𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐮𝐛𝐲 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬

ELEVEN.

TRIGGER WARNING: MENTIONS SCARS AS A RESULT OF ABUSE

It was still morning when Ruby was walking back from the target practice fields, her heels clicking on the stone ground as she walked passed the statue of King Beast. She had just tried perfecting her aim in archery. She was decent at it now. Of course, nowhere near as good as Ricky was, but he was even farther away from how good she was when it came to knife-throwing, so she counted it as a win.

She was caught up in her thoughts, not paying attention when a hand grabbed hers, making her jump. In reflex, Ruby had used her free hand to grab the attackers throat. Only afterwards realizing that it wasn't an attacker who had grabbed her hand, but actually Ben. Ruby quickly let go and breathed out a sigh.

"Lord Hades. Don't do that." She glared. Ben gave a reassuring smile, squeezing the hand that was still clasped in his.

"Oops." He grinned, rubbing his throat. "So, did you just practice knife-throwing again?"

"Nah, not this time. Ricky is teaching me archery."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'm teaching him knife-throwing in return."

"So, are you any good?" Ben asked. Ruby pursed her lips.

"I'm getting there. I can hit a target, just not accurately yet."

"Should I be worried about how proficient you're getting with weapons?" Ben joked lightly. Ruby chuckled.

"Cute. You think I actually need the weapons?"

"Oh, no. I've seen first-hand what you can do without."

Ruby grinned proudly. The couple had entered the school while talking and Ben had led Ruby towards his room, which he had all to himself. Perks of being the crown prince. Ruby had spent a lot of time with Ben just hanging around or watching movies in his room, because no one would burst in unexpectedly, like what happened in Ruby's shared dorm a lot. The two entered and Ben held the door for her, which she rolled her eyes at. Ruby let herself fall down on Ben's bed and relaxed.

When Ben kept standing near the door, fiddling with his ring, Ruby knew that there was something on his mind. He always fiddled with that ring if he was deep in thought. She rested up on her elbows and looked up at Ben. He had his brows furrowed for a moment until he noticed Ruby looking his way and his frown was replaced by a smile.

"What's on your mind, Beastie?" Ben chuckled at the nickname Ruby had taken to calling him. To others, it might seem like mockery, but Ben knew it was her own form of endearment. It was funny how well he actually knew her when Ruby was so closed off about how she felt.

Ben went to sit down next to Ruby, her scooting to the side a bit to make room for him. Ruby sat up completely and became a bit nervous when Ben grabbed hold of her hand as if it was the most delicate thing he had ever held.

"Ruby, we've been together for a little while now and though we've hung out a lot, I realized I never took you on a date. A real, proper one. So, I was wondering, would you please go out with me?" He asked her, hazel green locked onto coffee brown. Ruby's eyes widened.

"You want to go on a date?" It took everything in the princess not to shriek, the thought of a date intimidating her greatly. Hand-holding and a kiss on the cheek she didn't mind, she didn't mind hanging out casually either. But a date? Like romance and feelings and such? Ruby feared it would turn into a disaster. Actually, no, she knew it would turn into a disaster.

Ben nodded and looked at her expectantly. Ruby wanted to say no, safe herself the awkwardness and discomfort, but she knew she couldn't. Her and the other VKs' plan depended on her being Ben's girlfriend. A date was apparently unavoidable.