Duncan and Alix arrived at Helena’s apartment a little after eight thirty that Saturday evening. He was more nervous than he’d expected and had spent longer than usual getting ready. Normally, he felt bored before this kind of party. Even when it was for his family, who he loved, it was always the same people, the same food, the same drinks. Tonight, however, with Alix, it felt different. Hence the nerves and the extra fifteen minutes in front of the mirror.

Even with the nerves, he was more relaxed than he’d been at the gala, and he hoped that it would rub off on Alix. She was twisting the diamond bangle around her wrist. He took her hand as they rode the elevator up to the penthouse. She smiled up at him, her tongue darting out quickly to lick her lips. This tiny movement, combined with the exceptionally short dress she was wearing, made him want to press the emergency stop button on the elevator and forget the pretense of the party. Instead, he took a deep breath and reminded himself that his sister had gone through a lot of trouble to set up this evening and would murder him if he didn’t at least show up for part of it.

As they walked in, all eyes turned to them, hand in hand. Duncan immediately spotted his brothers’ smirks, and Helena’s wide smile. Anton bent to whisper something in Stella’s ear, who then smiled wider than Helena. Leo quickly went back to talking to a redhead Duncan didn’t recognize. She wasn’t a noble, and they didn’t have many friends that weren’t. He wasn’t sure what she was doing there, though by the look on Leo’s face, he had an idea of what they’d be doing later – the same thing he hoped to be doing with Alix as soon as he could find a reason to tell Helena they were leaving. A few friends were scattered around the room, no more than a dozen people total. Duncan was pleased to see Helena had kept it small. Despite her initial reluctance to even have the party, she was known for going a bit over the top.

“Hi, Alix,” Helena welcomed her, leading her away from Duncan and over to the drinks and food. She hadn’t gone so far as getting a DJ, but she’d gotten a full buffet and bar, staffed by male waiters that seemed a bit too interested in helping Alix select her food.

“Come see the view, Alix,” Duncan called her away from the waiters. Helena rolled her eyes at her brother, his sudden flare of jealousy not escaping her notice. He suddenly wished he’d been able to think of some other way to see Alix on his own that hadn’t involved his sister.

“Wow,” Alix breathed, taking in the bird’s eye view of the city. “It reminds me of New York.”

“Really?” Duncan liked the view over the palace and ancient fortifications, but knew it was nothing compared to the skyscrapers of the Big Apple.

“Just seeing the city lit up like this, at night, from above,” she mused.

“Do you miss it?”

“Yes,” she said without hesitation.

“Do you think you’ll go back?”

“No, I need to see new things.”

“You’re not staying here now that school is over?” He knew she wanted to be a doctor, but had assumed she’d go to school here, or in neighboring Switzerland.

She shrugged.

“For a while,” she said, noncommittally, keeping her gaze fixed over the city. Duncan wondered what she was thinking behind those deep amber eyes. He started to reach out a hand to brush her arm.

“What’s with the twenty questions, little brother?” said Helena, suddenly appearing at his side.

Duncan glared at her. He hadn’t noticed that she’d made her way over to them.

“Well, if it’s ask Alix anything we want night, then it’s my turn,” she continued, grinning. She turned to Alix who smiled shyly at her. “Who is the restaurant for?”

“What restaurant?” Alix looked confused.

“Duncan!” she scolded, giving him a very annoyed look. “You were supposed to tell her that she won the auction! I can’t trust you to do anything!”

She walked away in a huff. Duncan thought she was overreacting a little, but was annoyed that she’d said that in front of Alix. She already thought he wasn’t capable of cleaning his own apartment; he didn’t need her to realize that his whole family thought he was incompetent.

“No cleaning, no charity, not even errands for your sister?” Alix said, with a smile. “What are you doing with your life, Duncan?”

He looked up, a sharp, defensive retort on his lips. He bit it back when he realized her tone was soft, her eyes kind. They sparkled with teasing, and his heart skipped a beat. No one talked to him like this other than his siblings. Other girls were too focused on his body or his crown to attempt any kind of banter that wasn’t sexual in nature.

“Everyone’s always done everything for me,” he started, gazing out the window towards the city. “I never needed to learn how to do anything myself. And I never will, if I don’t want to.”

“Your siblings want to,” she remarked, her voice curious, not judging.

“Well, Leo will be king, and Helena is the only girl in the family,” he shrugged. “They knew that they were special the minute they were born.”

“And Anton?”

“He’s an amazing artist,” said Duncan, not trying to hide the admiration in his voice. “He has this incredible talent, ever since he was young. They doted on the baby of the family, so creative.”

She looked around the room, taking in the artwork.

“It’s all his,” Duncan answered her silent question. “Like I said, incredible talent.

“I tried a few things like the piano and fencing. I was good, but nothing really stuck. They didn’t seem bothered when I stopped, so I figured I wouldn’t waste any more effort. I’d just do what they expected, and follow the path they laid out for me,” he went on. “They never had to spend much time on me. Even if I tried to figure out what I wanted, or tried to do it on my own, I wouldn’t know how.”

He tried to keep the bitterness out of this voice. Thankfully, the babble of voices and low music kept their conversation relatively private. Alix reached up and gently touched his shoulder.

“Is that why you still live at the palace, and didn’t get an apartment like the others?” she asked. “You don’t think you could do it on your own?”

He looked away, not wanting to answer.

“I live at the palace because I do so many more events than they do,” he said finally. “And I always will, until I know what I want to do with myself; which I never will.”

This was not what he’d planned on talking to her about this evening. He never opened up to anyone like this, not even his twin sister. Alix just seemed so different than anyone he knew. It had all just come tumbling out when he had seen that kind, understanding look in her eyes. She had known a whole life in the world outside the palace. He didn’t think she could really understand how he felt, but at least he was pretty sure that she wouldn’t mock him like his family did.

“Hey,” she said softly, wrapping her arm around his back to cuddle close to him. “It’s okay, Duncan. You’ll figure it out. Not everyone needs to know what they want to do when they’re five.”

“Is that when you knew you’d be a doctor?”

“No, I was seven,” she said, smiling at the memory. “My father got really sick with pneumonia and I wanted to help take care of him.”

“Nothing like that ever happened to me,” he said, almost sadly. “Everything just came so easily. I don’t need to fight or try hard for anything.”

She didn’t say anything for a minute, following his gaze out the window.

“Well, you don’t need to figure it all out tonight,” she said with the same sexy smile she’d given him in the elevator. “Tonight, we’ll just have fun, okay?”

She clearly wanted the evening to end the same way as he did. His smiled wide, excited, turning on his charm again.

“Why don’t I go refill your drink?” he said, running his hand down her arm before taking her glass. He grinned when he saw her shiver at his touch.

“Thanks. I’ll just head to the ladies’ room,” she said, looking around.

“Through the kitchen and third door on the right,” he said.

She turned to go, making sure to brush up against him as she left.

He took a deep breath to keep himself from running after her and leading her from the bathroom to one of the bedrooms. Instead, he turned his back on her and made his way over to the bar, thinking that this was one of the best parties Helena had even thrown. He heard Alix scream less than ten seconds later.