Starlet - Book 2 - Mate Games

21. Time Together

Sunday, I'm Evie again. Collin told me all about the fishing on Saturday. He's going to try hunting today. It seems like he had a lot of fun. I'm kind of hoping to see Zeke again, but I don't say that.

I roam around the yard for an hour watching the shows again. Some of these people are really talented.

"Remember me?" The other man that danced nice with me sits beside me.

"Yea. Dravon, right?"

"I'm surprised you remember. You danced with nearly 100 people."

"They made my feet hurt."

He chuckles. "Yea, it was a long time to dance formal. Personally, my favorite dance was your belly dance."

"Maybe I'll do it again at the next game, for you."

"Please do. My next favorite part was watching that prince fly at the door."

I laugh. "Yea. The princes are failing fast."

"I figured you would pick a prince or king, but they're throwing them out like everyone else."

"Titles don't mean much to me. I want someone I like. What's your story? How come you joined?"

"My cousin is a prince and needs moral support, I guess. His mom is my mom's sister. They decided we should join together. Honestly, he's a pompous asshat."

"Was he the one who flew at the door?"

He laughs. "I wish."

"So, you're not in the games then? You're helping him, like an advisor?"

"I joined. I think my cousin wants you to throw me out, so he can laugh about how much better he is."

"This sounds horrible. You don't want to be here?"

"Actually, I do. I'm glad I'm here. You are so sweet. Friendly. Nice to talk to. I liked dancing with you. I'd like to see where this goes."

"What about your mate?"

He smiles. "There's no real guarantee with mates. No matter what people say. People get rejected or left. Some mates are assholes. I don't want to wait years for someone who may take 1 look at me and walk away. There's a chance for something real with you. I don't want to walk away from that."

"Some mates are assholes."

"Yep."

"Next game. Point out your cousin. I'll make sure you get further than him."

He laughs and starts coughing. "He would have a fit. His commoner cousin got further than him." He looks at me serious. "I honestly need you to do that."

I crack up laughing, then he starts in again.

He shakes his head. "Want to get some fire food? I've been wanting to try it."

I wiggle and jump up. I trip on my feet and half land on him.

He helps me up.

"Sorry. I got excited. I love fire snacks."

We try a bunch of different foods over the fire. Then he leaves to go to lunch with his cousin. He was fun. And he was right, some mates are assholes.

"Will you have lunch with me, princess?" A cute boy smiles at me.

"Of course, sir." I launch myself at him and he chuckles. "Sorry, I think I had too much sugar."

"It happens. My name's Randall." He puts his arm around me and starts leading me somewhere.

"Evie."

"I know who you are from the games. I'm in them."

"I thought I danced with you. How come you're in them?" We sit at a little table and order some food.

"Tired of waiting. Maybe something happened to my mate. I don't know where she is. I'm ready for something real."

"How old are you?"

"720."

"I guess that is a long time to wait."

"Most people find their mate in 50 or so years. Maybe I don't have 1. I don't know. I want a mate though. Figured I would join the game and meet you. Lot of men though."

"They're already over half gone."

"Really?"

"Yea. Why are you shocked?"

"All we did was say hello. That's not even enough to know you."

I shrug my shoulders. "Some probably didn't like me. Some intimidated by others. Some got thrown out for being stupid."

"Yea, some of them got stupid after the unlimited alcohol." I giggle and he smirks. "I guess I could see the intimidation too. Lots of princes. I even saw a few kings."

I shrug my shoulders. "I don't care about titles. I lost mine. Honestly, I have no idea what I would do with a king." He chuckles. "Princes scare me. It was a prince that killed my family."

"Could you take a prince as a mate?"

"Yea. It takes me longer to build trust with them, but I know some I'm not scared of now."

"So, it takes extra time to get to know them. That's not a bad thing."

"I'm sure if a prince made it to the end of the games, he would be very patient."

"Not something princes are known for."

"Nope. So, I really don't think they'll stay long. And the non-royal men either want a princess, a castle, or money. And I lost all that. I don't see them sticking around."

"You'll be left with kings."

I shake my head. "Don't know how to make them go away."

"They'll get bored with the bullshit and walk away. You keep your head up. Soon, you'll have men who want a real connection standing in front of you. Then you can see if you have a connection with anyone."

"That's good advice. What if I have a conncection with more than one?"

"You'll have to see who stays. If they feel strongly about you, they'll stay and fight for you. They won't let go."

Nobody will fight for a girl with nothing. It'll be me standing in a room alone, like I predicted so long ago. My eyes fill up with tears.

He gives me a kind smile. "Keep your head up. You're worthy of real love. You'll find it."

"I sure hope you're right. I won't be able to do too many of these games. They make me crazy."

"Have a bucket cup of wine, smile, and wave. You'll get through."

I stare at him for a second and bust out laughing. "The huge cup was my idea."

"It would take a teenager to think of that."

We laugh and finish lunch.

Then I head towards the petting zoo for a nap.

But a king and his advisors come up to me. "I'm Lionel. Will you join me for a walk, Princess Evie?"

The princess' side of me takes over. "Of course, sir." I take his arm.

"Where were you going, princess?"

I point at the barn. "Zoo."

He scratches his head and leads me in another direction. The advisors nod.

"How are you enjoying the mating ball, princess?"

"It's so fun. Yesterday, a man swallowed a sword. And another was on fire. I even saw a snake in a basket. Then baby animals and fireworks. I ate lots of sugar and had wine." I spin around. "Somewhere. It looked like Paris. I ate barbeque. That was good. And then lots and lots of fire snacks. So many shows. I took a nap with a baby cow. And a pig. 2 kittens and a duck too." I scratch my head. "What did you do?"

"Not that much. You've done a lot."

I nod. "It's fun. Why are you in the mate games?"

"My mate was lost a long time ago. I'm ready to move on."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry you lost your mate as well. You're so young. You barely had any time with him."

I see the biggest elephant and point at it.

"Do you want to ride it?"

I glance back and forth between him and the elephant. My eyes fill up with tears.

"I think she's scared of it, sir."

"Do you want to touch it?"

I nod.

He leads me to a platform and the elephant drops people off. Then I reach out and touch it. I smile as my fingertips rub his side. He's perfect.

"Do you want me to put you on him?"

A tear falls out of my eye.

Lionel picks me up and gets on the elephant. He puts me down in front of him. "It's ok to be scared. I'll keep you safe." I lean back on his chest a bit. He seems kind.

I slowly relax as the man pulls us. "You can see some giraffes in that direction."

I shake and wiggle. "LOOK."

Lionel puts his hand on my stomach and pulls me against his chest. "Careful, you'll wiggle right off here. You like giraffes too?"

I like this. He's warm and strong. I can feel his muscles. I glance at him over my shoulder and his eyes darken a shade.

The guy pulling us says, "They have the baby giraffe out today."

I swing back around and point. "A BABY GIRAFFE."

He wraps his other arm around me. "It's still big, isn't it?"

I nod and watch it. "LOOK! A ZEBRA."

"Smart girl."

I smile and put my hands on his. He's nice. I relax against him as we keep going. Then I see something weird. I point at it.

"Kangaroo." He rubs my fingers with his thumb. I get all kinds of tingles from it. I snuggle against him as much as I can.

Then we come up to the spot where we get off. Marcus is standing there.

"LOOK."

Marcus nods. "I see."

"LOOK AT ME."

"I see you on an elephant. Now you get off."

"NO."

"Now."

"I live here now."

"We are not doing this today."

"Mine."

"Not yours. Other people are waiting for a turn too. You had your turn."

"BUT NO."

Marcus motions to Lionel.

Lionel lifts me to Marcus.

"I want to ride again." I point at the elephant.

"Do you need a nap?" Marcus scoops me up and carries me off the platform.

"You weren't joking about a nap. She is falling asleep already."

"The kids are overstimulated. They've been doing this all weekend."

"Yea, there is a lot going on."

"Here comes melt down number 2. Can you take her? They all need to go down for a damn nap."

The king and advisors laugh. Then I get handed over. I snuggle in and fall asleep.

Luke yells, and wakes me up, but Lionel rubs my back and I fall asleep again.

I stretch my arms up and sit up on my knees. I'm straddling him in a chair. He watches me with dark eyes. I can tell he was sleeping too. I giggle and plop back against him. Nadine is on the couch. Thora is curled up in a chair. Luke is sleeping with his head on Nadine's mom's lap. Marcus is at a table, reading papers with Lionel's advisors.

One of the advisors glance at me. "Did you have a nice nap?"

I giggle and hide my face.

Thora stands up and stretches. "New boy in the lead. What did you do today?"

I try to roll over without getting up. I end up sideways and stretch again. "I rode an elephant."

Luke jumps up out of a dead sleep. "WE CAN RIDE ELEPHANTS HERE?"

"ME TOO." Nadine sits up.

Thora pulls me up. "WHERE?"

Marcus stands up. "Nap times over. Elephant rides are at the zoo attraction." He points.

Thora pulls me with them.

I pull Zeke out of the regular line and the 5 of us go to the drop-off spot. We steal the next elephant. The man laughs and pulls us on the extended tour.

Zeke puts his arms around me and I lean back against him. He tells me what a porcupine is, but I know the rest.

3 rides later, Nik, Elek, Tye, Marcus, and Dipak are at the drop-off spot. Luke has a fit and Nadine keeps screaming 'mine' but they get us off for dinner. Zeke gives me a kiss on the head before he goes home. Everyone is cleaning up the attractions as we walk through. It's all over.

We get to the front of the castle and I stare at it. There's a circular path in the front for the carriages to do drop-offs. Then there are stairs leading up to the doors. All around the first level are pillars. 9 huge pillars. I jump up and down. I have an idea.

Collin wraps his arms around me. "Let's eat first, baby."