He moved his fingers to uncover an eye, looking at her. "No, no it does not. And I've dealt with these ladies before, and they're a boring bunch." He scrunched up his face and dropped his hand, blowing out a breath. He didn't even know why he had agreed to this nonsense. All it did was grind against his nerves all day.
"Is there no way for you to get out of it?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at him. He was dramatic, sure, but if she had been in his place, she wouldn't be all that excited either. She could at least try to offer an idea for alternatives, right?
He sighed. "Besides getting swept up by a different girl—or girls? No, no there is not. I agreed to this with only a limited amount of requests. I can't back out with my mother breathing down my shoulder and a bunch of girls ready to go crying for her if I do so much as say their dress color looks a little off."
She grew quiet, nose scrunched as she thought. "Well….I could always offer to 'sweep you up', or something. Just to get you out of it." She offered hesitantly, looking up at him.
Rhydar raised his pierced brow in question. He didn't expect Lily to offer that, considering that she didn't exactly seem that enthralled with being around him. It wasn't specifically anything she did, it was just a gut feeling that he couldn't seem to shake.
Lily looked back down at her feet, rubbing the back of her neck. "Er-you know what, forget I mentioned it." Mistake mistake mistake. Why would you do that? You'll just end up carrying the guilt of not killing him around with you.
"Ooookay?" he said, then looked to Cinthia and Wolf. "I need to go before they claw my eyes out for being late. Wish me luck, and save me some sweets." They nodded and waved goodbye, and he pushed off the counter to leave. As he passed the cupcakes, he picked one up and took it with him to eat.
Lily waited until he was long gone to speak again, her conflicted thoughts mirrored on her face. "I should be off, I still have to figure out how to get to a few more places." She shot each of them a small smile, lifting a hand in a wave as she headed to the door.
The twins exchanged a look, then bit her farewell as well as they continued to work.
Rhydar strolled through the halls, hand stuffed in his pockets as he procrastinated as much as he dared. He was the Crown Prince—he could be as late as he wanted. Actually, as Kora liked to say, a royal was never late. Everyone else was simply early.
((Good ol' Princess Diaries))
Lily sighed once she was free of the kitchen, allowing her feet to take her wherever. She needed to breathe, and regather herself. If she couldn't, the consequences would be worse than death. You can do this. For your family. You have to.
"Rhyyyyydaarrrrrr!"
He winced at the shrill, twin calls, then hurried his gate to make the two girls shut up. Why oh why did he agree to this torture? He'd much rather be with a girl that didn't care for dressing up and batting her lashes at him like some loony with eye problems. A girl that wasn't all prim and proper and didn't expect him to be either. A girl that didn't cling to him like some parasite just because he was a prince.
He sighed softly, dropping his head. He paused and leaned against the nearby wall, sliding to the floor with his legs lazily sprawled before him. He knew that his dream girl was impossible. But he could still dream, right? That's what they were for—to keep you looking for something close enough to perfect.
Would this nightmare ever be over? Being owned by other people, never knowing what had become of her family? Hope was something she knew not to get too attached to, but she couldn't help it. The alternative was something she didn't want to face, or even imagine as a possibility. This is the last time you let someone pull this. Then, you can be your own again.
She was so lost in thought that, once again, she failed to notice Rhydar. Though this time, she at least didn't literally run into him. She had already passed him when she paused, looking back to make sure she had, in fact, seen him. "Are-are you alright?"
He jerked his head up, eyes slightly unfocused before he blinked up at Lily. Then the bright green cleared up and settled on her. "Hmm? Oh, yeah. I'm just…" He waved his hand around lazily, unable to come up with an excuse for why he was sitting on the floor. "Sitting here," he finished weakly, dropping his arm onto his lap.
He shook his head, licking his lip ring. "So what're you up to?" he asked her, drawing his knees up slightly and resting his arms on them as he looked up at her.
The haunted look in her eyes faded slightly, but lingered there a bit as her eyes flickered to the metal in his lip for just a split second. "Wandering, hoping I can memorize the halls to avoid getting lost again." She said, shrugging a shoulder as she fiddled with her sleeves. "Although, at this point, sitting on floor is looking quite appealing."
He snorted. "I'm avoiding the girls, if I'm being honest. Just hearing their voices makes me cringe." He scrunched up his nose and imitated their shrill butchering of his name. "'Rhyyydaaaarr'. Ugh." His lips twitched up in amusement when he was done, suppressing a smile. "They'll make my ears bleed within five minutes."
Her lips twitched, shoulders relaxing at the easy flow of the conversation. "I'd much rather lose my ears than have to listen to that. Your poor ears." She half-cooed sympathetically, shaking her head as a tiny smile flickered onto her face.
He flashed a lopsided smile. "Aye. How long do you say I have until they start prowling the halls for me?" he asked her with a hint of amusement. He didn't mind her seeing him down on the floor, being about as unprincely as he could be in the castle as he hid from two girls and a tea party. He actually welcomed the easy conversation.
She tilted her head, pretending to think. His smile was nice, for sure. "Hmm…not too long, since it's obvious they really want to get a hold of you." She pointed out, her fiddling slowing to a stop as she rested her hands at her sides. "Chances are, they're already looking for you."
"Damn…" he pouted slightly, clicking his rings together thoughtlessly. "I guess I really should get going, then. Don't want them finding you talking to me. They'll rip you apart, no doubt." He sighed and dropped his head. "Be grateful for my suffering, Mother," he muttered as he pulled himself to his feet.
"Believe me, it takes more than nasty words and glares to affect me." She said, lips quirking into a small and wry smile. "My recommendation? Go out if you can, and say you had an errand to run. Or find somewhere they're less likely to go."
He pointed at her. "There's an idea. I'm probably gonna go riding for some time," he mused, tapping his lips thoughtfully. "Kaspa might want to go for a run again." He nodded and offered Lily a half smile. "Thanks for the idea. I might use that more often."
"I have the occasional decent one from time to time." She joked lightly, her smile loosing the wryness and adopting more of a warm tone. "It should get you a few good uses, until someone figures it out. Longer, if you're careful."
He chuckled and cracked his knuckles, shifting his weight back and forth. "Bail now or later? Decisions decisions." He twisted his lips as he thought. "I think I'll bail now. I hate tea, and I just don't have the mental energy to deal with them." He winced as he heard them calling for him, the voices even closer this time.
"Go, go." She said, making a shooing gesture with her hands. "Before they find you. If need be, I'll hold them off for just a bit. Tea is the absolute worst, so hurry along." She flashed him a full smile this time, paired with a wink, probably the most emotion she'd shown.
He grinned at her and gave her an exaggerated bow. "Your sacrifice will be forever remembered," he said with a matching wink, then turned and booked it.
He no longer made it around the corner when two women rounded the opposite bend, dressed in vibrant dresses that were tight along the torso, with their breasts pushed up into their faces, and extremely poofy from the waist down. Their ribs had to of been getting crushed with how tight the things were, but they didn't seem to notice as they marched through the halls. One spotted Lily and addressed her with this look that said she thought she was better than Lily. "Excuse me, but could you tell us where Prince Rhydar is? He's due to have tea with us."