(Yay!)
"Are there any more questions?" The King asked, looking around at the men around him. "If not, you can all go do what you want. There isn't any bedtimes. I'm not your parent, and you are all adults." He gave a slight chuckle.
None of the men asked anything, and after a few seconds of glancing between each other, a few of the brave ones stood up and left the room. Kohen was one of them, and with one glance at Alex, the other male quickly followed in standing, bowing in respect to the king and leaving. All Alex added was a tiny smile, then he was out. "Don't know what you're going to do now, but I'm itching to go for a walk around the palace before bed, you in?" Alex asked, a tiny smile on his face as he glanced at his new friend, "Then we can explore this place without having to worry about having to be anywhere."
Kohen grinned and nodded, easily agreeing and leading the way down the first hallway, "Sure, might as well do something with our limited free time. Could even become tradition, depending on how long we're both here."
Lacey sat down on the seat on the balcony that connected to her room. She stared out at the sky, and it almost seemed like that cliche scene in a book or movie, when the man comes and sees the princess sitting at a balcony in the moonlight, and falls in love at first sight.
That was not happening here, though. For one thing, Lacey was not looking up at the stars, or whatever cliche stuff she was supposed to look at. She was focused intently on the sketchbook in front of her, her hand gripping the pencil tightly.
She was here because she was avoiding everyone. Usually, she would be taking a trip to the kitchens to get some sort of late-night snack, but now that the men were here… well, she didn’t want to meet any of them on her way there.
It wasn't long before Alex and Kohen started wandering around the palace, going down whatever halls that they were allowed to go down and exploring all the other rooms that they could. They didn't walk in silence either, just kept a light string of conversation going, leaning about the other and just wasting time before they wanted to go to bed. After all, neither of them wanted to go to bed right away and waste the free time they had. "So, what was your reaction when you found out you were going to be a part of this?" Alex asked as the pair turned around and headed back towards the rooms, having decided to only minutes earlier.
"I was shocked. It didn't help that I was sleeping when my family found out, and they burst into my room at Mach ten shrieking of happiness," Kohen replied, chuckling and shaking his head, "I thought the house was burning down for a minute, but then I figured out what they were saying and I was both in awe that I had been picked and excited to be picked."
Why wasn’t the eye working? However Lacey tried, the eye of the person she was drawing just kept getting crooked, and ending up looking somehow… wrong. It was supposed to be the eye of a psychopath who looked kind and sweet, and acted that way. He was one of her cousin Holly’s characters, and Holly had asked her to draw this.
And she was failing.
Or maybe I just have too much going on in my mind, she thought with a rueful grin. Maybe I should get those snacks. She set down her sketchbook and started down the hall. It was pretty late, so hopefully none of the men were awake.
(Quite sorry it's so short)
Alex and Kohen had reached the stairs to the upper floors soon enough, still talking and even poking light fun of each other. They both were aware that others might be asleep though, and so after teasing between the two of them, they quieted down while they started up the stairs. As much as they were aware of people sleeping though, the pair didn't register the fact that there might still be people awake as well, and that they would have to watch who was coming down the steps.
(It's fine lol)
Lacey left her room, throwing on a jacket as she did. While the palace had heating systems, they weren't very good in the halls, and so she needed to be careful. Also, this jacket was super soft, and she would never turn something like that down.
She hurried down the halls, to a staircase that led down. She was about to start down the steps when she heard voices. She glanced over and saw two of the guys, Kohen and Alex, coming up. They hadn't seemed to see her, and so maybe she could have escaped.
For a minute, the two of them were oblivious to Lacey's presence, but Alex glanced up for a second, still laughing at something Kohen had said. It was only then when he noticed the princess, and even then it took him a second to recognise her. He quickly jabbed the other male in the side, and smiled at the woman, quickly saying, "Nice seeing you again, Princess Lacey."
Kohen took even longer to recognise the princess, but when he did, he smiled as well, doing a small half bow in acknowledgement but letting Alex speak first.
… No, she couldn't. Alex had spotted her.
Damn it. Lacey plastered on a smile. "Hello, gentlemen. How are you two doing tonight?" Inwardly, she cursed her clumsy manners, but there was nothing to so about it now. She wanted to hurry on past them, so that they would forget that they had ever seen her, but another part of her wanted to stay and talk to the two men who had stood out most to her.
"We're doing good, just out for a walk around the palace. And you princess? How are you?" Alex said smoothly, still smiling and now leaning lightly against the railing on the steps. He was almost surprised to see the princess out at this time, but he wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to talk to the gorgeous girl.
Kohen even nodded in agreement, though didn't say anything. He seemed either perfectly content with not speaking or caught off guard from her presence. His smile stayed present as well, not giving off any clues as to which reason was the right one.
"Oh! Um… I'm good, thanks," Lacey said. She was still flustered on the inside, and it was showing a bit in her words. She composed herself. "I was going to go get some sweets from the kitchen. Would you gentlemen like to join me?"
She brushed a strand of flame-colored hair behind her ear and calmed her beating heart down.
Kohen smiled, glancing at Alex and then at the princess, "I wouldn't turn down that offer, if you'd like company Princess Lacey." He shifted on his feet, waiting to see what his friend would say.
"I wouldn't mind joining you either," Alex replied smoothly after Kohen, "Princess." The title could've been interpreted as him just addressing Lacey, but from the light playfulness in his eyes, it was also very much going to become a nickname for the gorgeous girl. He offered out an arm, though his smile showed that it wasn't necessary that she took it, that it was more of an offer.
"Well, alright then." Lacey smirked at Alex and took his arm. "Let's go, gentlemen," she said, drawing out the word, drawling it between her teeth in a flirtatious way.
She led them to the kitchen, where it was practically empty, except for a few servants heating up some food for themselves after a long day. They all bowed to her in surprise and shock when she came in with Alex and Kohen.
"My lady! Why did you come all the way down here? You could have just notified us"
Lacey waved her hand. "I didn't want to make you guys come all the way upstairs. It's fine. We can get our own food."
Alex smirked back at Lacey, letting her take his arm and walking along with her easily. He wasn't suprised when they reached the kitchen, though was quite suprised at how informal she was with the servants. Normally he wasn't much more formal, but with the help his family had at their home, he was required to be formal.
Kohen took up the other side, keeping his hands respectfully clasped behind his back as they walked. He smiled at the servants as they reached the kitchen, staying silent like Alex and meething his eyes when the other male glanced over.
"Would you like help to get your food?" One of the servants asked.
Lacey shook her head. "Nope! You guys can relax. Just pretend that I'm not here." She disentangled her arm from Alex's and walked over to one of the enormous open pantries, the size of a bedroom in a normal house, and went inside. She reached for one of the higher shelves, for a box of chocolate hidden behind a few bags of sugar.
"Do you come down here to make snacks often?" Kohen asked, leaning against one of the counters with a soft smile at the servants. He was clearly comfotable around them, even if it was the first time he had been in this particlar kitchen.
Alex glanced around at the servants, offering them a matching soft smile and following Lacey for a few more steps, stopping near the door of the pantry and looking inside. His eyes widened at the size and he nodded, commenting easily, "This is impressive, how much food in in here? It's bigger than our pantry at home."
"Absolutely," Lacey said. "Well, not as often as I should. I come here often enough, anyways. I need to eat, after all." After straining a bit, her fingers managed to grip the corner of the bag. She pulled it down, and stumbled, barely managing to catch it, before turning to look brightly at them.
She grinned at Alex. "This isn't the only pantry. We have a lot of people to feed, especially with you guys, now."
Alex had stepped towards her, arms outstretched to steady her as she had stumbled, and he stepped back easily, smiling back. "The princess needing to eat? Unheard of," He joked, winking at her and motioning to the bag, "I can carry that if you'd like."
Kohen walked to the pantry, looking in with eyes wide. "How many pantries are there?" He asked, clearly impressed at the sheer size of the room and the amount of food inside.
"I know, right? Completely audacious. I can't believe it at all!" Lacey snorted. "No, I got it. I'm not as weak as I look." Also, I want to eat as I walk, was what she didn't say. That was so unladylike… not that she cared. But her father wouldn't be happy if two candidates dropped out because she wasn't being a proper princess.
She glanced at Kohen's awed look and grinned. "In this wing of the palace? About twelve. And then there are the cellars and cold rooms, too. So, there's a lot of food."
Kohen was almost gawking at the facts she gave him, pausing to look around the pantry again before snapping back to reality and replying, "Are all of them full of food? How does one place go through that much food?" He couldn't imagine it, but then again, he had come from a lower class where food wasn't plentiful. Alex and Lacey were most likely use to this.
"I don't doubt that you're strong enough to carry it," Alex replied, his easy-going grin reappearing, "I just figured you might want to grab more than just straight chocolate." He wouldn't deny that just straight chocolate was a good treat, but he almost was in the mood for chocolate chip cookies, though he wasn't going to ask directly. After all, he didn't want to mess up the kitchen and make more work for the servants.
Lacey laughed at Kohen's face and awe. "They are full of food. And we have a lot of staff. You know, the cleaners and the guards and the attendants and the cooks and all those people. Also, we have to be prepared in case a foreign dignitary makes a surprise visit." She shook her head with a rueful smile. "When the kitchen staff are preparing, I have almost no time to grab snacks."
Speaking of snacks… Alex sounded like he wanted something. Lacey raised an eyebrow at him and waved the bag of chocolate back and forth. "I'm always in the mood for chocolate anything, if that's what you're asking." She flashed a wide grin. "Aren't you gentlemen going to eat anything?"
Kohen nodded slowly, finding what she said made sense. It was better to be overprepared than under after all, especially when it came to food. He headed out of the pantry at that, leaning hesitantly against one of the counters as he now took in the amount of equipment in the kitchen. Having space and materials to prepare that sheer amount of food made more sense.
"I'm hungry for chocolate chip cookies, though I can guarantee that I would burn this place down if I attempted to make them," Alex replied with his same grin, chuckling, "I'll pass otherwise, don't want to become known as an arsonist for the rest of my life." It was extremely tempting to make a very dirty joke in response to what Lacey said, but he bit his tongue. The mischief was still clear in his eyes though, even as he forced himself to behave a bit more gentlemanly than usual.
"You will? A pity. I can't cook, either, so that's a loss for both of us." Lacey saw the glint in his eyes, and realized what he was thinking. It was a look that she recognized. She herself made it, too, sometimes. But unlike many girls her age, she didn't get embarrassed for what she had said. She simply smiled innocently at him and moved across the kitchen to another giant pantry.
"We have packaged cookies, if you want. Not as good as the fresh kind, but it's still pretty good," she said, turning and winking at Alex.
Alex watched her, grinning as she winked at him and shrugging, "Sure, I suppose that works for me, some sort of chocolate chip cookie has to be better than none." He followed her after she turned to look at him, hoping that the cookies she was talking about were in the pantry. Fresh cookies were better than packaged, but packaged were better than nothing. Plus, it was more time he got to spend around Princess Lacy.
Kohen stayed where he was, either lost in thought or studying the rest of the kitchen in amazement. He would willingly spend much more time in this kitchen, but he knew it was frowned upon to have more interest in the food and cooking than in the princess. After all, he was selected as a suitor for her.
Lacey felt Alex behind her, following her, and grinned. She led him into the giant pantry, which appeared to be the third largest in the kitchen, and opened the door. It was pitch dark inside, and her hand slid along the wall, looking for a switch, unable to find it for the longest moment.
Finally, she found the light switch and turned it on, revealing shelves upon shelves of carb-and-sugar-filled goodness, from cookies to chips to candy to weird packaged french cookies whose names were unpronouncable. "You can pick what you want to eat," she said, grinning at Alex.