Bella stopped in her tracks and turned her head toward Alex, a smile forming on her lips that he almost mistakenly took for a devil's smile, for her face was just inches away from his. She had not let go of his arm despite how much he had tried to free himself from her grip, her own arm looped firmly through his, keeping them pressed close together in a way that Alex did not appreciate in the slightest.
"Of course I could, but..." Bella brought her free hand to her chin, tilting her head thoughtfully. "Why should I?"
"Huh?" Alex did not know what to say to that. She was the heir of a grand ducal house, and as far as Alex knew, their two houses had always maintained a good relationship. His father and Bella's father were old friends who had kept warm ties over the years, or so he had been told by both his father and mother. Surely that counted for something. Surely she ought to help him without hesitation, just as he would have helped her in any time of need.
"Our fathers are good friends," Alex said, but before he could continue, Bella pressed her fingers lightly against his lips, cutting him off.
Alex's eyes drifted to her face, which was stretched into a wide grin, her pale eyes gleaming with mischief as they looked past him toward something behind his back. He followed her gaze and soon his azure eyes met with the black eyes of the princess, who was watching them with barely concealed frustration, her fists clenched tightly at her sides. The moment their eyes met, she immediately looked away and turned toward the student council members, who were busy talking among themselves. Despite the vice headmistress having openly encouraged students to approach them if needed, not a single person had done so.
Alex could understand why. It was the first day, and every first year student was already assigned a guide to tour them around the academy. With no problems to speak of yet and no particular reason to draw attention to themselves, most students were quietly filtering out of the hall, having little desire to acquaint themselves with the student council on their very first day.
"Ahem." Bella gave a theatrical cough and drew his attention back to her. "At the rate you are glaring daggers at her, you are going to upset her new fiance," she said, her tone light and teasing. "And I would rather not see you clashing with him again."
She let that sit for a moment before adding, "You remember Lucian, yes? The elf who beat you half to death."
Alex went still. He had already learned that the elf who had defeated him in the battle royal was Lucian, the highest levelled student in the first year batch at level forty five, and the very same person had been engaged to the princess. Yet hearing Lucian's name spoken so casually did not sit well with him at all. His skin crawled and his hair stood on end at the memory of Lucian's yellow hair so thoroughly soaked in blood that not a trace of its original colour remained.
"Stop daydreaming, boy." Bella pinched his cheek. "We do not have much time."
Alex shook himself free of the memory and looked at her with barely disguised irritation. "Don't touch my cheeks," he snapped, "and let go of my arm."
The girl was being far too familiar for no discernible reason, and rather than loosening her grip, she seemed to be tightening it with every passing second.
"I will tell you how she feels about you," Bella said simply.
Alex's irritation evaporated at once. His ears perked up before he could stop himself. "Then tell me."
"Only after you let me keep holding your arm." Bella grinned at him, and Alex stood there for a moment feeling completely at a loss.
"Why?" he asked.
"Because," Bella leaned in close and lowered her voice to a quiet whisper near his ear, "I want to see irritation and jealousy on Eva's face."
Alex looked at her then the way one might look at not a princess's friend but at a princess's sworn enemy. "Didn't you say you were her friend?"
"So what?" Bella brought a finger to her lips, eyes dancing with amusement. "Can't I have a little fun with my friend every now and then?"
Alex did not know what to make of her. She was completely unlike Thalia, who carried herself like an ice queen, cold and composed and ruthless in equal measure. Thalia's older sister was her polar opposite, mischievous and warm and utterly impossible to predict. The contrast was so stark that Alex found it difficult to accept at face value and half suspected it was some kind of act from Bella.
Even so, as much as he wanted to refuse her proposal outright, he found himself relenting in the end. He wanted to know what the princess was feeling, and this was the closest thing to an opportunity he had been offered. He bit his lip and gave a reluctant nod. "Fine. You can hold my arm."
"Hehe, then shall we begin our tour?" Bella leaned close once more, her lips nearly grazing his ear, warm breath brushing against his skin. "It will be quite the scene to watch your former fiancee go green with jealousy when she sees you walking around with another beautiful girl, as though you have already moved on and left her to her miserable fate."
Alex clenched his fist at his side. He did not want to admit it, but she had a point. This was perhaps the most straightforward way to gauge whether the princess harboured feelings for him the way he harboured feelings for her. He had never had the chance to learn the truth of it, and though her expression had already told him she was not pleased about the engagement to Lucian, a spoken confirmation was something he still desperately needed. He wanted to tell her himself, plainly and without ambiguity, that he loved her and could not imagine a life without her. And, he wanted the same from her as well.
And so they exited the auditorium together, Bella's arm looped snugly through his, drawing the curious stares of more than a few students they passed. And across the auditorium hall, the princess stood watching them, her expression caught somewhere between the urge to step forward and put a stop to all of it, and the quiet, painful resolve to stay exactly where she was and not expose herself to the eyes of everyone around her.
***
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