Surprisingly Royal

👸 Chapter 23: what is he up to this time?

The moment I step into the room, I'm met with curious stares aimed directly at me.

"What?" I ask, raising a brow.

"Nothing..." Matilda says innocently. "What took you so long?" she adds, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

I turn to Emily. I know she's behind this.

"Oh come on, Ciara," she says, holding her hands up in defense. "I swear I didn't say much. I just told them you were downstairs... with Prince Charming."

"Prince Charming? Really? That's what you went with?" I groan.

"Don't blame her too much," Matilda chimes in. "I actually went downstairs looking for you two just in case one of you didn't make it out alive but turns out you were both busy... sorting out your issues in the dining area." She ends with a smirk.

"It's not what you think," I say quickly. "He was just trying to mess with me. That's all."

"Mm-hmm, sure," Emily teases. "Then why do you keep blushing every time we bring him up?"

"Shut up, Em. You don't know what you're talking about," I say, hurrying over to the study table to hide my burning cheeks.

"Alright, alright, you two," Becca steps in. "If Ciara says nothing happened, then let it go. Come help me fix my hair and stop feeding each other nonsense."

I give her a grateful smile and go sit beside her.

Meanwhile, Mat and Emily sit on the bed, painting their nails and gossiping about the masquerade ball—mostly the cute guys they met and a few arrogant princes who thought way too highly of themselves.

Becca and I start chatting about our hobbies while I help curl her hair. Turns out she loves archery just like me! She tells me she took archery lessons back in Aldovia and used to go fishing with her dad all the time, which is how she fell in love with it.

She's honestly so cool, and super smart too. I'm starting to really like her.

Once I finish her hair, we join the other girls on the bed. Matilda somehow convinces me—again to let her paint my nails. As she works on them, the conversation shifts to life outside of Angellos. Mat and Becca do most of the talking, since Emily and I don't really have experience beyond our little kingdom.

About an hour later, we all decide to head to the kitchen and cook something together.

When we get downstairs, the boys are in the living room playing chess. I say hi to Fynn and completely ignore Carlos like he doesn't even exist.

After a quick chat with the boys, we head to the kitchen.

Following lots of back and forth over what to cook, we finally agree on baking pastries. Mat volunteers for the cake apparently she's a total expert. She insists on doing it all by herself, and from the way she talks, no one dares interrupt her cake zone.

So the rest of us split up the work .Becca takes the cookies, Emily handles the chips, and I claim the pancakes.

We all get to work.

"Can you girls tone it down in there? The whole neighborhood can hear you!" Carlos shouts from the living room.

We ignore him, as usual, and keep whisking while Mat throws back a savage remark that makes us all burst into laughter. His silence afterward is golden.

Eventually, the kitchen looks like a war zone, but we're finally done—just waiting on Mat's cake to finish baking.

As she pulls it out of the oven, the whole kitchen fills with the smell of chocolate heaven.

"That smells amazing," I say.

"And I bet it tastes even better," Emily adds.

Mat nods proudly and starts adding chocolate icing like she's competing in a baking show.

Once everything's ready, we carry our creations to the living room.

"Are you girls throwing a pastry party or something?" Fynn jokes.

"Maybe," I reply, placing the pancakes in the center.

"Mind if we try some?" Fynn asks politely.

"Of course, Fynn. I could never say no to a gentleman like you," I say sweetly. Then I shoot a look at Carlos. "If all guys were like you, life would be way more peaceful. Don't you agree, Carlos?"

Everyone laughs. Carlos just rolls his eyes and focuses on eating some of the pancake.

"Such a prick," I mutter under my breath.

"What was that?" he says, raising a brow.

"Oh nothing," I reply, flashing the fakest smile I can manage. "Just saying how lucky I am to know someone like you."

He smirks at me like he's plotting something and honestly, that smug little grin is making me suspicious.

He turns to Fynn and whispers something I can't quite catch. I lean in slightly to eavesdrop, but I'm pulled into a conversation with Matilda before I can hear anything.

Carlos is just sitting there, staring at me with those mischievous eyes while eating pancake like he's enjoying some private joke.

I try to ignore him and focus on the girls.

Eventually, he gets up and heads upstairs, still wearing that smug look.

What is he up to now?

A few minutes pass. My curiosity gets the better of me. I can't just sit here wondering what trick he's planning next.

I turn to Mat and say, "Be right back,just going to use your bathroom."

And with that, I quietly slip out of the room and head upstairs as stealthily as I can.

⸻

A/N:
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iamnanaserwaa8