The Heir and her Guard

Chapter 43

Jane's birthday had finally arrived and for once she was up early, extremely excited for the day. They were having a ball later that night with just people in Aveington, the dukes, the mayors, and of course everyone in the palace had an automatic invite.

Just before she was about to step outside her room she heard a knock, furrowing her eyebrows slightly as she opened it. Her face relaxed as she saw Max standing there with a big smile on her face, wearing a pink dress shirt with beige pants, a bouquet of pink and white tulips in her hand.

The Princess smiled as Max handed her the bouquet of gorgeous flowers and immediately leaned up to kiss her lips gently.

"Good morning birthday girl." Her guard said, her hand caressing her waist as she kissed her once more before pulling away. "You look beautiful."
Jane giggled, a blush growing on her cheeks, and went back inside her room to replace the flowers in her vase as Max followed, shutting the door behind them.

"How did you know I was going to wear pink today?" She asked, turning around, a warm smile still on her face.
"Pink's your favourite colour and you always wear your favourite colours on your birthday." Max explained, opening the door again for her, "So I thought I'd support your favourite of this year too."

The brunette chuckled, knowing her favourite colours would often change when she was a child, irritating Max who could never catch up. "Well you look good, you should wear pink more often." She complemented, holding onto her arm with both hands as Max led her over to where everyone was setting the table for breakfast.
"If it remains your favourite, I will." She replied, pulling out a chair for the girl. Jane sat down and Max pushed her chair in before taking her seat to the right of her, everyone wishing her wife and Will a happy birthday.

———

The ball was in full swing and Will smiled as he saw Max laughing and dancing with Jane, happy she no longer was made to watch from a distance. There must've been at least 300 people inside the grand room, and yet he couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from Mike.

He had arrived just for a pleasure vacation and had to leave in a few days time, and they had barely muttered a word to each other until 2 days ago when Mike had spoken to him. He had told him that he felt like Will had been pushing him away when he didn't need to, and after quite a long discussion they had established new things they wanted the others to do. Suddenly he felt a hand on his arm and looked up to see Michael standing there, a small smile on his face.

"I knew I had felt your eyes on me." The black-haired boy said, making Will flush red in embarrassment.
"I'm sorry I must've-" He quickly tried to apologise.
"I'm not upset over it, don't worry." He chuckled, "If anything I found it humorous. Why do you keep to the sides when there's no need for you to? It's your birthday today too."
"Well yes but birthdays aren't as much of a big deal to me as I've grown older. I'd much prefer something more private." He spoke.

Mike smiled softly, "And that's what makes you special. Do you sometimes feel like Jane gets favoured on birthdays?"
Will instantly shook his head, never once thinking that. "Not at all. Yes she's older but I've never felt like she's taken the spotlight from me at all, if anything I ask her to so I have more space to myself. It might seem it because she's more extroverted than me, but it's always been that way."

The Prince nodded, "I get that, you and her have a pretty good relationship for siblings, don't you?"
"The best." He smiled, "I can't say the same for when we were teenagers though."
They both laughed lightly and Mike decided to ask him something he had wanted to all night, "Well how about this. I take you for a dance and then we can go somewhere private, more to your liking."
Will hesitated, "And what's in it for you?" He asked him.
"More time I'm spending with you, that's all I want."

Will blushed lightly and smiled, taking his hand. "Let's dance." He said, bringing him over to where everyone else was.

———

Max lifted her hand, "Show off your dress." She whispered to her wife who smiled and twirled around, giggling as she carefully got pulled back to her, wrapping her hands around her neck as they swayed to the music.

The redhead moved her hands to Jane's waist, looking at her with nothing but love in her eyes, unable to look away even if she tried. "You look stunning." She spoke softly, gently pulling her closer, "Seriously, I think I fall in love with you again and again every single time I see you."
Jane blushed, "Is that so?" She questioned, "What number are we on now?"
"If we're talking about today then 27. If we're talking about all time I think I lost count around 4 years ago. Oh, now we're on 28 for today."

The Princess smiled, her hands caressing Max's cheeks. "You're actually such a softie, the intimidation is all just an act." She joked.
Max smiled back, shaking her head, "The 'softie' me is just for you to see, my love. Why, don't you like it?"
Jane didn't reply, instead pulling her head down slightly and brushing their lips together, feeling her guard melt under her touch, trying to kiss her. She let go of the teasing a second later, also not being able to wait any longer as she brought her in for a slow kiss, each of them savouring the moment. "Did that answer you question?" She asked, their foreheads still pressed together as their eyes fluttered open.

"I'm still a bit unsure. I think..." She gripped Jane's waist a bit tighter, "One more will help me decide." She concluded, closing the distance between them. She smiled as the Princess hummed quietly, and she tilted her head to the right slightly to deepen the kiss.

They pulled away not longer after, a string of saliva following them. Max pecked her lips once more, unable to get enough of the girl in front of her. Jane put her hand on Max's chest, gently pushing her back slightly as she looked up at her with lust in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Max teased, knowing the look in her eyes all too well.
"You know what you've done." Jane mumbled, moving her hands back around her neck as she hugged her.
"Do I?" Her wife laughed lightly, feeling the girl press herself against her in an attempt to get rid of some of the tension. "I'll make it up to you when this ball is finished, I promise." She said, kissing her temple.
The princess nodded against her neck, kissing her warm skin softly before pulling away and resting her head on her shoulder, "Or... we could just go now?" She proposed.

Max chuckled, "Are you suggesting we leave early on your own birthday ball?" She asked, an exaggerated shocked tone in her voice.
"Will's already left with Mike, I saw him earlier. Why can't we do the same?" She whined, pulling away from the hug.

The older girl looked at her, a growing smile on her face. "If we go now they're going to question where we are."
"We could just say I was tired and went to bed."
"At 8 pm?" Max questioned, making Jane groan as she didn't want to wait for the night to be over. "You're that eager, huh?" She smiled. Jane nodded and she had to admit the promise was growing more enticing. "Okay, let's go then." She said, taking Jane's hand as they snuck out of the hall.