CHAPTER NINE

The First date

Leo was waiting for me by the front door of the palace at exactly seven. Two guards at the door let me through, and I could see others in the distance at the end of the long drive by our large wrought-iron gates. No doubt, there would be even more in the gardens.

Leo had dressed in cream trousers with a smart cream shirt, which showed off his dark skin to perfection. He’d left the top button of his shirt undone, which showed just a hint of chest hair beneath it.

We walked in silence down to the lawn. The gardens were a marvel of engineering, as well as horticulture, with a large pond served by a stepped waterfall and hand-sculpted statues dotted around the abundant greenery. A large lawn, neatly cut into a striped pattern, circled around the house, edged with beautiful flowers and shrubs. At the very back was the tall wall that surrounded the entire property. Although I could see no guards at the moment, I was sure there would be plenty on the other side.

After a few minutes of walking, when it had already gotten past the point of politeness, I spoke.

“Thank you for staying on, Leo. It must have been a difficult decision for you.”

“Not really. Now, don’t get me wrong. The explosion was a horrible, horrible thing, but we should stand with our backs straight and carry on as usual in the face of adversity.” His words reminded me of my mother, but I let him continue. “If I may be so bold, I’ve set up a charity to aid those who were hurt in the blast.”

“That’s a nice gesture. And what about the Magi that have lost their jobs because of this?”

He seemed surprised by my words.

“Some say it is the Magi that are the cause of this. Now I don’t believe it myself, but until the perpetrator is caught, there is nothing I can do to help them.”

“So you don’t believe it was a Mage?”

We rounded the corner of the house. The sun was low in the sky, but still pleasantly warm and the smell of freshly cut grass filled my nose. It would have been perfect if not for the huge hole in the side of the palace, now covered with tarpaulins.

“I run a lot of charities. In my time, I’ve made a lot of money, thanks to some wise business deals, and I like to give back where I can. I’ve worked with a great many magic people in my time, and I’ve not met a single one who would do something like this.”

He gestured to the mass of debris and rubble we were currently walking past.

I didn’t want to argue with him because I happened to agree, but there was a flaw in his logic. “Just because you know nice Magi, doesn’t mean there aren’t some that are capable of doing something like this.”

“That’s very true, but there are good and bad people everywhere, both magic and non-magic. My thoughts though, if it were a Mage that did this, why would he or she use a bomb? The police have reported that a device was found. Why would a Mage go to such lengths when they could use a wand to do the same damage. It doesn’t make sense.”

And there it was. The argument I needed to stop this madness.

“Do Magi have enough power to make such a blast?”

“While I believe Magi hold a lot of power, they are not all powerful. A blast this size would be too much for the average Mage, but there are some that could do it. Oh, look. They have set a picnic out for us.”

I looked to where he was pointing. The gardens at the back of the house slanted down so we could see the tops of houses over the wall. On this side of the wall, was a large rug filled with food. To one side, was an ice bucket with a bottle of champagne in it waiting for us. Two long-stemmed glasses stood next to it.

I sat down and let Leo uncork the bottle, before pouring the bubbly into both glasses.

I felt at ease with Leo, but I had no spark with him. He was polite, great-looking and a good catch, and yet, he didn’t possess the wit of Daniel nor the intrigue of Xavier. I liked him though. He was honest and according to his bio, was generous to boot.

“Tell me about your charities, Leo.”

As he told me about the good work he had done, of which there was a lot, something glinted in my eye.

I blinked, trying to make out what it was, but I could only see the sunlight reflecting back from the windows of the houses beyond the palace grounds. Leo picked up on my staring and turned around. Whatever had caught the sun had now stopped.

“What was that?” he asked, turning back to me.

“I don’t know. Something shone in my face. Never mind. It’s gone now.”

Leo kept on talking as I ate. Whatever had shone in my eye had gone, but by the end of the date, it was still on my mind.

“Shall we pack all this up?” asked Leo, indicating the left-over food.

“Hmm?” I was miles away in my thoughts. “Sorry, no. Don’t worry about it. The staff will take it.”

“Do you think they would mind me wrapping up some of the leftovers?” He’d put some of the uneaten food to one side.

I looked down at our half-eaten picnic. I’d barely touched it even though it was delicious. Immediately I felt bad. I’d been the worst date ever, barely saying a word and barely eating. Leo was a great guy. He deserved more.

“If you are still hungry, we can stay a while longer.”

“It’s not that. I just know a lot of homeless people, and I like to take food to them when I can. Unless you want more?”

He would make a wonderful partner, I mused. Not just for me, but for the nation. He was perfect in every way. I could quite clearly imagine him standing beside me as we ruled Silverwood. The people would love him, but could I?

“No, I’m fine. Go ahead and take it. I’ll ask the kitchens to wrap it up for you.”

We walked back up to the palace. Once back, I asked a guard to tell the kitchen to wrap up the picnic leftovers and give them to Leo. He gave me a peck on the cheek and thanked me for my generosity.

I’d barely made it back to my room when Elise came rushing in.

“What was the date like? Do you like him?”

I laughed at her exuberance. It was weird that she was more excited by my date than me, but nice too.

“He’s very nice.”

“Very nice? Is that all?”

I tried to think of something else to say but ‘very nice’ was all I could come up with.

“Yep.”

“Don’t be coy. He’s gorgeous. He told me about all the things he has done for charity. Did he tell you about the time he flew over the jungle, dropping food to people who had been cut off by a flood? Or about the time he nursed a sick orphan back to health before finding him a forever family to live with?”

It turned out that Elise knew more about the guy than I did. Of course, she did. She’d sat next to him at the ball. She would have asked him all the right questions and remembered every detail. The main thing I took from my date with Leo was his thoughts on the bomb. It had been plaguing my mind ever since, and after that, I’d not really taken much in.

“He talked about his charity work a bit.”

“Did you kiss him?”

The thought of kissing him hadn’t crossed my mind. For a start, the opportunity hadn’t really presented itself, and secondly, I didn’t feel that way about him.

“Shouldn’t I wait until I fall in love with one of them before kissing them?”

“But how will you fall in love with them if you don’t kiss them?”

How indeed? Later, when Elise had left, I peered out of the window. I watched Leo walking down the driveway from the staff entrance with two bags. He walked right to the gates where a guard let him through. I had to give it to him. He could have gone through the main gates where a thousand photographers would take his picture to publish in the press. It was refreshing to see someone who would do something so lovely without reward or recognition. I vowed that on my next date with him, I’d put in more effort.

Just as I was about to turn around, I saw the flash of light again. As it was so dark, it must have been a flashlight this time. It was pointing up near my room. Was I being spied upon? It wouldn’t surprise me if a member of the paparazzi had rented the townhouse just to get photos of me. They’d been known to do worse. I hid behind my curtain. When I peeked out again, the light was gone.