A Deceptive Beauty

Chapter Eight

"So, what are we doing today?" Valencia asked, looking at Kaiden.

The four days had passed rather quickly, although Kaiden wasn't sure why. It wasn't as if he had done much, except for planning out some aspects of the dates. In those four days, he managed to get everyone's likes and dislikes, so that the girls wouldn't be bored doing something they didn't like.

He also made an effort to remember the girls' names, but only two of them stuck. One was Annabelle, because of his frantic search for her the other day. The other was Valencia, Red, because she was an unforgettably stunning woman.

Especially with the dress he told her to wear for the date. It was a dark red dress that had a gold lining that threaded its way around the whole outfit. Her golden, intricate earrings matched her dress perfectly.

"We will go picnicking first, and the next place will be a secret for now," Kaiden answered, smiling.

She jokingly pouted in response before smiling again. Her smile seemed so natural, yet it was mysterious and seemed to hide something.

The picnic was merely just to get to know her better. Yes, it was their mid-day meal, but it was also time for relaxed talking. Good thing the sun was out, showing the bright blue of the sky, with scattered wispy clouds throughout. Although it was fairly cool out, it was much little warmer in the sun. Which was why they were going to sit in the shade and have their picnic.

He chose a nice spot. It had a clear view of the lake from underneath the shade of a large oak tree. The mat was already set up for them to sit on. On the mat was a wooden basket with food inside of it. The picnic idea was rather simple, but it was a nice and personal one.

When they arrived by the mat, he held out his hand, with his palms up, and looked at Valencia. She smiled in understanding and rested her hand on top of his. Using his hand for support, she lowered herself to sit down on the mat. It was a good thing that the dress he chose for her was not very heavy or layered, otherwise her dress would have flown to her face when she sat down.

In order to face her while they were talking, Kaiden decided to sit across from her, on the other side of the basket. He sat comfortably with his legs crossed while she rested on her knees. Opening the basket, he pulled out some china plates, a baguette, some cheese, some fruit, two glasses, and a bottle of wine.

"Ready to eat, m'lady?" Kaiden asked after setting everything up. Valencia's eyes twinkled in response, along with her 'of course' to his question.

They split the baguette in half. The rest, he said, she could take as much as she wanted. The wine only filled the glass half way, that way neither of them would become completely drunk. Particularly Kaiden, especially with the Kai's liking to alcohol.

"What is your favorite color?" Kaiden started the conversation by asking simple questions.

"Actually, it's red. So I guess I was lucky when I got assigned the color red," she replied. "How about yours?"

He pretended to think. "If you had asked me a month ago, I'd have said blue, but I remember that red is the color of love...and you are Red, so I guess I have to say that my favorite color is red," he answered, winking at her. She turned slightly pink at his response.

"You are such a charmer," she laughed. Good, Kaiden thought, that was what he was aiming for. He watched her eyes twinkle even more as her sweet smile grew.

"Favorite food or dessert?"

The questions went on. They weren't very private or intrusive, but he figured he should save them for later, when she was more comfortable and open with him.

But even with the simple questions, he found that she was still elusive. Despite the fact that she answered, she never revealed too much about herself. There was only one exception: the topic of music.

He learned a lot about her passion of music, how she loved to sing and play instruments. The way her face lit up made him smile. It was a strange feeling for him. He wasn't used to listening so intently when someone was talking. Nor was he used to admiring a woman on something besides her looks. Her thoughts of music was just a hint about her personality: passionate and loving.

"Yes, in fact, the day we met, I was singing at a park. I think the animals were the only one there to hear my voice," Valencia smiled, looking like she was reminiscing.

Something about her comment struck him. He realized that he actually didn't know how he met any of the girl, besides Annabelle, whom he had accidentally threatened to throw out.

"Do you mind telling me how we met? Or how I even got you to stay in my castle? I'm afraid I forgot," Kaiden asked. How did Kai manage to get all of the girls anyways?

She had an confused expression, as if she was wondering how he could forget. "You don't? Well, I was walking on the side of the road and it was raining," she started. Then he remembered that it was raining before he transitioned into Kai when he was in town.

"Then, all of the sudden, you showed up. You were riding on your horse and you slowed down to match my pace. You offered to take me home and I agreed. But on the way, you offered to let me stay at your castle for the rest of the year. I was really surprised but I accepted, because you insisted. I have no parents to stop me, nor do I have any close friends," she finished, getting a little sad at the end.

It seemed that that Kai was just as charming as him. He fought the urge to scowl. Kai was not the type of person that would be charming. What was he up to? From torturing him to gathering girls, there was something very suspicious about his behavior.

Suddenly, her last sentence rang in his ear. She said she didn't have any parents. Just like him. He debated whether or not to ask her about her parents. It could be a touchy subject.

"What happened to your parents?" the question came out before he realized it. "I'm sorry. That was rather forward of me. You don't have to answer me if you don't want to," he apologized after seeing her stricken expression. A few seconds of silence followed his comment.

She looked to the side, took a deep breath, then answered. "It's fine. It was bound to be asked sooner or later. They abandoned me when I was five," she said quietly.

He grimaced. Maybe he shouldn't have asked. It also reminded him of his own parents after all, although his story was a little different.

Perhaps that was the reason why he got up, went to her side, and pulled her into his arms. He kept quiet, knowing that apologies didn't help much.

Valencia didn't cry or sob like he was expecting, but she did lean into him. They both stayed quiet for a few minutes. Kaiden couldn't help but wonder why her parents had abandoned her. He looked down at her and saw her sad expression. That needed to change.

"It's their loss," he remarked aloud. Valencia looked up, confused. "They couldn't see their beautiful daughter grow up," he said, staring straight into her clear, green eyes.

Kaiden moved one of his hands up her back to her hair, entangling it in the tumbling waves. He tilted and lowered his face to hers, but his lips landed on the edge of hers. Confusion briefly filled him before he saw her smiling face. He realized that she moved her face to the side.

"With all due respect, Your Grace, no thank you," she said. Kaiden blinked. Did she just reject him?

She moved her lips to his ears, so that he could feel her warm breath. "I don't kiss on the first date," she teased, then escaping from his arms.

Once again, he blinked. But after he regained his senses, he smiled, then got up and started to chase her. While she was running, she would look back and smile at him. It brought a grin to Kaiden's face. She would be his, and he would definitely enjoy the chase.



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"How was it?" Charlotte asked Valencia as she came in. All the girls were sitting eagerly on the edge of their seats to hear how the first date went. Even Belle was curious about Valencia's date. As decided earlier, all of the girls were to meet up at the room of the girl who went on the date. In this case, it was in Valencia's, and Lenore's, room.

Valencia had a big grin on her face when she plopped down on the plush couch. She looked like she was going to say something, but stopped and made a show of zipping her smiling lips.

"Aw, tell us! We didn't agree to meet up just so you don't say anything!" Charlotte whined in an exaggerated sense, winking at her.

Valencia smirked. "He has some very talented hands," she waggled her eyebrows very suggestively.

That seemed to suck the air out of the room. Jaws dropped and people were rendered speechless. Elizabeth looked like she was punched in the stomach. Belle found herself feeling uncomfortable.

Widened eyes immediately narrowed after Valencia started to laugh. "You should all see your expressions!" she manage to wheeze out, still laughing. After she finally regained her breath, she explained. "He plays the piano very excellently," she grinned at the girls' expressions, some of which were relief.

"Now that you got your laugh, why don't you tell us what happened," Elizabeth said, removing the annoyed expression off her face.

"Fine, fine. We had a picnic. Then he brought me to the small amphitheater, where he played the piano while I sang. Eventually, he joined in with the singing," her eyes suddenly hazed over. "I have never heard a more beautiful voice. It was just heavenly," she sighed, thinking about it.

The other girls, absorbed into the story, had to resist the urge to sigh with her. Only Elizabeth didn't fight it.

"I'm so jealous. I would definitely rather be on a date with the duke than working," Charlotte sighed. Belle noticed that in the past few days, Charlotte had been talking a lot about the duke. She wondered what brought the change.

"Think about it this way, you are the first one next week," Lenore said.

Charlotte groaned. "That's too far away!" The girls giggled at her theatrics.

"How about your day? Anything exciting?" Valencia teased, knowing that everyone else had to work that day. Belle figured everyone accepted her joke because roles would be switched around soon enough.

Belle thought about the last couple of days and how she had found out about the dating thing.

First, she thought of her conversation with the duke. It had taken her a while to realize that he truly wasn't Kai. Midway through their talk, she truly looked into his eyes and discovered they were that startling shade of green; completely different from Kai's golden eyes.

Not only that, but the duke had been patient and kind. Another stark contrast between him and Kai. He answered her questions and seemed genuinely concerned about what had happened to her.

But even then, she didn't completely trust him. He had some hidden motives, she was certain of it. In one part of their conversation, he seemed lonely and sad, yet, in his eyes, there lied sly cunningness.

After they finished talking, she immediately fell asleep. It had been a long day. According to Lucy, the kind nurse who tended to her, she slept the rest of the day. For the next two days, she stayed on the bed and rested.

Strangely, her wounds had healed abnormally fast. In fact, by the third day, she was completely healed. Not even a single scar remained, which puzzled Lucy very much. Even Belle was confused herself. She had never been hurt that bad in her life, perhaps her healing capabilities were simply better than others.

Then, two nights ago, she had been moved back to her room, the one she shared with Charlotte. After giving Belle back her necklace, Lucy said that she was well enough to retire back to her room.

As soon as she had stepped into the room, Charlotte threw herself at her and apologized for not seeing her earlier. After Belle assured her that it was okay, Charlotte immediately began to tell her about what the duke had said about them being candidates for being his wife. She had jabbered it out so quickly that Belle asked her to explain again.

That changed her mind about the duke a little. Maybe he really was just trying to find a wife to please his parents. But then, the problem would be Kai. Especially with what he had said about helping him make someone fall in love with him. That order still bothered her. It was suspicious.

If there was anyone she didn't trust at all, it was Kai. He scared her. Sadly, Kai and the duke were basically the same person.

But after hearing Valencia's date, maybe Belle could be able to trust herself, and her safety, around the duke. And perhaps, she could also have fun dating. Because she had never been officially courted before.

The closest exception would be Luther, but he didn't truly court her before proposing. Thinking of that made Belle squirm.

"Belle?" Lenore's voice brought her back into the conversation. She blinked in response, realizing that she had been dazing off.

"I'm sorry. What was the question?" Belle answered after regaining her focus.

"How was your day?" Valencia cut in.

"Well, I cleaned and organized things. Nothing exciting," Belle answered. After four days of rest, she had finally returned to work. With her leg completely healed, she had no excuse not to do her chores.

"Well, the others did that too, but at least they had something to share. Charlotte said that she snuck into the basement to see what was there," Valencia said.

Charlotte blushed in response. "I was just curious about what was down there! Stop making it sound like I was stealing something! Besides, it was only a dark and scary dungeon," she defended herself.

Valencia rolled her eyes and moved on. "And Elise heard some of the maids whispering and betting on who would end up being the duke's wife. It sounds like they are thinking of it like a competition."

Somehow, that bled the energy out of the room. It was then when they realized they were competing against each other for the duke.

Belle thought about it. If she were to marry him... her family would be better off for the rest of their lives. He was the duke, and the only people who had more power than him was the king, queen, and prince. More power than Luther.

But power didn't really matter much to her. On the other hand, money was a little more important. Just because her father had gotten money from his deal, it didn't mean it would last them very long. If she married the duke...

Her head ached. She really didn't like thinking about money, power, or nobility. It was too complicated and political. All she could hope was that she would marry for love, like her parents did.

Belle mentally sighed. She would simply just wait and see how things turned out. If she had a chance, she would take it.

The uncomfortableness in the room suddenly drew to a close when they heard a knock on the door.

"Ladies?" Mary's voice sounded from the other side of the door.

"We are all here," Elizabeth answered, getting up from her seat.

"Dinner will be served in fifteen minutes. Those who work with the food should come down now," she replied.

Elizabeth scowled, reminded that she had chores to do. She walked to the door and opened it. Mary was still waiting. After Elizabeth stepped outside the room, she turned around a looked back into the room.

"Let us go, Valencia," Elizabeth called from the door.

"I'm afraid not," Mary said from beside her. Belle could see the look of surprise on Elizabeth's face from where she was.

"Excuse me?"

"It is Miss Valencia's day off, which means she does not have to work. This applies to everybody on their day," Mary apologetically explained. "It looks like you will be setting up by yourself."

There were no words to describe Elizabeth's appalled expression. But before she could complain in outrage, someone volunteered to take Valencia's place.

"I will go with her."

Belle wondered who said that. But when everyone's eyes landed on her, she realized that it had been her who volunteered.

Elizabeth looked delighted to hear that someone would help her out. "That is just wonderful," she sighed in relief, glad that she didn't have to do all the work by herself.

Clearly, it was all right to take Valencia's place because Mary said, "Come along, Miss Belle." Fondness showed in her eyes as Belle walked toward them.

As soon as they shut the door, Elizabeth turned and gave Belle a warm thank you. Mary, on the other hand, gave her a slightly longer message.

"You are such a sweet and kind young lady," Mary said, smiling. Belle smiled back at her, a little bashful. Even though that time she didn't feel like volunteering, it had been a reflex to offer Elizabeth her help.

Not that because she didn't want to work with Elizabeth, but her brain was still a little scrambled from organizing the books. She got halfway through the C's in her organizing, which had taken a couple of hours.

But she could manage to stay alert enough until the end of dinner, Belle told herself. Just until dinner was over. Then she would go take a bath and then go to sleep.

Mary started to walk down the hallways, interrupting Belle's self-talk. Belle couldn't help but think about how much she had been dazing off lately. She joined Elizabeth and followed along behind her, all the way to the kitchen.

Elizabeth headed in through the doors. But before Belle could enter, Mary stopped her with her arm. Belle turned and faced her, allowing Mary to speak to her.

"I think you will have the best chance at winning Kaiden's heart." Belle couldn't help but let her eyes widen. Mary was speaking quietly, maybe Belle didn't hear her right. Surely, she didn't mean the duke.

But she was proven wrong when Mary continued to speak. "Your willingness to help out others is the exact thing Kaiden needs." Mary stared straight at Belle, making sure that Belle knew that she was sincere and honest.

Belle blushed a little at Mary's statement, and because of her casual use of the duke's name. Mary was too kind to think that she could manage to win the duke's heart.

Mary gave her a small smile and then left to attend other matters. Even after she left, Belle was thinking of her words. If the duke's head maid thought she had a chance at winning his heart...

But before Belle could think too long about it, Elizabeth grabbed her arm and rushed her into the kitchen.

"Hurry up! We need to set things up!" Elizabeth exclaimed, bringing her to a table with plates and utensils on it.

Belle couldn't help but look at her surroundings. She hadn't been in the kitchen before, despite one of her chores being in there.

The kitchen was large and spacious; there were two long granite counters to set food on, a giant oven much like the one in her bakery, and a large pantry filled with wine and food. It looked like there were two sections of the kitchen. One for cooking and the other for preparing.

Her sightseeing was interrupted by Elizabeth, who dropped a stack of plates into Belle's arms.

"Put them on the table. You have seen how we've been setting up. Just do it the same way," she ordered, before getting little tea cups and organizing them.

Belle hurried out the other pair of doors into the Great Hall. She placed six plates on the table and wondered if she should put the seventh, for the duke. But usually the duke didn't eat with them, so she decided to just keep six plates on the table.

She headed back into the kitchen, where Elizabeth was waiting for her. Once again, Elizabeth ordered her to bring the tea out. But that time, Elizabeth helped carry out some things too. Elizabeth would carefully set the tea cups onto the table, turning them so that they would face the right way.

Soon, the table was covered with everything needed for the dinner, excluding the main dish. By that time, the other four girls had come down to the Great Hall. They all sat down at the table and began talking to one another. Lenore glanced at Belle and waved at her before going back into the conversation.

After waving back, Belle went back into the kitchen to tell Elizabeth that the others had arrived, but when she walked in, Elizabeth was already starting to bring the food out. There were three dishes in her arms when she went out.

To her knowledge, the main dishes were the last things to be brought out.

Belle immediately went to go find the other three dishes. They were on the back end of the long counters, next to the cooking area. She took all three and headed out. At first, it was hard to balance, but after a few steps, she got the hang of it. She needed to walk backwards when she got near the doors, so that she could push the door with her back.

The left side of the table didn't have their food, which included Elise, Lenore, and herself. After she placed the dishes in the three spots, she finally sat down. Belle began to eat, since the others had already started.

It only took a few minutes before the silence was broken.

"I take it that setting up went fine," Valencia remarked to Belle, then taking a bite. Her voice wasn't a taunting or a sarcastic one. It was almost as if she was curious about how it went and what Belle thought of the job.

Belle swallowed before answering. "Yes, nobody dropped anything and everyone received their food."

Just as she finished, someone cleared their throat, drawing everyone's attention to the dark corner of the room. Belle had to turn around to see who made the noise. Standing there, with his arms crossed, was the duke. He had a smirk on his face that seemed...wrong.

"I'm afraid you're wrong about that. You forgot about me," he said, walking closer.

After he stepped into the light, Belle had to refrain herself from gasping. His blazing golden eyes were staring straight at her.

Kai.

His cruel, lazy smile flashed at her for a fleeting moment. Belle felt like she couldn't think anymore.

It took her a few seconds before she finally regained her wits. "My apologies. We did not know you were going to join us, so we did not prepare yours," she said, forcing her voice to stay calm.

Belle also made sure not to address him as 'Your Grace', as in their last conversation, he had made his point on that.

She was trying to make it seem like his presence didn't affect her, despite her true feelings and her earlier reaction. But his knowing eyes appeared to see through her façade.

"Well, then would you care to join me in the kitchen so that you correct the mistake?" Kai replied innocently, directing his question at Belle. He was now standing at the end of the table, the end closer to the kitchen. And next to Belle.

With everybody watching her, she couldn't refuse. "Of course," Belle replied back, rising from her seat. She nervously smoothed her skirts and stood next to him. He gave her a small smirk before facing the others.

"Excuse us, we will be back in a few moments. Carry on with your conversation," he said, smoothly and charmingly. Quite successfully too because most of them had an enamored expression on their faces.

Kai turned and faced Belle, holding out his arm as if to escort her. His eyes seemed to order her to take it. She hesitantly placed her arm on his. Shivers ran up her arms when she came in contact with him. Briefly, she wondered what everyone else thought of their arms touching.

He started walking towards the kitchen, with Belle on his side, trying to match his longer strides. Based on the quiet chuckle he let out, he seemed to enjoy her struggle to match his pace.

Once they got through the doors, Belle suddenly found her back against a wall, with a pair of arms caging her to the wall. A grinning face appeared in front of hers. Once again, she was shoved by Kai before she could even blink. And somehow, once again, it was in a position where she couldn't escape him.

Not that she could, with that unnatural speed of his.

"Why, hello Belle," Kai said, keeping the grin on his face for another second, then dropping it for a serious expression. "It looks like you learned one of your lessons well. You did manage to refrain from addressing me as 'Your Grace,'" he stated, almost like a praise.

Belle refused to let him know that he bothered her or had total control over her. "Your dinner is in the oven," she stated stoically, not acknowledging anything he said.

She could tell that he was annoyed by her avoidance. "I know that," his voice grew a little colder. "But I want to talk to you about that little mission I gave you."

For some odd reason, Belle wanted to annoy him further. After all, he owed her for the banishment, which led to her being sick and hurt.

"You mean the one about dinner? Like I said before, it's in the oven," Belle replied sweetly and innocently. A growl came from the back of his throat.

"You know what I mean," he glared at her. "Tell me what you have observed," he ordered.

When Belle refused to answer him, he glared at her again. But suddenly, his frown turned into yet another smirk.

"Don't tell me. I know why," he started. He lowered his mouth to her ear and finished. "You must be jealous."

Belle nearly choked on her spit. What an incredulous accusation! "Of course not! Why would I be jealous?"

"You don't want to tell me because you want to be the one who steals his heart," he smirked. His logic sounded so wrong. Not that she hadn't been thinking about that...

Belle glared at him, finally giving away her annoyance. "I simply don't trust you," she stated. His smug smile slid off his face.

"That's good. You shouldn't trust me," he agreed, to Belle's shock. "But trust me when I say this. If you don't help me, I will find a way to make your life here hell," he threatened with a smile. "Do you think what I've done so far is bad? A simple banishment? You don't know what I can do," he whispered into her ear, before drawing back to see her expression.

Fear struck her heart. Kai sounded like he meant it. Belle deflated. It wasn't as if she could really take him on. She sighed and finally answered him.

"He does seem rather taken of Valencia, but she's the first one to be courted," she answered truthfully, with a guilty feeling in her stomach. "As for the other perspectives, everyone seems rather charmed by him too."

Kai stayed silent and absorbed the information. "And what about you?" he asked.

"You make it difficult," she spat out immediately. She really hated getting backed up into a corner and getting forced to do things.

With a sudden burst of courage, she placed her hands on his chest and shoved him away. Still glaring, she stomped past him towards the oven. She grabbed a plate from the cabinets and a spoon from the drawer. Then she set them down and turned to face him.

"Your food is in the oven. I'm sure you are capable of serving yourself," Belle held her head up high.

Before even letting him reply or even seeing his expression, she turned on her heels and headed towards the other pair of doors. She left the kitchen and went into the hallway.

As she headed back to her room, she couldn't help but think of what just happened. She had just defied Kai and left him. Maybe Belle would've taken more time thinking of her atrocious actions if it wasn't for the fact that she had gotten away. Kai could've stopped her from leaving but he chose not to. In fact, he could've prevented her from shoving him. But once again, he didn't stop it.

But why?

Belle sighed to herself. A bath sounded like a really good idea.



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A/N

Sorry, this was a rushed, unedited, and filler-esque chapter :/

And for the fact that it took forever to put up. This trend will continue because the school year is going to start soon and I won't have a lot of free time. I will try to work on it as much as I can though.

Thanks