Prince Veo slips a handful of breadsticks in his pocket as they leave the kitchens. Tenshi lets him lead them down the hallway, turning corners and up stairways.

“Where are we going?” 

“You’ll see,” says the Prince. 

They end up in the library. A library that Tenshi did not know they had. “Where—how?” he stares in bewildered wonder at the massive shelves that stretch to the domed ceiling. 

“As you said, it’s my house,” Veo mumbled around the breadstick in his mouth.

Tenshi makes a face. “You’ll drop crumbs.”

“It’s my house!”

He gets distracted with his exploration of the gorgeously massive library. In his defence, Prince Veo was apparently happy to let him explore the private library of Angkova’s royalty. 

“You can come back if you want,” Prince Veo nonchalantly. “Only my mother and I really use this place and it’s mostly my mother. I use audiobooks.” 

The sheer privilege. Though it does make him feel slightly better about the mission. “Thanks, I’ll take you up on that offer.”

Eventually, Prince Veo tires of waiting and once Tenshi sits down to rest his feet in one of the plush velvet armchairs, the Prince strikes.

“So, what’s the plan?” he asks in a non-sequitur. 

“Um,” Tenshi blinks. “The plan about?”

Veo clicks his tongue. “You know, the one with the princess.”

“Right.” The one with Princess Latipha he means. “There is no plan. Not really.”

The Prince frowns. “Why not?”

Tenshi sighs. “How much do you know about omegas in abusive environments, Veo? There are many factors to consider here. And there isn’t much anyone can do if the omega in question is unwilling to leave either.” 

“What do you mean?”

“Princess Latipha is royalty, like you. There is already plenty of scrutinies. Her abusers are most likely her own family then. Where could she possibly hide in her country? If you tried to hide her here, you’d cause a diplomatic conflict and she’d still have to go back.”

“I hadn’t thought of it that way,” Veo admits with a furrowed brow. 

“No, what experience would you have with toxic situations.”

“She can’t stay in Angkova then.”

Tenshi hesitates. “She could if no one knew and expected her to be here. But you’re right, it wouldn’t be a good idea, especially if she disappeared from here.”

“Where would you suggest?”

“America, probably.” Tenshi leans back with a tired sigh. “It’s further and less likely to cause political repercussions for you or them. It’s the kind of thing people expect Americans to do if they find out where she is.”

“United States of America, you mean.”

“Yes.”

Prince Veo must sense some of his incredulity because he mutters “There are technically two Americas.” 

Tenshi ignores him. “This is all pre-emptive. We’ll need her cooperation if she chooses to leave. There’s no point planning otherwise,” he insists.

It is afterwards decided that they should try to give the Princess as many opportunities as possible to speak with Tenshi alone. “I’ll figure something out,” Veo says grimly. “I don’t suppose you and your partner would have contacts or something.”

“That will be our problem to figure out,” Tenshi replies.

~

Halfway through the week now, Veo had gotten tired of thinking of date ideas. No wonder people stopped trying so hard after all. He had already done this six times in three days! He decided to let the next omega pick the activity. How bad could it be?

The answer was that it wasn’t terrible per se—he did have fun—but at a cost. 

Dominic Stefano, the Italian Automobile Mogul’s son, chose to go driving. Which was perfectly fine since no one expected him to be the driver. No, Stefano had volunteered to drive with an unholy glee radiating from his entire body. And still, Veo agreed because the week had been a roller coaster and he had exhausted his brain with dating attempts. 

“It ees fun! I will drive,” Stefano declared and led him to the sleek sports car gleaming in the sunlight. “Come, come. Get in.” Veo got in.

It’s complete madness, what Stefano does and also the most fun Veo has had in a long time. Stefano drives like he’s in an illegal street race. He swerves and drifts, driving so defensively that Veo is glad he didn’t forget his seatbelt. It’s exhilarating! 

He whoops when they exceed two hundred kilometres per hour on the highway. Definitely illegal, but he can’t make himself care at the moment. Stefano grins like the devil.

When they finally stop somewhere for a break, Veo crawls out of the car to lie down on the ground. He can still feel the motions and it’s made him dizzy. 

“Dio Santo,” Stefano mutters with reasonable panic. “Are you okay?” he asks looking down at the Prince star-fished on the gravel. 

Veo wriggles his fingers. “Fine. Dizzy,” he huffs. 

Stefano sits down beside him with a laugh. “You are okay. Breathe.” They sit in silence for a few moments. “Eet is exhilarating, no? So fast and so furious like that movie.” He pauses contemplatively. “You know I think that movie ees about me. Name Dominic and like to drive fast cars.”

While the spinning slows, Veo can still listen to Stefano talking idly and his comment inspires a huff of amusement. “Know any secret agents?”

Stefano laughs. “If I tell you, I have to kill you.”

They make fast friends after that and Veo is willing to admit that none of the omegas he’s met so far is as bad as he expected. He supposes it’s just the whole idea of matchmaking that rankled him and he’s had a pretty terrible attitude about it the entire time. 

It’s that thought that follows him when he takes Eloise Blakell to an animal farm to next day. Eloise Blakell, New Zealand’s National Rugby Player and apparently a sheep farmer during the off-seasons. Since the date with Dominic Stefano was mostly a success, Veo had decided to just let the omegas pick what they wanted to do from now on. She asked to visit an animal farm. 

Not many would expect him to be especially good with animals. But between people and animals, Veo finds animals easier to read. The emotions he sees is so often simpler in animals. People tend to be a mess of colours. So, when they get to the farm and are shown the pigs and the sheep, Ms Blakell is incredibly impressed by his magical ability with them. 

Other than that, there isn’t much opportunity to actually get to know each other. Eloise’s attention is quite occupied with the sheep here, so similar yet different to the ones at home. Veo is embarrassed to say he kind of forgot they were on a date in the face of so many baby animals. It’s birthing season. 

There is a sort of mutual appreciation by the time he has to meet his next date. Eloise opts to stay on the farm for the rest of the day, so Veo reluctantly bids her and all the animals goodbye. He is heartened to see that some of them do turn blue and forlorn at his departure.