Royal Obligations

Chapter 6: The Company of Forrest

I enter back into the warm air and smile. My smile on the outside looks sweet and charming because I have mastered that one. On the inside? It's more diabolical. You would think I would feel bad about what I'm doing. After all, Prince Harlan was just looking for love. But technically I wasn't doing anything wrong. He will never know my true feelings, and sometimes a false sense of security is the best kind of security.

I remember writing about how luck is an illusion.

As I was thinking a hundred miles a minute in my head, I ran right into someone.

Maybe it really does exist.

I yelp with surprise as I feel myself falling, but swift arms catch me so I don't fall on my ass.

Prince Forrest has one hand on my waist while the other is pressing against my back. His touch gave me shivers, but I wasn't sure if it felt like electricity or a million spiders crawling up my back.

"You must be more careful, love." He looks down at me with a genuine smile.

"Sorry." I force myself to blush, and it wasn't that hard considering I was just outside in the brisk fall air.

He still hangs onto me and I wonder when he will let go. I hope he will soon, because I feel my control slipping. Young King Everette didn't even catch Hero, so how was I supposed to handle this?

Prince Forrest lets me go and gives me a once over. This was throwing me off. He wasn't acting much like a prince. "I know who you are," he smirks. "You're that foster kid."

"I'm not a kid," I say, masking off any emotion.

"No," his eyes wander in unwanted places. "You're certainly not."

He wasn't acting like a prince at all. His words and actions were making me seethe inside. All I wanted to do was kick him in the balls.

"You finished?" I ask in a sweet tone, but anyone could have heard the venom laced in between my words.

Prince Forrest crosses his arms and gives me a cocky grin. "You're a little ungrateful." his words sounded sweet, but he did the same thing as me. The venom laced through his words didn't go unnoticed.

"Ungrateful... How?" I ask, tilting my head to the side.

He gives me an annoyed look. "You're lucky I'm even looking at you, you know."

I raise an eyebrow. "Excuse me? That was rude." I say trying to sound polite.

Prince Forrest chuckles. "Listen, I can see why you were chosen. You're obviously gorgeous on the outside and you're probably like my grandma or my mother- you're sweet on the inside as well. You're stubborn but genuinely a good person. You're probably only here because you want to send donations to your orphanage. "

I almost laughed, but I kept a straight face.

He takes a step closer to me and tries to give me an intimidated look. Too bad I've seen it all and I bet if I was any other selected here I probably would have coward away.

"If you think me or my brother will even consider you as a legible bride, you're naive. I will not have a girl without a caste to have a say in this kingdom. I give you two weeks," He glares down at me, "Then you're out of here. That's enough time for you to send money and food to your little rats back at home."

I look up at him and shrug, not backing away. "I give you two weeks before you're slapped by fifty percent of the girls here. That's enough time for you to stare at thirty five pairs of boobs and grope thirty five sets of bodies." I smooth out my nightgown and clear my throat. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get to bed." I walk around him and don't bother to see his reaction. "Good night..." I trail off and turn back toward him. "What is your name again?"

He clenches his fist tightly and glares at me angrily before I snap my fingers. "Right! You're Woods..."

"Forrest." He corrects with snap.

"Same thing." I say with a smile before rounding the corner and not looking back.

***

Dear Formal Plan,

You were such a good idea at first, and you actually worked too. Prince Harlan will no doubt remember me. But I needed you to work for both princes, and unfortunately, I have to alter you a little bit. Like I said, Illéa has a cycle. A pattern. It seems one half of the Schreave twins has been set back a couple generations. If I didn't know any better, I was dealing with a sort of King Clarkson. Which meant it was time for me to dig up information about Queen Amberly. There is a very big library here, and I'm sure Victoria wouldn't mind me doing some extra research on Illéa. I have focused too much on becoming America or Hero. One half of my new mask needed to now again change. I must be two different types of girls. Have two different personalities.

As much as I wanted to give up on Forrest and pour all my energy into pleasing Prince Harlan, every master manipulator needs a back up plan. Prince Forrest was going to be very hard to keep on his toes. I mean, he was just the back up plan. The back up plan isn't supposed to be more complicated than the original. Again, I had no choice. Tomorrow is the day I was supposed to meet both princes. I just needed to spend a little extra time tonight touching up my plan and making small but big changes. Prince Forrest had to somehow fall head over heels for me. He was rude, disrespectful, inconsiderate, and shallow.

How hard could it possibly be?

Sincerely, Cordelia