Underground Royals

9

The moment I slide into my chair in the hall, a waiter serves me an enormous platter of food adorned with eggs, bacon and piles of golden potatoes. There's an elegant glass of orange juice to the side, which I take a generous sip from, before nibbling at the mountain in front of me.

I feel the table shift a little under my hands as my friends join me. Celest and Daemon look put together as always, though I couldn't say the same for Thorne and Orion. Neither looked like they had bothered getting ready beyond changing their clothes. I instinctively move to hide my hands, which were still scraped and bruised from the events of the morning. Unfortunately the action does not go unnoticed by Daemon who gives me a questioning glance before sliding into the seat next to me.

Slowly, imperceptibly, he takes my hands in his and I look up sharply at the touch, fighting the urge to wince as he runs his fingers over my bruised knuckles. His hands are warm in mine as he stares ahead with a straight face, cheeks tinged with a soft red glow. I cringe, knowing I wouldn't get out of this conversation easily.

We talk about irrelevant topics as a group; gossip and any texts we had gotten from our families. But, once the safety of breakfast is over, Daemon drags me out of the hall towards the dorms. He doesn't say anything, choosing instead to grit his teeth and glare at the ground. He halts at a bench surrounded by clusters of trees, giving us enough privacy without being so secluded that we felt completely alone.

The bench is imposing and looks more like a throne than a casual seat with ornate arms that rise on every side and a back riddled with intricate carvings. I clamber on and Daemon sits beside me, the seat being providing plenty of room for the two of us. He grumbles at the ground occasionally stealing angry glancing at my hands which are clasped in my lap.

"I'm just not used to..." He starts, not looking at me. "all this." He murmurs, taking my hands again and playing with them.

"All what?" I ask, peering at him curiously through the wisps of blonde hair that had fallen around my eyes. He notices and tucks them back behind my ears before resuming his earlier position with my hands in his.

"You getting hurt." He whispers almost guiltily. "Not being there to protect you."

I hold back a laugh as I turn towards him. "Daem you know I can handle myself. I was trained to do this." I stress, hoping he understood. "I know you want to protect me, but I can do it myself just fine. It's not your fault, I'm not your responsibility." I remind him.

"I promised your uncle I'd look out for you." He sighs.

I feign a gasp.

"Is that the only reason!" I screech, shoving his shoulder playfully, careful not to wince as I scrunch my knuckles.

"No...not at all." He laughs, leaning back into the bench.

"Who was it?" He growls out after a long pause.

"Well it wasn't really his fault," I start softly. I didn't like Hugo's family, but something told me Hugo wasn't really one of them. "It was Hugo. I um, I found out who his family is, and I kind of lost it. He didn't fight back." I specify, hoping it would placate the now fuming Daemon beside me.

"I'm gonna kill that son of a-" He snarls.

"No!" I interrupt, going for a strong command though it came out more as a squeal. He shot me a quizzical look as I regained my composure. "He's not worth it, Heathcote and Wen are the real problems." I mutter, moving to stand. "Besides, if I had really wanted to hurt him, you know I would have." I remind him sternly. He nods, but doesn't seem convinced. "Walk with me?" I smile, hoping to lighten the mood, as much as I could given we were about to start our first day of classes. He nods, but his eyes give way to the anger burning beneath them.