forum Private RP with @gracehustle

Started May 04, 2020 by @PrettyLittlePyro

tune

"Whenever you're done eating. Unless, of course, you'd prefer to search while eating." Lacey shrugged.

No sooner had she said that than several of the men stood up, holding pieces of toast, or just leaving their plates there, and left the room. Looking around, the princess noticed that there weren't many people working together. When she saw that Kohen and Alex seemed to be partners, however, a smirk grew on her face. Both of them knew something that she would enjoy, so it wasn't as fair for most of the other contestants.

Oh well.

Alex watched as some of the men stood up and left, a tiny smile on his face. Most of the others were rushing to finish their food, and while he wasn't taking his time while he ate, he wasn't scarfing it all down. There was plenty of time to look for things to match the criteria that the princess had given. He wasn't too worried about the few minutes he was losing to finish.

"Should we get going?" Kohen asked as he looked around, his plate already picked clean. Quietly, he fiddled with the sheet of clues, reading it over as he waited.

"Yeah, we should," He replied, a tiny smile on his face, "In a minute." Alex stabbed the last bit of his food with his fork and shoved it into his mouth, setting the fork back down easily. He nodded his head towards the door, wiping his hands off on a napkin before standing. Kohen followed his lead, offering a gentle smile towards Lacey while Alex grinned and offered a playful bow before turning on his heel and leaving.

Most of the other men were already gone, going to search for the things the Princess wanted as soon as possible. So none of them noticed when she favored Alex and Kohen with a slight smile and a wink. They would think it was favoritism.

Well… maybe it was.

She looked over the remaining men there, most of them with panicked looks on their faces. She did her best to remember names.

Jake, Logan, Phillip…

"Hey, you. Robby," Lacey called to one of the men who seemed the most frightened and confused. A kid a few years younger than her, it was a miracle he made it into the Selection in the first place.

He looked up. "Y-yes, your highness?"

"A date. Once this is all over, I'll spend some time with you, even if you don't win. You're the lucky winner." She winked at him.

The poor kid was so startled he spilled grape juice onto the white tablecloth, and flushed beet red.

By the end of the week, Lacey was exhausted, and very glad she had sent her suitors on a hunt. She had pasted her usual act on, but with all the work and meetings she had been a part of in the past few days, she was exhausted. War was brewing on the borders, and there was a lot to debate about how to deal with it.

She sat at the breakfast table, exactly a week from when the announcement she had made about the scavenger hunt, give or take a few minutes. All of the men were eating, trying to act casual, but sending her glances. She smirked at them when they did.

Finally, she spoke. "I assume you all have the things I asked for?" She said.

Silence.

She laughed lightly. "If you don't have all of the things needed, then go to the wall on the far side. I'll talk with you later."

About half the men stood and did as she asked, snagging plates of food as they did. She surveyed the other half, and a smile curved her lips. "We'll go down the line."

Alex and Kohen had spent the week scouring everywhere for the perfect items, and it was quite clear in their slightly disheveled appearances. Alex's usually perfect hair was mussed, like he had rolled out of bed into his seat, and his eyes held a tired playfulness, like he was expecting to win.

Kohen looked similar, though with his hair sticking on end, it looked more like he had gotten zapped by a lightning bolt. There were faint bags under his eyes, but he looked excited as well, though in his own gentlemanly way.

Both looked up when Lacey spoke, glancing between each other while they ate. Alex grinned and stayed in his seat when she split up the group, almost relieved for their spot near the end of the line. Kohen looked more nervous, but he focused more on his food than the contest as she started going down the line.

(Agh, sorry, I thought I responded to this!)

Lacey wondered if the first few men she checked even tried. Something that glows, a flashlight. Something she'd enjoy, a dress that made her want to vomit. An item that, taken from any other place, would be considered stealing, an egg. From the kitchen. What- And something pure, a photo of a baby.

She rubbed her forehead as if it pained her. "You are both idiots," she said to the three men, who looked incredibly sad at the pronouncement. Then again, she wasn't known for being nice. "Will you please try next time?"

She moved on down the line, a headache throbbing between her eyes, until she got to Alex and Kohen. "Well?" She asked, a grin on her face.

Alex and Kohen waited patiently for their turn to present what they had found, each holding a different expression. Alex looked confident and cocky, proud of what they had gathered, while Kohen looked slightly nervous but put together. Their items were laid out under a cloth, sitting on a tray that Kohen held gingerly in his hands.

"I think you'll like at least one of our items, Princess Lacy," Alex spoke, taking the lead as he usually did, "We looked long and hard for the perfect items, though you'll be the judge of that." Reaching under the cloth, he continued, "To start, slightly backwards, something pure:" He pulled out, with a playful grin, a glass of water, speaking before she could object, "Pure, distilled water." His grin didn't falter as he set it back on the tray and continued, "An item that, taken from any other place, would be considered stealing:" Once again, he reached under the cloth, this time pulling out a bouquet of vibrant flowers, "Flowers, given by one of the gardeners. Ordinarily, it would be considered stealing to take from someone else, especially someone from the palace."
He paused for a dramatic moment, holding out the bouquet to the Princess and smiling an uncharacteristically gentlemanly smile.
"Continuing on, Something you'd enjoy. This time, we have two items, one from each of us."
Alex pulled out first a small bowl of chocolate chips, then a plate holding cookies that one could only assume one of them had made, "Chocolate, and cookies, made by Kohen." Setting them down once more, his smile only seemed to grow as he drew out the dramatics, making a scene of checking his watch before continuing, "And to top it off, something that glows. It should be here right about now." He grinned at her, before pointing towards one of the window around the room, where the morning sun shone in brightly and cast a bright glow around the room. "Only the best for the princess. The sun."

Lacey hid a smile at their introduction. She took the flowers, admiring the color - they were all shades of red, yellow, orange, pink, and blue - and watched as they displayed the rest of their things. The cookies made her eyebrows lift, already imagining how delicious they'd be, and the chocolate almost made her grin. Almost. When they displayed their last prize, she didn't bother to hide the glorious smile that spread across her face, of pleasure and amusement and impressedness (that's totally a word). She smiled, the flowers in one hand, and picked up a chocolate chip, popping it into her mouth with a gleam in her eye.

"That was impressive," she said. "To have timed that exactly right." They never cease to impress me. "If you don't win this time, you'll at least get an award or something. Well done, boys."

(Vey much a word)
Alex grinned happily when Lacey applauded their efforts and with a glance at his partner, Kohen had a matching smile on his face. It had taken them several days to get everything together and find the perfect time to present, but their work seemed to pay off. At the very least, her praise was a good payment, and if they managed to win, it would be even better.

"Thank you, Princess Lacey, I hope you enjoy the gifts," Kohen chipped in with a genuine smile, bowing to her as much as he could without spilling the tray in his arms. He hoped they had done enough to win, or at least be in the top three. The money they would receive for winning would do more than just helping his family. If they got it.

"Thank you, princess," Alex replied, bowing before looking back at her, "Also, if you have the time in the day, would I be able to speak with you? I understand you're kept quite busy throughout the day."

Lacey grinned at the two of them. "I enjoyed them very much, Kohen. Especially the cookies." She looked to Alex, smirking. "And yes, you can. It's rude to ask a princess if she has time, but yes, I would enjoy that. I'll send someone to get you when I'm free." With a toss of her hair, she moved down the line.

Even though some of the men had great ideas, none of them matched Kohen's and Alex's. She remained impressed by their timing of the sun, and the chocolate and cookies were the best. So the decision wasn't that hard.

She went back to her chair, feeling the eyes of every man in the room on her, and sat down. They all watched her expectantly, making her lips curve in amusement at the attention. "I was impressed with most of the gifts," she said. "Some of them were… a little unoriginal, but no matter, there will be time to make up for that.
"It's time for me to announce the winners.
"There were several that were very clever or unique. Those seaflowers, for instance, or the fire globe. However, I will have to say that the winners of this competition will have to be Kohen (insert last name) and Alex Aguilar. Their families will get extra money, and they both get a date with me.
"That's it, back to whatever you're doing." After making the announcement, she left the room, letting the doors shut behind her.

Alex and Kohen waited somewhat patiently to find out the winners, with the latter fiddling with the tray and watching nervously. As soon as Lacey spoke though, they both focused on her, waiting calmly.

Alex broke into a pleased grin when they were announced the winners, trying to keep a mostly humble look on his face. Spending time with Princess Lacey had definitely helped them win, but at the same time, some of their items had been original ideas, and he applauded their efforts. Either way, he felt a surge of pride at the idea of getting a date with Princess Lacey.

As soon as Lacey left the room, Kohen turned to Alex, excitement in his eyes. "That was well worth it," He said, grinning from ear to ear, "The prize money is going to help my family so much, and a date with Princess Lacey is just as exciting."

Nodding and chuckling in response, Alex fist bumped his friend and followed the other men back into the palace, "We work well together." He led the way out of the doors, Kohen steps behind him, "You're really going to have to show me your cooking secrets. That's clearly the secret to get the ladies."

Lacey tossed her hair over her shoulder as she stepped down the hall. Alex was waiting for her at the end, and then they would leave to go to… well, somewhere. She had spent a fair amount of time planning a date for each of the winners, and so this would be interesting.

She wore casually graceful clothes, pants, this time, with a nice blouse, and heels. There would be moving around, and wearing a dress where they were going did not sound like a fun time.

She extended her hand to him. "Are you ready to go?" She asked.

Alex, truthfully, was quite nervous to be going on a date with the princess, even if he didn't show it. Kohen had assured him that it was going to go fine, and he had even helped Alex sweet talk a small bouquet of flowers from away from one of the gardeners. The flowers were a variety of colors, with soft white garden roses, blue hyacinth, bellflowers, and several other filler flowers to pull it together.

She hadn't given him any instruction on what to wear, so he decided casual but still dressy. Matching his button down shirt to the flowers, he opted for a darker pair of dress pants, and matching shoes. He even combed his hair, and went as far as to put on some of his favorite cologne.

He smiled his signature playful smile when he saw Lacey walking towards him, cheering internally that he had seemed to pick a casual enough outfit. "I'm ready when you are, Princess," Alex replied, taking her hand and offering out the bouquet of flowers with the other hand, "You look gorgeous."

"Of course I do," Lacey said, unfazed, accepting the flowers from him. She let go of his hand for a moment to take one of the flowers from the bouquet and tuck it behind her ear. "You look very dashing, as well." She sent him a bright grin and took his hand again, dragging him down the hall, heels clicking on the tile, leading him outside.

There was a limousine outside, waiting for them. When the two got outside, the driver got out of the car and opened the door for them, bowing.

Lacey climbed in, setting the flowers down on the seat next to her, and smirking at him with her usual mischief in her eyes. "So, do you want to know where we're going, or do you want it to be a surprise?"