"I can't imagine why. A lot of people would get really tired cooking day after day after day for every meal." Lacey snorted. "I admire your perseverance." She smiled slightly at the end of his words. "Well, people can act however they want. Everyone views themselves differently, and tries to act in a way that makes other people like them… or something. I don't know." She shrugged uncomfortably.
"I find it relaxing, and quite fun," He replied with a shrug, the same hint of a smile on his face, "I do understand that it's not for everyone though." Kohen stood and walked to the cookies as he continued to speak. "That's very true. Do you act like someone you're not?" His tone was curious, and almost teasing as he picked up a cookie with the spatula and brought it to her, a tiny smile on his face.
Lacey took the cookie and returned his grin. "Of course not. I'm perfect enough as it is, so why would I need to act like someone I'm not?" His question made her pause and consider… did she really act how she was at heart? Maybe? She didn't want to think about it right now, not in front of a guy she barely knew. If she ended up trusting him more, then maybe she would talk about herself, but she didn't right now.
"That you are, Princess Lacey." Kohen nodded and his smile grew, "I won't pry further. But I will ask for your opinion on the sugar cookies?" He pulled himself back up onto the counter, sitting back next to the princess. It was then that he finally yawned for the first time, checking the time and chuckling, "We should both probably get to bed soon. Before the sun comes up."
"Who needs sleep?" Lacey asked with a chuckle. She bit into the cookie and smiled. It was really, really good, and she shovelled the rest into her mouth as fast as she could. Again, not ladylike, but she didn't care. "This is amazing!" She said. She didn't normally like cookies that much, but these were enough to make her change her mind.
He laughed and did a small bow from his spot on the counter, "I'm glad you like them, I put a lot of pride into my baking." Kohen stood and motioned to the remaining cookies with a smile, "Do you want me to put the rest on a plate and you can have them?" It was clear that he was indeed happy she liked them, and he seemed more confident now that he knew the princess at least liked something about him, even if it was just his cooking skills.
"Sure! I might take them to my room as sleeping medicine." Lacey grinned happily. The cookies were fantastic, and she was instantly craving more. Maybe, if he failed the Selection, she could make him her personal cook, because these were heavenly. She hopped down from the counter, pulling her thin jacket back over her arms, from where it had been laying next to the door of the pantry.
Kohen nodded, pulling out a plate from one of the many stacks and starting to load the rest of the cookies onto it, "I hope they work, you should rest before meeting the rest of the headaches called competitors." He handed the plate off to her once the cooling tray was empty, a soft smile on his face, "I had quite a nice time meeting you, Princess Lacey, I hope we can do it again sometime." If he wanted any chance at waking up at a decent time in the morning, he knew he would have to get to bed soon, but that didn't stop him from wanting to spend more time around the princess.
"They're not just headaches, they're migraines," Lacey said with an eye roll. "I don't know how I am going to do this without smashing something." She took the plate from him with a smile, one that she rarely showed anyone else, and turned to leave. "It was nice talking to you too. I might be able to arrange another conversation later." As she walked back to her room, she realized that tonight, she had spent several hours with two guys, and had enjoyed every minute of both.
(Time skip?)
(Sure, to the next morning or further along?)
(Hm… maybe a bit further along. I can start it if you'd want, so you know the basics of what Lacey has done the past few days.)
(Okee! Give me a few minutes!)
That night, Lacey had finished the cookies almost instantly. There had been none left by the time she got to her room, which made her very sad.
There hadn't been another opportunity to make out with- I mean, *talk * to Alex, as she had been busy with some stuff with her father, meetings and such, and talking with the other men.
She had talked to all of the other guys, and some of them weren't interesting at all, or didn't try to be polite, or were trying too hard. She had made an entire list, and so she eliminated them all. By this point, there were about a dozen candidates left, and she was bored. There wasn't enough competition between the guys, which was what she wanted. So she had an idea as to what to do. And so when she walked into the dining room that morning, she had a devilish grin on her face that would make anyone worried.
Alex and Kohen had surprisingly stayed out of trouble, and that was saying a lot. Over the past few days, Alex had tried his best to spend more time with Lacey, but there was no time that they seemed to be alone at all. And so he was stuck thinking up more flirtatious comments.
Kohen on the other hand spend a significant amount of time baking, though he was forced to give his creations out to the competitors and workers instead of trying to give them to Lacey. The amount of time he spend working on them was clear too, as it wasn’t unheard of to see him walking to his room an hour before the sun came up covered in flour and smiling happily.
Both of them were in the dining room that morning though, chatting and laughing as Lacey came in. Alex simply grinned at the look on her face, even if it wasn’t directly for him. Kohen seemed a little more worried, but he still shot her a soft smile before returning to eat his food.
Lacey met eyes with Alex and her grin grew. She sauntered to her usual spot at the table and flopped down onto the chair. The King and Queen were currently having some private time together, which they so rarely got these days, and so she was alone with the men, besides the guards and servers, of course.
"Good morning, gentlemen," she purred, clasping her fingers together and putting her chin on them. She leaned on the table, smirking at all of them. "I've decided, now that I have gotten to know you all, that we need to spice up the competition a little. What do you all think?"
Her words were met with confused faces from a few of the men as well as a variety of nods and shrugs. Alex was one of the ones that shrugged, a daring grin on his face. Whatever Lacey has planned, he knew it was going to be good.
Kohen on the other hand looked slightly confused before he nodded, looking up from the muffin he was currently eating to listen to her. The look on her face was almost worrying. He didn’t really want to know what she had in store for the men, but a hunch told him that he wasn’t going to be able to voice his opinion. Obviously.
The reactions that came with her words were varied, and Lacey smirked. She met Alex's eyes, saw that he was excited, and winked at him before looking at the other guys.
"There will be several stages in this competition I will be making. This first contest is a scavenger hunt. There are items hidden around the castle, which, I'll tell you now, is enormous. Everyone needs to get their own materials from the scavenger hunt and then bring them to me. Whoever has the most items wins, and whoever loses gets eliminated. Teams are allowed, to help find more. The first three winners get a date with me and $10,000 sent to their family, besides the monthly check."
Alex immediately glanced at Kohen, who shot back a confused look and nodded. While the first male looked excited, Kohen just looked nervous, though he somehow mustered a tiny smile up as he glanced at Lacey. They were going to win, Alex could feel it in his bones. Even if he had to pull Kohen to a victory, he was going to earn them the cash and a date with the woman in front of them.
Almost instantly, the rest of the men seemed to speak between each other, some clearly teaming up while others stayed alone, all plotting what their game was going to be. First they would have to find out the items though.
Lacey smirked. This was how the men should be. Fighting over her. She snapped her fingers, and a servant came around to pass out a short list.
The list had four things on it, all written in neat script.
One: something that glows.
Two: something that I will enjoy.
Three: an item that, taken from any other place, would be considered stealing.
Four: something pure.
She had made the list purposefully vague, to frustrate them.
All of the men quickly took the offered lists, scanning over them with various reactions, most of confusion and more quiet whispers. Everyone seemed to be confused by the items on the list, even Kohen, and Alex seemed to only understand a few of the clues.
Alex looked to Lacey once he received his list, a proud and curious look on his face as he scanned it over. Quietly, he folded it up and slipped it into his pocket. "Princess Lacey, if you don't mind me asking, when does this scavenger hunt start?" He was sure to keep his words formal and calm, ever the gentlemanly look on his face, "And how long will it last?"
Most of the men focused back on the moment at hand when Alex spoke, seeming to all have their own questions that they (surprisingly) seemed to be waiting to ask. No one wanted to interrupt the princess or seem rude enough to butt in with their own questions.
The looks on the men's faces were so frustrated, which made Lacey grin wickedly. She quickly smothered it before anyone noticed, but the glee was still racing through her.
When Alex asked the question, she smiled and smoothed her hands along the edge of the table. "Well," she said, "I was thinking that it would only take a few days, but with your confused looks, I'll give it a week." Her smile grew. "And it starts as soon as breakfast is done."
It was good that it would be starting soon. She would be going to see what they were all doing and what was going on, but for the most part she had work to do.
(I swear I replied to this…anyway, here's a response)
Alex seemed a little curious about the timeframe, but from the other reactions from the men, they seemed relieved to have an entire week to search. Some started to eat quicker, but Alex continued to take his time, thinking over the questions as he smiled at Lacey. She was a tricky woman. But already, he was having more than the time of his life trying to win her hand.
Kohen seemed relieved as well, but he simply nodded, looking over to Alex. Reluctantly, he followed his example to take his time. The few extra minutes of eating wouldn't put them ahead or behind the others that far. He fiddled with the list in his hand for a moment, reading over it slowly.
"Is there any parts of the castle that are off-limits when we're searching? Besides the royal suits?" One of the contestants asked, one of the ones that had hurried to eat the rest of his food.
"No, there isn't. Although, if you go to the abandon wing of the castle, I'd be careful. No one has lived there in over a century." Lacey smiled.
The abandon wing was one of her favorite places to go. It was quiet and peaceful, and the men might be able to find something on the list there. But hey, if they didn't pay any attention to the things there, it would be fine. Just more difficult for them.
The contestant nodded, setting back to finishing his food as Alex smiled.
He wasn't quite sure if Lacey was telling them strictly to stay out of that wing of the castle, but now that she had brought it up, he was going to visit it. Maybe it didn't have clues, but it had to be interesting. "When can we start searching?" Alex asked calmly, tucking his clue sheet into his pocket with a smile. He still had a bit of food to finish, but from the way most of the men seemed to be at the edge of their seats, he figured asking wouldn't hurt.
Kohen stayed quiet, letting Alex take the question as he ate, in no rush as long as his new partner wasn't in a rush. After all Alex seemed to know what to do, and they both seemed to have a similar goal…at least in the aspect of staying in the competition.