When Alex saw Elijah again he was helping another kitchen boy with setting out the large meals.
Alex watched Elijah as he talked with the other man. He was way more relaxed than he ever was. He even smiled and laughed a couple times. Alex walked towards Elijah and the other kitchen boy seemed to freeze.
He bowed. "Good afternoon, Sir." He slapped his mouth and apologized. "I'm so sorry for talking! Please forgive me!"
Alex grinded his teeth. "You don't need to do that. I don't like the whole giving permission thing. You can talk whenever."
"Thank you for your forgiveness!" The boy exclaimed and bowed again.
Elijah bowed slightly too. "Good Afternoon." He said, softly and glanced at the other man.
"I've been looking for you," Alex said, poking his shoulder. He turned to the other kitchen boy who was still bowed. "You can stop bowing.."
The kitchen boy immediately did and looked at the ground nervously. "I'm going to.. go do other kitchen things. May I be excused?"
"Sure." Alex shrugged. "If you-"
The kitchen boy walked away quickly hitting his arm in regret. Elijah followed the boy with his eyes. "He means well."
"Do you know each other?" He asked.
Elijah shrugged. "I guess? He knew my brother. So I saw him sometimes around my old house."
"Who's your brother?" Alex asked.
Elijah waved his hands. "He's.. nobody really." He shifted uncomfortably. "Just a brother I guess."
"I would kill for a brother! Where is he?" Alex asked. "Do you guys still talk?"
Elijah rubbed his face and shrugged again. "I don't know."
"What do you mean?" Alex asked.
"I don't know!" Elijah exclaimed. He looked around and took a breath. "Sorry. I don't know where he is. We don't talk anymore. We're not close."
"Oh," Alex said. "Sorry for intruding." He rolled his shoulders and clapped. "Well, Do you want anything to drink?"
Elijah looked at him. "Pardon?"
"This party is going to be a killer," Alex said. "Especially with me. You're going to get exhausted.. do you want a drink?"
"I'm 20.." Elijah replied.
"What??" Alex exclaimed. They both started walking towards a more secluded area. "You look my age."
"How old are you?" Elijah asked.
"22." Alex said, stopping and standing closer to the outside area. He looked outside and took a deep breath. "They're coming."
Elijah looked past him and sucked his teeth. "Looks like it." He rubbed his hands together and looked outside. He looked at Alex and rubbed his shoulder. "It's okay. You'll just get a bunch of snobs coming up to you."
"Excuse me."
Elijah turned around and immediately removed his hand from Alex and stood straighter. He bowed slightly and took a step back.
Alex turned around and sighed. He faced the window again. "What?"
"Remember you need to find a consort. Which means you need to mingle. Actually, talk to people." Alex's father said. "Not stand in the corner with your supervisor and doing..." He stopped and trailed off.
Alex looked over his shoulder. "Doing what?" He pressed.
The king scowled. "Just mingle. I want a consort by the end of the night."
