Page 23 of Is It Wrong to Escape My Fate? (Dealing With Fate #1)
Things were too good to be true sometimes.
Most of the time.
I thought I was safe when the rest of my Saturday was uneventful, despite the chaotic morning. My knights were very behaved too; although I noticed they were more touchy-feely with me. Not that I was complaining.
Physical affection was my number one weakness if it wasn’t already obvious enough. And the best manifestation of that? Sex, of course.
When Sunday morning came, right at the crack of dawn, the mail system delivered a letter to the dorm. Came directly from the Crown Prince himself, wax seal and all. He requested — decreed — me to come to Aerahelm’s royal mansion alone, located somewhere outside the academy grounds.
Meeting the Prince by myself was nerve-wracking.
To calm myself, I dressed as close as possible to my usual fashion from my world.
It made me happy. Ever since I learned short skirts weren’t unusual in this city, I requested Mia to shop for new dresses to wear on the weekends.
I had nothing against long skirts; I just liked the mobility of the short ones.
When Mia returned from the shopping trip, I learned she had impeccable fashion sense since all the dresses she picked were very appealing to me.
One such dress was a white, fluffy one with a wide skirt that ended mid-thigh, long and loose off-shoulder sleeves, and cinched at the waist with ribbons.
I paired it with one of my many leather boots because again, practicality.
Seeing this, my knights refused to leave me alone as we traveled by horse to the mansion. I sat in front of Robin, while Reuben was on a different horse, trotting beside us. Why we couldn’t have used the carriage was unknown to me, although I was enjoying traveling on horseback, anyway.
One of Robin’s arms held me at the waist, while the other held the reins. “When he sees you like this, how can he resist?” He whispered, the fluttering of his voice sending tingles down my spine. We were so close I could feel his heartbeat on my back, and his hardness taunting me.
“I want him to not resist, or how else can I get myself out of this mess?” I teased him, knowing full well the insinuation he meant.
I seriously doubted the Prince was interested in me in that way.
Claude, maybe, in the convoluted way his mind worked; but the Prince saw me as a toy to keep the Hero entertained.
“Surely you’re not saying what I think you’re saying?
” Robin grunted, holding me tighter. “Maybe we need to get that thought out of your head before you arrive, my lady.” As he said this, his hand moved lower to my abdomen, and my breathing went faster.
I knew he was only teasing me back, but the image of getting my rocks off on top of a horse, in plain sight?
Totally inappropriate, but so appealing.
Good god, why did he have to rile me up before meeting the Prince?
Reuben trotted closer. “Robin, I think it’s unwise to have Bea entertaining such thoughts right now.
” Thank you for saying it, Reuben! But when I glanced at him, his eyes were glued on Robin’s hand, desire so obvious it made my body tighten at the knowledge.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d do the same if I sat with him.
Even though they were only doing their duty to keep me sane and healthy, as Mia pointed out, I could tell they genuinely desired me.
The past weeks of their looks, touches, and words all made sense after what happened on Friday.
How long had it been since they had begun wanting me? Did it start before or after I arrived?
Was it even right to get jealous of myself ? I was still the same me , sort of. Kind of. Maybe?
But they had never thought of me that way before.
Or even if they did, I never noticed, or they never made me see.
To be fair, because I rarely left the manor, I didn’t need to have my personal knights with me always.
They worked the manor’s security like the other guards or had their training.
Sometimes they were sent on assignments, like helping the hunters for food before winter.
Robin’s fingers brushing against my mound made me squeak and he pulled it back up, clutching me even tighter. His whispered “fuck” only incited me.
“Terrible idea,” Reuben growled, now cantering ahead of us. A few meters away was the mansion’s gate, two guards stationed by it, and he had a chat with the security while Robin whispered, “Sorry, angel. I just need to touch you more.”
“Maybe tonight,” I responded hastily, because I had always been a lost cause with controlling my need for sex. I hoped they would fuck me instead of holding back, but I understood their reservations if they believed I was a virgin.
That was true, sort of, until last week.
Reuben returned to us, and we stopped altogether. “The Crown Prince will only let Bea in, but we could wait outside with the rest of the guards.”
“I’m sorry, boys.” I reached for Reuben’s hand and patted Robin’s on my stomach. “Crown Prince’s orders.”
“Tonight, then,” Robin confirmed. Reuben glanced behind me before his eyes widened, and he turned to me with renewed hunger. Robin probably communicated to him through looks, like a superpower thing all twins were capable of.
I really had to go before I jumped them right outside the Prince’s mansion. Who knew the feeling of being wanted without expectations was so good?
One butler led the way to the parlor. I expected the Prince to be waiting there. What I didn’t expect was Claude and Lord Grimwald with him, too. They sat among the various couches, loveseats, and armchairs.
Oh, great. Was this a Champions meeting? What in the heavens was I doing here?
“Good morning, Lady Bea,” the Prince greeted me, gesturing to an empty seat next to him. “You look flushed. Did you have a hard time getting here?”
Curse this treacherous body. The real reason was something not for them to know. But Claude and Lord Grimwald stared, with different expressions on their faces, expecting an answer.
“Greetings, Your Highness. I went here on horseback. I’m not used to it,” I admitted. Half-truths were always better than making shit up.
Claude positively beamed, shooting up from his seat.
“Horse riding’s an essential life skill!
I’ll teach you!” He was grinning so wide, it concerned me a little with what he had in store for me.
Those bright blue eyes, wide and manic. If he weren’t so adorably desperate for my attention, I would’ve run for the hills.
Still, I didn’t want to risk knowing what his plan was. “No, thank you. I already have a tutor.” Or I had planned to have one. Escaping this realm might necessitate riding off to a more appropriate place first.
Lord Grimwald spoke this time. “Who’s your tutor? So we can assess if we’ll be better to teach you.” He was smirking as he said this, as if he wanted to catch me in a lie.
“Lord Amos Drakon,” I responded with confidence.
Didn’t I just say making shit up was terrible? And I’d proven Lord Grimwald right, I was lying! Did my brain want to sabotage me?
But he nodded instead, exclaiming, “Actually, a perfect choice. I’d seen his training regimen. One of the best riders we have in the academy.”
I managed to hide the shock on my face. I thought Amos only liked to ride, like he said he did. I didn’t know he was exceptional at it. Oh, god. That also meant I had to ask Amos to actually start teaching me how to ride.
Claude tapped his chin. “Drakon? Elias’s brother?”
“Might be worth looking into,” the Prince claimed, once again gesturing to the empty armchair while Claude reseated himself on a couch. Fucking hell, now I also had to apologize to Amos for getting the Prince and the Hero’s sights on him without his knowledge. “Lady Bea. Please sit down.”
Walking over to the chair, I immediately noticed the way it was positioned next to the Prince — two armchairs, side by side, while Claude and Grimwald were on couches. It resembled a throne room. Or, I was thinking too hard about it.
I sat down anyway, and the Prince gave me his angelic smile. Raising my arms to refer to the parlor, I asked, “What is this, anyway? What am I doing here?”
“Right, now that we’re all here,” the Prince clapped, before mimicking my action, “Welcome to our first ever Champions meeting. I expect everyone here once a week for the foreseeable future.”
“Awesome!” Claude cheered, while Grimwald nodded seriously.
Weekly meetings? I didn’t hide my shock this time. “If this is a Champions meeting, why am I here?” I didn’t belong here!
The Prince only continued to smile with gentleness. “You are part of the Champions. I made the declaration the other day. We were all present there. You’re our Caregiver.”
Was I the only one bothered by this? “What does that even mean? Am I part of the prophecy? Did the Priestesses mention me? What does a Caregiver do?”
“Not part of the prophecy, unfortunately,” the Prince answered. “The Priestesses foresaw all members of the Twelve Champions as men.”
“But I would very much love your femininity around here,” Claude exclaimed. “In fact, why don’t you sit next to me? Plenty of space on this couch. Ooh, can I braid your hair like what Elias does?”
“And a Caregiver is exactly as the name implies, someone who gives care,” the Prince interrupted Claude’s excited rant.
“I can already predict how chaotic this group might get in the future, judging from Claude alone. So full of machismo, with possibly differing opinions and personalities. We need someone who will keep us grounded.”
I frowned. “And you think that someone is me.”
“I believe so, yes,” his gentle smile ever present. “Someone who’s not afraid of voicing their opinions around princes and heroes. Someone who has conviction and gall to back it up. Claude liking you is just a bonus.”