Chap 19
"This him?"
The attendant swallowed.
Hard.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
His eyes flicked toward Penny.
Then immediately away.
"What is your name?" the king asked.
The sea prince bowed his head respectfully.
"I am called Wade, Your Majesty."
The king studied him for a moment.
Then gestured toward Penny.
"Can you speak with her?"
Penny nearly laughed when Wade immediately switched to the language of the ocean.
"Do you want me to tell them I can, or can't speak to you?"
She stared at him.
"How did we get caught?"
Wade looked offended.
"You were standing beside the gate waving your arms like a lunatic trying to get my attention."
"I was not."
"You absolutely were."
"I was being subtle."
"You nearly fell over in that ridiculous dress."
Penny opened her mouth.
Then closed it.
Because unfortunately he was not entirely wrong.
A pointed cough interrupted them.
Both turned toward the king.
The entire ballroom was watching.
Waiting.
Wade cleared his throat.
"Yes, Your Majesty. We can communicate."
The king smiled.
A genuinely pleased smile.
Penny immediately became suspicious.
"What did she say?" The King asked with excitement of having the language barrier blurred finally.
Wade gave Penny a wicked grin before turning back to the king.
"She said I speak the oceanic language better than she does and wishes she could speak as elegantly."
Penny's jaw dropped.
The king looked impressed.
"Remarkable humility."
Wade ignored her.
The king shifted in his throne.
"Excellent. You shall serve as Penelope's translator until she learns our language."
Silence.
Wade slowly turned toward Penny.
Penny slowly turned toward Wade.
Neither of them looked particularly happy about this development.
"Why did you tell him that?" she demanded.
Wade blinked.
Then realization struck.
A grin spread across his face.
The exact grin his sister Alyrina wore immediately before creating a problem.
The king looked delighted.
"Your Majesty," Wade began carefully.
"Yes?"
"She is asking if I may remain close to her at all times."
Penny gasped.
"I did not say that!"
The king nodded thoughtfully.
"A reasonable request."
Wade's grin widened.
Penny's eyes widened.
"Would you prefer I tell them you understand everything they say?"
Penny immediately shook her head.
"No but you can tell him I am fine learning to talk with the prince and the other flowers."
Wade nodded and turned back to the king.
"She says she worries I will be too far away living in the men's garden, to be of use to her."
The king looked horrified.
"Of course."
Penny made a strangled noise.
"I shall have chambers prepared nearby."
"Wade!"
Wade looked extraordinarily pleased with himself.
The king continued.
"You will accompany her during her time in the garden."
Penny "Please say no."
Wade nodded solemnly.
"She so wishes."
"You will attend formal events."
"Say no!"
"She wishes that too."
"You will assist her whenever she requires."
"Come on Wade I don't need a babysitter"
"And she wishes for that one the most."
Penny buried her face in her hands.
"Wade, you are horrible."
"Every time you speak," Wade informed her cheerfully in the words of the sea, "I am required to tell him something."
"Then thank him and tell him you can go back to the garden, where you can be rude to other flowers that come visit you."
Instead, Wade walked over and sat on the step below Penny's chair.
Then leaned comfortably against her leg.
One arm draped across her knee as if he'd lived there his entire life.
The king watched fondly.
Penny stared in horror.
Wade smiled.
"She wishes to thank Your Majesty."
Penny narrowed her eyes.
"She says I am the greatest gift she has ever received."
"Wade."
"She is overwhelmed by your generosity."
"Wade."
"She is struggling to express the depth of her gratitude."
The king took Penny's hand and kissed her knuckles.
"I am so pleased you like him."
Penny closed her eyes.
Wade leaned closer and switched back to the language of the ocean.
"Is this the vampire that keeps putting you into those betrothal gowns?"
Penny sighed and leaned forward onto her knees.
"You don't have to stay."
Wade grinned.
"Nah. I kind of like that we're both adopted now."
"I am not adopted. I have a home."
Wade laughed.
"Well, I am certainly not translating that to Daddy Vampire Fangs over there."
"I just got a private room."
The king watched them converse in a language he couldn't understand.
Wade immediately looked up.
"She is concerned that all this translating has left me terribly parched and believes I should have fresh chilled juice."
The king nodded.
A servant instantly appeared.
Moments later Wade had a goblet in one hand and a servant hovering nearby with a pitcher ready for refills.
Penny rolled her eyes.
"Do you even know how to say please in the common language?"
Wade took a slow sip.
Then answered in perfect vampire.
"Please."
Penny smiled like Wade had made a misstep.
She reached for the king's hand.
His attention immediately shifted to her.
"Please."
The king smiled.
Penny pointed toward Sebastian.
"Prince Seb."
Then pointed at herself.
"Penelope."
Finally, she pointed toward the dancers.
The king's smile widened.
Across the dais Sebastian immediately straightened.
Like a soldier hearing his name called.
The king chuckled softly.
Then nodded.
Sebastian was beside her almost instantly.
Wade watched the exchange.
"Very tricky using me like that."
He chuckled in the language of the ocean as he looked at Penny.
Then he glanced at Sebastian.
Then back at Penny.
Understanding dawned.
"Oh."
Penny narrowed her eyes.
"He's just a friend. One that will dance me away from you."
"Oh, just a friend?"
"Jealous?"
"Very."
Sebastian accepted Penny's hand.
Wade leaned comfortably against her chair.
Then called after them in the language of the ocean.
"Careful, Penelope. If you learn too many words you'll lose your excuse to stare at him."
Penny nearly tripped.
Sebastian immediately looked suspicious.
He pointed at Wade.
Then at his own mouth.
"What did he say?"
"Seb good. Prince."
Penny smiled sweetly.
Wade burst out laughing.
And from the look on Sebastian's face, Penny wasn't the only one beginning to realize Wade might be a problem.
As soon as they reached the dance floor Penny hesitated.
Panic fluttered through her.
She didn't know these dances.
With Evander she simply stood on his boots and let him carry her through the music.
Sebastian immediately noticed.
"No?"
Penny shook her head.
"No."
His expression softened.
Then a small smile appeared.
One that looked surprisingly confident.
His hand settled at her waist.
"I might not know how to undress a flower."
Penny's eyes widened.
Sebastian immediately looked horrified by his own choice of words.
As a few couples close by, glanced curiously in their direction.
"I mean "
His ears turned red.
"I was trying to say that I know how to dance."
Penny smiled as if she had no idea what he said.
The prince groaned.
Then squared his shoulders.
"I do know how to dance."
That much, at least, proved true.
The music swelled.
Sebastian guided her effortlessly into motion.
A touch at her waist.
A shift of his hand.
A subtle movement of his body.
Every step told her where to go before she realized she needed direction.
The prince moved with the confidence of someone who had practiced since childhood.
Soon Penny wasn't thinking about the steps at all.
She was simply following him.
Trusting him.
By the second turn she was smiling.
By the third she was laughing.
Sebastian looked absurdly pleased with himself.
"Dance."
The word was spoken softly near her ear.
Penny smiled.
"Dance. Prints Seb Dance good."
He nodded approvingly.
Then corrected her carefully.
"Prince Seb dances very well."
Penny felt her cheeks warm.
His voice always seemed lower when he spoke close to her.
"Seb dances very well," she repeated.
The prince's smile grew.
A genuine smile.
Not princely.
Not polished.
Just happy.
As though that simple sentence meant far more to him than it should have.
The music came to an end.
Polite applause rippled through the ballroom.
Almost immediately the next song began.
Penny brightened.
Without hesitation she lifted her arms toward Sebastian again.
Ready for another dance.
The prince looked absurdly pleased by that.
Then a single finger tapped his shoulder.
"May I have the next one?"
Sebastian froze.
The smile vanished from his face.
Slowly,
Very slowly,
He looked up.
And whatever he saw made him immediately step backward and bow.
"Oh."
Penny turned.
Commander Evander stood behind him.
One hand already extended.
The prince froze.
For a single heartbeat something unreadable crossed his face.
Then it vanished.
He stepped back immediately.
"Of course."
Penny blinked.
That was it?
No argument.
No protest.
No challenge.
Nothing.
The prince bowed.
Then surrendered her hand without a fight.
Evander took it.
Effortlessly.
Naturally.
As though everyone already knew the answer before the question had been asked.
Penny looked from one man to the other.
Confused.
Sebastian was a prince.
Evander was a soldier.
Yet somehow Sebastian had retreated the instant he appeared.
As if refusing him had never been an option.
As if everyone in the ballroom already understood a rule Penny did not.
Evander smiled down at her.
"Shall we?"
Penny took his hand.
But as he guided her slippered feet to the top of his boots, she looked over her shoulder.
The prince was still standing exactly where she'd left him.
Watching them.