BXBX NOVEL Chapter 13 - Lunch And Death Traps
Lunch was a more intimate affair than Samuel had expected it to be. He, Lena, Leo, and Zane were the only ones who were seated for lunch. Rather than the huge table that he had sat at for that morning's breakfast and dinner the night before, Zane had set up lunch to be eaten in what appeared to be a sunroom located in the eastern wing of the building. Due to the time of day, the sun was shining brightly through the windows creating plenty of natural light for the afternoon meal but not enough to make it hard for anyone to see.
Zane seemed intently focused on reading the book in his hand even after the door had opened, Leo enter first this time. It was until the younger son spoke that he lifted his head to pay attention.
"I apologize for the delay father. Sam was out exploring the property trying to get familiar with everything and Lena was with him." Leo explained. Samuel was thankful for the fact that he chose to omit the fact that Lena wasn't exploring with him as much as she was attacking him. He was also not sure how he felt about the younger sibling choosing to shorten his name to 'Sam' without asking if it would bother him.
"He didn't think he needed to let anyone know where he was going or what he was up to despite the fact that he's new around here." Lena added as she moved past Leo to take her place to the right side of her father. "Not even here for a full day yet and he's already getting into trouble." Her husband-to-be didn't appreciate her comments, but he held back from saying anything as Zane looked between the three of them. Leo gave Samuel a small nudge to his lower back to get him to move further into the sunroom before stepping around him to take his seat on the left side of his father.
"It takes a lot of time to adjust to all of this, especially for someone who is not accustomed with this style of living." Zane told the princess as he turned his attention to Samuel who was still standing not too far inside the door, not yet having taken his seat at the table. "Come now, don't be shy about sitting yourself. While you're here and until you two get married, your seat will always be on the right side of Lena's when we eat."
"Thank you, Sir. I will keep that in mind from now on." He replied as he looked at spot next to Lena, a bit weary to sit down next to the girl who had not so long ago been trying to ravage him. Although the indifferent, annoyed expression had returned to her face making it hard for him to know what she was thinking, her aura told him that she was still annoyed at him and moving further away from accepting him as her future husband.
Nonetheless, Samuel moved to take his seat at the table so that the family could start eating. The meal seat out on the table consisted of an assortment of rather fancy looking sandwiches with an assortment of meats, cheeses, and vegetables. Cantaloupe was also set out at each spot in blows, which he assumed as for a light afternoon 'dessert'. Once again, everything that he was eaten was of a much higher quality than what he had been used to eating at home. As much as he enjoyed it, he also missed his mother's cooking and how it felt to have a simple meal to eat.
Samuel took his time eating while everyone else who was more accustomed to the food was tucking in. The conversation during the meal was at least interesting and focused on Leo's time on Europe which he found to fascinating to listen to and easy to understand as it mainly focused on school and what he learned over there that was different from living in America. Samuel had always hoped to one day be able to travel, he wasn't sure what Lena's plans were or if she'd be interested in it, but if he had his way- there would at least be one kind of vacation/traveling trip each year. It was something that his family had always wanted to do, but due to their financial situation and not wanting to risk anything happening to their eldest son less they are forced to pay back the Red Scorpions or worse yet, they decided that they would keep their travel to only a few hours from where they lived and on trips that there was a low chance of anything going wrong.
"Father, I did learn how to drive there, but the roads are different from here. I spent so much time over there that everything is backwards here. I don't think that I could handle getting on the road with ending up in a crash because I'm driving on the wrong side." Leo complained as he tried to reason with his father as to why he should still be allowed to have Clive be his personal driver despite having learned to drive himself. "Lena rarely goes out anyways and besides that, you let her have that death trap that she always prefers to drive herself around in rather than asking Clive to take her anywhere anyways." Samuel turned his head towards Lena when he heard her younger brother use the words 'death trap'.
"It's not a deathtrap if you know how to use it right, you're just clumsy and could never pick it up as quickly as I did." Lena retorted, appearing rather defensive of the vehicle that her brother was complaining about. "The feeling of the wind is nice, and it is a lot quicker and easier to get around on than driving a car anyways. Plus, I have a clean record of driving thus far."
"Do you ride a motorcycle?" Samuel questioned, speaking up for the first time during the meal with something akin to interest in his voice. Lena turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Are there any other vehicles that people usually refer to as a death trap by?" She replied.
"I don't think so, but beyond cars, motorcycles and such aren't something I am very familiar with. Could I see it some time?" He asked, he was trying to keep his inquisitive nature in check as he was didn't want to come across as too excited over something that she might think was simple such as being around a motorcycle.
Samuel had always been interested in driving one, but his parents refused to allow it as they felt it might be too dangerous for him to drive one on the road around other cars who might not be as careful as he would be.
Lena smirked in response to his reply as she finished the bite of sandwich in her mouth. "Maybe if you're good, you'll get the chance to see it before you leave, and if I am feeling generous, we can go for a ride."
"You'd actually let me?" He questioned back, a hint of disbelief in his voice as Lena just shrugged her shoulders.
"it's made to fit two people, but I haven't taken anyone else to ride along in years so I can't promise it would be smooth." She replied, picking up another sandwich on the table as her attention returned to the food in front of her. Zane didn't say anything as he watched the two interact, but he had a bit of smirk on his face as well as though there was something that found amusing that Samuel didn't quite understand while Leo was the one who spoke up.
"I love my sister, but I wouldn't be so eager to accept her offer if I were you. I have ridden wither her a few times and let's just say she likes to speed." Samuel seemed unphased about what he said and instead returned his warning with a question.
"But isn't speed what's supposed to be the fun part of driving on a motorcycle?" He asked. In his mind that was the part that had always interested him the most. He wanted to know what it would feel like to speed that fast and feel the wind moving around him. He had heard people talk about her exhilarating it felt and he wanted to experience once for himself.
"I think the speeding you're thinking about and how Lena drives are two different things. If you do decide to accept and something happens, just remember that I did try to warn you before you agreed to selling your life." Leo's response was a bit on the dramatic side. He let out a hiss as the princess kicked his shin under the table.
"Don't be so rude as to insult your older sibling when they're sitting right here next to you." She warned, fixing him with a heavy glare as he retuned the look with a sheepish smile. The conversation continued like this for some time as Samuel half listened to what was being discussed while his mind was preoccupied on what it would feel like Lena was being honest with him and he did get the chance to ride her motorcycle with her. He wasn't sure that he trusted her to be careful with him considering the way her behavior kept shift from blowing hot to cold from one hour to the next, but it wasn't enough for a concern for him that he thought about rejecting her offer for a chance to ride.
The conversation and his thoughts were disrupted as Zane spoke up once most of the food had been finished and more conversation was going on than eating.
"Lena, why don't you take Samuel with you for your afternoon lessons? It will give you two a chance to spend more time together and he can get to know some of the things that he will be expected to learn if he does not already have experience with them once you two get married."