24 Vance and Alice

"But you… We…." Alice stared at Vance with wide eyes as she touched her lips with red cheeks. She did not seem scared or disgusted by what happened but more shocked than anything else.

Vance actually found the girl's expression to be quite cute. The way she looked at him with her eyes going back and forth as she stared at him in confusion was very alluring in his eyes. He reached out and gently cupped her cheek and lowered his head. Alice stood there staring at Vance's face which was once more growing closer and closer until his lips touched hers. Once more, the two were kissing. Alice did not hate it; she liked this strange sensation she got as their tongue intertwined. Her arms hooked around Vance's neck as they kissed until they were both out of breath.

As their lips parted, Alice was still in a daze. She felt Vance trace his finger over her lips, causing her to shiver as he spoke softly: "This time, I kissed you because I wanted to kiss you, not because I had to. I hope you did not dislike it."

"I…" Alice's face turned even more red as she lowered her head. She never thought she would end up kissing a man like this. And in such a way that was beyond her control. But she did not dislike it. "I… I don't…. Dislike it…." Alice could feel the steam rising off her head as her face heated up to its max. She never thought she would say these words one day!

Vance smiled and grabbed Alice by the hand, and pulled her along. He planned to get an inn room and then figure out their next course of action. While he did not know what would happen from this moment on between the two of them, he, as a man who had been a virgin for twenty years of his life, finally had his first kiss with an NPC, a princess NPC, and he really enjoyed it. He did not expect more than this. For now, their kiss was enough for him. He was too nervous and afraid to push it further. He could also tell that Alice was not ready for such things.

Alice stared at the hand holding hers. She felt like she was floating. She had never felt such a sensation before. The few days they had spent together had really become something special to her. With his big hand holding hers and her walking alongside him, she felt this was not so bad. She had been wondering what she wanted to do with her life after she dealt with things here, and now she began to have a new dream brewing up inside her. A dream that, for now, will be her secret.

"We will get an inn room and begin plans for what to do next. You need to get in contact with someone, right?" Vance asked, which brought Alice out of her thoughts. She looked up at Vance and nodded her head shyly as she tried to push everything aside and answered: "Yes, I will need to contact my personal maid. But I can send the letter as a means of saying I am her family member, so no one will know it is me. Luckily she also has black hair, so even if we are seen together no one will recognize me."

"Then we will work it out like that. But will she be able to send a message to your father?" Vance was worried that the prince might be keeping watch of Alice's maid.

"No, I will not need to have her go to my father. She will go to my uncle. And then we can meet with him. My brother can not stop my uncle from entering the palace, and my uncle has always doted on me. So I am sure he will believe what I have to say. Plus, we kept the dress I used to escape in. It is proof enough that I had run into trouble." Alice's eyes turned cold. "I will not let my brother get his way. Calling him brother is already me being nice to him. But I will see him go to prison for treason. Attempted murder of any member of the royal family is considered treason."

"But your dress will not implicate him." Vance sighed. "We will need to dig deeper. But before we do too much digging, I need to purchase a house for my family."

"Don't worry. I will have that taken care of first and will have people sent to escort them to the capital." Alice smiled as they stopped in front of the inn. She looked up at him and said: "I will keep my promise."

Vance tightened his grip on Alice's hand and pulled her along as he said: "Thanks."

The two walked into the inn, and Vance got them a room. When they entered the room, Alice looked at the two beds in confusion. "Two beds?"

Vance paused for a second before a teasing grin appeared on his face. "Miss Alice, were you expecting something more than just a kiss?"

"I…" Alice's face immediately became red all over again as she rushed over to the furthest bed, sat down, and patted it. "Tw-two beds is right…."

Vance did not continue to tease. He did not wish to make the girl hate him. He walked over and sat down on his bed and fell back, looking up at the ceiling. "With my parents' situation being taken care of, we can deal with the other situation at hand. But I must ask. If your uncle sends people out to escort my parents to the capital, will your brother act on that as well?"

"No, he shouldn't. I will ask my uncle to keep guards around their house as well. He has his own private army. It is something my father asked him to make that only answers to my uncle. It may sound strange for someone else of the royal line who is not sitting on the throne to have a private army, but my father and his brother are best friends as well as blood related brothers. They grew up together and shared the same mother. My uncle disliked the idea of ruling and forced it upon my father. But in return for taking the throne, my father asked him to build up his own army that could be used in times of a coup. This is why my brother has to do things in a much quieter way. He can not build his own army or try to bribe too many guards because my uncle's army is stronger than the royal guards."

"I see.. Then this allows me to feel much more relieved. I just worried that if the escorts were paid off that they would end up hurting my old man and his wife." Vance breathed a sigh of relief. "I was troubled about how to get them to the capital safely. I noticed with my current strength that if we were surrounded by monsters that it might not be too easy to bring them both here alive."

While the escort from his hometown to the capital is a good thing, the best part is the guards who would protect the house. This would keep players from trying anything dirty. The last thing Vance wanted was to go home to find Ricky and Maybel dead due to being killed by a player.

"I am glad I can help, even if it is only a little." Alice smiled. She was glad she could do something for Vance in return. She got up off the bed and moved to Vance's bed, and laid down next to him. She reached out and grabbed his hand with rosy cheeks. "In a little while, I will write the letter. Do you mind if I take a nap like this?"

Alice turned and looked at Vance, who was looking back at her. Her eyes flickered as she looked Vance in the eye. Vance leaned and gave her a peck on the lips and hummed in response. "Mmmm…. Let's sleep a little."

Vance may not have experience with girls, but he knew a signal when he saw one. He reached out and pulled Alice toward him and held her in his arms before stealing her lips once more. The two kissed for quite a while before silently staring at each other for a few minutes. Alice shyly smiled as she pushed her head into Vance's chest and closed her eyes. In these arms, she felt a sense of security….

Vance felt a shift in his lower regions, but he did not dare push his luck. He was content to have a beauty in his arms who he could kiss. For now, this was not so bad. But he wondered just how long this would last. He knew he would also need to figure a few things out for leveling as well while he did this life quest that seemed to be turning into something much more. While lost in his thoughts, Vance also fell asleep.