The Princess Guard

Chapter Thirty-Six

Prince Alex

Listening to the prince sitting before me and trying to focus was proving to be impossible. Prince Alex had decided to be gracious enough to bless with me with his presence today. The timing couldn't be worse. Salems transition happened two days ago, I still hadn't seen him since I left the room after it was complete. I knew he was taking the extra recovery day like last time.

"You're distracted" the Prince broke my thoughts, I shifted my gaze to him and smiled sarcastically.

"Yes well I have a lot going on with my work. I was expecting you two days ago. You cancelled, I dove back into my work, and now you're here." I spoke bluntly and he frowned.

"It is almost winter time. I can't imagine how stressful that is with being in charge of blood counts. I am sorry I've cancelled so much." this response surprised me. Prince Alex was actually..kind. He didn't come in here only boasting about himself. We had been speaking for about an hour now.

I stared at him carefully. I hadn't told him what I do in the castle. It has been small talk.

"If I should leave, I can." He continued on and I raised an eyebrow.

"You have a long journey to get home. You're willing to just leave? Because I am busy?" I spoke slowly and he nodded.

"It was rude of me to cancel the day I was supposed to be here. It's not fair for me to pop in unannounced and expect your life to come to a halt." His tone was genuine. I leaned back, completely in shock.

"It wasn't rude. I didn't mind at all that you kept cancelling, honestly." My retort was sarcastic. This time I meant it, I actually didn't care.

"I will be working later today. I don't know what arrangements you have as far as how long you'll be in town." I crossed my leg over the over and he nodded.

"I'm not staying here, if that's what you mean. I'm not intruding on your home when we've only just met." His tone stayed respectful. This guy had patience.

"Alright" I muttered in defeat. Id get under his skin somehow. I always found a way.

"You care about the humans?" His questioned surprised me and I nodded, folding my hands on my lap. Here is where we argue.

"I do. I really do." I came off sounding more challenging than I intended. I wanted to get the point across.

"I can definitely admire that about you. I've rarely come across royals that give a damn about them. They need our help." My eyes widened at this. I couldn't believe my ears. He couldn't mean that...but he sounded genuine. I was a deer in the headlights. He laughed suddenly and rubbed his head.

"I know I know, shocking right?" He laughed and I nodded, smiling slightly.

"I've never met another royal that cared" I whispered and he nodded, sighing.

"I wasn't raised to look down on them. For one thing, we need them. My experiences with humans makes me want to mend our differences. They're treated like they're.." he trailed off thoughtfully.

"Stupid" I finished his sentence and he nodded with another laugh.

"Yea, stupid. They aren't these pitiful little creatures like everyone thinks. I was very saddened when I heard about the incident with your worker in one of the factions. I'm sorry for your loss" he sounded remorseful now and my heart tightened at the thought of Amelia.

"Thank you. She was a good friend" I whispered, surprised I didn't break down.

"How easy we forget that they were once above us and we were in hiding" he shook his head to himself as he said this.