Katarina shoot up almost immediately after the professor announced the dismissal, grabbing her bag and quickly packing up her stuff. The less time she spent in the classroom, the better.
It is with great joy, however, that she begins to feel Alan holding a cold, stiff, and utterly annoyed stare from across the room. She looks upright and shoot him a condescending grin, making sure all her pearly white and straight teeth are shown while she holds the paper up so he could see.
On top of the paper was a giant A+, that stood for an 98% grade. The grey-haired prince gives her a mocking smile as he grabs his own bag and heads on the direction of the door. He tries to make a quick exit before she shows up in front of him, hands in place each ends to trap him from going out.
No such luck this afternoon.
"Sorry, Your Highness, I'm still not done rubbing it in your face just yet." She quips, smiling at him and quickly patting his shoulder.
Alan gave a pity groan. "I swear to the gods, Katharina. One of these days, I'll have enough courage to actually ram through you."
She gives him a shrug, lifting her hands away from the door ends and letting him pass through, but she insisted in following him as he went about.
"So, new bet." The duke's daughter proposed simply.
He lifted his eyebrows in questioning. "What the hell else do you need, monkey girl? Humiliating me is not enough for you anymore?"
Katharina hums as the both of them matched footsteps.
"Silly question, old man. Humiliating you is never enough for me. However…" She segues while dragging the last word out "This time, I promise it doesn't require you humiliating yourself."
"Yeah, right." Alan said, his voice full of scorn. "The last time you said that, I ended up having to imitate a duck on the hallway by Lady Hunt's dorm room. You're either lying, sick or in love with me."
She shoved him in response. "First, if you had done it right, she wouldn't have caught you. You brought it upon yourself, dickhead. Second, I'm not lying nor sick. Last but not least, third, never, Alan. Believe me. Not ever."
Alan let out a scoff, then put his arm on her shoulder, patting her softly like a toddler.
Yet again, the brunette shoves his arm away from her body and put some distance between the two of them.
"Deal or not deal? We have a quiz on Thursday and I'd love the sweet taste of victory. Again." Katharina says with full confidence.
"What do you get if you win, and what do I get if I win?" He asked suspiciously, looking down on she with his full lips pursed.
She smirks evilly, and he is almost sure that a shiver runs up and down his spine.
"What do I get when I win? You will set me up on a date with your brother, Prince Geordo." She said with a smirk up at him.
It was as if someone had pinched the youngest prince on both his cheeks, turning red on cue as the words escaped her mouth.
"What?" He asked, voice shrill. "Ha! What? You and Geordo?"
He felt like mocking her choice endlessly. A dark feeling emerges in his heart, clearly feeling frustration over missing out on a chapter. He tried to gather his composure, but it did not work and his cheeks only turned even redder.
"Since when have you fancied the one person that is even more insufferable than you?" He asked with scornful incredulity, as if it felt both impossible and a very crime against nature.
Katharina, however, does not take much offence from his response, only shrugging.
"I mean, everybody fancies Prince Geordo of Stuart. Besides, we did chat a few times. He was pretty nice and it should not hurt to give it a try." She responded earnestly, but ever so casually.
Alan had to furrow his brows and move closer to see if she were messing with him as usual, but her expression was completely placid and put together, something that it is rare to see in such a spirited person as Lady Claes. It did not seem like scheming to him.
Alan faltered just a little, as a wave of sadness hits him.
"Alright, then." He agreed. "But if I win, you forget about him. I want you to promise to never, ever approach him with this intention ever again."
It was not clear to Katharina then, how he said it with such a low and dark tone of voice. As if he was hoping she would not question it, but it was so weird after all that she could not help herself.
"But why…?"
Alan interrupted her just before she finished, putting a finger in front of her face to silence her and then shoving his palm to the soft line of hers, pressing them firmly against each other in a handshake.
"Deal."
Thursday arrived in a flash, and Katharina still could not figure out why Alan wanted so much for her to forget about Prince Geordo. He could ask for quite a lot in turn, as she is shamefully desperate, but no. That is what he wished for his victory.
Maybe it had something to do with his brother's admittedly sinister attitude at times, but it must be said that he had been pleasant to her in the few times they have actually talked. In fact, he was quite friendly, even if a little taciturn and distant. So, to her, it was a questionable motive, and the younger twin has never come out to protect her or anything.
Not that it mattered. She is bound to win their duel, as she always did. She shook the disturbing thoughts from her head and quickly got ready for the day.
Katharina walked inside the classroom, already locking eyes with Prince Alan, who had tired and droopy eyes and his hair was more mussed up than usual.
Weird, Lady Claes considered. Alan is not the type of person to go around all prim and proper, but nothing to this extent. Besides, she did notice the absence of that smirk of his growing bigger with misplaced confidence. She shrugged it off anyways, though, as the wearier he became, the better for her.
She is serious about this bet. She has been feeling quite alone these past few months, with her being away from her mother, the only other meaningful connection she had in life, and locked at the eternal war of position she fought against her second cousin.
The only people she has to talk is Sophia Ascott, who, due to her albinism, is quite reclusive, and Prince Alan. Though, she supposed, the teen boy does not count, as he was only there to torment her, after all. Always showing in front of the doors of classes he did not even attend, only to hold a stack of well-marked papers in some sort of duel he fought all by himself.
Katharina chuckled at the memory. Her relationship with the prince was quite weird actually, but it was also a sort of calming. It was hard to explain, but the ease of being with him was unlike anyone she has ever been with. Yes, he likes to go on and on about how easy the latest quiz was, casually flexing his ability to finish it in less than 30 minutes.
"Record time, I must say." His words, not hers.
However, he also unintentionally keeps cheering her on, always encouraging her to work harder on the quizzes, pushing her to do her best.
So, maybe, if she thought about it… Wait, no. No. Stop thinking about him, Katharina. Gods, get your head out of there. Focus, woman!
She quickly pulls herself together, glancing again at Alan as she took her seat next to Sophia. She shoots him a proper smile, watching the apple of his cheeks blend red as he bites his lip to lock shut.
Katharina could have sworn Sophia let out a small chuckle next to her, but before she could question it, the teacher had already charmed the papers to float in front of each student. A fountain pen and an ink pot appeared on their desks, conducted by the conjured wind.
"You may begin, students."
She took a last look at the prince, dipped her pen inside the ink pot, then began writing as soon as her brain finished reading the first question.
