She was surprised when she felt his arm around her shoulders, but she definitely didn’t mind. His warmth and closeness gave her butterflies, though it also brought strength and steadiness. Her smile through the whole thing was a mix between how much she loved the story, and the incredible boy sitting beside her.
By the end, her throat hurt, but she felt alive. More alive than she had in a long time.
“Well that’s it,” she told Max, closing the book, but not leaning away just yet. She rested her head on his shoulder, soaking up the human affection she didn’t get enough of. “You know,” she added after a second thought. “I’m really glad I met you, Max.”
Royal x Commoner (closed)
"I'm really glad I met you too, Audi," He said, rubbing her shoulder with his hand lightly and resting his head on hers. He went silent again for a minute, just soaking in the story and her presence. "Audi?" He asked softly, lifting his head up and looking at her, "Can you tell me another story sometime? If you want to, otherwise it's fine," He added quickly, still rubbing her shoulder. Even though they had only met a few weeks ago, she was always on his mind and he almost couldn't believe he was sitting this close to this gorgeous person.
"Hmm?" She hummed, raising her head and meeting his eyes. "Oh, of course! I love telling stories, and my siblings have grown out of the 'storytelling' phase. I love little kids, and sometimes I wish I had a little brother or sister that I could tell stories and play with." She relaxed even more into him, head falling back onto his shoulder as she closed her eyes. "I'm really glad you liked it," she continued, eyes still closed. "I'll tell you any story you want. And feel free to take whatever books you want from in her as well. God knows they could use a little more love."
"You could probably keep my sister company too, if you ever need something to do, she adores you," He said, happy that he would get to spend more time with her and hear her favorite stories. Max pressed a soft kiss to her cheek when her head fell back on his shoulder, continuing with a smile, "Thank you, for the story and for showing me the library. I might have to start reading some more books because of it."
"Oh, I'd love that," Audi said happily. "Since she's related to you I already know she's incredible, but I'd love to spend some time with her." A soft gasp escaped her lips as she felt the kiss on her cheek, and a small blush spread across her face. Joy lighting up her face, she added, "You're welcome! I'm really glad you liked it. And you really should." Her eyes opened and met his. "Books take you to places you never thought you'd be able to go. They're really the only adventure I get." Her lips curled into a smile, and she kept eye contact, wondering how in the world she possibly deserved this boy.
"Princess Audrianna?"
The voice made her head jolt up, and a bolt of panic shot through her body as she looked for the source. It was a maid, standing in the doorway of the library, looking at the two of them with a knowing smirk.
(Sorry it's short, I'm pretty busy atm, promise my next response will be longer though :) )
"Maybe I'll have to take you on an adventure some day then," He replied, pulling her closer with a smile as he felt his own cheeks take on a pink flush. When the maid spoke though he jumped, his arm keeping her close to him as he quickly looked for the source of the voice.
(No it's totally okay! Life happens, I get it)
"Yes?" Audi called to the maid after the initial shock was over. She didn't move any further away from Max, hoping that what the maid needed could be resolved without her getting up.
"Your mother has called for you," the maid responded. "She says you need to be fitted for your birthday ball gown, and that this is nonnegotiable."
"Aww, but my birthday's not for weeks!" Audi protested, leaning her head back onto Max's shoulder.
"You know how long it takes for dresses to be made," the maid reminded her. "Besides, it would not be wise to disobey the Queen."
Audi sighed dramatically and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah." Reluctantly, she lifted her head, and maneuvered her way out out of Max's arms, before standing up and moving towards the maid. "Sorry for this," she told Max, turning back to face him. "I wouldn't go if I didn't have to. But it would not be good for me to ignore my mom's calling. Even if getting fitted for gowns is so boring, and I don't even know if I'll be able to wear them anyway. I normally get fitted for the gown, then ask the seamstresses to make a matching suit just in case. Anyway," she sighed, lifting her hand to blow him a kiss. "I have to leave for now. You're welcome to stay in here and borrow whatever you want though!"
"I'll just head back out to my new house," He said, sad that she had to go but understanding that Audi had to listen to what her mother said, "Just come find me again if you're bored and free." Max slowly stood up and stretched, walking over to her before she left and giving her a small hug, "Have fun getting your dress fitted." He smiled lightly and waved to her as she left before also making his way back towards where he thought they had come from. It wasn't long before he got lost though and ended up wandering around looking for familiar hallways.
(So sorry for how long I took to respond, I've been really busy with projects and midterms coming up and I just haven't been on in a while. Don't think I've forgotten about this!)
(Wanna do a timeskip? I have two more scene ideas: 1. We skip like a week or so, and Audi's bringing a book to Max, and she ends up spending the whole day with him and his family? Lol I just want to see the interaction between his sister and Audi :) 2. We skip to Audi's birthday ball. No explanation needed, But Audi's going to be male so that's going to cause a lot of drama and yeah. What do you think?)
(It's alright! I understand being busy! And yessss to both of them XD I have some things that could happen at the ball to add drama but we'll get there when we get there. Do you want to start or should I?)
(You can if you want to)
(Ok, it might take a while though, I have to wait until I get time to do it)
(I can do it then if you want me to)
(If you could that would be great :) I don't mind either way)
(Yeah of course!)
Audi grinned as she raced down the hallways, clutching a book in her hands. It was a present she had picked out specifically for Max, and she couldn't wait to give it to him. Finally after turning down corridor after corridor she made it to the line of metalworker houses. She found Max's family's and knocked excitedly. She hadn't seen him in a week, not since their moment (was it a moment? Audi hoped that it was. The way he had acted made her hopeful that he might feel the same way as her, but she was perfectly fine just being friends for now) in the library. And she missed him. Missed seeing his smile and hearing his laugh. Missed the safety and comfort he brought that for some reason she didn't get from anyone else.
"Ria, get the door," Max shouted when he heard it open, huffing as he picked up the stack of metal and brought it over to his workbench. The week had been flying by due to the constant work they now had, leaving Max quite sore but still working strong. It was something to do that could keep his mind from straying to Audi more often than it should. Her and her beautiful voice, bright smile, just everything about her made him wish he could see her again sometime soon.
Ria nodded and hopped up from her spot on the floor with her dolls, walking to the door and opening it with a smile. Her face brightened when more when she saw Audi, remembering her and opening the door further to let her come inside. "I'll show you where Maxy is," She said, bouncing on her toes and happily heading towards where her brothers were working. Audi was the person she looked up to more than anything, and it made her happy just to see her again.
The moment the door opened to reveal the adorable little girl Audi's whole face lit up. She adored her, and she was more than happy to say hello, and let her lead her to Max. She found him hard at work as always, and as always she was in awe of what he was accomplishing. Maybe one day he would teach her how to do what he did. It would be so incredible to learn how he made such beautiful things.
"Hi," she told him, the pure joy on her face melting into a soft smile, hiding the part of herself that wanted to run up and throw her arms around him. "Sorry I drop by unannounced. I just wanted to give you this book." She held up the novel. "It's another of my favorites and I figured that since you liked the last one so much, you might enjoy this one as well. But if you're busy I can come back later…" She scanned the area, and saw the stack of metal on his workbench. She didn't want to keep him from work, no matter how much she wanted to see him.
Max couldn't help but smile when he heard Audi's voice, abandoning the pile of metal on his workbench and walking over to where she was. "You can drop by anytime, announce or not," He replied, looking at the book and chuckling lightly at the sight of his sister seeming entranced by her. "I'm not that busy, you're more important than my work anyway," He said, hoping the slight blush that covered his cheeks would be intrepend as just a byproduct of hard work, "What's this one about?" In all reality, he just wanted to pull her into a hug after a week of not seeing her, but he stopped himself incase she didn't want him to hug her.
Audi grinned at him. "Aw, thanks!" She noticed his cheeks reddening, but she just assumed it was because of all the labor he had just done. "This one's tells of the Kings and Queens and Knights of old, and how the kingdom was saved by one little girl. It's absolutely brilliant, and I thought you might like it." She met his eyes, and all at once she couldn't stop herself.
She was in his arms at last, after what seemed like forever of waiting. She knew Ria was still there, along with Max's brother and father most likely, but in that moment she didn't care. All she could think about was the feel of his arms around her, the safety and comfort she had been longing. Squeezing him tighter, she whispered, "I really missed you Max."
It shocked him slightly when she hugged him but without a thought he pulled her into a tight hug, by now smiling happily and whispering back, "I really missed you too Audi." He could hear his sister giggle as she watched them but he didn't care. It had been too long since he had last seen her and he missed holding her in his arms. "Well, how much I like it might correspond to who is reading it," He joked after a moment, a small grin on his face, "though I know for a fact Ria already loves that book, anything with Queens and Kings and little girls is up her alley."
Audi heard Ria giggled and grinned to herself, her face still buried in Max's chest. When she heard his comment though, she pulled away, meeting his eyes. "And I like telling you the stories." Her grin widened when he mentioned Ria, and she continued, "Well then maybe I'll have to read it to both of you this time!" She looked to Max's sister, a bright smile on her face. "I have nothing else to do today, so if you guys are free maybe I can read you this one?" She offered, looking up to Max with a hopeful grin.
His smile grew and he nodded, accompanied by a squeak of delight from Ria, "Would you?" He seemed so excited and he looked at Audi, excited to spend time with her once again after a week. He probably seemed too excited but he didn't care, it was how he really felt.
He looked so excited it was absolutely adorable, and she laughed while saying, “Yes, of course! I said I would! Here.” She looked around for a good place to sit. “Would you rather we read here or outside? There’s a beautiful, shady spot with flowers and a tree swing that’s not far from here. Or we could go back to the library, whichever you prefer.”
"Outside," Ria blurted, knowing that Audi probably wasn't asking her but answering anyway, "Please?" She looked up at her brother and the princess, smiling hopefully.
Max laughed at his sisters reaction and his eyes flicked to Audi, "It's up to you, your highness, but it seems Ria knows where she wants to sit." He looked back at the book in her hands and smiled, thinking about when she had last read him a book in the library.
“Of course we can go outside!” Audi exclaimed. “Come on!” She grabbed Max’s hand and tugged him out the door. She made sure Ria was following before leading them away from the castle. She watched the trees, counting, before turning and slipping through a veil of ivy that most people would ignore. It lead her to her secret place that she hadn’t ever taken anyone to. It was very special to her, and she stopped just before the swing, turning around and giving them a soft smile. “What do you think?”
Max's smile had just grown as they slipped through the ivy, his eyes widening in awe at the beautiful place in front of them. "It's amazing," He said, focusing on Audi with a sparkle in his eyes, "Did you make this place?" Ria seemed just as amazed, though she didn't stop next to her brother, rushing over to the swing and sitting down with a smile.
"I'm glad you think so!" Audi said brightly. "But no, I didn't make it. The credit goes to my grandmother, who showed it to me when I was little. She made it when she was young." She turned in a circle, arms outstretched. "I love it so much. Not even my siblings know it's here." She grinned widely when she saw Ria, and moved to sit next to her. "What do you think, cutie? This what you thought it was going to be?"
"I didn't think this was going to be this amazing, or this pretty" She admitted quietly but with a smile, amazed that the princess was actually talking to her. Max came to sat down on the other side of Ria and picked her up before setting her on his lap and looking around with a bright smile.
"Thank you Audi's grandmother, for this beautiful place," He said to the sky, looking up and smiling.