“Yes, I know he’s adorable, but I can barely think between you and the dog and Lucien being insufferable,” Gladys said.
“But Lucien’s always like that,” Max said, lifting his head from his scrawling quill behind Luci.
“Even my little brother has turned against me.” Lucien sighed. “I fear all I have left is you, Brielle.”
Prince Ira laughed while Brielle’s cheeks flushed crimson and her hand subtly stuttered over the stitch she was working on. Luci doubted anyone else would have noticed, but this was quickly becoming problematic.
“You really are insufferable, Lucien.” Prince Ira chuckled.
“Tell them they're wrong, Brielle. I promise I’m being grievously misjudged. Yes, once upon a time in my youth, I might have been a bit of a prick–.”
“A bit,” Gladys and Prince Ira murmured as one.
“A bit,”Lucien said. “Either way, I’ve matured, reformed.”
“How can you be certain?” Brielle asked, lifting her head to him and batting her eyelashes.
If the world opened up and swallowed Luci whole, she would have been less surprised. In fact, it took several moments to register that her mouth was hanging open while she stared at her best friend, who was absolutely flirting with a man who was not her fiancé.
Lucien leaned forward. “Well, Miss Treveon, a moment comes in a man’s life when he begins to realize what is actually important.”
Gladys scoffed, but Prince Ira merely resumed playing with Bertram, who was quite content with this choice.
“And what is important?” Brielle asked.
Her lips curled up in a smile that mimicked when Luci and she would sneak out of Blythe and down to the lake when they weren’t supposed to.
“Why, love, of course,” he purred.
“Are you going to let him get away with this, Ira?” Gladys asked, holding out her hands.
The prince shrugged. “What do you want me to do about it? Brielle can hit him if she feels so inclined.”
Gladys shook her head, looking at Luci with wide, pleading eyes as if there was anything Luci could do about it. She was just as helpless. Holding out her hands, Luci threw them up and down because she never felt so helpless.
“Honestly, all of you are annoying. I don’t see why you all have to interrupt my work.” Max said, not bothering to look up.
Strange that a seven-year-old should have more sense than the rest of them, but then he was Max. Under no circumstances was Luci prepared to anger the little prince, given he was dutifully keeping her secrets, though when it was just them, he would ask her who she was that day.
“As to who should go with Ira– that is a matter entirely up to fate. Fate rarely cares about the input of others.” Max said.
Luci sighed. He and Brielle were beginning to sound an awful lot like each other. Glancing over at her friend, she found Lucien leaning towards Brielle and whispering something that made her laugh quietly.
They were all mad.
Luci pushed off the desk, folding her arms over her chest.
“Well, since fate is in charge, I’m going to the infirmary,” she announced.
Bertram crashed into the bookshelf again and shook his head, finally spotting the red ball. In a truly adorable feat, he settled on his back legs before leaping onto the ball like he was a predator and the ball his prey.
“Why?” Prince Ira asked, ignoring Bertram’s nudging the ball into his hand.
Luci stilled and stared at the nosy prince.
“Because I want to, but also if you would like more time playing fetch, you will need more elixirs,” she said.
He met her gaze, unfazed by the irritation in her voice.