Dinner was generally a pretty relaxing affair in the palace. In fact, James had gotten used to casual dining with the family, Lou included. He didn’t often take part in dinner, since much of the time he was off training or out partying; the latter was of course when he was finished with the former. And tonight was going to be no different in his mind. Sure, they were having the Gideons over, and he should probably be his well-behaved self… But he was also rushing to the palace after being out in the training field and forest of Cydonia for nearly five days. And there was no way to really appease anyone after you’d spent the past 120 hours in dismal conditions running maneuvers and sleeping less than two hours a night; that was if sleep was even possible with all the drills.
The Spare was relieved to finally be back among civilization – for at least a little bit. He and his mates from the unit had some good moments, and continued with the large amounts of male bonding and teamwork. A part of him wished they could go back out, but Royal duties were Royal duties; he couldn’t just ditch the dinner and leave Alfie hanging. That wouldn’t be a brotherly nor best man thing to do. So he rushed back to his apartment, showered – cause really all that mud wasn’t coming off easily – and put on the quickest thing he could. James reached the palace, without Adi on his arm, and rushed in to join those that were already at the table.
After the comments about his simple attire – comic book character included – he apologized and explained his rush from the field operations. He glanced to his brother and took a sip of his water. Taking some of the tension off his sibling and soon-to-be-sister wasn’t his intention, but he made sure he could at least try to lighten the mood. Of course he’d probably get a good lecture from his father later in the evening, but for now, he could at least continue to be Alfie’s trusty sidekick.
Once the tension was alleviated, dinner started and continued without a hitch. He sipped some of the wine, but mostly kept to water. The “add water” foods of the field would never compare to what their chef could cover the table with. And boy did the food taste fantastic. James tried not to pig out and fill himself, but it was tough to resist since all this food was more than he’d had all week. While the conversations continued, he sat quietly by Adi and across from Lou. Watching her, he sighed and stirred some items on his plate. Although he’d been in a somewhat more cheerful mood earlier when he’d first arrived; now he was looking into his wine glass once his grandmum and Queen had made her announcement. Again he was reminded that Alfie and Lou were getting married.
Of course, this entire dinner was so that the two families could properly meet, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t at least let his mind wander. His mood was plummeting, and drinking among family while watching the glances between his brother and his fiancé weren’t making him feel any happier for them. Setting aside his untouched glass of ice wine, he excused himself from the table. He wanted to go out and clear his head. All of the mushy talk was making him nauseous, or perhaps that was because he did feel more of a buzz than he had intended. Heading to one of the many bathrooms, he locked the door and leaned against the counter. Hearing his phone buzz, he dug into his suit jacket and snagged his cell. James half expected a call from Adi, or at least a text from her. Much to his surprise it was Leo… which really shouldn’t have been all that of a wonder that he wanted to ditch the Royal oldies and go out on the town.
“Meet you out front.” That was all he could text before he paid at least some of an offering to the porcelain gods. Coughing, he washed out his mouth and splashed his face with cool water. Drying his hands and cheeks, he left the towel behind on the marble counter and left the bathroom. He wandered past some side doors that would lead to a balcony and overlook the garden, a courtyard, or something extravagant that he paid little mind to. Right now he couldn’t recall what it was and could really care less.
Down the corridor, he stepped out into the cool, night air. He glanced to Leo and then to Judas. The two were smoking, a habit James had no intention of ever taking part in. Blowing a bit of warmth into his hands, he leaned against one of the large stone rails and crossed his arms. “I’m not sure how long we should be out. We’ve still got a rather important breakfast tomorrow,” James said, looking at Leo for a moment.
The Spare wanted to get out on the town and enjoy himself. It was a chance to get away from duty and run around with other young Cydonian Elites, even if he was tired as hell and wanted to sleep for more than just a few minutes or hours of the night.
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