Up For The Test (Aru Shah AU)

Chapter Thirteen

3rd Person

Aiden got home, and reporters were already flooding around the outside of the carriage.

"Prince Aiden!" one called as he stepped out.

He gave them his sweetest smile. "Hi," he replied.

"How are you today?" another spoke.

"I'm doing alright. How about you?" 

"I'm good. Are the rumors about Princess Arundhati Shah being abducted true?"

Aiden faltered with his words. "I-uh-not my place. Queen Urvashi could address this better than I could," he finally answered.

"How do you feel about the princess? We all know that you have had an on-and-off relationship with her."

Aiden's eyes widened. "Uh, she is amazing."

"That wasn't really an answer for the question."

"Oh, yeah, whoops. Shah is an awesome friend to me. She is sweet, and her presence just warms a room."

"Could you two ever be more? Thousands of fans now ship you two."

Aiden glanced at his mother, who was moving through the crowd, and she had made her way to Kara. He worriedly looked back at the reporter.

"No one knows what the future may hold for any of us. I must get going now," he answered.

He pushed through the crowds, and he loosened his tie until it was completely undone. Cameras flashed around the royal family.  His mother wrapped an arm around his shoulder and guided him to the end of the reporters.

"Hey!" Kara smiled. "How was the ball?"

"Shah is missing, so not that great."

"Arundhati should be the least of your problems."

"She's my friend, Kara. She always will be as long as I quit messing things up."

"You lived without her before, you can live without her now."

"That's enough, Kara!" Aiden snapped. "I could drop you just as quickly as you can blink."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Make one more snide remark about Shah, and I will, Kara."

Kara ran her tongue over her teeth, wondering whether she would make another comment about Aru.

"I get it, Aiden. You're going to dump me for someone more in your league. You both are the lowest of the low."

"We're done," Aiden said, ending their relationship.

Reporters swarmed around him as he walked away.

The same interviewer from before came up to Aiden. "Does this mean that there is a chance for Princess Arundhati?"

Aiden turned to the gentleman. "Ya know? There just might be. It just depends if she likes me back or not."

"Likes you back?"

"Yeah. Kara fogged my head. I now realized that... maybe I do like Aru. Maybe Kara was just a bump in the road for me. Kara just isn't for me."

"I'm sure all of your beloved fans would love to hear this."

Aiden smiled and continued to walk to his castle just up the driveway. He looked at the white and green castle that he called home.

"Home is where the heart is," Aiden's father said, walking down the driveway. "Welcome home again, son."