Hey, guys! And hellooooo 2021!

Well, last year was a whirlwind, but we made it through and here is a reward just for you! Chapters 10 and 11 are also complete, they just need to be beta read. (I have a newfound passion for writing chapters ahead of time, but I'm sure my beta hates it.)

Also I'm announcing a new syoc soon! (I'll be announcing it probably after chapter 12.) I won't be starting it until after I finish this one, but who knows? I might have this one finished by May. I am being really optimistic right now. This story could last til 2022, lol. It depends on how lazy I get.

Thanks for sticking by me this year. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter Nine

Adrian sat in the main parlor, a cup of cocoa cuddled in his cold hands. The selected, Imogen, and Jensing were all talking and planning the Christmas Party. He wasn't really paying attention, but it seemed like right now they were still trying to figure out their color scheme.

"We don't even have a tree yet, why are we so concerned about the colors of the ornaments?" One of the girls spoke up. Adrian wasn't sure which one it was because he wasn't paying enough attention, but she made a good point.

Imogen hummed, then looked over at Adrian. "Oh, Adri…" she cooed in the way she always did when she wanted him to do something. "Would you be a dear and get off your Scroogey bum and get us a Christmas tree?"

Adrian glared at her, then put his cup of cocoa on the coffee table beside him. Scrooge? Him? If he was truly being Scroogey then he wouldn't even be down here with the committee. "Okay, listen here, Imogen," he began, but was cut off by Jensing.

"Maybe you could take one of the girls," Jensing suggested, seemingly trying to keep a fight from starting before it even happened. "You could call it a date even."

"I'm not even allowed out of the palace yet," Adrian protested. He wasn't sure if that was true, but King Abernathy hadn't explicitly told him that he was allowed to leave, and Adrian was sure that he was pushing his luck with his father's anger just by breathing.

"When did he say that?" Jensing asked with a raised eyebrow. "I'm sure he would let you go on a date."

Adrian wasn't so sure about that last part. He was pretty sure that his father wanted the selection to be over. His father didn't seem to care much about the dates, or anything he was doing with the selected, but leaving the palace so soon after the attack might be a little different.

"Why don't you go ask him then?" Imogen said. Her words were spoken like a question, but it was a challenge wrapped underneath. She must have taken lessons from King Abernathy. Only he was as good at that as she was.

"You go ask," he countered as he crossed his arms. This was how almost all of his conversations with Imogen went, but all of their so-called arguments were fake and playful even if they didn't sound that way. They never really did what the other one dared them to do, at least not now that they were both adults. It was a miracle that they had never done anything ridiculously stupid when they were both children.

"Fine. I will," she said, then stood up. She held her chin up high as she walked out of the room, but at the last moment she swung back in. Her hands held onto the door frame as she leaned the rest of her body back in. "I'll get you your date, Scrooge."

Adrian closed his eyes, then counted to ten. He was going to kill her.

Adrian wasn't sure if he was surprised or not that Imogen had been able to sweet-talk King Abernathy into letting him go on this date, but then again, his father had always loved Imogen.

So Adrian had sent Imogen one last glare, then asked Jasmine Halycon to accompany him on this grand expedition to find a Christmas tree that would meet Imogen's high standards. She had gladly accepted the offer.

"These trees are beautiful," she said as the two of them walked through the tree farm. She stopped and touched one of them. "This is a Norway Spruce. I saw a bunch of them when my father and I were there for work. They grow throughout most of Europe."

Adrian nodded. The tree was gorgeous. It was tall and puffy, two of the requirements for Imogen's perfect tree. It also followed the normal triangular shape that he wanted in a Christmas tree. He wasn't a fan of skinny trees that didn't have the Christmas tree shape.

"You're an archeologist, right?" He asked as they moved on. They were sort of wandering aimlessly, they didn't really have a plan for the date like he would have liked, but he figured that he would take her to a cafe or restaurant afterwards.

Jasmine nodded. "Yeah, born and bred for adventure. I've been going on digs with my dad since I was eleven, but I've heard stories of his past adventures since the day I was born," she told him.

They stopped and looked at another tree, a Fraser Fir this time. It was also a nice tree, but Adrian preferred the Norway Spruce. He should have forced Imogen to go get the tree. Sure, it was nice to be on a date with one of his selected, but he really had no idea what he was doing here.

"Do you have any stories?" He asked. They kept falling into silence, and even though it wasn't uncomfortable, it didn't help him learn anything about her, which was a problem.

"I have tons, but there aren't really any ones that are interesting to the normal person, they can be pretty boring to anyone who isn't a scientist or historian," she told him.

Adrian nodded. He understood the feeling a bit too well, being a musician and talking about music was best when doing so with another musician or someone who was eager to learn. "Try me," he said. Even if he might not understand any of it, he was willing to try.

She grinned. It lit up her face like it was the sun, and Adrian was happy to know that he was the reason she grinned so excitedly. "Okay!"

"Well, when I was younger, I got to the pyramids in Egypt. I didn't get to do a lot while I was there because I was still so young and they didn't want a child touching such priceless artifacts, but it was so beautiful down there. I loved every moment of it. Like, those pyramids are so so old now and it's so exciting when they find new things down there," she told him, and Adrian smiled at her gushing. "I hope to go again someday."

Adrian nodded, but he didn't tell her what he was thinking. They wouldn't work out together. It was almost painfully obvious to him. She was just too adventurous for him. He would much rather stay at home with a cup of cocoa and his piano than explore the world. He didn't want to keep her from what she loved either. It wouldn't be right of him to force her to spend the rest of her life in a palace when she wanted to see the world.

For now though, he just wanted to enjoy the rest of the date. He would figure out how to tell her later.

After a while, they finally found the perfect tree. A Balsam Fir that just screamed Christmas at them. It was the right shape, size, color, and fullness. It was an easy pick if Adrian was being honest. If Imogen didn't like it, she could go pick out her own tree.

After they purchased the tree and loaded it onto the car, Adrian took her to the closest cafe. It was small, but it was also warm and inviting. Soft Christmas jazz hummed in Adrian's ears when he opened the door for her. Yeah, this was a great place. He loved Christmas jazz.

Of course he knew that he would be ordering a hot chocolate before he even entered, but he was excited to see what she would order. They would also need some sort of food because Adrian was starving from the walk around the tree farm and he had the feeling that Jasmine would be too.

She ordered a matcha green tea and Adrian ordered them a couple of chocolate chip cookies. He just hoped that he wouldn't chicken out of telling her the truth.

"So, what is matcha?" He asked as they sat down at their table. He had never heard of it, but she had been over the moon when she saw that they had it.

She smiled, then took off her hat. Her curls seemed to bounce back to their normal places and there was frizzy hair where the hat used to be. She set the hat down on her lap. "It's powdered green tea leaves. It's really strong, but it tastes amazing."

Adrian nodded. "I have to admit that I'm not really a tea person," he said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not really a coffee person either, come to think of it…"

"I guess you're just a hot chocolate person," she said. "Do you like any sodas? Surely you have to like those. There's no way you get throughout the day without at least some sort of caffeine."

Adrian shrugged. "Would you believe me if I told you that I didn't really drink those often either?" He asked with a small laugh. "Maybe I'm just not a caffeine person."

"I guess not," she said as she laughed along with him, then she let out a small sigh. "Adrian, there's something I need to tell you."

Adrian's heart thudded. "Yes?"

She cleared her throat before brushing her hair behind her ear. "My Dad sent me a letter. They want my help on a dig," she said. "I'm not going to lie, but I don't think we're very compatible and I don't think either of us should lead the other on, which I think we accidentally did before the attack."

Adrian exhaled in relief. Thank goodness she had said it before him because he was certain that he would have messed it up somewhere and offended both of them. "I agree," he said. "I don't want to hold you back from your passion by keeping you stuck in the palace. I'm sorry if I ever led you on."

Jasmine nodded, then took a sip of her tea. She was pretty, even if she wasn't the one for him. "Well, I'm glad we came to the same conclusion. You're a great person, and I can't wait to see the things you do for Illea, but we're just not made for each other."

"So, when do you leave for the dig site?" He asked.

She shrugged. "I dunno. I doubt it'll be before Christmas. I bet a lot of them are filled to the brim with traveling families…" She said. "I didn't really plan on spending Christmas alone this year, but here we are."

Adrian winced at the sound of her voice. She had tried to phrase the words in a way that didn't make her sound so upset to be alone, but it shone through the facade. He wouldn't let her. He didn't want her to be sad.

He grabbed her hands, the hold was gentle and mostly to get her attention. It worked, and when he caught her gaze, he spoke. "Jasmine, I am not letting you be inside of your empty house with no one around to celebrate it," he told her, his voice was firm, but gentle. He wanted to know that she had a choice in this matter, but hoped that she would opt to stay with him.

"But what about King Abernathy? He'll want me gone as soon as I get back to the palace," she said.

Adrian had to admit that he hadn't thought that far. He never thought far enough ahead. If he had, he wouldn't be stuck in this whole mess. "I won't officially eliminate you until after Christmas that way you can have Christmas with us, and I can follow the elimination rules my father put in place," he said.

"Really? That's really kind of you, Adrian," she said. "I mean, a bit sneaky with the elimination thing, but really sweet."

Adrian nodded. "On one condition though," he said. "I want you to write to me about your adventures, even if they're boring and something a music kid like me wouldn't understand."

Jasmine smiled. "Only if you write back," she replied. "Now, I think we should finish our food and go back to the palace. This party needs to be awesome and I'm scared of whatever those other girls are planning back at the palace."

Adrian nodded and grinned back at her. Jasmine had no idea what Imogen was capable of and he hoped that she would never have to learn. "Yeah, I think we should," he said. "With our luck, they've probably decided that a live tiger should join our Christmas Extravaganza."

For a second, Jasmine's smile faltered. It was like a star went out in the night sky. "Tiger? Extravaganza?" She asked. "I thought this was a small party."

Adrian chuckled. He didn't have the heart to tell her that Imogen had wanted a live tiger at her eighth birthday party, or that she had almost gotten it. Adrian had gotten her a toy tiger every year since. "Trust me when I say that with Imogen as a part of the planning committee, nothing is going to be small." He said.

Jasmine nodded. Her eyes were wide, like she was imagining what a post-war battlefield would look like. "You know, I almost don't want to know the stories."

Adrian nodded back at her. Anything that Imogen planned would always be an adventure. Especially with the danger part. He thought that she would probably enjoy hearing about them even if she was on the other side of the planet. "I'll put them in my letters."

The first selected has been eliminated! Thank you LC for creating her! She was a wonderful OC and I wish I could have done more with her, but she and Adrian just weren't right for each other. (She will still be in one more scene though, don't worry!)

Please follow, fave, and review! I would love to know your thoughts and theories!

Thanks for reading! Love y'all! Happy New Year!