1 1| Pest On Palace Grounds

Five hundred years ago there was a great battle between the European countries and their islands. On the outskirts was an island just off the coast of Greece. The people fought for independence for two decades and after a bloody war, they finally succeeded. The new ruler of the countries were the very generals who led the war.

They were the Nomikos; known for their strength, power and beauty. It was undeniable they would be the perfect rulers for the new country. Quickly they were appointed as the royal family of the land. The country prospered, earning the title to be one of the richest countries in the world.

Although that had nothing to do with me. I was not a royal and I definitely was not rich. My family lived comfortably and we went to sleep with a full belly. There was never a time we struggled, but I often worked harder to earn the more luxurious things in life. Although we did have a tie with the royal family, my father Alexandra Belmont worked for the Royal Palace as a chef. He felt extremely proud about it whilst I seemed to detest the idea of working for such people.

I had no hatred for the Royals, but they tended to be a bit stuck up. Especially King Adonis of Kommos; our lovely country and his brother, Prince Apollo. His sister Princess Iris on the other hand was the most humble person I knew. Since I myself had a job at the Royal Palace as a botanic scientist. I had studied a masters in botany and somehow landed myself a job as the Royal family's scientist.

Even though the title itself sounded prestigious, I was basically a glorified gardener at this rate. I wondered if they themselves understood what I actually studied for. I had a fully equip lab that was a ten minute walk from the Palace and sure I studied the plants, but at times I wanted to do more. I thought I would be travelling the world looking for new species and figuring out how we could help lower global warming, but instead I was staring at a tree the Royal Family had first planted when they had picked the land the Palace stood on.

Apparently the King was worried it was not blossoming as it was supposed to during early spring. I had no idea why it was a big concern since he was not here most of the time to even notice it. I had been working at the Palace for two years now and I had not once seen the King walk the grounds. Plus from all the tests I had conducted the tree was in perfect health. There were new flower buds forming, therefore any day the tree would blossom with its distinctive blue flowers.

Even though I hated my job I had to admit the tree was absolutely fascinating to me. I found it to be the most beautiful part of the whole country. I loved visiting it every day just before I left to go home. If I had to one day quit my job it would be the one thing I would miss the most. Not that that was an option. It was extremely disrespectful to resign from the Royal family so I was pretty much stuck here for life, unless they fired me. That was also not an option since it would look terrible on my resume to see that the Royals themselves had fired me.

I climbed down from my ladder and swiped off the bit of sweat that had formed just above my eyebrows. It was ridiculously hot today and I regretted wearing the denim overall with my white shirt. My red hair was stuck onto my forehead due to the sweat and I felt incredibly gross. I would have to leave soon to take a shower. After a few minutes of studying the tree a bit more I packed up my things and placed the expensive ladder back into the large shed for garden tools. It looked more like a house than a tool shed to be honest.

I greeted the Royal guards on my way out and climbed onto my turquoise blue bicycle. I had enough money to buy a car, but I found no use in it when I lived ten minutes from the castle and the lab was just down the street. Plus my parents came over to my apartment so often that I wondered if they thought they lived there as well.

In my family it was my mother; Elisa, who worked as a piano teacher at a musical and dance theatre academy. She loved music with her whole heart and I believed that was what my father loved about her. They had first met when my mother was performing at a festival we had in my home town in France. We were not originally from Kommos, but moved here when I was ten. My parents never had another child after me. Most would have felt lonely, but I loved it. I loved my own space and privacy so I never saw a problem in it.

Plus my best friend made sure I was never bored. He was a whole other story. I arrived home in no time and immediately jumped into the shower desperate to wash the sweat that had accumulated on my skin off. After a thorough wash I climbed out the shower and towel dried my red ginger hair, then dressed in a pair of jeans with a shirt and sneakers. I made myself a quick dinner and waited.

Within minutes my front door burst open and my best friend of eighteen years came waltzing in complaining my ear off as he took of his shoes and threw them on the dedicated shoe area by the foyer. Adriano had crow black hair and pale skin. He was much taller than myself, but I was not that tall to begin with. He worked as a business manager for some big firm and even though he hated it, he loved the salary.

He could afford a mansion but still chose to live next door to me. Unlike me he had a luxurious car and dressed in all the best designer labels a millionaire could get. The palace paid me a lot but I was still a far stretch from being a millionaire. Adriano had the most piercing hazel eyes I had ever seen in my life and I always used to think my blue eyes were the most beautiful thing in this universe.

"Thank you! I'm starving," he groaned and threw himself on the couch as I walked over with our bowls of pasta and glasses of wine on a tray.

"Didn't you eat today?" I laughed as I watched him shove spoonfuls of food into his mouth.

"Couldn't. I had meetings back to back," he sighed and took a gulp of his wine, "I was really considering resigning today. Stupid Carolina forgot her presentation at home and since I did not want to be a bitch, I allowed her to quickly go retrieve it before the meeting started. It was not worth it. She was stuttering the whole time and it barely made sense. I work with idiots. I could leave and start my own company."

"Why don't you?" I chuckled knowing the response.

"Too much responsibility," he shrugged.

"I think we are just scared to take life by the horns and make our own destiny," I chuckled.

"Cheers to that," he smiled and raised his wine glass. I clicked mine against his and took a gulp of it. "Didn't you say you wanted to show me a picture of the tree you've been working on?"

"Oh yes, let me go get my phone," I rushed to my bedroom but after a thorough search could not find it anywhere, "fuck." I hissed and walked out my room defeated. "I think I left my phone at the Palace."

"How did that happen?"

"I think I left it when I was at the tree. I was carrying a ladder and my bag it must have slipped my mind that I left it on the grass," I grabbed my coat and put it on, "Do you mind driving me there?"

"Of course not. Let's go. There's a movie on 'Netflix' I saw earlier. We have to watch it," Adriano was a child in adult form. We climbed into his yellow Ferrari and within minutes I was at the palace. I had no problem getting in since I was allowed to work whatever time I pleased and quickly rushed to the tree. It was hard to navigate through this part of the garden at night since there were no lights. I once asked the head of security why they had not installed any lights, but it seemed the King preferred that part of the garden to be untouched.

With occasional hissing from hitting my toe against mysterious stones, I finally made it to the tree and went down to my knees to search for my phone. I had probably been searching for ten minutes when I heard someone clear their throats behind me. My body stilled as I looked over my shoulder. Behind me stood a tall man with what looked like dark hair. Due to the minimum light from the waxing crescent of the moon I could barely make out the face.

"Can I help you?" I asked as I stood up and dusted myself off.

"Why are you kneeling down on the ground like some sort of animal?" the man with a deep voice spoke.

"I lost my phone," I sighed.

"How did you get access to the Palace grounds?"

"I'm the Palace's botanical scientist," I frowned. I knew the man could not see me, but he was on my last nerve with all his questions.

"Interesting. Well regarding your phone it is at the guard house I found it earlier." Why he did not start off with that? I would never understand.

"So have you just been watching me for the past ten minutes knowing fully well where my phone was?" I lowly growled.

"Yes," the man chuckled, "I'm not used to seeing people kneel."

"You're sadistic," I commented and proceeded to walk away. Just as I passed him I felt his large warm hand reach out for my own as he stopped me. I gasped surprised by the warmth the man possessed. It tickled my skin and set a fire alive deep within me.

"What is your name?" he asked lowly his minty breathe fanning my cheek.

"Na-"

"Na- what?" he chuckled.

"None of your business," I laughed and took my hand out of his even though I wished I could enjoy his warmth longer. "Next time you hold a man's hand ask for consent."

"Blue eyes and ginger hair, I will find out your name one day."

"Good luck with that," I rolled my eyes and walked away, "Don't stay out here for too long. I hear the King likes to walk the grounds at night."

"You don't say," he laughed. Whoever he was I hoped the King's guards would find him and remove him.

The man was a damn pest.