CHAPTER EIGHT #2
So was she interested in Kentario or not?
Before Ryu could work out how he was supposed to answer her, their conversation was cut off as both Danag and Kentario approached their corner of the room.
There was a full round of introductions, bows and curtseys, and the almost farcical parroting of ‘Your Majesty’, ‘Your Highness’, and ‘My Lord’, until Ryu just wanted to hit his head against a wall.
Following that, there were the customary compliments, with everyone telling everyone else how beautiful their dress was, or how delighted they were to be attending the Festival.
“What a difference one generation makes,” Jasmine muttered to Ryu, once the introductions were over and the older nobles had got down to the business of some serious small talk.
“I dare say you’re as tired of this as I am, and Mister Amagarda looks like he just accidentally ate a fly. The ‘grown-ups’, on the other hand…”
Danag was smiling charmingly at Jasmine’s aunt, listening patiently to some anecdote or other and looking completely at ease with the situation.
If one looked closely, it was clear that Danag was keeping an eye on King Sou at the same time.
Sou was currently talking to his sister, Princess Yuko, but in a small gathering like this, that consisted mainly of family and trusted guests, there was little need for Danag to stick to the king’s side as he would have done at larger events.
“Some days I’d love to know what it’s like to be a commoner,” Ryu admitted. “To just go and sit in a café and not have to worry about whether you’re wearing the right colour suit or the right style of tie.”
“I’d love to be allowed to eat a slice of cake with my fingers,” Jasmine said wistfully. “Or I could completely shock the world and actually take off my sandals when we go to the beach. Princesses are apparently not allowed to be barefoot, even then.”
“Much more of this and you two will be starting your own private revolution,” Kentario said, stepping a fraction closer to them, and a fraction further away from the political discussion in the process.
Jasmine stiffened slightly as he spoke, no doubt wary of his formidable reputation.
But Ryu knew Kentario far better, for all the scowl on his face, and he wasn’t surprised by his next words.
“Next you’ll be telling me you want to order take-away pizza and have a picnic on the grass by the riverbank. Pure anarchy, I tell you.”
“Like you can talk,” Ryu said. “You’re the one who’s incapable of wearing his own uniform and who taught me how to sneak out the spare bedroom window as a kid so I could play in the gardens after bedtime.”
“Did you really?!” Jasmine looked genuinely shocked for a moment.
Then the shock melted into puppyish longing.
“Oh, I would have loved to do that. Even just to go out and look at the stars. Ryu, you are so lucky. My governess was super strict. Oops!” She suddenly clapped a hand over her mouth.
“I’m so sorry. I meant Your Highness, of course. ”
That was another foolish rule; at formal events, everyone was to be addressed by their official titles, no matter how often the various attendees might have met before.
“Don’t sweat it,” Ryu said. “No one else heard you, so it’s all good.”
Jasmine smiled, but cast an apprehensive glance Kentario’s way.
“Don’t mind me,” Kentario said. “I’ve got even less patience for all this posturing than you do.”
That earned him a real smile from the Princess. “Not as scary as you look, huh?”
“Oh, he’s every bit as scary,” Ryu said. “And if you ever truly piss him off, by all means, run for your life. But he’s not going to get upset about someone forgetting to wear their hat or using the wrong fork at the dinner table.”
? ? ?
Half an hour later, the announcement was made that dinner was ready to be served, and the various throngs of people around the room began drifting towards the long table at the far end of the hall.
As he meandered in that direction, Ryu suddenly felt a tug at his sleeve and looked up to see that his mother had sidled up to him.
She led him a discreet distance away from the others.
“Looks like you’re getting on rather splendidly with Princess Jasmine,” she said, her eyes lighting up. “Isn’t she just charming?”
“She’s… very interesting,” Ryu said, fumbling for something to say.
It wasn’t that the words weren’t true. It was more that his honest description of Jasmine would have included more illicit terms, like ‘irreverent’, ‘mischievous’, and ‘flirty’.
None of those were suitable ways to describe a crown princess, however.
It was actually quite a shock to realise how much he was enjoying the evening, and his mother’s smile widened as she saw the pleased expression on his face.
“She’s become quite the socialite since the last time we saw her. And she’s been so lovely to young Cael, as well. I suppose because they’re both omegas, they’d feel a certain kinship.”
“Um… right. Yeah, I suppose,” Ryu said, for once not wanting to get into an argument about omegas’ place in society. But Goddess above, couldn’t the pair of them get along because they actually had things in common, rather than because they happened to be the same gender?
“And to be honest,” Elise went on, oblivious to his discomfort, “I don’t think I’ve seen Kentario smile this much since he was about fifteen. The princess seems to have quite an effect on him.”
Well, of course she did, Ryu thought, already feeling bored with his mother’s chatter.
Jasmine was one of the few nobles they’d ever met who wasn’t hung up on status and wealth.
But as he glanced over at the pair of them making their way to the table, he saw Jasmine touch Kentario lightly on the arm…
and then Kentario looked down bashfully, and…
Goddess above, was he actually blushing! ?
A wave of jealousy tore through Ryu like a grenade had just gone off in his guts.
“Yeah, she’s great,” he forced himself to say.
“I think she’ll do really well during the Festival.
” What else could he say? He couldn’t exactly march across the room and tell her to keep her hands to herself, after all.
“Well, I’m glad you’re getting along,” Elise said. “Enjoy your dinner, and we’ll catch up afterwards.”
Arriving at the table, Ryu wasn’t the slightest bit surprised to find himself seated beside Jasmine. Kentario was a little way down the table, on the opposite side, which was a relief of sorts. At least he and Jasmine wouldn’t have much chance to talk for the next hour or so.
Ryu’s mind was still spinning as he sat there, waiting politely as the staff brought out the entrées. Aside from his own family, or his training sessions in the gym, Kentario never let anyone touch him. So why was he getting all cosy with the princess?
“Did your mother say something to upset you?” Jasmine asked softly, peering at him in concern.
Immediately, Ryu forced the frown away from his face, plastering on a weak smile instead. “No, it’s nothing. She’s been a little overbearing about the Festival, that’s all.”
“You want to know a secret?” Jasmine asked, as the waiter set her plate in front of her.
Ryu sighed with relief when he saw that the entrée was prawn cocktails.
It was a typical Iderhean dish, rather than a Galandanish one – an attempt to make their guests feel welcome, he supposed – but at least it was seafood, instead of the heavy meat dishes that were so popular in Arctesia.
“What secret?” he asked, telling himself he was being ridiculous. Up until thirty seconds ago, he’d had no problem at all with Jasmine and had even been enjoying her company.
“Parents don’t get any easier to deal with once you’re an adult,” Jasmine said, cocking a wry eyebrow at him.
“I’m nineteen, I’ve started my own business – organic cosmetics, not that you’d be into that sort of thing – and I spend four weeks a year travelling while I’m campaigning for better environmental protections for our coral reefs.
But at home, my mother still brushes my hair every night and reminds me to take a jacket in case it gets cold outside.
There were these sweet biscuits I liked when I was a kid, with red currants and vanilla icing.
She still makes the kitchen staff keep a packet in our villa because she thinks they’re my favourite.
I have to sneak them out of the house every now and then and feed them to the neighbour’s dog, so she thinks I’m eating them. ”
It seemed a lot of effort to go to when she could just as easily have told her mother she didn’t like them, and Ryu opened his mouth to say so…
until he remembered that he allowed his own mother to think he had a fondness for ice cream, so that he could go for walks in the park without her fretting about his whereabouts.
“I get it,” he said. “They want to protect us, and they try to do what’s best for us, but even so, I wish they’d just realise that we’re all going to grow up one day.”
“Speaking of people being overprotective,” Jasmine said, “I’ve noticed that your bodyguard rarely takes his eyes off you.”
Automatically, Ryu glanced over at Kentario. Sure enough, he was watching Ryu. On seeing that he’d been spotted, Kentario quirked one eyebrow up in an expression of boredom, then returned his attention to his plate.
“Kentario’s cool,” Ryu immediately defended him to Jasmine. “Yeah, he wants to protect me, but he still lets me be my own person. More than most other people do.”
“So that’s why he watches you, is it?” The way she said it made Ryu look over at her, not quite understanding what she was getting at.
“Why else would it be?”
He glanced over at Kentario again. The man’s eyes were once more trained in his direction.
“It’s just that we’re all sitting around a dinner table, inside the palace, nothing dangerous going on,” Jasmine said, a coy undertone to her voice. “I thought perhaps there might be another reason.”