"...So," James started, ending the momentary pause of silence. "Two weeks?" He asked softly.

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.

"...Two weeks?" I questioned, turning my head to the side, signaling that I didn't understand what he meant.

He grimaced as he turned his face darkly towards the floor.

"You were...locked up in your room for two weeks," he strained, "Without food...or contact with the outside world.... I suppose I can understand why you did it; I do know why you did it, but that doesn't mean I can understand why you would do something so extreme and put yourself at such great risk," he said with more force behind his voice; a mixture of frustration and concern. "I would have much preferred for you to leave rather than starve yourself to death in your room for two weeks to make a point," he finally said in one long, serious statement.

I combed my fingers through my long dark hair in unbent frustration.

"Why do you care, James? My well-being is none of your concern," I said, sighing as my frustration grew.

James crossed his arms in his own fit of frustration.

"You are a guest aboard my parents' ship. Your well-being is my concern, if not for that single reason alone," he stated flatly.

I squeezed my fists tightly against my thigh as I felt all of the frustration, anger, and information stored up inside of me burst out with one epic blow.

"But that's not the only reason, is it!" I suddenly yelled, surprising myself with the volume of my voice.

James' eyes visibly widened in shock, but after a few seconds, he quickly masked himself with a a too calm expression.

"I don't know what you are talking-"

I interrupted him amidst my anger and frustration.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about! Ever since I entered this stupid ship, all I've heard about is my destiny to marry the Prince! But, being the sane person I am, I stupidly thought that it was a bunch of crap, which it apparently isn't! What the heck does it mean to be 'matched?!' I yelled in overwhelming frustration. "And tell me exactly what it has to do with me," I stated in a firm, unforgiving tone, crossing my arms over my chest.

"It's not that simple, Elena!" James shouted, raising his hands in the air. "It's not that simple," he repeated in a softer voice, sighing as he moved to lean against the black wall.

"Then make it simple!" I pleaded with him, desperate to receive answers.

James looked conflicted as he debated with my words; it was utterly frustrating.

"Gosh, James! Would it kill you to tell me something for once!" I sighed in frustration, squeezing my hands tightly together. "I never said it had to be a complex explanation, but I deserve something!" I shouted as my emotions consumed me.

James looked up, equally frustrated, with his hands curled up into tight fists.

"You do deserve an explanation! Okay?! But it's not exactly the easiest thing in the world to give one!" He shouted, his voice becoming softer as he talked further. "I don't want you to look at me differently than you are now," he finally whispered in a voice so quiet, it was almost inaudible.

I pursed my lips in confusion.

"Is this really better?" I asked quietly. "When I barely can stand to be around you because all I know is that your father killed my parents? Every second longer I spend here, the more reasons I have to leave," I said desperately in a voice tinged with both seriousness and sadness.

James peered up to look at me with piercing eyes.

"I don't want you to leave," he quietly whispered, furrowing his eyebrows at the thought.

"Then give me a reason not to!" I pleaded, more desperate than ever. "Give me reason not to, James! Please?" I begged in a quieter voice.

"Fine," James said in a hard voice that made it pretty clear that he didn't want to concede to giving me the answers I wanted. "But I want you to promise me something in return."

"What could I possibly offer you?" I wondered, genuinely curious about what he wanted from me.

"I want you to promise me that no matter what you learn, you won't look at me any differently," he stated very seriously.

I bit my lip, as I thought carefully about what he said.

"I don't know if I can promise that," I sighed. "But I can promise to try."

James pressed his lips together into a hard line as he thought about my offer.

"How about you try to separate your feelings towards me from what we learn, and...you go on a date with me?" He gave me a crooked smile when he mentioned the word date, which sent my cheeks into a deep flush.

I crinkled my nose in distaste, and gave James a look that said: why on earth would want to do that?

"Why would you want to go on a date with me?" I asked in a surprised tone.

James smirked, raising an eyebrow playfully at me.

"Is there a reason I wouldn't?"

"...No, technically," I spilled out awkwardly.

"So it's a date," he said with a suddenly bright and cheery smile.

"Only if you answer my questions first," I said stubbornly.

He laughed lightly as he relaxed his posture into the wall he was leaning against.

"Answering all of your questions before our first date might take awhile. Do you have any specific ones in mind?" He said in a very formal, yet curious, manner.

"Matching?" I suggested in a shrill voice. "What is it? How does it work? How does it apply to me?"

"Hmm..." he said as he casually rubbed his fingers against the bottom of his chin. "I suppose that would be a good place to start."

I nodded my head, happily appeased.

"Good," I said with a smile. "When do we start?"

James broke out into a wide grin as he laughed, amused at my eagerness.

"Someone's impatient," he said with an amused smirk. "How about tomorrow afternoon at two?"

"Tomorrow?" I repeated, perplexed as to why he wanted me to wait another day.

"Yes," he said coolly. "I think you'll better appreciate the information I share with you if you're at your optimum health."

I raised an eyebrow at him suspiciously.

"Optimum health?" I said with a slight hint of nervousness.

"Yes, I believe you have an appointment scheduled at the infirmary for three o'clock today, if I'm not mistaken."

"I have what?!" I shouted, horrified at the thought.

James furrowed his eyebrows.

"You hadn't eaten anything for two weeks, until Mary got you to eat earlier this morning; I don't think a doctor checking out your health to make sure everything is alright is the most absurd thing in the world. Besides, when I scheduled the appointment, I was under the impression that you would refuse to eat; thankfully, I was wrong."

"I don't want to go," I stated firmly, remembering my distaste towards doctors, hospitals and particularly: blood.

"Why not?" James asked in confusion. "It won't take long, and it will make your questions tomorrow much easier to answer."

I pursed my lips in frustration. I refused to admit to anyone, especially James, that I don't want to go to the hospital because I'm scared.

"How about we make a deal?" James lightly suggested. I immediately perked my head up in curiosity. "You go to the appointment with me, and in return, I will answer another one of your questions."

I glared daggers at him, annoyed that he offered the one thing I couldn't refuse. I wanted answers more than I didn't want to see a doctor.

"You have to answer it before the appointment," I stated firmly.

"Deal," James said with an easy smile.

***

After a rather brief conversation, James agreed to answer my question on the way to infirmary since we were already running late.

I thought long and hard about the question I wanted the answer to the most, aside from the one James would be answering tomorrow, and I came up with a very simple question that had been on the back of my mind since the night I first met James. 

Up until this point, James and I have both been oddly quiet, while I took my time to come up with a question. However, I happily broke the lingering silence when the perfect question came to mind.

"Why...do you like me?" I hesitantly asked as James continued to lead me down a series of white hallways towards the hospital wing.

James cocked his head to the side as he thought about my question.

"Why do I like you?" He asked curiously. "That's a very strange question; especially with no context; though I do suppose it falls in line with your earlier question: 'Why would you want to go on a date with me?'."

"You still haven't answered the question," I reminded him impatiently.

"...Well, you're stubborn," he started as we turned another corner, passing a sign that read "Infirmary".

"...And you can be irritable if you disagree with something-" he said before I cut him off.

"-These sound like reasons why you don't like me," I logically informed him.

"Let me finish," he said, flashing a bright smile. "You aren't afraid to express your feelings or directly inform me when you disagree with me, which is something very few people have the guts to do aside from my parents. And above all else, you are caring, which is something I learned the first time I met you, after you told me your parents died."

My face went slack as I blankly stared at the growing hallway ahead of me.

"I never pictured you as deep," I admitted honestly.

He shot me a smirk.

"I thought we were using the term 'philosophical'?"

"I changed my mind."

"Can I not be both philosophical and deep?"

"You can-but it doesn't mean you are" I said with a mischievous smirk.

"Add rude onto the list," James mumbled under his breath.

I was very tempted to hit James for his remark, but I decided against it since technically it wasn't nice. Also, we might have just entered a hospital wing that was filled with swarms of people, which wasn't the best scene to hit a prince in.

James didn't even bother to check me in; perks of being a prince, I guessed. Instead, he led me into a private room in the back corner of the wing that already had a doctor waiting inside.

The doctor informed me that her name was Dr. Williams, a strangely normal name, and she kindly asked for me to take a seat on the...hospital bed. Because apparently, she was preparing for the "worse case scenario" according to the brief argument I had with James over the necessity of the bed.

"Kill me now," I muttered sarcastically under my breath when I very embarrassingly plopped down onto the plain hospital bed. The thought itself made me shiver with discomfort.

***

Despite my predispositions, being examined by Dr. Williams wasn't half bad. I mean, it certainly wasn't good, since she wanted to conduct a series of tests to make sure my body was functioning properly, but it definitely wasn't bad.

After a quick saliva test, which would apparently tell her everything she needed to know about my body in regards to function and hydration, she kindly informed me that everything was functioning normally and I was free to leave, to my extreme relief. However, she did mention before James and I left that I was looking very pale for an Earth Human, based on her limited knowledge, and she recommended that I should eat several heavy meals for a few days to remind my body that I wasn't starving and regain back some of the weight I had lost over the past two weeks.

I easily agreed to follow her recommendations, a little bit too eager to leave the hospital after only being there for fifteen minutes maximum, and with that, James and I left the room and headed towards a lady manning a receptionist desk.

"What can I help you with, Your Highness?" The lady asked in a very sweet, child-like voice.

"I need to reserve the genetics lab for two o'clock tomorrow afternoon," James said politely.

"Of course, Your Highness," she said, tapping the tablet screen in front of her several times. "Will anyone else be accompanying you?" She asked, eyeing my lingering form that stood a couple inches behind him.

"Yes," he said, shooting me an amused smirk.

"Very well," she said with a smile, tapping the screen two more times. "You're all set for tomorrow at two, Your Majesty."

"Thank you," James said kindly, before leading me away from the desk and towards the exit of the hospital floor.

I didn't speak to him as we walked away from the hospital. And, for once, it wasn't because I was restraining myself or irritated with some emotion that he had raised within me. I had to admit, it was nice to walk in a comfortable silence. It was strangely relaxing.

"Was that so bad?" James eventually asked me when we approached a sign that read: "Dining hall ahead."

"No," I said plainly, truly not bothered by my visit with the doctor. "Though, I still don't think it was necessary."

"Yes," he nodded in understanding. "I do understand your point; however, a bit of reassurance was nice," he said calmly, in a tone that told me he truly meant it.

"I guess," I said with little interest as we proceeded into the dining hall.

"Get whatever you want," James said with a smile as we approached a buffet filled with everything from warm buttered rolls to freshly grilled hamburgers.

"Isn't that the point of a buffet?" I smirked, raising a brow.

"Yes," he sighed. "That is technically the point of buffet. Must you always be so logical?" He said softly, staring at me while he waited for my answer.

The corner of my lips curled upward, amused.

"It's just part of my nature. Love it or leave it," I sang, teasing him while I grabbed a plate.

"Hmm...whatever shall I do?" He pondered, mirroring my actions and grabbing a plate for himself.

I waited patiently for his answer, piling my plate with two rolls, a hamburger, and a giant slice of cake in the meantime.

"Is that all?" he eventually spoke, teasing me with what I would call a devious glint in his eyes.

"I didn't want to grab more than I can eat," I replied honestly.

"Oh," he murmured. "I suppose that makes sense-I never use that rule, though, because I always finish my plate of food, despite how much I grab-the food is far too good to waste. Females tend to eat less than males, right?"

"Usually," I drawled in a slightly confused tone. Isn't that fact common knowledge?

Once James finished piling his plate with a variety of foods, including a roll and a premium cut of steak, we sat very publicly in the back corner of the main dining hall. Thankfully it was almost empty.

I picked at my roll, staring down at my plate while James cut a square of steak and politely stuck it in his mouth. I deliberated the boundary on questions I was allowed to ask versus ones that would require encouragement on my part to convince James to answer, as I nibbled on the delicious warm buttered roll. Eventually, I decided that the worst that could happen would be James saying no, which wasn't terrible at all, so I proceeded to ask James any question that pierced my thoughts while we quietly ate.

"So..." I said, awkwardly breaking the silence. "Do people treat you differently because you're the Prince?" I tore off a piece of my second roll and stuck it in my mouth, relaxing my posture into my chair as I peered at him, waiting for an answer.

"Not really," he said casually, shrugging his shoulders. "To them it's just normal. I doubt they think much of it."

"That's surprising-I would have expected...huh," I said, a bit perplexed by the idea that people would treat a prince as normal. "I guess if I was in your position I would like it better that way," I eventually commented, hoping to ease some of the tension between us.

"I have to admit, it is nice-being treated 'normally'. I can't say I'm treated as normal as the bartender," he said with a smirk, reminding me of the night we first met, "But for a prince, I am treated as normal as it gets. Unfortunately, that isn't always the case for the other kingdoms."

My eyes widened.

"Other kingdoms?" I asked in wonder, not completely comprehending the words I just said.

"Yes. There are six other kingdoms in this galaxy," he paused to cut another piece of steak and stick it into his mouth. "Though, if you look on a map, there are many more if you look into other galaxies."

"Do you know the other kingdoms? Are you allies of sorts because you're in the same galaxy?" I pondered, turning my head to the side as if that could make the information clearer.

James laughed, shaking his head as he looked at me with bright eyes.

"Well, we're allies with Aquarius and Taurus. We have neutral, but beneficial relations with Gemini, Capricorn, and Aries. And, as far back as our history goes we've always had a...tense and complicated relationship with Saggitarious." His tone took on a more serious tone when he mentioned Sagittarius; but I was too distracted to pay much attention to it.

"Aren't those names of zodiac signs?" I asked suspiciously, raising my eyebrows.

"I believe so-on Earth, at least. We don't use them up here for anything other than mystical legends."

"Mystical legends?" He was truly awakening the height of my curiosity, and he hadn't even answered my most desired question yet.

"Sure," he laughed. "According to millennium old legends, shortly after men were first created, they split into two groups. The first group was led by a man who worshiped an all-knowing god and let his spiritual guidance lead him and his followers down a path towards a mundane life of labor and sustainability. The second group was also led by a man who worshiped god, but he favored logic and intelligence over spiritual influence, so he led his followers down a path towards advancement and the new development of technology.

"Over thousands of years these two groups grew and developed into the human populations we see today, but, what many people don't know is that these groups became so vastly different centuries ago that one day, one of them wouldn't even recognize the other as their own. The first group stayed on the Origin Planet called 'Earth', while the second group developed the technology to travel to other planets and start a new civilization of its own. As with any group of people, fighting broke out among the second group, and twelve kingdoms were formed; together they were known as the Zodiac.

"As you might have already guessed, five of the original twelve kingdoms perished after a long war broke out between them and Saggitarious, hence our complicated relations with them, but nonetheless, seven still stand. However, according to legend, in order to rebind the spiritual ties broken between the two groups after the second groups left the Origin Planet, once a human died from one of the seven kingdoms, they would be reborn in a month corresponding to the kingdom they left behind in their past life."

"Like reincarnation?" I pondered, furrowing my eyebrows as I tried to make sense of everything.

"...Maybe a less extreme form," James offered.

"So, you don't believe in it-the legend?"
"I've never given it enough thought to come up with a firm opinion on it," he replied honestly.

"But you've thought enough about it to memorize that very long story?" I teased, not hiding my outright amusement.

"Yes," he said innocently. "It was interesting so I read more about it."

"You like to read," I said slowly, smiling at the realization.

"Yes."

"You never told me that," I smiled, proud that I learned this information on my own.

"You never asked," he reminded me with an arc to his eyebrow.

"Turns out I didn't need to," I said with an even wider smile.

AN: So...I kinda broke my posting every two days rule, but I wrote you guys a longer chapter, so hopefully you can forgive me. Typically my chapters have been averaging out at around 2200 words as we've gotten more content to work with, but this chapter is over 3,200 words long!

Now, moving onto the chapter content. Essentially for all intentional purposes, this chapter is the chapter leading up to what you've all been waiting for...what it means to be genetically matched! Also, I had a bit of fun writing some fluff between Elena and James after their slightly heated conversation, but I would say everything worked out in the end. However, you guys did get a bit of backstory on the kingdoms and the world James lives in, which was both fun and interesting to write a history for. I don't think I will ever address if the legend is true or not( since it is just a legend after all), and keep in mind that the main reason why the legend exists is to explain why the kingdoms share the same names as the zodiac signs. Speaking of which...what kingdom do you think James is the prince of?

Lastly...we are ten chapters into this story in under a month, which is crazy to me in itself, but what's even crazier to me is that you guys like my story enough to keep reading it even though it isn't completed yet. So, I want to thank you guys from the bottom of my heart with sticking for me for this long, and continuing to read my story. Also, I would really appreciate it if you could give me your opinion on two things moving forward into future chapters. First, would you prefer to wait a day or two longer and get a longer chapter, or would you like a shorter chapter sooner? Second, if I got to a point in this story where I could write a second book, or continue forward into a longer book which would you prefer? I definitely can't promise a second book at this point, but I definitely want to continue this book until I reach a specific point in James and Elena's relationship...so I guess we'll have to see.

Thank you for taking the time to read my book and as always stay tuned for upcoming updates in the near future :)

-Elly6431