Mondo Pastello | girlxgirl | Comple... - Chapter 19: Chapter 19

By the end of my first week in Spain, I had learned a lot about the culture and the nation. It fascinated me how different two countries so close to one another could be. It was also fascinating to see the difference in upbringing between Alejandro and I, seeing as we both were royalty. I had learned that there were few differences and there was a lot of things we had in common. We both had the same taste in music and preferred to be alone over being in a crowd.
Which was ironic I realized after some brooding, seeing as we were Prince and Princess. Our titles aren't keen on introverted behaviour. I discovered that he had never been in a relationship before but was more nervous about that than ever. He would need to look for someone worthy of being a Queen. I don't know if that was harder than my ordeal or not, but I realized that he wouldn't consider a commoner. His father was incredibly strict and kept Alejandro's sights on noble women only.
But it felt strange. I knew Caleb since I was young and grew up with him, watching him graduate and mature. With Alejandro it was different, because I was placed into his trustworthy hands and I was not even eighteen yet. He, on the other hand, was twenty-three. I had never expected to become such good friends with him so quickly, and I had honestly thought at the beginning that he wouldn't respect me because I am still a minor. I was thankful for his caring nature.
"Buena noches, Sarina," I had introduced Alejandro to Sarina over a video call, and because I contacted Sarina each evening, he would sometimes join the conversation. Sarina seemed to be intimidated by the Prince at first, but they had warmed up to each other. Alejandro had laughed hysterically when I told him how Sarina and I had met, but what was even worse is that Sarina was on the other line and was embarrassed throughout the entire explanation. Now knowing that she had purposely sought me out, I wondered if she wanted to show off to me. Well, it did leave a lasting impression.
"Buena noches, Prince Alejandro," she greeted back, her accent adorable and her black hair shining through the screen of my phone. I could see behind her the other gymnasts tumbling and flipping off the uneven bars. Their practice hours were crazy, but I simply cannot wait to see them at the Royal Variety Performance.
"How's it going in the world of tumbling?" Alejandro questioned, having discovered Sarina's preference. We were seated on one of the beds in the hotel we were staying at, now straying to far from the palace to be able to return each evening.
"Could be better. I keep going off the mat," she shrugged, looking behind as her sweaty comrades worked hard.
"Practice makes perfect," Alejandro shrugged.
"Of course, Your Highness," it was probably strange to her. She met a stranger at a café and now she was thrown into the world of royals and palaces. How she had not freaked yet, was a mystery.
"I need your opinion," I decided to steer the conversation in the direction I had intended. "So we are in..." I looked towards Alejandro in question.
"Benidorm," he answered for me. I looked back towards the screen.
"Benidorm, which is a coastal city, and we're basically hiding out in a hotel here. We didn't go to the beach," I looked to Alejandro who shook his head.
"No, no we didn't,"
"But he forced me on roller-coaster and dragged me to see dolphin shows," at this, he decided to push my face down and scrambled to look over me like some sort of child. He grabbed the phone from me and returned to sit behind me, releasing my head in the process. "Hey!"
"She's afraid of dolphins!" he told Sarina whilst laughing, embarrassing me even further by revealing my phobia.
"Give that back!" I tried to grab the phone, but his tall figure made sure to keep it out of reach, his other arms wrapped around my waist to keep me from jumping up to my phone. I could hear Sarina's loud laughing, Alejandro following her example. "This isn't funny!"
"It sure is. But don't worry, we all have things we are afraid of," Alejandro said, rising from the bed and moving towards the closet where I had hung two outfits. "But listen, Sarina, our dear Princess here is in a bit of a dilemma,"
"How so?" I heard Sarina ask.
"Well, tomorrow we are going to the Ibiza Island and Mel cannot decide on what to wear! It is absolutely terrible!" his dramatic actions made it sound apocalyptic, and I blushed in embarrassment. "But after rummaging through Her Highness's highly compressed packing of cloths, we have managed to narrow it down to two swimsuits. Exhibit A!" he announced, turning the camera to the first outfit. He was making fun of me, I knew it. I was so embarrassed I wanted to die. "We have a nice minty pastel green crochet bikini with a high chest because Princess is afraid of cleavage. Exhibit B!" I buried myself under the pillows, hiding my blushing face from the world. "We have a frilly pastel pink one-piece with cut-out sides. What is your vote?" I could hear Sarina hum in thought.
"But the one-piece has V-neck so maybe not,"
"Yes but the see the bikini..." I couldn't believe my ears. My best-friend and my newest friend were arguing about clothes and colours. I had never expected anything like this to happen.
"But pink is so... girly!"
"Unless you weren't aware, Mel is a girl!"
"The green is so much cuter!" these were the people I had decided to trust. I hid myself under the pillows even more.
"She might feel more secure in the one-piece!"
"Secure? Have you seen her body? She's stunning!" while they were bickering I heard these words from Sarina and I immediately blushed, silently squealing to myself. She liked my appearance?
Eventually the arguing stopped when I chose to wear the bikini, Alejandro grumbling to himself. We bid Sarina a farewell, seeing as she had practice to return to.
"You two will be the death of me," I told Alejandro, following him down to the feasting hall for dinner. The corridors sounded by his forever pleasing laugh.
♕♥ ♕♥ ♕
"Asombroso!" I exclaimed at the sight of the private royal beach, the clear turquoise waters enticing and the pure white sands tickling my feet. I had only ever been at a beach once in my life when I was younger, but now I could actually appreciate it. Alejandro stood next to me shirtless, but I tried to ignore that fact. The security team stood surrounding the beach, but in my fit of excitement I ignored everything else. I tossed down my bag and towel, running towards the ocean. Alejandro chuckled at my childish excitement.
I removed my dress as I ran, dumping it somewhere on the beach before diving straight into the warm waters. I loved the feeling of swimming and nothing had changed with my years of aging. I dove deep under the waves, spotting the gentle sea life beneath my form. I heard a splash and looked up to sea Alejandro diving down towards me, a smile on his face. I returned the smile, heading back up for air.
My fairy-tale dream as a child was not to be a fairy, or have a pony, or even to be a princess (that was before my mother explained to me exactly who I was) but I wanted to be a mermaid. I still fantasize about such realities. I would happily give up being a human princess just to be a mermaid. It would be so much simpler then.
"You're a natural swimmer," Alejandro told me, panting slightly as we hovered in the waters.
"No, it's because I did a sport," ballet counted as an intense sport and nobody could tell me otherwise. "What have you been doing?"
"Uhm... getting hand cramps," he explained.
"Paperwork?"
"Wait until you have it," I wasn't excited for that part. "But you'll be a natural. I can tell," I scoffed in disbelief.
"How?"
"You're smart," I shook my head.
"Not on paper,"
"You are fluent in three languages,"
"Not when writing it!" we had a blast. The ocean stayed warm until late the evening when the security team pulled us away, stating they didn't want sick royalty. We weren't entirely dry when we headed back to the hotel, having to fill the insides with towels. Our throats hurt with laughter as we teased each other, making silly assumptions and basically resorting back to our childish selves. It was a change of scenery to feel this free again and I was treasuring every moment of it.
"This was a fun day," I admitted, staring out the window with an expression of awe. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves so much, tourists roaming every inch of the place while the locals seemed contempt with how their day was progressing. Still, it was strange to see so many people in swimsuits. As we rode past I spotted one of the local beaches. A massive crowd was formulating, a stage with a DJ booth standing tall on the beach. Coloured smoke rose up over the people, music blaring while people were dancing.
I had never been at a beach party before.
I looked towards Alejandro with an excited question, pleading eyes. He sighed and looked over me at the crowd before slowly nodding his head.
"Why not? Driver, please stop the car," we parked near the beach and he escorted me down to the crowd. We had put on sunglasses but with this crazy amount of people and lights blinding, there was almost no way we'd get recognized. I grabbed his hand and dragged him a little ways into the crowd, my excitement taking over as I danced like a maniac. I didn't know how to dance in these kinds of situations. Give me a choreographed routine and I'll do it, but this? Swinging my hips felt so strange yet surprisingly pleasant. Alejandro felt and looked awkward but soon joined my sad attempts at dancing.
People bumped into each other and I was sent flying into Alexandro's arms. He could only laugh at my shocked expression, dancing with me in his arms. It felt strangely familiar.
My mind went to Sarina and I remembered how we had danced under the moonlight in the park. It felt different back then, but it felt more satisfying last time. We had been alone and there were no eyes on us. It was personal and it had touched my heart. We had stared into each other's eyes and it was connecting. Now, with me being so short and everyone tugging at our sides, I could only lay my head on Alejandro's chest. It felt good to just move around a little, releasing built up tension I didn't know I possessed. But honestly, if I could, I would rather have Sarina in my arms than Alejandro.
And that thought scared me.
♕♥ ♕♥ ♕
"My head is so sore. I wish they could've turned the music down a little," I groaned the next morning, Alejandro seated next to me as we rode towards the airport.
"But you looked like you enjoyed yourself," I nodded in affirmation.
"Indeed. It was a change of pace, and I enjoyed it. I had never done anything like that so it felt strange to be a part of something so large. I feel like I'm contributing to something," Alejandro smiled and scooted next to me, taking me into his arms for a hug as he gently patted my aching head.
"One day, you will do much more and I can't wait to see you like that. You are strong and confident, but you don't believe in yourself. You should be a little less selfless and treat yourself," I chuckled at his words, shaking my loose hair against his chest.
"Well, I'm basically on vacation now, aren't I?" he rolled his eyes in a sarcastic manner.
"I guess so. So for the next week, you have to stop thinking about everything that's going to happen and just live in the moment. You deserve that much and more," I stayed quiet for a moment, internally shocked at how well he could read me. He barely knew me and could already tell what I was thinking about. Was I that easy to read?
"Why are you so nice to me?" he scrunched up his face and chuckled at my question.
"That's a strange question,"
"Well, I'm just someone you got stuck with because of our parents," he shook his head.
"That's not true. I wouldn't just treat anyone like this," he smiled at me, but I furrowed my brows at him in question. "Well, I kind of wanted to get to know the Princess who socketed her boyfriend so hard that she fractured her hand," I couldn't help but to laugh at his response, sitting up straight to regard to him.
"Even princesses can get angry, pretty boy," he rolled his eyes, shaking his head at me in disbelief.
"But not every princess has feelings for another girl," at his words, my face scrunched up in many different emotions. I felt confused and full of questions, but I also felt guilt and embarrassment. Why? Why did I feel like this at his silly tease?
"Maybe you should climb down your high horse and come see reality," I responded, rolling my eyes in annoyance.
"I already have," he stated, and I looked up at him with question. "I saw how you and Sarina are. I've seen friendships before, and you and Sarina aren't just besties. There's something between you two," I scoffed at his accusations. That's what they were, just accusations. None of it was true. I didn't have that sort of feelings for Sarina. I was sure of it.
"No. No there isn't," I told him sternly, shaking my head. He shrugged his shoulders, looking at me innocently with a knowing glance.
"Denial," he told me with a sly grin, his adorable nose scrunched up. That just proved it even more, didn't it? I thought Alejandro was good-looking and I was attracted to him and his personality. Sure, I don't think I'd ever want a real relationship with him because of our different livings. He was looking for a Queen, and I was looking for a King but they were for two different countries. And he was older than me. It would never work out between us, so I never let my mind drift to far from reality. So why was I so affected by his teasing?
"I do not like Sarina! I don't even swing that way," I tried to make him understand how silly he was being, but he just gave me the same grin.
"Maybe you need some time to think it over. I don't think you've realized your feeling before," this was getting ridiculous and I seriously disliked how he was convinced he knew me. He didn't, and he certainly wasn't going to if he kept accusing me of untruthful facts. I scoffed at him, turning my head away to look out of the window. I could still feel his gaze on me but I didn't dare meet it.
My thoughts were jumbled as I regarded the beautiful island we were leaving, but I didn't even take the time to appreciate the sight. Instead my mind went to the other person Alejandro had made a victim of. Sarina wasn't like that anyway, so what did it help to even think about it? She was my friend, and she was always there for me. She cared for me and always listened to my problems, not once letting her own feelings get involved as she was unprejudiced. Sarina was the perfect person to have by my side.
But was that all I truly wanted from her?
The thought struck me light a bolt into my spine, my hand moving up to my lips to contain my gasp. I couldn't stop thinking about her and I had more than once admitted to myself of how beautiful I thought she was. She was elegant and amazing, and I didn't want to hurt her. I tried to keep my problems from her because I didn't want her involved. I cared for her greatly, more than I care to admit. I preferred her over Caleb and even Alejandro, and now I wasn't so sure of myself. I knew before that she wouldn't leave me and I trusted her more because she was open with me.
But was that all? Was that the only reason why?
I felt emotional and I couldn't understand why. I felt as if I had just uncovered a massive secret about someone I knew, just like when I discovered Caleb cheating on me. But this felt even worse. My heart was pounding and I wanted to cry but I couldn't understand why. I was happy and terrified and miserable all at once.
Bloody hell, why did she have to be so perfect?
"Alejandro?" I addressed, thankful that my voice didn't crack. I didn't look back at him as he responded to me.
"Yes?"
"You son of a bitch,"