She had a choice to make, because there were three main groups to choose from.
The first consisted of five people, and if she recalled correctly, she’d already siphoned one of them her first day here. Steven, she thought. He was surrounded by one more muscular guy, a skinnier guy, a pretty brunette girl, and a chubbier blonde girl.
Group two had the other two she’d siphoned, Chloe and Travis. There was another black haired girl and another musclehead. She immediately dismissed that group, since there were only two fresh options to siphon and they were more paired off.
The last group had five people as well. She was interested in the fact that one of the more handsome boys seemed to be holding court. With golden hair and stunning blue eyes, there was something in his air that just screamed, ‘I’m above all of you.’ He had a pretty brunette next to him, one lanky redhead who appeared the bookish type, and two bodybuilders. They seemed to all be vying for the one guy’s attention, trying to get on his good side. She grinned. It was time to play with the other kids!
Walking rather smoothly over to the table, if she did say so herself, she smiled dazzlingly at them and indicated the lone seat at the table. “Mind if I join you?” Before they could say anything, she sat down, still smiling, and continued in the lull of the conversation that she’d created to make her appearance, “I’m Jade, by the way. What’re your names?”
The girl sniffed a little snootily. “Who said you could sit down? Have you no manners?” She probably didn’t want to fight for the attention of the golden boy, because he’d been mostly focused on her before Jade sat down. She had elegant straight chocolate colored hair that went down to mid-back, and Jade realized she was one of the few people she’d seen who wasn’t wearing it in a ponytail. She was pale, but her cheeks were rosy in her indignation, and her hazel eyes seemed to be spitting fire. Jade couldn’t help but notice her dress was magnificent, but also really low-cut, giving a nice show to the guys at the table. Show off.
Jade raised a brow quizzically, seeming to treat the girl as an amusing trifle as she replied, “Why, I do believe I decided that I could sit down. You don’t own the place, so I do believe I can sit anywhere that’s not already taken. If you have a problem with that, I’m sure we can discuss it.” She smirked, and there was an evil glint in her eyes that spelled trouble. It was a free world, dangit, and she wasn’t going to let some jealous girl stop her from siphoning everything that moved. These spoiled brats had likely been training in their special little programs since they were young, never appreciating what they had.
The girl seemed to read a little bit of the menace in her eyes and shrunk back, going silent. Jade grinned smugly. That’s better! She scanned the four guys expectantly. Were they going to introduce themselves or would they pick a fight?
Finally, one of the muscleheads spoke up, “You’re saying you don’t know who any of us are?” He was studying her incredulously. Apparently, they were supposed to be famous or something. She studied his buzzed brown hair, reminiscent of a military cut, which matched perfectly with his serious brown eyes. Honestly, he reminded her of Magic Mike. Which, obviously, none of the nurses had ever let her watch. Cough.
She shrugged, saying simply, “I haven’t a clue. Do you think I would have asked if I already knew?” She paused, then continued, “So why don’t you enlighten me?”
The girl seemed affronted by this, and she sneered, “Such a country bumpkin. You don’t even know the royal family!”
Jade sighed and was about to respond when Kaylee walked over with a larger than normal plate stacked high with pancakes, eggs, and bacon. It seemed that was the standard breakfast here. It also appeared that they’d decided to bring her everything at once, rather than having to go back multiple times when they were closing down. She set the plate down in front of Jade, saying cheerfully, “Here you are, miss.”
“Thank you, Kaylee.” She smiled graciously and accepted the fork and knife Kaylee was handing over.
“Oooh, fresh pancakes!” Musclehead two was reaching for her plate to steal her food. Seeing a brief flash of red and moving faster than she thought was possible, Jade stabbed her knife into the table in front of his hand. She glared at him, taking in his spiky light brown haircut. He had hazel eyes that seemed to be flecked with gold, and likewise sported a sleeveless tunic to show off his heavily muscled arms. He was also very obviously armed. Bad Old Spice model!
He stared blankly at the knife blocking his path, then peered up as she growled menacingly, “No one touches my food but me.” If looks could kill, he’d be dead. The others at the table stared too, not having seen when she moved the knife. She continued, menacing smile still in place, “If you want more, I’m sure you can ask Kaylee nicely, and she’ll bring you more. The next time you try to touch mine, I’ll take off a finger. Understood?” He gulped and nodded, obviously intimidated, which was rather funny, given his comparative size and armed capacity. Seeing as her message had been conveyed clearly, she pulled the knife out of the table and smiled at Kaylee, who was also staring at her in shock. “Kaylee, I believe he wants more pancakes.”
“Yes, miss. I’ll bring some right away.” She scurried away, slightly more scared of Jade than she had been before. Jade sighed. She’d have to have a talk with her afterward and placate her, but she wasn’t about to let herself be bullied or her food be stolen. She serenely wiped her knife off and began to daintily cut into her pancakes, inspecting the others serenely as she popped the food into her mouth.
Chewing deliberately, she swallowed before asking, “So, where were we? Ah yes, your names.” Her face was a mask of calm serenity, as if she hadn’t just threatened to cut off one of their fingers. Not that she would do that, mind you, but they didn’t know that. TV shows had taught her that the best threats were the ones people believed you were crazy enough to carry out. They didn’t call them threats though, but promises.
Seeming curious, the pretty golden boy finally spoke up, “I’m Prince Will. Where did you say you were from?”
Chapter Seventeen – Titles
She scrutinized ‘Prince Will’ for a moment. Carefully messy spiked golden hair topped a whipcord figure. His eyes were cornflower blue and contrasted with a perfectly sculpted face. Like almost everyone else here, you could tell he was muscled, though he seemed to err on the side of a lean endurance runner. His clothes were a quality step above everyone else she’d met so far, though the girl sitting at the table came close. The dark blue of his shirt contrasted magnificently too, and she could vaguely make out some kind of crest on the breast of the shirt.
She’d read about the different levels of the titles yesterday, but she hadn’t gotten any information on the current royal family. His question caught her as she had been eating quickly, though far more daintily than yesterday, when she’d just been shoving stuff down her throat to combat the hangover. She paused to chew and swallow, then asked, “Oh, was I supposed to say my title? I’m Lady Jade, and I didn’t say where I was from, because–”
She stopped there when she was interrupted by a guffaw from the girl, whom she was increasingly thinking was either an idiot or someone with a death wish. “You, a lady!? You wish! The court doesn’t have someone as barbaric as you in it!”
She calmly regarded the girl, her gaze turning icy. She cut her food, her knife making a purposeful little chink against the plate as she stared her down, deliberately taking a few bites. The girl was shrinking back, silent and intimidated once again. With a slow smile, she turned back to Prince Will and remonstrated, “Where I’m from, it’s deemed impolite to interrupt others. It’s considered rude, crude, and socially unacceptable.”