Chapter 27 – Nevaeh de Montignac

"Alright, ladies, I'm going to give you some homework because you're not going fast enough in class. I want all projects by Thursday morning on my desk." Nevaeh looked over the girls who seemed super excited to have homework. Oh, well. "I will be choosing the most promising projects and on Monday morning, those who have been pre-chosen by me are going to present their projects to the Queen, her husband, and the princes. And me, too, of course." She paused. "Any questions?"

"Yes," Leigh said. "That means we'll only have two weeks to get the whole thing ready?"

"Indeed," Nevaeh said. "But I'm pretty sure that by Friday you will have had contacted suppliers and the people you need to do this because, without them, you don't have a budget. After that, it'll be child's play."

Leigh and Ximena shared a look. Child's play? Really? Both took a deep breath and everyone gathered their things – notebooks, computers, pens, papers – before going back to their rooms to freshen up for lunch.

Nevaeh still had some things to finish so she stayed at her desk, focused on her computer. She had a backup project in case none of the girls couldn't impress the royal family with their ideas. And if one of the girls did have her project chosen, then Nevaeh would have a project already done for some other time. Either way, it wouldn't be lost.

"Hey," Nevaeh heard someone say and she lifted her eyes from her computer. Ximena was still in the classroom, finishing up something on her project and Silas had just walked in.

"Hello," he said. Without seeing Nevaeh, he sat down next to Ximena. "What are you working on?"

Nevaeh made herself as tiny as possible and stopped typing, hiding behind her computer. She took out her phone and prepared to take a picture or film if anything happened. Damnit, I'm not Jesse, she thought bitterly, angry at herself, and put her phone down silently.

"Just my idea. Though I'm not sure it'll be greatly appreciated by your mom." Ximena let out a small chuckle. "I mean. It's just a normal ball event at the Palace."

"So? Isn't that what you're supposed to prepare?" Silas asked, and Nevaeh had never heard such softness in his voice. She looked over her screen at the couple who were now sitting very close to each other. Just kiss already! she said as loudly as she could in her mind.

"Yeah, but you should see what some others came up with," she said. "Leigh for example, it's simply amazing."

Silas smiled as he kept his eyes on the brunette girl. "I'm sure your project will be just as good. You're a creative person, right?"

"Yeah, but only with outfits. I'm already working on my dress–"

"The shiny blue one?" Silas asked with a smirk, putting his arm on the back of her seat.

"How did you know that?" she asked, suspicion filling her voice. "I haven't shown it to anyone and–"

"You were drawing it at the beach," he replied.

Nevaeh really needed to make herself known otherwise they were going to start making out and she was going to be trapped there. "Lunchtime, lovebirds!" She blurted out, slamming her computer shut. Both jumped in fright.

"Nev!" Silas hissed as his cousin.

"I'm outta here, do whatever you want. I'll close the door." She left everything on her desk and quickly made her way out, her heels clicking on the wooden floor. She kept her eyes on the door, not making eye contact with any of them, and then closed the door behind her. when she turned around, she bumped into Leigh.

"Leigh! Lunchtime!"

"I just forgot something in the–"

"Too late, you'll come to grab it later. We're late already." She looped her arm in Leigh's and both girls walked towards the dining room where the girls were all arriving in clusters of two or three. It's not that she didn't want Leigh to get her things… she just didn't want her to see Xila– Silas and Ximena. Damnit. She shouldn't be using Jesse's ship name for them... Silas and Leigh would be… Sleigh. SLEIGH! Nevaeh burst out laughing.

"What's funny?" Leigh asked, confused.

"I just realized your ship name with Silas is Sleigh. As in, you're going to slay it." Nevaeh blanched. Why was Jesse's stupid ship name thing taking hold of her now? "I'm so sorry, that was ridiculous and totally uncalled for." She shook her head.

"No, that was actually funny," Leigh said with a sly grin on her face. "Sleigh is gonna slay!" Leigh laughed some more and Nevaeh felt stupid for even bringing it up and wanted to hide six feet under…

-.-

Back in the makeshift classroom, Silas and Ximena had waited for Nevaeh to burst out of the room like a clicking rocket, and then Ximena giggled while Silas turned a deep beet red on the ears.

"I didn't see her," Silas said. "I thought you were alone."

"To be honest, I also forgot she was there," Xi replied. "I thought she had left with the others." She paused and took out a small envelope from her under her papers. In it was a note and several red rose petals. "I got your note." She smirked and her smile sent butterflies in the Prince's stomach.

"I'd hope you would…" he paused. "Are you ready to go, then?"

Ximena nodded and she gathered her things to slip them into her bag that she would leave in the classroom. No use bringing all her papers along on her secret date with Silas. "Where are we going?" she asked, standing up.

"You'll see. It's one of my favorite places around here, and I wanted to share it with you." As they walked side by side, Ximena slipped her hand in his and their fingers locked perfectly together. Silas was careful not to walk just under the dining room windows because by the time people realized that he and Ximena were missing, they wouldn't know where they were. And he just needed to be alone right now.

They walked in silence, neither one of them feeling the need to talk. They walked on the gravel path and towards the end of the garden, just behind the small hill that hid the Lake. He was a bit nostalgic at the sight because the last time he'd been there it had been with Yuna… but the feeling quickly passed when Ximena gasped.

"Oh, my God! This place is so beautiful!"

Silas smiled. "It is, isn't it?" He was glad she also thought it was beautiful because maybe it would become her favorite place as well…

"Wait, is that a picnic on the deck?" she asked, excitement filling her voice.

"Yes…" he paused, uncertain. "Is it too casual?"

"No! oh, my goodness, no, it's perfect." She stood on her toes – even though she was wearing high heels – and placed a small kiss on his cheek, making Silas all flustered again. But he grinned and they picked up the pace.

The picnic was arranged on a white table cloth with lace around it, and there was a basket with food in it, and of course a bottle of Pinot Noir with two wine glasses. There was also a floral arrangement made with Red roses and some other smaller white flowers Silas didn't know the name of.

Truth be told, he had told one person about his secret date and had sworn her to secrecy: Sydney. She had bargained with him, though: she had accepted to prepare an aesthetically pleasing and tasty picnic, and in exchange, she would film them for a few minutes with the drone, just to capture them together. He had reluctantly agreed, but it was just because he had no idea how to prepare a picnic, and he desperately needed Sydney for that.

"This is really nice," Ximena said, sitting down. She fanned her skirt around her and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She was wearing huge gold earrings and a short black A-line dress with large sleeves and a rather deep V-neck. She was wearing her hair straightened down and was wearing black heeled sandals.

Silas offered her a shy smile and since he didn't really know what to say, he took the bottle of wine and popped it open before filling the two glasses and offering her one. "Cheers."

"Cheers," Xi replied and they both sipped. Without being asked to, Ximena opened the basket and took out the food – fancy sandwiches, baby carrots, and other veggies, cheese, strawberries, and so on – as well as plates and cutlery. "Who eats sandwiches with a fork?" she asked.

"I have absolutely no idea," Silas said, and they laughed together. They started eating. Ximena sighed, content, as she leaned on her hands, giving up her face to the sun. "This is such a lovely day," she said. "You know, I was wondering when you'd ask me on a date again… it's been more than two weeks since… you know…"

"Since the Gazebo? Yes, I know." He pushed up his glasses. "My mom insisted we continued dating as many girls on our lists so we cool eliminate one each week…" he trailed off because it was not making any sense. "But trust me, I've been thinking about that every single day." He didn't look up at her. He felt foolish. Was it foolish, to be thinking about their kiss every day?

He didn't notice the soft smile that bloomed on her lips. But if he had, he'd also have noticed that she was inching closer and closer to him as he was focused on the cherry tomato rolling between his fingers. When she put a hand on his, he looked up, and her face – her lips – were only a few inches away from his face. This time, she was the one to lean in first and kiss him. Oh, how many times had he replayed their previous kiss in his mind? Way too many to count. But this? It was even better than his memories of the first one. This one tasted of wine and tomatoes and summer picnics. He parted his lips to take in her kiss even more and her tongue teased him, fireworks exploding under his skin. There was something about being so close to her yet so far. He needed to get closer, make only one with her. He laced his free hand – dropping the tomato on the white cloth – in her hair and deepened the kiss even more if that was even possible.

Silas was the first one to slowly break away from the kiss. But just enough to look at the woman. His eyes met hers and he smiled. He knew this picnic had been a good idea. After that morning's heavy and long conference, he had needed something to lighten his mood. And this was perfect.

Ximena grabbed a strawberry and popped it in his mouth, which made them both giggle.

"Tell me something about you that nobody knows," she said, sitting back on the lace cloth and looking at the prince, her head tilted to the left a little as if she wanted to decipher everything about him. But it didn't bother him, because he would gladly tell her everything.

"You already know I play the piano…"

"Yes, we all know that," she replied biting into her sandwich. "Something… no one knows. Not even your family."

Silas thought for a moment, giving him enough time to eat the cherry tomato he had dropped earlier. "You promise not to tell anyone?" he said, looking around and in the sky, making sure Sydney was not droning somewhere. He couldn't see anything.

"That bad?" she said with a smirk. "I promise not to tell anyone."

"And not to laugh?"

"Well… that I can't promise. I can try, though…" Ximena pinched her lips together, already preparing not to laugh. The problem was that when she was with the prince, all she wanted to do was smile and laugh. "Okay, I'm ready, tell me."

Silas took a deep breath, reached the bottom of his pants, and rolled them up a few inches.

Ximena just stared, a grin growing on her face. "That's your secret? Pink Donut socks?"

"Don't judge," he said also trying not to laugh. "But that is only one pair among hundreds."

"HUNDREDS?" she burst out and laughed. "Oh, my goodness, this is the cutest thing ever and I was not expecting that." She giggled, trying to smother the laughter from her chest. But truth be told, Silas loved to hear her laugh. He didn't mind one bit. Him collecting silly socks was, well… silly. And worth a laugh. "How many exactly?"

"352."

"…That's very precise." Ximena looked at Silas' face and she wanted to take his cheeks in her hands and just squish them forever. "Your family doesn't know about this?"

"I think they think I stopped collecting them a while ago. I didn't…" Silas then filled his glass with more wine and offered some to her, too, which she accepted. "What about you?" he asked. "What's something nobody knows about you?"

Ximena thought for a moment. She didn't have anything silly like Silas that people didn't know about. She had loads of followers on Social Media, and her Rainha clothes were a big hit all over the country. "I don't really let it show, but there are times when I still struggle with, uhm… insecurities."

Wow. That was not what Silas had expected. That was a much deeper level than his silly sock collection. "What kind of insecurities?" he asked. Because this woman was confidence itself, from what he would tell.

"How I look," she blurted out and didn't meet his gaze. Instead, she looked at the dazzling water of the Lake and smiled. "But not today."

Silas took her hand in his – how was it so soft and warm? – and scooted over. He wanted to reassure her, to tell her she was beautiful, that she never needed to be insecure when she was around him, and that he'd do anything to make sure she felt good. But the words didn't come. They got stuck in his throat and he stayed silent. She leaned in against him, her head on his shoulder, and they stayed like that a long time.

-.-

"Damnit!" Jesse said as he and Nevaeh walked towards the garden after a chat about the National Day presentations. "I can't believe I missed a Xilas date!"

Nevaeh followed his gaze and saw Silas and Ximena coming back from outside, walking very close to each other, but not holding hands. Nevaeh tried not to laugh because Jesse looked genuinely anguished.

"Don't worry buddy," Sydney said, coming over and putting a hand on his shoulder. "I got you covered." She smirked.

"What? You knew about this? What did you film?"

Sydney showed him the drone she was hiding behind her back and Jesse's eyes transformed into hearts.

"Oh, my God, you're a genius."

Then she showed him the SD card she had taken out from the machine. The sly grin on her face made Jesse pale slightly.

"What did you do?" he asked slowly, already afraid of the answer.

"Nothing," she said. "But if you want those three minutes of juicy Xilas content, you're going to have to pay for them." Sydney looked at Nevaeh. "What do you think, Your Grace? How much would Jesse pay for this?"

"Oh, no, I'm not doing this." She paused. "He's just trying to do his job." She didn't let Sydney reply to that and continued. "That said, I'm pretty sure he'd put 3000 dollars for that."

"What?!" Jesse said. "You've got to be kidding! I don't even have that kind of money!"

"Cash," Sydney said, unfazed.

"You're a monster," he said, stomping away.

Sydney laughed and put the SD card back in her pocket. "I can't believe he bought that," she said. "There's no way I could get away with selling him footage for that price. He's my boss!"

"I didn't say anything," Nevaeh said, raising her hands in defense. "But you shouldn't be too hard on him. He had a pretty tiring morning with an audience with the Queen and her advisors."

"Oh? What about?"

"They want better content from him." Nevaeh shrugged. "The queen said the people don't know anything about the girls and she wants more details and more 'fluff'."

"Even more?" Sydney's shoulders deflated a little. "Damn. Well, he'll be happy with today's footage, then." She patted her pocket.

The two young women stayed silent for a moment, reflecting. "Were you really going to sell that to him for 3000 dollars?" Nevaeh asked.

"Nah. I was only messing with him," Sydney said, chuckling. "I would have settled for 50 bucks. You were the one who suggested 3000 dollars."

"Oops…" Nevaeh chuckled and went on her way.

-o-0-o-

On Tuesday, after another morning of getting their projects ready – calling people, taking care of small details, talking with the cooks, and whatnot – the girls just wanted to spend some time around the swimming pool. Some of the selected who wanted to perfect their project and be chosen by the queen for the event continued working for a few hours, either in their room, the classroom – they had started calling it that way, by now – or the Women's Room.

Since Nevaeh was practically done with her own party project – not that was going to present it in front of everyone, but it was a backup plan – she also wanted to spend some relaxing time around the swimming pool. It was a beautiful day, so why not? She was surprised at how calm and silent the girls were, though. Were they that tired? Had she asked too much of them? She remembered the first few days of the Selection of how noisy and unrelaxing it had been in the garden. Nevaeh closed her eyes and let the sun warm and tan her skin. It had been noisy before because that's what 30 girls did. Now only half remained.

"Hey, Gail," she heard Nathan say some distance away. She opened one eye to follow the conversation. "Wanna get out of here?"

Gail pushed herself up from her towel and looked at Nathan. "Sure." She sat up and gathered her things in her bag. "Where?"

Nathan shrugged. "Wherever you want, Milady." Nevaeh was pretty sure he was thinking of a bedroom in the Palace…

Gail snorted. "Wherever I want?"

"Why not?" he said, offering her his hand to help her stand up.

"Okay." She put her bag on her shoulder. "Let me go change. We can go to town for some shopping, then."

"Shopping?" he repeated, a little less sure of himself. Clearly not what he had been expecting…

"Yes. You said wherever." She started walking towards the Palace doors. "Meet you in fifteen minutes?"

"Uhm, sure," he said, rubbing a spot behind his neck as he watched her go. Nevaeh noticed him coming over and she quickly closed her eyes, not wanting him to see she had been eavesdropping on him. "Nev," he said. "Nev!"

"Hmm? What?" she pushed her large hat higher so she could see him, but he sat on the side of her lounging chair.

"What do I do, now?"

Nevaeh couldn't suppress the laugh that bubbled up in her chest. "What do you mean?"

"You heard," he replied. "Gail wants us to go shopping!"

Nevaeh shrugged. "You were the one to give her the choice of the destination. Own up to it."

"Sure. But I've never been shopping with a girl. I don't even shop, designers send me their stuff and I wear it. Or I shop online." He rubbed his face. "People are going to be all over us!"

"Not necessarily," she said. "If you two are discrete and not followed by a plethora of guards or by Jesse, no one will notice you." She chuckled. "Besides. Since when are you afraid of attention in a public place? You're the one traipsing over Illéa, going to High-end bars to get women in your bed. What's the difference?"

Nathan shot her a very dark look. "Everything is different. But you wouldn't understand." Without a word, he walked away, going inside to change into something less conspicuous than his usual designer clothes.

-.-

Nathan opted for a pair of mid-thigh jeans shorts with a green polo shirt and some sneakers. He dug into his walk-in closet to find some dark sunglasses and a baseball cap. When he was ready, he went downstairs to pick up Gail in her room, but he bumped into Jenissa.

"Why are you dressed like that?" she asked, giggling. "You don't look like your usual self…"

"Good, that's what I was going for," he replied, then he struck a pose. "How's this?"

Jenissa burst out laughing. "I wouldn't even look twice at you in the street, because you'd be just a random guy."

"Excellent, thanks." He flashed her a smile, lowered his sunglasses, and winked at her.

"Yeah, no, don't do that. I recognized you." She walked away and laughed, heading to the gardens after having worked some more on her project. Nathan watched her walked away and damn, she had a nice butt…

"You ready?"

Nathan snapped back to attention when he heard Gail's voice. "Yup." Then he laughed. "You look... different."

"That makes two of us," she said and walked past him. He looked at her outfit: she was wearing black fishnet tights, a black mini short with an AC/DC t-shirt tucked into it, with a large green, blue, and black open flannel shirt over the whole outfit. All that was paired with some forest green Timberlands and a pair of Ray-Bans.

"Welp, here we go, incognito…" Nathan muttered.

"You never do that?"

"Of course not." He opened the car door for Abigail and climbed in behind her. "What are you doing here?" he asked Otis who was already sitting in the car.

"People don't know me as they know Jesse," he replied. I'll be as incognito as… you two," he said, eyeing their outfits.

"Great," Nathan said, sarcasm filling his voice. "Now we have a third wheel."

Gail just shrugged. As long as she could go shopping, she didn't mind. The car lurched forward and they were on their way downtown, to the biggest shopping Mall of Los Angeles. Of all Illéa, actually. Even the famous Manhattan Mall didn't quite compare to the LA mall.

"You won't even notice me," Otis said. "I'll just be trailing behind, getting some footage for Jesse. That's all." He snapped a quick picture with his phone of the couple and grinned. "See? You didn't even see that coming."

Nathan rolled his eyes and leaned against the car seat. He looked outside at the passing landscape while Gail looked on her side of the car to the buildings getting bigger and bigger as they got closer to the heart of the Capital city. After a while, the car stopped a block away from the Mall, so they wouldn't attract attention. Nathan had never been to this part of the city because he always stayed near Beverly Hills and the five-star hotels and bars. But Gail seemed to know where she was going.

"So, uhm, what are you looking for exactly?" he asked, slipping his hands in his pockets. At least he hadn't forgotten his wallet. But he wouldn't use his credit card or the vendors would immediately know it was him. So he was paying with cash, that day. He also looked around him, but people didn't seem to see them or recognize them.

"A dress for the National Day Party," she said.

Nathan frowned. "Don't we have designers, seamstresses, and stuff at the Palace?"

"Yes, but I don't like what they do for me. They're always trying to make me look, prude. I'm not."

Nathan snorted. "That's an understatement."

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing. I just– Should we also get some food along the way?" he asked, seeing the Pretzel shop at the entrance of the Mall. Gail followed his gaze and nodded.

"Hell, yeah," she said. She went directly for the Pretzels and they both ordered the biggest they could buy. It was crispy and warm and salty, and absolutely perfect.

"Dang it. Why doesn't the cook do things like that?" Nathan complained. "So, what's the next stop?"

"There," she said, pointing at a random dress shop.

"That's not Designer."

"Nope. But so much better." She paused. "I need a red and white outfit."

"Why?" he asked, following her inside once they had finished their pretzels.

"Because most of the girls are doing a red, white, and blue themed party, and if my project is chosen, then I'll already have my outfit." Nathan noticed how out of place she looked in this dress shop dressed as she was, but she didn't seem lost or out of her element. From the corner of his eye, he saw Otis filming discretely with his phone.

Nathan walked along the clothes sections and went directly to the men's department. Maybe he'd find an outfit for himself?

"Nat– Dude, come here," Gail said. She didn't want to call him by his name in the store.

"Dude? Really?" he asked, smirking.

"Yes, well, we didn't decide on code names," she whispered. "Here, come with me and tell me which dress you like best, okay?"

"Uh, sure…" he followed her to the fitting room, where he waited just outside. A few minutes later, Gail came out in a Red and white dress – the top was covered in white beads bleeding on a red skirt.

"What do you think?"

"Wait, lemme take a picture so I can compare." He snapped a picture of her and then she went back inside. Three times she came out for him to take a picture and comment, and Nathan was actually having fun. In the end, she came back dressed in her 'normal' clothes and they sat on one of the plush sofas in the shop. They went through the pictures and Nathan told her which one he had preferred, and she agreed, so she bought it.

They went to several other shops – shoes, accessories, and whatnot – and Nathan also came back with things he had bought for himself. No one recognized them, and Nathan was living as a free man for the first time in his life. He relaxed as the afternoon wore on, and they ended up in a nearby coffee shop sipping iced coffee and talking about random things.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on with your dad or not?" Nathan said after a small break in their conversation.

"Yeah, I can tell you," she said. She sipped on her iced coffee and sighed. "Okay, so I told you my adopted dad was actually my biological father, right?"

"Uh, maybe," he nodded. "Yeah, I think you did."

She twirled the remaining coffee in her plastic cup, thinking of how to start her story. "I was happy with my family when I was a kid," Gail said. "But then my step-dad was arrested for, uhm, drug dealing. Me and my family, we had barely enough to survive. So I decided to find my biological father, James Correll, the Governor of Calgary, and I told him that I would expose his dirty ass for cheating on his wife, which ruin his political Campaign. He wasn't governor, yet, at the time." She paused, sipping her drink. "I asked him for money in exchange of my silence."

"And did he accept?"

"More or less. He came up with the idea to spin the tale in his favor: that 'he and his wife would adopt a poor orphan girl out of the kindness of their hearts'. So then I had to play the part. As long as I was a good girl, Cinderella, dragged to political events, the money would keep coming, and I sent everything to my family."

Nathan nodded. He had no idea Governors were such asses. "And then what happened at the Ball?"

"Oh, that?" Gail chuckled. "That was just me getting back at him and breaking off our latest deal: as long as I didn't tarnish the Correll name, the money would keep going. But now that I have the money from the Selection and I'm making a name for myself, I don't need him anymore." She flashed him a fake smile and finished her coffee. "Besides, I might become a princess, anyway. And if I don't, I'll be famous enough to be able to provide for my family without the help of anyone."

Nathan smiled at her. "I don't doubt that one second."

For the first time since the beginning of their weird date, Gail looked at Nathan and smiled. She really smiled. "Thanks."

-o-0-o-

"Ooh, another date, Val?" Nevaeh said when she saw the young prince heading upstairs with a pink rose, that evening.

"Yeah," he said with a grin. "I called the LA Soup Kitchen organization the other day and said I'd be coming tomorrow with one of the Selected."

"That's nice. Let me guess: the only Selected who's into volunteer work would be Evelyne?" Nevaeh tried to be neutral in her voice, but apparently it failed.

"Yes. Look," he said. "I know you don't particularly like her, and I don't know why because she's really nice, but could you at least be a little nicer to her?"

Nevaeh scoffed. "When have I not been gracious with any of the selected Valerian?" she asked, lifting her chin. "And I don't hate Evelyne. She's just… so nice. And so tall."

Valerian laughed at that. "Well, you should have eaten some soup when you were a kid, it helps us grow. Worked with me."

Nevaeh smiled at that. "I can see that. Go ask her out, then," she continued, waving him away. She had an evening planned out for herself, thank you very much. An evening that included a movie, a face mask, and a new manicure.

Val nodded and was on his way before he stopped and came back. He wrapped her in the warmest and softest hug. "Thanks for everything you do, Nev."

Nevaeh awkwardly hugged him back and before she could say anything, he was gone upstairs. What had she done to the Universe to have such a soft and kind cousin in her life? She must have done something good, right?

-.-

The next day, before the end of the girl's lesson was over, Valerian knocked on the 'classroom's' door and waited. Ashia opened the door and beamed at the prince.

"Hi!" she said. "Your Highness," she quickly added with a little curtsy.

"Hello Ashia," Val replied with a warm smile. "I'm here to pick up Mia for our date?" He looked around the room and missed how Ashia's smile faltered a little.

"Yes, I'm coming!" Mia said with a bright smile. She got up from her seat and left everything as it was – papers, pens, magazines, scissors – and grabbed her handbag. She was dressed in a burgundy pair of capri pants ending just above her ankles, a white t-shirt tucked into it, and a gray plaid blazer on top. She was wearing black kitten heels and her hair was let down in soft curls down her back. She walked out of the room under everyone's watchful gaze and then a minute later, Val and Mia were in the car, headed for the poorer part of LA with a bodyguard and Sydney.

"I have to admit that I've never done that before," he said. "But I thought it'd be a good time to start."

"Volunteering?"

"I mean, Soup Kitchen." He paused. "I volunteer periodically where there's a need here or there, like when they're a hurricane in the south-eastern Islands, but I've never done it in LA."

Mia smiled. "I go to a soup kitchen at least two or three times a month, back home. Unless I'm gone overseas to volunteer in Africa, but that's maybe like a month a year."

"Wow, you really do that a lot," he said, impressed.

"Yeah." She smiled at him. "I read this quote when I was around nine years old: 'If you're blessed, help out those who are less fortunate' and it just stuck with me ever since."

"Huh. That's actually a cool quote." Val smiled as the car turned into the part of town he had never gone to before and he looked outside. If he looked quickly, it didn't really look any different from the rest of Los Angeles. Unless you looked more into details, and then you started to see things: cracks in walls, overflowing trash bins, rats scurrying here and there, people who didn't look like they had new clothes every other week, and even some beggars sitting against building walls of the sidewalk. Valerian realized that he had it really easy. He already knew that, but seeing this part of town made it even more real and extreme.

The car stopped in front of a relatively clean building where a group of people was already forming a line, and the bodyguard with them went in before them to make sure this was the place and that it was secure. It was, and the couple went in.

"Good morning and welcome to the LASK, Your Highness, Lady Williams!" the man responsible for the organization said when they walked in. He shook hands with Valerian and Mia, unfazed by the fact that he was the Prince.

"Hi, I'm really glad to be here," Val said.

"Well, we're happy to get all the help we can get," the man said. "My name is Chris, and I'll show you to your stations."

Chris gave them plastic aprons and gloves and positioned them at the end of the line. There were other volunteers who asked for pictures with the prince and Mia, and the general mood of the room went up a few notches. A few minutes later, the door opened and the line of people came in for maybe their only hot meal of the day.

During the whole service, Val and Mia kept a genuine smile and chatted with the people. Half of them didn't care he was a prince because what was the Monarchy doing to help them? Not much. Nothing, really. The queen was so bent on getting that Alliance treaty with New Asia, but what was she doing for her people, the one who was just outside her front door?

That gave a lot to think about for Val, and when they had finished serving the food, they helped with the dishes and cleaning up, chatting with Mia and the others. After that, they went back to the car and decided it was time to go eat their own lunch in a small restaurant where Val had reserved a table. It was a beach restaurant, and they ate on the terrace, outside, with the sound of the waves and the wind on their faces.

When their food arrived, Valerian was torn. On one hand, he was starving – it was already 3 p.m. – but on the other, he had seen misery. Who was he to eat a fancy meal on the beach after serving in a soup kitchen?

Mia didn't seem to have a problem with it and had already started eating.

"How do you do it?" he asked. "Mix in with the misery out there and then just go on with your fancy life, eat at restaurants, fly first class, buy expensive stuff?"

Mia had to finish chewing before replying. She shrugged. "I'm used to it, and to be honest, helping the less fortunate brings me some kind of satisfaction." She paused. "I know that may sound weird, but I like helping and giving. I can't change the world for everyone. But I help make the world a little better for some people."

Valerian nodded and pushed his food around on his plate. She was maybe a rich girl who could help occasionally. But he was a prince: he could do more, right? Or at least talk to Silas about it. Maybe he could do something about it when he's king... Right?

His stomach growled in frustration: there was food right in front of him yet he didn't eat? What was wrong with him? Reluctantly, Valerian started eating, too.

"You'll get used to it," Mia said. "It's not like you can change the entire world. Do it at your own level."

"That's the thing," he said, washing down the food that seemed to taste like ash with some water. "My level is super high since I'm a prince. I could do much more!"

"That's right, you could," she said. "But you're also working towards a Master's Degree at University, and you'll be able to do much more with that."

Valerian snorted. "I don't need a degree to serve food in a soup kitchen." He shook his head and sighed deeply. Lots of things were going on through his mind. "And it's not with a degree in Environmental Resource Management that I'll be able to help these people."

"You'd be surprised," Mia said. "Maybe not in LA, but definitely in other places." She paused thinking. "Dominica, or the Islands where you already go. Or Africa, if you want to go farther."

Val shook his head. "I'd like to stay in Illéa and improve our Kingdom."

"That's very noble," she said. "And you must be the only student with access to the Queen and the future King: there are lots to be done in Illéa, trust me."

Valerian totally agreed with that. "I'll have better luck with Silas than with my mom. For now, she has her eyes on New Asia and making foreign Alliances. But I think Silas might be more inclined in making Illéa better from the inside, you know?"

They continued chatting as they finished eating, then went on a long walk on the beach, continuing to talk about volunteering, what could be done to better Illéa, and so on. By the time they arrived back at the Palace, it was almost time for dinner. But Valerian had really enjoyed himself at the LASK – Los Angeles Soup Kitchen – and with Mia who had lots of interesting ideas he would definitely need to suggest to Silas at some point. But first, he had to write them all down so he wouldn't forget them.


Hiiii! Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed those three dates! what did you think of them?

There's something I forgot to say in the last A/N: Thank you Moon for giving me Ivy, she was really fun to work with ;)

next chapter there will be one more elimination, but before that, there will probably be another Article with Selected Interviews on Saturday! If you want to help out with that, let me know and I'll send you some questions for your OC ;)

I can't wait to read your reviews! thanks for your support ;) Byeee see you next week! (and keep an eye on the IG account, I'm regularly posting stuff there^^)