Selected Prince

Chapter 4

For AnnMarieThrush

FunNikkieFact #3: I didn't have live television until I was thirteen, fourteen-ish.

"Prince Mitch?" I kept my back turned to Scott as he entered the room. I was trying to keep from shaking. Scott was the first man that I thought was attractive and saw without a shirt. I felt my blush surface again. "We need to talk about yesterday...."

"What's there to talk about?" I held the letter from my grandparents in my hand. I was trying to convince myself to read these. Especially the one from my parents. They were hidden underneath my pillow.

"P-Mitch." He had to force himself to just say my name. He was uncomfortable with it. I saw his hand rest on the table next to mine. I could feel him behind me. I closed my eyes.

"I've never kiss someone. I-I....I've never seen someone that I-I found-I find attractive-" I cut myself off with a cough. "There's a lot of things I haven't done and I-"

"I was talking about your studies, Prince. I've gotten you a tutor so you won't have to teach yourself with books you might not understand." I watched his hand slide off the desk. I had a feeling that wasn't what he wanted to say.

"I was nervous. I am embarrassed. And you're not going to explain or ask anything?" I turned around to look at him. His blue eyes scanned my body language.

"What do you want me to say?" He said it politely but I could tell he was irritated. "Your attraction towards my physical appearance is no concern of mine. You will find a suitor that fits your needs." He left me with that. I closed my eyes and tried to contain myself. I ran out the door after him.

"You can't just leave me like that!" I grabbed his arm and turned him around. The annoyance flashed over his features again. He was really trying to contain himself. We were both tired of each other right now.

"Well, I'm sorry, your highness. I can't answer those questions. I can't make anything happen. I am here to teach what you weren't here to learn. I'm not going to be some eye candy." His regal way of speaking dropped. I think this was the first time he spoke this way. The amount of sarcasm. The clear disregard for statuses. I liked it.

"Why can't you be like this all the time? Why can't you talk to me like you're my friend?" I could see his chest rising and falling in deep breaths. He was calming down.

"My relationship with you is not meant to be a friendship."

"You do anything I ask. Anything I need. You're practically my best friend. The only friend I have."

"What about the kids at the orphanage?" I shook my head. That was the only response I would give him.

"You should walk with me." I made it a soft commanding suggestion. He looked reluctant but he did what I wanted. We didn't talk for a long time. When we did, it started by me saying the first thing I could think of. "What's it like to kiss someone? And please just talk to me like a normal human being." I could see the internal conflict going on inside him.

"Wet and sloppy. But it was only one person." I smiled at him and he returned it. "He wasn't very good."

"So you are gay?" I heard him sigh softly. I had a feeling Scott was gay. I mean how he explained kissing me and how it would mess up the statuses. That was my hint.

"Yes."

"Is that why my grandfather tries to limit our time together?" Scott shrugged.

"I guess that could be a reason."

"On a more serious note, and you don't have to answer this if you don't want to, where are your parents?"

"Uh....I actually don't know." That's the first time he hasn't had a solid answer for me. It's usually so spot on and punctual. "They didn't want me. They wanted a stronger child."

"Stronger?"

"I was very sick when I was born. Just like you were." It's odd to think that Scott knows almost everything about me yet I know very little about him. I watched him suddenly become very sullen. "I tried to get you in her arms before she died. I couldn't take my eyes off you though. You were so quiet and you just stared at me. I was afraid you were dead." His hands were shoved in his pockets.

"What told you I wasn't?"

"I poked your cheek and you grabbed my finger with your tiny hands. You were chewing on my finger." He was recalling the memory with laugh. "She did see you though. She saw you were alive, Mitch." I couldn't stop myself. I gave him a tight hug which successfully stopped us in the middle of one of the many long hallways.

"It means a lot whenever you tell me this stuff. I didn't know them and I-I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to-" I let out a small sob. His arms that were being held up to show he wasn't touching me were now beginning to wrap me in a warm embrace. I couldn't stop the fact that I was crying in Scott's arms.

"It's okay, Mitch. I apologize as well. I could have reacted better."

"You've been using my name a lot. Thank you." I pulled away. I was still crying but I figured that it would be better to leave.

"Of course."

"I'll see you later, okay?" I tried to keep my voice from cracking. It didn't work though. I went to go walk back to my room.

"You know you can talk to me about anything, right?" I didn't know if that was true. I only knew that Scott would listen with the most passive face. I went back to my room and crawled into my bed. I went underneath my pillow and grabbed the letter from my parents. I tried to open the one from my mom.

"Ow!" I sat up as a bead of blood formed on the tip of my finger. I stuck my finger in my mouth and the letters crumpled in my hand as my tears poured down my face.

I don't think I would ever be able to read what my parents wrote to me before they died.