Chapter 6: Breakfast
Prince Jax smirked as he waited for his brother to appear, invisibly.
Finally, Philip slowly walked down the hallway, carefree and with a smile, even though it was one in the morning.
When he reached his bedroom door, Jax took that moment to make himself appear, causing Philip to jump and let out a small scream.
Jax laughed while Philip glared at him. "Really?"
"Yes, really," he laughed. "Where were you?"
Philip regarded him with a raised eyebrow, "and where were you? You weren't in your room, either."
"I asked you first," Jax countered. "Hey, you weren't with that Princess Andrea now, were you?"
"It's 'Andi,'" he mumbled.
"So you were," the Crown Prince grinned, "seems that my little brother has moves."
"Oh, shut it," Philip growled. "And I bet you were with Princess Emma, weren't you?"
"I was."
"Well, did she like you?"
"I don't know," he shrugged, "she didn't say."
Philip rolled his eyes, "well no woman actually tells a man what her feelings are first. She waits for the man to do it."
"I kind of told her, I mean I said that she caught my attention."
"And what did she say?"
"She asked me whether or not it was a good or bad thing. I replied that it all depended on how she saw it. I left after that, without giving her my name."
"Why didn't you give her your name?!" Philip demanded.
Jax smirked, "I want her to wonder, to dream about who that 'mystery man' could possibly be. Because I know she doesn't think I'm the Crown Prince."
Philip sighed, "must you always play these mind games?"
Jax chuckled, "have you forgotten who I am? Mind games are my specialty. Come on, let's get to bed. I have to be up for breakfast tomorrow."
His brother's eyes bulged, "you mean you're coming tomorrow? I thought-"
"I changed my mind," he grinned, cutting him off. "I want to spend some time with my princess, as I know you want to do with yours."
Philip's cheeks turned pink. "I-ah-"
"See, I know I'm right," Jax gave a smug smile, "tomorrow morning I'll send an escourt for Andi, with a message telling her to go to 'the Prince's study' instead. Waiting for her will be breakfast!"
"But, where do I come in?" Philip asked, confused.
Jax grinned devilishly, "I said that breakfast would be waiting for her."
Philip's eyebrows lowered, then his eyes widened when he understood his brother's words.
Jax laughed at his expression as he shut the door to his room.
...
Princess Mia stared at herself in the mirror, lips pursed in concentration.
"Listen Mia, keep your eyes on the prize. Prince Jax is that prize. You have to have a good match, marry a prince with wealth and power; Jax is both of those things. My kingdom needs a powerful ally; we're too small and vulnerable to attacks." She frowned as she whispered, "that's how my parents were killed."
She sniffed, glancing down at the vanity's surface. Quickly, she looked back at her reflection, "Dad always said to marry wealth with power, and I'm not about to break the promise I made to him to do that. I will not be distracted by a mere escort. That's all he is, an escort."
...
A knawing feeling was inside Princess Emma's stomach. She nervously twisted her fingers, biting softly on her lower lip. She had a feeling something was going to go wrong during breakfast; something was going to happen.
She wanted to know, yet not at the same time.
Emma took a deep breath, then let it out with a gentle 'woosh.'
"You're acting crazy, Emma. Just calm down, everything is going to be fine. After all, it's just breakfast, right?" She stared hard at her reflection in the mirror, "right."
...
A knock was heard at the door, Andi groggily rubbed her eyes as she stumbled out of bed.
"I'm comin," she muttered.
The knocking only increased in volume and length.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" she shouted angrily. Putting her slippers on, she got to the door and almost ripped it out of the hinges as she opened it.
"What?!" she hissed.
The shorter, older man looked scared. "I-If you p-please, Your Highness, go t-to the Prince's study in the-the A wing."
Andi arched a brow, "isn't breakfast in the dining room?"
The older man bowed, "I only have my orders, Your Highness."
Andi shrugged, "sure, why not?"
...
Princess Madeline, or Maddie, was awake about an hour earlier than everyone else. She liked to use this time for horseback riding, and was eager to find the stables.
She found a back door out of the castle that led to the gardens. She looked around, then noticed a gate leading out of them. Smiling, she took that route.
In the near distance, she was able to see a medium-sized wooden barn. Maddie hiked up her dress and raced toward it.
When she got there, she was trying to catch her breath, when a man's face popped into view.
The princess screamed.
The man jumped back a little, "woah, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you!"
"Who are you?!" she demanded shrilly.
"I'm Diego, the stableboy." His brown eyes twinkled, "and I'm guessing that you're a princess?"
She scoffed, "I'm not just any princess; I'm Princess Madeline Elizabeth Victoria Van Pelt!"
Diego smiled as he bowed, "I apologize, Your Highness. I knew not to whom I was speaking."
She rolled her eyes, "no matter. Now fetch me a horse, stat!"
Diego, not knowing why, smiled as he complied. Usually he hated the snooty princesses, always thinking they were goddesses instead of mere humans, like everyone else. However, he couldn't help but be intrigued by Princess Madeline Elizabeth Victoria Van Pelt. Her loose blonde curls first drew his attention, then her striking clear blue eyes. Her lips were full and pink, and her curves were displayed wonderfully in her dress. However, when she actually opened her mouth...
Diego sighed as he opened the door to his horse's stall; Zephyrus. Smiling, he pet the horse's mane. "Hey, boy. Today you're going with a princess instead of me. Be careful with her, alright?"
The horse gave an upset snort.
"Oh, come on. It's only for a day. And there's carrots in it for you if you bring her back in one piece," Diego grinned.
This time it let out a whinny.
"Good boy," he smiled. "Come on!" He led Zephyrus out of the stall to Maddie, stopping in front of her.
"This is Zephyrus," he motioned to the black horse, "he's gentle and calm, he'll behave and won't throw you off or anything."
"Good, because I'd have your head if it threw me off," she replied with a curl of her lips in disgust.
"I sincerely hope that doesn't happen, then," he spoke sarcastically.
Her eyes narrowed, catching on to his tone. "Good."
Maddie started to climb on, when Diego offered her a hand for assistance.
"I am perfectly capable of getting atop a horse," she huffed.
He stepped back, "I meant no offence, Your Highness."
Suddenly, Zephyrus tilted sharply to the right, knocking Maddie off...and into Diego's arms.
Shocked, she stared into his brown eyes. He looked back into her blue ones with the same surprise.
That is, until she regained her senses. She glowered, starting to squirm. "Ew, get off me! You could have horse droppings on you!"
Diego glared at her as he set her down, "you're welcome for preventing your fall."
"How dare you!" Maddie hissed.
He bowed, "my apologies, Your Highness," he bit out.
"Never mind, I do not wish to ride today," she said, turning around and walking back towards the castle.
The stableboy smirked, "I hope to see you again, Princess!"
She didn't respond.
Diego placed a hand to his forehead, checking the temperature. Figuring it wouldn't hurt, he applied a little coolness just in case he had a fever. Because how else could he actually like Princess Maddie?
...
Princess Emma made her way downstairs with her escort, who wasn't Daniel this time. She didn't mind too much, it was just that she was happy that she had a friendly person to talk to and now he disappeared.
She was even more unhappy when she saw Andi wasn't present.
Wait.
Emma mentally scolded herself. How could she be so selfish? There could be something wrong with Andi...or worse, she was disqualified.
No, she couldn't be disqualified, someone would've known. It would've spread to the other girls. Then again, no one talked to her, so she wouldn't know.
She tapped a servant on the shoulder. "Excuse me, could you tell me if Princess Andrea is still in the castle?"
He tilted his head, regarding her question with confusion. "She is, Your Highness. She wasn't disqualified, she is just having breakfast in another room."
"Where?" She couldn't help but ask. "Why?"
"I am afraid I am not allowed to release that information. I humbly apologize, Princess."
He bowed, leaving her to go back to the kitchen. A bit annoyed, she took her usual seat without anyone next to her.
Where is she?
"Good morning, Princesses!"
That voice sounded so familiar. She saw some girls release quiet gasps. This made Emma pick up her head, and she was stunned by the sight.
"Good morning, Prince Jax!" A girl greeted with too much pep.
Prince Jax. The man from the painting. The man from last night.
"You've caught my attention."
She nearly gasped as her heart sprang into her throat.
His eyes travelled around the room, stopping only when he found Emma.
He grinned, giving her a wink.
She was too astonished to say or do anything.
Jax seated himself at the head of the table, calling a servant over. He whispered in his ear, just as the others were bringing out the food.
Emma was about to take a bite of her pancake when-
"Excuse me, Your Highness."
Resting the fork back on her plate, she turned to face the servant. "Yes?"
"The Prince requests your company," he looked towards the unoccupied seat by Jax. When they made eye contact, he sent her a mischievous smirk.
Princess Emma couldn't speak. Why was he doing this? Was he trying to embarras her? To make the other girls hate her even more? Why draw attention to her like this?
She numbly nodded her consent. Wordlessly she rose and walked to the chair while the servant put her plate in front of the new place.
The other princesses weren't subtle in their envious and hateful gazes. Well, except Maddie. She merely rolled her eyes and returned to her food. Emma felt that Mia's eyes could burn her.
When she sat, she kept her eyes solely on her breakfast. Cut, stab, bring to mouth, chew, swallow. She had to keep up this process if she wanted to get away unscathed.
"So, Princess Emma, how was your night? Did you sleep well?" Jax asked innocently enough so others would only regard it as casual conversion. They were the only two there who knew the real meaning behind the question. And it made Emma's cheeks redden.
She cleared her throat, answering without looking up. "Very well, thank you."
"You know, you should see the portrait hall. It has paintings of all of Alaok's past rulers, and current ones. In fact, mine is right across from my brother, Prince Philip's," he smirked.
Now he was making her feel stupid by not knowing who he was, making it look completely obvious. Maybe it was, but she didn't care, as she was beginning to become riled up.
"Actually," she replied calmly, "I believe I have already seen your portrait. The face was a bit smeared."
The princesses gasped while Jax's eyebrows rose. It was then that Emma truly regretted her thoughtless response. What if she got eliminated?
Then Prince Jax smirked, "in that case, I'll see to it that it gets fixed."
A/N: I'm so sorry for not updating for all this time, I've been SUPER busy these last few days. With prom, hanging out with friends, graduation, and college prep, I haven't had the time to post.