The Silver Eyed Prince (Highest Royal Coven of Europe) (20 page)

Prince William and Princess Sophia: Lessons in Love

       O
utside the main building, Prince William strolled with Princess Sophia to the brightly illuminated garden that stretched out before Darian Hall. They passed the manicured lawns, the sculpted greenery, and the stunning fountain centerpiece with frolicking stone mermaids.

“There it is!” Princess Sophia grabbed his hand and hurried him to the colossal greenhouse.

“What exactly are we doing here?” the Prince grumbled, glancing at the exotic plants and lush roses that thrived in the controlled environment.

“We're getting Elizabeth a make-up present.” Pri
ncess Sophia led him to the section where the large, long stemmed roses in a variety of colors were planted.

“What make-up present?” He slanted a dark ey
ebrow at her.

“You're going to apologize,” she replied in a mot
herly tone, “like a proper gentleman.”

“What the hell for?” he asked gruffly.

“William. Listen to me.” The Princess planted her knuckles on her hips. “You're the best, most generous cousin in the world and you know we love you, but when it comes to courting a girl, honestly—, you suck.”

“Don't forget who got you that BMW.” He na
rrowed his eyes at her.

“Yes, and I love it, thank you. Now stop threatening me and be ser
ious!” Princess Sophia stomped her foot in annoyance. “Do you want to win the girl or not?”

Prince William didn't respond for a moment. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I'm not sure anymore.”

“What do you mean?” The Princess' voice rose a notch. “Don't you love her?”

He shrugged. “I didn't expect her to be quite so ... disagreeable.”

Princess Sophia drew a deep breath and exhaled steadily. “Talk to me.” She pulled him to a nearby bench and sat. “What's going on? What's the matter?”

Prince William flopped down next to her. “I—, well, she's not what I expected.”

“She's not your type?” Princess Sophia looked appalled. “You're not attracted to her?”

“It's not that! She's beautiful.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “I'm too damned attracted to her, that's what!”

“So, what is it then?” She regarded him with visible concern.

“She's playing deuced hard to get!” he yelled in vexation. “She r
ecoils and runs away from me, but she's all sweet and flirty with
everyone else!
Frankly, I'm done chasing her. It's so damned lowering!”

“May I remind you, dear cousin, that you've only known her for three days.”

The Prince scowled. “That's long enough for me.”

“Oh! Sorry, I forgot—.” She slapped her forehead. “You're the O
mni’s greatest gift to women and they're supposed to grovel at your feet.”

“I don't see anything wrong with that,” he snapped, watching her draw an exasperated sigh.

Princess Sophia knew her beloved cousin would have a hard time dealing with the unconventional, strong-willed American girl, but she really couldn't blame him for his behavior. He'd always been deluged everywhere by females who were eager to please him, which made him more than a tad arrogant and spoiled. Rejection was something he'd never experienced.

“Nevertheless,” she ignored his sulkiness, “I a
ssume that by
everyone else,
you meant Colonel Alexus Gunter?”

His scowl deepened and he looked away.

“Have you ever been in love, William?” Princess Sophia inquired bluntly.

He snorted in irritation and kept his face averted, not bothering to r
espond.

“It doesn't always feel good, you know,” Princess Sophia said in a gentle voice. “Sometimes, it doesn't even seem right because everything is all wrong.”

Prince William leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands together, staring into space.

“Don't give up so easily.” She reached out to cup his chin, turning his face towards her. “Hasn't it o
ccurred to you that in spite of the fact that you're destined for each other, you must work your own way to get there?”

“But she doesn't even like me!” He jerked his chin off her fingers.

“How can you expect her to like you?” She raised her shoulders. “You lord over her as if she's some harebrained girl you can order around and make passes at whenever you want to!”

“Why not?” He regarded her cros
sly. “Whether she likes it or not, she's mine, damn it!”

“Why, cousin William, how prepo
sterous of you to say that!” She poked his arm with a forefinger. “Have you ever considered the possibility that her feelings can change?”

“That's never going to happen,” Prince William scoffed at her comment. “We'll still end up together no matter how I deal with it. The course of destiny is u
nchangeable.”

“Precisely—, under ideal circumstances.” She paused to bait his interest. “Have you forgotten how your mother's cousin, the former Queen, took destiny in her own hands and changed everything?”

The Prince straightened and glared at her.

“The current situation is hardly ideal. Elizabeth is different. She's not as naïve as the others before her who were isolated in a pa
lace, fawning on some Prince—.”

“Just tell me what you're getting at,” Prince William interjected with an impatient wave of his hand.

“It's simple.” The Princess shrugged. “She's unconfined, roaming freely in a place full of Alpha Deimons who will eventually gravitate to her. If you don't get your act together soon, she will shift her attention to one of these eligible Alphas.” She pretended to study her newly-polished nails to let her meaning sink in, before adding, “Like the dashing Colonel Alexus Gunter.” She exaggerated a dreamy sigh to emphasize her point. 

“Over my dead body!” The Prince bolted to his feet and started pacing. “I'm not going to allow it! I'll have him removed from his position!”

“You do that, then you might as well forget about her.” Princess Sophia bristled in disapproval. “She'll never forgive you. If you have not noticed, they have become fast friends.”

“And mind you—,” she watched him walk back and forth, “getting rid of Colonel Gunter is not a solution. What are you going to do when the next ten Alpha De
imons show up? Fire them all? What if they're Royalty?”

Prince William knew the exact moment when Pri
ncess Sophia won their argument. He muttered a series of colorful expletives and kicked the dirt in frustration. Turning his back to her, he roughly plunged both hands through his hair and brooded over his dilemma.

Sophia did have a point, disinclined though he was to admit it. Yes, he acted like a randy jackass and ma
naged to botch every chance he had, but the chit was so touchy and damned difficult!
How dare she speak to him disrespectfully and defy his wishes? Didn't she have an idea of the magnitude of his rank?

And what kind of game was she tr
ying to pull off? She's
Miss Contradiction
to the hilt—, playing hard to get and ladylike—, until he blindsided her with a kiss! Then,
voila!
She morphed from being
Miss Prim and Proper,
into
Miss Lovey-dovey!

Hah! In fact, he's going to call her by those names!

Princess Sophia cleared her throat rather loudly. He swung around to face her. She arched an elegant eyebrow at him and folded her arms across her chest.
I don't think calling her names would further your cause,
she muttered in his head.

He glowered at her. He hated it when Sophia i
ntruded in his thoughts like that!

Well then, to the devil with it! He had absolutely no clue how to woo
Miss Contradiction!
He exhaled audibly with a peeved twist of his lips. He should at least try Sophia's ideas and see what happens. If those don't work, nothing would. He'll just have to haul her kicking and screaming back to England!

Sophia flicked him a bored look and tapped her fi
ngers rhythmically on the arm of the iron bench.

“All right.” He dropped down next to her and stretched his legs. “What do you want me to do?”

She heaved a long sigh. “If you truly want to win her,” she replied in a serious tone, “you must leave
His Royal Highness, Prince William Erik the fourteenth,
sole heir to the throne,
and
his monstrous ego—, behind.” She looked him squarely in the eyes.

“What do you mean?” He knitted his eyebrows.

“Do you still remember when you taught David and Philippe how to ride a bike and later on to drive because their parents didn't have the time?”

“Uh-huh ... and?”

“What about when you sat all night with Silvia when she broke up with her first boyfriend, or the time when no one asked me to the junior ball because my hair turned green from using human hair dye?”

Prince William rolled his eyes and nodded.

“You showed up in a tuxedo and a Rolls Royce, took me to the blasted dance, and made me and my green hair the envy of every girl in that party!” the Princess giggled with delight.

He couldn't help but grin. “And your point is?”

“Come to her just as you are; without the hauteur of wealth, rank, and power.” She smiled fondly at him. “Show her the loving, kindhearted, generous, and wonderful doting cousin we all know and adore.”

He rubbed his knuckles along his lips. True, around them, he was simply himself, without all the pretenses and formality attached to his title. They admired him immensely and were pract
ically glued to his side.

“Do you think—,” the Prince shif
ted restlessly and peered at her, “there's still a chance she'll have me?”

Princess Sophia squeezed his hand. “I think ... she'll fall madly in love with the sweet and beautiful guy, named
William Erik Darkcross
.”

“I messed up so bad, I don't know how to start over,” he admitted shee
pishly, drawing a deep breath and exhaling it with a shake of his head.

“Well—, I do.” Princess Sophia stood up and tugged him by the hand back to the flourishing beds of long stemmed roses.

She reached out to snip a stem with a razor-edged nail. “Here.” She held the exquisite bloom in front of him. “Why don't you start with a single white rose?”

Elizabeth Hamilton Meets

William Erik Darkcross

       Prince William sat in his car, staring at the rose in his hand. He knew exactly what to do and what to say before driving to see Elizabeth. But now that he was finally here,
why the hell couldn't he remember a damn thing?

He glanced at his watch. He had been sitting in his car for the past fifteen minutes, debating with the d
emons in his head if he should do it or just ditch the whole blasted plan. Time was running out. Sunrise would come in an hour.

He twirled the elegant, long-stemmed white rose in his fingers and flicked another glance at the black SUV parked not too far away. He knew that the Colonel sat there, watching him.

Well, then. Alexus Gunter could go hang himself!

With renewed determination, he tucked the rose i
nside his coat, lifted his car door, and sauntered towards the yellow cottage.

Inside the house, Elizabeth slipped into her peach-colored nightshirt and curled up on her bed, thin
king about what had happened in school earlier.

She had been so scatterbrained that she barely passed the quiz Mr. Clark had given and had scarcely paid attention in Combat class because she was too di
sappointed to find that
he
wasn't among the Royals present.

On top of that, Ben, Carlos, and Lela fished for the juicy details throughout lunchtime, which she ma
naged to downplay—, not that they bought the nonsense she'd invented.

Thankfully, Chad, bless his heart, never brought up the subject during the long ride home. Instead, he talked about mundane things as if the whole incident had never taken place. Howe
ver, once or twice she missed what he was saying because her thoughts kept drifting to
his kiss.

Elizabeth smiled to herself and traced her lips with her fingers, recalling the way it felt.
So sweet and so tender. Almost too affectionate for something ... stolen.

The doorbell rang.

Elizabeth scrambled off the bed, expecting her mom back from procuring their drink supply and needing help. Long before she discovered her mom’s true nature, she had always wondered why she preferred to do go out and do chores in the middle of the night. Well now, she knew. Elizabeth hurried down the stairs without bothering to put on a robe and fix her hair that flowed in thick waves down her back. She opened the door and found herself facing the object of her distraction.