A Royal Distraction

by Daphne James Huff

  Chapter 9

  “Finally!” Stella cried when she saw Alix walk in the door. She was lounging on the couch in her bedroom, a disorderly pile of discarded magazines on the floor next to her.

  “What do you mean finally?” Alix shot back, hands on her hips. “I’m not the one who’s been busy hooking up with a prince all summer. I’ve been here since May.”

  Alix tried to keep her face serious, but broke into a smile seconds later at Stella’s failed attempt at an outraged expression.

  “Come on, we’ll be late for the movie,” Alix said, and turned to head right back out the door. “I am sorry that I was late. The traffic getting through the city center was bad.”

  They’d been trying for weeks to pick out a day to go out together, and Stella kept canceling because Anton wanted to see her. It had annoyed Alix at first, but Stella was so clearly ecstatic about how things were going with him. It was hard to be mad at your best friend when she was practically glowing. Besides, they’d been texting nonstop since she’d been back in the country. Still, nothing beat a night out to talk in person.

  “It’s a shame your parents’ apartment is being renovated,” Stella said, grabbing her bag from her bed and following Alix out into the hall. “We would have been neighbors again! For the first time since we were like, three.”

  “That would have been nice,” Alix agreed, as they made their way through the lush, carpeted halls of the Erimere apartment in the quiet Schufalter district of the city. The rooms she had in the palace had everything she needed, and more, but she was always very aware that it wasn’t hers. She hadn’t wanted to bring too much stuff with her and look like she was settling in.

  “Is it weird being at the palace full-time?” Stella asked, reading her thoughts.

  Alix nodded. They were out in the street now, walking arm in arm towards the small, family-run cinema that she had loved for years. It was always the highlight of her trips to Prynesse, with their special caramel popcorn and frothy hot chocolates. Only those that lived in this district tended to frequent it; it was too far from the city center and too old-fashioned to be of any interest to most of Stella’s typical crowd. She felt a relief at being so far from the busy center and the crowds, and a joy that only comes from being in old jeans and sneakers after a long day in heels and a pencil skirt.

  “Still, it must be nice having Duncan down the hall.” Stella waggled her eyebrows suggestively. Alix blushed. “His rooms must be pretty nice.”

  “He’s on the complete opposite side of the building, you know that. And besides, I haven’t been to his rooms.”

  “Yet,” said Stella, echoing her thoughts once again.

  Alix tried to hold back a smile.

  “Did Anton invite you to Helena’s birthday party this weekend?” Alix asked.

  Stella nodded.

  “I’m surprised you said you’d go with him, after how mad you were when we left the gala the other night,” Stella said.

  “Well, he did come to apologize in person,” she said. “Which is not something all guys will do. And he said this would be a smaller event, so I’ll be able to talk to him a bit more.”

  “I thought you weren’t interested in talking,” Stella waggled her eyebrows again. Alix laughed this time.

  “I’m not, but that doesn’t mean I want to waste time this summer with someone boring and awful. He seems like he might be pretty nice.”

  “Hmmm.”

  “What?” Alix stopped and turned to look at her. “Did Anton tell you something? Is Duncan really as big a jerk as his reputation makes him out to be?” Stella had kept her abreast of the goings on at the palace for years. But she’d never told her much about Duncan beyond what most people said about him – he was never serious about anyone and just wanted to have fun. Her focus had always been Anton, who was much more interesting fodder for the gossip mills.

  “Please, I have more important things to do with Anton than talk about his brother,” Stella grinned widely.

  Alix laughed again. It was so great to be going out just the two of them.

  “Um, when you’re taking a break from ravishing each other,” Alix started. Stella smiled. “Do you usually talk in Prynessian?” Alix blushed. With Stella, she’d always communicated in a mix of French and English, with smatterings of Prynessian thrown in, mostly when their respective grandparents were around.

  “Are you seriously still worried about that bitch Christiana?” Stella said. “Who cares if your Prynessian isn’t perfect? Your French is eight thousand times better than hers. She sounds like a backwards hick. You sound like you’re from Paris.”

  This is exactly what Alix needed to hear, and squeezed Stella’s arm in gratitude. She really did understand it quite well, she just didn’t speak it that easily. It was coming back, however, the longer she was in the country. And no one had ever made a comment or anything like that. Still, she was hoping her Refugee Medical Alliance internship would be in a French or English speaking country, rather than somewhere where she didn’t know the language. She didn’t like the feeling of not being very good at something everyone expected her to know.

  “So, what are you wearing to the party?” Stella asked, drawing her thoughts back to Duncan.

  “Something that’ll make him speechless in all three languages,” Alix grinned.

  They continued to talk clothes and boys as they walked into the cinema right up until the trailers started rolling. They could have continued the conversation – they were the only ones at the cinema on such a nice summer evening. But as they sat in the darkened room watching the film, Alix thought how nice it was to be with a friend who you didn’t have to say a word to– just being together made everything seem better.

  Chapter 10

  Duncan and Alix arrived at Helena’s apartment a little after eight thirty that Saturday evening. He was more nervous than he’d expected and had spent longer than usual getting ready. Normally, he felt bored before this kind of party. Even when it was for his family, who he loved, it was always the same people, the same food, the same drinks. Tonight, however, with Alix, it felt different. Hence the nerves and the extra fifteen minutes in front of the mirror.

  Even with the nerves, he was more relaxed than he’d been at the gala, and he hoped that it would rub off on Alix. She was twisting the diamond bangle around her wrist. He took her hand as they rode the elevator up to the penthouse. She smiled up at him, her tongue darting out quickly to lick her lips. This tiny movement, combined with the exceptionally short dress she was wearing, made him want to press the emergency stop button on the elevator and forget the pretense of the party. Instead, he took a deep breath and reminded himself that his sister had gone through a lot of trouble to set up this evening and would murder him if he didn’t at least show up for part of it.

  As they walked in, all eyes turned to them, hand in hand. Duncan immediately spotted his brothers’ smirks, and Helena’s wide smile. Anton bent to whisper something in Stella’s ear, who then smiled wider than Helena. Leo quickly went back to talking to a redhead Duncan didn’t recognize. She wasn’t a noble, and they didn’t have many friends that weren’t. He wasn’t sure what she was doing there, though by the look on Leo’s face, he had an idea of what they’d be doing later – the same thing he hoped to be doing with Alix as soon as he could find a reason to tell Helena they were leaving. A few friends were scattered around the room, no more than a dozen people total. Duncan was pleased to see Helena had kept it small. Despite her initial reluctance to even have the party, she was known for going a bit over the top.

  “Hi, Alix,” Helena welcomed her, leading her away from Duncan and over to the drinks and food. She hadn’t gone so far as getting a DJ, but she’d gotten a full buffet and bar, staffed by male waiters that seemed a bit too interested in helping Alix select her food.

  “Come see the view, Alix,” Duncan called her away from the waiters. Helena rolled her eyes at her brother, his sudden flare of jealousy not escaping her notice. He
suddenly wished he’d been able to think of some other way to see Alix on his own that hadn’t involved his sister.

  “Wow,” Alix breathed, taking in the bird’s eye view of the city. “It reminds me of New York.”

  “Really?” Duncan liked the view over the palace and ancient fortifications, but knew it was nothing compared to the skyscrapers of the Big Apple.

  “Just seeing the city lit up like this, at night, from above,” she mused.

  “Do you miss it?”

  “Yes,” she said without hesitation.

  “Do you think you’ll go back?”

  “No, I need to see new things.”

  “You’re not staying here now that school is over?” He knew she wanted to be a doctor, but had assumed she’d go to school here, or in neighboring Switzerland.

  She shrugged.

  “For a while,” she said, noncommittally, keeping her gaze fixed over the city. Duncan wondered what she was thinking behind those deep amber eyes. He started to reach out a hand to brush her arm.

  “What’s with the twenty questions, little brother?” said Helena, suddenly appearing at his side.

  Duncan glared at her. He hadn’t noticed that she’d made her way over to them.

  “Well, if it’s ask Alix anything we want night, then it’s my turn,” she continued, grinning. She turned to Alix who smiled shyly at her. “Who is the restaurant for?”

  “What restaurant?” Alix looked confused.

  “Duncan!” she scolded, giving him a very annoyed look. “You were supposed to tell her that she won the auction! I can’t trust you to do anything!”

  She walked away in a huff. Duncan thought she was overreacting a little, but was annoyed that she’d said that in front of Alix. She already thought he wasn’t capable of cleaning his own apartment; he didn’t need her to realize that his whole family thought he was incompetent.

  “No cleaning, no charity, not even errands for your sister?” Alix said, with a smile. “What are you doing with your life, Duncan?”

  He looked up, a sharp, defensive retort on his lips. He bit it back when he realized her tone was soft, her eyes kind. They sparkled with teasing, and his heart skipped a beat. No one talked to him like this other than his siblings. Other girls were too focused on his body or his crown to attempt any kind of banter that wasn’t sexual in nature.

  “Everyone’s always done everything for me,” he started, gazing out the window towards the city. “I never needed to learn how to do anything myself. And I never will, if I don’t want to.”

  “Your siblings want to,” she remarked, her voice curious, not judging.

  “Well, Leo will be king, and Helena is the only girl in the family,” he shrugged. “They knew that they were special the minute they were born.”

  “And Anton?”

  “He’s an amazing artist,” said Duncan, not trying to hide the admiration in his voice. “He has this incredible talent, ever since he was young. They doted on the baby of the family, so creative.”

  She looked around the room, taking in the artwork.

  “It’s all his,” Duncan answered her silent question. “Like I said, incredible talent.

  “I tried a few things like the piano and fencing. I was good, but nothing really stuck. They didn’t seem bothered when I stopped, so I figured I wouldn’t waste any more effort. I’d just do what they expected, and follow the path they laid out for me,” he went on. “They never had to spend much time on me. Even if I tried to figure out what I wanted, or tried to do it on my own, I wouldn’t know how.”

  He tried to keep the bitterness out of this voice. Thankfully, the babble of voices and low music kept their conversation relatively private. Alix reached up and gently touched his shoulder.

  “Is that why you still live at the palace, and didn’t get an apartment like the others?” she asked. “You don’t think you could do it on your own?”

  He looked away, not wanting to answer.

  “I live at the palace because I do so many more events than they do,” he said finally. “And I always will, until I know what I want to do with myself; which I never will.”

  This was not what he’d planned on talking to her about this evening. He never opened up to anyone like this, not even his twin sister. Alix just seemed so different than anyone he knew. It had all just come tumbling out when he had seen that kind, understanding look in her eyes. She had known a whole life in the world outside the palace. He didn’t think she could really understand how he felt, but at least he was pretty sure that she wouldn’t mock him like his family did.

  “Hey,” she said softly, wrapping her arm around his back to cuddle close to him. “It’s okay, Duncan. You’ll figure it out. Not everyone needs to know what they want to do when they’re five.”

  “Is that when you knew you’d be a doctor?”

  “No, I was seven,” she said, smiling at the memory. “My father got really sick with pneumonia and I wanted to help take care of him.”

  “Nothing like that ever happened to me,” he said, almost sadly. “Everything just came so easily. I don’t need to fight or try hard for anything.”

  She didn’t say anything for a minute, following his gaze out the window.

  “Well, you don’t need to figure it all out tonight,” she said with the same sexy smile she’d given him in the elevator. “Tonight, we’ll just have fun, okay?”

  She clearly wanted the evening to end the same way as he did. His smiled wide, excited, turning on his charm again.

  “Why don’t I go refill your drink?” he said, running his hand down her arm before taking her glass. He grinned when he saw her shiver at his touch.

  “Thanks. I’ll just head to the ladies’ room,” she said, looking around.

  “Through the kitchen and third door on the right,” he said.

  She turned to go, making sure to brush up against him as she left.

  He took a deep breath to keep himself from running after her and leading her from the bathroom to one of the bedrooms. Instead, he turned his back on her and made his way over to the bar, thinking that this was one of the best parties Helena had even thrown. He heard Alix scream less than ten seconds later.

  Chapter 11

  Alix made her way to the kitchen, thinking of how different Duncan seemed tonight. He was so relaxed and comfortable here in his sister’s apartment. He opened up in a way that she hadn’t expected. She didn’t want him to get so serious with her, but he seemed to need someone to open up to. Why he had chosen her remained a mystery. Or maybe it was something he did with all the girls as part of his wooing technique. Either way, it had certainly gotten her thinking about how gentle he might be in other areas…

  Distracted by her thoughts of Duncan and where the night might lead, she didn’t see the puddle of wine on the kitchen floor. Her heel went coasting through it, throwing her off balance. She grabbed for something, anything, to stop her fall, and came up with only empty bottles of wine on the counter. They crashed to the floor as she fell on top of them. The pain in her hands and legs was sharp and sudden as the broken glass cut into her. She cried out, more from shock at first, and then screamed as the adrenaline of the fall passed and the true pain began.

  The dozen people at the party all came rushing into the kitchen at the first cry. The room was large, but it soon got crowded and hot. Duncan pushed his way through everyone to squat down next to her, careful not to touch any of the glass or get anything on his pants.

  “Are you okay?” his eyes were full of concern. He didn’t try to touch or move her. Nervous energy radiated off of him. He was waiting for her, his sister—anyone, really—to tell him what to do. The others voiced a similar question, inquiring how they could help.

  “I’m fine,” she said, though it wasn’t really true. “I need a washcloth to start cleaning myself up.”

  Duncan stood, and made his way past her toward the cabinets, crunching the glass.

  “No, go around!” Alix cried, the pain sud
denly biting into her as she shifted her weight from one hand to the other.

  He stopped in place and looked around, unsure what to do. Alix could feel her frustration mounting. Everyone was staring at her, the pain was starting to become unbearable, and she didn’t want to be crying in front of people. Especially these people, who, besides the royal siblings and Stella, she didn’t really know. She turned her tear-filled eyes to her best friend in a silent plea, and Stella bent to help pull her up from under her arms. Helena began shooing the rest of the guests out of the kitchen. Then she helped Stella lead Alix over to a counter stool. Duncan was still standing in the middle of the glass, looking for someone to tell him what to do.

  “Go get a broom to clean it up,” his sister hissed at him, annoyed, as well, by his inaction.

  He returned a moment later with the bartender, who began cleaning and apologizing profusely for the accident.

  “You should see a doctor,” Duncan said, as Stella came over with a wet washcloth, tweezers, and some ice. There was a jagged cut on Alix’s leg that was bleeding quite a bit. She tried to hold a cloth to it to stop the bleeding, but it soaked through in a few seconds. She took off the thin belt she had on and tightened it around her leg to at least slow the bleeding a bit. Duncan was probably right, but she didn’t want to admit it. She was embarrassed he’d seen her cry, and annoyed he hadn’t thought to remove the spectators from the room.

  “I’m fine,” she repeated. “Just go with the others, I don’t need your help.”

  He stared at her for a moment, and then stalked off, almost pouting. Was he seriously mad at her? She realized the ridiculousness of being mad at him for not knowing how she felt with just a glance, the way Stella could, but she was in too much pain to be very logical at the moment.