Chapter 39
"Do they really have to keep ringing those bells all the time?" I asked no one in particular as the maids applied lipstick to my lips and fastened my earrings.
The city bells rang periodically every hour, marking the day of my birth.
"Are you excited?" one of the maids asked.
I didn't have an answer.
"I don't know, Iris. This isn't my first ball, but it is the first one specifically for me."
She nodded before turning to retrieve another piece of jewelry from the box.
Someone entered through the door, and I soon recognized Welme's footsteps and voice.
"Princess, all the guests have entered the ballroom and are awaiting your ladyship. The prince and Ser Lysande are waiting at the top of the stairs. Both of them will escort you in."
As my closest handmaid, Welme would be present in the ballroom in case I had any trouble with my dress or anything similar.
Before she left the room, she added, "And, Princess... you look magnificent."
Then she left and closed the door behind her.
Guards, not my Lys, led me toward the top of the stairs where they were waiting.
By the second corridor, I could already hear the music breaking through the floors beneath my feet.
The long skirt of my dress trailed behind me, while my hair, braided into dozens of intricate braids, pulled my head slightly backward and tightened the skin at the back of my neck.
Although this was not the most comfortable dress or hairstyle, they definitely made me into what I was.
A royal princess of one of the wealthiest kingdoms.
With every step, something warm and familiar grew inside my chest.
It wasn't excitement.
It wasn't fear.
It was pure euphoria for the life I had once lived. For the elegance and extravagance I had always quite enjoyed.
The corners of my lips pulled into a smirk as something dark and unpleasant inside me was fed by the knowledge that, in only a few minutes, everyone would be looking at me.
Everyone would admire me.
All this gold and all these diamonds, all this food and decoration, and half the flower gardens had been cut down and brought into the castle for me.
Old habits truly were the hardest to leave behind. Especially when they fed that unpleasant part of my soul that lived inside my chest.
My steps became more elegant, more deliberate.
I lifted my chin, and my hands moved closer together so that the sleeves of my dress would meet.
But in all of this, there was one big, beautiful difference. This difference held brown hair and brown eyes and the most glorious smile I had ever seen.
This time, I didn't want everyone to look only at me.
I wanted them to look at my knight too.
At the end of the corridor, with the music already echoing in my ears, Sanaedeo and Lysande appeared before me.
Two powerful men stood with their arms crossed, dressed in the most expensive fabrics and finest armor.
Both carried swords at their sides.
Though one was merely for show, while the other was ready to take the prince's head off if he looked at me in a way that wasn't appropriate for a princess.
When they heard us approaching, they both turned toward us.
Lysande bowed deeply, while Sando took a few steps toward me with his arms spread wide.
"Happy birthday, sister. You look incredible. Look at you."
He took my hand in his and spun me around so he could get a better look at me.
My dress spread around me for several feet as my brother turned me.
"Sister, the first dance is mine, and then we'll give you to some bastard prince." I rolled my eyes before looking toward Lys, who apparently hadn't heard a word Sando said.
He looked as though he hadn't heard anything at all.
"Lysande."
I greeted him with a slight nod, and his hands curled into fists at his sides.
I had always loved seeing him in armor, especially this one of mine, because it gave his body such perfect proportions that my mouth watered at the mere thought of it.
And now that he was standing in front of me, I wanted nothing more than to find out whether he was just as hard beneath that armor as he looked.
"Princess..." His eyes slowly traveled over my body as though he couldn't quite believe I was standing there.
"You look incredible." Then, surprising both of us, he added, "Beautiful."
I tried to keep that proud expression on my face, but Lysande clearly enjoyed ruining my plans.
A blush spread across my cheeks, down to my neck and even lower.
"My knight, you're not looking so bad yourself."
He shook his head and let out a short, sharp breath.
"Princess, tonight they will talk only of your beauty. No one else's."
The blush deepened, and I couldn't help lowering my face toward the stone floor.
For a moment, I closed my eyes and imagined him.
He approaches me and stops in front of me.
I can smell him and feel the cold metal of his armor.
He places a hand beneath my chin and lifts my face toward his. "Princess, don't lower your head from me," he whispers in a voice that makes me obey.
Then his pink lips, the ones I still dream about as I stand at the threshold of the most important ball of my life, gently take mine.
He takes my hand and leads me down among all the royals, who stare at us in disbelief, whispering, "How did the princess fall for a knight?"
Of course, this never happened.
Not now.
Not at this ball.
Not at any ball.
But every night before I drifted into sleep, I imagined exactly that.
This very knight. My knight.
Those gentle eyes. Gentle only for me.
Those lips pulled into the most beautiful smile. Smiling for my eyes only.
My hand, almost of its own accord, began to rise toward his.
But Sando's voice interrupted me.
"Isolde. It's time."
My fingers curled back against my body, and Lys took a step backward, wiping away everything that had been written across his face. "Come on. They're about to announce you."
He looped his arm through mine and turned me toward the stairs and the enormous doors standing at the bottom of them. He waved to the guards standing before them, and they knocked on the doors to alert those on the other side.
I turned around and looked at Lys one more time and his gentle eyes were already on me. He gave me the slightest nod and tightened the fist resting against the hilt of his sword once more.
The pressure of Sando's arm pulled me away from Lys again.
I pressed my lips together and turned back toward the enormous red doors, their edges gilded in gold.
Hundreds of candles around us illuminated the path downward.
Four guards already had their hands on the wood, waiting for the signal to open them.
I heard Lys move behind us and take his place, the very one in everyone's eyes he would always belong.
Silence settled over everything around us.
The music stopped.
It felt as though the air itself had disappeared.
Finally, a strong male voice echoed through the hall.
"It is my honor, at this splendid moment, to present her royal highness, Princess Isolde"