Lord Bryson's Sudden Visit to Aurnia

'How could he just look me in the eye and pretend as if nothing happened? I might be the one who initiated the kiss, but it was him who made it happen! He even tried putting his tongue in my mouth—yucks! And now, he has the audacity to just greet me, at least, he could've secretly winked at me.'

"Aurnia? Aurnia? Are you listening to me, Aurnia?"

The princess was yanked away from her thoughts when she heard her mother's annoyed voice calling her.

"Yes, mother? You're saying something?" She responded to her mother with a reluctant smile.

"It looks like little sister was thinking something that annoyed her based on how she was gripping that fork tightly." Her sister, Thalassa, interjected with a taunting smile.

Aurnia turned sharply towards her sister and rolled her eyes. Faking a smile, she replied, "I did not remember asking for your input, big sister."

"Duh, whatever." Then she rolled her eyes at her before turning back to her plate.

Queen Ysmena cleared her throat, "As I was saying, Aurnia, did you remember Duchess Matilda's son?"

She raised her head and tried to recall anyone she met with that name. "Hmmm...." She hummed while thinking. "Oh, was she the one from Malta? The one who attended my fifteenth birthday?" She finally said it, which made her mother smile from ear to ear.

Grinning widely, Queen Ysmena propped her arms at the top of the table and rested her chin on them. "Oh, yes, yes." She excitedly muttered. "Well, her son, the one with whom you had your first dance on your fifteenth birthday... "

Aurnia absentmindedly dipped her bread on her coffee and eat them. "Yes, what about him, mother?" She asked the queen nonchalantly.

The queen discreetly glanced on Thalassa's direction with a knowing smile plastered on her face. "I invited Lord Bryson to come here today, and you will assist him all throughout the day. You can show him the castle, the garden… basically, explore the entirety of the palace. What do you think?" The queen removed her hand from the table and sipped her coffee to hide the suspicious smile planted across her face.

King Andruche, whose full attention was on his food, finally lifted his head and addressed the queen. "Oh, did you really invite Lord Bryson here? Hah! Well done, my wife." The king chuckled and stuffed his mouth with more mashed potatoes.

"What? But, I couldn't, Mother. I have classes I must attend to." She complained.

"Oh, don't worry about your classes, I already informed your governess to put your classes on hold for the entire week." Queen Ysmena eagerly informed the princess and even winked at her.

"But what about Aramis? He's my royal confidant, so he must go with me wherever I go." Aurnia insisted with a solemn voice and glanced at Aramis, who had a look in his face that gave her the impression that he heard their conversation.

 "Oh, he'll still go with you, but Thalassa will keep him company so you can focus on Lord Bryson more." Her mother answered without looking at her.

Aurnia sighed, "But, mother—"

"No buts, Aurnia. Now prepare yourself and dress nicely, he will be here anytime soon."

***

Aurnia's face was contorted in utter annoyance the whole time they were walking towards her mother's public garden. And who wouldn't?

'That crazy bitch was really testing my patience! How dare she touch my Aramis! And how dare he allow her to touch his arms.'

Her nose was flaring up in frustration as she stole a few discreet glances at Aramis and Thalassa behind them.

"What's your favorite fruit? Mine's apple. You see, Malta has an orchard for apples the size of a whole region. I'll bring you to my kingdom one day to show you this." Aurnia heard Lord Bryson's enigmatic voice beside her.

Preoccupied with the scene behind her, she absentmindedly replied, "Apples? Wasn't that too basic?"

The young lord stopped abruptly in his tracks and looked wide-eyed at the princess. "I'm sorry, princess Aurnia, come again, please?"

Realizing what she had just said, she frantically covered her mouth and flashed a wide grin at the young lord. "Oh, I...I... I mean my favorite's mango. Yes, mango." She smiled sheepishly, then turned around.

She saw Thalassa wrapping her arms around his, and Aramis wasn't budging at all. She puffed out in annoyance. "Right, Aramis? My favorite is mango." She called him deliberately to snatch his attention away from her sister. "I even had a mango smoothie at the same spot yesterday with you, right?" Glaring at him, she added in a sharp tone.

Aurnia's chest felt like it was going to explode from frustration and anger. She doesn't like seeing him with another girl. And with him standing close to Thalassa and their arms linked together, she felt herself crying.

She saw sparks glinting in his eyes when she mentioned the mango smoothie that she had before they kissed here yesterday. Damn, she even saw him blush for a moment.

"Ah, yes, Princess Aurnia's favorite fruit is mango." Aramis replied with a little squeak in his voice.

That brought an instant smile to her face. Whenever he makes those little squeaks in his voice, it only means one thing. He was nervous.

'I'm glad our kiss yesterday left an impression on him.'

"I see. I'll make sure to bring mangoes when I come back here again." Lord Bryson enthusiastically told her. Although he was smiling, his deep-set, blue eyes were relatively dull.

"You're coming back?" It was too late to take back her insensitive question; the duchess' son of Malta had already heard her.

The young lord clenched his jaw—his prominent, chiseled jawline. For a moment, he looked like he was ready to throw hands, and the way he clenched his jaw multiple times, it seemed like Bryson was making himself calm down.

"I'm sorry, I hope I did not offend you." Aurnia apologized.

"Yeah, I hope that didn't offend you, Lord Bryson. I admit that my little sister was a bit tackless, but well, she was pretty, and she is the princess of the kingdom, so she sort of grew up thinking that she can do whatever she wants." Her sister, Thalassa, chimed in with the most annoying expression planted in her face.

Clearly wanting to humiliate her in front of the young lord and Aramis, Aurnia balled her fists.

"Oh, don't worry, my lady. Your little sister's question doesn't really offend me that much." The young lord replied, then slowly walked closer toward her. "In fact, I'm glad I got to see Princess Aurnia's feisty side. I am especially drawn to such qualities." He murmured as he gently touched her chin with his fingers.