Destined Lies || Prince Series

Chapter 6: Hide and Seek (Act 1)

continued flashback (six years ago)  

"Looks like you kids are having fun tonight," the man took another step closer and eyed the two princes up and down. Feeling the intimidating presence, the trio took a step back and met the stare of the red eyed man. (SPOILER TURN AWAY: At first I wrote 'ruby eyed man' but he doesn't deserve such fancy eyes)

"Your majesty, it's good to see you again..." Albert greeted the man but was brutally ignored and even given the death stare.

Finally breaking out of the awkward staring, the man crouched lower to the kids' height before whispering, "Feona, I would need to speak to you..." Standing up straight once again, he stared at the two boys in disdain, "Privately."

The princess looked at Feona, unsure of what to say but Feona shook her head slightly before following the man who was already walking ahead. Albert gazed at the direction they left and turned to Ciel with worry in his eyes. The French prince shrugged it off, dragging Albert right behind him towards the dining hall.

After the princes left, Feona turned to her father and was immediately scorned upon. "Don't screw things up for me, Eloria," the words were like a whisper from Death himself. Shivers ran down her spine whilst she quickly nodded her head, turning around to run to the ballroom where her 'friends' were located. Whilst the princess was scurrying away from the man, he watched her closely, making sure his daughter did not ruin his years of hard work.

"Hey, guys..." the young princess dropped her little hands onto her knees, back bending to catch her breath. "Are you okay? You look really pale, maybe you should go home and rest," Albert tilted his head to the side to examine the panting princess but the idea was quickly dismissed by the princess. Finally caught her breath, Feona smiled as she dragged the princes to their designated seats.

end of flashback   -

"Ah, judging by the looks on his face, they definitely did not hear our conversation." Charles bent down and whispered to the princess who ignored him as Alex called out to them.

"Princess Eloria, Prince Charles, both of you guys are here!" Alex smiled while waving towards the two. The princess beamed, after all, Alexis was the only person she actually liked throughout her entire life.

"Alexis! Aren't you as cute as ever," pulling his cheeks back to make him look like a chipmunk, the princess giggled and as bystanders, Leon's eyes filled with sympathy with Felix laughing at Alex's red face. "Why are you guys here though?" Eloria questioned, walking towards the rubbish bin next to the machines and threw her now empty can in.

"Well, Ciel was feeling tired and wanted a drink. And since we couldn't find any extra information we decided to come down here and have a little break," Prince Albert shook his head in irritation before glancing at Prince Ciel, signaling him to hurry up. Prince Ciel laughed heartily, "Well, at least because of me, we found the two missing people and got ourselves a little break!" The prince then bought a bottle of soda and finished it in a mere few seconds. Wide eyed, Eloria gasped at the unholy sight.

"Come on, you two. Everyone's inside already, they're all waiting for you, Princess Eloria," the prince looked at his watch and glared at the princess who was late for thirty minutes, and if you asked a prince that values time like life, it would be like asking for a death sentence. Eloria, on the other hand, clicked her tongue.

"You're so serious, Leon. C'mon man, loosen up a little," striding past the prince, Eloria held Alex's hand and pulled him into the student council's office. Alex blushed when everyone turned to look at the duo that entered the room, with Leon and Felix - who was in fact laughing at his best friend for being told off right behind them - and stared at their interlocked hands before continuing on with their discussions.

Eloria eyed everyone before groaning, "Boo, everyone's so serious..." Unamused by her remark, Shintarou sighed.

"There's four princesses missing and we're supposed to be cool about it?!" The prince snapped, absolutely annoyed by what she said. However, the princess shook her head and shrugged.

"Well if you're positive then everything will be solved! Well, sooner or later..." Shintarou glared at her in response before continuing typing on his computer. Soon after, Alex pulled away and everyone went back to work, leaving Eloria to her own thoughts. The princess sighed, bored out of her mind but decided to stalk Alexis.

"Find anything new?" She asked Alex who was busy texting his dad. He jumped slightly, shocked by her sudden appearance.

"Ah!" Eloria chuckled while Alex blushed a deep red. "You scared me, your highness!" Eloria laughed harder and distracted the princes from their work. The princess then apologized and Alex filled her in on the conversation he was having with his dad. "He told me to make sure you don't run off,"

Eloria groaned in response, "Well, please text him 'How did you know that was my plan?' for me. Thanks Alex!" Alex laughed, passing the phone to Eloria to text him herself before continuing on with his work. The princess smirked when Evan replied with an eye roll emoji. Passing the phone back to Alex, the princess walked towards where Charles was sitting and began chatting with him.

"I have a theory, wanna hear?" Charles turned his head slightly to meet her gaze, eyeing her before finally nodding his head, "sure let's hear it."

"So... you know how the kidnapper wants everyone to find the princesses? I was thinking what his motive was and I finally realized! With all of us busy looking for the princess, who is the most vulnerable now?"

"Well..."

"So, Principal Evan and vice principal Godfred have their own bodyguards so they'll be safe... And for someone to kidnap royalty, they must be after something or someone valuable so the students are safe... Which only leaves us with Prince Gion who is sick right now! And since Livio is busy helping us find the princesses, there's no one looking after Gion 24/7!"

Charles was surprised at how good Eloria's deduction skills are, "But too bad for you, I was actually thinking about that."

Eloria glared at the prince, "Just let me have my moment, man..." Charles laughed, but decided to mess with her further. "But who would want to harm Gion?" His eyes closely examined her reactions.

"Hmm... it might just be having a friendly conversation, not necessarily harming him. Considering the fact that he might just want to visit his sick friend. Though it is still a possibility for Gion to get hurt," Eloria shrugged, pointing towards Livio before asking, "Are we going to tell the rest or just him?"

Charles glanced at Livio, who was busy conversing with Shintaro to notice their stares. "We should tell Livio and Shintaro only, to prevent the others from getting sidetracked. In fact, they should stay behind."

"What if I stayed behind too?" Eloria asked and was replied with a small glare.

"You know that's not possible, princess Eloria. We'll need your deductions skills later on and Principal Evan made it clear to us that you need to tag along with us no matter what. He's ordered, not mine," Charles chuckled when Eloria's smile drooped.

"Eh, it was worth a try." She sighed, pushed Charles out of his chair for him to go talk to Livio and Shintaro while she sat down on his chair and began typing away on his laptop.

Charles raised an eyebrow but walked towards the bodyguard and the prince. After explaining the situation, Livio and Shintaro promised to keep Gion safe and would not tell any of the other princes. Charles stalked back to his seat to find Eloria long gone, probably on another coffee break.

The prince laughed while mumbling to himself, "She really needs her coffee, she seriously looks like a deflated panda."

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