The ballroom was silent. Too silent.
Elira's heart raced loud in her ears as Prince Ardyn's long hand hung between them, like a divine offer from those holding a bit of destiny. The eyes of all the other competitors pulsed into her, their perfectly poised smiles frozen between them in the twilight of disbelief and barely concealing rage.
She wanted to say no. Every part of her being flew into screaming exhaustion that she must find a way out. But when she looked up at the prince there was something she never expected — amusement. Quiet knowing amusement, as if he had chosen her precisely because of her discomfort.
Suddenly all this made the room more tense. The Queen's ready gaze, the murmurs of everyone in the hall—it was too much.
So Elira did the only thing she could.
She swallowed hard, put her shaking hand in his, and accepted her fate.
Ardyn's grip was warm, steady, and—was that a smirk?
"Slow down, " he whispered with assurance as he led her to the dance floor, "or I'll have you fall. "
That's probably the worst thing he could have said. Because now falling was all she could think of.
Now as the orchestra started to play, Elira 's muscles stiffened. She wasn't graceful. She wasn't poised. She was about to make a total fool of herself in front of the whole royal court.
And then it got worse.
Because standing at the edge of the ballroom was Seraphine, teeth numb from that ugly smile. Kaelith leached against a column, watching with the kind of eye you could only hope to see on a rather slow-moving disaster.
Oh, this is going to be nice, Kaelith said sadly too loudly.
Elira wanted to crawl under a table.
The Dance Begins
The first one was quite easy. Ardyn was in control and she followed her carefully and measured. Maybe — just maybe — she could handle this without—
Her foot slammed into his.
Ardyn didn't flinch, but she did.
"Sorry," she whispered, mortified.
"Not the worst I have had to go through, " said he reassuringly. "One lady stepped so hard I broke my toe.
Elira's eyes widened. "Really?"
"No. But I thought it might make you feel better."
She didn't even catch the next step as he twisted her in his hands "You've told me you're lying to me? "
"A strategic untruth," he corrected. "Highly necessary in diplomacy."
Elira let out a breathless laugh. "You are a menace."
"That's the first honest thing you've said all night."
For a moment the pressure was loosened, Ardyn took the lead and moved in a way that seemed less impenetrable for her steps — perhaps this wouldn't be so —
He just got close to someone, a woman in a beaded dress and obviously trying to cut in.
Elira, distracted, lost her footing.
She stumbled, Ardyn caught her waist to keep her upright — but that sudden motion sent them both flying.
The world tilted.
The music screeched to a halt.
And Elira came crashing to the prince with his tangled bodywork shoved unselfishly into the middle of the room's dance floor.
Silence.
Horrified gasps.
And then—laughter.
Loud. Unrestrained. Kaelith's laughter.
Half-buried in Ardyn's arms she groaned. "Please tell me I've been poisoned, and this is a hallucination. "
"I would hate to break your heart, " Ardyn whispered unintelligibly, his voice with some other note—fun?
Elira dared to look up.
The prince was grinning.
Actually grinning, and then, to her horror, he laughed.
"Well," he said, "that certainly wasn't in the choreography."
The Queen's sharp voice sliced through the moment. "Ardyn!"
But the prince was lying still on the floor and shrugged to his mother. "I told you I would make the evening wonderful. "
In the crowd there were more murmurs and some women looked scandalized, some smug. Seraphine was looking at it with a bit of covert pleasure, probably saving this disaster for some future time.
Elira scrambled to her feet, her face burning. "I—I should—"
Ardyn, still kneeling, extended a hand once more. "Another round?"
"Absolutely not," she squeaked.
"Shout" he thought as he stood effortlessly. "I'd been getting into the spirit. "
Elira wanted the ground to swallow her whole.
...
The Aftermath
Maybe the dance was over, but damage had been done.
Elira could still see the gleam in her eyes, as she ran for the banquet table, as fast as she could nip into the first goblet of wine she could find, and chug it down with no effort—
And nearly choked.
Bitter. Sharp. Strong.
"Wrong goblet," Kaelith mused, sidling up beside her.
Elira coughed. "What—what is this?"
"Probably Lord's Varrow's special brew!"
"What!!"
"you'll be fine ", Kaelith assured."if you start hallucination, I'll let you know. "
Kaelith smirked "which part? The drink or the fall?"
"Yes"
At that moment, Seraphine approached, her expression was smooth with her eyes gleaming with quiet satisfaction.
"That was quite the performance," she mused. "though I imagine it's not the kind of impression one hopes to make on a prince".
Elira clenched her jaw "it was an accident. "
Seraphines smile widened. "Ofcourse it was, but accidents have consequences, dear. Word of caution though, you might want to start watching where you step."
Before Elira could respond, Seraphine drifted away, her presence lingering like the scent of something expensive and dangerous.
Kaelith exhaled " Well, she's subtle."
Elira groaned again
"And by subtle, I mean about as subtle as a sword fight in a glass factory." she added.
Before Elira could drown in self-pity, a familiar voice interrupted.
" Enjoying the evening?"
Her stomach flipped.
Prince Ardyn stood before her, still composed and very well amused.
Elira straightened, desperate to salvage what little dignity she had left.
" I..Uh..Yes! Yes!! a wonderful evening "
"Oh !! Goodness, can't she have a break already" Seraphine muttered looking fed up already, with a face like someone about to cry.
but the prince ignored it altogether, and rather proceeded to speak with Elira.
Ardyn raised a brow. " is that sarcasm?"
"Me? Never !! " she insisted.
The prince chuckled. " Well, I appreciate your enthusiasm."
Elira sighed, still battling with her low self esteem. "Look, Your Highness, I believe you have far more better and graceful women to speak with"
"but I'd rather talk to you," he interrupted.
She blinked, "What??"
Ardyn leaned slightly closer, his voice low .
"do you know how many rehearsed speeches I've endured tonight??"he paused to let it sink in, then proceeded
"Or how many porcelain figurine collections I've heard about? "
Elira hesitated, ".....More than one?"
"Six"
She then let out an involuntary snort
"I'm sorry for your loss "
Ardyn's lips twitched " So you see why I'd rather stay here. At least you're interesting, you're real, and I'd love to learn more "
Her heart did an unnecessarily flip.
" Learn more?, but what is there to learn from a person like me, I ...."
" Everything dear" he interrupted
"Everything, all my life as a prince has been Programmed you know, kind of you can't explore, you don't know what life outside the palace walls is like, you don't know what people and places are like, and certainly you can't tell what Love feels like"
Elira paused a little bit to reflect, then wondered if he was actually honest or just trying his best to woo her, but why would he even do that? considering she wasn't the most exquisite nor graceful in the ball.
But a part of her could tell from the look in his eyes, and his tone of voice, that he really was lonely and trapped.
"I see.., its quite a Coincidence isn't it?"
she retorted, easing her way into the conversation in a more relaxed tone than before.
"But how? "He asked looking puzzled.
Elira leaned closer to him, a flash of smile beaming from her face.
"You see we are from different worlds, you, from affluence, wealth, security, or as commonly said, Silver spoon, long to have the freedom that a commoner like me has, to explore nature, to feed from her breasts, to breathe her air, meanwhile most of us just want the life, elegance, and splendour of royalty," she said looking unfazed.
" Most of us?? I thought that's what ...
"
" What we all want?" she interrupted
" No!, or maybe I'd rather speak for myself, I don't crave that"
"Then what do you want??" asked the prince
"Why do you care so much, my prince?" she countered
" I told you earlier"
"Oh!! interesting, so does that mean
..???" she paused , pointing at him to complete the sentence
" I'm learning from you" he added.
They both bursted into a brief session on laughter, which drew the attention toon of the audience, as it was strange to see the prince in such a mood.
But before they could utter another word, a herald's voice rang.
" Her Majesty, the Queen, has requested the prince's presence "
Ardyn sighed "duty calls."
Elira exhaled in relief.But as he turned to leave, he paused.
"and by the way, I'm Ardyn " he extended a hand " sorry its a bit informal"
She was tempted to refuse, but couldn't
" Well...I Uh, "she stuttered
"Elira!! I already know, don't worry you'll get used to it, I'll catch you later Elira" he added releasing his grip of her hand with a kiss.
Elira swallowed,
why did that sound more like a promise than a farewell?
And why was she feeling like she had just made a big mistake, as she turned ,all eyes were on her, gossips she could hear, for a moment it felt like she was talking to a commoner or an old acquaintance, and the next moment it felt like she had entered a trap,
something she couldn't deny anymore was that something far beyond her oversight had begun, something that would change the trajectory of her life and that of the Kingdom at large.More than ever before, reality was dawning on her.
But what exactly? was she ready?
TO BE CONTINUED...