Malina toyed with her food, uninterested. Breakfast had been not as enjoyable as she had planned it to be. She looked up at Kuzco across the table. His apathetic disdain for peasant food had not changed much, but a devious smile remained on his face.
¨Malina.¨ Her father had shot a heavy glare at his soon-to-be son-in-law. ¨It´s all right if you go.¨
Malina remained silent, moving her fork along the edges of her plate.
Kuzco had stood up. ¨You heard your pops, Malina. A litle sun bathing would do good for the both of us, that´s for sure,¨ he looked at his arms with vanity.
Mia scoffed. ¨Yeah, maybe some of his ¨royal arrogance¨ would rub into you. Think of the good you would do to the world.¨
Malina had stiffled a comment and sunk herself in thought.
At least his arrogance is loveable at times.
Putting her plate away in the pottery sink, Malina turned to stare at her fiancee cheerfully, at the sudden warmth of her table, and at her own family´s presence. It was going to be ok, for now, if she let guard down.
¨Ok, Kuzco. I guess a little fresh air would be fine,¨ she said.
¨That´s the spirit, Malina.¨ Kuzco responded, curling a smile in his lips.
¨Don´t go too far.¨ Malina´s mother had cautioned them kindly.
Both Mia and Kuzco had spurt a quiet snort.
...
¨You know, I never understood what your dad had against me.¨ Kuzco remarked, passing a large stone made patio table. The day was quiet, wet and solemn. The remnants of yesterday´s storm had tainted the crop´s lushness.
She looked at her sandals. ¨He´s my dad, Kuzco. Of course he´s going to be overprotective.¨
¨I bet if I would have been Ramon, he would have been happy.¨ Kuzco noticed the distant gleam of Kuzco Academy across the mountains.
Malina frunced impatiently. ¨He never even met Ramon, so how would you know?¨
¨Senor German thinks he´s so perfect with his fancy accent...¨ he imitated him.
¨Kuzco, it doesn´t...¨ Malina interrupted.
¨...being better than me, stealing my Malina...¨
¨Kuzco!¨ Malina had tugged on his hand with strength. ¨It was nothing, ok?!¨
He scanned his head toward her gaze. ¨That´s not how you acted when you were all over him.¨ he resented.
Malina lowered her voice. ¨Ramon meant nothing. If it was anything, it would have been lust.¨
¨Hmm,¨ Kuzco smirked. ¨Lusty Malina.¨
¨Point is...¨ she said, ¨you don´t need to worry about him, ok?¨
Kuzco put his hand at her waist, feeling the smoothness of her skin. ¨Him? So there are others?¨ He hid his amusement.
¨No. Of course not.¨ Malina acted defensively.
¨That´s what I thought,¨ he said confidently, wrapping firmly. ¨Mine.¨
The lake was at arm´s length, through foliage that separated the village from the jungle. The Incan river had dropped here.
Kuzco insisted that Malina join him. She refused, protesting that she wasn´t expecting a dip, and honestly, the water looked mucky for her liking.
¨Suit yourself.¨ He had slipped out of his poncho and garments, sporting a red floral printed pair of shorts.
Malina had always thought that Kuzco could have used a few extra pounds to her liking. She never was much for scrawny men.
Her gaze remained fixed on his heaving chest agaisnt the water though. His brown complexion glistened softly in the sun, along with the droplets in his face. His dark eyes irresistibly speckled along his broad smile, his hair sticking to his neck.
She cooed, the water dripping down his arms. She walked towards him.
¨I guess if I just dip my feet..¨she said, cautiously.
Kuzco tugged at her arm playfully, unfortunately the mud had been set precariously at her feet. She slipped, face forward into the water.
¨Hey!¨ Malina yelped shortly.
She rose, protesting loudly against the cold of the water and her flat hair. A muck of gunk lingered on his cheek. Kuzco giggled nervously, taking it off.
¨See? I told you it wasn´t all that bad...¨
¨ That´s not funny,¨ she snapped, giving her patented stare.
¨Calm down.¨ He said. ¨You look much more better than I do anyway.¨
Malina spat water, pushing him playfully against the rocks.
¨So, I guess this means we can make ourselves more comfortable,¨ he said casually, slyly slipping his finger through Malina´s sleeve.
¨Don´t push it,¨ she warned.