Royally Fucked

IV:1 - Royal Rush!

KENJI RUSHTON

This is going to be the death of me. Sitting mere inches away from a certain member of the royal family is making me queasy. I might as well just volunteer to climb the gallows and get my head chopped off, except that I said yes to this ordeal. I willingly subjected myself to this kind of torture, and I should also be able to willingly take it.

The chauffer, who is also the exact same bodyguard I saw earlier today, revved the engine the minute the prince and I have settled in the backseat of the car. By this time, all I could hear was my very own nerves throbbing. The feeling felt as if I just got kidnapped out of the streets. I guess it was all because I couldn't wipe out the memory of our first-time meeting each other. And yet that's not the only reason why I'm having a quiet internal battle with panic. Maximillian could've easily been a random yet completely normal guy that I shared an intense kiss with, and I would most probably be fine with it, yet he wasn't. Why did he have to be the prince?

"I'm really glad you said yes," Prince Maximillian began, breaking the initial silence that would've reigned since I don't really have the utmost initiative to open the floor of conversation. "I'm really sorry for making you feel like I'm stalking you."

"It's fine, it's totally fine, your royal highness," I replied, trying my best not to sound jittery.

"Please, Kenji. Again, quit addressing me with that royal highness crap; I'm honestly sick of hearing it every single fucking day," he went on, and with how crispy those curse words out of his mouth sounded, I could clearly tell the innate frustration. "Just call me Max or Maxim, whichever you prefer."

"Yeah, sorry," I mumbled out. "I don't know what it feels like to be in your shoes, but it must be frustrating to be addressed like that every single day."

"Oh, it's the most annoying thing. It's like hearing someone with a grating voice sing for the whole day."

I let out a short laugh. "Or like hearing our teacher tell her entire life story for the fiftieth time instead of moving forward with the lesson," I added.

Maxim chuckled and then inched a bit closer to my ear, then whispered. "Or like being the prince."

We both exchanged a marvelous burst of laughter. The moment felt as if we had been friends for a long time, and we were just sharing a fun time by laughing at the things that annoy us the most. I unintentionally looked over at Maxim as he was bursting out of laughter, and it was the cutest thing I have ever seen in my life. He was turning rosy and the sound of his mirthful laughter tingled me. I didn't even realize that I'd already been staring at him for a while. It seemed to me that this has been his first time laughing genuinely in a long time, and then I quickly felt weird that I'm staring at him. I had to look away as quickly as possible.

The laughter between the two of us gradually toned down until there was nothing but silence. Awkward silence. I didn't even want to look at Maxim again, but for some reason, I did. It was just a quick glance, and then the air became even more awkward when we both caught each other stealing a glance. We both looked away almost immediately.

The remainder of the ride was spent entirely in utter silence. This is probably the noisiest silence that I have ever been stuck with, and there's obviously no way out. Sitting right next to the Prince of Liverwales is riveting, not in the most exciting way but rather in the most stressful way. I don't even know why I said yes to his proposal, but here I am right now, riddled with anxiety. I know I needed some distraction, and I am very much thankful that Maxim returned my phone, but then I slowly realized there are a lot of ways to distract myself from the ever-growing frustration. I shouldn't even be hanging out with the prince, knowing the fact that I just got fired essentially because of him popping up out of the blue.

Finally, mercy came down to rescue me from the hell that is the noisiest silence. We stopped right in front of an expensive restaurant. Maxim and I both jumped out of the car. The place was unfamiliar to me, and it's because I have never been to a place where people like Prince Maximillian go to. I gazed upon the incredible facade of the building, only for me to struggle trying to pronounce the name of the place.

"We're here! Follow me," Maxim muttered with enthusiasm.

"Good evening, your royal highness." Wearing a welcoming smile, the woman who was just standing by the front door approached and greeted the prince.

"Hi, good evening. Uhm, I do have a reservation tonight," Maxim said.

"That's correct; we've been expecting you, your royal highness. This way, please," the woman went ahead and pushed the door open.

I swallowed hard, held the strap of my backpack a bit tighter, and then slowly followed behind the prince, only to be halted by the same woman. "Excuse me, sir, do you have a reservation?" The once bright and welcoming smile painted on her face immediately faded and was swiftly replaced with a certain glare of disdain.

I froze for a moment, unsure of what to say. "Uhm....." I was trembling. The woman gave me a judgy look from head to toe, and that approach alone was enough for me to grasp the reality that I don't belong here. Suddenly, I felt extremely embarrassed about myself, and once again, I questioned why I said yes to this.

"Don't worry, lady, he's with me," I heard Maxim speak. Despite the fact that I don't look like a certain someone the prince would hang out with, it was already too late for me to back down and walk away. The prince grabbed me tight by the arm and pulled me inside the building.

"My deep apologies, your royal highness," the woman spoke, her voice slowly fading in the air.

Prince Maximillian dragged me towards a long and lavishly carpeted hallway until, eventually, we arrived at the main dining room. We were both greeted by a soothing classical music, and as we both stopped at the entrance, I was instantly overwhelmed by the entire aesthetic of the restaurant. I already knew it was a filthy expensive restaurant, and it's something I'm not used to every day, but I never thought it would actually make me feel so incredibly small and disgustingly poor in every way. My eyes roamed around, and seeing the combination of gold and silver in every decoration, the high ceiling dripping with beautiful chandeliers, the candelabras on every table, and even the rich socialites spread across the space made me feel like a lost ewe walking inside a room populated with ravenous wolves.

"Are you okay?" The prince asked, waving his hands right in front of my face. To him, I probably looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm alright," I lied. I was trying to shake what I'm feeling, but it was really difficult when I'm clearly the odd one out. Prince Maximillian was wearing an expensive ensemble, and here I am wearing basically cheap clothes that I have been wearing for the past two years of my life. I don't feel the best.

"Come on, let's go!"The prince chirped, grabbing me by the hand once again.

I was thrown into instant confusion as the prince just dragged me all over again. I didn't have the chance to ask what the plan was because I had to catch up. He was running, dragging me, but I didn't have much choice but to keep up. At one point, we almost bumped into a waiter. Before Maxim and I could even continue running, he walked back towards the waiter and just snatched the bottle of champagne from the tray, and then the next thing I knew, we were both out of the place.

Maxim finally let go of my hand, and we both stopped to catch our breath. "Wohohoho! That was fun!"

"What's going on?" I asked, breathing heavily. I never realized the place was vast because it felt like we covered several hectares.

"That's just a smokescreen. We have an hour before my bodyguard starts to notice I am gone," he replied.

"What?" I asked, still confused.

"Come on, let's get out of here before he follows us!"