I was awoken to the sound of a loud gasp and a door being slammed. I sat up and groggily rubbed my eye, but when I finally blinked and looked around, I froze. This… isn't my dorm.
A strong hand pulled me back down to the bed. I let out a bit of a yelp as Knox threw a leg over me and locked me in place. "Why're uu ughp?" Knox grumbled into his pillow. "Too eerrly."
"Knox! Let go!" I tried to struggle out of his grip, but I was far too weak. "I need to get back to my dorm!" Knox only let out a sad grumble as I resisted.
I thought I was going to be trapped there forever until there was a rather urgent-sounding knock on the door. Knox finally sat up and angrily glared over at the hall that led to his bedroom door. The knocking became quicker, and Knox let out an annoyed growl as he dragged himself from the bed and sauntered over to the door. "Whaaaaaat?!" Knox complained as he threw the door open. Thankfully, I was out of view, but it sounded like an attendant was in quite the panic. Within moments, the door shut, and Knox came whipping around the corner. "You've gotta return to your dorm!"
"No duh," I grumbled as I pulled the blanket a bit closer to myself. I had only been saying that since last night.
"No, like now! Come on, hurry!" Knox snapped as he rushed into his closet.
"I can't leave wearing pajamas!" I had some standards. If anyone from the academy were to see me wandering around in my pajamas, I think I'd die on the spot.
"You'll have to wear these!" Knox rushed over to me and threw some clothes onto the bed. I didn't want to burst his bubble, but none of those were going to fit me. "Come on!" Knox started to tug at my pajama top, but I managed to swat his hand away.
"I don't need help changing."
"Then you need to go faster!" I wasn't sure why Knox was in such a panic, but I selected a shirt and pulled it on over my pajamas. Just as I thought, the shirt swallowed me whole. I got out of bed and tried to pull on some pants, but the same thing happened. I tried to put some on, but they just fell off me. Knox was watching me with a pink face until he lost his patience. "Ugh, forget the pants, come on."
"What's even happening?"
"That damn maid saw you in my bed and ran straight to my mother. If you don't leave now, we'll have a lot of explaining to do." My eyes went wide as I listened to Knox, and I stopped resisting him as he tugged me over to the door. Before he threw it open, he paused and looked down at me. "I don't want you getting in trouble. Just go back to the academy and play possum. If anyone asks, you were snug in your bed last night, okay?"
"Okay…" I didn't think his supposed plan was going to work, but who was I to judge? I guess there was a small chance it would…
Knox threw open the door to his room, and an older gentleman was waiting on the other side. "Directly to the Omega Academy. No stopping. His attendant should be waiting for him at the southern gate." He would? I wanted to ask how Rinley was supposedly going to know, but there wasn't time.
The attendant grabbed my arm and rushed off with me. Whoa, he was rather light on his feet for being so old… It was also hard to ignore the slightly odd look he kept giving me. Maybe it was my clothes, or my existence that bothered him, but either way, it was rude. Before I could even wrap my head around where we were going, I was tossed onto a carriage and was being driven away from the palace. Talk about a crazy morning…
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Knox
I watched as Arden rounded the corner with Steffan and let out a little sigh. Damn it! I wanted to lie around and cuddle! No fucking fair! Stupid ass maid barging into my room. I glared over at the grandfather clock in my room's sitting area and let out a sigh. Ugh, well, it is rather late in the day. It's probably best that Arden returns to his dorm…
I started to hear the sound of rushed footsteps in the distance, so I quickly closed my door and rushed over to my bed. I tossed the clothes Arden didn't wear under the bed and jumped back under the blankets.
I had barely fallen still when my door burst open. "Where is he?!" My mother's voice snapped. I didn't dare respond to her because it was obvious that she was pissed. Her footsteps stomp over to my bed, but I didn't dare move. "Where is Arden?!" Mother snapped as she whipped the blanket off me. Yeah, like I'd hide him under the blanket with me. That would be a rookie move.
"What are you yelling about?" I did my best to act like I had just woken up. I rubbed my eye and scowled at my mother. "It's my day off. Had I known I wouldn't get to sleep in, I would have stayed at the academy house-"
Mother reached down and grabbed my chin, pulling my face up to properly look at her. "I'm not dumb. Stop your little act and tell the truth." I shuddered slightly as she peered down at me with annoyance in her gaze.
"What are you talking about?" I asked, as I did my best to lie.
Oof, her expression turned into a scowl, and I nervously gulped. "I said, don't play dumb. Now, where is Arden? You can act coy all you want, but that's not going to cover up the scent of his pheromones lingering around the room."
Shit! Why didn't I think to flood the room with mine?! I awkwardly chuckled, but it seemed that my mother wasn't in a laughing mood. "Look, he only stayed the night here." Mother angrily squished my face for a second before pushing me away from her.
"Where is he?"
"I don't know-" Mother's gaze whipped back over to me, and the pure anger in her eyes made me falter. "He's like totally in a carriage on the way back to his dorm! Calm down!"
She narrowed her eyes at me for a moment before letting out a loud huff. "I understand that you and Arden were childhood friends, but that's no longer the case. You can't have him staying the night here, it's too risky!" She turned so I could see her upset face again and walked towards me so she could look down at where I sat. "Now tell me the truth, what did you two do? If you even think you can get away with lying to me, I'll send my attendants to fetch your father."
I gulped and shyly looked away. "Nothing serious. We just sorta made out." Mother took a threatening step over towards the door, which made me panic. "Really! I'm not joking! We didn't have sex… at least not the kind that would get us into trouble!" Shit! This is probably what Arden feels like when he's embarrassed. Gods, and he wonders why I was in such a panic to send him away. He'd probably pass out and die if he had to be questioned by my parents. Arden wasn't ready to deal with my family. The twins alone would make anyone run.
My mother marched back over to me and pointed a finger in my face. "I thought I raised you better than that! I didn't give you advice, so you could haul the poor boy to bed! What if he had found out? Then what?" Mother let out another loud, annoyed huff and threw her hands into the air, like I was the biggest disappointment she had ever raised.
"Everything was fine! I was in control the entire time! And… it's not like he won't find out eventually-"
Mother stomped back over and grabbed my ear. It didn't hurt, but it did annoy me as she tugged on it. "Is that really how you want him finding out?! He'll run for the hills if you don't watch out! Wait until your father hears what you've done!" She let go of my ear and started marching over to the door.
"Don't tell him!" I started to scramble off my bed so that I could run to the door before she could leave, but Mother paused.
She turned towards me, and her frown was absolutely massive. "And why not?"
"Because I don't want anyone to know about Arden yet. Can't we just keep this between us? He's not ready for that sort of attention!" If my father finds out that I found an omega I like, he'll want to make it official, so other countries stop approaching us with marriage candidates. Arden wasn't in a mental state that could handle that at the moment.
"So he's ready enough to be intimate with you, but not ready for people to know about your relationship? Help me wrap my mind around that."
I brought my hands up and nervously fiddled with my fingers. "Well… you see… I might have rushed things out of my own sheer excitement… I get the impression that he hasn't exactly come to terms with the fact that he's an omega, much less that I have feelings for him. He did call me his alpha, though. That… made me… happy…" I tried to smile, but it was full of nerves as my mother glared at me.
"Oh, my gods." Mother pinched the bridge of her nose for a moment before looking at me. "You forced yourself on him?!"
"Wait! That sounds bad with the context provided! He was totally receptive to me! I'm just the one that got it going- Gah! That sounds bad, too! I promise that I wouldn't-"
Mother wandered back over to me and grabbed my cheeks, so I'd stop rambling. "Whether you like it or not, you'd better tell your father about your relationship with Arden by tonight at dinner, or I will. We've been in contact with multiple kingdoms, and your father deserves to know before he agrees to anything." Ah… that does make sense… I just… want what's best for Arden, though…
Mother released my face, and I nodded my head. "Okay… but can we at least keep this between us? If he finds out, he's going to be so mad…"
"You should have thought about that before you let your hormones take control of your brain!" Mother flicked my forehead, and despite my sad grumble, she turned away with a frown. "You have until tonight at dinner. If you don't breach the subject, I'll tell him everything."
"Yes, mother." I nodded my head repeatedly, and the moment the door closed, I let out a massive sigh. Well, that went poorly. Arden's going to be pissed at me.
The best I could do was lifelessly flop on my bed and let out a loud, sad grumble. Damn it. How am I so good at messing things up?
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Arden
I was grateful to see Rinley when I stepped out of the carriage, but he had quite the frown plastered across his face. He looked me head to toe and grabbed my wrist. You would have thought he was even more in a hurry than Knox's attendant was as he went speeding off across campus with me.
"Good to see you too," I grumbled as he forced me up the multiple flights of stairs to my dorm. I thought Rinley would respond, but he didn't. Not until we had entered my dorm and the door was fully closed.
"You are welcome to make your own decisions, my lord, but returning to the academy swathed in alpha pheromones that obviously belong to the crown prince is quite the decision to make." Rinley grabbed my head and forced me to look down as he took my collar off. "He didn't mark you, did he?"
"No!" My face felt extremely warm. I forgot that Rinley would immediately know that Knox and I were intimate because of our pheromones. That's so awkward!! "My collar is locked, and you have the key. It's not like Knox could get it off."
"Who knows what the imperial family is capable of. Now hold your breath." Rinley barely gave me a chance to close my mouth before he repeatedly sprayed me with this strange scentless spray.
"The hell is that?!" I snapped as I took a few steps away.
"Mmm, you probably should change out of those clothes, and I'll spray you again." Hey! Don't ignore me!
"Are you going to tell me what that strange spray is?!"
"This? An attendant from the palace gave it to me this morning when they alerted me of your return. It removes pheromones from clothes or your body. I'm surprised at how well it works." Rinley looked down at the glass bottle in curiosity while my face continued to burn. Even Knox knew I'd smell like him?! What the hell?! Why did it always feel like I was out of the loop? Constantly bumbling around without any sense of direction…
"I'm going to go bathe." I squeaked before rushing towards the bathroom.
"Ah, ah, ah." Rinley snagged my shirt and tugged on the sleeve. "This needs to be laundered and returned. I can't believe you'd come here wearing something so unsightly." He grumbled as he pulled the shirt off me. Rinley was acting like it was a dangerous item as he folded it and shoved it in a drawer.
"You act like I'm going to sniff it out like a beast," I grumbled under my breath.
"It's better to be put away than on display for others to see." Whatever. I rolled my eyes and resumed walking to the bathroom. Rinley needed to calm down. I wasn't even all that sure how to feel about Knox and his feelings. I had a lot of thinking to do…
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Knox
Shit, shit, shit. I stared down at my food, but could hardly find it in myself to eat. Father had been in meetings all day, and I didn't have any chances to have a casual conversation with him. I tried a few times, but they all ended in failure. Now here we were at dinner. Mother and I kept having this awkward, silent conversation, too. I could tell she was bubbling with irritation, but what was I supposed to do? Interrupt the twins' story to shout that I found an omega I like?
Father put his goblet down and smiled warmly at the twins. "It sounds like you two had a pleasant day. You best not be giving your teachers any more trouble, though. It looks bad that I've had to hire three new ones in the past month." Brien giggled maniacally while Ivan rolled his eyes. He best not get his hopes up; they were totally going to chase more teachers off…
"Yes, father." They said in unison. Ahuh, sure, you little liars.
"Knox." I flinched as Father called out to me next.
"Yes, father?" My hand nervously fiddled with my fork. He's probably going to ask why I'm so tense-
"I have excellent news! I'm sure you'll be rather interested."
Huh? That's not what I was expecting at all… "Oh, yeah?" I nervously asked.
"I've been talking with the Kingdom of Tulan, and we've come to an agreement that their daughter will come visit us for a year. While she's not the most dominant of omegas, I'm sure you'll find her to be pleasant…" Father paused talking and glanced between mother, who was giving me a dirty look, and me, who had bent my fork at a weird angle. "What? Is there something I'm missing?"
"Sweety, Knox has-"
I let out a loud gasp and rose to my feet. "You didn't even give me a chance to say anything!" I wasn't looking at my father, but instead at my mother. I didn't want her running and telling him what Arden and I had done! She at least needed to give me a chance!
"Then speak," Father said with a furrowed brow. He glanced at his mother, who shook her head before turning his attention to me.
"Hey! Communicating like that isn't fair!" I started to voice my complaint, but it was met with a large frown.
"Speak," Father repeated.
I slowly sat down and awkwardly glanced back at the twins. "Could I perhaps talk where the twins and other listening ears can't hear?"
Brien gasped excitedly and bounced in his chair while Ivan leaned forward with a big grin. "Did Knox do something bad?!" Ivan asked.
"We want to know!" Brien begged.
"No! I didn't do anything bad! Well… it's not technically bad, but-"
"Out." Snapped father. The twins let out whines of disappointment as they slowly left their chairs. They tried to linger, but Father wasn't having it. He waved his hand, and the two quickly shot out of the room. The doors to the dining room snapped closed, and I nervously gulped. "Now speak," Father demanded. He didn't need to use his angry emperor voice with me…
I nervously turned and faced my father. His eyes met mine, I took a deep breath, and said what I had to say. "I don't need you to find me an omega, because I found one I want to spend the rest of my life with!"
Father blinked a few times and furrowed his brow. "A regular omega doesn't compare to that of a dominant omega. If you give her a chance, you might find that-"
"But father! They are dominant! Like, incredibly dominant! Just yesterday, we were on a date and-"
"That's where you ran off to yesterday?! You know you're not supposed to leave the palace grounds without your attendants! I had the special forces knights looking all over the capital for you! Then I get a report that a major scene was caused in the trade district because of you! Do you not care about your public image?! You can't go causing problems like that, people will lose their faith in you as their next leader-"
"It wasn't my fault! This woman approached us, and Arden got so upset that he-"
"Arden Rainaldus? That is the omega you have your sights set on?" Gah! I wanted to scream! He wasn't letting me explain anything! "I don't think that's a wise decision-"
I let out a loud, angry growl and glared daggers at my father. "I only want Arden!"
"The public will not respond positively to the prince of our empire marrying another man-"
"I don't care!" I snapped.
Father glared down at me, and a loud, cavernous growl started to drown mine out. I backed down a little, but to my surprise, mother joined the conversation. "Sweety." Father stopped growling and turned his attention to her. "I think you're being a little harsh on Knox. While he is in hot water for other reasons, I don't see anything wrong with him picking Arden. We both know he's a lovely boy with a perfectly fine personality. Maybe it won't be the omega people expect, but it's the omega your son likes. Are you really going to force him to pick someone else?"
"Marriage talks have already begun-"
"WHAT?!" I screeched as I rose to my feet again. He had to be joking.
"Sweety, why would you run and start marriage talks when your son hasn't even met the girl? What if they're not compatible?" Even Mother seemed annoyed as she furrowed her brow.
"Nothing's official." He waved his hand dismissively, which only seemed to annoy mother further. "All that was said was that she will spend the semester attending the academy, and if things go well, an engagement might be announced. It could easily be called off."
"Call it off now! I don't want her coming here!"
Father wouldn't look at me as he responded. "It's too late. She's already on her way here… She should be arriving in the next few days…"
Mother let out an annoyed sigh as she pinched her nose. "I don't know who's worse between you two. For being supposedly so incredibly wise, neither of you put much thought into your decisions." Mother reached forward and grabbed her glass of wine as her annoyed gaze flipped between the two of us.
Father looked rather distraught about having mother annoyed with him, but his attention eventually returned to me. "What else did you do?"
"Nothing," I mumbled as I looked away. Mother took a sharp inhale like she was going to talk, but I beat her to it. "You promised you wouldn't say anything!"
"I'm not going to keep secrets from your father." Father glanced over at mother, and I was all too aware of what was happening.
The moment my father's eyes met mine, I shrank down into my chair. "You did what?!" He roared.
"I feel like you're both making a way bigger deal out of this than you need to! Nothing even happened!"
"That's your version of nothing?! First, you sneak out of the palace yesterday, and then you sneak an omega into your room to have sex?! Have you lost your ever-loving mind?!" An oppressive force prevented me from moving even an inch in my seat as my father glared at me. "Get talking because I expect proper explanations as to why you've done something so dumb!"
"Yes, sir," I mumbled.
It took a while, but I explained everything to my parents. I didn't want there to be any confusion, so I started with my first encounter with Arden. I was pretty embarrassed to go into such great detail about how Arden made me feel, but I doubt my parents would take shoddy answers. I wanted them to understand that I was serious about him. It wasn't just some residual feelings from childhood. I really wanted to support Arden through thick and thin. Though I didn't get too specific about what Arden and I got up to last night. Arden deserved to have his dignity protected.
"What a damn mess you've gotten yourself into." Father snarled as he rubbed his temples.
"Me?! You caused the mess! So fix it and send her away!" I can't believe he was going to try and blame the mess he caused on me! Yeah, mine and Arden's relationship had been a little bumpy, but I had faith we could figure things out! Arden just needed time and someone to support him.
Father looked up from the table and gave me a sour look. "No, I will not. There's a chance that Arden will not reciprocate your feelings. What would you do then? You can't force him to stand beside you. There's a chance this girl arrives, and you hit it off."
It was my face's turn to go sour. "I'm not giving up on Arden! He's the omega I want!" Did my father not just listen to me talk for an hour about how much I liked Arden?! What didn't he get?!
Mother let out a long sigh and set her empty wine cup down. "Enough. I think this topic needs to be put to rest for the night. You two can squabble about it in the morning." Father turned to her with a furrowed brow, and I rolled my eyes. Come on, the least you could do was talk out loud. "No, I'm not saying that there shouldn't be consequences for poorly thought-out actions; I'm just saying that everyone should take a chance to calm down, and we can resume this conversation in the morning. I think it would be best if the two of us talk things through first."
Father let out an annoyed snort and turned towards me. "Fine." He peered down at me in irritation, and I gulped nervously. Maybe deciding consequences tonight was a better idea. It would give my father less time to think about ways to punish me. "You are to report to us at dawn." He snarled as he rose to his feet and offered a hand to mother.
I didn't even dare move as they left. My stomach was in knots, but I knew that I wasn't going to give up. Father could try as he might, but I'm going to do everything in my power to be there for Arden.
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Arden
I hadn't seen hide nor hair of Knox for over three days. Not that I was too surprised. He probably was in a shit ton of hot water with his parents. He kept telling me about how everything would be fine with them, but clearly it wasn't. I knew everyone wasn't going to be magically okay with the fact that I'm a guy.
His absence was also giving me time to think, which I appreciated. Gah, I can't believe I did that with him… How am I ever supposed to look at him again without thinking about… that… At least with him missing, I was able to get what happened out of my head. Well, kind of… What happened might linger in my head for a long time…
"Pst! Arden, the teacher called on you!" Rosia leaned over and poked me, drawing my attention away from the birds out the window.
Fuck. The professor looked annoyed with me. I swear she calls on me just because my gawking bothers her. My eyes wandered to the board where an easy problem was written out. "Umm, the answer is seventy-two."
"Yes, it is, but next time, please pay attention."
"Yes, professor." It's not my fault; this arithmetic class was so boring. Maybe make it harder, and I'll actually care. Ugh, classes were such a drag. I stared out the window for the easy classes and was barely managing to scrape by in the hard ones. Maybe life would be better if I got three strikes on my permanent record and was kicked out. Then at least, I wouldn't have to tolerate all this ridiculous shit.
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Rosia and Marina had lunch plans to go shopping, and I didn't care to go, so I was alone today. I was fine with it, though, because they pestered me all yesterday about where I was over the weekend. It's not like I was going to tell them that I spent the day with Knox and the night in his bed. They'd freak out. My life was messy enough; I didn't need them adding to my stress. Especially Marina. She'd have a field day if she found out.
As if fate couldn't stop jinxing me enough, Claren came rushing around the corner with a newspaper in hand. I rolled my eyes as he sat down across from me. "Have you seen the papers?"
"Good to see you too. I've been fine since we last saw each other. Thanks for asking. Not that I care to see you…" I grumbled before taking another bite of food. The least he could do was say hello or apologize for hurting my feelings.
Claren's face scrunched up, and his gaze wandered away from me. "Look, I'm sorry about last time, but I was trying to look out for you. Knox isn't someone you should be hanging out with." That's his version of looking out for me? Knox, despite being rather clingy, was exceptionally supportive, unlike someone else…
"I don't particularly want to hear your opinion-"
Claren slapped the newspaper he had down in front of me on the table and frowned. "Fine, if you won't listen to my opinion, then maybe this will get you thinking straight."
My eyes ran over the title of the newspaper, and my heart skipped a beat. Neighboring Country's Princess Set to Attend the Omega Academy, Engagement on the Horizon?! The hell was this? The more of the article I read, the more my stomach bunched up into knots. Knox… is engaged or at least is going to get engaged? So what… Was I nothing but something to pass the time with? I swallowed hard and looked away from the article. "I'd like to hear Knox's opinion on this…" The newspapers weren't exactly the most reliable source. It's possible they've written something to get people talking.
"What?! You're going to believe that bastard over a legitimate interview?" Claren looked at me like I had grown a third eyeball or something. Gosh, and I thought he couldn't get any more rude than he was.
"You shouldn't talk about the crown prince like that." Knox was dumb, but calling him a bastard was taking things too far.
"Arden?! Listen to yourself! He's clearly playing with you!"
"It could be fake-"
"Fake? Let me know how fake she is when you see her in your classes today. I hear she's a first-year student." Is… that why the campus seemed to be buzzing today? I thought people's attention had drifted somewhere else, because for the first time since coming here, I was practically ignored.
"Please just stop." I couldn't even bring myself to eat anymore. My stomach was churning listening to him, and my eyes kept getting drawn to the article in front of me. Just when I had started trusting in Knox, this had to happen? Why? Why can't I have anything good in my life?
"Why are you trying to defend him? He played with you, all the while knowing he was engaged."
I rose from my seat and started to leave, but Claren shot a hand out to stop me. "Leave me alone." I snapped.
"Arden, wait-"
My pheromones whipped out, and Claren doubled over, allowing me to slip past him. No. I didn't want to hear him talk. He can't be speaking the truth.
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My mind was an absolute mess as I wandered into ballroom dance. I think Rinley tried talking to me at one point, but I wasn't paying attention… What good were all Knox's words in the bath when this was what he was going to do? Was he really playing with me? My shoulder that he bit stung as my feelings swirled around like crazy.
The sound of chattering girls drew my attention, and I realized I had finally made it to class. Gods, they're so loud. I wanted to turn and walk out of the room, but the professor had spotted me. Stop glaring. I'm going to stay, so you can yell at me. Don't worry. I won't let you miss out on your favorite pastime.
"Ah, our newest addition has arrived." The processor clasped her hands and excitedly looked over at the door that I moved out of the way of. My stomach sank as the door was opened. So it is true that the future empress of our empire was attending the academy…
The door was opened, not by the princess but by one of her many attendants. I know attendants could attend classes if desired, but I didn't see the point of Rinley following me around all day. I wasn't so pompous that I needed him to hold my bookbag. This girl, though, clearly had better-than-you energy as she waltzed in, followed by not one, not two, but six attendants. Knox at most had three attendants that he was constantly trying to shake. Did this girl think she was attending an actual ball or something? She looked ridiculous with that many attendants.
She was tall for an omega, definitely taller than me. The high heels she was wearing didn't help the situation either. Her light purple hair was shiny and long. Probably reaching down to her lower back, when not done up like it was. You could instantly tell she was from high nobility simply by how she held herself. Her better-than-you energy was on full display as she walked over to the professor. Was… her uniform different from the rest of the girls? I thought uniform alterations were expressly banned? I glanced over at a classmate, then back at her. Yeah, it's way more pink than anyone else's. Oh, and don't even get me started on how garish her collar was. Yeah, some girls had jewels set into theirs or had designs carved into them, but hers was so covered in jewels, you couldn't even tell there was metal underneath.
As she walked past me, her odd white and pink eyes flitted over to where I was before returning to the professor. Huh, that was odd. Well, maybe she doesn't know that a male omega attends the academy… "I would like to introduce you to Princess Tiffany Ismay Rinfred of Tulan, future bride of Knox Eldrosh." Instead of introducing herself, an attendant stepped forward and did it in the most unnecessarily flamboyant way. The fuck did she say? I couldn't even look with both eyes; they made me so sick. Future bride? Hell, if that's what Knox is into, he can have at it. I won't stand in his way.
Pft, the professor was completely thrown off by the strange theatrics. To be fair, Tiffany wasn't our princess. I sure as hell wouldn't bow to her, but it seemed like she was asking for it. Talk about awkward. Eventually, the professor nodded her head and smiled. "Welcome to your ballroom dance class, Tiffany. I'm sure you've been taught how to dance in your home country of Tulan, but we still require you to take the class. The dancing styles may vary slightly from Tulan and Empire Draedor-"
"Oh, please, like this academy has anything to teach our princess. She's only attending because the emperor asked her to." Almost all of her attendants stuck their noses up into the air as the head one rudely responded. To get a better view of this shit show, I moved to stand amongst my classmates. It seemed many of them were sharing awkward glances, but didn't dare whisper a peep. I, however, couldn't help but roll my eyes. Talk about fucking arrogant.
"That's enough. I will take things from here." Uck. Her voice was so grossly sweet, there's no way it naturally sounded like that. She had to be talking with a higher pitch on purpose. "You're disturbing the class." Her voice shifted to be ice cold as she addressed her attendant, who spoke. The attendant even flinched as she moved to stand behind the princess, or at least, that's what it looked like to me. It was such a strange jerking motion…
The professor watched the princess for a second before clearing her throat. "Alright, class, today we're going to be working on your forms. Remember to stand tall and keep your hands in the correct locations." She specifically eyed me for a moment, and I let out a little sigh. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm going. I'm going… This fucking sucks.
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Well, holy shit. I managed to escape ballroom dance and only got yelled at three times. That was an all-time low! Too bad my gaze kept wandering over to Tiffany… Why was she bothering me so much? I should be overjoyed. Knox finally found himself a proper omega. She seemed rough around the edges, but at least she was normal…
I barely paid attention during social etiquette because I was distracted, and before I knew it, I was bumbling my way to art. I couldn't decide if this day was moving painfully slow or exceptionally fast… Ugh, and the sinking feeling in my chest wasn't helping.
"Arden!" Rosia happily bounced up to me and gave me a big smile. "Sorry again about lunch! We'll eat together tomorrow!" She didn't need to apologize to me twice or even once. She and Marina were more than welcome to do girly things together.
"It's no problem." I didn't really want to get hauled into shops anyway. It's not like they were selling anything I wanted.
Rosia grabbed my arm and gave me a slight hug as we entered our art class and wandered back to our seats. "Pft, I tried to get Marina to buy this frilly dress, but she refused. It was a real shame; she was cute in it."
"Frilly isn't exactly her style." Marina, from what I knew, liked sleek-looking dresses. I can't name one time I've seen her wearing anything frilly. Not that we spent a ton of time together, but I feel like I would have seen her in something of the sort if she did like that style.
"Oh, come on, it's called branching out!" Rosia's attention was drawn to the door as it opened, and her bubbly excitement was almost instantly muted. "I have to share another class with her?!" She grumbled under her breath. Oh? Did Rosia not particularly like the princess? Granted, I wasn't all that impressed either, but I thought Rosia was the type to like anyone. I mean, she did instantly gravitate to me after all…
The princess entered with the same haughty attitude she had earlier with her annoying entourage of attendants. I wanted to roll my eyes again, but I would be far too visible from where she was standing. I hadn't even properly talked to the girl, and I could tell that her personality was disgusting. I'm glad Knox isn't like… that…
Ugh, why was I thinking about him? All it did was upset me. It's not like Knox, and I had a real relationship. We only kinda went on a date and fooled around. Yet for some reason, this girl's existence makes me mad. Oh… this was the same feeling I had when that woman approached us and tried to sell Knox her body… Why… was I so angry?
"Arden? This is twice now you've been zoned out." Rosia reached over and grabbed the shoulder Knox had repeatedly bitten, causing me to flinch. "Is everything okay?"
"Sorry! Yeah, everything is fine. Don't worry about it." I brushed my hand over my shoulder and tried to play off flinching, but it was clear that Rosia wasn't buying my act.
"Does this have something to do with why you were gone during the weekend?" She asked as she pointed to my shoulder.
"No, I just pulled a muscle." I glanced around and noticed that we were alone in the main room. "Where did everyone go?"
"Oh, so now you notice." Rosia snickered. "I started to leave and realized that you were gawking out the window again. Are you sure everything is okay?"
"Yeah, I just have a lot on my mind."
"Does the stuff on your mind include the princess?"
I instinctively flinched again and had to look away from Rosia as my face became warm. "No. Not at all. I've just been arguing with my brother."
"Is that so? Then why did you become angry when the princess entered the room?" I gave Rosia an annoyed side eye, but she was all smiles. Gods, I hate my pheromones. It wasn't fucking fair that everyone was aware of how I was feeling.
"You're reading into things too much," I grumbled as I turned towards the window.
"Mhmm, sure." She giggled. "Ya know, Marina and I are ready to listen when you decide you're ready to talk about your totally-not-a-crush on the crown prince."
"I do not have a crush!" I whipped around to glare at Rosia, but she had turned and started walking down the main classroom aisle.
She did pause, though, as she reached the teacher's lectern and glanced back at me. "Oh, so it's more than a crush, huh? That makes a whole lot more sense."
I jumped from my seat and slammed my hands on the desk. "No, it's not!..." It was too late, though. Rosia rushed to the other art room, and I was left alone with my pink face. "It's not like it matters anymore," I grumbled under my breath as I collected my books. "Knox has a princess in his life now…"
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"Aw, come on! Don't ignore me!" Rosia whined as she leaned over to where I was aggressively slapping paint onto my canvas. Ugh, I don't know who I was more annoyed with, Rosia, the princess, or this shit ass painting. Why even force me to paint when it's clear that I suck at it?!
I gave Rosia an annoyed side eye and let out an annoyed huff. "Stop coming up with crazy stories."
"Okaaaay, denial isn't a good thing, ya know-" I shot an angry glare at Rosia, and she let out a soft squeak. "Sorry! Sorry! I'll stop. Calm down." She waved her hands around in the air for a moment as if trying to clear the air. "You dominants are something else. Though…" Rosia glanced over to where Tiffany was sitting while her attendants painted for her. How she was getting away with it, I don't know, but it was happening nonetheless. "It's rather obvious she's barely dominant."
My brow unknitted slightly, and I glanced over to Rosia and her actually decent-looking painting. "Huh?"
"Oh, she tried to be all intimidating this morning and spread pheromones around, but they were like an obnoxious perfume compared to yours." She paused and stared at her canvas for a moment. "Yours are… Hmmm, what's the best way to describe it? Maybe lush? Yeah, I'd almost describe your pheromones as lush." She pressed her paintbrush to the canvas a few times before pausing again. "They're incredibly thick and shift with your mood. Though it's hard to pick up on unless your emotion is rather strong." My face felt awfully warm as I turned back to my canvas.
"They're annoying," I grumbled as I resumed my messy paint splattering.
"No," Rosia leaned really close so she could whisper into my ear. "What's annoying is the new addition to our class." I noticed her roll her eyes as she returned to her canvas, and I stifled a snicker. Yeah, she wasn't wrong. Fuck, and we have to spend the next three years with her? Getting kicked out is sounding better and better with each passing moment.
"How many classes do you have with her anyway?" Rosia mentioned that this wasn't the first.
She let out a dramatic sigh and slumped forward. "Four and I hear she's in our history class, but doesn't want to wake up that early in the morning."
"Damn, that sucks." That meant that she was in three of mine. How fucking annoying. "Why would she even attend when her attendants do all the work?"
"To look good for the emperor, I guess." Rosia shrugged. "I'm just glad we can sit all the way over here."
"Me too," I grumbled as I aggressively ran my paintbrush across my canvas. I wasn't even trying at this point. My picture looked like a more colorful version of the vomit I spewed on the palace lawns. Shit, I need to stop thinking about Knox. It's just giving me grief.
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"Marina should be meeting up with us at the dining hall," Rosia said as we walked to the common area. "She had to go talk with a professor. Umm… What's all the commotion about?"
Sure enough, groups of girls were whispering and giggling on the path to the gate and not actually going over to the gate. Did something happen in the common area? I started to catch parts of different groups' conversations, and my stomach sank. That idiot. We finally made it to the front of the group to see Knox mushed up against the bars of the gate. The two guards looked rather uncomfortable, but weren't stopping him. They should have told the idiot to get lost.
The moment he saw me, he lit up. "..den! Arden!" I didn't even wait to spin on my heel and go marching in the other direction.
"Umm, aren't you going to go see what he wants?"
"Nope. You'll have to go eat with Marina alone."
Rosia grabbed my arm, and I looked back, but my attention wasn't drawn to her. Instead, I glanced at Knox, who looked like a lifeless idiot stuck between the bars of the gate. "Don't you think you should at least talk to him?"
"Ugh-"
I was about to cave when an annoying entourage came brushing past us. I swear, they intentionally smacked into Rosia and me as they passed. My mood instantly soured as the princess rushed over to Knox, but Knox didn't seem excited in the slightest. He took a disgruntled step back while looking at me with pleading eyes.
I closed my eyes and turned back towards the dorms. They were to be wed soon. It would be best if Knox and I pretended nothing happened. He needed to move on. "I'll be in my dorm. Come on, Rinley." I grumbled as I pulled my arm from Rosia's grasp. Forget eating. I'm no longer hungry.
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I set my lyre down and crawled into my bed. Just looking at the thing upset me. Sitting through private lessons was absolute torture. My mind kept drifting every time I played. "Would you like to talk?" Rinley asked as he came to retrieve my lyre from my nightstand. I grumbled into my pillow, but apparently Rinley didn't hear. "I'm afraid I don't speak orc…" I pulled my head up just enough so I could glare at Rinley and the calm smile he was giving me. "Does your behavior change have something to do with the new princess on campus?" My face instantly turned warm, and I buried it back down into the pillow with another grunt. Maybe.
Just as I thought I had someone to rely on, this had to happen. Now I felt ultra confused and rather hurt… He said such ridiculously sweet things to me… Was it all to keep him entertained before his bride showed up? Just because I'm an omega doesn't mean he can take advantage of me like that… I'm glad we didn't go further than we did. I'd probably want to die if we were more intimate than we were.
"Are you going to eat dinner, or continue becoming one with your bed?" Rinley asked as he put laundry away.
I rolled my head to the side and let out a sad grumble. "Become one with my bed."
"Nope, that's not the answer I was looking for. You need to eat." No! I don't want to go out!
"No." I snapped.
"No, you don't want to eat, or no, you don't want to run into the crown prince?" He asked. I flinched at Rinley's far too accurate guess. Of course, I don't want to see Knox. Was he daft?
"If you know, then why are you bugging me?"
"Because you need to eat and," Rinley pulled Knox's laundered shirt out of a drawer and showed it to me. I didn't even want to look, but my attention was instantly drawn to the dumb thing. "You probably should return this. It wouldn't look good to keep such a thing."
Even though it had been washed, the gentle smell of an approaching rainstorm clung to its fibers. I wanted to steal it from Rinley's hands and-... That thing needs to be returned. Now.
"Fine. Let's go." I snapped as I peeled myself off the bed. It was best to be rid of the thing so I could properly move on. I… could do this…
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I was surprised that I could make it to my usual booth without being attacked by Knox, but he was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he won't show… Even if he didn't show, I still perched myself on the edge of the booth seat, so Knox couldn't join me. He could sit across from me, but wouldn't be able to block my exit if I needed to flee. I set his shirt next to me and waited as Rinley retrieved food.
My breath got stuck in my throat as not Rinley, but Knox, rounded the corner. He broke into a big smile and rushed over to me. "Why didn't you come when I called for you?!" Gosh, wasn't being this excited a little cruel, or did he think I was an idiot?
"I was busy." I coldly responded.
"Hey, scoot over so I can sit down," Knox said as he poked me a few times.
I didn't scoot over like he wanted me to. Instead, I turned, retrieved his shirt, and held it out for him to take. "Thanks for keeping an eye out for me, but I think it would be best if we weren't seen around each other anymore." I bit down slightly on my bottom lip as I struggled to hold things together. I couldn't bring myself to look up at Knox's face. I'd completely break if I did.
"A… Arden… I… I don't want the shirt. I'd be happy if you kept it." He tried to force my hands back, but I held firm.
"It would be highly improper of me to keep the clothing of someone who is engaged." I tried to keep the fake smile plastered across my face, but my voice was incredibly shaky. Just take the damn shirt!
"It's not improper at all! Arden, you're the one I-"
"Ah! I thought I heard a familiar voice! What are you doing over here, Prince Knox? I thought we agreed to eat over there!" Ugh, the last person I wanted to see turned the corner of the little private area and sauntered over. She threw her arms around Knox's arm and pulled it close to her bosom.
"Hey, I'm in the middle of an important conversation here. I don't appreciate you interrupting me."
"But honey! You haven't spent any time with me today! People might get the wrong idea if you hang around this thing."
"I don't care about that!!" Knox snapped as he pulled his arm away from her. He turned to me in a panic, but I didn't move. I simply continued holding the shirt out for him. "Arden isn't a thing! You take that back!"
"There's no need to get upset. I'm just surprised they let such a strange mutation attend the academy with the rest of us-"
"You shut your mouth!" Knox yelled. His breathing was becoming rather irregular as his pheromones whipped around.
"Ah, I seem to have stepped on your toes. Is he a pet of yours?"
"A pet?!" Knox spat. "How dare you! People are not pets, and there's nothing wrong with Arden!"
One of the princess's attendants stepped forward and pulled her away from Knox. "Princess, I believe Prince Knox has misinterpreted what you said. Perhaps you should dine elsewhere tonight." Maybe it was Knox's light growling, but her attendants were looking rather stressed.
The princess didn't seem to be all that bothered, though, because her gaze never left me. "I guess I'll let you calm down. Please have breakfast with me in the morning. I'm sure your father would be rather upset to hear that you've left me alone."
Knox's growling grew stronger as the princess turned on her heels and waltzed away like she did nothing wrong. "I can't believe her! Don't believe anything she says, Arden-"
While Knox spoke, I rose from my seat and held the shirt out to Knox with a bowed head. "Please accept your shirt back." I wasn't in the mood to dine. Also, based on the fact that Rinley reappeared with no food as the princess left told me that he knew things were going to go south.
"I don't want the damn shirt back!" Knox raised his voice, but the worst part was that his voice cracked. Don't… this is hurting me far worse than it's hurting you.
My voice was struggling to keep it together as I spoke. "It would be improper for me to keep such a thing. Your fiancée is sure to get the wrong idea if she knew I had this in my possession." Each word felt like a dagger stabbing me in the gut, but it had to be said. I couldn't be the reason that Knox messes up his engagement or possibly even his future as an emperor. He was the crown prince. He had duties to fulfill and responsibilities to take care of. None of which included me.
I rose from my bow and tried to ignore the tear that had slid down my cheek, but I still couldn't look at Knox's face. If I even peeked at him, it would break me far worse than I was. I was already cracking and struggling not to run out of here a crying mess. Damn it! I'm so pathetic!
Knox wasn't moving, so I set his shirt down on the table and bowed again before leaving. I couldn't find anything else to say. I'd absolutely burst into tears if I tried. Instead, I rushed from the dining hall before the tears set in for real. Pathetic. I was truly pathetic.
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Knox
I don't know how long I stood there. It was long enough that the staff had to ask me to leave. I felt like a broken husk as I grabbed the shirt off the table and returned to the palace. People passed by me, and I think some even tried to talk to me, but it all felt like a blur.
Arden didn't even give me a chance to explain. A chance to tell him that this was all a mix-up. That he was the omega I wanted, not that disgusting bitch. He might as well have rammed a sword deep into my heart and told me he hated me. That would probably hurt less than knowing that he was this upset with me. Each tear that fell to the ground might as well have been a needle rammed into the soles of my feet. It hurt. Everything hurt.
Oof. I looked up to see who I had walked into, and my face contorted in disgust. "Is everything okay?" My father asked with a raised eyebrow. "You didn't come to dinner, and the princess was complaining that you ignored her today-"
"I hate you." Finally, my body had found an emotion to cling to, and angry tears stung the corners of my eyes. "I hate you so much. Everything is your fault." I brought my fist back and rammed it as hard as I could into my father's side. He let out a satisfying grunt of pain, and I wanted to bring my fist back again.
"Knox! You need to calm down!" Mother rushed over and grabbed my arm before I could punch Father again. I looked over at her with my disgusting face of tears, and she flinched. "What happened? Sweety, tell me what happened."
I turned back to my father as more hot tears spilled down my cheeks and rage coursed through my veins. "Arden wants nothing to do with me because of you! He thinks I'm engaged to that bitch!" I roared. My teeth gnashed together, and despite my trying to hit my father again, my mother held firmly onto my arm.
"Taking your anger out on your father isn't going to fix this, and while her first impression wasn't all that impressive, I think you're being a little harsh-"
"The only omega I want hates me, and it's all because of you!" I was able to free my arm from my mother's grip, but before I could lunge at my father, his annoying, oppressive force made me crumble to my knees. I thrashed about angrily, but couldn't pull myself to my feet. "Gah! I hate this stupid spell, and I hate you!"
"I get that you're angry, but you need to go cool off." Father was wincing in pain as he held his side, but with a flick of his finger, I rocketed out the closet window. The glass shattered as I smashed into it, and both the glass and I went plummeting down into the cold, icy lake behind the palace.
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Empress Lenora
"Kando!" I rushed over to the now broken window before whipping around and rushing over to my moronic husband. "Why did you do that?!"
"He's fine. The little brat needed to cool his head off before he lost control. I'm far more concerned about my side that the brat punched." Kando snarled.
"Fine?! You threw him out a window and into the lake! How is that fine?!"
"We both know he can tolerate much worse than that."
I let out an annoyed huff and smacked his sore side. "You stubborn man, why won't you just admit that you made a mistake? Are you so arrogant that you can't tell your son you're sorry? He has every right to be mad at you."
"Lenora, how was I supposed to know that the boy found an omega? He never mentioned it to me-"
I reached up and stuck my finger into Kando's face to get him to stop talking. "You're right that he should have said something, or maybe I should have mentioned it to you, but to think that you'd go run and make such a massive decision on your own. Oh, and don't act like that girl has a nice personality. I know how much she's been annoying you, and don't even get me started on how she treats staff. I've had countless complaints rolling in about how horrid she is. Contact Tulan, tell them that whatever deal you've concocted is off, and they need to come get this girl!"
"Lenora…" Kando reached up and grabbed my hand. His guilty eyes stared into mine as he leaned down to kiss my knuckles. "Unfortunately, it's not that simple…" He said as his lips tickled my hand.
"Then use that wise brain of yours and figure it out. I'm not going to watch our son have to go through hell because of you."
"You really think that boy is right for our son?" Kando asked as he pulled me close to him.
I let out a long sigh and rested my head against his chest. "I think he's a much better fit than that girl." Just to get on his nerves, I poked him again where he was injured. Kando let out an annoyed grumble and gave me a slight squeeze. I turned my head up so I could look at him and his annoyed gaze. "I think you know for yourself that Knox has been smitten with Arden for a long time; you just don't want to admit it." I always thought it was cute how Knox adored Arden, and Kando was aware of it, too.
Kando's gaze wandered away from mine and over to the broken window. "Knox always did get rather excited when Belin brought his family around."
"Oh, trust me, Knox could care less that Belin or any of his other children were here; he was only interested in Arden. Obviously, that's still the case. Don't tell me you didn't listen to your son as he poured his heart out to us." I was still rather annoyed that Knox forced himself onto Arden, but… it was obvious that he more than liked Arden.
"I listened," Kando grumbled while still not looking at me.
"Mhmm, for some reason, Knox reminds me an awful lot of a young man who followed me back to my family home, after my family visited him, because he was so smitten. I remember him desperately asking my parents for my hand in marriage. He wouldn't take no for an answer either. He was willing to stand out in the winter weather and risk a dispute between countries over me." Kando's cheeks became slightly rose-tinted at the top, and I couldn't help but chuckle. "You chased after me, but Knox isn't permitted to vie for the omega he likes? That hardly seems fair."
"If Knox selects Arden, they will face a rather rocky path together." Since when has this family ever cared about stuff like that?
"I suppose they will, but what sort of parents would we be if we weren't there to support them along their journey?" Kando let out a soft grumbling sound, so I reached up to pinch the underside of his neck. "Oh, and Kando." I glanced over to the broken window and scowled. "If you ever throw our son out a window again, you'll be sleeping outside for a month. I don't care how mad he is at you." Kando's grumbling shifted to be low and remorseful, but I didn't care. There were better options than being so violent with our son.
He tried to grab my hand as I stepped away, but I pulled it away from him. "Lenora…"
"No. Don't Lenora me." I grumbled as I started walking down the hall. "Now I've gotta go find our damp and depressed son and talk some sense into him."
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Arden
I couldn't bring myself to go to classes for the next few days. I didn't want to show off my puffy face from crying most of the night. It would be too embarrassing. I'm sure people heard Knox's and mine conversation, too. Knox wasn't being quiet in the slightest as he repeatedly rejected his shirt.
Rosia and Marina showed up a few times at my dorm, but I couldn't bring myself to see them. I'd have to explain everything that was going on, and I didn't want to. I just wanted to brush what had happened under the rug and never think about it again.
I was grateful that Rinley was going out of his way to support me while I was upset. Even though it was against the rules, he managed to bring me food from the dining hall. He probably told the academy I was sick or something. I think Rinley felt rather guilty about pushing me to go to the dining room. He probably didn't think things were going to blow up as massively as they did. I told him it wasn't his fault, but he still looked rather guilty.
I let out a sigh and set the book I was attempting to read down. It felt like I was trying to read a book in a different language. No matter how hard I tried to focus, the words looked jumbled, and it didn't help that I had no motivation to do anything. I glanced out my window to the common grounds, which were buzzing with students returning to classes for the second half of the day. Ugh, I didn't even care to join them either… This sucks…
I let out a long sigh and stood from my window alcove. "Rinley."
"Yes, my lord?"
"I'd like to get out of here for a few hours. Let's wander around town."
Rinley seemed rather surprised by my declaration, but he nodded his head and headed towards my closet to get me a change of clothes. "Yes, of course, my lord."
There were probably little to no chances of running into Knox at the moment. The big idiot should be in class, or at the palace wooing his annoyingly rude fiancée. Yeah, I think I could do with some fresh air in my lungs.
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Huh. This was helping my mood far more than sitting around depressed in my dorm. Well… the copious amount of sweets I had unnecessarily purchased was helping too. Rinley asked me if it was a bit much as I wandered out of the fourth candy store of the day, but a small glare shut him up. Let me have something enjoyable in my life, damn it.
I wasn't just buying sweets either. I wandered into clothing shops and a bookstore, but I had to promptly leave the bookstore when the memory of Knox kissing me returned. Rinley seemed rather startled when I snapped a book closed and rushed from the store. Rinley tried asking me why I was in such a panic, but there wasn't a chance I was going to tell him what my problem was. That idiot better not have permanently ruined bookstores for me. I'll really make sure I kick him in the balls when I see him… I let out a frustrated sigh and glanced around at the stores we were near. I shouldn't be seeing Knox again. I need to get my mind off of him.
"Let's go get something to eat," I grumbled as I wandered to a rather empty-looking cafe. Rinley's arms were getting rather weighed down with bags, so I figured it was time to stop shopping.
I got seated at a relatively lonely booth in the corner, and Rinley set down the bags on the empty bench across from me. He stood there awkwardly, though, as if he was going to wait on me. "Sit," I grumbled.
"I couldn't possibly-"
"I don't care. Sit. Even if you insist upon only having tea, you are to sit down." I snapped. Was it unusual for an attendant to share a table with their charge? Yes. Did I care at the moment? No.
Rinley looked rather uncomfortable as he forced himself to sit down. I thought he was being rather melodramatic, though. It's not that big of a deal. "Have you not enjoyed shopping and getting some fresh air?" He hesitantly asked.
Damn, even Rinley was far too good at reading my mood. How could I be that obvious? I sat silently as the server brought us a kettle of hot water, a selection of teas, and a menu. Rinley started preparing two cups, and I let out a sigh. "The fresh air has been fine… Shopping has only brought up memories of going shopping with Knox, though…"
"So you two did go shopping?"
"Yeah, we went to the trade district, though, and wandered the stalls. We popped into a few stores, but there were so many stalls that you almost didn't need to go into any stores. It was so incredibly busy, though, nothing like the nobles' district or shopping at home."
"It is quite the busy place. I went once with your father a long time ago. I have to imagine it's still as busy as ever." Rinley said as he removed the teabag from my cup and slid over my cup of tea.
"Yea..." I picked up the menu and scanned over it before the server came back. Despite not eating a ton the last few days, I didn't order much. Rinley refused to get anything, so I just doubled the amount of food I picked out. I stared into my teacup for a while before taking a sip. Huh, I've noticed Rinley has started preparing me sweet teas as of late. Odd how even my tastes have changed since becoming an omega. "Why… haven't you treated me differently since I became an omega?" I guess in reality, Rinley has been the most stable person in my life so far. Which was odd. All the staff at home acted strangely around me, but not Rinley. He had no reason to act like everything was normal and fine.
"I would be a terrible attendant if I treated you differently."
I glanced up from my tea and gave him a bit of a dull look. "That's not what I'm referring to. The other staff at home would give me strange glances or avoid me, and yet… you still act the same. Like nothing ever changed."
Rinley paused while gently stirring his tea and glanced over at me. "That's because nothing has changed." My brow furrowed, and Rinley lightly snickered. "You're still Arden no matter what your secondary gender is. I've worked as your attendant since you were little, so I feel like I know you rather well. Yes, you're not as muscular as you were, and you prefer sweet things a bit more now, but it's not like you've become a completely different person." Huh… I guess that was one way of looking at it.
"I guess so…" I said while rubbing my probably still puffy eye. The server brought a plate loaded to the brim with sandwich slices and two smaller plates for us. "Eat what you want," I said as I waved to the sandwiches. I think I ordered egg sandwiches. I wasn't really paying attention when I ordered them, though. They tasted pretty good as I nibbled on one, and that's all I cared about.
"Are you… going to continue ignoring the crown prince?" Rinley asked as he picked up a sandwich. Gosh, he was acting like it was a sin to eat across the table from me.
"Yeah. He needs to stay away from me, and I need to stay away from him. He's engaged, and I'm… well… different."
"You shouldn't listen to that disgusting princess." Rinley snapped. I glanced over at him, and he avoided my gaze. "Pardon my speech, but she had no right saying the things she did."
"Eh, you can call her whatever you want. I don't particularly like her either." Though… what she said wasn't all that different from what other people thought. They were just far less likely to say it to my face. Trust me, it's not like I wanted to be a male omega. It freaked me out too…
Rinley kept trying to cheer me up, but it wasn't helping. A few people being positive wasn't going to change how everyone else viewed me. I did enjoy getting away from campus, though. It was a nice change of pace. I just… dreaded running into Knox again… I… don't know how I'm going to react to him…
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I ended up getting some food to take back to my dorm for dinner since I had no plans to leave for the evening. I'd probably lie around and down some sweets I purchased while I was at it, too. Yeah, maybe those would distract me from how upset I feel or make me sick enough that I wouldn't care about anything else. Was it a terrible plan, yeah, but I didn't care.
We entered the omega gates, and an all too familiar voice made me almost jump out of my skin. "Arden! You jackass!" A hand wrapped around my wrist and tugged me back over to the now closed gate. The guards seemed shocked, but they didn't intervene. Hey! Do your fucking job!
Knox's pheromones tickled my nose, and I wanted to slip through the fence, but I told that part of me to shut up. "Let go." I coldly demanded. I tried to free my wrist, but his grip was too tight.
"Why won't you listen to me?! I need to talk to you!" I couldn't bring myself to look at Knox. His voice alone dug a dagger into my heart and made my face scrunch up.
I kept staring at a singular brick in the dorm building across the way, like it was my lifeline. "There's nothing to talk about. You need to release me; this is inappropriate." Stop it… Can't you tell this is making it worse? Knox reached his other hand through the fence and forced me to turn towards him. I did my best to resist, but he pulled my chin over, so I had nowhere else to look but at him. My gut instantly wound into knots. He was a complete mess. Like he hadn't slept in days and was on the verge of a mental breakdown. I felt awful looking at him, but it wasn't right. We weren't right. Tears started forming in the corners of my eyes, and Knox tugged me over to him. "You need to let go of me-" His lips pressed against mine, but the bars on either side of our faces were rather awkward. "What do you think you're doing?!" I snapped as I pulled away from him. We were in public, and there were far too many eyes on us right now!
"Arden!" He desperately clung to me as tears formed in his own eyes. "I didn't know! I didn't know that my father invited her here! He thought it would be a pleasant surprise and intentionally kept me in the dark. I'm not engaged to her! She's awful! I want her to go back to her country as soon as possible!" I clamped my eyes shut, like that would prevent his words from reaching my ears. No… Stop it… Just let me go…
"Release me." I quietly demanded. Ever so slowly, Knox did indeed let me go. I opened my eyes, but I wish I hadn't. Seeing Knox look so torn up made me want to break down and cry. "Knox… I'm… not a good fit for you. You're the crown prince, and you need an empress by your side. Not me." Even if Tiffany wasn't the omega for Knox, there had to be someone out there better than me. Anyone was better than me.
Tears started spilling out of Knox's eyes, and he gripped onto the bars of the gate like he was going to pull them apart. "Who said you get to make those sorts of decisions for me?!" He snapped.
"Clearly the emperor-"
"My dumb father didn't even realize I had feelings for you until a few days ago! Your imperial records were never submitted correctly, and no one knew you were a dominant omega. You have as much right to stand beside me as anyone else!"
"I don't see how that changes anything." Why would it matter if I were marked down as a dominant or not? That logic didn't even make sense.
"Do my feelings not matter at all?!" Knox was desperately trying to squeeze through the bars and even reached a hand out for me, but I took a step back.
"You're the crown prince. Sometimes you have to make decisions for your people, not your heart. I'm nothing compared to a kingdom's princess." My gaze returned to the ground as Knox's turned into a glare. I started to turn away and made sure I was far enough away from Knox and his arm that was desperate to grab me.
"You're not nothing! You're way better than she could ever dream of being! Get back here! Don't make me break the rules! I will!" Knox angrily shouted at me.
I paused and glanced back at Knox, who was acting like a feral animal. "You're causing a scene. Please stop." Students were getting out of class, and no one needed to see Knox behaving like he was. It was a bad look.
"Arden! Arden, get back here! Hey!" Despite threatening to burst through the gates, Knox didn't come after me. Guess the guards finally decided to do their jobs.
I gulped repetitively as tears started to sting my eyes. That idiot. It didn't matter if we liked each other. If Knox wasn't going to be responsible and make the right choice, I would. No, I had to. For both our sakes. We can't keep doing this…
For the next couple of weeks, I managed to avoid Knox. It was taking a great amount of effort on my part, though. Weirdly enough, it was Princess Tiffany who was also helping me with my game of keep away. No, I didn't conspire with her. Instead, she always seemed to be obnoxiously near when Knox would try approaching me. Like a gnat. Ugh, I didn't like her in the slightest. She reminded me of pond sludge, but I did appreciate her swooping in to occupy Knox.
We had just finished baking cookies in art class, and I didn't think mine tasted too bad. They weren't pretty by any means, but they were edible. I had no plans to give them to anyone, unlike some of the girls in class, so I had the bag open and was munching on them as I headed to the library with Rinley.
"Arden!" Ugh. I tried to walk faster, but of course, the speed demon, Knox, caught up to me. "What do you have there?" He asked as he watched me pull a cookie out of my bag and shove it into my mouth. He had finally calmed down, which I appreciated. I didn't need him yelling at me like a lovesick fool from the gate every day. Instead, he now tried to make conversation with me. Though he wasn't helping all the rumors flying around. Not that they were lies, but still… I didn't like people thinking I was intentionally trying to get Knox to pick me over the princess. He was the one following me around like a lost puppy, and I was doing everything in my power to make him get lost!
"Wha da puck doeth it wook wike?" I grumbled with a cookie in my mouth. I didn't even bother to look at him. When was he going to get the picture that I was done with him? We shouldn't have gone on a date or fooled around. It was a lapse in judgment on my part.
"Did you bake those?" Despite trying to avoid looking at him, Knox leaned closer, so I had to look at him. His smile was far too wide as he sniffed the air. Despite all my attempts to be ice cold to him, he didn't seem to care. It's like his goal was to melt through my icy exterior.
"Maybe." I snarled as I shoved my hand back into the bag to retrieve another.
"Ya know, it's tradition to give them to someone." And? Did he think I was going to give him to him? He could think again.
"No. They're mine." I snapped before shoving the entirety of another cookie into my mouth, like some disgusting gremlin. My professor would probably smack me upside the head with a yardstick if she saw me, but I didn't care. I'd do anything to get Knox to go away.
Ah, right on cue. "Prince Knox! It's so good to see you." Princess Tiffany appeared, holding her bag of cookies. I wasn't sure how all the professors turned a blind eye to it, but she never did any of the classwork herself. Instead, it was her attendants who baked the cookies inside her bag. Knox sure didn't get such blatant favoritism, and he was our actual prince. Maybe it was because she was foreign?
"Hey… Tiffany…" Knox almost instantly deflated as Tiffany ran up to us. I wanted to snicker, but I also didn't want to draw Tiffany's attention.
"I baked these for you. You'll accept them, right?" She held out her bag of cookies for Knox, and he stared at him. He sure didn't make any move to grab them from her, and his eyes were too obvious as they drifted over to mine. "Knox, honey. What's wrong? Are you worried I didn't do a good job baking them? They turned out far better than those. I wouldn't dare give you anything that's so… low quality." She glared over at my overbaked cookies and sneered. Hey… at least I baked mine. You probably couldn't make any if you tried. "Actually," Her voice turned cold as she stared down at me. "What are you even doing here? Do you enjoy gawking?"
"I was here first, and I can't enter yet." I pointed a cookie crumb-coated finger over to the sign in the door that clearly stated that no food or drinks were permitted inside the library. I wasn't going to do anything to damage my precious books, so I was being a good law-abiding citizen and waiting to finish my cookies before entering. It was them who were having a show in front of my face.
Knox snickered, and an actual warm smile appeared on his face instead of the blank ones he usually had around Tiffany. It disappeared rather quickly, though, as he realized that Tiffany was glaring at him. "I see." Tiffany snapped. You see? What, the sign? Why are you glaring at me? Take Knox and leave already!
Knox plucked the cookies out of the princess's hands and gave me a quick side glance. "Sorry for hesitating. I'm sure your cookies are fine."
"You'll accept them?" She asked in her obnoxiously sweet tone. Bleh, did she think Knox was an idiot? Ugh. Just, ugh.
"Only if you leave my friend alone," Knox said as he smiled over at me. "Enjoy the library…" He solemnly said before leaving with the too-proud princess. Ugh, must he keep bugging me like that? All it's doing is making my chest hurt.
"Throw these away," I grumbled as I passed the rest of my cookies to Rinley.
"You don't want to eat the rest?"
"No, I have a bitter taste in my mouth now," I grumbled as I entered the library. Now I wasn't even in the mood to look at books. Thanks, Knox. You idiot.
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"Why the long face, loverboy?" Marina asked as I sat down at our usual table.
"I already told you, nothing happened." I snapped. They had managed to force a few answers out of me a couple of weeks ago after seeing one of Knox's depressed episodes at the gate. Ugh, it was embarrassing, but they were surprisingly supportive. I thought for sure they'd be disgusted when they heard that Knox liked me, but they weren't. Besides Marina teasing me every once in a while, they've done nothing but try and cheer me up.
"Oh yeah? Then why's he still following you around?" Marina snickered. "Seems like he's still into you."
"He's just dense as hell! He probably sinks when in water." I snapped. It's not like I enjoyed the situation. If I had it my way, Knox would have called it quits by now.
"Be nice," Rosia said while giving Marina and me a side eye. "Is there… a particular reason why you don't want to give him a chance?" Rosia asked as she poked around at her plate. Her question was simple enough, but the answer… was a bit of a mess…
"He should have a real omega as his empress. Trying to pick me would do nothing but ruin his reputation."
"Sorry to burst your bubble," Marina said with a furrowed brow. "But you are a real omega. The realist, stinkiest omega I've ever been around."
I gnashed my teeth and glared at her, but Rinley distracted me by bringing me food. "Marina's not wrong," Rosia added. "Well, about you being a real omega…"
I let out a loud, long sigh and picked up my fork. "Think whatever you want. It's the truth." I grumbled. No one was going to change my opinion. Not a chance.