity stunt?" Her voice was still quiet, and that seemed to almost make the whole matter worse.

Luke gave one terse nod, waiting for Sable's reaction. Instead of getting mad though, she made a thoughtful noise, almost as if she approved. "That's smart." She told him. Great. Relief flooded Luke's body as no anger passed over her features. Looks like there would be no need for the doctors. Luke really didn't want to end his date in the emergency room anyway. This was a far happier resolution.

"So you're not mad?"

Sable gave a quiet scoff. "Why would I be upset? Because this lacks morals and integrity? I work as a gambler, I'm not really one to speak there.' She told him.

Again with that I'm a gambler stuff. Luke really needed to figure out what being a gambler actually entailed. From the way Sable spoke about it, it didn't seem to be a very respectable job. Why? Luke didn't exactly know.

That's what he needed to learn about.

What exactly it was that's wrong about working as a professional gambler.

"Good. I was really worried about that. I stood outside your door for ten minutes trying to get up the courage to invite you because I thought you would be mad at me and I would end up without an arm or something." The words spilled out of Luke fast, and once he said them, he almost felt lighter. It was better to share his worries with other people.

Sable blinked. "I'm not going to question the absurdity of that statement, but if I was, I would ask what the whole thing about losing an arm was about."

"It's nothing." Luke assured her, shaking his head quickly. Why had he chosen to include that part of his fears? There he had gone and done it again. Oversharing too much. Giving out too much of his personal worries. He really was an idiot sometimes. How hard would it have been to leave out the part about him losing an arm from Sable's anger. Now she was going to think he was a paranoid creep.

Well, maybe not the paranoid creep part, but all the other pieces of his worries were at least plausible, if not likely.

In contrast to what Luke thought, Sable looked amused. "If you say so." She said, mercifully dropping the topic.

"This is a playroom for our patients." Julietta said, opening the door to a large airy room. "It's mostly for those who are recovering from head injuries or trauma, though we are able to handle wheelchairs if the child feels up to it."

The room in question had bright carpeting that was meant to look like the surface of the moon. A small vinyl slide shaped like a rocket ship was in the center of the room, there were a few soft structures shaped like moon craters that the children could play with. There was a small open building inside the room meant to look like the inside of a space...base? Was that the word? Luke should really start paying more attention to what those things were called.

Various toys lined the walls, toy trucks and cars had remote controls sitting next to them. A large doll house had more accessories than Luke could count stuffed into it, a few girls were making dolls walk around inside the house.

Right.

Luke had to go talk to the children. God, how he hated this part of the outings. A young boy turned to him at that moment, "You're the prince." He cried, pointing.

An older girl, who looked like she was his sister, scoffed at him. "Don't be stupid Adam. Don't you think they would have told us if it was the prince?"

"They did. Didn't Mommy tell you yesterday?" Adam said. "That's why you came to play with me instead of going to ballet class." So this girl, whatever her name was, must not have been a patient here. Adam was probably the one currently under treatment, though for what, Luke couldn't say. Maybe a concussion?

The girl wrinkled her nose before turning to Luke. "So are you?" She asked.

"Excuse me?" Luke asked, surprised at being addressed so quickly. "Yea-I mean, yes. I am." He said hurriedly.

"Really?" The girl seemed almost giddy with delight. "I'm Clara. And you're Sable!" She pointed at Sable, who smiled tersely. "So, are you guys married?" Clara asked bluntly.

Luke felt his cheeks go red as Sable looked at him. She clearly wanted to know the answer to Clara's question as well, even if she wouldn't be so brash as to ask him herself. "No. I haven't chosen who I'm going to marry yet." Luke told the girl.

"Oh." Clara frowned slightly. "Well, my friend told me to tell you that she thinks Amethyst should have won because her birthstone is an amethyst."

Luke smiled slightly. "I'm sorry to disappoint her."

Clara didn't seem to mind much. She merely shrugged, saying "I never liked Amethyst anyway," before skipping off to join some of her friends. Sable went to go join the girls by the dollhouse, helping the younger ones change the dolls' clothes as the small plastic clasps were too tiny for their fingers to manage. Finally, they seemed to settle into some sort of game, Sable holding a doll with bright red and yellow hair wearing a plaid outfit. It looked like she was in charge of the game, though Luke had a feeling if it weren't for the cameras following and capturing their every move, she would have been far less enthusiastic about playing dolls with a bunch of children.

Luke busied himself with some of the children playing with the remote control cars. He had them set up a race, splitting the mass of kids into two teams. The rules that he haphazardly threw together were simple: Be the first team to have everyone drive the car through the racetrack he had set up. As much as he would have liked to join in the game, someone had to act as the referee. In the end though, Luke declared both teams winners as to avoid any tantrums. That was something he learned while doing these visits. It was always better to make everyone happy rather than have a fair competition.

After nearly two hours, Luke and Sable were pulled to the next few stops they had to make before they could leave. These were far more somber then the bright and happy atmosphere of the play room. They were private visits to kids who were either very sick or seriously injured. Of course these were shorter and the parents were present in the room. They were supposed to be fun for the child, but Luke had the feeling that it just made them feel worse. That their condition was so bad that the prince of Illéa stopped by to try and cheer them up.

It was with relief that Luke and Sable emerged into the Angeles sunshine, ready for the car to take them back to the palace.

When they got back, Luke took Sable to a small lounge on the first floor. He didn't think it was fair that the date was filled with photographers and various small children. She deserved some time alone with him where she could be herself.

"Do you want ice cream?" Luke asked her, settling next to Sable on a large couch.

"No. If we're getting dessert from the kitchens, I'd rather have chocolate-covered strawberries." Sable told him, her eyes gleaming with the prospect of fruit dipped in melted chocolate.

"I didn't know you liked those." Luke commented, looking at her face.

"You never asked." Sable pointed out, shrugging. She had a point there. Fine, maybe he hadn't asked what type of desserts the girls liked best, but that didn't make him a horrible person. In his personal opinion, he had done a great job getting to know all of them, especially considering the sheer numbers in front of him. He really ought to get a prize or something.

Is there an award for best speed dater? If so, Luke was fairly sure he would win it with a unanimous vote. Other than those cheesy reality shows where the marriages never lasted for longer than a year anyway, he had no competition.

If Sable wanted to say that, then fine. Two could play that game. "You never said." Luke countered.

"You never told me to say."

"You never told me to ask."

"Isn't it your job to get to know all of us?" Sable told him, a playful smirk resting on her features. She looked like she knew she was going to win.

"Isn't it your responsibility to make that as easy for me as possible?"

"I thought that was some government employee's responsibility. I mean, I doubt you're the one to coordinate guards to accompany you or to give courtesy calls to the venues. I mean, you were the one who sent over the consent forms for our date today?" Sable asked him. No fair. She already knew the answer to that one.

"Alright." Luke sighed. "You got me there. You win. Happy?"

Sable grinned broadly. "Very. Now, how about those chocolate covered strawberries?"

"Oh yeah, let me get a maid or something." Luke said. He got up and opened the door to the lounge, luckily, it being a palace, there was a maid every few feet on the first floor. Of course those numbers dwindled as you got further up in the palace. The third floor was restricted to personal servants, those specifically requested, and the rotational cleaning staff. The second floor was somewhere in between the two.

"Hi, um can you get me some chocolate covered strawberries, and maybe a drink or something." Luke told the nearest maid.

She curtsied. "Of course Your Highness. Just give me a few moments." With that she went off to, presumably, the kitchens to go fetch the sweets.

"The strawberries are on their way." Luke announced entering the room.

"My hero." Sable joked. She did seem happy about the strawberries coming though, even if she downplayed her delight.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Luke answered, sitting back down next to her.

Sable paused for a moment. "In what world is calling someone a hero not a compliment?" She asked, looking at him curiously.

"Oh. Well, I think we both know you didn't mean that as a compliment. Unless you did." Luke added, the thought suddenly occurring to him. Great. Now she was going to hate him. Jeez, why didn't he just laugh and thank her like a normal person?

Luckily though, Sable flashed him a smile. "Oh my-calm down. I'm just messing with you. Don't take everything so literally. Watching you freak out is surprisingly entertaining." She told him.

"Now that is definitely not a compliment." Luke added.

"You know what you need?" Sable asked him suddenly.

"What?"

"You need a thicker skin. You're so easily offended. Sometimes you just need to take a joke, take everything with a grain of salt. I mean, I've known you for maybe three and a half months and even I can see that you don't respond to criticism well." Sable said.

Luke didn't know whether to be mad or not. On one hand, she was right. Getting upset would just further prove the point that he needed a thicker skin. Her words weren't that rude. Even if Luke didn't ask for it, she was just trying to help him.

On the other hand, like Sable said: He didn't like criticism.

Just then, the maid came in balancing a silver tray, thoroughly distracting Luke from his thoughts. Sable clapped her hands together in delights as the maid set the tray down and unstacked the two china plains and shining utensils.

"Thank you." Luke said to the maid, Sable seemed far too engrossed in dipping a strawberry into a pot of melted chocolate to thank the woman.

"No problem, Your Highness. It's my job." She said, before leaving the room and closing the door gently behind her.

"This is amazing!" Sable exclaimed, in the closest thing to a squeal of glee that Luke had ever heard from her. "I should have told you that I like these before, I could have been snacking on chocolate-covered strawberries for the past few months."

"You've certainly been missing out." Luke agreed, nodding his head.

"You should really put menus in all the guest rooms. I can't believe that I ever chose a simple chocolate cake over this." The menu suggestion actually wasn't a bad idea. Maybe he would pass that along to his sister. After all, he would like if the crowds who came for his wedding got to snack on the best that the palace had to offer.

"Maybe I will." Luke said, dipping his own strawberry into the pot of chocolate. He took a bite quickly, to avoid it dripping on his shirt. It was delicious. Even Luke, who had grown up here, sometimes forgot about the plethora of amazing food the palace had to offer.

"If you do, I fully expect credit for it." Sable insisted.

"How?"

Sable considered his question for a moment. "Put brought to you by Sable Reddlyn in the corner of each menu, that way everyone would know who to thank for the genius invention."

"Wouldn't it be better if it said brought to you by Sable Reddlyn and Lucas Schreave?" Luke asked her as he ate another strawberry.

"Remind me what part of the idea that you contributed?" Sable questioned.

"The part where I suggest it to the Queen and Prince Consort." Luke replied easily.

"Hmmm. I suppose it could say Made by Sable Reddlyn, Brought to you by Lucas Schreave." She finally conceded, twirling a strand of her dark hair.

"That works too." Luke agreed.

They were silent for a moment as they enjoyed the deliciousness of the snack. Well, while Sable enjoyed the snack and Luke looked at Sable enjoying the snack. He knew he had thought about it earlier, but she was really pretty. She was smart too, as much as he hated to say it, much smarter than he was. Of course, Laena's warning when she left still stuck in his head, but right now, it didn't seem to bother him too much. He had probably been right in his first assumption, that it was said in an act of jealousy not an attempt to save Luke from having his heart broken.

With that in mind, Luke turned to face Sable, pulling her into a kiss, Her lips were sweet, tasting of strawberry and chocolate. His hands cupped the side of her face, moving a few locks of her dark brown hair as they kissed. It was a perfect ki-

"What are you doing?" Sable asked, pulling away quickly.

What?

Oh God, what had he done. He had never had a girl reject his romantic ventures like that. In fact, it was mostly him doing the rejecting. "I..I just- I thought-" He stammered before Sable cut him off, putting him out of his misery.

"Look, Luke, you're cute..like a puppy. Like a golden retriever. " Sable started. Was that a good thing? Somehow, Luke doubted it. "You're 18 though. I'm almost 22. Do you really think this would work out though? I mean, I just don't see you and me going together. You're not even legally allowed to drink yet. I can't marry you. I'm sorry." Sable told him.

Luke felt his heart sink with her words. He had actually thought that she liked him. He had thought that all the girls in the selection liked him. She's a con artist a small voice in the back of his head whispered. It was right. Sable made a living off conning people into believing her. It was embarrassing that she had managed to hoodwink the prince though.

"Oh." Luke said, not sure what else to say. What could someone possibly say at this moment?

"I'm sorry. I know it's hard to believe, but I truly am." Sable said. "I've just always been a bit lukewarm on you." Luke knew she added the pun as an attempt to make him feel better about himself. All he gave was a weak smile though. As hard as that was to imagine, he really didn't feel like joking around right now. Instead crying seemed like a much better option.

No.

He couldn't cry about this. He still had four other women here who he really liked. Who he loved. Sable eliminating herself was a blow to his confidence, sure, but it was nothing insurmountable.

"So I guess I'm eliminated?" Sable asked. Luke nodded. He didn't feel much like speaking. "Okay." She stood to go out of the room, pausing for a second, "Hey, Luke, do me a favor and read a book sometime. I know you didn't read that one we were talking about earlier or the one your parents gave you."

How did she even know about that? Well, it was Sable. She knew about everything.

"I'll try." he said simply. With that, Sable gave him a cheery sort of wave and left.

He shouldn't be sad about this. It was just another one of the ladies leaving. He probably would have eliminated her later down the line anyway. As much as her choosing to leave hurt, it was better for everyone.

So Luke shouldn't be throwing himself a pity party.

It was time to get this back on track. To remind Luke that he was the one making the decisions here. The best way to do that was with another one of his selected gladies. And so, he followed Sable, heading off in search of Esme, who would hopefully provide him with a much better night then Sable had.

"So she eliminated herself?" Esme clarified, twisting her blond hair as she spoke. Luke had found her near the library, presumably she had just finished her studying for the night as she was carrying a notebook with a pencil case and folder balanced precariously on top. She had been more than happy to spend time with Luke when he asked. He had led them to a different room to talk in though. It just felt wrong to be with another girl in the space that Sable had left just half an hour before.

Luke popped a chocolate truffle in his mouth before answering, "Yeah. It was kind of weird. I don't know, I guess she just didn't like me." Luke shrugged, trying to downplay how upset he was over Sable's sudden departure.

Esme laughed delicately. "Now, that's just odd. Maybe she just didn't want to get married yet." Esme supplied. Luke had the feeling that a more accurate end to her statement would have been that she didn't want to get married to him.

"Maybe." Luke agreed.

"She must have left her white-blood cells at another place." Esme said, smiling a little.

What did that even mean?

"Huh?" Luke asked, confused.

"It was a joke." Esme told him.

Luke paused for a moment, considering her words. However, since he didn't know what a white-blood cell was or what it did, he had no clue what the punchline was. Let alone the meeting of the joke as a whole.

"I don't get it."

Esme sighed, before starting to explain the joke to him. "White blood cells fight against diseases in your body, protecting your immune system. They also act as a memory system for diseases. For her to last so long here when she didn't really have any feelings here, she must have left her white blood cells somewhere else. Meaning she must have been clueless to her feelings."

"That's not very funny." Luke complained looking at Esme.

"Well, it would be funny if you had gotten the joke." Esme protested.

"If you have to explain the joke, then it's not funny." Luke said seriously. Even after Esme's lengthy explanation he still didn't get it. Not that he would tell her that though. It was better for him to just pretend that he didn't like it rather than admit that he was oblivious as to what her joke actually meant. There was a reason why Luke wasn't becoming a doctor.

"Everyone at med school would have gotten it."

"Then everyone at med school must be nerds or have no sense of humor." Luke said.

"Alright, alright." Esme relented. "I'll cool off on the medical puns for a while."

"Hey." Luke started, the thought suddenly occurring to him, "Who won the card competition today since Sable wasn't here?" He asked. Quinn had seemed fairly set on winning, but from the little he had seen, Sydney seemed much better than her.

"Uh, we played twice. Sydney won the first time and I think Quinn won the second." Esme told him. Good for Quinn. She wanted this.

"What, you're not a go-fish champion?" He teased her lightly.

"Me? No way. I suck at cards, any card game really. I always get out first." Esme told him, giggling at her own lack of skills.

"Now, are you sure about that?" He asked.

"Am I sure that I would get out first? I usually do, but it's not like I'm proud about it." Esme said. "Like, I wouldn't wager anything on me getting out first."

Luke gestured to a deck of cards that was sitting on a coffee table across the room from them. "You want to test that out?" He asked her, grinning.

"Why not. At least if I lose to you, it's not as embarrassing as losing to a room full of other women. They can get mean!" Esme exclaimed.

"Good." Luke said, walking over to get the deck of cards. He held them out to Esme, "I hope you know how to shuffle a deck, because I have no clue." He told her. His voice was playful, but it was true. He had never actually learned how to shuffle a deck of cards.

Esme took the deck from him, "I guess you always had a servant or someone shuffle for you?" She asked.

"Yeah pretty much."

"I can't promise you that it'll be good, but I'll try." Esme agreed. She slid the deck out of the box and started to try and shuffle them. Quickly, it was clear that she was just as clueless as to how to shuffle a deck of cards as Luke was. Still, she managed somewhat and a few minutes later, she turned to him, setting the cards down in between them. "This is as good as it's going to get." She told him, handing the deck to him.

Luke shrugged. "I'm sure it's better than the mess I would have made." He replied.

"So, what are we playing?" Esme asked eagerly.

"I don't know, do you want to play crazy eights?" Luke suggested.

'Sure."

Even though crazy eights was more a game of luck than any actual skill, Luke won easily. Esme hadn't been underestimating herself, she really did suck at this game. When they started the third round, Luke purposely let her win, though Esme didn't seem too happy about that.

"You know, it's not winning if the other person throws the match." Esme told him as they packed the cards back into their box.

"What are you talking about?" Luke asked. "I didn't throw the match."

"I saw your cards after the round was over. You could have won five minutes ago." Esme pointed out. She had gotten him there. He had purposely said that he didn't have the card needed in order to prolong the round.

Denial wasn't going to get him out of this one. "Fine you're right." He relented. "I'm sorry about that."

Esme smirked. "Don't be. It was nice actually winning for once."

"Happy to help."

A/N: Another girl gone. Though it pains me to say goodbye to Sable, let's face it: She didn't want the crown, and she certainly didn't want the boy. She really just wanted a fun time, and I think she got more than she bargained for. So, with that we're letting everyone's favorite con artist go and continue wrecking terror in the gambling scene of Waverly.

Joke: Does an apple a day keep the doctor away?

Only if you throw it hard enough!