Ezekiel Zephaniel, Grand Duke of the South

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Ezekiel had been forced to join the party by his best friend, the Crown Prince. His highness had been nagging him to socialise more so he could find more friends and maybe a lover who would be a suitable marriage partner in the future. However, the Grand Duke of the South had much more pressing matters to turn to and keep his focus on. Plus, only one woman had his interest but she was into another. Albeit he could easily get her to marry him with his high status he wished not to follow the footsteps of other nobles abusing their powers to force someone's decisions. He sighed, wanting to leave and go back to his abode. The ball was in full swing yet it was just plain boring for him. He made a promise to himself that he will give his highness an earful later. Ezekiel decided to retreat outside for a change of scenery. This, however, turned out to be just as distasteful, if not more than the ball, as he witnessed the betrayal done to the woman he loves. He was enraged and would have gone in and beat the man had he not noticed the woman behind the pillar, hiding. His heart softened as he felt a pang of pain in his heart for the lady and made his way towards her. But as he saw the lady go away in a hurry, Ezekiel felt as though he should not go after her and let her have some time to herself. Hence, the great Southern Grand Duke, Ezekiel Zephaniel, walked back inside to join the uninteresting party. He contemplated on even leaving the place. As he had just made up his mind to leave the dreary event he was approached by her, the woman he loved Lady Aelia Perez. 'Is this a dream?' Ezekiel looked at her, his heartbeat fastening at the sight of the lovely lady who had just before been reduced to tears but was now looking ever so radiant as she strongly faced it all. He wondered what was going on but complied with her every request, happy that she had walked up to him. Ezekiel agreed to escort her to the balcony, not wanting her to ask any other man and to ensure her safety as well. These were a few excuses, the real reason was that he wished to be with her and since she had approached him, it would be the perfect time to be by her side. The man soon got to know her intentions as he was good at reading people. She did not outright talk about the reasoning but he knew as he had seen what had happened earlier. Despite being slightly upset due to her ulterior motives, he understood the reason why. As he took her back inside, he made up his mind to show Aelia a strong love in which she could place her trust. Ezekiel hoped to be her true love and someone who would treat her right and good, the way she deserves to be loved. 'She's so beautiful, inside and out.' He thought to himself reminiscing of the first time he had met the lady which had been the crux of his feelings for her as he lost himself in her beauty. The man snapped back to reality. He found himself in the centre along with her. Wishing to not ridicule her, Ezekiel asked her for a dance to which she accepted.

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After three dances with his grace, Lady Aelia grew exhausted. She tried not to show it but did not do a good enough job to hide it as his grace noticed.

"Shall I escort you back to your carriage, my lady?" Ezekiel looked at her offering his arm for her to hold once again.

"Please.... Excuse for my rudeness again, your gra- Ezekiel.... I'll be grateful if you would escort me." She took his arm, awed at his kindness and was appreciative of it.

The man responded with a smile leaving Aelia dumbfounded, 'Was he always so cheerful?'

They soon were outside the palace and near the Perez family's carriage. He helped her into her carriage after kissing her hand. "It was a pleasure to have made your acquaintance, Aelia."

"The pleasure was all mine, Ezekiel." She smiled brightly. "Oh!" Her eyes widened slightly as she remembered abruptly. "Um.. may I request an audience with you tomorrow?"

"Of course, I shall come by at 3 then?"

"Oh no- I'll make a visit since I asked such a request!"

"It's fine, Aelia. What sort of lover would I be if I made my lady come to me rather than going to her?"

"A-Alright.. take care. Goodbye." She blushed slightly, rendered speechless, as she waved him goodbye.

As the palace became distant and distant, Aelia let out a deep sigh. 'Well, all went well. I'm so relieved and happy that nothing bad happened.' She stared out the window, fixated her gaze on the stars in the sky. Her thoughts wandered to of those with the Grand Duke in them. 'I wonder why he accepted. It should be a reason another than me being pretty.' The lady pinched herself on her arm. 'Oh dear! Stop thinking of that! I should be grateful that he even agreed. Anyways, I have to make a contract or at least a small summary of what I'm going to tell Ezekiel tomorrow. Hopefully, he'll understand.' The carriage soon stopped and Lady Aelia was back at her home. She went straight to bed after talking to her family for a while, explaining why Javier was not with her (and also calming her family down, stopping her father and her brothers from going and beating that man in front of everyone in the palace).

"What a long night!" She sighed as she laid in bed, adorned with a light rose-pink nightgown as she fell into deep slumber.

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