My Prince Charming

Chapter 5

Ava POV

"Would you rather eat a thousand spiders or a thousand worms?" I looked up at him.

"Hmmm..." He thought for a moment. "Eat a thousand worms." I scrunched my nose.

"Eww! Seriously?" He gave me a cheeky smile as we walked. Once we left the Palace, we made our way outside to the forest of trees on the property.

We walked down a quiet path surrounded by trees, the path lighted by the stars and moon.

"Ok, my turn. Would you rather have to wear formal attire or pajamas every time, every day?" I placed a finger on my chin.

"Tough one...but I would probably pick wearing pajamas all day, every day," I stated, turning my head to look up at the mystery man. He tilted his head and gave me a smile.

"Why's that?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"I mean, come on! Would you really rather wear uncomfortable clothes 24/7 over comfy ones?" I scoffed teasingly. "Weirdo." He laughed, and I felt myself shiver at the sound of his laugh. His voice just made me feel so safe and happy.

"So you would've arrived in pajamas to this event if you could?"

"Of course I would've, but my friends would not have let me. I didn't even agree to come here in the first place."

"Why not?" He asked, giving me a confused look as we walked.

I shrugged. "I just don't have the time on my hands." He continued looking at me, waiting for me to elaborate. But I wasn't going to talk about my personal life with some hot dude in a mask.

"It doesn't matter. I came." I avoided his gaze and kept walking on the path. I was stopped by something encasing my hands, pulling me to a stop. I looked up at him, and he peered down at me.

"If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. I am a stranger after all. But I would be honoured if you told me." I looked at his hazel eyes that made me just want to tell him everything and anything he wanted to know. But I wasn't going to do that; not anytime soon.

"I have to look after my mother." I looked away from him, avoiding his reaction.

"Why? Is she ill?" He sounded concerned when he spoke.

"In a way." I peeked at him. He looked puzzled as he tilted his head slightly to the side.

I sighed. "She got into an accident a few years ago. She was paralysed from the waist down." I looked away from him again, now staring at the thick trees behind him.

I heard him let out a sigh before I felt his hand on my chin. My head inclined to meet his gaze, tears slightly brimming my eyes. He observed me with an empathetic look on his face.

"I apologise that you had to take that responsibility. I can't say that I understand how you feel, or what it's like, but I can say that it has made you a stronger person." 

I scoffed lightly. "You don't know me."

He observed me for a short moment. "While that may be true, I know that you are strong. You didn't tell me that there was a man following you right away-instead, you dealt with the situation discretely-even if you did pour lemonade on him." I laughed briefly, still staring up at him as he held my chin in his hand.

"Even though I have known you for such a short amount of time, I feel like I want to get to know you more and more, and I have to admit; it's kind of messing with my head." He said, his smile slightly fading at the end of his sentence. He slid his hand onto my cheek, rubbing it gently with his thumb.