CHAPTER 6
The doors were pulled open, and a tall figure walked in, and the entire room stood up, blocking my view of him.
Cheers erupted along with a roaring approval filled with whistles and catcalls.
Idiots. But curiosity got the better of me, and I broke protocol, as absolutely no one was looking at me, so I craned my neck to try and get a better look.
Jane’s very fake cough startled me, and she gave me a stern look and pointed forcefully at the wall.
Fuck. Stepping back against the wall, I assumed my position, but my eyes kept scanning the crowd that now surrounded the Prince; the top of his dark hair was the only part visible.
He was slowly making his way towards his seat, stopping to receive congratulations from each table and shaking hands as he moved closer to his empty seat.
The crowd around him was thinning, and I could only steal quick, fleeting glances, but not enough to get a good look at him.
We began serving drinks to the others seated at the table, pouring from the bottle until it ran dry.
I grabbed another bottle of red wine as a chill ran up and down my spine, the odd feeling that someone was close by.
I turned, but two firm hands seized my arms, holding me in place.
“Whoa, watch it. I don’t want to ruin my new suit. Mother would be furious.” He said, holding me still.
His grip was strong and sturdy, his long fingers wrapping around my slender arms, and I could feel the rough calluses that lived on his hands.
His muscles strained against his clothes; his body was sculpted like a piece of art made from stone.
My eyes drifted up his arms to his broad shoulders and neck, where his muscles tensed, until I finally met his eyes.
They stole the air from my lungs; held underwater by his icy-blue gaze.
They were as blue as clear ocean waters, edged with the darkness of a storm rolling in over the sea.
My eyes drifted upwards, trying not to maintain eye contact for too long.
His hair was disheveled, as if he had just run a hand through it.
It was dark like mine, but it had a lightness to it from being outside in the sun.
Mine held the sleek sheen of midnight, while his had hidden embers that sparked to life.
A couple of loose pieces hung just above his eyes, which were still locked on me.
Shit. “Sorry, sir,” I said, taking a small breath for the first time as I lowered my gaze to the floor.
The corner of his lips curled into a smirk, a small dimple forming as he revealed a glimpse of his pearly white teeth.
“Zendryk, over here.” A man sitting at his table called, pointing to the empty seat.
He took one final glance, looking me up and down, and then walked away towards his spot at the table. “What? Missed me already?” He said jokingly, slapping his friend on the back, then took his seat.
The night began with a seven-course dinner that looked delicious, but the dessert was decadent: a chocolate cake so unbelievably rich it glistened in the light, topped with chocolate ganache and sugar-glazed strawberries.
My stomach grumbled at the sight of it. After dinner, the Ringmaster excitedly announced a couple of different people from different manors, and they stood up one after the other, raising a toast to the Prince.
Stories of fighting on the battlefield together and of how proud they were to see him grow into the man he is today filled the room.
Finally, after the last guest had given their praise to the Prince, music began to play from the small group of men and women in the corner of the room, accompanied by a variety of instruments.
One by one, people made their way to the dance floor until most of the guests were in the middle of the room dancing under the moonlight.
The moon shone bright above them, casting its light and shadows onto the dance floor, while the stars gleamed behind it.
It was mesmerizing to watch, as each guest swayed with the music, the moon's shadows dancing along beside them. Only a few people remained at my table, and service had slowed. I took advantage of the slow time to take a quick inventory of what drinks I had left and realized I had just opened my last bottle of wine. I bent over to double-check under the table, but was only met with the glint of empty bottles. When I came back up, my hair ribbon snagged on a small piece of wooden bark, and my hair tumbled free. Fuck. The heat rose to my cheeks, and I hoped no one saw, but the sound of footsteps approaching me told me someone did. When I turned around, Prince Zendryk was standing in front of me. He bent down to pick up the ribbon casually lying on the floor, as if it didn’t just betray me, and snatched it between two of his fingers and extended them towards me.
Thank goodness he was positioned in front of me so that the rest of the ballroom could not see my embarrassment and the current state of my hair.
“Careful, Sweetheart.” The confidence-laced smile returned, and the room felt as though it was darkening around us.
“Thank you,” was all I could muster, while snatching the ribbon from his fingers.
Turning on my feet, I made my way towards the storeroom where the extra bottles of wine were kept.
Anything to escape the embarrassment I was feeling.
I tied up my hair as quickly and tightly as I could, tying a knot just like the one that was now living in my stomach.
This was all I needed on top of my increasingly pounding head.
Why had he called me Sweetheart? I bet he said that to all the women; sweeten them up so they would freely spread their legs for him.
But who was I kidding? Who the hell wouldn’t want to lie with that gorgeous man?
The party continued for a couple more hours and ended when one of the party guests emptied the contents of their stomach onto the dance floor, eliciting screams of disgust from some of the guests.
Guests stumbled out of the ballroom, a couple tossing up their dinner on the way out, and once everyone had left, we commenced tidying up.
After cleaning into the wee hours of the morning, we were all finally back in the servants’ common room.
Jane was extra finicky tonight, telling everyone to go to bed and demanding that no one lingered in the hallways.
Surely, she was not in charge of everyone; she had not been here that long, but she acted like she ran this place.
Once back in my room, I quickly washed up and put on a pair of lightweight black night pants that rippled in the wind as I walked, and pulled a white tunic over my head.
Letting out a sigh, releasing the stress and embarrassment from the night out of my body, I closed my eyes and started to drift off to the quiet sounds of the manor going to sleep.
I was standing in the ballroom, a sea of guests surrounded me.
They were all pointing and laughing, and my hair was unbound, flowing freely around me.
Some of the guests pulled at the loose tendrils, tugging on them, and pain shot through my scalp.
A shadowed mist slithered across the dance floor, weaving in and out of their legs, creeping closer to me.
My breathing quickened, and panic surged up my throat.
I closed my eyes as tears began to gather along my lashes, when suddenly, it went quiet.
My eyes flew open to an empty room, except for the dark mist hovering over the floor.
The panic and anxiety that had been consuming me moments ago had dissipated.
I had to get out of here; I had to leave.
I spun around and collided with those stormy-blue eyes.
I shot up in a panic, awoken by the dream that had just filled my mind.
What the fuck?! My head was throbbing, and it was hard to catch my breath, as my clothes gripped my body, drenched in sweat.
The image of his eyes boring into me seared itself into my thoughts.
I desperately needed air; I had to get outside.
Grabbing my blanket, I wrapped it around me and quietly snuck out the servant’s door at the side of the house.
The gardens were beautiful here, even in the middle of the night.
The smell of rose bushes and lilac trees filled the air, and I took a deep breath in, shaking off the remnants of my dream.
Beyond the garden and across the grounds, a weeping willow tree called to me.
As I made my way closer, a breeze picked up, and the tree's leaves danced on the invisible wind. The cold air felt amazing on my pounding head and settled my sweat-drenched body; I closed my eyes for a moment, breathing it in, and let it calm me. I approached the tree, parting its curtain of leaves, and looked around to find a good spot to rest. A large branch jutting out from its side caught my eye. Perfect! I climbed up, making quick work of it, and found a comfy nook in the groove and curve of the branch. My hair was still up and felt like a rock on my head, so I tugged the ribbon loose, letting my waves and curls fall around me; they flowed in the wind, matching the rhythm of the trees’ branches.
I bunched the ribbon in my hand as I curled up and watched the leaves sway back and forth, as if they were waves on the sea, slowly lulling me to sleep.
A high-pitched giggle coming from below startled me awake, freezing my body in place.
Shit! I had been caught. Grass crunched below as someone’s foot took a couple of steps.
No, not just one, two, someone’s; my heart began to race.
The giggling continued for a moment, and then silence filled the air.
“Did you miss me while you were gone?” The shrill voice asked.
A shrill voice that I knew, that had scolded me so many times in the past couple of days. Jane.
“I don’t know if missed is the right word.” A deep husky voice replied.
Another voice that I had recently come to know, one that I just met tonight.
Zendryk. It was Prince Zendryk and Jane.
Of course it was. Leaning over, I chanced a peek to see if my suspicions were right, and they were.
The Prince had Jane up against the base of the tree and was making quick work of unbuttoning her dress, while trailing kisses down her neck to her shoulders.
I leaned a little farther over, watching as his hand caressed one of her breasts that was completely uncovered now.
I stretched and leaned a little bit more, and the ribbon fell from on top of my lap.
I watched it slowly drift downwards, as if in slow motion, finally landing on the ground beside them.
Fuck, fuck, FUCK! I leaned back against the tree and silently prayed, "Please tell me they didn’t see it. "
Jane let out a tiny moan of pleasure, and I thanked the heavens, hoping the moan was a sign that no one saw me. Slowly stretching my head out, once more to make sure no one saw, I glanced down, but was met by two stormy ocean-blue eyes, the same ones from my dream, staring right at me.