Royal 4 (Book four in my Selection series)

Chapter 6

A loud click makes me jump to my feet, dragging the prince up with me.

"It's just the door. It means we can get out now." The prince tells me, in slight shock.

"I have to get outside." I murmur and push last the crowd of girls, but I felt almost more trapped because I didn't have a clue where I was going. The lights were dim and made the hallways darker than they usually were and I couldn't even remember where the stairs were.

I feel a hand grab my wrist and turn to meet the eyes of the prince.

"Come on, just follow me." He tells me and leads me through the maze of hallways. We make it to tall glass doors where two guards stand.

"We aren't supposed to let anyone out into the gardens tonight." One guard says.

"I have more power than you do and I refuse to ask again. Please step aside." He says. Without another word the guard moves out of the way and I rush in front of him to get out into the open.

The cold air immediately calms me down but I still cried and I had no idea why. Maybe it was because of Dylan and the prince had made me think of him.

"Lady Violet, can you talk to me now?" The prince says behind me.

"Go. Leave." I tell him. "Please go I just want to be alone. I'll come back in in a moment, but I really need to be alone."

I sit down on a concrete bench and out my head in my hands, sitting there until I could finally control my emotions.

I sit up and am startled when the prince sits across from me on another bench.

"I asked you to leave." I say.

"I didn't want to leave you alone." Prince Miles responds, watching me curiously.

"Nobody has ever not listened to me." I murmur. "Everyone has always just left." I wasn't even sure if he heard what I said, but I wait for some sort of response.

"I'm sorry." He says softly.

"No, it's actually okay. Nobody has ever stayed." I say, confused. I stand up from my bench and the prince stands up from his. "Prince Miles, Thank you for your company, but you can leave."

"Just call me Miles, please." He tells me, taking a step closer to me. "I can stay here with you if you need."

"No, I'm going to go back up to my room and pretend none of this happened." I decide and walk away from him. "Goodnight Prince Miles."

"Just Miles." He calls out after me but I don't answer. I keep on walking as if I hadn't just had a mental breakdown in front of the future king of Illéa.

I get to my room and keep the lights off as I crawl into the bed. I curl up tightly into the blankets and remember the moments from tonight. I'd kept remembering Dylan and how in love I seemed to have been. Maybe it was all just a joke.

•••

The next morning we were excused from breakfast so my maids brought me breakfast and got me ready to go into the Women's Room. They fix my hair in a curly and messy bun with just a few strands hanging out. My makeup was simpler today than usual.

"Thank you." I tell them quietly and walk swiftly down to the steps and into the Women's Room. Josephine smiles and waves me over to her where she sits with a few other girls.

"Good morning." Josephine smiles. "This is Caroline and Bri."

"Nice to meet you." I say, smiling and sitting beside of Josephine. I knew Caroline and Bri were both Threes so they were probably here for the same reason I was.

Maids come by and offer each of us tea. Josephine and Bri accept it, but Caroline already had a cup and I just shook my head. The maid smiled sweetly and wheeled her cart off after pouring Josephine and Caroline's tea.

I look around the room and see the Queen and her daughter sitting in the back. Princess Grace sat beside her in the back with her long blonde hair braided down her back. She had the same blonde hair as her twin brother and mother, but her older brother had light brown hair, unlike the rest of his family.

There was a knock at the doors of the Women's Room, but either the princess or the queen had to allow someone to come in. The princess stands up and walks to the door with a beautiful sort of grace. Princess Grace opens the door and smiles, allowing Prince Miles to come in calmly.

He looks around and immediately comes walking toward me.

"Lady Violet, would you go on a date with me?" He asks calmly, staring directly down into my eyes. I sigh and nod.

"Of course." I answer monotonously. "At what time will you be meeting me?"

"Now, if you don't mind." The prince offers a short smile but I don't return it. I simply nod and stand up beside him, connecting our arms as I was taught to do, and walking out of the Women's Room with him.

"If you were bribed to pick me for the first date we can both be put out of our own misery and I can go back to my room." I begin as soon as the door to the Women's Room shuts.

"Why would you assume I was bribed?" He turns and asks, not changing the emotions on his face at all.

"That's how you get things in life when you aren't the prince. How do you think half of us got here?" I blurt, then watch his reaction carefully.

"Well, I was not bribed." He says simply and begins to walk me out into the garden. I couldn't tell if what I'd said had caught him by surprise or not, but he didn't act like he did.

"Then why did you choose me?" I question him.

"Do you care for walking?" The prince asks without responding to my previous question.

"More than running." I answer honestly. He leads me off the garden path and into the forests on a small dirt road.

"I wanted to make sure you were alright after the other night. I was worried." He shrugs.

"I don't want to talk about that." I stop in my tracks. "If that is what I'm here for, I will be turning around immediately."

"Lady Violet, I assure you that that is not all you're here for. Please go on this walk with me." He asks gently. I don't respond but I continue walking with him deeper into the woods. "Can I ask what had happened that night?"

"I think I made it very clear that I do not want to talk about last night." I say, looking down at the ground.

"Noted. Then what happened the first night you were here?" He asks again, this time confusing me.

"I'm not sure." I say slowly.

"When I came to get you for your mother's call, you were crying." He begins. I sigh slightly and shake my head. "Was it because of your boyfriend?"

"My ex boyfriend." I correct. "We broke up weeks ago."

"Is he why you were crying?" The prince asks again.

"It's not really any of your business."

"You know, I try not to get too interested in celebrities but I was pretty sure the rumor going around was you cheated on him." He shrugs. I sigh and keep my head down.

"Do you believe it?" I ask.

"I did at first because I hadn't met you, but I'm beginning to question it." He tells me.

"Well, if you must know, I didn't. He just believed the rumor." I answer with a small shrug.

"Did you love him?" He asks calmly. I was slightly taken aback by the question.

"I told him I did." I say, but I don't answer his question. The truth was I didn't even know myself if I ever loved Dylan. I didn't feel like I knew what love was.

I never answered his question but he didn't seem to care that much. We walked with a little small talk, but not anything like our first conversation. I think he'd gotten past how upset I had been the night of the attack and genuinely seemed comfortable while talking to me. The entire evening had been calming and easy. I never thought the prince would be this way.