Excerpted from A Dove's Tale for The Ultimate Fanfic Anthology's Love is Love open call by Fanfic.

*****

It was about four thirty when I left the kitchen, meaning I still had a half hour to waste until I left. That was part of the surprise. If I got home early, Mother would immediately know something was going on, and given the day, she would suspect I had a surprise for her. She wouldn't be suspicious if I got home at six o'clock. I could sneak the beignets in behind my back and surprise her with them after dinner. Maybe I could heat them up on the stove while I was cooking dinner, and then pretend not to notice the smell when she started asking me about it.

I was really looking forward to this.

But, first, I had a half hour to kill.

I knocked on Prince Chevalier's private library door and let myself in. He was in his chair reading, and he looked up with mild surprise and annoyance when I entered.

Surprise? He hadn't forgotten I was bringing him beignets, had he? He never forgot anything.

"I wasn't sure if you'd had your tea yet, Prince Chevalier, so I thought I should bring it before I left. The beignets turned out wonderfully," I said, setting his tea and beignets on the end table.

"That's all you're taking to your mother?" he asked, nodding toward the small bundle I was carrying as he set his book down.

"She doesn't have much of an appetite lately, your highness. This will be plenty for her."

More than enough, actually. I'd be happy if she just ate one. It occurred to me I had enough time to stop by Prince Licht's room and give him a couple of beignets. He'd told me to stay away, but I hadn't had a chance to thank him for knocking Jack out and stopping his horrible stream of insults that awful day. And staying here with Prince Chevalier for a half hour probably wasn't a safe option, even if he wasn't currently teasing me. That could change in an instant.

But he wasn't teasing me right now, and he asked about my mother, which somehow made it more comfortable here in this little room with him.

I glanced at the clock, gauging how much time I had left.

"Do you know what stones make up Prince Yves' earring?" I asked impulsively.

Prince Chevalier took a sip of tea, apparently unsurprised by my random question. "Rhodolite garnets and obsidian."

I nodded thoughtfully. "That makes sense. He said it was his mother's. Why didn't you tell me about Prince Yves' mother, Prince Chevalier?"

"I didn't think it would matter to you," he replied coolly, biting into a beignet.

"It doesn't, your highness, but it matters to him." I sighed. "But I guess it's none of my business."

Prince Chevalier smirked. "No, it's not. These are good."

That smirk set off alarm bells, but the rare compliment muted them somewhat.

"Thank you, your highness," I replied, smiling brightly. "And this isn't any of my business, either, but Prince Yves doesn't think you trust him."

Prince Chevalier chuckled. "I'm aware of that." He propped up his elbow on the arm of his chair and rested his chin in his hand, an amused smile on his lips. "It's almost five o'clock, and I gave you the afternoon off. What are you doing here?"

Playing with fire, according to the little voice.

I shrugged. "Mother doesn't know about my afternoon off, your highness, and I think it will surprise her more if I arrive at my usual time with her favorite dessert. Besides, I promised to bring you some beignets, and it was a bit loud in the kitchen, once all your brothers came to eat."

He sighed, and then he stood up, picking up a beignet and walking over to me. "Did you even get to eat one?"

"Well, no, I didn't, your highness," I said, trying not to blush as he stood over me with a teasing glint in his pale blue eyes. "But I'll have one after I get home."

"Here."

He held the beignet up to my mouth, and I shook my head and took a step back as my cheeks suddenly blazed with heat.

"Prince Chevalier—"

"Is something wrong?" he asked teasingly.

"I have my own, Prince Chevalier," I stammered, trying to maintain my composure.

"Oh? Are mine different from yours?" He stepped closer again. "Maybe the half-Obsidianite prince helped you poison mine."

"Prince Chevalier!" I protested, knowing full well that he was joking.

"Maybe I shouldn't trust him. Or you," Prince Chevalier continued, trapping me against the bookshelves.

I scowled up at him, trying to ignore my racing heart and the heat that was spreading to my ears. This was why I shouldn't have stayed. I should have left after I delivered the beignets and gone home. Jack was gone. There was no reason for me to feel unsafe about dallying along the way to waste time.

Except the nameless faces who frequented his brothel had nowhere to go for their preferred form of pleasure, meaning they were out on the streets, and I was still an easy target.

The predators I knew best were frightening and dangerous. The predators here in the palace were dangerous, too, but they took no for an answer, and I'd rather be here with them than be alone and vulnerable anywhere else.

"I'll make you a deal, Prince Chevalier."

He chuckled, his pale blue eyes amused. "I'm listening."

"If I eat that, you'll tell Prince Yves that you trust him."

His eyes narrowed slightly. "And you trust me to follow through on this?"

"I hope you're not admitting that you've ever lied to me, Prince Chevalier."

He smirked, holding the beignet up to my lips again. I bit my lip, and his eyes immediately dropped to my mouth, watching with far too much intensity as I reluctantly opened up and took a bite. My face felt like it was on fire. I didn't even taste the beignet, too flustered about how he was looking at me. His eyes flicked back up to mine, and he deliberately popped the rest of the beignet into his mouth before turning back to his chair with a smug smirk.

"Goodbye, Prince Chevalier," I said quickly, darting out the door.

Was it possible to die from embarrassment? Because I really felt like it was possible. My heart was beating so hard and so fast that it was probably going to explode right out of my chest, making a huge, bloody mess of the library and leaving me dead on the floor for Prince Chevalier to find later that night when he left. Maybe then he'd regret doing that to me. Or maybe that's what he wanted. He would smirk at my corpse and tell somebody to clean up the mess, and that would be that. Death by beignet. What an accomplishment.