New World, New Life, New Me (OLD)

Chapter 43; The Prince part 2

My heart felt like it was going to explode. This was the first time in years that I've been near one of the love interest. I should count myself lucky that it was only Prince Jack and not one of the more dangerous ones.

Though that might not be the case anymore.  He now radiated power, and he seemed to be completely in control.  Gone was the shy boy I knew, now a powerful man stood in front of me. And he was probably waiting for answer. 

I didn't want to seem informal, but would he want me to be more casual like when we were kids?

I chose formal, so with a bow I said "Good morning prince Jack,"

As I stood back up I added "Or would you prefer just Jack,"

Jack gave me a smile, and despite the danger I felt my heart flutter. 

"I'm glad you remembered Maria," his voice was calming up close. "Just call me Jack,"

I nodded, then turned to Scarlet. She was staring at us both with wide eyes. Would it be better or worse if she stuck around?  

"This is my classmate, Scarlet Grace. We both are in healing magic," I explained.

Scarlet did a clumsy bow and said hello to the prince. When she got up Jack held her hand and softly kissed it. She face turned as red as her hair.

"It was lovely to meet you Miss Scarlet, but I shall be taking Maria for a bit," Jack said.

The panic came back. I could handle being with him in a crowd with everyone watching us, but alone together? I didn't now Jack well enough anymore to insure my safety. I don't even now my own room to teleport too in case anything went wrong.

I shoot look to Scarlet, hoping she'll pick up the hint and stay. But alas, she was to infatuated to go against his words. Or she might be too scared to go against the prince.

"Of course your highness, I need to find my cousin anyway. Have fun Maria!" she left with a wave and made her way through the crowd.

Jack took me by the arm and lead me though the crowd around us. I could their whispers, the theories about our relationship. Some of them made me want to yell at the crowd, but mostly I just wanted to run and hide away.

If Jack heard any of them, he didn't show it. Instead he kept the smile on his face until we left the grand hall. His face fell flat and his eyes seemed duller. 

I wanted to say something, but couldn't think of anything. So instead I just leaned into him as we walked through the halls.

Eventually we turned into the garden and I let out a gasp. It was beautiful. Everything was in bloom and air smelled heavenly. I let go of Jack and rushed outside.

I ran until a found an area full of purple flowers. They were so prefect, just like all those years ago.

"I'm glad you still like flowers so much Maria, I made sure everything was in bloom for your arrival," Jack said as he walked up behind me.

I turned around to face him. "Thank you so much! This place is beautiful!" 

Jack gave me a smile, but now it was a familiar one. It was the same one that he used to give me whenever he was nervous as a kid.

"Jack, I know this might seem like an odd question, but how come you changed so much?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" Jack asked me, reverting back into his new, colder self.

"Well, it just seems like you're . . . colder, less there around other people, more distant. Did something happen while I was away?" I looked up into his eyes.

"I-no Maria, nothing happened. I just grew up like everyone else," He was lying, his eyes told me there was more to it.

But I let it go. I couldn't blame him for not telling me, we had only just reunited after all.

"If you say so Jack," I said. "I'd love  to stay with you longer, but I do need to find my room,"

He nodded. "Alright. I'll see you later, at the opening dinner,"

Oh right, the dinner. That's when all the students eat a large grand meal together. Which means that I'll probably run into the other love interests. Yay.