Royal Treatment

I shrank away from Siegfried and saw a strange expression on his face. Prince Caspian pulled me close and succeeded in freeing me from Siegfried’s grip. “Let’s go,” he said softly in my ear.

Leading me down the hallway, Siegfried didn’t follow us. Looking up at Pantora’s prince, I couldn’t help but think he was familiar like I had before. His voice, his eyes and even his manner were similar…

“Don’t I know you?” I said hesitantly.

The prince stopped and turned to me with a smirk. “It isn’t important, is it?” he said with a laugh. “Or do you really want to know that badly?”

I did want to know but somehow the words got caught in my throat. He brushed his hand over my face, pushing a strand of my hair back from the mask and tucking it behind my ear. He leaned forward and I backed up, hitting the wall behind me. He continued to lean forward until he hovered over me, our faces just inches apart.

“S-Stop …” I began, but he tilted his head to the side and leaned forward, his lips almost to mine. I went to push him away but he instead veered to the side and leaned his head on my neck instead, giving a sigh.

“I’ve waited so long to meet you like this,” he said. I turned my head slightly to look at him. His eyes were closed but I felt the heat from his skin through the tiger mask that he wore.

He wrapped his arms around my neck and that’s when I had enough. My skin was bright red from embarrassment and I pushed him away forcefully. “P-Prince Caspian!” I shouted.

Stumbling backwards he looked at me and then as if coming to his senses laughed out loud. “Sorry,” he apologized. “It’s been a long day. You said you needed to use the bathroom; well it is right there behind you. Go ahead.” He straightened and pointed behind me.

I looked where he was pointing and saw a hallway leading away from where we stood. Hiding my face from him I hurried down it, finding a small door at the end. Entering it I saw a large bathroom decked out in the same expensive materials as the rest of the castle.

The marble sink sat before a large shining circular mirror lined with pearl lights. I wet one of the hand towels and lifted my mask. Taking a breath, I wiped the cold water over the skin of my face. I had to be careful not to mess up my makeup. My neck was slightly flushed as well so I wrung out the towel and wet it again, wiping my neck. I was so flustered from tonight.

Staring at my reflection, I was again surprised to see the high-end dress on my form. I became aware that I had spent too long in the bathroom so I pulled the mask down over my face and went out. Prince Caspian was waiting there for me.

“It’s really such a hassle, these events. Want to walk with me in the garden?” he said with a playful grin.

 

Looking back to the ballroom and thinking of the other princes, I nodded quickly. Werner hadn’t specified that I had to stay at the masquerade ball for long. Prince Caspian began walking down the hallway, and I followed him. It seemed strange that he was so at home in Prince Orcello’s castle. Had he been here before? I chided myself for the thought. It wouldn’t be odd for the princes to have visited each other; they were all royalty after all.

He opened two large doors at the end of the hallway and we stepped out onto the veranda. Fresh untouched snow covered the ground, but the stone pathway had been cleared off. We made our way along it, but it was difficult since I was still wearing heels. I slipped on the icy stones and gave a little scream of surprise. Prince Caspian turned then and grabbed my arm, catching me. He held me tightly as I caught my breath.

“Thanks,” I said gratefully.

He gave a little pensive murmur before swooping me into his arms. I choked on my breath but Prince Caspian just gave me a cheerful smile and continued along as if it were no big deal. He walked further down the path until neatly cut hedges lined the way. Then he set me down at last.

“You didn’t have to do that,” I said quickly, feeling hot all over again.

He looked amused. “Maybe I wanted to.”

I couldn’t think of anything to say back to that. Looking around I saw that despite it being December, the snow had been cleared away from the area, revealing beautiful blue winter flowers everywhere. A fountain flowed in the middle of them, spraying clear droplets over the backs of an intricately carved pair of dolphins. The moon was hiding behind the clouds at the moment, making it dark where we stood.

From out here I could see into the castle, the lights streaming out from the interior and lighting up the snow so it sparkled like diamonds. We were the only ones outside and it made everything seem surreal, as if we were in another world, looking in on the festivities.

Prince Caspian gave a sigh and put his hands behind his head, stretching. “Really, it is boring,” he muttered.

I looked at him curiously. “You don’t like the parties?”

Prince Caspian turned to me. Then he shrugged in an exaggerated manner. “Have you seen me at any of the other parties? I don’t like crowds like this. I hate the people that attend them even more.” He grinned. “But I wanted to see you.”

“The letter—” I began but Prince Caspian cut me off.

Wrapping his arms around me, he held me firmly up against his chest. Feeling his warmth, a shiver ran through my body and I realized how cold it really was. “It was selfish of me to ask you to come out here without a coat. Let’s go back inside,” he said in a soft tone I hadn’t heard from him before.

 

Sorry guys, been working 7 days a week and it really wears me out. Maybe can write tonight. Taking the day off tomorrow for Presidents' Day I'll see how much I can write tomorrow between errands  thanks for the bumps!

 

Prince Caspian was mysteriously tight-lipped about the letter so as he led me back into the ballroom, I found that I couldn’t get any answers from him. The music had begun again and he quickly spun me onto the dance floor. The dance was different before, and he held me from behind, our hands clasped together. I felt warm where we touched as we moved in a circle, taking stuttering steps.

Then suddenly we changed directions and Prince Caspian twirled me to the end of his arm, bowing as he did so. Another hand grasped my free one, and I was whirled about into someone else’s chest. I glanced up and saw the white mask with a cruel beak. Prince DeGillus! He looked down at me and gave a slight smile before we continued the dance. I looked back and saw that Prince Caspian was now dancing with another woman.

I could feel Zane’s heartbeat in my back and the pleasant smell of flowers around me. His scent was so intoxicating I sunk back into his arms and let him lead me about the dance floor. He didn’t seem to mind, and moved us gracefully forward until as a crescendo came in the music he leaned down and whispered into my ear.

“Let me play violin for you again… ”

Then he extended his arm and bowed to me, kissing the back of my hand. Someone else grabbed my free arm then and pulled me rather forcefully towards them. I looked at the newcomer and found myself staring into the icy blue eyes behind a ferocious dragon mask. His lips were in a tight irritated line. It was Prince von Adler.

“Don’t fall behind,” Siegfried said, a little redness over his cheeks. Was he warm?

His hands gripped mine tightly and he pushed me along the dance floor. The dance was rather simple steps but I stumbled a few times nonetheless. Siegfried didn’t say anything at my blunders but instead caught me and held me up with surprising strength each time. His skin was like fire as we touched hands.

“Tomorrow, accompany me on my yacht. I’ll send Christophe to come get you. Don’t be late.” I looked up just in time to see the strange flush on his face. He did feel warm, perhaps he was sick? “Dress warmly.”

He bowed stiffly to me, looking away from me as he did so. I was swept into someone’s arms then and looked up in time to see Prince Orcello’s famous grin. He put a bit of flair into the dance then, smiling the whole time as he spun me about and wrapped his arms rather cheekily around my waist.

I felt my neck get hot and knew the redness was spreading to my cheeks. The way he was holding me was intensely intimate, our bodies pressed together. “You’re cute when you’re shy,” Van said in my ear.

I sputtered but before I could defend myself he swung me around and I was transferred to a new partner. This time it was Prince Kirtak. His tall body molded itself to mine and his large hands enveloped mine. He was quiet for a while but as the dance came to an end he turned me to face him and kissed the back of my right hand.

“I’ll be at Azolla Pier tomorrow for the yacht cruise. You won’t turn me down a second time if I send Julian to come get you, will you?”