The Odd Couple

With her address to the people and her last minute coronation being tomorrow, Katherine was a bundle of nerves.

She was grateful when Jasper showed up just minutes after she layed down, and she was even more grateful when he climbed into bed next to her and brought her close to lean on his chest.

He was the only person who could ease her tensions, and she had no problem falling asleep once he was holding her.

She told herself that she would tell him about Charles' visit after they both were well rested.

Nightmares did not wake Katherine up, but Jasper did as he gently shook her shoulder.

She turned and smiled up at him but she immediately recognized aggravation on his face.

Before she had the chance to ask why he looked upset, he asked her, "The kitchen called and said dinner was ready for you and Prince Charles Lux?"

She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sat up. "I was going to tell you once we woke up, but when I walked into my room after you left to shower, Charles was already in here and waiting for me. We need to have a guard posted outside of my room at all times if just anyone can walk in like that. But anyways, he asked to have dinner and I said yes to get him to leave faster since I wasn't feeling well."

Jasper stared at her as if she told him a purple giraffe was in her shower. Katherine watched as his face turned from shock, to pensiveness, to anger.

Once he seemed to run through every emotion, he picked up his cell phone and immediately dialed someone. When whoever it was answered, Jasper spoke with authority, "I need a guard posted at the Queen's room at all times, twenty-four seven. Under no circumstances is her room allowed to be left unattended, and it will be swept before she enters from now on. Make sure it's known that that is the new protocol."

He hung up the phone and turned back to Katherine. "Why does he want to have dinner with you?"

The anger was still washed all over his face, and Katherine knew that her answer would just make it worse, but she chose to be honest with him.

"He wants to be my friend," she answered in a calm voice.

Jasper scoffed and shook his head before he said, "So his strategy is to rope you in as a friend before he gets you to agree to marry him of your own freewill. Smart, that one."

Katherine sat up straighter and furrowed her brow. "No, he's not like that." She did not know why she felt the need to be defensive of Charles. It's not even like she knew him all that well; they were acquaintances at best.

"Oh, because you know him so well?" he snapped.

She knew he was not lashing out because he was upset with her. It was difficult for him to stand by and watch as the woman he loved was promised to someone else, knowing he could do nothing because of his status.

All Jasper could do was stand by and watch as Katherine slowly slipped from his fingers. He would never be good enough for her.

It made her heart break even more for him, which is why she let her face soften as she grabbed his face to force him to look at her. "You know I love you, right?" she asked him.

He leaned into her touch as he closed his eyes and sighed. "I love you too," he said in a quieter voice.

The tensions from the attack and Katherine's impending marriage had been causing the two of them to fight more than they ever had before, and Katherine was done fighting.

She pulled his face to hers and kissed him softly once. When they broke the kiss, she told him, "I'm going to go to dinner now. You should go eat something too. Plenty of guards will be in the dining hall to protect me. Take a break, Jas."

Not only did she know that he needed a break because he had been watching her nonstop since the attack, but she didn't want to make him sit and watch while she had dinner with the man who would eventually take her away from him.

She loved him too much to put him through even more pain than he already had to go through.

"Okay, but I'm walking you there, and I expect you to call me when you're done so I can walk you back here."

It appeared that he was done fighting as well.

"Okay," Katherine agreed.

Jasper got out of bed and pulled Katherine up with him, and the two of them walked hand-in-hand to the dining room.

They walked in silence, and when they reached the door, Jasper gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before he turned to walk away. "Don't forget to call me when you're done," he said over his shoulder.

Katherine took a moment for herself to take a breath in and out before she nodded to the guard to open the door for her to enter and join Charles.

She entered the dining room and saw that Charles had already taken a seat and started drinking some red wine.

He quickly stood up when he saw her, and a smile pulled at his lips. "You look comfy," he said with a small chuckle.

Katherine, confused, looked down and noticed that she was still in the grey sweat suit that she had put on to take a nap in after Charles had left her room earlier.

Embarrassed, she quickly tried to explain, "I apologize, I've had a migraine all day and apparently it's turned my brain into a scramble. I forgot to change after I rested."

He was wearing a pressed black suit. They could not look more mismatched.

'How fitting,' she thought to herself once she took in his appearance-- people thought Katherine to be the Queen who was a disaster and in over her head, and she certainly looked the part, while everyone loved Prince Charles, who looked very well put together.

And of course Jasper had said nothing before they left her room. Cheeky guy.

"Please don't apologize," he started. His face twisted slightly and he asked, "Are you feeling better? Should we reschedule?"

"I'm fine, thank you," she said as she joined him at the table. She was grateful her head felt better because she knew she would probably barely be able to handle this dinner as is, let alone if her brain was trying to break free from her skull.

Once she was seated, Charles sat too, and his chocolate eyes peeked up at her through his long lashes.

He looked like he had something he wanted to say, but was not sure how to say it.

Unable to stand the awkward silence, Katherine cleared her throat and asked, "So how do we do this?"

Confusion spread over Charles' face. "What?"

"Casually have dinner like friends would," she replied.

A crooked smile pulled at his lips, and he shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I don't think I've ever actually had a friend before, have you?"

Katherine's heart sank thinking about Jasper who was the only person who had ever been a friend to her. Of course, he had become more than that, too, over the years.

"Just one," she said with reserve.

Charles' eyebrows went up in surprise, and his smile widened. "Well then it sounds like I should be the one asking you for advice, not the other way around."

Much to her relief, the kitchen staff interrupted them by bringing out their meals, so Katherine was able to avoid being put in the hot seat.

They started eating their steak and salad dinner in silence. Katherine was fine with the quiet, but she noticed how uncomfortable Charles looked.

He fidgeted with his hair and he constantly shifted his weight in his chair until he looked across the table at her and ranted, "How are you holding up with everything? I know your dad's funeral and your coronation are both tomorrow. Have you even had time to process? I don't think anyone would blame you if you needed time for yourself."

Katherine put her fork down and sat back in her chair. "No one has thought to ask me how I'm holding up. You're the first."

She continued to look down at her plate in a weak attempt to hide the sadness she could feel threatening to spill from her eyes. The truth was, she didn't really have time to process everything that had happened just days ago.

Charles reached across the table and placed his hand on top of hers.

She wanted to pull away, but at the same time it felt so nice to be comforted.

"I can stand with you tomorrow at the funeral, if you want. I know your mom isn't here right now, and you shouldn't have to do this alone."

Katherine was able to hold her tears back, but hearing that nearly broke her. She looked up at him and saw the sincerity in his eyes.

As much as she didn't want to trust that he had good intentions, she was a great judge of character, and she really believed he was just being nice. But that didn't mean she was willing to let her guard down around him.

Needing to change the subject so she could keep her emotions hidden, she quickly pulled her hand away and cleared her throat before she asked, "If you weren't a prince and future king, who would you hope to be?"