After observing Androma's reaction to Zebenia's innocent question, Adam spent the rest of the evening watching how she interacted with the rest of the party-goers. She fawned over Adam and his parents and was charming to the other nobles, he noted, but she ignored everyone else unless she was commanding them to do something for her. How have I been so blind over the past few days? Adam thought to himself. The little caresses she gave him now seemed less loving and more possessive, and he noticed that she administered them far more whenever their parents or another female was around. Was she trying to prove something? As midnight approached, Adam started to panic. He couldn't kiss Androma.
Luckily, Adam was fairly sure Androma didn't know the custom (at least, he hadn't told her about it), so he hoped she wasn't expecting a kiss at midnight. Still, his body was tense as she snuggled next to him as his father started his year-end speech. As soon as the countdown reached one, Adam quickly turned to his other side and pecked the middle-aged housekeeper standing there on the lips, much to her surprise. Nonetheless, his stomach was in knots as Androma pulled on his arm so he would lower his ear to her mouth level. "You don't want to be left out, do you?" she practically shouted in his ear and he felt nauseous. He turned slightly to tell her he was fine but she reached up on tiptoe and managed to plant a kiss on the side of Adam's mouth. Adam instinctually recoiled.
"I'm sorry," he gasped.
"Don't be," she said with a broad smile. "I enjoyed that very much."
Given the awkwardness of what had just happened, Adam decided she must have liked the idea of kissing him more than the actual act. He pushed his hair out of his eyes, casting about for a way out. "Well, it is tradition. A couple of years ago I kissed the head butler's 80-year-old mother."
Androma opened her mouth, then closed it. Adam decided he had had enough for one night. How could tonight have turned out so different from what he expected? Citing exhaustion, he delivered Androma to her mother over both their protests, excused himself, and left before anyone could hint that he should escort Androma to her chambers. As he briefly bid his parents good night on his way out of the party, both looked at him with concern. He scowled, not wanting their pity or interference. His night already had been ruined enough without his parents prying into why he was leaving so early. As he walked out of the room he looked back at all the people dancing and laughing. Adam felt himself flush with anger and self-pity and trudged back to his room.
"You're back early," Cringer noted, opening a single eye as Adam entered his room.
"Yes," Adam said shortly. He'd hoped to be kissing a beautiful girl at midnight. He'd hoped this year he would stay awake to toast the dawn with her. Now, though, he just wanted to be left alone. He tossed his clothes in a corner, shrugged on a nightshirt, and curled up in bed. Scenes from the evening kept flashing before his eyes, though, and sleep took a long time to come.
XXX
The next morning Adam woke well before his noon meal with his parents and felt at loose ends. He took a run around the palace perimeter to clear his head and, on the way back to his chambers, peeked into the ballroom. The room was a mess, with dishes and cups strewn everywhere, but some bread from the sunrise breakfast was still on the buffet tables. He cut a slice and ate it as he wandered about. The tables and the floors – as well as some of the walls – would need a good scrubbing and the whole room smelled a stale combination of sweat, meat, candle smoke, and wine. He opened the doors to the garden and wandered out. He walked for a while, thinking of all the fun other people had had last night and feeling sorry for himself, then headed back to his rooms to wash up.
Shortly before noon, Adam went to his parents' chambers, carrying his presents. The guard at the door looked a little tired but gave Adam a hearty Solstice greeting as he announced Adam's arrival. Adam walked into his parents' solar, which already had a tray of sandwiches made from the previous nights' roasts as well as cheese, fruit, and drinks. Adam poured himself a glass of lyberry juice and settled back into one of the sofas before the fire.
His mother came in from her room wearing a tunic and leggings and no jewelry or makeup. Her excuse was that the maids had the day off, but Adam suspected his mother would prefer to dress like this all the time. "How late did you stay at the party?" he asked conversationally.
"About two hours after you." Adam raised his eyebrows. In recent years his parents had left shortly after midnight. "When your father joins us, we'll discuss why." Marlena did not appear to be happy or conversational. She was silent as she poured herself a juice and finally asked, a little too casually, "Did you sleep well?"
"Uh, not really." Adam looked down at his glass, then set it down and busied himself with fixing a sandwich. Luckily his father then entered, also casually dressed. Even though his waist had thickened slightly, he still had the broad chest and muscular arms and legs of a warrior, a fact usually hidden by his heavy royal robes.
Randor avoided his son's gaze as he fixed himself a plate of food, then settled himself next to his wife on the sofa opposite Adam. Adam then knew something was wrong – they only sat in this configuration when they wanted to have a serious talk. "Uh, what do you want to talk about today? I thought we were supposed to be having a friendly family get-together, like usual…." Adam's voice trailed off.
Marlena looked at Randor, who cleared his throat a few times. This almost was as bad as the discussion about sex they'd have five years previous. "Son, I'll come straight to the point. What are your intentions concerning Androma?"
Adam stared at his father. "Ummm…nothing?" he finally stammered out. His appetite suddenly gone, he put down his sandwich.
Both his parents frowned. "Then why did you spent most of the past few days – including last evening – with her?" his mother asked. "And ask her to help with the presents?" his father followed.
"My feelings toward her have changed," Adam answered, then filled his parents in on the interaction between Zebenia and Androma (turning red as he explained the ear in the tongue that spurred it), his attempt to distract Androma, and her refusal to leave his side the rest of the night. His parents listened with furrowed brows.
When he was done, Marlena turned to Randor. "I told you he couldn't be serious about her," she said. She turned back to Adam. "I wish you'd told us what happened, though. Lady Jena is practically ready to schedule your engagement party. And after you left, Androma spent much time telling me about all the things she admired about you and all the compliments you paid her throughout her entire visit – and about your midnight kiss."
Adam closed his eyes and groaned. "I might have told you before I left, but you were giving me these 'we're really concerned about you, son,' faces when I left and I just wanted to escape instead of having to talk about it. And even if I had started talking to you, she would have appeared at my elbow, asking about how I was feeling. I couldn't shake her." He opened his eyes.
Marlena inhaled and exhaled slowly. "Well, at least we have the excuse of your age and the wine when we explain to her parents that you just were trying to be a good host and, in your overzealousness, you inadvertently may have given her the wrong impression." She gave a sharp look at Adam. "And you'll have to explain the same to her."
"I have to talk to her about this?" Adam whined. "Not today, I hope?"
"Yes, today," Randor replied. "After we're done with our family festivities. I don't want to drag this out any longer than needed. They really do seem to think that you're ready to propose, you know."
Marlena smiled gently at Adam. "It's an old psychological trick that Lady Jena and her daughter are using. If they plant the seed by talking about you as a serious couple, and doing everything to create a physical image of you two as a couple, then you and everyone around you will start thinking of you as a serious couple."
"I think it started to work on me, too." Adam felt like an idiot. "Ugh, keep me away from all girls, then, if they're going to do that," he moaned and flopped back on the settee. His stomach rumbled and he set back on his sandwich with a renewed appetite, knowing that this whole Androma thing would be over soon.
XXX
As planned, Adam went back to his parents' rooms after his meeting with Androma. As he sat in the quiet solar, he felt increasingly uneasy – his conversation with Androma had been a difficult one, and he wondered how much trouble he'd gotten his parents into. Of course, his father was king, but it would not do to have stories circulate of the Crown Prince's leading on and breaking the hearts of young noble women. Finally his parents arrived back, their faces stony.
"Mother, Father, what happened?" he blurted out.
"Well, we managed to get you out of the engagement that never was, but Lady Jena is a difficult lady to dissuade. Let's just say I am glad we never let you and Androma go anywhere without at least two other people accompanying you," his mother replied, sitting down heavily on a sofa.
Adam felt bad for questioning his mother's judgment over the last few days. Had Capsim's family really arrived less than a week before? It seemed so long. "I'm sorry I ever protested about that. Did she try to claim I did something inappropriate?"
"She hinted at it, but she never dared to make an outright accusation that you physically compromised her daughter in any way. She did accuse you of leading on Androma and said you would break her heart if you told her she wasn't your future wife."
Adam sighed heavily. "That's exactly what Androma said, and she cried a lot. But I stayed firm, like you said, and eventually she just got mad and started throwing books and chess pieces and I had to ask a guard to escort her back to her room."
"Well, let's hope that was the end of this unpleasant episode," Randor said. "Adam, we are going to have some coaching sessions before any more eligible young women visit."
Adam nodded vigorously. "I never want this to happen again." He stood up to go. "Too bad all girls aren't like Teela. I never had to worry that just being friendly would make her swoon over me."
His parents exchanged glances. "Raising you with such an independent female companion may have worked against us," his mother admitted.
"Thanks again for getting me out of this. And now I hope we can enjoy the rest of the day in relative peace," Adam said, taking leave of his parents.
Adam spent the rest of the day on target training and reading a few books he had on his bookshelf. He didn't want to go back to the library again so soon after the confrontation there. He shuddered and hoped that the next time he had to deal with Emittaun, Androma would be safely married off to the lord of some remote island. Or maybe even one of the moon dwellers? Adam grinned to himself, trying to imagine Androma living in one of the colonies.