Prince Xavier Frederick
As they approached the dining table, the maids all curtsied before the Queen. Melissa looked across the table and saw a handsome young man and a beautiful woman were already seated. As they saw the Queen, they went over and greeted the Queen affectionately. 'This must be the Queen's children'.
Queen Serina introduced the young prince and princess to Melissa. The friendly young man was the Queen's younger son, Prince Xander while the arrogant looking girl was Princess Katherine. Melissa extended her curtsies to both the royals when Princess Katherine suddenly said loudly, "So, you're the famous Lady Melissa? The one that went into hiding for years without seeing other people?" Princess Katherine was in fact boiling in anger when she saw how affectionate Duke Kensington was with Lady Melissa moments ago. 'Zachary never smiled at me like that before! How dare this bitch try to seduce him!'
Melissa was in the middle of curtsying when Princess Katherine said that. She almost lost her composure if not for Duke Kensington's support. 'Eh? Why is she so hostile towards me? Did the original Lady Melissa offend her in the past?' Not one to be bullied, Melissa looked at the Princess and smiled.
Before anyone could intervene, Melissa retorted by saying, "Your Highness, you're too kind. I don't think anyone can become famous if they're not out flaunting themselves in public, could they? I think you're contradicting yourself."
"You insolent girl! How dare you talk back to me!" Princess Katherine roared in anger.
"Katherine! Mind your manners. Is this how you greet your future cousin-in-law?! If you can't behave, please leave the room." Queen Serina said while looking at her daughter angrily. How dare she threw tantrums here for no reason! Queen Serina quickly glanced at Duke Kensington, afraid he would take offense of Katherine's unruly behaviour.
"But Mother, what I said was the truth. Everyone knows she suddenly disappeared and no one saw her for a few years! She'd probably contracted some unknown diseases for all we know. And now she suddenly reappeared and going to marry Zachary. Who knows what is she planning to do? This is utterly ridiculous!" Princess Katherine whined at her mother, all the while looking at Duke Kensington adoringly.
Melissa caught her act and it all clicked! 'Oh, this girl liked my future husband. This is a real jealousy rage. What a drama..if I'm not the main character I would get some popcorn and watch this from the sideline.' With this thought, Melissa looked up at Duke Kensington and realized he was staring ahead, not even sparing the Princess a glance. 'Oh, oh, it's a one-sided love.'
"Katherine!!" The Queen lost her patience after listening to her daughter's spiteful remarks about Lady Melissa.
"Your Highness, ridiculous or not, I will decide on that. Melissa is my chosen wife. No one can interfere in this matter. I hope you can refrain from saying anything hurtful to her. We're here on Her Majesty's invite, please respect that." Duke Kensington finally said after witnessing this utterly ridiculous outbursts by the Princess.
At that, Princess Katherine pouted her lips and didn't say anything. She was afraid of both her mother and Duke Kensington. This man was known for his decisive temperament. She's afraid that if she continues to offend Lady Melissa, Duke Kensington would not forgive her at all, not to mention the punishment she would get from her mother. Princess Katherine was so frustrated. She wished she had kill this useless bitch when they met 5 years ago!
Princess Katherine remained quiet during the meal and only threw occasional glances at Duke Kensington. When her gaze landed on Melissa, it turned deadly as if she wanted to kill her with her looks. Melissa merely ignored the Princess and continued eating her sumptuous lunch.
'What a pity, with her good looks, she could've gotten any man she wants. Why bother with this stonecold man?' Melissa wondered in her heart.
Prince Xander on the hand, appeared friendly and he chatted casually with Duke Kensington during the meal. Both men seemed to share a close bond with one another. From her observation, Prince Xander looked like he was about 16 years old, while Princess Katherine seemed to be around Melissa's age. Both siblings were very good looking, although Prince Xander seemed to have inherited his mother's dark brown hair, while Princess Katherine had long blonde hair. Both of them however, had similar light brown eyes. One thought crossed Melissa's mind, 'The Queen said Prince Xander is her younger son, does that mean there's another prince?'
After the meal, Duke Kensington sent Lord William to the guest chamber to take a nap. Although the young boy protested at first, he eventually succumb to his father's instruction. In order to fulfil her expanding curiousity as to how big the palace was, Lady Melissa seek permission from the Queen to take a stroll in the royal garden. Queen Serina readily obliged her request and asked Duke Kensington to escort her. As much as she wanted to wander alone, she couldn't possibly drive Duke Kensington away. Therefore, she walked with her hand looped around the Duke's arm, proceeding to the royal garden. In one hand, she held the white rose which was placed on her plate earlier.
This was the first time he held her so close to him and he could smell a faint flowery fragrance coming from her. His body instinctively grew rigid and he found it hard to concentrate. He kept stealing glances at her from time to time, sensing her obvious curiosity on her surroundings. Duke Kensington was slightly puzzled at this. Didn't she attend the palace before? She's behaving as if this was the first time she's been here. After a moment of silence passed, Duke Kensington said,
"I apologized for Princess Katherine's words just now. She shouldn't have said that. You must feel upset."
"Upset? No, I'm not. Don't worry about me." Melissa answered truthfully.
"Really? You don't have to act brave in front of me. If you're upset, you can tell me. We're going to be husband and wife soon. You can tell me anything you want." Duke Kensington reminded her.
"But I'm really not, Your Grace. Anyway, I'm going to sit here for a while. Do you want to join me?" Melissa said. Her eyes just wanted to feast on the vast choices of flowers in front of her, and not to be reminded of that uncouth princess.
Coincidentally, they have reached a gazebo and there's a seating area available. Before Duke Kensington could answer, an attendant came over and spoke quietly to Duke Kensington, causing his eyebrows to furrow in what seemed like annoyance. He turned to Melissa and said apologetically, "My Lady, I'm really sorry but I need to step away for awhile. I will be back soon. Do you mind sitting here by yourself until then?"
Melissa was obviously delighted at this golden opportunity. 'Wow! I can explore without supervision! You can come back tomorrow for all I care.'
But to Duke Kensington, she replied sweetly, "Of course, Your Grace. I will be here waiting." With that Duke Kensington left with the attendant.
However, the moment Duke Kensington left, Melissa suddenly had the same bad feeling creeping in again. She didn't know why she felt like someone was watching her but everytime she looked around, there was only trees and flower beds surrounding her. There was no one else in sight. Melissa felt regretful for not insisting that the Duke stayed with her, or at the very least followed him back to the main palace. Great! Now what? She couldn't really remember the way back as they went around for quite some time before they reached this gazebo. She's afraid she would get lost if she tried finding her way back. In this massive courtyard, how would anyone find her if she got lost? Thinking of this, Melissa decided to stay put and wait for Duke Kensington.
Few minutes in, Melissa suddenly felt her eyes grew heavier and unknowingly, she fell asleep.
Prince Xavier approached the gazebo where Lady Melissa was. He had been watching her closely since the moment they left the main palace and after that troublesome Duke left, he finally had an opportunity to meet his beloved. When he stepped into the seating area, he noticed Lady Melissa was fast asleep. Taking this chance, Prince Xavier feasted his eyes on her face, her lips, her milky white neck, her bosom, all the way down to her slender waist and feet. He cautiously held her hand and kissed it. The fragrant smell of her skin nearly drove him crazy with both love and lust.
Lady Melissa Rose Knight. The girl of his dreams. The first time he met her was when Duchess Rose Knight brought her to the palace. She was only 13 years old at that time while he just turned 21. She was so adorable with her amazing violet eyes. He couldn't forget those eyes. No one knew how, but she ended up fighting with Princess Katherine. Not allowing his sister to bully this young girl, Prince Xavier had stepped in and stopped the fight. He then took Lady Melissa with him and they ended up spending the rest of the day together. Eventhough she's just 13, Lady Melissa didn't act like a child. She was intelligent and not afraid of showing it off. Prince Xavier was taken by both her beauty and intelligence. Despite being arrogant, it actually added charm to the young girl's attributes. Unfortunately, Lady Melissa didn't come back to the palace after that.
After meeting Lady Melissa, Prince Xavier couldn't help but to think of her day and night. At 21, many peers of his age had settled down, some even had children. His mother had persuaded him to do the same, citing it was only proper for a prince to marry and produce an heir for the royal family. Many prospects were introduced to him but none had managed to touch his heart like Lady Melissa. He had rejected all of the proposals and informed the Queen that he needed more time. As to the reason, he kept it a secret from everyone. He couldn't possibly inform the Queen that he was in love with a young girl! Therefore, he decided to wait until she was much older before seeking her hand in marriage.
However, Prince Xavier always longed to see Lady Melissa. Given his status, it wasn't proper for him to seek Lady Melissa out, especially when there's no relation between them in the first place. Over the years, he had tried to get close to her by secretly finding out all the gatherings that she would attend but unfortunately, she was always guarded by either her parents or that damn brother of hers. Prince Xavier could only watch her from afar. However he also noticed that none of the other noble girls seemed to want to befriend Lady Melissa. He could only scorned at their foolishness for not able to distinguish between a real gem and a fake one. Anyway, these fools were not worthy of Lady Melissa and he somehow felt glad she's not in contact with any of them.
When she turned 16, the palace held a birthday party for his brother, Prince Xander and he found out Lady Melissa would be attending with her family. He was ecstatic and wondered how he could get her alone so they could spend time together like before. He wasn't sure if she remembered him given the fact that few years had passed since they last met, but he was determined to meet her anyhow.