Chapter Twenty-One #2
His brothers both had charm. Baz was a natural born leader, whose confidence and mere presence made women swoon. Lukas had a smile that could woo the dress off of any unsuspecting woman and he’d seen his brother use that power many times. Even Rose could bat her lashes when the time called for it.
Percy? He was hopeless. His mind just didn’t work the same way as the others. He was smart. Too smart, according to some. That made women look at him differently and sometimes avoid him altogether.
During conversation, if a woman mentioned liking horses and he happened to inform her about the number of horses currently in Orious’ stables, including how many were of the highest pedigree and which mares were currently in foal… well, their eyes would gloss over, and they would run for the hills.
It wasn’t entirely his fault. Being the youngest, he had the least amount of responsibility and often received the smallest amount of attention.
So he’d found solace in the library or wandered around the castle, asking questions of everyone willing to indulge him, gaining knowledge about a lot of things.
This situation, however, he didn’t know how to navigate.
Little good his brilliant mind did him now.
The woman across from him gestured toward the roast and he cut off another piece for her, avoiding eye contact again.
If Lukas walked in the door right now, he didn’t know if he would hug him for saving him or punch him in the nose for putting him in this position.
The servants eventually entered and took their plates. Percy assumed the meal was over but a moment later, a servant carried in another platter with a cake in the center. It was placed in the middle of the table with two spoons.
“No plates?” he asked, looking around the table, hoping he’d missed them.
Klarissa laughed, though it didn’t sound like a happy one.
“What?” he asked.
“We’re intended to share,” she said, plainly.
“Share? Oh. Right.”
He gulped and picked up his spoon, looking at the cake as if it were on fire. He waited until she took the first bite and then he took one of his own. The cake was vanilla with plain frosting on the outside, but the inside had a fruit filling. It made him pause.
“What?” she asked, noticing he’d frozen.
“Nothing. It’s just… the filling… I think it’s pammaw fruit.”
“I’ve never heard of it.”
“It’s rare, that’s why I’m surprised. We have one of the few trees in the realm.
Our Royal Gardener, Iris, has to tend to it often to keep it alive and it only bears two or three fruit in an entire year.
I’ve only ever had a single bite of it before, years ago.
This filling must have been made with all the pammaw fruit we have. ”
“Oh. That’s… interesting. I wonder why they’d waste it on us? Why not use apples or berries?”
Percy shrugged and took another few bites. It was really good. In fact, they had both reached the middle of the cake in no time, though his mind kept shouting at him that he was missing something. Something important. He just couldn’t remember what.
When he tried to take another bite at the same time as the princess, their spoons hit and Percy suddenly remembered what he’d forgotten. He jumped up and dropped his spoon onto the table.
“Calm down,” she said, smirking. “You can have the rest if it bothers y—”
“It’s the love fruit!” he shouted, pointing at the remnants of the cake.
“The what?” she asked, looking down with wide eyes.
“I knew there was something I was forgetting. How could I be so dumb?”
“Love fruit?”
“They call it that. It’s rare because people destroyed so many plants trying to steal the fruit or use magic to force it to bear more.”
“Slow down. Are you saying that fruit makes people… fall in love?”
“No. Yes. I don’t know. It was years ago when I learned about it, so I didn’t really care to ask. Romance was the furthest thing on my mind back then.”
“Why would someone put it in this cake?”
“I don’t…” he looked up at her and felt the hair on his arms rise. “It was supposed to be Lukas.”
“You think your mother instructed someone to use this fruit in a cake for me and your brother to share to… fall in love with each other? Would your mother do something like that?”
“Would your father agree to something like that?”
Klarissa stood and backed away from the table, telling Percy without words that she did believe her father was capable of it, the same way he knew his mother would be.
Especially, with the way Lukas had been so against the union in the beginning.
It could have been her way to ensure it came to fruition.
But his mother wouldn’t have sent him in here to take Lukas’ place, knowing this, would she?
Had she forgotten about the dessert when the plan changed?
“How potent is it?” she asked, lifting her eyes to his.
“I’m not sure,” he replied, honestly. “Do you feel any different? When you look at me? Do you want to… I don’t know… kiss me?”
“Yes.” She gasped then quickly shook her head. “I mean, no. It’s just because you’re kind of adorable and not because I feel any different. What about you? Do you want to—”
“Yes, but for the same reason. You’re beautiful and—that’s the only reason. I don’t feel in love with you.”
“Good.”
“Yes, good.”
“Do you think it just hasn’t had time to work?” she asked, slowly.
“You mean, if we stand here longer that it might make us start to…”
He couldn’t finish the thought because the moment they both realized what he was about to say, they each started running out of the room, in opposite directions.
He didn’t stop until he was inside of his chambers, with the door locked.
Little good a locked door would do against a fruit with magical powers, though.
If he was destined to love this princess, the damage was probably already done.