Engagement

Stephanie paced around the room, feeling nervous. She had rejected her mother's offer, unaware of their back-up plan, if she ever refused to give in. She stood beside them in a plain dress. As the king's carriage arrived, the trio hopped in and left. The palace was filled with people doing different kinds of activities. The place was decorated to the middle of the town– which was the market. They finally arrived at the palace and Stephanie's mouth Drew an 'O'.

Soon, the engagement party began, which meant sealing their alliances too. Stephanie sat at a corner, while Veronica and her mother strode away to meet a few people. Every girl envied Veronica as she was stylishly dressed, and they all thought she was the Prince's bride-to-be.

"Hey, beautiful." A man, in his late 50s, approached Stephanie. "Let's dance," he added. "No, thanks. I'm not interested," she said. She looked around to see everyone in the room, dancing with their respective partners. The man stepped forward, getting closer to her, she became nervous. He raised his hand to touch her, when he felt someone glaring so hard at him. He could feel the cold, hard glare, which was enough to send shivers down his spine. Furthermore, he turned around to meet the Prince and his Commander, Bruce. Likewise, he felt he would die any moment from now. "Yo… Your Ma… Highness," he greeted, with a bow, as he prayed silently that he should be spared.

"Leave!" The tone of his voice was deep enough to cause an earthquake. The old man dashed out immediately, thanking his stars that the devil prince did not kill him. "Thank you, my Prince," Stephanie said. "Why are you here?" He asked, rather. She kept mute and lowered her head. For a moment, time seems to stop. She didn't realize the dance had ended, and all eyes were on them. The prince hardly approaches anyone. At that time, Veronica wished she was the princess distressed.

Everyone in the room gasped in shock as Stephanie's name was mentioned to be the Prince's bride-to-be, except for the mother-daughter duo who wore a disgusting face. They began to murmur, "of all people, why her?" "I'm more beautiful than her. She doesn't even have any standard!" Some ladies said.

After the engagement, they began conversing with different people, while some, ate. Prince Michael had gone up to the balcony, he stood there, staring at the sky. He looked regal in his black tuxedo, his black ocean-like orbs, that seem dead, yet mesmerizing, one could get lost by mere staring. His chiseled abs, toned muscles and perfectly aligned jawline were enough to make one drool. His curly jet black hair and glistening white dentition, made him look like a hot model, whose perfection was mysterious.

Veronica walked seductively towards him, and flirtatiously wrapped her hands around his arm, and leaned forward, pressing her mounds on him. With such a move, any man will crumble and fall at her feet. All except the devil prince, who stared at her, coldly. "My Prince," she called out softly.

"What do you want?" He asked, not affected by her moves. "Can't you just look at me? For once?" She asked as though a little girl is begging for her mother's attention. She was becoming impatient. Furthermore, she continued, "We've been friends since childhood. We're betrothed! So, why her? She's a nobody and i—"

"We were never betrothed. And she is not a nobody!" He replied coldly. She didn't budge. She was used to the cold treatment, since they were kids. Not only that, but she lifted her hand to touch his face and purposely tripped. He acted on reflex, he immediately wrapped his arm around her waist, their fingers, intertwined, landing them in an uncompromised position. "Stop pretending, my prince. I know you love me!" She caught sight of Stephanie, and she leaned forward, with their lips almost touching.

Stephanie gasped as she saw them in the awkward position. She stood there for some minutes, Veronica turns her gaze towards her, and Michael follows her line of sight. His eyes widened as he saw Stephanie. He let go of Veronica and froze as he saw a single teardrop from her eyes. She ran down the stairs, holding her dress. She ran as fast as she could, to wherever her wobbling legs took her. Veronica had an evil smirk on her face, as she adjusted her dress. Her plan was going her way.

*Few minutes ago*

"Congratulations, my dear daughter," Madame Sarah said, smiling mischievously.

"Thank you, mother," she replied. "Mmm… I wonder where your fiancé is. Shouldn't he be with you?" She asked. Stephanie thought for a moment. " Maybe, he's attending to something important?" It looked like a question, rather than an answer. "Well, I saw him go to the balcony, with a woman. You wouldn't want that, would you?" She winked at her, and walked away, leaving the confused girl standing still.

Stephanie left the room in a haste, she felt a sharp pain in her heart— was that jealousy? She didn't realize she had been standing there for a long time, until he directed his gaze towards her. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she took to her heels, not caring that she looked like a runaway bride. Luckily, the palace was not far from the woods, and so, she ran to the woods where she sometimes, stay to relax. She sat on a log of wood, tears streaming down, until she heard noises in the woods. She wiped her tears and began to look around. 'Wait, why am I even crying? This is just a contacted marriage, and he can have as many mistresses as he wants. Why do I feel pained in my little heart? She thought.

"Who… Who's there?" She yelled. "Show yours—"

"Hey there, sexy lady!" He licked his lips and gazed at her with lust-filled eyes. She looked down at her dress, and saw that her thighs were left bare, from her dress being ripped off when she fell. "Who are you?" She asked, trying to cover her bare thighs. "I'm not going to hurt you, I just wanna play!" He moved closer to her, she tried not to step back, but her legs betrayed her. She stepped backwards until there was no space, as her back hit the tree trunk behind her. "Help! Somebody!" She screamed. "Such a waste. No one's going to save you now." He smirked. He tucked her scarlet hair behind her ears, and lifted her face.

"Please, stop. I'm begging you. What do you want from me?"

"I. Want. You." He brought his face closer, to kiss her, when he yelped. Stephanie pushed him down, as she gasped. She looked at the man, lying unconscious on the ground with an arrow tucked in his right leg.

"What just happened?" She wondered.