The Wizard Prince's Secret Soulmate

Chapter 6

Somehow, Matteo’s father was distracted enough with his guests, that he didn’t notice him sneaking into his room. But he didn’t want to complain, he used the opportunity to take a hot shower and get dressed, before he went downstairs to join his family in the dining room. Tomorrow would be the big party, for tonight, they’d only have an intimate family dinner.

As soon as he walked into the room, his eyes fell upon his mother. She looked much younger than she was, and her skin was smooth and free of any signs of aging from years of refraining to smile. He quickly walked over and gently embraced her small figure, kissing the air next to her cheeks.

“Matteo, welcome home,” his father’s deep voice demanded his attention, and Matteo looked up at the imposing figure that was the King of the Northern Italian Wizards.

“Good evening, father,” he replied, before looking around the room.

Emma, his fiancée was looking at him expectantly standing next to her parents, making him want to turn around and leave the room again. Instead, he walked over to their guests and shook his future father-in-law’s hand.

“Mr Gruber, it is good to see you,” he welcomed him, faking a smile, praying it looked sincere.

“Mrs Gruber, nice to meet you as well,” he turned towards Emma’s mother, politely nodding in her direction.

Emma looked at him as if he was the best thing since sliced bread, smiling up brightly at him. She was beautiful, tall, long black hair, bright green, slightly almond shaped eyes. She seemed to be genuinely happy to finally see him, which made it even harder for Matteo to be unhappy with his father’s decision. Someone would definitely be happy to marry this girl, but this someone wouldn’t be him, and he realized that he felt bad for this girl. She was exactly what some men were looking for in a wife, but his mind was still wrapped tightly around a certain curly haired brunette, especially now that he had found her again, even though he didn’t understand why.

Before he could say anything else, his mother informed them that the food was being served, and he took his seat at the table, on the left side of his father, opposite his mother. Thankfully, Altea sat down next to him, so he wouldn’t be forced into spending an awkward evening with Emma, who still hadn’t uttered a single word, but seemed to be content to just sit at the table with him.

The servants brought the first course, vitello tonnato, thinly sliced veal with tuna sauce. Matteo realized how hungry he was, and he was glad that he could busy himself with his meal and just listen to the conversation that happened around him. His father and Mr Gruber were starting to plan the alliance between their families, and that was his cue to turn towards his sister and tune the others out.

“So, Altea, how are your studies going?”

She raised an eyebrow, knowing exactly why he was suddenly so interested in her life, but she decided to humour him.

“It’s actually getting quite interesting, Matteo, we are currently talking about how traditional and modern concepts are put together to ensure that our apple growth…”

Matteo smiled and listened with one ear, nodding whenever it seemed appropriate, while his sister explained what she was currently learning in her course. She was working on her bachelor degree in Agricultural, Food and Mountain Environmental Sciences, that was taught at the university in Bozen. She wanted to understand, how different crops were growing, and how to integrate modern concepts like sustainability and protection of the environment, something he would usually also be very interested in, however, his mind started to wander, imagining his date with Aurora tomorrow.

Where would they even go at 7 in the morning? He felt a little bit stupid to agreeing to meet at such an early hour, but he was just too eager to meet her again and didn’t want to wait any longer. Thankfully, he was a morning person and didn’t require much sleep anyways, so if she had asked him to meet even earlier, it wouldn’t have been an issue for him.

“Matteo, are you even listening to me?” Altea’s voice broke through his thoughts, and he hoped she didn’t ask him any questions.

“I’m sorry, sorellina, I was… distracted…” Honesty was always the best policy with his sister, but when she eyed him curiously, he just slightly shook his head, indicating that he didn’t want to talk about it here.

The servants were bringing grilled trout and potatoes, and again he focused on cleaning the whole fish in front of him, rather than talking to anyone. At least one good thing was guaranteed when he came home – the food was delicious. His family employed several chefs, servers and maids, who were loyal to them and took great pride in their positions at the castle, making sure that the king and his family never had to complain about anything. The chefs had been here since before Matteo was born, they knew exactly what the family liked and disliked, and prepared everything exactly the way his father wanted them to. Looking at their guests, it seemed they enjoyed their meal just as much, even though Emma was not eating everything that was on her plate. Matteo had to keep himself from rolling his eyes. Women and their diets, he would never understand them.

Thankfully, it was already time for dessert, and Matteo quickly ate his portion of tiramisu with raspberries, before excusing himself, saying that he was tired from the long drive. His parents just waved him off, but Altea shot him a glare that told him she would come by later and bombard him with questions. He winked at her and left, feeling Emma’s stare in his back, but he didn’t want to turn around and give her any hope. He had listened to her conversations with his mother, and she was a nice girl, but she was so… not Aurora. He couldn’t even pinpoint exactly what he didn’t like about her, he just knew that he didn’t want to marry her.

Sighing, he pushed the door to his bedroom open and lay down on his bed before he pulled out his phone. He got a message from an unknown number. Matteo smiled when he opened it and saw that Aurora had texted him her address and a smiley face. He couldn’t wait to see her, even though this was probably the stupidest thing he had ever done in his life. But then again, he was young, he was expected to do stupid things, right? He wasn’t yet married, so he should definitely still enjoy whatever life had to offer.

After a little while, he heard a knock on his door, and Altea walked in without waiting for him to answer.

“Alright, brother, tell me all about her.”

Matteo was confused.

“I didn’t even talk to Emma, what do you want me to tell you?”

His sister gave him a look that implied she had never seen a bigger i***t in her entire life before clarifying.

“Not Emma, scemo (i***t), the girl you have been thinking about this entire evening!”

“I’m not sure I…” he tried to wiggle his way out of it, but she shut him up with a single gesture.

“Oh please, don’t lie to me. You didn’t listen to a word I said, but you smiled like a crazy person, your eyes were looking into the distance… I know you, brother. You were thinking about a girl, admit it.”

He knew having a little sister was a pain, but living far away from her had made him forget just how much of a pain it was.

“Fine, yes. You are right, I was thinking about a girl,” he admitted, and she grinned.

“I knew it. So, tell me all about her!”

“Well, there isn’t much to tell, I only met her once… well, twice, actually, but the second time was really brief…” he started to trail off, but his nosy sister quickly steered him back to where she wanted him.

“What’s her name?”

“Her name, if you must know, is Aurora.”

“And is she…?” Matteo knew what Altea meant.

“That’s the weird part… I don’t know. She seems human, and she didn’t say anything about not being human, but today…”

“You saw her today?!” his sister yelled, and he shushed her. God forbid their parents actually heard them talking about another girl the day before his engagement.

“Yes, I accidentally walked into the café she works at. Anyways, she nearly dropped something, but then it seemed like she stopped it from falling before she actually caught it. I wouldn’t even have noticed it if I hadn’t been looking at her, but in a way… I felt like she didn’t really do it on purpose, as if it was just sort of a reflex? I don’t know, Altea, but I want to find out.”

His sister had her finger on her chin, her thinking pose, as he liked to call it.

“Do you think she doesn’t know that she is a witch?”

He sighed, but before he could answer, she added.

“And anyways, do you believe it is wise to think about someone else when you are already promised to Emma? You will end up hurt, Matteo, and so will she. And Emma, probably, although she will most likely forgive you in a heartbeat, I mean, this girl… she is looking at you as if you hung the moon and the stars,” she laughed, but stopped when she noticed her brother’s pained face.

“I’m sorry, Matteo, you are in a difficult situation. Just… think about what you want to do, and I’ll be here if you need to talk to someone. I won’t tell mum and dad, promise.”

That’s the way they used to end their conversations when they were kids, and up to all sorts of pranks. They would tell each other what they had done that day, and then promised each other not to tell their parents. He smiled when he remembered all the things they had done, it really was a miracle that the entire staff didn’t quit on them, with everything they had to endure.

“Thank you, sorellina, I appreciate that.”

Altea got up to leave.

“Oh, I might be a little late for breakfast tomorrow, can you cover for me?” he asked before she could open the door.

“Of course, you can count on me, as usual,” she smirked before leaving him alone.