Warrior Hearts

Friendzoned

A/N: Voila! Here's a double update in honor of one of my favorite reader's, who is insanely talented, and the new cover is all a result of her hard work. The one and only  ElysianCoral. Happy reading xx

"You know what, Malhotra?" I say in exasperation, as I halt in my tracks and turn around to face him. "Let me give you another piece of friendly advice." Folding his arms in front of his chest, Malhotra watches me, completely unbothered by my outburst. "It's not going to work with me. This charm of yours, these efforts...they won't work with me. I'm not like the damsels you meet on a daily basis. There's a kingdom behind me, and so I've got absolutely no time for petty bull, like two minutes of pleasure. You won't get to bed me, Malhotra." For the first time, I'm saying this clear and out loud, even though I have been thinking about it for quite some time now. "So I suggest you drop the efforts, and invest them elsewhere. Maybe in a woman who will be able to give you something in return."

"You can give me all that I want, Princess," Malhotra murmurs.

"Pardon?" I ask, my chest heaving up and down with raw rage. I swear to the heavens that if this man tries any other trick on me tonight, I will forget all about my mantra and slice through his jugular vein.

"I mean, you've got everything I want, without so much as trying, Princess. Otherwise, think about it. Why would I be out here - under this moonlight - spending the hours with you?" Malhotra's gaze travels up towards the full moon, almost as if he has strategically positioned it in the sky himself. Following his gaze, I, too, glance up at it. Something about the white light causes my anger levels to decrease measurably.

"Go feed this bull to your other lady friends," I retort, scoffing. However, I must admit, I am no longer as enraged as I was mere seconds ago. Perhaps, Malhotra is a gifted sweet-talker.

"I promise I'm done with my foolery for the evening." My enemy says, raising his palms to face me, as if he's declaring his innocence. "Just...don't go." Warily, I stare at Malhotra. Why in the world am I hesitating from departing? "Let me at least empty my goblet, and then we can retire to our respective chambers together." Smiling at me encouragingly, Malhotra nods his head towards where we were previously seated.

"I-I'm not staying for you." I say, marching back towards my seat. "The moonlight is simply too good to leave behind." Dropping myself into the chair, I add, "Besides, I was here first." I was here first, I mentally repeat. How mature of me to say so! I do blame Malhotra for making a fool of me. However, I must admit that I am well capable of doing so quite easily on my own

"Whatever you say, Princess." Malhotra says, fully well seeing through my bluff. However, he does not call me out on it. Wise move. For some reason, I find my hand reaching out for the untouched goblet. Lord only remembers the last time that I even had a sip of wine. Tonight, however, seems like a good time to break this unintentional abstinence.

"Cheers," I say, raising the goblet in my hand in Malhotra's direction.

"To you," he completes, picking up his own half empty one.

"Me? Why me?" I question, surprised. "It's not like I've won a medal of honour."

"We don't need a reason to celebrate you," Malhotra explains, smiling. "Heck, in my opinion, the world should celebrate you daily. You're a living, breathing, one of a kind example."

"Cut the bull," I murmur, rolling my eyes. "Butter should be reserved for the toasts at breakfast."

"No, I seriously mean it." Malhotra argues, scooting closer to me. "Thank you for lending me a few precious hours of your day." Nodding at me, he takes the goblet to his lips, not once breaking eye contact from me. Lord, these brown orbs of his have the power to weaken my knees time and again. I despise it. Instead of emptying the contents of my goblet sip by sip - the way a lady should - I down the entire wine in one gulp.