The First Dance vs. The Anticipated Dance

When the king was done with his speech, he called all the servers to bring in the feast. The great hall clamored as fifty servants came in with huge trays and arranged them on the long table at the farthest corner of the hall. These were intended for those in lower noble ranks: Viscounts and Barons, and ordinary citizens who were given a special pass to enter the castle, like Aramis.

Meanwhile, the higher-ranked nobles remained seated at the front tables and waited for the servers to serve the food on their table themselves.

'Why were they seated with us?' Aurnia ranted in her thoughts while she remained composed on the outside.

She was even startled when this certain Lord Bryson pulled a chair for her to sit on. She took the offered seat nonetheless. However, at this point, she was already suspicious of what was really going on. She doesn't like how her mother and that duchess were smiling and whispering at each other while giving her and the boy next to her knowing smiles.

'Maybe I was just overthinking. They looked like very important guests from the kingdom next to us; perhaps that was the reason for the special treatment for them.' She just thought about it and focused on the sumptuous feast in front of her.

***

When the feast was done, everyone was ushered to the adjacent room of the great hall—the castle's huge ballroom.

This time, the king and queen and Aurnia were led to an elevated platform and took the three seats there. The duchess of Malta and her son took the seats each side of them on a lower platform than then. While the higher-ranking aristocrats of the kingdom were given their seats below them and the rest were left standing.

***

The image has pretty much summed up the heirarchy of power in the kingdom, as Aramis thought while silently observing the people around him. Honestly, after escorting Aurnia in her grand entrance awhile ago, he wanted to sneak out of the celebration but decided to stay because Aurnia told him that he would be her first dance tonight.

He mindlessly fixed his tuxedo as he gawked at the elevated platform where Aurnia was sitting.

He restrained himself from letting out a laugh when he saw the princess discreetly waving at his spot.

'Aurnia wouldn't be Aurnia without her small antics.' He thought with a playful smile curving his lips.

The spokesperson climbs up to the small podium across the elevated platform where the Royal Family of Throuvalon sits. And, as if on cue, with him leaning on the microphone, soft, classical music sets in the atmosphere.

"Now, for the second part of the program tonight." The spokesperson's modulated voice erupted into the air, breaking the lively chatter of the guests. "Let's welcome them on the dance floor, Princess Aurnia with her first dance of the night..." 

Aramis gulped the lump in his throat and began his way to the front.

"...Lord Bryson of Malta! A round of applause for them, please."

Aramis stopped in his tracks when he heard the name that the spokesperson announced. His gaze jerked towards the princess, and he saw confusion written all over her face.

He saw the king's and queen's broad smiles, along with the duchess of Malta, who was treated extra special tonight with her son.

'Of course they would choose an aristocrat to be Aurnia's first dance.' He thought bitterly and cowered back into the sea of guests.

***

Aurnia saw Aramis retreating once again in the back. She bit her lower lip, feeling bad for him since she told him that he would be her first dance.

"Mother, I thought my Aramis would be my first dance?' She leaned closely against her mother on her right and whispered it to her.

Queen Ysmena turned to her, wearing a passive expression. " Yes, your escort should be your first dance." The queen nodded to her.

"Then, shouldn't Aramis be the one who is supposedly my first dance? Why did our spokesperson announce it was him?" She asked her mother while giving the young boy beside her a quick glance.

The queen grimaced at the mention of Anderewe's son's name. "He was supposedly your escort tonight, Aurnia. But, since you insisted on having Aramis be your escort, then it was only fitting to have Lord Bryson as your first dance tonight." Queen Ysmena told her with a finality in her tone and crossed her arms across her chest.

Aurnia knows the meaning behind that familiar gesture: It means her mother won't entertain any more complaints from her.

"Princess Aurnia, may I have the pleasure of having the first dance tonight?" The young lord of Malta rose to his feet and walked in front of her, spreading his palm toward her.

Aurnia stared at his azure blue eyes and internally scowled.

'I don't want him to be my first dance. I'm not comfortable with him.'

She wanted to say that to the young lord, but she wasn't stupid enough not to know that blatantly refusing Bryson would make a huge fuss over the guests and to her parents.

With a heavy chest, the princess had no choice but to accept the young lord's hand and climb down the stairs with him.

'Hmmm... his hands were smoother than Aramis' ' She commented, while deep in her thoughts, at the clear distinction of the hands of both gentlemen.

'Strange but I liked Aramis' hand's slightly rough texture.' She thought again as the young lord guided her to the center of the dance floor.

She was yanked out of her thoughts when the young lord began to snake his right hand around her waist and wrap her right hand with his left hand.

An audible 'oooh' erupted from the crowd as the young lord began to guide her along with the melodious music that had settled into the air.

"So, it's really true..."

The young lord's soothing, baritone voice broke the silence that engulfed them. He deliberately trailed off his voice, wanting to initiate a conversation with her.

Aurnia's gaze shifted to the young lord's face and was met with two deep-set, blue eyes. She smiled awkwardly at him before she responded to him. "What do you mean?" Her voice was almost a whisper; she wasn't even sure if he heard her.

"That the rumors were true." He smirked. Then, his gaze went straight to her eyes, which made her uncomfortable. She has the impression that he was looking at her like a hot commodity. "Throuvalon's sole heir has unearthly beauty."

The young princess arched her eyebrows at him. "Now that the rumors have proven true, what are you planning to do with it?" She asked him while lifting her chin at him. Her tone sounded like a challenge.

At a vantage point, it appeared like they were just exchanging normal conversation while gliding along with the music. No one knew that the young lord's offhand demeanor was rubbing the young princess the wrong way.

It seemed like the young Lord was able to quickly pick up the princess' tone. He quirked up his brows, and a proud smile curled his full lips. "Well, I wouldn't mind coming back here to spend more time with you." He answered in a frank tone.

Aurnia let her gaze wander around his face and concluded right away that she hated his guts and his chiseled jaw.

She huffed proudly and raised her brows. "Are you still going to come back if I looked the opposite of the rumors that you heard?"

The young princess' eyes squinted when she heard him let out a giggle.

"Oh my, look at them enjoying each other's company, your Royal Highness. I rarely see my son giggle at the company of a new acquaintance, but look at him smiling unfalteringly while dancing with Princess Aurnia." The Duchess of Malta leaned forward and whispered to Queen Ysmena.

The queen hastily agreed to the Duchess and clapped her hands. "I am glad that Lord Bryson was enjoying my daughter's company. This is a good sign, indeed." She exclaimed while tilting her head exaggeratedly to show that she was elated at the scene in front of them. "They looked so good together already. I am sure that they will be the most talked about couple in the next few days amongst all kingdoms." She chirped happily, which earned an elated applause from the duchess.

The young lord's lips curled upward, he tilted his head, and he looked at her in a certain way that annoyed her. "You could already guess the answer to that question, your Highness. I won't bother coming back if you aren't worth my time. Fortunately... " His voice trailed off, and he leaned his head forward. He smiled devilishly, then whispered this to her. "...you were exactly that one I could present proudly in my kingdom. You don't like the idea of uniting two kingdoms?"

Before she could utter a reply, the music stopped. She hasn't been able to do anything since the young lord bowed to her.

On their way to the stairs of the elevated platform, the young princess grabbed one cocktail drink from the tray held by a passing server. Her thoughts were still occupied by the young lord's last words.

She silently settled back into her chair, as did even the young lord himself when she saw him sit down beside her in her peripheral vision.

'I couldn't believe my mother would allow such a creep to be near me, and imagine, he was a noble himself.' She grumbled inwardly and gobbled up the cocktail drink she brought with her.

***

Since her first glass, she was able to finish three more cocktail glasses while dancing to her father and other nobles of the kingdom.

She secretly roamed her gaze around, looking for that one person she yearned to dance with tonight.

'Where was he? Did he just go home without even dancing with me? Tss.... ' She pouted when she thought of the possibility.

Her fingers were busy circling the mouth of the glass as she gawked nonchalantly at the guests in front of her.

She was left alone, as her mother and father were currently dancing with the Duchess of Malta and her son.

"You seemed preoccupied, your Highness."

Aurnia's head snapped upwards, and her eyes bulged out in happiness when she saw him slowly walking towards her.

"Aramis!" She exclaimed happily when he was finally in front of her. She was so elated upon seeing him that she almost jumped out of joy, momentarily forgetting she was wearing a huge ballgown.

She jokingly slapped his hand. "I thought you would leave without even dancing with me." She pouted while looking at him with an adorable expression. "Don't you know how many times I have cursed you in my head?" She bulged out her eyes at him to express her 'annoyance' at him.

However, she just looked like a glaring puppy in Aramis' eyes prompting the young boy to chuckle.

"I couldn't believe you were just laughing at me." She scowled, still pouting her lips.

But the scowl on her face disappeared when she saw his palm spread open in front of her.

She jerked her head eagerly towards him.

"Can I finally have a dance with you, Aurnia?"