Invitation to Dinner

"Why didn't you tell me?" Caio asked, sitting down beside me on the grass. I had just spent the entire morning pulling out weeds in the imperial garden, and I was now slumped against a tree, my hands sore and my back in pretty much the same condition – only several times worse.

'Tell you what?' I had a feeling I already knew what he was asking me about, but I feigned ignorance, stalling for time and hoping against hope it wasn't what I was halfway expecting it to be.

Caio arched an elegant eyebrow, his expression letting me know that he was aware of this. But being the gentleman that he was, he still humored me. "That it was the emperor who made you upset at the ball."

I didn't think he'd say that so straightforwardly. 'He told you?' I asked, shocked.

"I found out," he replied.

'Oh,' I mouthed. How could I explain to him what happened? Even I was flabbergasted when I learned 1's real identity. But when I gave it some thought, it wasn't at all unusual that Caio and the emperor were well acquainted, maybe even good friends. They were both from the ruling class, after all.

"I don't want to see you get hurt because of him," he said, staring at me imploringly. "I won't allow that to happen."

I smiled openly at him, touched that he always put my interest first. Meeting him was like having a protective older brother in this historical empire – if only he wasn't so breathtakingly handsome that it always made me feel as though as I was a gawking fangirl when we were together.

I tried to pull my thoughts back to our conversation. 'Don't worry about that,' I assured him. I wasn't sure to what extent Caio knew of my interactions with 1 – I didn't even know how I could begin to explain it. But no matter how unconventional the communication method was, my interactions with 1 could hardly be classified state secret, either. It wasn't as if the emperor would suddenly fall on his knee and declare his undying love for me. I almost laughed hysterically at the notion. Talk about fantasy!

"All right, I'll let you be," Caio sighed. "But if something happens, I won't just stand by and watch. Do we have an agreement?"

I held out my hand to him. 'It's a deal!'

*****

Later that evening, I let myself into my room to freshen up before dinner. I wanted to wipe off the dirt and dust that had accumulated on my arms and face from polishing a secluded hallway for the better part of the afternoon. The bad thing was that I had to do it for a few hours, that's why I was so grimy. The good thing was that it didn't take as long as I had dreaded it would.

I had polished so many hallways and corridors by now that I had almost pegged it down to a system. In fact, the secretary in me demanded that I put some semblance of order and efficiency into it. And I discovered that if I did it right – like today – then I could actually have a little unofficial time off before mealtime.

After draping on a fresh, new apron, I collapsed on the bed, trying to relieve my aching muscles. I reached under the pillow and pulled out the handkerchief I had stuffed in the sheets right after the ball. I hadn't talked to 1 since that night, and it had been a week ago. To say that I was unsettled would be a dire understatement. It was almost synonymous to saying that finding myself transported to Luxentfort was simply a matter of an unexpected detour.

But now I was considerably calmer about it, and a lot of it may have to do with 1's consideration. I couldn't believe he really gave me the time I needed to sort out the mess in my head. I wouldn't be too surprised if he had simply summoned me to see him when he got impatient, knowing that I won't be able to turn him down, anyway – not if I still valued my life. He didn't do that, though – but from what I could discern in our conversations, he may have been sorely tempted to do so. I grinned. I guessed the ball was at my court, then. '1, can we talk for a bit?'

"Sire, Princess Lucrezia is here to see you," Vincenzo politely announced at the door. Alessandro looked up from the paperwork he was doing. He had just wrapped up his meetings for the day and was debating on whether he would take a look at tomorrow's agenda as well. But at Vincenzo's announcement, he gave a mildly irritated sigh. He hated being interrupted when he was working.

"Let her in," he said. And when Vincenzo had closed the door behind him, he addressed her. "I don't believe I called for you, Lucrezia."

Lucrezia came striding into the room in a black evening gown. "I thought we can have dinner tonight, Your Majesty," she said, flaunting her abundant cleavage at him as she leaned seductively across the table. It was clear she wanted to do more than just share an evening meal with him.

Lucrezia smiled as she saw the direction of Alessandro's intent gaze. The emperor rarely shared meals with his concubines outside of official functions, preferring to just call them to his bed instead. But she also knew that he had been without a woman for a week already, because he hadn't called on any of his concubines since the ball. He had been solely occupying himself with work for some reason, prompting Lucrezia to put on a seductive dress and prepare to lure him to dinner first – among other things. If someone could get him out of his office, she knew it would be her.

Suddenly, Alessandro heard 20's voice call him, and he stood up so fast his chair fell backwards. "You can see to your own dinner," he said, barely sparing her a glance. "I have to go."

Lucrezia stared at him after he had left his office, looking offended. "Did he just abandon me?" she asked incredulously. This was the second time that it happened, the second time that she was unceremoniously dismissed, and she was determined to find out what was the cause of Alessandro's increasingly odd behavior.

"I'm so glad to hear your voice," Alessandro said, walking briskly to his own quarters so he could have privacy while he talked to her. "Are you all right now?"

'Yes,' I said. 'But I can only stay for a few minutes at the most.'

"What?" Alessandro asked, stopping in the middle of the hallway. He hadn't heard even a word from her for a week – an entire week – and now she just wanted to talk for a few minutes?

'I can't be late for dinner,' I explained. 'The servants will have dinner soon.'

He thought about it for a few moments, and then said, "Why don't you have dinner with me?"

'What?' I asked stupidly, sitting up from the bed.

"Let's eat together," Alessandro repeated.