Chapter 23

Breakfast entailed of Audie and Valentin engrossed in a conversation with Dio. This was possible because they took Dio's silence as an approval to ramble on and on, they didn't even seem to notice that Dio wasn't a part of their conversation.

Nael had fallen silent again like he usually did, his eyes scanning the dining room like he was searching for someone, leaving Henri and Louis to discuss.

Louis mostly teased the Prince, a bright smile on his face as he did while Henri was in no way entertained, mostly because of his reaction to it.

When Louis chuckled, Dio turned in his direction, his usually blank eyes narrowing as he looked from Louis to Henri.

Valentin caught his attention then with a question on who his favourite jousting team was and then proceeded to elaborate on why the team which he personally supported was the best.

After breakfast, the three wanted to wander again, abandoning Henri with Louis and Dio for the second time.

"Would your Highness like me to teach you about the expert ways of tying…"

Henri's cold glare cut him off. "Fine, fine, come over whenever you like." He said quickly to stop Louis from saying more because he had attracted attention as usual and the last thing he wanted was for the entire school finding out that he couldn't button up his shirtsleeves.

Louis dropped Henri off at his dorm room and then returned with Dio although Henri protested. Louis wasn't the type to be pushy or teasing to anyone, much more to the Prince himself.

"Nap." Dio said shortly when they got back to their dorm, taking off his boots and flopping on their joined beds.

Louis looked at him in slight confusion, "You want to nap alone?" He asked but Dio had already dozed off.

It was a bit weird because Louis couldn't shake off the feeling that Dio was upset. But why would he be though? This was their everyday routine.

Louis always did all the talking… well, there was a bit of a difference this time. Dio didn't sit right beside him… now that he thought back on breakfast, he had spent the entire time talking to Henri.

But that was because he didn't want to get in the way of Dio potentially making new friends! Or maybe he was overthinking it and Dio just wanted to take a nap, besides, this way he would be certain that Dio wouldn't be going anywhere when he left to pay a visit to Henri.

A visit to someone else… Louis couldn't remember if there had ever been a time that he had done that, it was always Dio visiting him because Dio didn't want him coming over to his house.

Louis looked at the sleeping figure of Dio one last time before getting ready to leave once more. Dio would be fine, he had even spoken to someone else, he just needed to be far away from the influence of his caretakers.

-*-

The weekend went by in a hurry and during that space of time, the new students of Alpha Academy had begun to get acquainted with the college's surroundings. Friends were made and cliques were established. The first weekend after resumption was very important in deciding the rest of their school year and possibly the rest of college.

And in this manner, the first day of classes arrived. The sun rose quickly, eager for a new day, the warm golden sun covering the tall elegant buildings and the greenery around.

Henri woke up to the sounds of chirping birds, waking up after the break of dawn for the first time in many years. Perhaps it was because his room was taken over by the three monsters who refused to leave till it was well past midnight but Henri could just be grasping at straws here. *Le sarcasm*

He got out of bed to get ready for the day. Getting dressed was easier now because Louis had been kind enough to give him important tips, it was actually far easier than he had been expecting.

Henri wore his waistcoat and put on his overcoat as well, tugging on his sleeves. He frowned at his reflection in the mirror knowing that there was nothing to be done about his willful hair.

Buttoning up his sleeves was one thing, styling his hair was another, not to mention, no one cared about what his hair looked like.

By the time Henri was all set, there hadn't been even a single knock yet on his door which was odd. One of the three monsters or Louis would have been at his door by now.

After breakfast that morning, they were to attend an orientation in one of the large halls and then set about deciding on what clubs they would join. So practically, after the orientation, they were free to do as they wished for the rest of the day.

Henri was eager to check out the Horse racing club, it would be preferable if he didn't have to wait a full year before he could go horse riding again.

Seeing as no one had come to him yet, it didn't hurt to be the one to meet Louis instead. He tentatively reached out to knock on the door but just as his fingers made contact, the door was thrown open to reveal Dio staring down at him.

Henri's heart nearly jumped to his throat from the suddenness of his appearance. "No need to stand so close now." He muttered under his breath, trying his best not to take a step back at Dio hovering right over him. Taller people should be more considerate of other people not as tall as them.

"Where's Louis?" He asked the silent Alpha, not expecting a response.

So he wasn't surprised when Dio said nothing, his mismatched eyes staring blankly at him.

"Do you mind if I come in then?" Henri prodded, he didn't want to spend too much time out alone in the hallway or people would start coming up to him for a conversation.