Amara Meadows has always placed her job first, but with her journalism career slowly failing, she seems lost.
Although when she ends up spending a month in the palace covering the coronation of White Bridge's prince, she finds more than herself.
F...
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"Xavier you need to put more muscle into it." He turns around so quickly he could have caused whiplash.
"Say that one more time, Amara, I dare you." He lifts the roller and that causes the air to fill with flour. He frowns through a distorted expression as his head becomes slightly flower kissed, covered in white. I pull my legs up onto the counter that I'm sitting on.
The whole picture is something quite amazing. Xavier is rocking the pineapple pattern apron. The ball of pizza dough sits sadly between all the toppings. There is nothing wrong with the idea of pizza for breakfast. But homemade pizza attempted by the man who once burnt instant noodles, not as good of an idea. Which is why we've been in this kitchen for two hours. Xavier refuses to let me help him and he also refuses to give his arm a much-needed break. I started this morning thinking that I wouldn't give up a view like this for anything, but now I think an actual pizza would be a fair trade.
"What are you going to do, Xavier?" He mockingly pretends to be thinking hard before placing the roller down slowly. He lifts his one hand and his fingers do a little dance as he slowly starts walking towards me. I jump down from the counter faster than I thought was possible and before I think of an escape plan I start running, knowing full well he's following me.
"Stop running, Amara. There aren't many places you can go where I won't find you." He uses his accent for an evil advantage as he lowers his tone. Blinded by my laughter I trip over a shoe. I'm airborne for a few seconds before my back hits the coach with full force, it doesn't stop him though. He sits down next to me, hovering forward so as he can gently attack my stomach with tickles. Loud and very unladylike giggles fill the empty house and Xavier smiles every time that I have to catch my breath.
He finally brings his hand up to my cheek as the last remnants of my laughter die down. His smile doesn't fade and neither does mine. Although his lips press together as he leans a few inches forward to kiss my forehead. I pull my hands from my side where they numbly laid and place them on his shoulders, almost to center us.
"Are we crazy?" He frowns slightly at the question.
"You mean for giving this a shot, be damned with the consequences?" I nod as his breath tickles my face. "Maybe a little, but then again Amara, you do have a tendency of making me reckless."
"That doesn't really sound like a good thing." His body vibrates against mine as an innocent laugh bubbles from his lips.
"True." He looks around the petite little living room that connects directly to the kitchen. The modest furniture. The way the light is glitching due to power struggle since the storm. He gave up almost everything to be here. To play with the possibility of a relationship and I sometimes wonder if he ever thought any of it through or if he just did it. Although that alone provided some assurance for his commitment, if the man who owns multiple palaces is okay with settling for this then he's already a keeper. He looks down at me once more. "It could possibly be life-altering, but if it works out, I get you." He leans forward and this time he leaves a whisper of a kiss on my smiling lips.
I force my body upright and Xavier sits down next to me right after I do so. I feel like he wants to say something and I've been feeling it for the last two days. He hasn't said a word about his little meeting with his parents and I have the feeling that even if I stayed with him, I still would've ended up on the other side of that door. All I know for a fact is that Xavier is still the prince of Whitebridge. He still has a chance at becoming king. So I'd like to know why he's able to be here in the first place and I'd also like to know why we've been placed on a timestamp.
Xavier sighs from beside me and I feel him mindlessly searching for my hand. "It's called an interregnum. It's the period between reigns, where all normal government is suspended. Although there isn't a specific time for it to last, my father felt that my current love interest wasn't the cards he wanted to bet on. I, of course, didn't know I could do this at the time and my father, along with the governing of successors felt I needed some time to think. You know since I wanted to give everything up just like that." He stops abruptly. His voice was empty, cold even.
Interregnum. I've heard about that, it was entered in 1649 and that's one of the few records about it. If Xavier decided on entering it now it explains why he is still expected to be king. Most royal laws point towards reign being shifted when the king is no longer fit to rule. Whereas in Whitebridge it has been a tradition for a prince to take over the crown once he became twenty-five and of course there needs to be a queen at his side. Meaning he'll have to take a bride either when the interregnum ends or before. Although it's unheard of for a nonroyal heir to take over the crown, especially for the Lucca's line. That's why Irene was to be his wife to begin with, even though neither of them loved each other, they had to fulfill their duty.
"No king can rule alone."
"Yes, which means that eventually, I would either marry you or someone else." He lets go of my hand and stands up from the couch. Without any words or actions of explanation, he walks back into the kitchen where I hear him fiddling with something in the distance.
Marriage is not exactly the type of thing new couples talk about in their first week of being together. Especially when they aren't even technically together. The thought alone should scare any normal person off but then again, nothing about Xavier is normal. So what if I go through our little list.
We haven't been on an actual date. We made out three times and all three times it held more than a little bit of lust. I've seen him at his best and at his worst. I've known him for a little over a month and I have felt more towards him than anyone I've ever met. I can't imagine myself waking up tomorrow without knowing he's in the next room. I'm not going to marry him tomorrow, not next week, hell a few months seems unlikely as well. But am I crazy for considering it?
"It's insanity." There's a drowning stillness behind me and I swear I feel the tension of Xavier's motionless presence. I climb onto my knees and turn to face the kitchen, to face Xavier. "It's complete madness. " He looks at me pleading and as he finally sets down the roller I swallow hard as my heart beats against my throat. "But I expect nothing less."
There is more uncertainty in his eyes, but then he smiles and it's magical.
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A little filler slash clarification chapter.
We're nearing the end, so get ready for some good old romantic shit.
