When the first course came out, Dominic realized just how fancy this place was. There was real gold on the trim of all the dishes, actual silver silverware, and the hostess had mentioned a total of eight courses.
Fortunately, they were all small, so he wouldn't be embarrassing himself by having to decline portions of the meal, but still, the Nobles here really went all out. Or perhaps it was because the Guards were courting the Princess that the older sisters had gone all out at a public restaurant.
Not that it was hard to avoid embarrassing himself. Josephine, the elder of the twin Princesses, was a boisterous sort, and had a wealth of stories about combat actions and the antics of bored Princesses in the Palace to keep them going, while Alexis filled in the details and made sure that her older sister didn't skip over any of the embarrassing parts.
Dominic kept up polite conversation with the two older sisters, while the Paladins all did their best to impress Princess Eleanor. They had a much better grasp of her personality than the students had, and Elanor spent the entire meal smiling and laughing. But eventually, everyone was stuffed and half drunk, so it was time to return home for the evening.
"Gentlemen of the Order, it was a pleasure to have you all dine with us tonight. We will arrange a ride back to the barracks for you, and we wish you luck on your next mission." The oldest Princess informed the group of Royal Guards, who all made a point to say a formal goodbye to the three Princesses before following the team leader out of the private dining room.
"Elanor, you're riding with me, and Alexis will take your friend back to the smithy." Princess Josephine instructed in a dry tone.
"Of course. It was a lot of fun. I will be sure to look you up the next time I can get leave to head out of town." Elanor declared, waving her goodbyes to Dominic on the way out under the envious glares of the other patrons.
Their attitudes were making Dominic a bit nervous that they would come to make trouble for Pops, but Princess Alexis had no such concerns.
"Head up, shoulders back. Don't look like you're going to murder them in public. Remember, half of these people have no magical defences at all. A single flame attack would wipe out half the restaurant." The Princess whispered, making Dominic smile.
He bent his arm for her to take, and the Princess walked out of the posh restaurant at his side like they were on a date, and he wasn't just some random adventurer friend of her little sister's that she met that morning.
Once their ride started moving, she started to chuckle quietly. "You should have seen their expressions. You see, us twin sisters are the last ones unmarried. Well, the last ones who are of age. Those floozies have been crashing every event that we attend for years now, and they haven't figured out why they don't have a chance."
Dominic smirked at her. "So, who is the lucky lady?"
The Princess laughed even harder. "Oh, that tongue is as sharp as your dagger, but it's not a lovely young lass, but a book that has captured this Princess' heart. My father is against it, so I can't announce it in public, but I have been putting off the news as long as I can.
Perhaps one day we can spend a quiet evening at the Library, if you should manage to make it through the selection."
Now, it was Dominic's turn to laugh. The younger twin Princess, with her fitness model looks and casual attitude, was actually a bookworm with no interest in Romance? That was unexpected.
"Well, I'm cheering for you. I have heard that fictional characters give the best hugs." Dominic joked.
Alexis smiled at some hidden memory. "You know, I didn't always prefer books to humans. But being a twin, the number of disgusting offers that my sister and I have gotten from noblemen and noblewomen alike has long since turned me against the idea of ever letting one of those oversexed lechers touch my body."
So, she wasn't quite a shut in, just jaded by the nature of her own existence. It was probably inevitable, given the nature of the Princesses existence. But Dominic wouldn't have guessed that they were twins, just going by their personalities and demeanour.
When people referred to Josephine as the elder of the two, he had originally thought it to be by months or years, not minutes.
They looked very much alike, but so did Princess Eleanor, so the family genes were strong and ran true through all the daughters.
The carriage took them directly back to the smithy, and Dominic wondered if there was a way that he could switch back into his adventuring gear when he got close to their destination. A fancy mage robe wouldn't do him any good at work, and the other clothes were his casual wear, as much as the fancy ruffles and silk shirts were the Princesses version of casual.
"It was a pleasure meeting you, Young Master Dominic Wavemates. I do hope that we can see you at the Royal Apprentice Intake next month. Tell Pops that I'll say hi when it won't cause any misunderstandings. There are still people following us." Princess Alexis informed him with a smile that made Dominic's heart stutter.
"Got it. Should I get dropped at the end of the block and enter through the alley doors?" He asked.
"That would just leave you alone with them in an alley, and I really don't recommend that.
Nobody here will challenge one of the shopkeepers. The group is too tight-knit. Just head in the front doors, and they will realize you're working there and back off."
"Have a safe trip back to the Palace, or do you need to do some shopping first?" Dominic replied with a smirk, expecting that the Palace would tightly monitor the reading material stocked in its libraries.
A real inconvenience for a literature obsessed Princess.
"I think I'm a bit short on perfume. I hear that the shop by the guardsmen's tavern has some." She replied very seriously as he opened the door and stepped out.
Perhaps she just needed a drink instead. Princess Alexis was rapidly changing Dominic's storybook impression of human princesses in palaces, swooning over news of their husbands' exploits.
In fact, he was wondering if the man who spread those stories had ever actually met a human Princess. The Dragonkin Princesses of Wavemates were known to be even more violent than the Princes, so it certainly wasn't about them, either.
Dominic didn't waste any time getting inside the shop as the lumbering vehicle made its way down the road, but he did notice that there were no fewer than five different people, all wearing clothing with noble house crests on it, watching his every action.
"Pops, I'm back. Do you need a hand back there, or should I put these boxes of tools out on the shelves?"
"Get the front organized, and then you can come back to help out. It's been a slow day today, so I'm nearly done already."
"I don't think it will be quiet for long. There was a group of people following me back from the restaurant just now. Princess Alexis gave me a ride on her way to pick up perfume." Dominic replied.
"Remind them that if they're not shopping, they're not customers. It works every time, and we can get a good sale out of them." Pops laughed.
Only then did Dominic realize that Princess Alexis referred to him by his full name. Dominic Wavemates, a family name shared by all members of the Royal Family of the fallen Wavemates Nation.