Chaos in the Castle

@ Sweet.Persephone

"After my appointments at the hospital when I was little my nanny would bring me here to get food after to bring back to the castle, which is how I first met him and came to like his food and why I asked my parents and the kitchen staff to have him come cater things sometimes." Maisie explained with a little smile. "He was always kind whenever I'd come when I was younger, especially since I was usually in a bad mood after leaving the hospital."

She scrunched her nose up a little as he nudged her foot in return, trying to hide her smile. She was glad that he was here with her, and was thrilled that he seemed happy to be here with her, even if they were supposed to be enemies. She looked away for a bit while he looked over his phone before turning back to him at the mention of the history museum, giving a little nod. "Sure. It's located near the city square and some statues and monuments, so we can pass those on our way."

@ katahdin

"Sounds like a plan then," With that decided, Charles set his phone back down at the table. It was bad manners to be on the phone when eating or even talking to someone else. Though this had been one of those cases where he actually had to look at it in order to improve upon their day. Even so, Charles was quite sure that if his mother was there, she would have chastised him about it. Just thinking about it made him wanting to shake his head and sigh. But instead, Charles folded his hands together and looked at the woman across from him.

A bit of a jerkish smirk came over Charles face as he looked along her face. "You know, you are a lot prettier if you didn't try to hide your smile." His smirk widen a bit, deciding that he wanted to have some fun teasing her and poking Maisie's buttons. Of course, everything he was saying was a lie. And Charles tried to make it obvious with the tone of his voice that that was the case. "When you try not to smile, your lips get all scrunched up. Like a deflated balloon. Or a smile sewed onto a scarecrow."

@ Sweet.Persephone

Maisie laughed at his teasing, her nose scrunching up even further as she leaned forward slightly to look at him. "If I'm a scarecrow, you're the tin man who has no heart. Although I think I'd more likely be the cowardly lion." She teased back with another laugh, taking a sip from her water. "And I'm not mad about your teasing, since you said that I would be prettier if I didn't hide my smile, and that implies that you already think that I'm pretty." She teased with her own smirk.

She shook her head a bit as she sat back in her seat, taking another sip of water. "You know, you'll never find your Bahamas girl if you just tease them all the time. Girls don't really like it when you do that." She teased, nudging his foot under the table. "I'm impressed you even managed to get a girlfriend before."

@ katahdin

"Seems that someone has a big enough ego to find the compliment in my teasing," Charles joked at her, the smile on his face now turning more genuine instead of a smirk. "Though I will not deny it that you are pretty." He picked up his drink and took a long sip. Though when she said not to tease girls all of the time, a bit of a naughty look entered his eyes.

"Well, I am not so sure about that. Women love a good teasing." Charles told her, his voice low to ensure that the other tables would not hear. "At leave the ones that I have met do." The looked over Maisie's face, watching her reaction before he continued on. "But perhaps I should listen to you and be nice to my Bahamas girl."

@ Sweet.Persephone

"It's nowhere near as large as yours, since your ego is big enough to where you're making the girl who just found out about her cancer not returning act as your tour guide around the city." Maisie teased right back, her own smile turning more genuine to match his. "Even making me buy you dinner." She had been the one to offer to buy him dinner, and was more than happy to show him around the city. If she were being honest, she wouldn't want to be doing anything else today, or be with anyone else for that matter.

She blushed though as Charles lowered his voice and leaned in to continue teasing her, nudging his foot under the table as she rolled her eyes. "I'm assuming that you're used to women just throwing themselves at you, or they're just willing to put up with you because they know who you are and they want your crown." She scrunched up her nose, taking a sip of her own water as she looked over at him.

@ katahdin

"Well, I deserve a good time after this wreck of a visit." He leaned back into his chair as he started to think about the last week or so with Maisie's family. "I mean, first I found out I was being forced into marriage. My fiancee, easy on the eyes but that mouth of hers," He chuckled lightly and shook his head. "Had to go hide in the woods for days to get away from my parents and the future in-laws. Then, you won't believe this, my fiancee has me go to the hospital with her where she breaks my hand." He lifts up his hand as though the bones in it were broken. "I think the least I deserve is a meal and a tour around the city."

At Maisie's comment of women throwing themselves at him, he glanced to the side. A frown came along his lips at the thought of it. But eventually, Charles just gave her a little shrug. "Could be worse... People are willing to do a lot of things to wear crowns like ours..." The waitress came over and set their meals down in front of them. Charles took the moment to clear his throat before thanking the waitress who headed on her way. "Well, it looks delicious," Charles told her as he looked at his plate.

@ Sweet.Persephone

Maisie snickered a bit at his teasing, doing her best to hide her laugh as she shook her head. "I think you rather enjoy my mouth, and would even go as far to say that I think you'll miss it after you leave." She teased. "And without me you would have frozen to death in the woods, so you're welcome. And you could have told me to let go of your hand if it had really bothered you all that much. But yes, I have to agree that you do deserve a tour and a meal since things have been a bit hectic and stressful. But I expect the same treatment if I ever come visit you."

Her smile faltered as she noticed him look away and frown, eyes softening with concern. She hadn't meant to hurt his feelings. Reaching her hand across the table to take one of his she gave it a little squeeze, offering him a small smile. "I was only teasing, Charles.. Any woman would be so incredibly lucky to have you, and if they're don't realize how funny and smart and wonderful you are then it's their loss. I can only hope that I'll be able to find someone like you to love one day." She murmured softly, a faint blush on her cheeks as she looked at him before pulling her hand away from his as the waitress set their meals down, thanking her before turning her attention to her food, nodding in agreement at Charles' assessment. "It is."

@ katahdin

As Maisie held onto his hand and tried to reassure him, Charles looked away. At that moment, he didn't want to look her in the eyes. And even once she pulled away, he didn't respond to what she had said. Her words were nice but it just wasn't something Charles wanted to think about or worry about. Especially not in front of her... Plus, Charles would feel terrible for ruining what was meant to be a great day.

So when the food came out, Charles was more than happy to change the subject. "Lets dig in then," He said as his eyes shifted down to the food on his plate. It had been just something that he said from awkwardness but the meal really did look delicious. Cutting himself off a piece of the meet, Charles took the bite and then let out a long, satisficed hum. "It really is amazing." He murmured before taking another few bites. This place was actually better than he thought it would be.

@ Sweet.Persephone

Maisie frowned as Charles refused to look at her or say anything to her in response, biting her lip as she pulled her hand back. She wasn't sure, but he seemed angry with her, and upsetting him was the last thing she'd wanted to do. She'd fallen silent for a few minutes, considering whether or not she should say something to him, and she was about to apologize again when their food was brought, giving a little nod as he suggested they dig in before doing just that.

She ate quietly for a few minutes in silence, nodding in agreement as he said that the food was amazing, before setting her sandwich down to look at him with a little frown. "I really am sorry, Charles.. I didn't mean to upset you, and I'd understand if you would rather explore the city by yourself... This is the reason I don't have any friends, I always say the wrong thing and they end up hating me for it." She murmured softly, keeping her eyes focused on her plate. "I can't blame you for wanting to get out of this marriage and as far away from here as possible, not when I'm the worst."

@ katahdin

Charles looked up at Maisie when she started to apologize though a huge frown came over his face when she mentioned allowing him to explore the city by himself. He was quick to shake his head as he set his fork and knife down on the plate. "No, no, Maisie that is not... I am not..." Charles let out a small sigh as he reached over and lightly took both of her hands into his. His thumbs started to rub lightly along the back of her hands, doing his best to reassure her and calm her down.

"I don't want to explore the city by myself, I want to do it with you. And you really didn't do anything wrong. Your comment just brought some things to my mind." Charles held onto her hands a bit tighter for a moment before continuing on. "Things that I don't really want to bring up or talk about. I won't explain why. But you did nothing wrong. I just wanted to skip over it and keep enjoying our day, that's all. Can we just forget about it? Is that okay with you?"

@ Sweet.Persephone

Maisie looked up at him as he reached over and took both her hands in his, frowning a bit as he he stumbled a bit over his words, but she had to admit that Charles' thumbs rubbing over the back of her hands was a bit calming. She still felt bad that she'd said something wrong, giving his hands a squeeze in return as she nodded a little.

"I'm still sorry that I upset you, Charles.. That was the last thing I wanted to do." She assured him again as he held onto her hands a bit tighter, needing him to understand that it really was the last thing she'd wanted. She nodded in understanding as she said that he didn't really want to talk about what had been brought to his mind, giving his hands another squeeze when he asked if they could just skip over it and forget about it. "Of course, Charles. But.. But if you ever need someone to talk to, you can talk to me, you know that, right? I know I can be a jerk, but you've done so much for me that it's only fair that I return the favor and be there for you if you need it."

@ katahdin

"It really is okay," Charles reassured her. He really wished that they were not having this conversation at all. It wasn't really his goal to upset her.... Just merely a moment of weakness where he had been unable to control his face. There were plenty of things that did not bother Charles but that was not one of them. Though as Maisie reassured him that he could turn to her to talk, surprise moved over his face. He had not been expecting her to say that. Despite everything that Maisie had revealed to him, he had not considered it being a two-way street. "Thanks Maisie, I'll let you know if I want to talk about it." He said softly.

Charles squeezed her hands back one last time before slowly sliding them away. His eyes shifted down to his plate and he couldn't really say that he was all that hungry after talking to her. But, he knew it was better to eat now since they would be busy for the rest of the day. And food tended to fix everything anyways. So he picked up his fork and started to eat.

@ Sweet.Persephone

Maisie offered him a faint smile as he said he'd let her know if he ever wanted to talk, giving his hands one last squeeze before releasing them and going back to her food. She wasn't very hungry anymore, but she knew that eating something now would be worth it so she didn't end up too hungry later. Charles seemed to be in a similar boat, so after a few minutes she gave his foot a little nudge under the table, looking up at him with a little smile as she hoped to lighten the mood.

"Maybe after we leave here we could get some ice cream? I know that you're lactose intolerant, but there's plenty of shops that serve dairy free flavors, so there's got to be something you'd like.. Or we could wait and save dessert until later tonight, since the restaurant we're going to has excellent dessert."

@ katahdin

"We should save dessert for tonight, especially since you keep telling me that the food there is amazing," Charles told her, his smile beginning to come back as he looked at her. He was glad that she seemed to be able to lighten the mood so easily. There really was something about her... something that he liked quite a lot, actually. "Besides, then we can spend more time at the museum. It looks really interesting so I would like the chance to look around."

Charles then went back to his food, finishing up everything on his plate. Although some of his appetite had gone, the food was amazing. And once Maisie had finished hers as well, he had the waitress bring them the check so that he could pay for it. "Is it in walking distance or should we grab a cab?"

@ Sweet.Persephone

"You can have dessert twice in a day, although you do have a good point. The dessert where we're going tonight is very good. Very expensive, but very good." Maisie grinned, happy to see him smiling and looking happier again after she ruined his mood. She hadn't liked how upset he'd gotten at all, and she hoped that she never caused him to get that upset again. She'd much rather make him smile than frown.

"Museum it is then." She smiled as she finished up her food, starting to pull her wallet from her purse to pay but Charles beat her to it, giving him a teasing smile. "I thought we'd agreed I'd treat you today for bringing me to the hospital?" They'd only really agreed for her to pay for dinner, but she'd assumed she'd just pay for everything they did together today. "It's about a fifteen minute walk, if that's alright with you. We have to pass a lot of statues and monuments and famous buildings on the way, so I figured it would be nice to walk. But if you'd rather not we can take a cab."

@ katahdin

"We agreed on you treating me to dinner." Charles pointed out to her. "Though if you insist, I will let you pay for my museum ticket as well." He told her as he put his credit card away. The museum surely would not be more than a couple of dollars so there was no need to worry about that. Though, in truth, there was no reason for either of them to worry about any of this. It was the polite thing to do, to pay and be paid for. Especially in terms of a thank you or something of that nature. But the both of them were completely loaded as royalty

Charles stood up once everything was taken cared of. He offered his arm to Maisie to take before heading and getting back to the sidewalk. "Sounds like a short walk then," Charles said as he glanced down the street before looking at Maisie with a bit of a sheepish smile. "I think it would be good if you lead us there."

@ Sweet.Persephone

Maisie smiled as Charles offered her his arm once more, gladly taking it and thanking the waitresses and the chef as they left, letting out a little laugh as he said she could buy his museum ticket it she insisted. "Fortunately the museum is free, but maybe I'll buy you a souvenir from the gift shop. Something to remember me by." She teased, squeezing his arm as they began to walk along the street toward the museum.

As she'd said it took about twenty minutes to get there, mostly because they'd slowed down or stopped in a few places to look at an old historic building or statue, insisting she take a photo of him in front of the one that depicted two of their ancestors. Upon arriving at the museum they headed inside, picking up a map from the main desk before stopping in the rotunda so Maisie could glance it over with Charles. "It's been a while since I've been here, but I still remember most of where everything is. Do you see anything particularly interesting that you'd want to see first? And we'll go to the gift shop last on our way out."

@ katahdin

Charles stood behind Maisie as he looked down at the rotunda, trying to determine if there was anything specific that he wanted to go see. He then glanced down at his watch, taking in the time. They should have enough time to make it through the whole museum and get to the restaurant in time for their reservation. "Lets start with what is closest and go through the exhibits. I think we will have more than enough time."

"With history, it might be best to start with the beginning." Charles gave her a wink before offering his hand to her, only moving forward once Maisie took it. "I suppose you are very familiar with the history of your country." He said, keeping his voice low as he said that to ensure that no one around them recognized her. "I think I might just have the best tour guide of the country." With that, Charles walked into the first exhibit that went into the prehistoric ages.

@ Sweet.Persephone

Maisie nodded a little at his suggestion. "That makes sense to me. We should have time to see most of if not all of the museum, especially since some parts are more boring than others and are easier to walk though." She teased, squeezing his hand as she took it before following him into the first exhibit.

She laughed a bit at his teasing about her being the best guide, nudging his side a bit. "Very funny. History was never my strong suit, though. I'm much better with math." She smiled up at him, leading him slowly through the exhibit, stopping at some of the fossils and prehistoric tools, spouting out a few facts here and there as they began to make their way through the various exhibits. "You were reading a history book the other day. Anything special you want to see?"

@ katahdin

"Well, perhaps I should have picked a math museum for us to go to instead." Charles joked with her as he gave her a little bit of a nudge. "Though I do not think that would interest me nearly as much. While math might have been your strong suit it was certainly not mine. Not that I did poorly but... well it never interested me much and I think it's fair to say that my tutor often grew annoyed with my trying to avoid the subject altogether."

Without a thought, Charles lightly rubbed his thumb against the back of her palm. He glanced at the exhibit they were in before looking at one of the maps that were posted of the museum nearby. "The war of Eriasa would be interesting to look at, as well as the ancient artifacts room. I think that one is next though." Charles said as he glanced into the room adjoining. "Yes, it is. I want to see some of the art that was made back when. It is always so interesting to see what they thought as important enough to spend hours upon hours to create."