Must Be Dreaming

Stephen smiled in delight. Sure, that was probably weird to do given the fact that the girl in front of him had just compared him to every other guy she had met, but that was the reason he smiled. Normal. She saw him the way she saw every other male, and that excited him. Though he probably shouldn’t of liked that fact as much as he did. But hey, he was under the influence of alcohol and had never known normal until leaving the castle, cut the prince some slack. “My god, how many guys am I competing with?” he joked, watching her intently as she tapped her chin with her finger, bringing his attention to her face. She was beautiful, without a doubt, so he wouldn’t be surprised if the answer was a large amount. He just hoped he had a fighting chance. “Amazing” he said after she spoke again, another smile appearing on his face. Though he wondered curiously exactly how long now was. 

Honestly, if he had been any other male Peyton was sure she would have left right then and there at the comment. How many guys was he competing with? If that was his way of flirting, then perhaps he wasn’t worth her time after all. Despite her better judgements, she still stayed. Though her eyes squinted with a glare that would send the best man running for the hills. “Wouldn’t you like to know,” She smiled, deciding it was better to forgive and forget. It was her last night of complete freedom after all. After tomorrow she’d have to watch her actions, not call too much attention to herself for fear that the royals would find out and fire her. And that she definitely couldn’t afford. There was no way she could get her old job back, was sure that her position had been filled just as quickly as she had given her resignation. His voice drew her out of those thoughts, though, a genuine smile taking over her face. A jerk, perhaps, but at least he was sweet some of the time.

He felt like he had successfully managed to stick his foot in his mouth already. It hadn’t even been a minute since he had met the girl and he had made it seem like her behaviors were pass odd to him, going straight into crazy town. Which, wasn’t true. He had been around plenty of people that began to ramble when they were nervous, but he had never been good at navigating his own mind to say what he meant to say rather than what his brain threw at the other person before he had a chance to process it. “No?” The questioning tone really didn’t help his case, at all. “Are you sure?” he asked, “About the leg, I mean. We could go get you some ice from the kitchen if you think it’s bad—“ No, they really couldn’t. Not when Miles would get them lost trying. GPS. For the castle. He was seriously considering bringing that up at the next meeting. If he made it to it in one piece, that was. He had to blink a few times as he tried to follow along with what she said next. So, he was looking for her. Or, he imagined that’s what all she said meant. It didn’t seem likely to him that there’d be another Peyton that was new to the castle that he needed to be on the lookout for. Plus, she was around Stephen’s age. It’d make more sense if it was her. Miles pocketed his phone and took a step forward before he thought better of it and teetered back to his former spot on the floor. No need to spook her further. “Right, no – I’m not going to shoot you! Why do you keep jumping to such violent conclusions? I’m not American!” Jesus, what was with this girl? She had managed to make him lose his cool exterior in a matter of seconds and he felt no amount of straightening up and fixing the tie that hung too tightly around his neck would help it either. “No, listen. I need to talk to her – erm, you – about last night. You were out with his Royal Highness Stephen last night, right?” Why was he doing this again? He felt anyone else in the castle would have been better suited for this conversation. But, Stephen was in his care –a fact that he didn’t need the fifty reminders that morning to know, but alas that was exactly what he got.

If the male in front of her had had anything to do with rather she kept her job or not, Peyton was sure she was being fired. I mean how could she not? She had already broken the cardinal rules of being a maid in the Royals’ home. Be seen and not heard and only seen if you must. Don’t speak unless spoken to. No cursing in front of anyone of importance. I mean she assumed these were rules, she was too busy taking in her surroundings than truly paying attention when she was given the run down and they hadn’t thought to give her a written copy. Which would have been very helpful. A map would have been too. Then maybe she wouldn’t have been in the current predicament. Her mouth dropped open at the next word that slipped from the male’s mouth. “Excuse me?” Did he really just—oh. The leg again…right. “No, no. I’m fine, really. See?” Peyton placed the tray down on the table she had run into moments before, taking a spin on the leg she had hurt…and that might have not been the brightest idea. She got half way before the leg gave out and she fell to her butt with a ‘hmph’. “Okay, maybe not fine, but I was heading to the kitchen anyways…I mean, I was trying to head to the kitchen…” She really needed to recount her steps when she got the chance. If she got the chance.

Sometimes Miles suffered from an extreme case of tunnel vision. He snapped out of it rather quickly, most days, and others he allowed people to ramble on through whatever they’re trying to say while his mind was focused on the task set for him – like right then. His mind was on the job that had been tossed his way, but the realization that the noise that had gotten his attention in the first place had been because she had ran into something. “Are you alright?” he asked, and of course it wasn’t until after the question left his mouth that the rest of her words caught up to him. Miles blinked several times before allowing a boyish smile to cross his features. “I mean, your leg – not your mental… health.” The hand holding the phone reached out to point that direction. “Although, now that I think about it, I could be questioning that too.” He shook his head, bit back a laugh that threatened to spill from him. Did she really think they did that? He hadn’t been working all that long inside the royal guard, but he honestly didn’t think that people thought that they still did that kind of thing. Back in the old days, maybe – it was documented as such – but now? “Erm, no,” even now as he tried to think of a good thing to say to explain what he wanted with the girl he couldn’t help but to smile at the one that stood in front of him. “Nothing like that. I just needed to talk to her about something.” He kept it at that. It wasn’t something he should talk to about just anyone, he guessed.

It wasn’t a completely normal thing for Peyton to ramble on like this. Okay, it was more frequent than she’d care to admit, but the male standing in front of her could very well hold her job in his hands, she didn’t know. And so this seemed like a perfect time to ramble. If it helped save her ass then it definitely was. It also wasn’t a normal thing for Peyton to completely disregard someone’s question, but in her defense she was on a roll and stopping now would just cause the train to wreck and then he’d really think something was wrong with her. “Wait, what?” Great, she’d done it now. The man thought she was crazy, actually crazy. “I’m not crazy.” Peyton shook her head, her free hand coming to rest on her hip before his first question caught up with her thoughts. Alright? She looked down to her leg, having forgotten about the pain she had felt only moments before. “Oh, um, yeah. My leg’s fine. There’ll be a bruise, probably, but I bruise easily so no surprise there.” She exhaled a deep breath, her eyes coming from the floor to meet his despite the want to remain anonymous. Even if she continued to deny who she was, he’d soon figure it out. There weren’t that many people working here. “Well, I may or may not be this Peyton you’re looking for. I mean if she’s in trouble then it’s definitely the other Peyton you’re looking for, but my name does happen to be hers as well, so shoot,” Peyton said before realizing that probably wasn’t the thing to say to someone working in the castle who was looking for her. “Um, I mean, not literally. Just, um, like what did you want to talk to her or me about? Please don’t shoot me.”

Stephen chuckled. It was always amusing to converse with people outside of the castle, especially when they didn’t know who he was. The people outside were just so real, they didn’t try and please him the way the workers and people who knew who he was did. Hell, half of the them didn’t even give him the time of day. But he loved that, he preferred it so much more than the fake people in the castle. “Maybe, but surely not as much as you probably ask men that. The difference is I mean what I say” he said with a smile, watching as she studied him the way he had done to her just moments ago. He laughed again at her words, amusement evident in his eyes. “If you say so” he said, taking a step back when she lightly pushed him. Though he didn’t want to go in that direction at all, simply wanted to surge forward and learn more about her. He stopped for a moment to watch her, her words echoing in his ears. “Oh, sorry, love. How will I ever repay you?” he said before she looked back at him, and with the next word that fell from her lips he was moving forward, following close behind her. “Don’t mind if I do” he whispered in her ear when she was close enough, running his hand up and down her arm, waiting to see if she’d react good or badly. He wasn’t about to make her hit him and run off, that’s for sure.

There was a familiarity about him that Peyton simply couldn’t place. She had seen him somewhere before, she knew that much, and maybe if she was anywhere else she would have questioned it more. But in a club faces mend together and she was sure that was the reason she thought he looked familiar. Her friends would commend her, talking with a pretty boy instead of clinging on to those she knew with all the strength she had. Even if the words that fell from his lips continuously made her want to roll her eyes. “Oh? And I’m sure most of the guys would follow up with that as well. The difference is…” Peyton feigned, tapping her finger against her chin before continuing, “I’ll let you stay for now.”

Miles still stood in the same spot, contemplating where it was he thought he needed to be, when he heard a small thud and a shout. His head turned quickly in the direction of it to take in the sight of what was going on, but the only thing he found was a girl that looked harmless enough. It took him longer than he’d have liked to catch on to what she was saying. By the time he had, she had already turned to walk away from him. “Wait!” A shout that was a little too loud in the quiet area of the castle. He cleared his throat before he stepped closer to her. “Uh, wait. I need help finding someone?” Miles had to check his phone first, the name was printed out in a small text message from his boss. Things would have been a lot simpler if there was a picture attached to it, but all he got was the name and that she worked in the castle. “I’m looking for… erm, Peyton?” He looked up the second the name left his mouth and forced a smile onto his face. “I managed to get myself lost while I was looking for her, I think.” Brilliant move on his part. They clearly all needed a GPS in order to get around the place faster.

Would it have cost her her job if she had sprinted as fast as she could in the opposite direction of the voice calling out for her? Probably. Did Peyton want to do it anyways? Definitely. But she didn’t. The voice sounded too assertive, too official, for her to simply ignore it no matter how much she wanted the man to forget the embarrassment that just happened. She bit her lip and spun around to face him, cheeks red but she hoped he wouldn’t notice. “Hmm?” Peyton questioned before the words registered in her head and the male pulled out his phone. “Um…I can try, but you should know I haven’t been here that long and probably won’t—“ Shit. The name that escaped his lips forced Peyton to stop everything, her sentence cut off before she could finish the thought, the fidgeting with the tray also stopped and she was even finding it hard to breathe. “Peyton? Why? Is she in trouble? Getting fired? Being sent to the dungeon for the rest of eternity to be starved and tortured for information she doesn’t have? I promise she knows nothing. Really. I mean she couldn’t even tell you the closest planet to the sun.” Peyton refused to look the man in the eye, letting her hair fall into her face in an attempt to hide it in case he knew the face he was looking for. Was it too late to run now?

It wasn’t the first time Stephen came to a night club, hell, he came to them so often that it surprised him that no one had recognised him yet. He thanked the dark lightning for that, and for the fact that his body guards never let people get too close to him unless Stephen wanted them too. But it was the first time he’d ever laid eyes on this girl, and she was definitely a sight to see. His eyes wandered up her frame, slowly moving up until his blue eyes rested on hers and a smile widened on his face. Especially at her words. A light laugh escaped his lips at her words, had him looking at her curiously. He could already tell there was something about her that would keep him needing to be near her, and that excited him. “That’s a shame, I probably will need a little luck on my side to get a girl as beautiful as you to dance with me” he said, stepping forward a little to get a better look at her, and possibly to close the proximity between them- but that was only a bonus. “And you don’t have to call me sir, I’m not that old” he added with a grin, hoping that that would get something out of her, maybe a laugh or smile. He could tell that she had a beautiful smile, and he wouldn’t mind being the cause of one.

Peyton had to refrain from rolling her eyes at his scanning over her body like she shouldn’t mind at all. She almost walked away right then and there, but something kept her glued to the floor. What harm could come from entertaining him for a second more anyways? She mirrored his smile, though her annoyance was evident even within it. “Oh, ho, ho. Do you use that line on all the girls?” Peyton didn’t budge even as he stepped closer into her space, she simply let her eyes look him over for the first time before meeting his once more, her eyes challenging him to make a move. “Egh, I’ll be the judge of that, sir,” she smirked, placing a hand on the male’s chest and lightly pushing him away. “Now, if you don’t mind, I had every intention of dancing before you interrupted.” Peyton turned on her heel, swaying her hips to the beat before looking over her shoulder back at the male. “Well?”

little talks ; peyton

Twenty…twenty-one…twenty-two. Peyton counted her steps quietly to herself in an attempt to figure out just where she was going and how far from her destination she was. She counted once that it was one hundred and thirty-six steps from the Queen’s room to the next room if you took a left once you left and then it was another…Peyton was sure she lost count but possibly five hundred and three straight through until you reached the kitchen, where she was currently trying to get to. Only she definitely was not taking the same steps she did the first time she counted. Thirty…thirty-one. “God dammit!” Peyton was sure that table came out of nowhere and it for sure was not there the last time she entered this room. The tray in her hands clattered to the floor, but she didn’t bother to pick it up for her eyes found another body in the room. Please tell me you’re not someone important. “Um…sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you, sir. I’ll just…I’ll be going now. Um…sorry.” Peyton bit her lip, quickly picking up the tray she had dropped and turning on her heel in the hopes that the male hadn’t realized who she was yet.

Tonight. Tonight would be a breath of fresh air for Stephen, as most of his nights spent outside the castle are. It had been a long week of duties, of working on something that he did not in the slightest care for, and it was the fact that he still had nights like this that kept him going. He lived for the nights he could whisk away into the night, his guard following suit with the money that he earned for letting Stephen be free. He sat down in an empty booth, a drink in hand as he glanced around at his surroundings. The dance floor was alive with plenty of people, possibly people that was escaping just like him, he couldn’t know for sure. All he knew was that he wasn’t going to sit here doing nothing for long, especially with the alcohol now coursing through his veins and the beat of the song beckoning him to the crowd. He took one last sip of his drink before rising, looking over at his guard for a moment to motion toward the dance floor, silently telling him that’s where he’d be. He then made his way into the crowd, his body already swaying to the beat, and hat’s when he saw her, making her way into the crowd and into his eye sight. He knew already that he had to dance with her, so with that thought in mind he began to make his way over to her, hoping he could win her over without having to speak his name.

Her hips moved to the beat of the music, her hands tangling into her hair before letting the strands slip effortlessly through her fingertips. Normally, Peyton wouldn’t leave the house without one of her friends in tow, but tonight was special. Tonight she was moving on to bigger things. Though, admittedly, she wasn’t sure how many people would take a job as a maid over her promising job of waitressing at a popular restaurant where she made a lot simply in tips. Okay, that’s a lie. It wasn’t at all promising. Her boss hated her and so she’d never move up, but even still to most it was better than a job as a maid. Except there was a prince with this job and a royal guard and just…royalty. Peyton wasn’t sure if the smile that crossed her face would make others believe she was enjoying herself or that she was a right creep, but she didn’t mind either way. She didn’t notice the male approaching her until he was upon her and even then she wouldn’t have noticed if it weren’t for the spin that brought her face to face with him, stopping her in her tracks if only for a moment. Gorgeous. Could she call a guy gorgeous? She didn’t care, he was it. Didn’t mean she’d make it easy on him. “You should know before you try, you’re not going to get lucky tonight, sir.”