Chapter 2: Betrothal

Since The Grand Duke Cillian Bane, the man who owned the biggest duchy in Crestshire, was an important acquaintant of the royal family, it was natural for king Caelestis and queen Esmeray to attend the engagement banquet. But what fascinated the queen tonight was prince Felix's sudden interest in attending a social gathering. She was a bit taken aback when she was informed that he would be joining them to the banquet. Although it made her glad that the responsibility of being the crown prince was slowly sinking in for her anti-social, reckless son.

"It's my pleasure to know that this son of mine has finally taken socializing with the nobility into consideration." Esmeray spoke to Caelestis who was sitting in front of her in the carriage that was being followed by Sir Ian and prince Felix's carriage.

"He has to become the emporer of Crestshire someday, it is about time he takes responsibility." Caelestis said holding a proud smile of his face.

Though in the other carriage, the so-called "responsibility of a ruler" seemed to be distressing Sir Ian instead of the crown prince himself.

"Huh, finally after months of requesting you agree to attend a social banquet! I'm so glad I live to witness this day." Ian emphasized dramatically.

"Well I had no choice here. You and Mother have been taunting me quite a while now. Also I'm running out of reasons to deny the invitations since I haven't been on the battlefield for a great while."

"Thank goodness you haven't! The battlefield had kept you far too busy, your social approaches are so less. It is shameful for you as a prince, that the people don't know you."

"Well I can't say you're wrong there..... Also, I've been meaning to ask you for a while, did the grand Duke always had a daughter? I don't remember him having one...not that I've seen him with his daughter in his social events either."

"Well that because you never attended any social events" Ian mumbled to himself, "Though now that you mention it, I don't think the Duke's daughter has made any social appearance except for her coming of age ceremony. I had to attend that event on your behalf since you clearly denied to attend..."

"Oh right....but to think that the grand Duke's daughter hasn't made any social appearance except for her coming of age ceremony... isn't that a bit sceptical?"

"That is true but, I have heard quite a few rumours about her though. It is believed that she is the Duke's illegitimate child, that is why she kept in such secrecy. I remember the day I last saw her at the coming of age banquet though, even for a mere 18 year old she had quite the coldness within her eyes. Her demeanor didn't seem pleasant either. She was a professional at ignoring every soul that approached her with her cold gaze. Maybe because she was nervous I believe?  Who knows? Either ways she looked pretty mundane to me." He shrugged.

"She sounds pretty interesting one to me."

"That was interesting for you?! My lord have you perhaps.... always been a masochist?"

"All I meant was that she's a bit mysterious. Who doesn't enjoy solving puzzles an- Ian stop writing down my preferences in that sketchy notebook..." He glared at Ian who was holding a pocket-size notebook in which he had hastily written down all that Felix had just mentioned.

"I must take notes in order to find you a fiancé as soon as possible."

"Just drop dead already." Felix said as he sighed looking out the window. The sight of falling snow was indicating that they had arrived in Crystalford Dukedom. The winters in Crystalford were well-known for being the longest and coldest ones. The white, sparkling blanket of snow would be laid on the grounds of Crystalford for six months long, every year.

....

"Your grace?" Ezra called out to Ophelia for the fifth time as she finally succeeded in bringing Ophelia back to earth.

"Uh- yes?"

"You sure love to zone out, don't you?"

"My apologies..." Ophelia sighed as her head hung down. Her ears were buzzing by just one look at the bustling crowd in the banquet hall. She had only left her room to take a look at the banquet hall one last time before she walked down there. But to her utter horror, the presence of so many people startled her. The last time she had to deal with this anxiety was when she was 18 and had to visit her coming-of-age banquet. That was the first and last time the Duchess allowed her to attend a public event. Ever since then the cold, dark, lonely walls of her room were all she had ever known. It wasn't that she hated the solitude, she had grown used to it instead. To the point where even a mere sight of so many people frightened her. She had to walk down the banquet hall's stairs in front of all these people. One single mistake and the Duchess would not spare her at all.

She had been pacing around her room and fixing her dress for the last few hours. Ezra had suggested that Ophelia should stay in her room before the time of her appearance, but she seemed to regret her decision as she watched Ophelia get more and more nervous in the closed walls of her room.

"Enough with the pacing already, lady Ophelia. You might get your feet sprained."

"Wh- What if...what if I trip on the stairs? What if I end up doing something that upsets the Duchess? I.... I'm not sure if I'm ready yet Ezra I-"

"My lady!"Ezra held her shoulders tightly to make Ophelia face towards her, "Everything will be okay.... nothing will go wrong. Stop panicking over a mere public appearance, it will go smoothly. I will stay by your side the whole time so that there won't be any mishaps."

"Ezra..." Ophelia wrapped her arms around her embracing the warmth as her heart started to calm down a bit.

"Take deep breaths..." Ezra whispered patting her back gently, "shall we go out now? It is almost time."

"Yes..." Ophelia smiled letting go off Ezra, "Let's get this over with..." She said looking in the mirror for the very last time. Most of Ophelia's traits were from her father, she had the same black hair and she looked quite similar to him as well. The only thing she inherited from her mother were her emerald eyes. She didn't get those icy blue eyes of her father, though her brother on the other hand looked just like him. Even his stern demeanor was just like the Duke's. Ophelia was often envious of Declan for being able to be so close to a man who barely spared her a glance. There were times she hated her eyes, if only they weren't emerald but blue.....the Duke or the Duchess might not have been reminded of her real mother. Maybe then they'd treat her a little better? Maybe? But that too was her own hopeless expectation.

"Oh...my lady" Ezra called out handing Ophelia a pair of long emerald gloves that matched the colour of her dress. "This will help cover the scars..." She said as she laid a concerned gaze upon Ophelia's arms that were covered in burns and bruise scars.

"Ah! Thank you so much Ezra.." Ophelia smiled as she started putting on the gloves.

...

"Lady Ophelia Bane of Crystalford has entered the hall!!" Announced the Herald.

In a matter of mere seconds all eyes turned towards Ophelia, who was gracefully walking down the stairs.

Felix's gaze went wide as soon as he caught a glimpse of Ophelia walking down in her emerald green floral gown. The emerald of her dress and jewellery matched the her emerald eyes. Her hair as dark as a moonless nightsky deeper than the abyss, neatly styled and laid down. Pale skin, slender frame and a hollow look in her eyes. Her beauty was truly beyond worldly compliments. Felix was utterly Bewitched by her beauty. Had he not known her true identity,he would have believed that she was an angel descending down from heavens. Maybe it was because he had been staring for too long, that Ophelia's gaze met his. But he didn't dare to look away. Ophelia looked away in an instant, showing an expression of discomfort as she might have realised that he noticed her staring at him.

"She's...is Beautiful...." The words slipped out of his tongue before he could even comprehend his own thoughts.

"Huh? .....huhh?!!" Ian who was right behind him with his face painted with sheer terror as he watched the prince stare at the lady with big doe eyes. Felix Arzhel Nightshade is intrigued by a lady??!?! He thought. The same lady who will be engaged in a while though.....wait what?! Right! She is to be engaged to someone else!! Ian's trail of thoughts continued as his panick level started increasing once everything sinked in.

"Y-your highness?"

"When had I ever seen a being as beautiful as her?" Felix's eyes still glued upon her as he spoke, completely dazed as his eyes refused to move even an inch from the lady.

"Damn it's no good! He is far too amazed by her!" He whispered to himself.

"Well great! The first woman you fall in love with gets engaged to another just a few moments after you fell for her. Serves you right for all the hearts you broke." Ian said out loud enough for Felix to hear.

"In love? Don't be ridiculous Ian... I'm just baffled that someone can be as beautiful as that."

"Beautiful?" Ian lifted his gaze up to catch a glimpse of lady Ophelia, she was holding the same cold, empty gaze as she did three years ago on her coming of age ceremony. Her eyes were cold and piercing, frightening enough to send a shiver down his spine. "My lord are you sure you aren't a masochist?" He asked with a narrowed gaze.

"Don't you see it? Her eyes!"

"Yes her eyes!" Ian repeated in a frightened tone.

"It's the first time a girl has looked at me and yet her eyes have remained that empty. There is no lust, desire or lies in those eyes...."

"My lord I'm convinced you are a maso-"

"I think mother's Calling me there..." Felix said as he ignored Ian's words.

"Well then..." Ian shrugged as he followed Felix. The queen was currently conversing with the Duchess.

"Ah, prince Felix. I am honoured to have your presence on this merry occasion." Duke Bane greeted.

"It's our pleasure to have the whole royal family as our guests..." The Duchess greeted him with a curtsy.

"I'm grateful for your kind words..." Felix replied politely. "And this must be the lady of the hour." He said shifting his gaze towards Ophelia who stood beside the Duchess.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Ophelia said with a curtsy.

"The pleasure is all mine." He reached out to Ophelia's hand, "may I?" He asked as he held the back of her hand close to his lips. Ophelia gave a slight nodd. Felix couldn't hold back his smile as he kissed gently on the back of her gloved hand. Ophelia may have been dying in agitation but on the outside she held the same cold expression, giving little to no reaction to anything he said or did. Although that was something that amused Felix who was used to lustful gazes.

"I heard that the prince will be staying in Crystalford for a while...is that the truth?" The Duke asked drawing Felix's attention away from the lady.

"Yes that is quite the truth. Since I'll be observing the welfare of my people.I need to patrol the empire atleast once before ascending the throne, don't I?"

"Ascending the throne without a queen?" The Duke was suprised at it was not normal for any ruler of Crestshire to ascend the throne before getting married. The balance in ruling by the efforts of both queen and the king was a strong belief in Crestshire.

"That.....is something we've been working on." The queen replied as she glared at her son.

"My son here is finding it difficult to find a suitable lady." King Caelestis said.

"The Crestian people will sure object to that decision your majesty, though it might differ in the case of Prince Felix. For he is truly loved by all." The Duke replied.

"I appreciate your compliment Duke, though I do hope to get a good reaction from my people as I'm hardly considering getting married at the moment."

"Viscount Theodore Thatcher will now be entering!!" The Herald announced turning everyone's attention to the main doors from where the viscount entered. Felix took the opportunity and slipped away from his parents' sight with Ian before they make him socialize with the whole crowd before them.

The viscount was a fine, brunet man. He had a neat dressing sense that added into his elegant charisma. His hazel-eyed gaze was soft and welcoming. He had warm smile on his face a he entered along with his mother and father.

Ophelia was taken aback by the positivity of his presence. Ezra's words were suddenly making sense. Maybe if she just went along with what fate has for her, everything will be fine? Though she wasn't really in love with him, she had imagined the situation to be far worse than this. So it relieved her that the man chosen to be engaged to her tonight, was some-what of a good person.

Beside him entered Declan Bane, Ophelia's older brother. Declan Bane was the official heir to the Crystalford Duchy. He had the same deep black hair as Ophelia but his eyes were icy blue. He was the man every lady in Crystalford was swooning over.

"Act nicely Ophelia. I won't tolerate your insolence in front of the viscount." The Duchess whispered to Ophelia.

"I understand, Duchess" she replied in a meek voice.

"Also who dressed you? Why are you wearing green while everyone else in the family wore midnight blue? Do you know anything about balancing a reputation?"

"My apologies, b-but I wasn't allowed to visit the seamstress the same day as you all did so I didn't knew what colour you had decided upon..."

"Now you're blaming me? What an insolent girl." She released a disappointed sigh.

"I... apologize." Ophelia whispered as she hung her head down.

"Viscount! I'm so glad you made it on time!" The Duke greeted Theodore.

"It would be very rude of me to delay this any further." Theodore said with a gentle smile. The Duke further went to greet the Viscount's parents, Lilian and Alastair Thatcher.

"Greetings, Viscount!" The Duchess greeted as she and Ophelia bowed in curtsy.

"Please drop the formalities. How dare I make my own mother-in-law to be, to curtsy before me?"

"That is so kind of you, viscount. The ball is just about to begin, so I believe that you and Ophelia should proceed towards the first dance of the night."

"Oh! How rude of me!" His brows furrowed as his worried gaze shifted towards Ophelia, "my lady..." He moved closer taking her hand into his as he kissed the back of her hand gently. Ophelia's lips parted a bit as her stern expression melted down to a rather nervous one, "good evening, and pardon my rudeness for not greeting you sooner. I am ashamed, truly."

"You need not be ashamed of something so trivial Viscount." Ophelia was trying her best to not meet his gaze, her eyes moved in different directions trying to avoid eye-contact.

"Viscount Thatcher, it's been quite a while!" Caelestis greeted as he  and Esmeray approached Theodore.

"Your majesty!" Theodore kneeled holding his fist to his heart, bowing down in respect.

"My my, let's not be so formal now shall we?" Esmeray insisted, "we are your guests here after all."

"How dare I not bow before my emperor and empress?" Theodore said as he got up.

"Quite the perfect suitor you chose, Duchess." The empress said looking at the Delilah's direction to which she returned a grateful smile.

"I would've introduced you to my son but unlike the Viscount who sincerely greet everyone, my son likes to fool around making his royal guard suffer in misery along with him." Caelestis said in a sarcastic tone.

" I hope that son of mine hasn't made any plans to escape the banquet already." Esmeray said shaking her head.

"Quite the personality he is...." Theodore expressed his amusement about the prince. Just then a sweet, melodious rhythm surrounded the room. The ball had begun.

"My lady..." Theodore called out to Ophelia as he offered his hand, "may I have the pleasure of getting your first dance?" He asked politely.

"My pleasure." Ophelia replied giving her hand in his and letting him lead her towards the centre of the ball room. Somehow Ophelia's nervousness about the presence of so many people was eased. Theodore gently pressed one hand on her waist as she held onto his shoulder. Thier other hands interwined with one another's as they swayed to the euphonic rhythm.

"Hey who's that goody-two-shoes with the lady?" Felix asked Ian. Ian was frustrated by Felix as he was dragging him along in running around the banquet hall hiding from the king and queen. Ian looked at the dancing couple with a tired gaze.

"That's...the viscount, Theodore Thatcher. The fiancé to-be."

"She's being wed to him?! He doesn't even compare to half of her beauty!-" Ian wasted no time slapping his palm on Felix's mouth to shut him up.

"It's his engagement for God sake. What if someone were to hear you?" He scolded taking off his hand.

"I almost forgot she was about to be engaged for a while..." Felix showed a hint of disappointment in his tone which took Ian a bit by suprise. When was the last time he saw the prince pining over a lady after all.....

...

Though on the outside Ophelia looked quite normal dancing with Theodore, in the inside her mind was a complete mess. The Duchess was surely watching her, so many eyes...is she doing these steps right? What she trips? Her head was clouded by all kind of thoughts.

"You look quite nervous..." Theodore whispered.

"Pardon me, I'm just not used to so many eyes staring."

"Don't worry, once we're married no one will get to stare or even glance at you." Those words took her by suprise.

"Huh?", Her eyes widened as she traced an unfamiliar, dark grin on his face. His face that looked quite innocent and gentle had turned into a bizarre and insincere. His eyes were, for that moment, filled with lust not affection. But then in the blink of an eye his gentle smile returned.

"Oh pardon me I was just attempting to be humourous. Though that doesn't seem to work..." He chuckled nervously. Ophelia was still in shock by his sudden change of demeanor. Maybe she must've misjudged this man...

After the music ended, the engagement ceremony began. The two families, Bane and Thatcher were soon to be joined by strong ties.

"With this betrothal, may our families bond stronger in the near future." Duke Bane said. Though his attention, the whole time was towards the viscount and not his own daughter.

"Indeed...l can hardly wait before we make it official." The former viscount, Alastair said with a wide grin.

"My lady.." Theodore extended his hand forward. Though she did hesitate for a second, it was too late to object now. Ophelia placed her hand on his, Theodore slipped the silver diamond ring into her finger. Ophelia saw the viscount's lips move phrasing something like "m-i-n-e" as he kissed the ring on her hand. She immediately slipped her hand away from his. Ezra handed the silver ring to her that she was supposed to put on his fingers. Theodore extended his left hand forward. Ophelia held his hand and slipped the silver ring into his finger. A series of applause was heard from the crowd as they finally exchanged the rings.

...

After the ring exchanging, Ophelia and Theodore had to greet the guests. Ophelia was tired, but what made her more uncomfortable was being by the side a man who seemed to be a hypocrite to he gentle, kind personality. She was slowly getting annoyed by his attempts to hold her hand, or hold her by waist even if it was just a gesture of affection to the people, for her it felt too soon to be so close. It felt almost like he was trying to mark his authority as they greeted the guests. It was unbearable to keep-up with.

Just like a thousand other times, once again he tried to interwine his fingers with hers by helding onto her hand but Ophelia was quick to pull away.

"I....I don't feel very well. It is quite sweltering in here. Maybe it's the crowd....pardon me but I need some fresh air." She said as she started to walk away.

"Hey- wait..."

"It's okay I'll be fine!" With that she blended herself in the crowds making her way to the balcony as fast as she can. Her breathing has become heavy by the time she reached the balcony. She lifted her gaze from the ground only to find a strange blond man standing by the balustrade staring into the dark, starry midnight skies. The sound of her heels had already caught the man's attention. He turned his head around only to see Ophelia standing by the balcony doors. His lips curved into a soft smile.

"Well hello there..."