8 Proper Table But No Manners

I was jumping on the clouds and enjoying my freedom. The clouds then suddenly turn into those soft mushy cotton candies. I squealed in delight as I flopped down and hugged the sweet candy goodness.

This is heaven, I thought.

I was enjoying my life when suddenly, it started to rain making the cotton candy dissolve. And since I'm floating on one right now...

I started to sprint away from the rain cloud. Wait...a cloud raining on another cloud? That's weird. The thunder started to roar, but instead of the normal BOOM, it decided to call my name.

"ROSE!!"

A lightning suddenly strikes in front of me, making me fall off the ground - er cloud. The rain cloud was approaching me, but I couldn't move. I was frozen to the spot from fear and shock. When I looked up, there was a shadow of a man in front of me. I couldn't decipher the face of the man. Heck, I couldn't even see from the darkness of the rain cloud.

I muffled a scream when the man suddenly reached out to me. To make it more creepier, he was calling my name. "Rose". I started to scream and tried to slap his hands away from me as he shook me back and forth.

"Rose"

"ROSE!"

My eyes jerked open, only to be met by two green orbs staring at me. I recognize those eyes. Those eyes would only belong to Nate, whose face is currently above mine making me see the red specks in his eyes.

"Well good morning Princess" He said, complete with a smile and all. On reflexes, I screamed and slapped him across the cheek. My palm connected his cheek with a loud smack. My hands throbbed from the impact, which made me sit up and clutch my hand.

"OW!! WHAT THE HECK?!" Both of us screamed.

"Why'd you slap me?" Nate asked while clutching his cheek.

"Cause you startled me!" I snapped at him. One thing to know about me is that I am not a morning person. I grunted as I rubbed my aching palm. "And why do you have such a hard cheek!? What is that made of? Rock?"

At that, Nate's lips twitch in the tinsies smile that he could. "It hurts huh?" he said with pride as if he was amused that slapping him hurts.

I gave him a glare. How dare he smile knowing that he injured my palm. Well technically it's my fault, but hello? He's the one with a hard face!

"Of course it does. Try slapping yourself to see if it hurts or not." I said, not easing my glare at him. He rubbed his chin as if he was thinking about it.

"Nope. Sorry. I'm not gonna damage my face by doing that cause I'm pretty sure that my slap is stronger than you, babe. And besides, your slap hurts too you know." He made a pouty face at me and pointed towards his said cheek. "Now go and kiss it to make it better."

I ignored him as I pulled the sheets over me, ready to take my sleep once again. "What are you doing here, Nate? Can't you see that I was in the middle of my sleep?" I yawned to prove my point, but Nate didn't move away from my bed. He was still sitting on the edge of it. Even though my bed is a queen sized one, I still prefer to have the full space for myself. Call me selfish but that's just me.

"Oh. I'm sorry to disturb your beauty rest. I'm guessing the twins must have exhausted you yesterday?" He asked.

"Tell me about it." I said as I fixed my pillow. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to dreamland since I was RUDELY interrupted earlier." I emphasize on the word 'rudely' just so he could get my point before I gave him one of my sweet-fake smiles. "Bye, Nate." I then covered myself with the covers.

"Woah woah woah. Not so fast, little love." Nate tried to pull the covers away from me but I held on to it. Not wanting to lose my comfort zone, which is currently this bed. If you thought that Nate had stopped bugging me about waking up, then you are definitely wrong. He's really pushy as he started to shake me back and forth. "It's time for your training with me. Now don't you want to have a quality time with me?"

"No."

"Aw come on." He whined in such a very cute tone that would make you want to pinch his cheeks like you would with a child, but I am so not touching his cheek again. I threw the covers off of my head and looked at Nate. His eyes sparkled with hope as I did so, but was immediately crushed when I stuck my tongue out at him and covered my head with the sheets again.

"I knew hanging out with the twins was bad for you." he muttered under his breath, which made me snicker. I can see why the twins like to make fun of Nate now. "Come on, Rose. Get up or I'm gonna cry." He threatened.

"That's nice."

I felt the bed dipped a little at his weight and heard him whisper in my ear. "If you won't get up now within 5 seconds, I'm going to tell Prince Fred that since you didn't have your lesson with me that you're cancelling your class with him tomorrow too." He said in his most seductive yet threatening tone. I flinched

Wait. Did he just say what I think he said?

Nate must have felt me flinch when he said. "Fred, is a nice guy. I think he'll understand." I could tell that he was enjoying this and I could picture him smiling through the covers. "What do you say? Either ways. I'm fine with it. But Prince Charming on the other hand..."

Don't move, Rose. Don't let him fool you. It's probably a trick, I thought but I quickly perished it when Nate started to count.

"5"

"..."

"I'm being serious here, Rose. 4."

"..."

"Still nothing? 3-"

I threw the covers away and made sure to toss it at Nate as I scrambled to my feet. "I'm up! I'm up!" I screamed as I arranged my nightgown and made a beeline to the bathroom. It didn't help my mood when I heard Nate chuckled outside of the bathroom. The maids were there as usual to help me.

"DON'T TAKE TOO LONG, SWEETHEART!!!" He yelled, which made me hate him now.

30 minutes later, I made sure to take that long, I got out of the tub and put a bath robe around me. After making sure that the robe is now secured around me, I got out of the room and headed to my closet.

"Ohhhh nice. Very nice. I should come here more often."

My heart nearly jumped out of my chest when I saw Nate lying on on bed and looking at me with approval. I pulled the bath robe tightly around me and I screamed. "Nate, what are you still doing here?!"

"I was waiting for you and-"

"Please escort this stranger out." I asked one of the maids as I pointed towards the door.

"Prince, right this way." The maid said, showing him the way out of the room. He gave me a sad look as if he was pleading for me to let him stay. He tried that for at least 5 seconds before accepting that fact that I would NEVER let him stay and watch me get dressed.

"Fine. But just so you know. You can wear that robe on our training." He winked then wiggled his eyes at me.

"NATE!"

"Alright alright. I'm going." He got up from the bed and stuffed his hands in his pocket grumpily. I made sure not to leave my eyes off of him as I watched him leave, but when he passed me he muttered, "Kill joy." I almost laughed at his childish behavior but no. I mustn't cause he's a pervert. He left the door with a dramatic 'humph' before closing it behind him.

I shook my head as I scanned the closet for something to wear. I decided to go for a mint colored-long sleeved dress that ends just below the knees. I wore my flats since we're just practicing the proper etiquette. I checked myself in the mirror.

"Thank you!" I told the maids when I left the room.

I saw Nate leaning on the wall probably waiting for me. When he saw me, he pouted in that cute way that would make girls swoon. "I prefer you wearing a little bit more revealing." He glared at my dress as if it would melt under his gaze.

"Sorry, Nate. I'm not taking any chances with you around." I smirked at him.

He huffed. "Fine. Lets go." He offered me his arm, which I took. We started to walk down the halls. I let Nate guide me through since I know that he's more familiar with this place more than I do.

While we were walking, we suddenly stopped and scratched his head.

"What's wrong?" I asked worriedly.

He then began to scratch his cheek in embarrassment. "Umm.....I think we went the wrong way." He laughed nervously after that.

My jaw dropped at his confession. I take it back. He doesn't know his way around this castle. The bastard. And I even let this guy with no sense of direction lead me!

"Nate!"

"Umm....oh! I think it's this way." He started to pull me to another room. "Hmmm......yep. This is it, love." He said and pulled me forward as he opened the door to a room. It had nothing in it except for a single round table and some long tables at the side with white cloths over it. Roses were placed on vases on top of the tables, making it look elegant and presentable.

I stared at the setting in awe. "Wow, Nate. You really took some time preparing this place."

"Of course. Anything for my beautiful Princess." He winked at me. "So, do I have a kiss?" He bit his lips and made a seductive face at me.

"No"

"My heart can't take anymore rejection." He put his hands to his heart to prove his point.

I smirked at Nate and shrugged my shoulders. "Oh poor you." I let go of his arm and started to walk to the table to examine the roses and daffodils on the vase. When I looked up to Nate, he was starring at me for quite a long time, not saying anything.

Finally, he spoke. "Am I not good looking?" He asked.

I raised an eyebrow in confusion at him. What is this freak talking about? "All girls can't be interested in you, Nate. Just accept the fact that someone might be better than you."

Nate gasped dramatically. "Is it because of this Fred guy?" He asked in a fake angry tone which made me laugh. "It's him isn't it?!" He said in a tone that boyfriends would use when they are jealous. But his acting was very sloppy.

I decided to join in to humour him. I placed a hand to my chest as I said with all the fake sincerity that I had. "Oh, Nate. I'm so sorry. It's not me, it's you." Wait. wasn't that the other way around?

"It's the cape isn't it?" He looked back towards his cape which was hanging onto his back. I bit my lips, which was trembling from laughter. "I knew it! This cape makes me look fat!" Nate threw his head to the side and muttered some angry words to add to his acting. "No worries my love. I'll make you mine once again. I promise. You will be mine." He said it with a serious face that I burst out laughing. I clutched my stomach and used my other hand as I leaned on the table.

"You're too much! I can't take anymore of your cheesy lines. And your face is stupid!" I gasped as I pointed to his face.

"What face? This sexy little thing?" He raised an eyebrow and puckered his face in a sexy pose. I laughed harder if that was even possible. "Alright. Time to get serious and start this training." He clapped his hands and rubbed them together in excitement.

"Nate, you're the only one who's fooling around you know." I said after I caught my breath. I whipped the exes tears away from my eyes.

"True, but I know that you loved it." He said as he went towards me. He moved the chair in front of the table back and motioned for me to sit in a gentleman like gesture. I sat while I watched Nate delicately arranging the utensils in front of me. He picked up the smallest spoon of the group and showed it to me. "This here is a teaspoon. It's used to stir tea or coffee." He said and placed it back on the table. His finger glided to another one just beside the teaspoon. This time, he took a spoon which is in between the size of a normal spoon and a teaspoon. "This is the dessert spoon. This is used for eating desserts. It's size is larger than the teaspoon so don't mistake it as one. Okay?"

"Noted." I confirmed.

He picked up another one which is of normal size this time. "Now this is our regular spoon." He said. "I don't think I need to explain what this is used for since you probably know it, right?" He looked at me for confirmation which I gave a nod to.

Something that I noticed while Nate was explaining is that he always makes sure that you understand what he's talking about. And the way that he talks to you gives you that vibe that you could easily ask him for anything without him snapping at you.

Unlike a certain PRINCE that I know of.

Nate continued to explain that do's and don'ts in eating. Like - don't leaned your elbows on the table, don't chew loudly, don't stuff yourself, don't slouch, don't burp in front of the table, say 'excuse me' when your leaving the table, and even your eating pace with the others so you'll finished the same time as them. Nate also showed me the proper ways on how to use the knife and how to properly hold the spoons.

"Now you see? This is the proper way to cut. You use your knife to cut through so we could avoid the flying meats." He teased. I pouted at him as I remembered the time when I attempted to cut the meat and a piece to it went flying towards Ace's plate.

"Forget about it!" I was too flustered to make up an excuse about that time.

He chuckled at my childlike behavior and patted my head. "Oh sure, love. Whatever you say. But just remember that if you needed an assistant to cut your food for you, you know who to ask." He winked.

Just as I was about to say a smart comment, we heard a knock at the door. Nate stood up and walked towards it and opened one of the large double doors of the room. He smiled at the person behind it before nodding his head and opening the door wide. As soon as he opened it, a bunch of servants came rushing in holding a tray of what I assume is something edible. Smells of freshly cooked meat wafted in the room making me drool and my stomach screaming in protest, reminded me that I forgot to eat my breakfast thanks to a certain someone.

The servants piled the trays on the long tables at the side and arranged it. They moved in perfect sync as if they had done this a bunch of times already, which I'm probably thinking that they did. A minute later and they were done. As soon as they disappeared behind the doors, I was left with Nate and the delicious smell of the food a few feet in front of me.

I saw Nate smile from the corner of my eyes as he looked at me with amusement as I drooled. He strode towards me and offered me his hand and pulled me up to my feet. He handed me a plate and led me to the table. "Let's start our lesson. Now come on and fill your plate. Remember what I said." He said and nodded for me to start. I didn't waste anytime as I filled my plate, ready to feed my growling stomach.

By the time that I was done you couldn't see a vacant space on my plate anymore. All was covered with mashed potatoes, beef, a slice of pork, and many more. I looked at my plate in approval and satisfaction.

I'm pretty sure that this would do the trick, I thought.

As I was about to head to my table, Nate stood in front of me, stopping me from moving further. He looked at my plate and shook his head in disapproval. I gave him a look. "Um, Nate? I'm about to eat lunch now so can you please move?"

"This won't do." He said, still looking at my plate.

"What do you mean?" I asked with a confused look on my face and a tint of annoyance since he's blocking my way to heaven right now. Before I could protest at him, he took my plate out of my hand.

"Hey!"

"This plate is too full. I told you to only take what you can eat and not to fill your plate." He said and eyed the plate with distaste.

"Give it back!" I yelled as I reached for it, but he held it over his head making it harder for me to reach it. "Nate! What's the deal?!"

He didn't respond to me and pointed to the table once again. "Go get another plate and fill it up. This time don't stuff it all up." He ordered. My jaw dropped at him.

He can't be serious right?

"But what about-"

"Start filling your plate up or else you won't get anything to eat." He said with finality.

"Ugh!" I glared at him as I stomped my way to the table and grabbed a new plate. I started to fill it in, but this time I only put some small portions in it. Nate came to my side and examined my plate.

"Mmhm. That'll do." He said in approval. "Now you can go and eat your lunch now." He ushered me to the table. I didn't move and looked at my poorly filled plate.

This won't do.

I looked at the tray beside me. Nate saw me and gave me a warning look. "No. Don't even think about it." He warned. I gave him my best pleading look and even went as far as biting my lip.

"Please? I'm so hungry. I didn't ate my breakfast this morning." I pleaded.

"Aw. Really?" I nodded. My mind was cheering in the thought that Nate might feel sorry for me and let me add more to my plate. "I'm sorry darling but I can't do that." At those words, my hope was completely crushed.

I started to feign crying. Nate looked surprised at me and I could tell that he was confused on what to do with me. "I-I just....want something to...e-eat."

"Err....umm.....W-why don't you go to your table and eat what you have? It might help." He said and looked away from me as he said it.

I started to hiccup for more effect. "I-I'm gonna tell everyone what a big bully you are for starving a girl like me. I'll make sure to tell the twins to tell Fred to tell the Queen to tell the King to tell the-"

"N-No! Don't do that!"

"To tell your mom to tell your dad-"

"Fine! Just a little so shut up!!" He said in an annoyed voice, but you could tell that he was about to lose it. Heck, he might want to kill me right now.

I lifted my eyes at him. "Really?" I asked. His response was a weak nod, telling me that he was either forced to say that or was unsure of his answer. I took that as my signal and grinned widely at him. All my acting completely vanished as I cheered.

"Thanks Natie poo!" I squealed and added the food to my plate before I hopped towards the table. I sat on the chair happily and licked my lips in anticipation.

Nate joined me at the table with his own plate. I grabbed her spoon and fork and was about to dig in when he cleared his throat loudly. "Ehem!"

I stared back at me in confusion. "What?" I asked. "You're not gonna take my food now, are you?" I made a protective circle around my plate.

He chuckled. "No, sweetheart but I think you are forgetting something." When I tilted my head in confusion yet again, he turned his gaze at the napkin at the side of my plate to give me a hint. My mouth formed an 'O' in understanding.

I gave him a sheepish smile as I draped the napkin on my lap before I started to devour the food, but when I saw him giving her a disapproving look I eased my pace in eating.

"I can't see the reason why the boys were a tad bit stressed when they trained you. You're very cooperative." He commented.

"Yeah..." I looked away guiltily. "I wonder why."

A few minutes later and he got bored so I started to flirt with me again. "You know Rose? I'm kinda hungry. Aren't you gonna share?" he said and gave me a pouty look.

"No," I said flatly. Suddenly, he became very quiet. I looked at him to see that he was staring at his plate blankly. "Nate?" I called out. No response.

I tried again. Louder this time. "NATE!!"

He snapped my attention back at me. A moment later and he smirked.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Huh? Yes, I'm fine. Why'd you asked?"

"You kept on staring at an empty space for quite a while now. I was worried that you might not be feeling ill." His smile widened. "Aww. You do care!" He exclaimed. "Don't worry about me, love. Knowing that you care, it makes me feel better in an instant."

"Okay" I shrugged.

"What? That's it! That's your reaction!?" This girl amazes me all the time.

"Oh and, Nate?" His head perked up. "Please stop calling me with strange nicknames. You sound like a creep."

"Aw....but that'll be boring if I don't call you something, love." He said. "Oh and by the way, you got a little something on your upper lip." He reached out and tried to wipe it away with his thumb. I flinched at the gesture before moving out of his reach. Then I used my napkin to wipe the dirt off my face.

"Are you really not attracted to my face?"

I snapped my eyes at him. "What?" That was such a random question.

"Sorry, let me rephrase it. Is something wrong with the way I look?" I asked again. This time, she understood it.

"Oh." I set the napkin back on the table. "Hmn..I think I already told you that your attitude bothers me."

"Yes you said that, but why?" I pressed on and leaned on the table.

I thought about it for quite a while before saying. "I hate flirts." Nate started laughing.

"What's so funny?" I asked him. He's going crazy. Should I leave?

When he was finally able to catch his breath, he rearranged his posture and wiped some tears from his eyes. "You said that you hated flirts. That's not enough of a reason you know. There must be something more, right?" He said and rested his chin on his knuckles.

"Hmm..." I put a finger to my chin as I thought about it. "I think what I'm really looking for is personality."

"Oh really? Then why are you talking to me right now? I thought you hated flirts."

"Actually. You're not that bad. Sure, you annoy me to my core with your stupid nicknames, but I don't think that flirting realty is your game." I noticed that Nate isn't like any other flirts out there. It's because he always has this look of doubt in his eyes like he is unsure of what he's doing. "While you were explaining some stuff to me a while ago you didn't flirt with me or call me with strange nicknames. I think that side of you is the real you....I think."

He scoffed. "Really huh."

"Yes. Really, Nate." I insisted. "Any woman would be lucky to have you."

"Ha! Woman. I don't even think that I'll be able to settle down with one. They would either ditch me or find a new lover."

Wow. So bitter

"How can you say that, you idiot! You can settle down if you want to." I stopped. "Why are we even talking about settling down?"

He grinned. "Because I am 20 and I do not have a fiancé yet."

"Nate." I warned him since I know where this conversation was headed.

"Why don't you marry me instead? That way I can really settle down." He smirked.

"You know what? I think I'm gonna go and get some dessert." I began to stand up.

"Oh great. Get me some choco-"

"You have two hands and two legs so why don't you get them yourself." I retorted.

"You also have them too so why not get me some." He answered back and smirked when I marched towards the dessert table and mumbled some profanities along the way. I heard him chuckled as I continued to mumble about what a big jerk he is. I faintly saw him drape something at the back of his chair.

"Nate! What kind of dessert do you want!? Hurry up or I might change my mind!"

"I'll get one of each!" He said. I clicked my tongue together before getting another plate and filling it up. A few seconds later and I was back with two plates. I dropped his plate in front of him and grumpily sat in my chair. He laughed a little.

And just like what he had taught me, I took the desert spoon and started to eat. I heard him tsk. "Smaller bites." He said and reached out and started to wipe the chocolate off of my face again, this time I didn't move away since I was busy eating. The desserts are so good. The chocolate simply melts in your mouth.

"There." He said after wiping it all off. I grinned at him and muttered a thanks before shoving another bite into my mouth.

"Hey, Nate. If you're just gonna sit there and stare at me, then I might as well eat your plate of desserts." I said. He chuckled at my comment.

"No way. I haven't eaten anything yet and you're gonna take this away from me? Not fair!" He whined.

He kept staring at me as we ate. "Am I doing something wrong?" I asked. He looked at me and smirked. "Stop looking at me like that, Nate. You look like an old pervert."

"What? This face? An old pervert? Love, I think something is wrong with your vision there. And I prefer you to call me a YOUNG pervert." He said. I rolled her eyes at me and continued to eat.

"Seriously, Nate! Eat your food you creep!" I threw my napkin at him, which I easily dodged. He laughed.

***

I leaned on the table in front of me as I poked the remains of my unfinished food. Don't get me wrong, I like the food but I think my stomach doesn't have enough space for them which is a shame.

"Rose, I'm gonna leave you for a bit, okay? I just have some things to handle first." Nate stood up from his seat in front of me and wiped his mouth with his napkin before setting it on the table. "You be good now while I'm gone, okay?" He looked at me as if begging me to stay put. He probably thinks that I'll wander off somewhere while he's not around.

I can't blame him. Somehow I see a pattern wherein they leave me for a second and trouble seems to appear.

In response to his request, I mocked a salute. "Yes sir! Take all the time you need." I said. Nate gave me one of those uncertain looks of his before he left the room but not before giving me a warning look before he left the room.

As soon as the door closed behind him, I fist pumped the air and shouted a "YES!". Immediately, the door opened once again and Nate's head appeared behind the door. "Excuse me?" He's asked with his eyebrow raised.

I gave him a sheepish smile and an innocent look. Not wanting to make it obvious. "Nothing. Have fun!"

He pointed a finger at me and gave me a warning look. "I'm warning you. Behave." with that, he once again disappeared behind the doors.

What am I? A dog?

I grinned evilly as I thought of ditching this place and going for a hike. Oh yeah!

I stood up rather quickly and, in the process, bumped the table and caused my own plate of dessert to fall on the floor, staining it with chocolate.

Oh *$%^&*!!

"Nate is gonna kill me!!" I whispered to myself, now in panic mode. See what I mean when I say trouble follows me?

What to do? What to do?

Look for something to wipe it off! Yes! That's it!

I scanned my surroundings for something big to wipe it clean. My eyes landed on a fabric at the back of Nate's chair. It was green and silky.

And it was the perfect rag for this mess!!

I reached out and grabbed the fabric and started to wipe the floor clean as fast as I could. Who knows how many minutes/hours I have when Nate comes back?

I wiped the fabric back and forth, making sure the floor is all clean and sparkly once again. When I was already satisfied the floor was once again clean, I threw the fabric on the sofa at the side. Just in time though, because Nate just came back. I quickly stood up from the floor and hid my hands behind my back.

Yes, probably not the best move for the innocent look.

"What were you doing?" Nate asked suspiciously.

"Nothing suspicious. I promise." I said and added a sweet smile to it. LIAR!

"Okay." Nate said uncertainly. "Did you have enough rest? Are you ready for the next lesson?" He asked. Instead of answering, I gave him a nod.

Throughout the whole afternoon, Nate just taught me on how to respond and act when there's a guest and how to talk to them properly. He told me that when someone asks me a question and when my mouth is still full, I would either nod, if the question is a yes or no, or shallow my food first before answering.

"Aren't you tired of this practice?" I asked.

"What?" Nate asked in confusion.

I gestured towards the table. "This. Isn't it very tiring to always have to do this? Be polite and act like a lady/gentleman?"

Nate stared at me for a moment before he chuckled in amusement. "When you put it that way, I guess. But when you have lived through all your life doing this then I guess it's pretty normal."

"Well that sucks for me then." I muttered under my breath pretty low for a human ear, but I guess it wasn't as low as I suspected since Nate started to chuckle.

"I guess you'll just have to get used to it then, right?" Nate smiled, but not his usual flirty smile but one of pure amusement. He got up from his chair and went to the dinner table and picked up a plate as he started to fill it in. When he came back, he set down a huge slice of steak in front of me. "Get your knife and fork and start practicing on how to cut." He ordered.

"What? But didn't you already see me cutting my steak when I was eating my lunch?"

"You could have fooled me. I saw you using your fingers while you were cutting it. You even stabbed it multiple times while I wasn't looking. That's called cheating, you know?"

"Darn! And I thought that you really weren't looking." I muttered. I knew I should have brought some scissors!

"It's not that I wasn't looking. I just did it on purpose since you were having a hard time eating so I just made an exemption." He smirked as he said it. "Now go and start cutting."

I let out an exasperated sigh as I grabbed my fork and knife on the table and started to cut through the meat. Not a moment later and I was already stabbing it in frustration. Nate, on the other hand, was busy laughing his butt off at my frustration.

Nate whipped some tears from his eyes before he spoke. "I could watch you all day and won't get enough of it."

"Aha ha. Very funny. Glad to know that you're enjoying seeing me struggle."

"Indeed I am." Nate chuckled once more. "But that's because you're doing it all wrong. That meat is already dead. No need to kill it a second time. And besides, I already showed you how to do it, but apparently you were not listening, am I right?"

I didn't say anything and instead faced my now murdered steak. I did pay attention, but it's easier said than done.

"Hold the steak with your fork then use the knife to cut through it at an angle. Move your knife back and forth to slice through it neatly. Don't stab it. No stabbing on the tables. You'll scare your table mates." He instructed.

I rolled my eyes at him and started to follow his instruction and moved my knife back and fork.

"Good. And gently push your knife to the steak." he said.

"Good. Now gently push your knife to the steak." I mocked and earned a playful glare from Nate as I did what he said. Not a second later and I successfully sliced the meat. "I did it!" I cheered and raised the fork with a slice of meat on it and wiggled it in front of Nate, showing it to him. "Ha! I did it! Lowisimos! I did it!"

"Yeah yeah." Nate waved his hand at me. "So you had cut it. That's good but you mustn't wave it to a person as if it's a weapon." He smirked and watched me with amusement.

"Who cares?! Now I'm gonna have a taste of this victory!" I was about to put the slice of meat towards my mouth when Nate stopped my hand from doing so. He gave me one of those adorable smiles.

"Aren't you gonna share your victory? I was the one who told you the technique."

No one is stealing my food.

"No. This is MINE. I cut it. Go and cut your own. Now shoo!" Using both of my hands, I pulled the fork towards me, fighting against Nate's strong grip.

"Oh no you won't! Not if you're not gonna share!" Now Nate was using both of his hands as well as he fought for that piece of meat on the fork.

All these for that piece of meat....

"It's mine!" I screamed and started to pull it towards me. If ever, I think Nate was going easy on me since he was pretty much enjoying himself. In fact, he was laughing.

Going to my last resort, I bit his fist.

"Ow!" Nate flinched, but didn't loosen his grip. Instead, he also bit my fist hand but a little gently.

"Eww! Nate." I glared at him.

"What? You bit me first!" He whined.

"But that doesn't mean that you also have to bite me!"

"Then what am I supposed to do then?"

"Nothing! Just let go of my food damn it!" I pulled at the spoon with all my might, but the bastard was too strong.

"Let me share your victory too!"

"Are we really fighting for just this piece of meat?"

"Hey. I'm just going with the flow over here." he said as if he just realized what we were doing just now.

***

A few minutes later Nate and I decided to just share the meat. He said that since neither one of us likes to give in, then might as well part it in half. After all the silly drama of ours, we decided to continue our lesson. But after a while, Nate got carried away and started to tell me some funny stories during his experiences at parties.

"So there was this guy who was drinking his wine at the table while I was telling a story, I think he was Duke from another family." He started. "As you might know, I really hate it when someone does that to me, you know? Doing other things instead of paying attention to me."

I scoffed at him. "In love with yourself much?"

"Hey, if you're as good looking as me then you won't be surprised." He defended. "Anyways, while he was drinking, I decided to take that opportunity as I said, 'The more you talk, the thicker your double chin becomes'."

I gasped. "You didn't! That is rude."

He grinned at my reaction. "Oh yes I did. And let me tell you that he choked on his wine that time. It was really funny. Everyone from our table was laughing, except for the man of course."

I laughed at that. "Obviously. So what did he do? Did he punch you or something?"

"Do I look like the person who'll let someone ruin his face? NO." He said in a duh tone. "And besides, before he could do anything to me, I told him that I was just kidding."

"And? What did he say?" I asked, suddenly interested.

"Well, he didn't say anything but I could tell that he was pissed off at me." He shrugged as if it really doesn't matter to him.

"And he still is pissed off at me whenever we meet."

I burst out laughing. Well duh. Who wouldn't be pissed at what he just said? As I was laughing my butt off, one of the two double doors suddenly opened and in came both Dan and Ren. They had their arms crossed and were raising their eyebrows at us, a perfect mirror of each other. "What's going on?" They asked.

Nate got up and wiped his hands on his lap as he faced the twins. "Nothing. We were just talking. Is all." He said, then he eyes the two suspiciously. "What are you guys doing here?"

"The Queen asked us to fetch you two. It's almost time for dinner." Ren said, still eyeing Nate. While Dan was grinning at me and waving. "Hello Princess!"

"Hey." I waved back.

"Come on, Rose. Let's go. You two can go ahead. We'll be right there." Nate said to the twins. While Dan was happily whistling while walking towards the door, Ren had an annoyed look on his face as they left. As soon as they left, Nate had a confused look on his face and eyed the back of the chair. He scratched his head and started to look for something. "Have you seen a green cloth here somewhere?" He asked.

I started to think back and then remembered something. "Oh, It's on that sofa over there." I said and pointed towards it. Nate followed my finger and a sigh of relief appeared on his lips. He walked towards it, picked the cloth up, and started to tie it around him with the golden chains on it.

My jaw dropped as I watched Nate tying the cloth around the collar of his suit.

That was Nate's cape!? I used a Prince's cape as a rag! I murdered it. No wonder it was too pretty in the first place!!

"What's wrong, Rose? You look pale." Nate asked as he looked at my face, which was probably pale as he said.

"Huh? I'm fine! Nothings wrong! What? Do you see something wrong? Nothing right? So why are you asking me!? I did nothing wrong!!!" Okay, I may have sounded a little defensive there but I wasn't thinking clearly.

Nate gave me a weird look. "Okay?"

After that, Nate and I walked to the dinning hall. The whole time Nate kept trying to open up a conversation with me but I would just keep my mouth shut. Not allowing the conversation to flow incase I'll mention the cape thing.

And to my defense. It is their fault for wearing capes! I mean, why would they wear those? They're not Superman or Batman anyways. Got my point there?

It's not my fault!

"Are you really okay?"

"Yeah."

"Why aren't you talking?"

"Sure."

"Are you even listening?"

"That's cool."

"I'm a virgin."

"Great."

Nate threw his hands up in the air in frustration. "I give up!!"

"Yeah...sure."

Nate didn't say anything after that and instead, focused on finding our way to the dinning hall. As we entered the room, I immediately made my way and sat beside Dan and Ren. I know for sure that these two would protect me. Nate sat beside Fred, which I was thankful for because I know that he would be able to stop Nate from jumping at me WHEN he finds out.

Dan and Ren gave me curious glances as I sat quietly on my chair with my back straight and cutting my meat on the plate. I took a sneak peak at Nate who was doing the same. The cape on his shoulders had chocolate stains on it, which was really obvious. Fred seemed to notice it too and tried his best not to stare. The twins only noticed it when they saw me looking at Nate with a nervous look. They followed my gaze and almost burst out laughing until I stepped on their foot. A sign to tell them to keep their mouths shut.

I was in my best behavior in order to distract them from Nate's cape.

"Why Rose. It seemed that your doing well on your lesson with Nate." The queen commented as she watched me applying the proper etiquette on eating. "Good job, Nate." The Queen praised him before her eyes darted on Nate's cape. Her mouth opened to make a comment about it but I passed her a plate of salad. "Eat." I told her with a tight smile that says 'don't even mention it'. The queen shut her mouth and went back to eating.

I almost sighed in relief, but then Ace went to the room. "Your highness, I'm sorry I'm late. I had a lot of-" he stopped and looked at Nate's back. "Nate, what happened to your cape?"

As soon as Ace said that, the twins burst out laughing while I screamed.

"What do you mean what's wrong with my cape? It's perfectly-" Nate stopped in mid sentence when he saw the chocolate stain on his cape by his shoulders. His jaw dropped as he detached it from his back and examined the damage I had inflicted on it. "This was my favorite cape..."

I took that time as I slowly got up from my chair and made my exit like a ninja. I even crawled on the floor!

"ROSE!!"

"I'm sorry!" I yelled back as I covered my face in embarrassment and fear.