The Royal Banquet --- Part 2
"What are you saying, ladies? My sister is not a fake! Andrea won't do that (referring to her replacing Ara) to me, right? Andrea???" Ara asked her with teary eyes.
"Oh, Princess..." They felt regretful all of a sudden.
'What are you going to do now? You brought this on yourself, sis.' Ara thought.
"Of course, unnie! Why would I do that to you??"
Then Ara felt a strong aura of bloodthirst all of a sudden, which made her alert, and she started looking around.
'What was that? I'm sure I felt a murderous aura somewhere!' Ara thought.
After training for almost a decade since she was 7-year-old, Ara developed a skill that could sense bloodthirst.
"U-unnie, are you okay?" Andrea asked.
"It's nothing. I'm so sorry. I need to go." Ara said and left in a hurry.
"What do we do? The Princess looks hurt just now." The ladies said.
***
Ara looks around and goes to different places to look for a specific person who could emit such a powerful bloodthirst intent.
Then she ended up leaving the banquet hall and bumped into someone.
"Ack! Hey!-" Ara froze when he saw him.
'WHAT THE- SUGA?! But did I hurt him or something? Why is he crying?' Ara thought, suddenly felt guilty.
"H-Hey, what's wrong?" Ara asked.
"I-I'm fine, miss. I apologize for bumping into you. Excuse me-"
Ara grabs his wrist.
'F***, I can't leave a crying guy like you alone after bumping into you. Why do I feel like I made him cry?' Ara thought.
"You're not okay. Tell me, are you hurt physically or emotionally?" Ara asked.
"I-I'm sorry, but why do you think I would tell you that?"
"Um, because I'm a stranger? It's also good to talk to a stranger like me when you're feeling down or hurt because I won't judge you easily as I don't know you personally. Who knows? Maybe I could even give you some advice and help you."
*Ara lost what she's actually looking for -_-*
He chuckled and agreed. They both decided to go to the garden where there were fewer people.
"So, what happened?" Ara asked.
"You see, I'm one of the performers tonight. And I'm having a hard time coping with my panic attacks because my friend isn't around. Although I've been traveling and performing to different places, it's my first time performing at a palace and in front of a royal family."
"So are you're part of an orchestra? Don't worry! If you got chosen to perform today, it must be because of your potential. Have more confidence in yourself. Just enjoy playing music as usual! The royal family isn't full of tyrants that would kill or punish you if you made a mistake."
"And how did you know that?"
"Because that's what I think about them. They're also humans like the rest of us who just happen to have a little more of history and power. If you're still scared or nervous, then I promise that I'll come to help you if worse things happen."
He started laughing at her.
"What's so funny?" Ara asked, pouting.
"You just look so adorable," he said.
Ara started blushing at his words.
"H-Hey, what's your name again?"
"My name is Johannes. You can call me Yohan. About my surname, I prefer not to tell it to anyone."
"It's okay. To be fair, my name is Arabella. You can call me Ara. Now that we introduced each other, we're friends now, right?" Ara said with a genuine smile that made his heart beat faster.
Yohan touches his chest.
"Y-Yeah," he said shyly.
"What time are you going to perform, Yohan?" She asked.
"Oh, in about twenty- RIGHT! I'm sorry and thank you, Ara! I had to go!" Yohan said and stood up.
"No problem! Good luck!" Ara said as she watched him leave.
Ara sighed and finally remembered what she was supposed to be doing.
'F***, I completely forgot about that bloody person. I guess I should go back in as I check things outside.' Ara thought.
*At the banquet hall*
Ara came back just in time, and the royal family arrived. The King gave his speech, and she was expecting an announcement about the engagement. But, the King already started the banquet, and people began preparing for the first performance.
'I wonder if Yohan is okay... Oh? There he is!' she thought as he saw him go in.
'Wait... HE'S THE FAMOUS PIANIST WHO'S GOING TO PERFORM?! WHAT THE-' Ara thought, shocked.
Yohan saw Ara sitting close to the royal family, which also made him shocked.
'She's part of the royal family?!' Yohan thought.
He remembered how he acted earlier, and he got extremely nervous and shy. He then looked at Ara once again, and she mouthed, "Fighting!" with a cute expression.
His worries slowly left his mind. Then he began to smile.
Ara's family, along with Felix's and the two princes, noticed their small interaction. So they became jealous and protective of her.
"Where are you looking at, Ara?" Aeneas (who's beside her) asked, then glares at Yohan.
"Oh, I met a new friend earlier. I thought he was part of the orchestra, but it turns out that he's one of the main performers tonight." Ara said.
Yohan already sat down and focused on the piano, so he didn't saw him glaring but felt uneasy for a moment. But then, he softly touched the piano and started playing.
Ara was surprised when she recognized the song.
'Wait, isn't this "Life goes on"?' Ara thought.
She closes her eyes and sings along inside her head. She remembered the time when she was having a hard time in her previous life. How happy she was when she was with her family, and other sorts of memorable times that Ara spent while she was still, "Ahn Y/n."
'I wish I could bring my phone to this world that is full of their songs so I could at least feel relaxed and comforted when I need some,' Ara thought.
The song ended beautifully, and everyone gave him a big round of applause, including the royal family. Yohan looked at Ara again and was shocked to see her crying.
Ara noticed that he was worried. So she wipes her tears off and smiles at him, mouthing "I'm okay" to him.
He just nodded with a faint smile and continued his performance.