Chapter 28: Bonding Over Chicken Nuggets

LILAC

"I lost two friends. Two fucking friends! And the only thing my family does is fight at the fucking dinner table!! What sort of stupid life am I living Lilac?" Issy all but cries as we settle down on the swing in the garden. Roman stands a few feet away from us. He still has not said a word.

I sigh, looking over at the beautiful flower beds layered around us. I don’t know what to say. I don’t know how to comfort her. I try to think of who was with me when my mother died and how they had comforted me,but I can’t seem to remember. All I remember is crying, and then crying and then crying some more. A lot actually.

"You know, it’s weird that Olivia and Nino were together in that place. Do you think they were seeing each other?" Issy asks, looking at me with red rimmed eyes from her tears.

I shrug. "No one can tell." Because they are dead now. I add quietly. But now that I think of it, Issy’s suspicion is on point. What were they doing together there? It was probably nothing to stress over.

Issy sniffles, wiping at her tears again. "Father did not get me a personal guard apart from the normal guards that follow us around. I wonder why he got one for you," She says.

That makes two of us, Issy. I try not to playback on the look on King Alvarez’s eyes as he made that announcement. I want to agree that this setup is for my safety, but then again I can’t help the nitty-gritty feeling picking at me. I am about to speak again, but it is then Kael comes storming outside.

I stand abruptly as he approaches us. "Kael?"

"We are leaving," he says, his expression impassive and void of any emotions. Like always.

"You too." He nods stiffly at Roman.

I do not try to argue and I bid Issy farewell and follow him out of the garden.

"Do you want to go somewhere?"

I glance at Kael with a shocked look. Did he just ask me that? We are on our way home, and he made Roman ride his scooter while he drove us in one of the cars parked in the palace’s garage. Roman had grudgingly agreed, still not speaking to me though. I will try to talk to him later.

"Somewhere?" I ask unsurely. "Do I want to go somewhere?"

"That’s what I asked. I expected an answer not a question." Kael replies me, his gaze not meeting mine.

"I don’t know anywhere in Lycania except the palace, the school and your suite, where would I want to go?"

"Our suite," He says.

"What?"

"It is our home Lilac, not mine alone." He says it as if it is a normal thing for him to say. Like that sentence has not just pulled at the strings of my heart to cause a beautiful tingle down to my toes.

I gulp. "Right, our suite."

"So do you want to go somewhere?"

"Like I said, I do not know anywhere."

"What do you like to do Lilac?" He surprises me again by asking this question.

"Why are suddenly interested in that?" I blurt out.

"You are my wife, why shouldn’t I be interested in things that concern you?"

"Maybe because all you’ve ever done since I got here is ignore the hell out of me!"

Shit. I think I just raised my voice at him.

The car suddenly screeches to an halt, I jerk back in my seat, my frightened eyes turning to meet my husband’s stormy own.

Stormy? Did I say stormy? Actually it is worse than that. What I see in his eyes as he stares or maybe glares at me is far from just an angry look. The blue in there are starting to swirl, darkening. His jaw tightens as he slowly takes his lips into his mouth.

What the hell is happening? "Is that what I have done? Ignore you?" When he speaks, I reel back at the urgency I hear in his tone. I raise my eyes questioningly at him deciding to press on with his sudden acts.

"You do not know? You were friendly the first night and the morning after, but then you just totally withdrew after, like it is my fault I was asked to marry you." I tell him, all the while pinching my thumb nervously.

"Is that what you think?"

"What else would I think?"

"Do you always reply questions with questions?" He asks, letting out what I can assume is a frustrated breath.

I shrug. "I don’t realize I do that."

He kickstarts the engine, muttering words that sounded like; "You do that a lot."

The rest of the drive is silent and I keep myself busy by looking out of the window, the wind caressing my face in a bittersweet sensation.

"You still haven’t told me what you like to do?" Kael is saying as he swerves into the packing lot of... I squint at the sign placed on top of the building. It reads ’Rob’s Chicken shop.’

"You brought me to a chicken shop?" I turn to him, surprise clearly evident.

"Fried Chicken nuggets to be precise."

"Why?"

"You didn’t tell me where to take you. I figured you might like this place, especially since you barely ate at the palace," he comments.

I roll my eyes, looking at him closely. "What?" There is a small smile lurking by the side of his lips. How is he able to switch emotions so fast? Just a while ago he was literally blowing off steams from his ears and practically almost tearing the palace building down with his anger.

"Nothing," I reply, shaking my head vehemently. Thankfully it does not fall off. Sarcasm

We enter the place and there are just few people around. Kael leads me to a table by the window side which is kind of secluded from the others. I like it. Roman stands a bit far behind us. I almost forgot he was there.

The waiter comes to take our orders which is hilarious since the only thing they offer here is chicken nuggets. Oh, and chicken soup. Kael orders for both of us. I notice that the people here do not spare him a glance even though he is a prince. Does he frequent this place? Maybe they’ve become so overly familiar with him.

Soon enough our plates arrive. Two bowls filled up with chicken nuggets and one can of beer for Kael while I am given a can of soda.

"I can drink alcohol, you know that right?" I frown at him as he unscrews his beer and takes a sip of it. "Why did you order a soda for me?"

"According to human laws, you can’t drink until you are twenty-one," he remarks, that faint smile still dancing in his lips. I blink at the utter sexiness of the sight.

"But we are in Lycania," I protest.

"I like to keep to rules whether within or without."

I scoff, rolling my eyes as I pick up a piece of nugget, realizing when I take a bite that is really delicious and I’m actually hungry. I moan in delight, closing my eyes and throwing my head back to enjoy the delicacy. Kael suddenly coughs and I open my eyes to see if he is alright, what I do not expect is the look on his face as he stares at me. He swallows, his Adam apple bobbing.

"You have yours, don’t you?" I mumble innocently because he is staring at me like he wants to snatch the piece from my hands.

"Right, I do," he mutters and then takes another sip, or rather swig from his drink.

I am unto my fourth chicken piece when I speak again. "What does it mean to be moon-mad?" It is out of curiosity that I ask and the fact that I have not been able to read the book I lent from the school library. Is it proper to ask him? Would he answer my question? Or flare up?

I watch him, trying to gauge his reaction. His smile falls from his face as he regards me and then the smile is replaces with a smirk.

"Is that what you’ve been hearing about me? That I am moon-mad?" He asks, sarcasm dripping from each word.

"Huh?"

"You asked what being moon-mad means. I am asking if that’s what you’ve been hearing about me?"

I take a sip from my drink before replying him. "Are you though?"

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