May I, My Love? ✔

6. t h e t a l l, d a r k & h a n d s o m e

Tonight, the whole place was lit with millions with fairy lights, hiding the original structure of the walls and roofs. Every balcony in the palace was illuminated with elegant lamps, and an excessive amount of guards stood at every nook and corner of the colossal building.

The royal palace was divided into two parts - the frontal buildings where the family of the Sovereign lived, their offices, entertainment and counseling rooms, etc; and the buildings in the back which housed the assistants, workers and the few families of nobles like mine and some knights who are an asset to the family.

In the middle of the two buildings, was a large garden. It had a smaller building, which housed the animals and hundreds of trees and flowers of every kind. I used to look at them everyday, but I have never been more mesmerized with their beauty as I did today, as I saw them adorned in the finest decorations and delicate lights, turning this place into something magical and otherworldly.

As we crossed the garden and entered the main palace through the main gate, we were stopped by the guards and asked to produce the authentic invitation card affixed with the royal seal, along with our identity cards. Once the identification process was cleared, we were allowed entry to the ballroom. And oh my, was it an illusionary place!

The ginormous ballroom that I hadn't seen many times in my life, was teeming with guests and decors of utmost opulence. Large golden pillars supported the domed roof, which held paintings of various people from the Victorian era. I was thoroughly impressed and amazed by the baroque style architecture of the hall, and giving one look at Lisa, I knew she was equally enthralled.

"This is such a gigantic place Lisa, and we hardly know anyone here. What are we going to do?"

"Relax girl. I'm not leaving you so soon. Let's go around and mingle with a few people, and then roam around some more because I really want to explore this room more."

Relief flooded me as I saw myself agreeing with her idea. I too, would not be satiated in the least until I had seen and inspected every block of this room. By the time we would be gone gawking all over, it will be the time for the dance to commence. Hopefully, I will get a good partner who can show me a good time on the floor.

"Alright then, let's face the music." I said, which made her laugh and tell me that I'm too dramatic, which was the truth so I didn't bother correcting her.

We walked over to the surrounding tables, where the people weren't too old, and looked to be about our age or a few years older. The conversations there were lively and everyone had maintained the pact of keeping their identity a secret. I did not know, nor could I understand why His Majesty had proposed such an idea, but since it was working in my best interests, I wasn't complaining either.

But as soon as we reached the circle, the lively conversations ceased momentarily, as they tried to figure out who we were. I started sweating internally, already regretting following Lisa's decision and forgetting my discomfort in meeting new people. Their piercing eyes seemed to be inspecting every inch of my skin, and I switched my gaze from one person to another. If I had this reaction when my visage was fully covered, I couldn't imagine how I would feel if they would see my face.

The group had four people - two girls and two guys. One of the girls who was wearing a silver mask, looked quite young, maybe even younger than me, and had long black wavy hair and striking blue eyes. She seemed to be the only one looking at me with curiosity, but then shook out of it and smiled at me graciously. The other girl had blonde hair and hazel eyes, who just ran her gaze up and down my body and turned to the man on her left. As I turned in the same direction as hers, my breath got caught in my throat.

I was greeted with a piercing pair of grey eyes, studying me attentively. He was tall, and looked imposing when he was standing. With raven black hair gelled back stylishly, and a black mask covering his face, he looked every bit the tall, dark and handsome man every girl dreamed of. Seconds passed by, but it felt as if an eternity had run away. I ran my eyes and studied him in a similar fashion as he did to me. He was wearing a black three piece suit with a white dress shirt and a red pocket square. I squealed internally noting how his pocket square matched the red of my dress, making us the perfect couple.

'Get a hold of yourself, Harmony! You don't even know his name!'

As I kept gawking at him shamelessly, losing track of time, etiquettes, or the people around me, I felt something poke me harshly in the stomach. But I was able to take a little bit pain, and I brushed it away. When it happened again, however, I wasn't able to ignore it. As I blinked, everything seemed to come back to me once again.

It was as if time had ceased to move forward, and in that moment, it was me and him. However, when I looked to my left, instantly becoming unbearably aware of my surroundings and what I had just done, I went completely scarlet under my mask. Lisa was smirking at me and in that moment itself, I knew I wouldn't be able to either forget this moment, or evade any discussion about it.

Noticing my obvious discomfort, the other guy whom I hadn't even noticed until now broke the ice for us.

"Good evening girls. You both look lovely in your attires."

We both turned to our right to see a tall boy wearing a navy suit with a printed white dress shirt and a royal blue mask on. He had long, shoulder length hair and tied it back in a ponytail, which made him look even more attractive. He had the easygoing, boyish charm even while he was mindful of his manners.

Since I had still not recovered from my earlier embarrassment, Lisa chose to answer for us.

"Thank you. Its a pleasure to meet you all. Would you mind if we join your company for a while?"

"Of course! We are always eager to welcome beauties like you to our party."

He flirted with Lisa, who laughed in return and continued her conversation with him on one side. So much for the promise that she won't leave me alone.

"So, since we can't know anything personal about each other, how about we tell each other about ourselves?"

The girl who earlier smiled at me, said to me, saving me from further embarrassment.

I smiled a genuine and grateful smile in return, and nodded my head. I had a burning desire to move my head a little bit to the right and look at the heavenly man in front of me some more, but then my brain which was now stronger than my heart in the absence of his arresting gaze, advised me otherwise. I willed myself to keep my eyes on the kind girl and engage in a good conversation with her which would keep my mind off him.

'I will need a perfect distraction for tonight.

Anything but him will work for now.'

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