The next morning was something, to say the least. Robbie didn’t sleep well, even having brought his favorite blankets and pillows, drenched in the familiar scents of his family, of home, but all he did was toss and turn the entire night. At dawn, when he was just about to get out of bed himself, his newly appointed maids came in, presumably to wake him. He felt a little strange, knowing that these people were essentially here to babysit him, but apparently this was normal for nobles.

Casey seemed displeased by the bags under his eyes, but quickly assured him that it was nothing that makeup couldn’t fix. They helped him get ready, going so far as to dress him, this morning he was in another gown. Rowan apologized profusely, saying that they had gotten the message that he preferred suits, just that they needed time to tailor them.

Knowing that the King had kept his promise made Robbie feel warm inside.

Breakfast had gone smoothly enough, what with having been taught lessons on etiquette the night before, and Robbie was sat between two nice Omegas. He didn’t speak much, unsure of what to really say, but they didn’t seem to mind. This was supposed to be their first meal with King Scott, but he was surprisingly absent. Most of the talk of the table was about why, everyone coming up with their own predictions. Robbie wondered just how often things like this would happen, the King was probably a really busy man after all. The fact that he was taking time out of his busy schedule to host fifteen suitors was surprising.

After their meal they were whisked to their lessons. They were told this was mandatory, and that they’d happen for three hours, five days a week. Robbie ended up being one of the last to the room that’d been set up like a classroom, trailing behind the others as he studied the décor. There seemed to be paintings on every hallway, along with vases and plants and other luxurious items. The Palace was incredibly ornate, Robbie was kind of afraid that he might knock over one of the vases by accident. He was sure that each one of them cost more money than he’d ever seen in his life.

Their classroom was set up with eight tables, each one big enough to hold two people comfortably. By the time he entered the room, there was only two empty seats left, both by big, incredibly intimidating looking Alphas. Robbie cursed his luck, choosing one at random.

“Hi. Is it okay if I sit here?” He asked once he’d reached the table. The Alpha glanced up at him, and Robbie pointedly looked away. He wasn’t so used to being around Alphas, having been raised by Betas in a mostly Beta town, left his experience with the particular sub gender lacking. Still, he knew basic manners, not to look them quite in the eyes or raise his voice.

“Sure.” The Alpha said after a moment, and Robbie moved to sit. He lapsed into silence after that, though it wasn’t too awkward with the rest of the Suitors chattering around them. Robbie glanced up at his desk mate, finally noticing the silver lip ring shining in the Alpha’s bottom lip.

“They let you keep your piercing?” He cringed immediately after the sentence left his mouth, “Sorry, that was rude of me. My name is Robbie, by the way.”

“I just told them I wanted to keep it,” He replied, “I’m Allen.”

“They made me dye my hair, it was blue.” He sighed, pursing his lips so that he wouldn’t start pouting.

“Just dye it back.”

“I don’t think that’d be a good idea. Where would I even get hair dye?”

“I’ll get you some. I’ll even dye it for you if you’d like.”

Robbie watched Allen skeptically for a few moments, and if the Alpha noticed, he didn’t say anything. He was just fiddling with the rings on his fingers, bored expression on his face. “Yeah, sure.” He said finally, thinking that he was just being nice.

Their lesson began a few minutes later, something about their duties in the Palace. They were Suitors now, their tutor explained, but they were expected to start acting as though they were already royalty because one of them would be, eventually. Robbie stopped listening after that, his mind wandering onto other things. He had never done particularly well in a classroom setting if his lack of a high school diploma was anything to go by. He’d dropped out after his sophomore year, both from his plummeting GPA and his parents nagging at him to mate. It was an Omega’s place in the home, in their opinions, so he’d spent the last few years learning about cooking and doing chores, and other outdated ideas.

Things got a lot more interesting when the King entered the room. Again, Robbie was hit with just how much… presence that the King had. All eyes were on him, because he had just barged into the room, but also because he looked so intense. He was frowning as his eyes scanned over the classroom, making his way towards the front.

“You don’t mind if I take over your lesson for a bit, do you, Ms. Harmon?” He asked, though it wasn’t really necessary.

Ms. Harmon, their tutor, bowed shortly. “Of course not, Your Majesty. Shall I wait outside?”

“That would be lovely. Thank you.” He smiled politely, busying himself with connecting the laptop in his hands to the projector as he waited for the teacher to leave the room. Once the door clicked shut behind her, he was looking over the class again. “I do apologize for appearing so abruptly, but these lessons are meant to prepare you to be a fitting mate, to get you ready for being royalty. As such, I will occasionally give lessons of my own, when the need arises.”

Scott sat down in the desk chair, leaning back, and clasping his hands together in front of him. “I’m sure you’re all aware of my presence in the media, and often what the tabloids speculate of me. Most of these rumors have been unfounded… but it seems they’ve really outdone themselves this time. You’ll all see the picture sooner or later, I’m sure, so let me be the first to show you.”

King Scott heaved a sigh as he leaned forward, clicking a few buttons of the laptop before it projected onto the screen behind him. Suddenly a rather… inappropriate picture was on the board. The King was laying on a bed, neck and chest exposed, lips shiny as he stared into the camera. There was a hand on his chest, nearly wrapped around his throat. Although there wasn’t anything necessarily explicit, it was certainly implicit. Anyone looking at the picture would know what was happening. It had Robbie’s cheeks warming, and he looked away as those around him gasped and began whispering amongst each other.

“This morning, Lustrous Illustrated released this as their cover, along with their speculations about it. Their sales are off the charts.” The King chuckled darkly, “I, meanwhile, have been in a meeting with my Advisors since dawn. They haven’t been so helpful, the useless bunch of old Betas. Which is why I’m here. I want a fresh look on solutions for this issue. Speak freely, I’d like to hear ideas.”

“Have you made an official statement yet?” One of the Alphas piped up almost immediately.

“Not yet, no. The person… who was keeping me company will also remain anonymous.”

“You could take the magazine down?”

“It’s already all over the internet.” Another said, “It’d just make him look like he’s guilty.”

“Claim it’s photoshop?”

“I assure you, Mr. Sunders, it’s not photoshop.” King Scott said, and the room fell silent again, everyone looking to the Omega. He laughed, not seeming uncomfortable at all under their stares. “The rumors of me exist for a reason, I will not lie to any of you. The photo is real, though I’m not sure how it fell into their hands.”

“You could issue a formal apology and own up to it.” A Beta called out.

“What exactly,” The King’s tone turned sharp, eyes narrowing slightly, “Would I be apologizing for?”

The Beta opened his mouth, but King Scott held his hand up, cutting them off before they could respond. “Actually, don’t answer that, I hate stupid responses.” Just like that, the easy air that had surrounded the classroom was gone. The King sat forward, seeming to gather his thoughts before he continued. “There seems to be this idea that I’m some sort of robot, that I’m this inhuman being that only exists to create turmoil within the kingdom and occasionally give boring speeches. Believe it or not, I am a human, and like most humans…”

Robbie would have continued to listen, but he was too busy looking at the picture still on the screen. King Scott was in such a vulnerable position in the photo, something that he had trusted with the unknown photographer. It wasn’t meant to be publicly shared with the entire Kingdom, let alone how it had probably reached other countries at this point.

“Don’t you feel violated?” The words were out of his mouth before he could think about stopping them, completely interrupting the King. Said man fell silent, and Robbie flushed as those eyes fell on him, mortification crawling up his spine and making him feel hot all over.

“Excuse me?” He asked, eyebrow raising in question.

Robbie wanted to cringe away and fade into the background once more, but he’d already opened his dumb mouth. “I-I’m sorry for interrupting you… but I guess I was just wondering how you felt about the picture being out for everyone to see? I mean, even if you said yes to it being taken, I’m sure you didn’t consent to it being shared by the magazine. That’s kind of invasive, I guess.”

“Actually, that’s not bad.” Allen said beside him, the first time he’d spoken through all of this. He seemed self-assured, much more so than Robbie could ever hope of being. “There’s been a lot of discourse about sexual crimes against Omegas recently, and you could piggyback off of the movement. Make a teary-eyed statement about how your privacy had been infringed upon.”

“Won’t that make me seem weak?” The King asked, and Robbie felt like crying out of relief. He seemed properly distracted now, and hopefully he’d forgotten that Robbie had cut him off.

Allen shrugged, “Maybe to some, but it would make you seem human. It’s just a thought. You could probably sue the magazine company for non-consensual distribution of pornography. Even if you don’t win, it’d probably gain you a lot of support from Omegas and would hopefully spark more debates about Omega’s rights that would distract from the picture itself.”

“And who doesn’t love a good sob story?” King Scott broke into a smile, standing up and snapping his laptop shut. The picture disappeared, leaving the projector casting blue onto the screen. “That’s exactly what I was looking for. Thanks to all of you, especially to Mr. Quarrels and Mr. Perez. I must go make preparations now, but I will see all of you at dinner. I hope the rest of your lesson goes smoothly.”

Then he was gone, leaving the room with a small smile.

“Thank you for stepping in, Allen. The King is really scary.” Robbie turned towards his desk mate, and the Alpha sent him an amused smile.

“You made a really good point, one that clearly no one else was thinking. Good job.” He responded.

He shivered, the praise making him feel fuzzy on the inside. It was hard to keep his focus the rest of the lesson, his mind buzzing with thoughts about that deep voice praising him and glittering green eyes on him.