Playing With Fire

The Prince

"Cordelia, wake up," Carver shook me awake.

I gasped, looking around, trying to slow my heart rate. The plane had landed, and passengers were beginning to stand up and file off the plane. "Sorry," I looked over at Carver, who had worry written all over his face. "It was just a nightmare." Carver frowned but didn't respond, letting it go for now.

Carver didn't say anything until we made our way through customs."Grandfather said he would meet us at the arrival gate" Carver. I nodded, wiping the sweat off my palms and onto my leggings.

Sure enough, our Grandfather stood waiting for us right outside the arrivals gate. He waved us over when he saw us grimacing slightly at our bedraggled appearance.

"Carver, Cordelia, you made it" he smiled warmly at us, appearing for all the world to be a doting grandfather.

"Yes, sir," Carver smiled back, stiffly.

Carver and our chatted amiably amongst themselves until we reached a tall glistening apartment building. "Welcome home," Grandfather said, startling me. "You'll live here with me when you're on break from school. The building has a pool, spa, and gym, as well as a private rooftop garden. I've also taken the liberty of preparing rooms for each of you. You should find everything you need in there," he explained as we stepped into an elevator. My eyes widened as he pressed the button for the 39th floor.

We stepped off the elevator and into a sophisticated modern apartment. "Carver, your room is on the first floor and to the right. Cordelia, Your room is on the second floor and to the left. Dinner will be served in an hour, and I will expect you both to dress for dinner," He said, dismissing us.

Shrugging at each other, Carver and I went off in search of our rooms. I found mine easily enough. The room was decorated in the same modern style as the rest of the apartment. The wall was a large window looking out at the city. I shuddered, wondering how I was supposed to sleep with that constant reminder of how high up we were. I went into the marble bathroom that was equity with a bathtub shower and large mirror. I peeked in one of the cabinets to find that it was fully stocked with every type of cosmetic imaginable. I opened up another cabinet to find several types of shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and lotion. I closed the cabinets feeling like I was snooping and headed into the walk-in closet attached to the bathroom.

Sure enough, the closet was full of skirts, blouses, dresses, shoes, and jewelry. I even found lingerie and sleepwear in there. The only thing that I couldn't find was a pair of pants or even shorts.

I picked out what appeared to be the least formal and most comfortable thing in the closet, which was a flouncy light pink skirt and a white button-down blouse before hopping in the shower. It felt delicious to scrub off all of the sweat after a long day of travel. As much as it annoyed me that I hadn't had a say in choosing anything in my room, I had to admit that the soaps and shampoo smelled heavenly.

After changing and wrangling my curls into a messy bun, I headed downstairs. Carver was perched awkwardly on a chair in slacks and a button-down.

"Wow, you look all respectable" I laughed at my brother.

"Cordelia, I thought I told you to dress for dinner. Our guests will be here any moment," grandfather grimaced at me. "Go upstairs and change into something more presentable. And please put on some shoes this time."

I opened my mouth to snap back at him, but I felt Carver gently grab my wrist, and I remembered what he'd asked me to do earlier. Pursing my lips, I turned and headed back upstairs. Grumbling, I picked out a short black dress with a lacy bodice and flowery skirts and paired it with simple black heels. Before heading back downstairs, I went to my backpack and took out a diamond-encrusted ruby pendant. The necklace had been a gift from my father before I'd left for school in New York. He'd said that it was a family heirloom, although, at the time, I'd figured it was a gift to appease his guilt about sending me off. However, if it really was a family heirloom, then wearing it might appease our grandfather, and that would appease Carver.