He meets a Mr Grant Thunbrag at the gates of the palace. Thunbrag is a small man, petite and with delicate features that many admired. If Veo ever cared to admire these sorts of things, he’d have to do it from the side profile. Most things looked flat—that’s why he needed the stick, or his legs would just be one giant bruise. 

“Mr Thunbrag, thank you for visiting my home,” Veo smiled. “I hope you’ve been enjoying yourself?” Contrary to his mother’s belief, Veo knew how to be charming when the occasion called for it. And he’d just spent half a day playing with baby animals, so he was in an excellent mood. 

“Thank you, your Highness,” answered Thunbrag in the most soft-spoken voice he’d ever heard. “Your country is beautifully green.”

Ah, yes. Grant Thunbrag was a Swedish Environmental Activist and a major shareholder of IKEA. Which coincidentally gave Veo an idea! 

“Would you like to go to a farm? The animals just had their babies.”

“Yes,” Thunbrag answered demurely. But the delighted pink he turned betrayed his true feelings to Veo. And back Prince Veo went to the farm. 

He led them from the farmhouse, where they were dropped off, to the lush, open fields. The sheep were still grazing, and Eloise waved at them from far away. Veo almost waved back.

“Who is that?” asked Thunbrag.

“That’s Eloise Blakell, I believe you’ve met her?” 

Curiously, Thunbrag was turning a different shade of pink. A very familiar one that Veo had almost been blinded by when he was fourteen and everyone had a crush on someone or other. He had opted to be homeschooled that year because his classmates were either candied pink or yellow with jealousy. 

But who was Thunbrag turning pink for? Couldn’t possibly be him and Eloise was the only other person around. “Shall we join her?” he offered.

“That would be nice.” Still very calm, but Veo knew better.

Eloise met them halfway. “Hello! You’re back!”

There was a brief flash of yellow. Veo rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses. This was fourteen years old all over again. “I believe you two know each other?” he smiled.

“Oh! Yes, Grant, I didn’t expect to see you today. But this is a nice surprise!”

Grant Thunbrag was fully pink again. From the side, Veo had the clearest view of their side profiles—Eloise towering over Grant, in matching pink. Alright…unexpectedly requited but Veo had no issues. He just needed to stop third-wheeling. 

As he turned to leave, Thunbrag called after him. “You’re not staying, your Highness?”

“Just remembered I have something I need to do,” he called back. “You two have fun!”

“Do you need help getting back?” asked Eloise worriedly. 

“I know my way, thank you!”

Job done, Veo gave himself a mental pat on the back. He was a better matchmaker than his mother, that was certain.

~

Sarge Beaulie was the slightly chubby omega owner of a Canadian Maple Syrup production line. And he had the sweetest tooth to match. Given his recent successes with allowing his dates to pick their activities, Veo couldn’t help being mildly put off by this one. 

Beaulie had wanted to go café hopping, so that was what they did. Prince Veo’s stomach, however, protested the turn of events. Still, he tried to sample as much as was polite, happy to let the happy omega have the rest. 

“You don’t like sweets?” asked Beaulie, sipping from his sweet, creamy horchata that Veo had shuddered at. 

He smiled wanly. “I’m not used to this much sugar,” he admitted.

“I grew up on Maple syrup,” Beaulie told him. 

Veo suppresses a gag at the thought of so much sugar. “Sorry, would you mind terribly if I stepped out for a moment?”

“Not at all.”

Outside, Veo took a deep gulp of fresh air away from the cloying scent of desserts. He would need a bag of chips or something to balance out the sugar. And then a whole litre of water to dilute the salt. 

~

Before he entered, Veo took a moment to remind himself that this date with Xiao Tianzi would be the last one. It technically was the third last, but Ella and Hisahiko already had an understanding with him. It wouldn’t be a date with them.

He stepped into the private library, where his date had agreed to meet him. Thankfully, Ms Xiao, the heiress of a Baijiu empire in China, did not want to drink. She was a slim silhouette of blue against the multicoloured shelves of books. They were just going to do a calm and non-stressful library date. Veo had his audiobooks and earbuds in his pockets.

Apart from a little bit of small talk at the beginning—it was news to him that everyone was allowed access to the private libraries which he was wondering about. Apparently, access had been granted at dinner, something that he and Hisahiko had missed because they kept heading for the kitchens. 

Very briefly, they pause for a reading break to discuss their respective reading materials—Veo’s audiobook is titled ‘Rococo’ while Ms Xiao’s reads a book she’d found on Chinoiserie fashion in the Western Hemisphere. Despite the different topics in their reading material, Prince Veo is heartened to find that they can still discuss a fair bit. Art, after all, is universal.

As it stands, the Rococo art period has similarities to the Chinoiserie period that developed and never really went away. They were characterised by a rather imaginative decorative style and usually depicted nature, leisure and pleasure. Of course, Chinoiserie did not have as many ruffles as the Rococo style. Prince Veo had never worn any Asian inspired clothing, but he could certainly appreciate the cleaner silhouettes of Asian clothing as opposed to the endless ruffles and folds and puffs of European fashion. 

It was during this admittedly entertaining discussion that Hisahiko walks in on them. 

“Oh, um, sorry,” he says in surprise when they turn to face him. “I didn’t realise someone was…here.” 

Veo gives him a tiny wave, but Hisahiko just turns silver and yellow. 

“I’ll come another time. Sorry.” Hisahiko slips back out the door and leaves. 

That’s interesting, Veo thinks. He wonders what silver means. It’s not a common colour in most people he’s come across he thinks. That’s alright though, he’ll see Hisahiko for tomorrow’s “date” and ask him what it is.