Hi all! Sorry for taking so long! I got busy with my online class (I HATE Macroeconomics), family stuff, losing inspiration to write, and was reading more fanfics, than writing. I know, bad me...:( Anyways, I feel this one will make up for the wait. It's my birthday, and my present to you guys is this chapter! Sorry for making you wait, so enjoy some very special Phoenix and Wilfred time, with a dash of Claude! SO R&R!

I was still standing there talking to Claude. Prince Wilfred wouldn't allow him to care for his flowers? Yet he's letting me?

Claude lowers his eyes. "For Prince Wilfred to say that when he never asked me..."

I stare at Claude. "What?"

Claude regains his composure. "However, if he says you're allowed to, then maybe, there is some kind of reason for him to deny me."

"Um, Claude. I think it was more of Prince Wilfred wanting to make me happy..." I trail off as Claude begins to glare at me.

"I don't think it is appropriate for you to keep referring to His Royal Highness as 'Prince Wilfred'." Claude says.

"He asked me to the first day I was here." I explain.

"His Highness did?" Claude seems at a loss. "Miss Adele, you and His Highness have become close in a short amount of time." Claude states.

"Yeah, I guess. I wouldn't say we're close-close." I feel like a kid saying whether I like-like someone.

"As you may have noticed His Highness keeps more to himself. So for him, I would say you two are close." Claude says.

"Are you afraid I'm going to hurt him or something?" I ask feeling unsure of where he's going with this.

"On the contrary. You shouldn't try to go beyond friendship with His Highness, otherwise you will just be hurt." Claude answers with a smile. I really don't like how he's smiling while saying that.

"I can assure you, I have no intentions of anything more than friendship." I tell him honestly. How could Prince Wilfred hurt me?

"Good. I will see at dinner. The King and Queen are still away. " Claude answers then leaves. "Don't be late." Claude calls to me.

I know its childish. But I stuck my tongue out at his back. Then turned to go to my room.

~)~~~~

I was actually the first one to the dining room. I was 30 minutes early, but being there before Claude was enough satisfaction for me. Hah! Tell me not to be late! I'm here before you!

I sat at the table and listened to the bustling going on behind the closed door. The kitchen was on the other side. Mmm. It smells great!

It was another ten minutes before Claude came in. He stopped when he saw me sitting in my seat. I made sure to have a smug smile on my face.

"Miss Adele, you're early." Claude sounded way too surprised. Hey! I'm not late to everything! Actually, I'm very punctual on a daily basis. You're late by ONE MINUTE, and he has the nerve to think you're always going to be late!

"You said not to be late, and I wanted to make up for yesterday." I inform him.

"Very well. His Highness should be here shortly. He's been coming earlier than usual, to ensure he's here before you." Claude says.

Aww. That's sweet...Wait... it's probably impolite to leave your guests alone. Now my being early will make Prince Wilfred feel bad. Damn! I can't win!

Just as Claude said. Prince Wilfred came in minutes later. He looked surprised too, at seeing me there. "Forgive me for leaving you alone. I hope you haven't been waiting long." Prince Wilfred says sincerely.

"No, I haven't been waiting long. I just wanted to make up for being late yesterday." I tell him with a smile trying to let him know I'm fine.

"You weren't really late. I told you you were fine." Prince Wilfred says.

"Still. I felt bad about it." I say.

Before Prince Wilfred could say anything else, dinner was served. We ate in companionable silence. As I was eating, I looked over and noticed Prince Wilfred was scooting the carrots out of his food. Does he not like carrots?

As I was thinking this, Prince Wilfred looked up from his plate at me. He quickly looks away, kind of like a little kid, and I can see the tips of his ears are red. Uh-oh. I've embarrassed him, because I noticed. He really doesn't like them.

"You know, -" I was going to try to make him feel better.

Prince Wilfred suddenly stands. "Claude."

Claude had already moved forward when Prince Wilfred stood. "Yes, Your Highness."

"Some wine." Prince Wilfred says.

"Understood." Claude answers with a bow.

Prince Wilfred looks to me. "Will you take some wine, Phoenix?"

"Wine?" I ask. I'm actually a very light drinker.

"Do you not drink?" Prince Wilfred asks.

"Of course I do. I am partial to some alcohol, and actually prefer wine." Hopefully, this stuff isn't too high. I can't trust myself drunk; I might let my secret slip.

Prince Wilfred seems pleased by my response. " Claude, the Chateau Petrus." With that said, he sits back down.

Claude bows. "Yes, Your Highness." He leaves and soon returns with a bottle.

Claude is about to pour the wine into the glasses, when Prince Wilfred says, "Claude."

Claude freezes. "...Yes, Your Highness?"

"You need not do any more. Leave us now." Prince Wilfred commands. What is going on? What is he thinking?!

"Your Highness...?" Claude stands rooted to the spot shocked.

"I said leave. Did you not hear me?" Prince Wilfred says with more force and stands. Whoa.

Prince Wilfred goes to take the bottle from Claude. "I will pour the wine myself."

"B-but..." Claude was really shocked, I could tell. It's ridiculous how most of the time I'm upset/mad at Claude, then these things happen and I feel bad for him. Why? Why must I be such a caring person?! I wish I knew how to handle this situation, but I have no idea!

Claude seemed to get a hold of himself, though I could still tell he was flustered. He made a hasty bow. "My apologies, Your Highness. Please excuse me." Claude then made a hasty exit.

As I watch Claude leave I can see Prince Wilfred pouring the wine out of the corner of my eye. I see the red liquid pour into the glass. Red's my favorite, but that means I can't have too much, or else I'm screwed.

"Is that all right?" I ask as I look at the door where Claude left.

"I did tell you earlier..." Prince Wilfred smiles as he finishes pouring the wine.

"What?" I can't remember half the things he said in his office. He had me too flustered to remember what he was saying.

"...Not to worry about it." Prince Wilfred says.

I bite my lip to keep from saying something wrong. I just look at him as a strange look comes across his face.

"What's wrong?" Prince Wilfred asks.

"I'm sure Claude is doing his best to take care of you..." I start.

"You're still hung up on that?" Prince Wilfred asks.

"Hung up?" I ask back.

Before I could say any more, "I want to enjoy the wine. Don't spoil it." He says and hands me my glass. I look at the red liquid in the glass, then to Prince Wilfred. "Please, drink." Prince Wilfred says.

I take the glass from him. I gently rock my glass so the liquid sloshes around in a circle. A sweet smell wafts up to my nose. I honestly can't recall the last time I had some alcohol. It seems like forever since I was going out to clubs with my friends in Charles. I should have had some before now.

I take a sip to get a taste. This is delicious! It had a fruity flavor. I take another bigger sip.

"Do you like it?" Prince Wilfred asks watching me.

"Yes. It's great." I say with a smile.

"...See?" Prince Wilfred nods with a smile.

I know what he's up to...trying to make me forget about what just happened. It's gonna take a few more drinks before I start to forget. I felt as if he had read my mind, because as soon as I finished my glass, he refilled it. This stuff must be pretty high in alcohol content. It's only my second glass, and it's already getting to me. I can feel myself start to ignore my voice of reason. As we drank, the atmosphere became more pleasant. Is this my third or fourth glass? This reminds me of a song...

"You can really handle your drink well." Prince Wilfred says.

The alcohol had already gotten the best of me. It was only a matter of time and a little more alcohol before I blacked out. Even though I knew that in the back of my mind, I blissfully ignored it. I had enough alcohol courage in me to ask Prince Wilfred something I've had on my mind.

"Why are you so kind to me?" I maintain eye contact as I ask.

Prince Wilfred stared back at me. "Why am I so kind...?" He murmured. It seemed more like he was asking himself. My heart started beating faster under his gaze. "I've been asking myself that same question. I don't really know why." Prince Wilfred answered honestly.

To distract myself from his eyes, I poured myself another glass. I hoped by breaking eye contact he would look away also. But when I glanced at him as I took a sip from my glass, he was still looking at me.

"What? You're staring at me so intently." I decide to call him out.

"I can't help it. You're a very captivating person, like no one I've ever met before." Prince Wilfred answers.

"Really?" I stand up and start to go around the table towards Prince Wilfred. "Is that because I'm a commoner? If so, you should get out more." I have no idea where this is coming from! I've never been a flirty drunk before.

Prince Wilfred let out a laugh. "There is nothing common about you, Phoenix."

I was right by him. I started to lean down towards him, and as I was, I realized I was going to kiss Prince Wilfred! He seemed to realize it too, and it looked like he wasn't going to stop me. Oh no! Why am I going for the kiss!? ... Oh, I don't feel so good. I closed my eyes and felt myself starting to black out. Before I lost consciousness, I heard Prince Wilfred worriedly call out, "Phoenix!" and felt warm, strong arms around me.

~)~~~~

Uhh. Why is my head killing me? I could tell I wasn't lying in a bed; it felt more like a sofa. It was firm, yet smooth to the touch. I cracked my eyes open to a dimly lit room. It looked to be a sitting room. This isn't my room. This looks like... I sat up and looked around.

"Are you awake?" I heard Prince Wilfred's voice come from behind me. I turned to see him sitting in the chair next to the couch. He had his glasses on, and a book was sitting in his lap. Prince Wilfred smiles, "Did you enjoy your nap?"

"Umm...yes." As I answered the memories of what occurred earlier came flooding back. Oh no! The wine! I can't remember anything after the first glass! What did I do?! What did I say?! I could feel the color drain from my face.

"You gave me quite a shock. One moment you're fine, then all of a sudden you passed out and fell." Prince Wilfred removed his glasses as he spoke.

"I am so sorry!" I cover my face in shame and bow my head. I don't think I've ever felt so humiliated in my life! And there have been quite a few, but this one takes the number one spot.

I feel a hand start patting my head. Huh? I look up. "You pushed yourself to keep up with me. I should be the one who's sorry." Prince Wilfred says.

"No, it's not like that-" I start to try to explain how my behavior was terrible.

"You should have warned me you were such a light drinker. You were drinking so much, I thought you could handle it." Prince Wilfred says. He stopped patting my head, but didn't remove his hand on my head. Why does his touch feel so good?

"Sorry. For future reference, cut me off after three. Unless it's high alcohol content, then only let me have one." I tell him.

"You really are a light drinker!" Prince Wilfred laughed.

"I'm sorry, I only ever drink low alcohol contented drinks. It's all I ever could get my hands on and that I liked." I say with a small smile.

"Would you like me to get someone to bring you a cup of tea?" Prince Wilfred asked.

Tea? I can barely stand the stuff as it is. I shake my head roughly and regretted the action. "No, I'll be fine. I'm sorry for causing you trouble." I say as I look over at the clock on the mantle. 12:13! It's a lot later than I thought it was. Has he been by my side this whole time? I tilt my head as I look at him questioningly.

"Hmmm? Would you prefer some early morning coffee?" Prince Wilfred asks completely ignoring my questioning look. I must have one hell of a hangover or I must still be pretty drunk, because Prince Wilfred looks as if he is giving me a seductive look. Prince Wilfred... seductive?! My heart started pounding hard in my chest. What is wrong with me?! And WHAT was in that wine?!

"Ex-excuse me!" I quickly bow my head, leap from the couch, and run out of the room towards my own.

This night just keeps getting worse. I can't believe I drank til I passed out, and with Prince Wilfred there! I just need to get to my room so it can be over without further incident. Almost there!

"Don't run!" An angry male voice yelled from behind me.

I skidded to a halt and turned to see an angry Claude. DAMN IT! I looked up at the ceiling. Why God? Why do you hate me right now? I then let my head drop in shame. I really didn't want a, probably hours worth, of a lecture right now. I peek over towards my bedroom door only a few feet away. So close!

"Sorry." I say not looking at him. I felt like my mom caught me with my hand in the cookie jar, only she would be way more forgiving than Claude.

"What are you doing here at this hour? A lady should not be out of her room, running around in the middle of the night. Above all others, Phillip Kingdom puts the most importance on manners and tradition! As much as you are a guest, your thoughtlessness in running about the castle at night is nothing short of shameful!" Claude fumed as he came closer.

He's right, and if he knew where I was and why he'd be even more angry. So I guess I deserve this. I feel my face turning red and my shoulders droop even more. I just want to curl up and die right now. "I'm very sorry."

Claude sighs, "At first, I was courteous towards you as I had heard you were a friend of Lord Micheal... But it appears you do not even know the first thing about manners."HOW DARE HE! My head snapped up at those words.

"You don't even know me. One, you have not been very courteous to me. You've made me feel like I was a problem since I walked through the castle doors. Two, I know plenty about manners. I even had to take a stupid class! For the record, I graduated as top of that class." I have never felt so insulted.

He was surprised by my reaction, but soon got over it. Claude looked even meaner as he said, "Really, they must not have been a very good school."

"It was. It just didn't teach us how to act around royalty." I said through my teeth. Oh, this is bad. My head is killing me, and all he's doing is making it worse by talking and aggravating me. But he deserves it. I was surprised by the little voice in my head. It doesn't matter if he deserves this! This isn't the type of person I am.

"Excuse me Miss Adele, but what sort of background do you exactly come from?" He was still mean about it. I could feel him wanting to make me feel bad about where I come from; he has no idea.

"You want to know... I'm the-" I was ready to just tell him my secret and get him to respect me, damn it! I have HAD it!

But before I could continue, another voice cut me off. "Who are you to ask her that?" We both turned to see Prince Wilfred a little ways up the hall, making his way towards us. "She is a guest of Lord Micheal... and she is welcome to stay here by the grace of the King and Queen."

Claude shrunk back and bowed deeply. "M-my apologies, Your Highness."

Prince Wilfred came and stood beside me, putting his arm around my shoulders. What?! My heart started to race. His arm tightens around me, and as he speaks his voice resonates beside me. "If anything like this ever happens again, I swear, I will not be lenient. Remember that." The ice in his voice even made my heart stop some.

I could see Claude was visibly shaking. "Your Highness..."

"Your word, Claude." Prince Wilfred commands firmly. As their gazes meet, Claude bows again.

"Yes, Your Highness. I swear it will not happen again." Claude says quietly.

Prince Wilfred gives a small nod and makes a dismissive hand gesture. "Good. Now leave us."

Claude looks as if he wishes to say more, but rethinks that idea. "Yes, Your Highness." Claude bows again, and walks away.

Man, I'm sick of this emotional roller coaster with Claude. I always get mad at him, and when I'm at my wits end, Prince Wilfred shows up and puts him in his place, making me feel bad for him. I can't take this. I just want to go to bed. Especially since when I last saw Prince Wilfred... OH NO!

I straightened at that thought, and bit my lip. I didn't want to look at him so I kept my eyes on the path Claude left.

Prince Wilfred starts laughing, making me look over at him. "Let me guess, you're worried about Claude this time too?"

I avert my eyes. Well, yeah. Although, I'm starting to get worried about what is going on between us.

Prince Wilfred sighs. "Hit the nail on the head, huh? You're quite the busybody Phoenix..." Huh?! Hardly! I turn my face to look at him shocked he would say that about me, only to see he had moved his own face closer to mine. He seemed to be looking into my eyes trying to figure something out.

"Or, you just care too much." Prince Wilfred says, bringing his hand to my cheek and drawing his face even closer. What is going on?! My heart started to pound even harder and faster in an excited anticipation.

Everything was telling me, he was going to kiss me on the lips. I was worried by that fact, but even more shocked by the fact that I was okay with it, and somewhat wanting it to happen. Time seemed to slow done at this moment, as the distance decreased.

Will Phoenix and Wilfred have their first kiss? She really shouldn't drink. :D Mwah hahahaha! Anyways, hope you liked it! I know I did. Next chapter is going to be fun, hopefully Claude doesn't murder Phoenix!

Please, Please review! I'll take anything you got to give me! I would like to thank those that already do, you guys really help me know that people are reading this story and liking it! And you give me inspiration and let me know that I'm on the right track.

Also, the more reviews I get, the more I want to write the next chapter. So the more reviews I get = the sooner the next chapter comes out. (Though, if I get one out within the next two weeks, I will be very proud of myself. At the beginning of this chapter, I said I have a class that has become the vein of my existence, I'm on the last two weeks, so I will be focusing on it a lot. Sorry in advance.)